The Giving Tree and For Love or Music || Mini Reviews

These two books were my last reads for 2022!

I finished off the year with a banging 215 books, so much higher than the expectations I had in mind. Now I sit with the worry of exceeding that amount in the new year. Why do I put myself through this torture?

What torture? I FREAKING love reading!!!

While it would be ideal for your first and last book of the year to be a five star read, it doesn’t always end up that way. The first book of 2022, Twenty Years Later by Charlie Donlea was amazing and sadly, the last book of the year didn’t live up to the same expectations.

DISCLAIMER: This review could contain possible spoilers based on my opinions. All opinions and views are my own.

Book review: The Giving Tree and For Love or Music #bookreview #thegivingtree #forloveormusic #shortstories #booktwt #bookaddict #booktwitter
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The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Originally published: 1964

Format: E-book
Pages: 64

Plot from GoodReads:

“Once there was a tree…and she loved a little boy.”

So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein.

Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk…and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave and gave.

Thoughts:

While this is an easy to read book for children and adults alike, the meaning might be lost with the younger crowds.

In its simplicity, the messages carried over are actually quite clear.

It could be interpreted in two days: from an environmental point of view as well as an human being one.

The environmental one, where we keep taking from nature, destroying whatever we have at hand to the very last part of it and never looking at the consequences surrounding it.

From an human being point of view, how love can be used and abused without the person that keeps taking until the very last drop even realising the destruction they cause. How we can give and give love, not expecting anything in return but never receiving any appreciation or even a thank you, and how destructive that is to that person on the other end.

The message is simple but it branches out into so many different levels, questioning the balance of selflessness and selfishness.

My Rating:

The book has a rating of 4.37 on GoodReads. I gave it a 5.

For Love or Music by Julie Lipson

Originally published: 1850

Format: Audiobook
Hours: 1h42m

Plot from GoodReads:

Sadie and Max fell in love while training to be classical pianists in music school, and they’ve been chasing their dreams together ever since. Now they’ve gotten engaged and are on the verge of a bright future—until an unexpected twist throws them out of harmony. When they’re both finalists in the prestigious Van Cage piano competition, they go from being each other’s biggest fans to fierce rivals. The winner will be launched into a meteoric career as a concert pianist, but only one can take first place. Now Max and Sadie face the ultimate test. What will come first—love or their dreams?

Thoughts:

I enjoyed the whole battle between following your dreams or choosing love in this story. It’s a short book with a lot going on, and it felt a little bland in same parts with others being predictable as ever, which was obviously expected from the genre.

While it was entertaining, it didn’t exactly stand out and outshine other books recently read.