k8griffin 's review for:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
3.0

I'd heard somewhere that this was John Green's favorite book, so I added it to my list and picked it up this past December. This is also required reading for some of my students at my school, so I was curious to read it myself.

This is a simple hero's journey. It's a story about finding yourself. It's translated (the author is Brazilian) and it reads that way - a little stiff and traditional. It was enjoyable, but felt very repetitive in the third act.

It's good, but it isn't great. I can see how some people really connect to this story and style of writing on a deeper level, but that didn't happen for me.

This would be, however, a great gift for someone who is just graduating college or about to embark on a big life-change. It gave me "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" vibes.