2
Followers
2
Following
weave my words into worlds
Please don't count how many old "reviews" of mine say "review later", "more later", or variations thereupon. ... Actually, just ignore my blog until further notice.
New Moon
I've put off writing a review of Twilight for a long time. That, my friends, is because my opinion has drastically changed about it since I read it.I'll sum up my feelings for the entire series in this analogy/metaphor/thingymajig that is not necessarily true: Once, long ago, I had a terrible crush on a boy. It got to the point where I was practically obsessed. I thought he was the greatest thing in the world... until I snapped out of it. I fell out of love with him. I spent a long time away from him, heard a few things others said about him, and suddenly he just wasn't so attractive anymore. I began to realize what an idiot he was, all the flaws he had, how too many girls liked him... and it was just plain annoying. Now anything the boy does gets on my nerves.
That's how it is with Twilight: I got into the series and loved it when I read it. A while after I stopped reading, all the hype about it began. I hardly went a day without hearing "OHMYGAWSH EDWARD IS SOOOOO DREAMY AND I'M SOOOOO GONNA MARRY HIM AND HIS CROOKED SMILE IS SOOOOO ATTRACTIVE!!!" It's like that over-played song on the radio that's only good the first couple of times you hear it. After that... well, I think you get the picture.
Note: This is copied and pasted from my review of the first book.
Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)
I've put off writing a review of Twilight for a long time. That, my friends, is because my opinion has drastically changed about it since I read it.I'll sum up my feelings for the entire series in this analogy/metaphor/thingymajig that is not necessarily true: Once, long ago, I had a terrible crush on a boy. It got to the point where I was practically obsessed. I thought he was the greatest thing in the world... until I snapped out of it. I fell out of love with him. I spent a long time away from him, heard a few things others said about him, and suddenly he just wasn't so attractive anymore. I began to realize what an idiot he was, all the flaws he had, how too many girls liked him... and it was just plain annoying. Now anything the boy does gets on my nerves.
That's how it is with Twilight: I got into the series and loved it when I read it. A while after I stopped reading, all the hype about it began. I hardly went a day without hearing "OHMYGAWSH EDWARD IS SOOOOO DREAMY AND I'M SOOOOO GONNA MARRY HIM AND HIS CROOKED SMILE IS SOOOOO ATTRACTIVE!!!" It's like that over-played song on the radio that's only good the first couple of times you hear it. After that... well, I think you get the picture.
Note: This is copied and pasted from my review of the first book.
I only have one comment on this book: five pages spent on one kiss? Really?
 - Stephenie Meyer)
SPOILER ALERT!
Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4)
I'm not pasting my review of the other three books because I felt differently about Breaking Dawn. I disliked it from the start.First of all, Bella... I know she's an idiot, but she was at her worst in this one. She gets married--at 18, no less, to the only boy she's ever dated--for sex. Plus, she's worse after she becomes a vampire. She's oh, so confident because she's beautiful and that's all she'll ever need. Now she can finally measure up to Edward's regal, sparkly, stalkery vampire-ness. Yaaaay. How material and manipulative can you get?
Second, the ending was stupid. A fourth of the book is spent building up to a battle that doesn't. Even. Happen. Everything is just hunky-dory, not to mention cheesey and completely unrealistic. The book sat for weeks on my shelf because I couldn't force myself to pick it up and read through 200 more pages of pointlessly waiting and worrying.
Third, Renesmee? I just... I have no words.
The only things that I enjoyed in this book were Jacob's chapter titles. The end.
SPOILER ALERT!
Catching Fire
January 6, 2014: I have taken my previous reviews down for personal reasons and written up my main issue with the series instead. If you liked or commented on those older versions, feel free to revoke your feedback. I'm not here to hoard likes and comments that are no longer relevant.I once went to see a few of my friends in their high school winter play. Even though they used mics, only a few actors projected well enough for me to hear them. Many audience members had the same experience.
When the play was over, someone asked me for my thoughts. It was hard for me to give an accurate response. After all, I had missed most of Peter's lines, several of Hook's, and gave up on even trying with the Lost Boys. So I said that, while I enjoyed it, I wished I could have understood it. My Acting I professor explained it best when he told my class, "Theatre isn't good if you can't hear it."
This was my experience with The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. Do they have good lessons to teach? I would think so. Is there much to learn and relate to for the characters? Maybe. Are there many aspects of the novel I could apply to modern times? I'm sure. However, the writing was ineffective at communicating any of this to me. That makes it difficult for me to say that they were good or that I enjoyed them. Emotions are my mode of transportation from one world to the next, and the writing did not make me, as an individual, feel enough to get from point A to point B while enjoying the scenery.
So don't ask me for my thoughts on the series. Read it yourself, if you feel so inclined and, if you're like me, ask the school to fund diction classes or just consider investing in some serious hearing aids.
SPOILER ALERT!
The Hunger Games
January 6, 2014: I have taken my previous reviews down for personal reasons and written up my main issue with the series instead. If you liked or commented on those older versions, feel free to revoke your feedback. I'm not here to hoard likes and comments that are no longer relevant.I once went to see a few of my friends in their high school winter play. Even though they used mics, only a few actors projected well enough for me to hear them. Many audience members had the same experience.
When the play was over, someone asked me for my thoughts. It was hard for me to give an accurate response. After all, I had missed most of Peter's lines, several of Hook's, and gave up on even trying with the Lost Boys. So I said that, while I enjoyed it, I wished I could have understood it. My Acting I professor explained it best when he told my class, "Theatre isn't good if you can't hear it."
This was my experience with The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. Do they have good lessons to teach? I would think so. Is there much to learn and relate to for the characters? Maybe. Are there many aspects of the novel I could apply to modern times? I'm sure. However, the writing was ineffective at communicating any of this to me. That makes it difficult for me to say that they were good or that I enjoyed them. Emotions are my mode of transportation from one world to the next, and the writing did not make me, as an individual, feel enough to get from point A to point B while enjoying the scenery.
So don't ask me for my thoughts on the series. Read it yourself, if you feel so inclined and, if you're like me, ask the school to fund diction classes or just consider investing in some serious hearing aids.
Invaluable
I read Invaluable sometime last year. While I loved that it taught important lessons and messages that many young women need to read, and I really did, I found the book itself... below par.One of my problems was with the way Invaluable tried to be two things at once: an LDS doctrinal book and a young adult novel. These two genres, in my opinion, do not mix well. Of course, an author can convey doctrinal messages in young adult novels, and doctrinal books can contain stories about youths, but it just didn't work for me here. I especially disliked that the author chose the clichéd deceased-ancestor-visits-dreams-and-gives-visions route. It felt so false that I ended up skimming those passages every now and then.
The characters needed work. While Eliza is admirable for trying to learn from her mistakes and continuing to come closer to her best self, she comes across as a naïve, Sue-ish girl; a character that's all too typical in today's storytelling world. The other characters are pretty much stereotypes. Chelsea: the spoiled, popular girl with everything she wants that hates the main character at first but ends up respecting her. Luke: The attractive, gentlemanly crush-at-fist-sight. Jason: That clingy but likable guy-friend that wants to be more. Courtney: The younger sister who distances herself from her family because she doesn't want them to know about her life. Jill: The best friend who is glued to her boyfriend at one hip and her phone at the other. As a writer, I understand that creating a character is difficult work... But is it so difficult to stray from the archetypes just a little?
As I said, a lot of young women could use the morals that Invaluable teaches. I could use the morals it teaches, because I am worlds away from what I want to be. As a self-help book alone, it could improve lives. As a novel/self-help/doctrine mash-up, though, Invaluable didn't cut it for me.
The Golden Spiral
Okay, I have a confession to make: I read this book a while back. As in, January-ish. No, I'm not telling any secrets about it.This book is very exciting, filled with some good metaphors/comparisons, and just plain lovable. The characters are relatable.
I'm sick, so this book deserves a better review than I can write at this point in time.... I shall return!
Grip of the Shadow Plague
Amazing. Absolutely amazing. I've already read this book from cover to cover literally half-a-dozen times, yet it draws me in no matter what. I read almost all day today.I love the struggle with light and dark in this book. Because of this, Grip of the Shadow Plague touches on many philosophical questions that are great starts for discussions. I think this book is also where everything really sinks in. Fablehaven isn't just a magical place with amazing creatures; it - and the world beyond - can be perilous and life-threatening. Not everyone is good. There's evil, death, darkness, and cruelty out there.
There's a lot of great tension, twists, and turns. A lot of times, I wanted to actually scream at the characters or cheer for them. I was laughing aloud many times because of Mull's witty dialogue. Mull keeps you very involved. Whenever I was doing something else, I was constantly thinking, "Why am I doing this? I could be reading now!"
Wow. In short, this series just blows me away. Brandon Mull remains and will remain one of my literary heroes.
SPOILER ALERT!
Heat
Though I enjoyed it overall, the book was pretty predictable. Michael lies about his father being home and someone has to jump in and pretend for him--I've seen that mini-plot in too many Disney Channel episodes and sit-coms already. His life slowly falls apart because he can't play baseball and do what he loves most--seen that a lot too. He offends one of his friends and it takes lots of courage to apologize--again, seen that in a lot of books and movies and TV shows.There's not a lot of originality left in the world. It's not that I can't forgive clichés; I just don't enjoy it when I can see almost everything coming in a story. It's not the best sports book I've read, but it wasn't the worst either.
You may notice that I originally gave the book a higher rating... I tend to be over-enthusiastic after I finish a book, so my rating often goes down once I consider it more. And yeah. Ta-da...
SPOILER ALERT!
Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary
Wow, Brandon. You've really done it. This is amazing. Extremely twisted, cliffhanger ending. If I didn't love the book so much, I would have thrown it against my bedroom wall because I was so sad it had to end where it did.The action starts right at the beginning. If you're like me, you won't be able to put it down. I've already read this book twice, and I still can't put it down. I've innocently picked it up many-a-time, thinking, "Oh, I don't have anything else I want to read. I'll just read a few pages of this for fun." Nope. The story manages to suck me into it, no matter how much I've read it.
I especially love the dramatic irony, where the reader knows something the character doesn't. Some people think Kendra's kidnapping shouldn't have been told from her perspective, in order to create more drama and suspense, but I like it this way. I can't imagine having to explain what Kendra went through in dialogue...
I will never cease to marvel at how interesting Mull made the dragons. They're not just some huge creatures with wings. They're beautiful, they radiate terrible fear that holds most people in a trance, they're all totally unique. He describes them so vividly and leaves me begging for more. I don't even know how to describe it.
Poor Kendra. She's gone through so many betrayals, and in this book, she faces the worst one yet. I think it scarred me a little inside, to be honest. Gavin was my favorite character! It completely blindsided me, and I still can't get over it. I have decided that Kendra was talking to a stingbulb that framed Gavin, and Gavin is really in hiding. Or something...
Also, I can't get over the last sentence. I honestly turned a few pages after it, thinking, "That's not it! There's gotta be more! Just one more chapter!"
Brandon Mull has now been added to my list of heroes for writing a book - four books - like this. This installment is tied with the third one for my favorite in the series.
Lord of the Flies
I did NOT like it. I don't feel like ranting for twenty minutes about why, so this is it...
The Hobbit
Tolkien is clever and pretty funny. Some parts of this had me laughing out loud. However, there's one thing about this book that bothered me: the sentences. Jeez. Some of them were about a mile long, with no commas, punctuation, or anything, so the sentences sometimes didn't make sense. If you can look past this older style of writing, though, you're in for a good read.
I think his character development is pretty good. Plus, he makes some very interesting points. Overall, I like this book a lot.
Fablehaven
I'd give this book 4.5 stars if I could. Dangit, goodreads! Get a half-star option already!The only reason I didn't give this book a rating as high as the other ones was that I feel like it dragged a teeny bit. That was mainly because Brandon Mull had so much to set up, but it can be hard to get into. It's probably my least favorite in the series. I'm very partial to it, still, regardless of that. It's not like I don't love the book.
Les Misérables
Starting over because I didn't realize my previous translation was abridged and now I'm a little ticked off at Norman Denny. I'm going to start the Julie Rose translation tomorrow. *squee*
The Fellowship of the Ring
I'm so sorry, Tolkien, but The Lord of the Rings has to go on hold for a little while. This trilogy deserves my full attention at a time when I can read the three books consecutively. I will finish it, though, I swear. I swear on the precious.
Rise of the Evening Star
I don't care that I've read this book five times now. I still love it.As a lot of people have said, the series gets better with each book. The first is enjoyable, this one is amazing, the third is spectacular, and the fourth just phenomenal. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
There's one thing that really stood out to me in this book, and that is how great Brandon is at writing from male AND female perspectives. I can easily relate to how Kendra feels at almost all times. He seems to know even those silly little thoughts we girls all have at one point or another. It's uncanny, in a way.
Another thing I love is how Mull brings back unanswered questions from book one that I'd nearly forgotten. Just about everything in his books happens for a reason, and the plot is very well-planned.
Long story short, Brandon has once again more than impressed me. I admire him greatly, and if I can become half the author he is, I'll know I've done a great job.
