Fangirl Time

Okay, readers, I’m back.


Yes, I’ve been bad. Yes, I’ve broken my New Year’s resolution already. Man, I suck at New Year’s resolutions. The only one I ever succeeded in keeping was a “no caffeine for four months,” which was the stupidest resolution I could have made, seeing as it just resulted in killer migraines and me gaining 15 pounds. Ugh. Who cares if caffeine is a drug? It’s awesome. Yes, kids, I did just become a bad role model. Whatever. Point is: I’m back! I’m back and ready to review! :P

Today we’re talking about Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices series, namely the first book (The Clockwork Angel)… since I don’t want to give away any spoilers in the second book (The Clockwork Prince), which is, quite frankly, amazingsauce. Yes. Amazingsauce.

If you have yet to read and/or hear anything about/by Cassandra Clare, at this moment, please slap yourself, palm flat, in the face. I’ve mentioned her before. So if you’ve read prior posts by me before, STOP! Don’t slap yourself! Unless it’s too late, in which case I say, “Sorry, but maybe you should pay closer attention.” :)

Seriously, though. Cassie (what we huge, dorky fans call her as if we know her on a personal level) is ah-maaaaa-zing. (That’s read in a singsong voice, FWI.) She’s like… the chocolate-iced cake to my inner fat kid. She’s the plump, red cherry to the top of my library sundae. She is the maple syrup on top of my Belgian waffles because waffles trump pancakes any day, no competition. And yes… it has occurred to me that I may be a little hungry. However, I’m always even MORE hungry for any witty words this author has to add to my collection of YA books.

Cassie started out publishing what is called her Mortal Instruments series. This series is about a society called Shadowhunters and a girl who gets tangled up with them when it becomes apparent she’s somehow connected to their crazy, magic-filled world. These Shadowhunters hunt demons for a living. Pretty cool? Um, duh.


Well, anyway, Cassie’s Infernal Devices series is set in the same world, the world filled with Shadowhunters, demons, vampires, warlocks, and other things that go bump in the night. There’s just one difference. (I mean, minus the plot and characters and the overall way the story flows.) The Mortal Instruments series is set in the now. The Infernal Devices? The Victorian era.

Woot, woot, period piece, here we come! FINALLY, I’m reviewing something set in the past (Princess Academy aside, seeing as that might not even be set on the planet of Earth)! Okay, but seriously. Let’s start getting down to the nitty gritty. :D

The Mortal Instruments series is awesome. It’s hilarious. The characters are great. There’s conflict and kickass battle scenes and at the same time, hello, there’s some good old sexy romance, tastefully done, of course. It’s the whole package. Tons of people love it. Pretty much every book has been on the New York Times Bestsellers. That said— UGH!— The Infernal Devices series is BETTER. First of all, not only is it cool how this second series she’s written interweaves with the families and traditions of the first, it’s phenomenal how the second one comes off as completely different. In a good way.

When authors write same-world books where they branch off with different characters, let’s just face it, sometimes they drop the ball. May I give an example? It'd be my pleasure. Here we go. I love Kelley Armstrong to death, but the Darkness Rising trilogy just doesn’t quite measure up to Darkest Powers trilogy (at least not yet, by the way, read that first series if you haven’t, it’s epic). The Darkest Powers has more action, more character development, and more overall originality. This is the pit many authors fall into. Cassandra Clare doesn’t fall in the precarious hole like so many before her. She laughs at the hole, inconspicuously steals a cement truck, pours cement in the hole, it dries, then she smiles the hole in the metaphorical face.

I liked Cassie’s first series. Okay, that’s an understatement, I loved it. Okay, since I’m obviously laying it on the line here, YES, I WAS OBSESSED WITH THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS AND RECOMMENDED IT TO EVERYONE AND, YES, I WAS OFFENDED IF THEY NEVER READ IT BECAUSE, YES, I’VE BEEN TO THREE SIGNINGS OF CASSIE’S AND HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO TELL HER OR APPPARENTLY ANYONE ELSE WHO’S MY FRIEND AND SAYS “YEAH, SURE, I’LL READ IT” BUT NEVER DOES JUST HOW AWESOME SHE IS BECAUSE I'M TOO ENAMORED BY HER. Ahem, yeah. I’m a little bit of a fan. So what?

The Infernal Devices centers around an American girl named Tessa Gray who, after the death of her grandmother, has no other choice but to move to England to live with her brother, Nathaniel. However, when Tessa makes her way to England, she is kidnapped by two women named the Dark Sisters who lock her away in a room in a brothel, telling her that soon she will have nothing to fear, she’ll be married to a man called the Magister. THANK GOD, however, Tessa is discovered by a group of Shadowhunters and saved, taken back to their home, for she has no other. However, as the Dark Sisters reveal to Tessa, she has more to worry about than not just having a home. There is something locked away in Tessa, a magical power that allows her to transform into others, a power no one has heard of before. Under the watch of the Shadowhunters, Tessa frets as to where her brother has been taken, what this power is inside her. Add in a dash of two attractive boys her age, one with a deadly disease that eats at him, James Carstairs, another with a reckless streak that will probably end up getting him murdered, William Herondale, and Tessa, well, she’s got a whole story surrounding her. Tessa strives to uncover the secrets of this new world around her and also the secrets inside herself all while she and the Shadowhunters try with all they can to figure out who this mysterious Magister is and why he’s attempting to obtain Tessa. Also, spoiler alert, though not really, seeing as the titles The Clockwork Angel and The Clockwork Prince suggest it, this series is a tinge on the side of steampunk. ;)

Never heard of the term?

UGH. And that’s like not even really getting into the characters. Let me be short about this: Cassandra Clare knows how to mold characters. They’re funny or rash or haunted or calculated. She does it all, really.

While I wouldn’t call Clare’s work “literature” per se, I would call it totally freaking worthwhile. Also, it’s kind of clever how she ties in different quotes in Victorian literature into the titles of each chapter. I’m a sucker for Vic Lit. I almost (and still contemplate it later on in life) decided to go to grad school to become a Victorian Lit professor.

Cassie, as far as the era itself goes, nails it. After all, we have to talk about that. What’s the word? Verisimilitude? Believability? Um, yeah, covered. The images of a foggy, dank, Victorian London are spot on. Also, Cassie really gives the reader a sense of place. It’s like not only do we get a series set in Victorian era London, we truly learn about it. The characters teach us if not just the imagery within the books. And it’s not all tell, it’s show.

Let’s see. I’m going to put in a few choice quotes from the book just to draw you guys in. Then I’m going to shut up after once again telling you to read this series.

“The Sisters vanished entirely then, and Aunt Harriet was standing over Tessa, her face flushed with fever as it had been during the terrible illness that had killed her. She looked at Tessa with great sadness. "I tried," she said. "I tried to love you. But it isn't easy to love a child that isn't human in the least...." 

"Not human?" said an unfamiliar female voice. "Well, if she isn't human, Enoch, what is she?" The voice sharpened in impatience. "What do you mean, you don't know? Everyone's something. This girl can't be nothing at all....” 

Jem shook his head. "You bit de Quincey," he said. "You fool. He's a VAMPIRE."

"I had no choice," said Will. "He was choking me."

"I know," Jem said. "But really, Will, AGAIN?”

“Whatever you are physically... male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy— all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside.”

“You know," Gabriel said, "there was once a time I thought we could be friends, Will."

"There was a time I thought I was a ferret," Will said, "but that turned out to be the opium haze.”

“Well, she's not responding to my advances," he observed more brightly than he felt, "so she must be dead."

"Or she's a woman of good taste and sense.”

I know these quotes don’t have much of Tessa in them, but she’s really a great heroine. She’s sheltered enough to be like any other gender-challenged Victorian woman, and yet, throughout the series, she discovers, though she may be a lady, sometimes ladies don’t have to sit in the corner, playing the piano and looking pretty.

Rating?

Fiction or Literature?

80% Fiction, 20% Literature

Good or Bad?

100% Good, 0% Bad

READ THIS SERIES! (I told you I’d say it again.) NOW!!! (Preferably. Don't be like my lying friends.)

Until next time readers,

Alex :D

The Maze Runner

Hello, readers!

Today we’re reviewing James Dashner’s The Maze Runner. Now, I know this book has been out for sometime, but I bought it around the time I got really into The Hunger Games. Therefore, it sat among the other books stacked on my computer desk, collecting dust. Anyway, I’m reviewing it. It’s dust-free and read and bookmarked. So if you’ve read it already, fill free to skip past this review. :P

The Maze Runner centers around a boy named Thomas who wakes up in a large, metal box with no memory of who he is but his name. The top to the box opens up, revealing an unfamiliar crowd of boys who speak words Thomas does not recall remembering and an unfamiliar, new territory that Thomas must now come to terms with: the Glade.

The Glade, Thomas discovers, is at the center of a maze, a maze that is accessible to only a select few during the day. During the day, those select few, called Runners, search the Maze for an exit they’ve been trying to find going on two years. During the night, however, the Runners stay inside the confines of the Glade, not only because the Glade’s doors, more like walls, close before dark— but because, at night, horrible, flesh-tearing monsters called Grievers thrive.

Thomas learns to cope with the new life he’s been hurled into, especially seeing as he can remember close to nada of his last one. He seems to be getting used to his life in the Glade, though the Maze and being a Runner for some reason call to him. Then something big happens, something that, in the Glade, has never happened before: a girl appears in the box. The girl, face familiar to Thomas, triggers something in the Maze that is pertinent to the Gladers living in the center of it: the end. Thomas, with the help of others, before time runs out, must find a way to overcome the labyrinth that is full of moving walls and monsters. As time runs short, secrets of Thomas’ past are slowly revealed, secrets that seem better kept than spread until they become valuable, essential. Until they seem the only way to overcome a maze no one’s been able to solve for two years.

Where to start…

I liked The Maze Runner. I really did. There was a lot of hype about it, and I know that the second book is already out. That hype lived up to my standards. Thomas was a refreshing and reluctant hero, a very convincing teenaged boy. He also could be quite noble if the occasion called for it, at the same time modest. I liked the other boys in the story, too. There are some great personalities in here. A boy named Newt and a boy named Chuck were among some of my favorite characters. Dashner knows how to characterize boys. They’re crude but likable, strong but vulnerable. They come in all shapes and sizes. Each boy is unique, his own snowflake, and so we say, “Good job, Dashner. You did it.” :)

It’s neat that the boys of the Glade are all boys, 18 or 19 and under. It’s like a village of kids trying to create order, and they’re good at it. They make rules. No one can go in the Maze except Runners, for example. You’re given a job that best fits your strengths. People are Banished if they do something wrong. They have a Slammer, too. There’s a dialect Thomas picks up on when he arrives. It’s all klunk and shuckheads and shucking, but, after a while, it seems natural, normal.

It’s funny, actually. For a while, I felt like I was reading a book inspired by something like Ender’s Game. I say this not only because of the interaction of the boys of the Glade, but also because of what happens throughout the book. Seriously. The plot and the way the story moves feel a lot like it. I mean that in a good sense, not in a copycat kind of way. It’s a high compliment coming from me, because I love Ender’s story. However, no matter how similar (Or perhaps the word is comparable?) the stories and their characters seem, The Maze Runner stands on its own.

The action in this story is riveting and suspenseful. It leaves you on the edge of your seat, wondering what’s going to happen next. The Glade is a mysterious and exciting place to be. The events that take place in and around it are of the same caliber. That said, praise thrown down, I don’t know. There was something missing. I think that something entered when the girl, named Teresa, actually unconscious for most of the story, becomes a leading character in the book.

Teresa was funny, and I liked her quick wit. However, I just didn’t accept the way she and Thomas almost instantly got along. I know they were connected in the past somehow. That’s apparent when Thomas, now and then, contemplates how and whether or not he knows her. I don’t know. I just… it happened too quickly? Their camaraderie? Dashner takes a good three-fourths of the book to flesh out all these boy characters. I love them, I do, each and every one of them. They make me laugh, smile, pity, fear for, etc. Teresa… I don’t feel any of that for her… and I’m a girl. I just didn’t care about her, which unpleasantly surprised me, because I cared so much about everyone else. :/

Dashner had me hooked from the moment I started reading. There’s so much danger in his novel, what with the Grievers and the Maze and its timed-to-shut walls, that its hard not to be drawn in. I don’t know. I was just so impressed with how he portrayed all the boys individually. Teresa… it’s like she just popped in and was like, “Hey, guys! I’m a main character now. Deal with it.” It’s even something her spunky character would say. I needed more to that spunk. I needed more hesitation, more motive. I know she had her memory wiped too, but still, I needed more… I just needed more. Once she came into the story, it was like I wasn’t as happy with what was going on. The story is still thrilling and great and entertaining… just not when she’s around? That’s mean, I know, but it’s a little true. Her character, among all the fleshed out boys around her, just didn’t seem real. Characters, whether they’re from Mars or are vampires or mermaids or talking rabbits that go to war should always SEEM real. She didn’t. *Shrug* She was underdeveloped, in my opinion, and that, in turn, seeing as she was a main character, made the story suffer.

Just because one character isn’t as elaborate as the rest doesn’t warrant enough reason for someone to overlook this book. It’s good, hands down. It’s worth a read. I promise. I just also promise that it may seem a little lacking. This is why. Read it, and you’ll see.

That said, the second book to this series is out, The Scorch Trials. I haven’t read that. Maybe if I read it, Teresa wouldn’t bother me as much? Maybe I’d be totally fine with her as I read on? Maybe not? Who knows? I’ll read it later and see. For now, I just think she’s a little too denuded.

Rating?

 

Fiction or Literature?

55% Fiction, 45% Literature

Good or Bad?

85% Good, 15% Bad (Only due to Teresa)

Don’t get me wrong; the end of this book is brilliant. This book is a page-turner. It’s got some deep and significant themes floating along throughout. Adults vs. children. Brain vs. brawn. Common good vs. greater good. It’s there, and it’s done well. It’s just my honest opinion that Dashner could have stopped and maybe added some more details to the mysterious girl from the box. He could have let us see “Teresa on her own” rather than “Teresa around the guys,” especially before she became a main character, because he really doesn’t. Maybe we’ll get that in the next book? If you’ve read it, let me know. :)

Till next time,

Alex

The Chemical Garden Trilogy

Hello, readers!

Today is dedicated to Lauren DeStefano. The book we’ll be covering is actually her first book ever. It’s the starting book in a series called The Chemical Garden Trilogy. The book itself is called Wither. The second book will be coming out next month, so I figured it'd be a good reading pick for this month. :)

This book is about a girl named Rhine who lives in a world where, due to the failure of modern science and medicine, women don’t live past the age of 20, and men the age 25. A vicious disease, virus, really, overcomes everyone without fail, and they die, young. Because there is an adamant demand for populating a world that is slowly falling apart, women are a hot commodity. They are so hot a commodity that it is not uncommon for the pretty ones to be kidnapped and sold off to men called Governors, men who have stables of wives to make for them little sons and daughters for a future world that seems to be forever searching for a way, a cure, to live past the time allotted.

Sixteen-year-old Rhine is stolen from her New York home, taken in the night from her sleeping twin brother. She is married off, whether she chooses it or not, to a twenty-one-year-old named Linden. Three other girls are married to him as well. One is named Rose. She’s been with Linden forever. The other two girls arrive at the same time Rhine does. Rhine and the new arrivers, however, are quick to pick up on the fact that Rose is dying. They will be Linden’s replacements to get over her.

Rhine looks for a way to escape this new life she’s been thrown into. With the help of a servant named Gabriel, she plans to escape the world she’s been trapped in, a world of lies and illusions, to get back to her brother. The mansion she is a prisoner in is looked over by Housemaster Vaughn, Linden’s father. It is the Housemaster she must look out for as she pretends to be someone she is not in order to get what she wants, sneaking around at every chance she can get. It is apparent Vaughn is a man with a dark past and, perhaps, an awaiting darker future. He is willing, in the name of family and as a father, to go to any lengths to make sure his son is happy. He is willing to, in the name of science and as a doctor, go to further lengths, lengths even his son does not seem to know about, lengths Rhine wants to get very, very far away from. In a house of sister wives and no freedom, Rhine must be careful about not only what she does and how she manipulates her husband Linden. She must be wary of who she trusts, and, perhaps most importantly, she must be careful that she doesn't let the illusion of having everything she wants at the push of a button fool her if she ever hopes to return home.

There is a moment when you finish a book and you set it down and breathe. You sit there for a minute— let the story and its ending sink in. Then you flip to the last page and read it five times over. That is the endless moment where you let the words someone else wrote slip into your head and fester. The moment where you stare at the wall and realize someone came up with the novel sitting your lap, the novel lying down on your couch arm, your bed. Someone came up with the story, the characters, the images, the words, the entire fictional world. That moment is a rare moment that some books are not allowed to ever be a part of. That moment is a moment the reader, no questions asked, gets with Wither by Lauren DeStefano.

Oh. My. God. I’m all about having a favorite series author. It started when I was young with J. K. Rowling. Next, I got addicted to Cassandra Clare. Most recently, I got addicted to Suzanne Collins. Now there’s a new addiction in town. Freaking Lauren DeStefano. Oh. My. God. Stunning. Gorgeous. Phenomenally staggering. OhmyGod.

Okay, I’m done with my incoherent speech patterns. I’ll do some actually talking here. UGH! The book was flawless. First, the way it’s written is simply to die for. Here’s a quote, just to give you a sample of the amazing that has me drooling:

“And here we are:

two small dying things,

as the world ends around

us like falling autumn leaves.”

Um, yeah. That’s a single sentence in a heap of quote after quote. Seriously, the way this was written, the way so much thought was put into it, the imagery, damn, it makes me jealous that I’ll never be able to write that way. It’s freaking poetry page after page, and it NEVER gets old. It’s written in first person, which always makes everything seem more poignant and now and urgent. Rhine is a beautiful girl with beautiful memories and a beautiful voice that calls out hauntingly to readers and draws them in, word by word. This book is emotive, unforgettable, and, all the way through, tragic. The writing is just one small little part of what makes these things all the more possible.

Moving on: conflict, motivation, and character likability. It’s done with grace, like this isn’t the first book DeStefano has ever published. It's shocking, really. You hate people, then you like them, then you hate them again. It’s a game of tug-of-war, a constant struggle, a never ending battle, and it’s done well. Every character is simultaneously flawed and brilliant and believable. It makes you suspicious whether or not DeStefano has been writing books for years and just hasn't bothered to have any of them published. Especially because she's young. Like... 20's young. Amazing.

Moving on: overall story. Everything happens for a reason and at the right time, and there are so many secrets, there are so many small stories in a big one waiting to be uncovered. There is so much pain, but it’s all so beautiful, it’s all so inspiring. DeStefano breaks your heart and leaves you empty. Then she fills you up.

Rating?

Fiction or Literature?

0% Fiction, 100% Literature

Good or Bad?

100% Good, Can I give a negative percentage for the “Bad”?

Read this. Read it, read it, read it. I’m going to recommend this book to everyone because it’s that good. God, I’m so glad this is the first book in a series. I’m so in love with this book that, even though I bought a digital copy on my Nook, I’m going to go out and buy a REAL copy of it, new and hardback if I can find it. Same thing with the second when it comes out in February!

Till next time,

Alex

Wondrous or Strange?

Hello, readers!

I’m baaaaack, and today we’re talking about author Lesley Livingston’s Wondrous Strange. It’s the first book in a series named after the starting title. This is the cover…

Mysterious redhead and scrolly text. Cool cover. Let's get past that cover. Wondrous Strange— where to start? Unfortunately, we can start at the part where I don’t lie and admit this book is not so much wondrous as it is strange. :/

I’m a fan of faerie stories. Just look at the books I’ve reviewed in the past. However, I will admit, I’m also very picky when it comes to stories with fey in them because— not surprising seeing as I’m interested in the, if you will, supernatural— I eat, sleep, and breathe knowing all there is to know about fairies, vampires, blah, blah,  dragons, etc. I’ve got so many books on fantastical creatures, mythology, and folklore that I could start a fantasy reference library. When I was in classes in college, and people wanted to know about mermaids or the story of Heracles (because, yes, it's spelled that way in the Greek so that's how I say it), they came to dorky old me. I was the one, ten minutes into del Toro’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, that said, “Faeries! The things in the basement are faeries! See the circle of clovers on that little hill? That’s a sign of… and now you guys are staring at me like I’m the biggest loser in the world. Shutting up initiated.” Hello, guys. Yeah, I’m THAT GIRL. ;P

END OF TANGENT. BACK TO REVIEW.

I’m a picky reader of faerie fiction. That said, my being a picky reader isn’t what made me— dislike is too strong of a word— disappointed by this beginning series novel. Now, the other books may get better. However, let me tell you, readers, where this one went wrong.

First: the story is told, chapter to chapter, by alternating protagonists. One is named Kelley. She’s an aspiring actress living in New York, trying to, even in a no-name theater (not literally, I mean that in the sense that it’s a crappy playhouse no one would ever actually go and pay money to watch a performance at), make a name for herself. In the midst of rehearsing for a production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Kelley finds herself not only tending to a horse that can somehow climb its way up into her not-first-floor apartment and live in her bathtub, while simultaneously being stalked by a mysterious boy. Enter protagonist number two: Sonny. Sonny is part of an elite force that enforces that the gates keeping faeries in their own realms actually keep faeries in their realms. His life becomes intertwined with Kelley's when she shows up at the park he's stationed at, which is where the gate he guards is, and something about her aura sparks, making her very interesting in addition to beautiful specimen. The title he’s given is: Janus. I’m not sure where this idea stems from unless it's from a Roman god who had two faces and was the god of transitions/doorways/time. To be honest, I didn’t even try to look. Why? It was bogus, and I figured all that would come up were articles on the freaking Jonas brothers. No, but really, why? BECAUSE SONNY IS THE MOST BORING PART OF THIS ENTIRE BOOK.

Okay, that was harsh. Let’s be specific. He’s the most boring part of this book with the exception of the first 100 pages. On my Nook, there's a little over 200. That was nicer. Seriously. The only reason I finished this book was because I paid for it. That’s not saying a lot. Granted, as I mentioned before, it DID get somewhat interesting after the 100 pages. That's because, reveal, faeries exist and Kelley has something in common with them (not so much a spoiler as a reason to potentially read on): she is one. Now then, let’s move onto the second reason this book was just not really jiving with my faerie zen.

Second: the romance between the two protagonists, which is, duh, predictable, is in NO WAY believable. Kelley starts to dig Sonny after he stalks her consistently and then gives her a flower. Oh. And the whole faerie thing. He informs her that the horse in her bathtub, which she previously saved from drowning in a lake (Random much?), is a kelpie. I guess if a guy is hot and willing to throw down some info on faerie secrets, he’s instantly not the creepy stalker in the background that you previously went so far as to threaten with pepper spray and he’s to die for. *Chuckle* Did I mention how much I hate Sonny? Ah, and that’s not even because he calls her his Firecracker— gag— or because, man, I'm sorry if you're named Sonny, has a dumb name. It’s because his character is flat, flat, flaaaaat. He’s just… there. He says some cute words to her, tells her about how faeries exist, and she eats it up, allowing him to even call her “heart.” Ugh. Gag me with a spoon.

This book should have been written solely from Kelley’s perspective. It would have been more interesting, more fiery (because, yes, she is a firecracker, though I hate that cheesy nickname), and the story would have been less about an unconvincing couple and more about a girl searching for her identity in a darker-than-she-thought-it-was world. Now let’s get to that third reason, the reason that’s probably been bugging YOU for a while now, and bugged me even as the book ended.

Third: Kelley keeps a horse in her New York apartment. I don’t think I need to elaborate on this one. You know that “strange” I was talking about? Um, yeah, though entertaining, that, quip intended, enters stage right here. New York apartment. Horse. Living inside. Alright, now that I’ve reiterated that, let me put in a few positive notes, because, yeah, there were some.

Positive Notes:

1.) I like Kelley. She’s spunky AND an actress; that, to me, is unique. You don’t get protagonists in faerie fiction who are in theater that often. I liked it.

2.) Puck, though he’s given a stupid name rather than Puck (What’s with all the lame names?), is in this story. Puck, along with Shakespeare’s play, added a level of background and plot to this story that I genuinely enjoyed. Thank you, Livingston, for the folklore.

3.)  Though the horse was bunk, it was also original. I'd never witnessed a character keep a pet kelpie before, seeing as their liable to rip off your flesh and devour it. Though not believably something that could get into an apartment, I liked how Kelley bonded with the kelpie, the kelpie ALSO given a lame name… Lucky. Oh well; it was original while it lasted.

Kelley finally gets her act together in the end of this book and becomes a stronger character. Notice the "er." I'm not implying she's "strong," just "stronger." Why "er"? Well, we would notice more character growth if she wasn’t, before putting up a fight, crying over the fact that her true love or whatever isn’t there to help her. *Shrug* Try this story out if it seems interesting. I think it was just a “Meh,” maybe even a “Did I really just waste all that time?” I could be wrong, though, or the second book could always make the first book worthwhile. If you do read it and beg to differ, differ. I’m not reading any more of these. I’ll hold onto my cash and read something by Holly Black or Julie Kagawa. To each his or her own.

Rating?

Fiction or Literature?

100% Fiction, 0% Literature

Good or Bad?

25% Good, 75% Bad

Strange… It was all very strange.

Till next time,

Alex

A More than Modern Take on a More than Well-Known Tale

Hello, readers!

Today’s post will be dedicated to Marissa Meyer's Cinder. This is the first book in what will be deemed Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles, and it is also Meyer’s first to be published book. Congrats to her on her debut!

Meyer’s Cinder, as it may sound and as the cover slightly hints, go figure, is a retelling of one of the biggest fairy tales out there— Cinderella. However, retelling though it may be, that’s pretty much where the similarities stop.

Cinder, the story’s Cinderella, lives in a very much future-world where there are people living on Earth, Earthens, and people living on the moon, Lunars. The world has been through many wars, nuclear and destructive. It has rebuilt itself, and this shows through where Cinder resides herself: in the large metropolis of New Beijing. Androids, netscreens, and advanced technology run rampant through all the world. But even if technology has advanced, there is still a war that the Earthens are striving to end: disease.

When the crown prince’s father becomes sick with a plague that is killing off billions, the prince, Kai, is faced with the decision of whether or not to ally with the cutthroat Lunars of the moon. At the same time, when Cinder finds one of her stepsister’s and only friends has become sick with the same plague and she may hold the key to curing it, she is faced with the decision of helping cure her world or escaping the confines of her home in which she is more of a prisoner than a resident. All these problems must be faced with the burden of an upcoming royal ball weighing on everyone in the background. 

Cinder, the story's main protagonist, is an outcast. Mechanic with constantly oil-stained cargos, no one expects much but an easy fix of their portscreen from her. However, when it becomes apparent she is more than the best mechanic in New Beijing and may be able to solve the missing link to the cure of the plague due to her immunity to it, she becomes an important figure. Sneaking around her stepmother’s back and even the prince’s, should he get his hopes up, Cinder with the help of a man, Dr. Erland, seeks to find a cure before Cinder's sister and Earthens all over are taken by the illness.

Not only does Cinder keep the secret of her immunity from her suspicious ball-obsessed stepmother and very much healthy and jealous second stepsister, but she also keeps the secret that her and the prince have been corresponding. Their correspondence, of course professional, at least at first, results from the mechanic fixing a royal android. However, it seems Cinder has a lot of secrets. Perhaps the biggest one, however, is not the secret that she is vital to finding a cure. Perhaps it lies in the fact that she’s one of the most detested races known to man, a cyborg, and she’s kind of falling for someone she never should have fathomed falling for in all the world, Prince Kai, and he's kind of falling for her, too.

Whoo! Sound like a lot of plot? Uh. Yeah. It is. And I couldn’t even tell you half of it, because I’d ruin the story with spoilers!

In short: not the Cinderella story you guys are used to. Not the Cinderella story ANYBODY is used to. Yet it works. Promise. The retelling elements are all there, blinking and clear. :)

Cinder was refreshing. I’d never read a sci-fi Cinderella retelling before. The idea of it sounded ludicrous, but look where we are. The story itself is phenomenal. Great characterization. I usually hate Cinderella as a character, but Cinder was vocal and daring and not afraid to speak her mind. I want to say so much more about her in this, but I guess I’ll just write an essay on it or something to appease myself, because I don’t want to give anything away. In essence: Cinder is a badass. I loved her and believed everything she did, never questioning her along the way. Kai is charming, but he’s also logical and not too romantic or annoyingly irrational, a nice change from the Disney prince who just goes for the hot chick in the dress. A lot of the story is told from his side, which is nice on the political/war side of the story. I know what you're thinking. "Politics and war? Sounds a wee bit boring." It's not. It's thrilling and brilliant.

This story is not campy. When I started reading it, I kind of figured it would be, but it wasn’t at all. It’s dark. You will be mad when certain things happen. Bad things WILL happen. There is no “happily ever after,” at least not yet. This is the first book in a series—remember? ;P

That said, I kind of loved it. I thought it was a clever portrayal. None of the language got overtly sci-fi, which can happen in sci-fi; trust me. There was a nice balance. I even like how Meyer breaks the story up into 4 different parts. The action in the book is amazing and imaginable. I was there. I could see everything, even the new technology described, perfectly.

Marissa Meyer, I’d say you’ve gotten our attention. I’ll be awaiting the next publication. ;)

Rating?

   

  

Fiction or Literature?

85% Fiction, 15% Literature

Good or Bad?

95% Good

This book, sci-fi, obviously may not be a book for everyone. I am a fan of sci-fi, and, if you are, I suggest you pick it up and give it a whirl. I think the books to come definitely promise even better. This book was fun!

Till next time,

Alex

A Big Fat "Sorry for Being Lazy During the Holidays!"

Hello, readers!

Yes, I know, I've been bad. This was supposed to be a weekly blog, and well, I haven't posted a review in over a month. *Gasp* Yes, it's true. HOWEVER, no more will it happen. My New Years resolution is for it to not happen. Fear not, also, though I haven't reviewed, I've been reading, reading, reading, and I've a lot to talk about. The next postings, if you're interested, will be on:

Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices Series
Alley Carter's Gallagher Girls Series
Lesley Livingston's Wonderous Strange
Douglas Rees' The Juliet Spell
Jackson Pearce's As You Wish
Allie Condie's Matched
Marissa Meyer's Cinder
Aprilynne Pike's Wings
Moira Young's Blood Red Road
Kiersten White's Paranormalcy
Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers Series
Shannon Hale's Goose Girl

See... I have been reading. :)

Promising a next time,
Alex

A Novel Novel: Princess Academy

Hello, readers!

Up until now, I've only gone into discussions on book series. In the YA world, it isn't hard to get stuck on trilogies and sagas. That's why, today, I'm going to discuss a novel. This novel is Shannon Hale's Princess Academy. Take in mind the text that reads "THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER."

I need to admit, though I just finished this book today, I'm a little late on boarding the Princess Bus. This book has been around for quite some time. It reached the public's shelves in 2006.

There is something about the word "princess" that always strikes me as childish and overtly girly. That's probably why I saw this book multiple times in various stores and scoffed at it, snubbing it for the word girl's gloat around when they're little in the title. For whatever reason I was at a resale bookstore and decided, "One buck, I'll take it," I'm glad. Princess Academy was not a book about naive school girls battling one another to win the favor of their kingdom's prince. I'm ashamed I ever thought that. This book, which I finished in one day, was something else entirely. It should NOT have been marked $1.

The plot of this book revolves around a girl named Miri, who starts the book out at fourteen. In her tiny village, she feels weak and unwanted, for instead of mining the quarries like every other teenager her age or younger, she tends to the chores of her house, oftentimes alone. However, when a messenger of the king visits her small village, everything Miri has ever done becomes inconsequential. Miri's life changes from a life of goat-herding to a life of text books and court manners. She, along with the other eligible girls of her village, are to be bred up to parr so that, in a year, when the prince comes to choose his new wife, he is not left disappointed. Miri must learn not only the art of being a lady but also to read and write if she wants to become princess. Up against twenty other girls, she must shine above, especially when it becomes clear there are more challenges than becoming a proper lady that come along...

This book was AWESOME.

Hale knows how to write like no other. She's got that fairy tale quality to her writing that other authors never can accomplish. The setting she chooses, in the mountains, is breathtaking. You are not seeing the mountains in your head. You are on the mountain crags yourself, sucking in the thin air. The imagery, as a whole, is stunning. There are scenes so vivid that you find yourself longing to be a character to feel the mountain breeze. And while we're mentioning Hale's characters... all of them are fleshed out to a point that's phenomenal. None are flat. All are round. All are changing. All make sense. Hale is remarkable. This story is not about girls competing for a prince, it's about girls competing to find themselves.

The amount of folklore and culture is so rich in this story it makes the reader want to live where Miri lives. We want to put the book aside, sing mountain songs around a fire. Also, there is a conflict between social classes, the lowlanders versus the highlanders, that even the readers is a part of. Both struggle and acceptance are things the reader comes to terms with. Through the characters, the wealth of them, but mostly Miri, we get this. Characters must prevail over prejudice, but they must also stand up for themselves. Miri, as a character, is so strong. She's amazing. She's every girl, and who every girl wants to be.

This is a book that reminds me why I always go back to reread Ella Enchanted and Howl's Moving Castle. In fact, when I go back to rereread those books, I'm going to go back to rereading this book, too. Can we go back to the part where I said Hale's writing was beautiful? GOSH.

Rating?

Fiction or Literature?
0% Fiction, 100% Literature

Good or Bad?
100% Good

Read it. Take it in. Smile. Wait a year. Read it again. Smile. It's that good. It's a book to remember.

Till next time,
Alex