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Kyera (8 KP) rated Carry on: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow in Books
Feb 1, 2018
What started as an idea for Caths fan fiction in Fangirl turned into a fully realized book called Carry On. In Fangirl, Cath writes about a magical world with a big bad, a Chosen One and a school for mages. There were only small passages from the fictional work, but the author knew there was more of a story to tell. Carry On is the tale of a boy with magical abilities that far surpass any other student or mage currently alive except he has very little control over them. It has been foretold that he will be the one to save the world of the mages, but hes not sure that he is capable of it.
The story is heavily inspired by the idea or trope of a Chosen One, as well as the world of Harry Potter. We enter the world as the main characters return to Watford for their eighth and final year. There are not actually any books that tell readers about the first seven years at the school, so that is where my critique stems from. Those years are when you would likely experience the world building and character development, so they felt lacking in this novel. The world building especially fell a little flat for me and I wish we could have learned more about the world of the mages.
Simon, the Chosen One, learns more about his magic in this book but doesnt experience any real growth as a character. He is likable, if a bit of a daft mess but didnt feel as real to me as he could have. Penny, his best friend, filled the role of the typical brainiac of the group and wasnt given significantly more depth than that. Agatha, his girlfriend, filled the role of the pretty girl and was quite happy with that position although it made her very one-dimensional. Baz, his arch-nemesis, was the one that felt the most developed and grew over the course of the novel.
The ending is a little anti-climactic, but overall I enjoyed reading this book. After reading Fangirl, I was very curious about the fictional world that Cath was so obsessed with. This book was a fun addition to the lore and depth of Fangirl but isnt strong enough (in my opinion) to truly stand on its own. I would definitely recommend reading this book directly after reading Fangirl.
The story is heavily inspired by the idea or trope of a Chosen One, as well as the world of Harry Potter. We enter the world as the main characters return to Watford for their eighth and final year. There are not actually any books that tell readers about the first seven years at the school, so that is where my critique stems from. Those years are when you would likely experience the world building and character development, so they felt lacking in this novel. The world building especially fell a little flat for me and I wish we could have learned more about the world of the mages.
Simon, the Chosen One, learns more about his magic in this book but doesnt experience any real growth as a character. He is likable, if a bit of a daft mess but didnt feel as real to me as he could have. Penny, his best friend, filled the role of the typical brainiac of the group and wasnt given significantly more depth than that. Agatha, his girlfriend, filled the role of the pretty girl and was quite happy with that position although it made her very one-dimensional. Baz, his arch-nemesis, was the one that felt the most developed and grew over the course of the novel.
The ending is a little anti-climactic, but overall I enjoyed reading this book. After reading Fangirl, I was very curious about the fictional world that Cath was so obsessed with. This book was a fun addition to the lore and depth of Fangirl but isnt strong enough (in my opinion) to truly stand on its own. I would definitely recommend reading this book directly after reading Fangirl.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Broken Girls in Books
Mar 20, 2018
Captivating, ghostly thriller
Idlewild Hall has been abandoned since 1979. Until then, it was a boarding school of last resort, where parents sent the daughters they'd sooner rather forget. Now someone is looking to restore it, bringing back all of journalist Fiona Sheridan's memories of her teenage sister, Deb. Deb was murdered and her body left in the fields of Idlewild. A rich teen--her sister's boyfriend--named Tim Christopher was charged with Deb's murder. But it never seemed quite right to Fiona. So, she decides to write a story about the restoration, but encounters more than she bargained for as she begins to uncover years of long-buried secrets.
This is a wonderful, captivating book that drew me in immediately. I've never read anything by Simone St. James, so this was a welcome surprise. The novel alternates between two time periods: 1950 and 2014. In 1950, we hear from four girls attending Idlewild Hall--Katie, CeCe, Sonia, and Roberta. One of the girls soon goes missing and her disappearance ties to 2014, where Fiona is both searching for more information about her sister's death and, eventually, more knowledge about the missing Idlewild student. It's incredibly well-done and extremely suspenseful, drawing you quickly into the narrative and the two separate but related worlds.
The book plays on the boarding school mystique and offers up more supernatural elements than I was expecting, but they somehow work here. The novel is creepy and not one I always wanted to be reading alone in the dark! Like some of my favorites, Jennifer McMahon and Carol Goodman, St. James has a flair for the eerie and the ghostly, and it works well in this context. The boarding school stands stark and haunting in the book-terrifying at times-and you feel the fear ooze across the pages from the various characters.
Indeed, St. James does a great job capturing her characters, whom practically come to life before your very eyes. The group from boarding school are excellent--each different in their own way--and Fiona is an excellent, complicated character as well. While the two eras stood alone, I enjoyed how the stories intermingled and slowly tangled together, making the book quite fascinating and a real page-turner. This one wasn't what I expected; at times, it could be quite heartbreaking and touching.
Overall, this is an incredibly well-done thriller. It's quite captivating with lovely characters. A great discovery. I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review. More at http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com.
This is a wonderful, captivating book that drew me in immediately. I've never read anything by Simone St. James, so this was a welcome surprise. The novel alternates between two time periods: 1950 and 2014. In 1950, we hear from four girls attending Idlewild Hall--Katie, CeCe, Sonia, and Roberta. One of the girls soon goes missing and her disappearance ties to 2014, where Fiona is both searching for more information about her sister's death and, eventually, more knowledge about the missing Idlewild student. It's incredibly well-done and extremely suspenseful, drawing you quickly into the narrative and the two separate but related worlds.
The book plays on the boarding school mystique and offers up more supernatural elements than I was expecting, but they somehow work here. The novel is creepy and not one I always wanted to be reading alone in the dark! Like some of my favorites, Jennifer McMahon and Carol Goodman, St. James has a flair for the eerie and the ghostly, and it works well in this context. The boarding school stands stark and haunting in the book-terrifying at times-and you feel the fear ooze across the pages from the various characters.
Indeed, St. James does a great job capturing her characters, whom practically come to life before your very eyes. The group from boarding school are excellent--each different in their own way--and Fiona is an excellent, complicated character as well. While the two eras stood alone, I enjoyed how the stories intermingled and slowly tangled together, making the book quite fascinating and a real page-turner. This one wasn't what I expected; at times, it could be quite heartbreaking and touching.
Overall, this is an incredibly well-done thriller. It's quite captivating with lovely characters. A great discovery. I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review. More at http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com.
Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated The Sound of Freedom in Books
Jun 18, 2018
The Sound of Freedom by Kathy Kacer is a middle-grade novel about a Jewish family in Krakow, Poland in 1936. Life has become increasingly dangerous, as the violence and persecution of Jews increase. Anna is afraid if they don’t escape soon, something really bad will happen. Her father is a talented clarinetist in the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra. They hear that Bronislaw Huberman is auditioning Jewish musicians from all over Europe for a new orchestra in Palestine. If her father auditions and is accepted, she and her grandmother can leave Poland with her father for a new life in Palestine.
Stories of Jews in the Holocaust have fascinated me since I was a kid. The first book about the Holocaust I read was Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, then later A Diary of Anne Frank, and many more. My interest in the Holocaust is why I requested a copy of this book from NetGalley.
The Sound of Freedom is an introduction to the beginning of the Holocaust for middle-grade students. The story is told through the eyes of Anna, focusing on the growing anti-Semitism she sees going on around her and that eventually happens to her. It is set in 1936, before Germany’s invasion of Poland and as Hitler is rising in power, so the real horrors of the Holocaust have not yet started.
While the story of Anna’s family is fiction, Bronislaw Huberman really was a world-renown violinist and did create the Palestine Philharmonic Orchestra to save over a thousand Jews by recruiting them for the newly formed orchestra. Anna’s story is representative of the lives saved by Bronislaw Huberman.
While the story is for middle-grade student, it tells the harsh reality of the what was happening. Readers will be faced with the problems and issues of the era. Some of the families leave the orchestra to go back to their homeland, and Anna is concerned for their safety and the reader is left to wonder what happened to them. The story also mentions the tensions between the Arabs and the Jewish peoples in Palestine. Anna's family may have escaped Poland, but they are faced with issues in Palestine.
I give the story 4.5 stars. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in the time-period. The Sound of Freedom would make an excellent addition to a Holocaust study.
I received an Advanced Readers Copy from Annick Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Stories of Jews in the Holocaust have fascinated me since I was a kid. The first book about the Holocaust I read was Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, then later A Diary of Anne Frank, and many more. My interest in the Holocaust is why I requested a copy of this book from NetGalley.
The Sound of Freedom is an introduction to the beginning of the Holocaust for middle-grade students. The story is told through the eyes of Anna, focusing on the growing anti-Semitism she sees going on around her and that eventually happens to her. It is set in 1936, before Germany’s invasion of Poland and as Hitler is rising in power, so the real horrors of the Holocaust have not yet started.
While the story of Anna’s family is fiction, Bronislaw Huberman really was a world-renown violinist and did create the Palestine Philharmonic Orchestra to save over a thousand Jews by recruiting them for the newly formed orchestra. Anna’s story is representative of the lives saved by Bronislaw Huberman.
While the story is for middle-grade student, it tells the harsh reality of the what was happening. Readers will be faced with the problems and issues of the era. Some of the families leave the orchestra to go back to their homeland, and Anna is concerned for their safety and the reader is left to wonder what happened to them. The story also mentions the tensions between the Arabs and the Jewish peoples in Palestine. Anna's family may have escaped Poland, but they are faced with issues in Palestine.
I give the story 4.5 stars. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in the time-period. The Sound of Freedom would make an excellent addition to a Holocaust study.
I received an Advanced Readers Copy from Annick Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Red Clocks in Books
Jul 31, 2018
Red Clocks first caught my attention because it's set in a small fishing town in Oregon, my home state. After that, learning that it's a dystopia where abortion and in vitro fertilization have both been banned outright meant I HAD to read it. Of course, I got it from the library some weeks ago and had so many other books to read that I didn't get to it until the day it was due back to the library! Luckily, I read fast!
I think the cover description oversells the book a little. I wouldn't call Gin's trial "frenzied" nor the drama exactly "riveting" but it did keep my attention throughout the book. I really enjoyed the relationships between the characters, and the point that none of them really know what is going on in each other's personal lives. One moment I particularly liked is slightly spoilery, but I loved how Ro was able to put her personal feelings aside to help Mattie, her student. That was really, really hard for her, but she recognized how much damage it would do to Mattie to not help her.
I think I found Gin the most interesting - given all the reading I've been doing lately about autism, her entire personality screams autism to me, but she was never labeled as autistic. So I'm marking her as a possibly autistic character. (I'd love if any of my autistic readers could weigh in on that, if you've read the book!) Between preferring to live in the woods with animals and NOT around people, specifically, and the way she reacts to the textures and smells in the jail when she's arrested (shoving the bleach-scented blankets as far away in the cell as possible, and refusing to eat the food), and how she stumbles over her answers in the courtroom when she's interrogated - it seems likely.
My only actual complaint about this book had nothing to do with the writing or plot! But it refers to the ghost pepper as "the hottest pepper known to man" which the Carolina Reaper growing in my backyard would have an issue with!
Other than that very minor quibble, I thought this dystopia was pretty good. I'm always interested in Reproductive Rights-related dystopias. This isn't as good as The Handmaid's Tale, but it's MILES better than Future Home of the Living God. It's good at showing the lengths women will go to, to ensure their own reproductive freedom. Outlawing abortion doesn't eliminate abortion. It just makes it less safe.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
I think the cover description oversells the book a little. I wouldn't call Gin's trial "frenzied" nor the drama exactly "riveting" but it did keep my attention throughout the book. I really enjoyed the relationships between the characters, and the point that none of them really know what is going on in each other's personal lives. One moment I particularly liked is slightly spoilery, but I loved how Ro was able to put her personal feelings aside to help Mattie, her student. That was really, really hard for her, but she recognized how much damage it would do to Mattie to not help her.
I think I found Gin the most interesting - given all the reading I've been doing lately about autism, her entire personality screams autism to me, but she was never labeled as autistic. So I'm marking her as a possibly autistic character. (I'd love if any of my autistic readers could weigh in on that, if you've read the book!) Between preferring to live in the woods with animals and NOT around people, specifically, and the way she reacts to the textures and smells in the jail when she's arrested (shoving the bleach-scented blankets as far away in the cell as possible, and refusing to eat the food), and how she stumbles over her answers in the courtroom when she's interrogated - it seems likely.
My only actual complaint about this book had nothing to do with the writing or plot! But it refers to the ghost pepper as "the hottest pepper known to man" which the Carolina Reaper growing in my backyard would have an issue with!
Other than that very minor quibble, I thought this dystopia was pretty good. I'm always interested in Reproductive Rights-related dystopias. This isn't as good as The Handmaid's Tale, but it's MILES better than Future Home of the Living God. It's good at showing the lengths women will go to, to ensure their own reproductive freedom. Outlawing abortion doesn't eliminate abortion. It just makes it less safe.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Jason X (2001) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
Just when you thought it was safe to return to the local theater, along comes “Jason X”, the tenth installment of the popular Friday the 13th series. Having grown tired of the summer camp settings of the majority of the series the creators set recent installments in New York City as well as played with the formula by having Jason possess people as was shown in the last two films of the series.
This is a new era and this time Jason is back to his old tricks in an entirely new setting. After being cryogenically frozen in 2010, Jason and a female scientist are discovered by a student survey team and revived in the year 2455 where Earth has become uninhabitable. Warnings about Jason and his ability to regenerate from any injury are unheeded as the lure of big money is motivating the group’s leader Professor Lowe (Johnathan Potts) rather than the safety of the students and crew of the ship. Before long, Jason is up to his old tricks increasing his body count as he unleashes new and gruesome ways to dispatch the crew.
Being a horror film, the plot is secondary to the action and director James Isaac does not let the film get overly serious and even pokes fun at itself and the series. There are a number of lines and situations where the audience could ask if the characters could be any dumber, however in an interesting twist, these sort of situations as well as others are setup and carried off with intentional comedic results that had the audience laughing and thus providing a nice break from the scares and gore.
The cast is made up of largely unknowns and they are about as forgettable as the movie as they exist to be little more than fodder for Jason. I found it interesting to note that by the year 2455, students are still as ditzy as they are portrayed in 2002, and have libidos that make the 1984 LA Lakers look like a Vestal Virgin convention. That being said, “Jason X” is a standard horror film that has a few twists for the audience. Although you will have seen all of this before, the space setting and the humor helps make the film stand out from some of the stale installments of the series, but the lack of a story and character development keeps this film from being a true Horror classis. My advice, if you are a fan of the series gather your friends and wait for the video.
This is a new era and this time Jason is back to his old tricks in an entirely new setting. After being cryogenically frozen in 2010, Jason and a female scientist are discovered by a student survey team and revived in the year 2455 where Earth has become uninhabitable. Warnings about Jason and his ability to regenerate from any injury are unheeded as the lure of big money is motivating the group’s leader Professor Lowe (Johnathan Potts) rather than the safety of the students and crew of the ship. Before long, Jason is up to his old tricks increasing his body count as he unleashes new and gruesome ways to dispatch the crew.
Being a horror film, the plot is secondary to the action and director James Isaac does not let the film get overly serious and even pokes fun at itself and the series. There are a number of lines and situations where the audience could ask if the characters could be any dumber, however in an interesting twist, these sort of situations as well as others are setup and carried off with intentional comedic results that had the audience laughing and thus providing a nice break from the scares and gore.
The cast is made up of largely unknowns and they are about as forgettable as the movie as they exist to be little more than fodder for Jason. I found it interesting to note that by the year 2455, students are still as ditzy as they are portrayed in 2002, and have libidos that make the 1984 LA Lakers look like a Vestal Virgin convention. That being said, “Jason X” is a standard horror film that has a few twists for the audience. Although you will have seen all of this before, the space setting and the humor helps make the film stand out from some of the stale installments of the series, but the lack of a story and character development keeps this film from being a true Horror classis. My advice, if you are a fan of the series gather your friends and wait for the video.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated With the Fire on High in Books
Jul 25, 2019
With this book, Elizabeth Acevedo has solidified her position as one of my must-read authors. The Poet X was EXCELLENT, and this one is every bit as good, which is awesome, considering the wildly different formats of the two books. The Poet X was a novel in poem form, being the collected poems of a teenage girl. This book is a more traditional novel, written in prose. It loses none of the lyrical, enchanting quality of Acevedo's writing, however.
With The Fire On High centers on Emoni Santiago, a teenage mother struggling to graduate from high school on time. When a culinary arts elective is offered during her senior year of school, she takes it despite feeling like she should be spending her energy on her daughter's future instead of realizing her own dreams. The elective opens up an entire world for her, however, taking her from whipping up magic alone in her own kitchen to being recognized by talented chefs as having something special. The added hours spent on cooking begin to affect her other responsibilities, however, and Emoni struggles to balance everything in her life, a fight that is very nearly upended by the new, very cute boy who just transferred to her school.
Emoni deals admirably with the vast responsibilities of being a parent, the complications of her own somewhat unusual home life (she's been raised by her grandmother after her mother's death and her father's absence), and the pressures of high school. Especially a school where she spent freshman year pregnant. Rather luckily, her daughter's father goes to a different school, so at least she doesn't have to deal with him every day.
Similar to The Poet X, the book deals with the intersection of black American culture and Puerto Rican culture, a combination I've been seeing more and more in Young Adult. (Well, The Poet X was Dominican, but they have very similar worries, mostly revolving around feeling "not black enough.")
I loved Emoni, I loved Malachi (the cute transfer student), I loved Abuela and Baby Girl/Emma. I even didn't mind Tyrone too much. For being a player, he was trying to do right by his daughter. Acevedo has such a talent for characters. Angelica (Emoni's best friend) and her girlfriend were a delight, too.
If you see a book by Elizabeth Acevedo, pick it up. You won't be disappointed. I can't wait to pick up her next book, which appears to be another novel in verse called Clap When You Land, due out next year!
You can find all my reviews and more at http://goddessinthestacks.com
With The Fire On High centers on Emoni Santiago, a teenage mother struggling to graduate from high school on time. When a culinary arts elective is offered during her senior year of school, she takes it despite feeling like she should be spending her energy on her daughter's future instead of realizing her own dreams. The elective opens up an entire world for her, however, taking her from whipping up magic alone in her own kitchen to being recognized by talented chefs as having something special. The added hours spent on cooking begin to affect her other responsibilities, however, and Emoni struggles to balance everything in her life, a fight that is very nearly upended by the new, very cute boy who just transferred to her school.
Emoni deals admirably with the vast responsibilities of being a parent, the complications of her own somewhat unusual home life (she's been raised by her grandmother after her mother's death and her father's absence), and the pressures of high school. Especially a school where she spent freshman year pregnant. Rather luckily, her daughter's father goes to a different school, so at least she doesn't have to deal with him every day.
Similar to The Poet X, the book deals with the intersection of black American culture and Puerto Rican culture, a combination I've been seeing more and more in Young Adult. (Well, The Poet X was Dominican, but they have very similar worries, mostly revolving around feeling "not black enough.")
I loved Emoni, I loved Malachi (the cute transfer student), I loved Abuela and Baby Girl/Emma. I even didn't mind Tyrone too much. For being a player, he was trying to do right by his daughter. Acevedo has such a talent for characters. Angelica (Emoni's best friend) and her girlfriend were a delight, too.
If you see a book by Elizabeth Acevedo, pick it up. You won't be disappointed. I can't wait to pick up her next book, which appears to be another novel in verse called Clap When You Land, due out next year!
You can find all my reviews and more at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Water for Elephants (2011) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
The future is bright with promise for Jacob, a Cornell veterinary sciences student, ready to graduate and follow in his father’s footsteps. But after a series of unfortunate events, Jacob finds himself a college dropout, homeless and penniless. He sets out to find work and stows away on a passing train which turns out to be the Benzini Brothers Circus train.
Jacob appeals to the vanity of the heartless circus owner and ringmaster, August, convincing him to keep him on as the circus veterinary doctor. One of his first patients is the horse of the circus’ star attraction, Marlena, who also happens to be August’s wife. When Marlena’s horse is replaced by an elephant, Jacob is made responsible for the elephant’s care and training. This gives Marlena and Jacob a common ally in Rosie, the elephant, and a common enemy in an increasingly violent August. Cue the furtive glances, the stilted conversations and awkward moments that signal the start of the mutual attraction between Marlena and Jacob.
While Jacob, Marlena and August form the romantic triangle that drives the story, it’s Rosie and the circus backdrop that provide the more entertaining aspects of the movie. Director Francis Lawrence (Constantine and I Am Legend) pays decent attention to period detail, highlighting the desperation and brutality of The Great Depression while romanticizing the ephemeral circus life and the subversive lifestyles enjoyed in defiance of The Prohibition. Sadly they were just quick peeks into a curious world.
Based on a best-selling novel of the same name by Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants is a sweet tale told in retrospect by a 90-something-year old Jacob, played by a wistful Hal Holbrook. Robert Pattinson plays young Jacob capably, and I have no doubt his fans will swoon at the many close ups of his brooding stare, pained grimaces and the occasional delighted smile. While this character gives him a few more lines than his more well-known role as Edward, the tortured vampire of the Twilight saga, it was difficult to watch him and not see the similarities in how he portrays Jacob and Edward. Reese Witherspoon’s Marlena was in turns adequately fragile and sufficiently steely. With negligible chemistry, Pattinson and Witherspoon’s performances paled in comparison to that of Christoph Waltz whose sadistic August was played with cunning zeal.
A carefully told story, Water for Elephants is however too carefully told, in a predictable, pedantic pace. However, fans of Pattinson will not be disappointed.
Jacob appeals to the vanity of the heartless circus owner and ringmaster, August, convincing him to keep him on as the circus veterinary doctor. One of his first patients is the horse of the circus’ star attraction, Marlena, who also happens to be August’s wife. When Marlena’s horse is replaced by an elephant, Jacob is made responsible for the elephant’s care and training. This gives Marlena and Jacob a common ally in Rosie, the elephant, and a common enemy in an increasingly violent August. Cue the furtive glances, the stilted conversations and awkward moments that signal the start of the mutual attraction between Marlena and Jacob.
While Jacob, Marlena and August form the romantic triangle that drives the story, it’s Rosie and the circus backdrop that provide the more entertaining aspects of the movie. Director Francis Lawrence (Constantine and I Am Legend) pays decent attention to period detail, highlighting the desperation and brutality of The Great Depression while romanticizing the ephemeral circus life and the subversive lifestyles enjoyed in defiance of The Prohibition. Sadly they were just quick peeks into a curious world.
Based on a best-selling novel of the same name by Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants is a sweet tale told in retrospect by a 90-something-year old Jacob, played by a wistful Hal Holbrook. Robert Pattinson plays young Jacob capably, and I have no doubt his fans will swoon at the many close ups of his brooding stare, pained grimaces and the occasional delighted smile. While this character gives him a few more lines than his more well-known role as Edward, the tortured vampire of the Twilight saga, it was difficult to watch him and not see the similarities in how he portrays Jacob and Edward. Reese Witherspoon’s Marlena was in turns adequately fragile and sufficiently steely. With negligible chemistry, Pattinson and Witherspoon’s performances paled in comparison to that of Christoph Waltz whose sadistic August was played with cunning zeal.
A carefully told story, Water for Elephants is however too carefully told, in a predictable, pedantic pace. However, fans of Pattinson will not be disappointed.
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