Snow Whyte and the Queen of Mayhem By: Melissa Lemon

Well kids, what did you think?  I say kids, because I feel that this book was geared strongly towards a younger age group than myself.  When I first started reading it, I found the narration almost laughable.  I thought it was a clever idea to have the story narrated by the mirror, since he could be an all seeing being, but I thought his interjections and the author's attempt to make him an endearing part of the story was a little absurd and weak.  I admit that as I got farther into the book and was able to settle into the rhythm of narration, I enjoyed it a lot more.  It gets a lot of points for not being predictable, that's for sure.


I thought the pace of the book went fairly well...until the end.  The conclusion seemed to just flash by and I felt like Queen Radiance went down without much of a fight.  I had the thought as she was trying to conjure a spell to fight, "When you don't know what to do, just add magic." I also thought that it was kind of sweet that her father brought her back from her weird frozen spell - but I do miss the romance of her being saved by a kiss.  The snow spell was a little bizarre anyway, albeit creative - I don't think I would have come up with it.


I felt like Barney's switch was really drastic as well. His change from kind to drunk and mean was understandable with all the drinking he started doing, but it was the blindness that confused me.  I felt like he went blind overnight, which seemed...unrealistic.  And maybe it is a thing and maybe it happens, but it didn't work for me.


I know I've been really negative about the book so far, but it did end up being pretty enjoyable.  I thought the character development, especially for the dwarves, was great.  I felt reasonably attached to all of them and was horrified when Pokole died.


It really was a sweet story and a nice easy read.  I think it is something that can be enjoyed by adults as a fun, relaxing book as well as being an exciting tale for younger audiences. 


What did you think?

July - August 2015 Reading

I have picked the next book!  This will be our last book until next summer.  This month we will be reading "Snow Whyte and the Queen of Mayhem" by Melissa Lemon.


I will post my review August 17, 2015.


Happy reading!

"Divergent" by Veronic Roth

I'm a little late at posting this because my weekend was a little unexpectedly crazy.  So here I am, finally reviewing this book.


"Divergent" was another one of those books that I read after seeing the movie first.  I can't decide if this is something I should make a habit of or not.  I find that when I see the movie first, I definitely pick it apart less.  Even as I read the book when I notice things that are missing from the movie, instead of the outrage of misrepresentation, I'm more like "Oh, huh...THAT wasn't in the movie."  And then it just adds to the story.  But I also find that I try and gage a timeline based on the movie - like I am anticipating the end of the book before I'm even through the first chapter. 


That being said, I really enjoyed this book!  I thought there were some really great character building moments that we missed in the movie.  Peter's character in particular is one that I got to know better through reading the book.  His drive to do whatever it takes to be number one is appalling.  I remember being shocked that he would stab Edward in the eye, even though he (Peter) was number two and in no danger of being cut from initiation.  When Triss was attacked after her new ranking, I could understand Al's motive - as he was likely to be factionless by the end, but I had a harder connecting with Peter's motives.  I understood them, because I understood him, but I was still horrified by it. 


There were actually a few things that I liked better in the movie than I did in the book.  For starters, in the movie when Four takes Triss through his fear landscape and they reach the part where he has to kill an innocent, he tells her that in order to be able to do it - he has to look away.  It seems like a small thing, but it plays out later - not only in the first movie, but the second as well.  His need to look away from his victims is ultimately what brings him out the sim when he is about to kill Triss at the end.  In the movie, she puts the gun in his hand and presses is against her head, then as he starts to close his eyes and look away she grabs his face and forces him to look at her saying "it's okay, look at me, it's okay."  The forced eye contact at this crucial moment is what brings him out of the simulation.  In the book, there is nothing about an inability to look at his victims, which is fine, but to me makes this moment less believable.  Four tells Triss in the book that he just heard her voice and that is what brought him back to the real world - to me, that is just ridiculous and sappy.  I don't buy that he was just so in love with her that her voice in his head was enough to save his consciousness.  I liked the foundation behind the idea that when he is forced to look at her, he really sees her. This also adds more meaning to an incident in the second movie, that I won't mention in case you haven't seen/read Insurgent, but it makes me prefer this to the way it happened in the book.  The second thing I liked better about the movie is that Four wasn't the one to shut down the program controlling the Dauntless.  In the movie, they inject Janeen with the simulation serum and force her to shut it down.  To me that was a much more potent choice.  Her reaction when she is released from the sim herself really helps to build her character.  I didn't dislike the book because of these aspects, but I just preferred them in the movie, which is not something I am used to experiencing.


One of the things I found interesting about this book was the factions.  My mom and I were discussing one day which faction our family would be in.  We soon realized that our family simply wouldn't exist because she and my dad would never have ended up in the same faction.  The best we could figure is that my dad, sister, and younger brother would be in Erudite and my mom, my older, and me would be Dauntless.  Although, the truth is that the more I think about it, the more I am afraid that I would actually end up being factionless.  As much as I can be adventurous and competitive like the dauntless, I don't know that I would be able to survive in such a brutal environment.  But the truth of the matter is that no one really belongs in any of the factions.  You can't expect people to be just one thing.  And you certainly can't expect everyone to fit in one of only five categories! Where is the artistic faction?? Haha.  I would be curious to know how Veronica Roth came up with the idea behind the factions.


Overall, I really liked "Divergent" and I look forward to reading "Insurgent." 


What did you think?

June-July 2015

Hello everyone! Welcome back! arr you teady for summer book club? We're starting a little late this year due to my trip to India, but now I'm back and ready to read! The first book I have chosen is "Divergent" by Veronica Roth. We will have our discussion July 18th :)

Happy reading!

"Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card

First of all, I appologize for the lateness of this post. When I got around to writing it, my internet was down so I couldn't post it. Anyway, now onto the review of "Ender's Game."

I chose this book because I saw the movie and really enjoyed it. I thought it had a very thought provoking plot, and I had always heard good things about the book. 

I'm glad that I saw the movie before I read the book. I feel like having seen the movie first, I am still able to enjoy it. It is, of course, very different from the book and missing several plot elements - so I feel that if I had read the book first, I would not have been as pleased with the film. This way, however, I am still able to enjoy both. Because I did very much enjoy the book also. 

There were some things about this book that made it a little difficult for me. I couldn't think too much about the age of the children. It made me mad when I would stop and think about how the government had stolen their childhood from them, and the emotional, mental, and physical pressures they were putting on such young kids. But at the same time, that is the point. That is a key part to carrying out the overall objective of the book. The issues addressed would not have been so impactful had these things happened to an adult. 

One of the little things I really liked in the book was the description of anger. I thought it painted an excellent picture when he described Peter's anger as cold, as opposed to Bonzo, whose anger was hot. I am a sucker for good verbal descriptions and I thought this was one perfect. It made perfect sense to me, though I had never thought of attaching temperature measurements to anger before. It really helped to illustrate Peter, and help the reader understand him a little more - even though he was not present in that situation. 

Another thing that stuck with me that I have kind of been thinking about now that I'm finished with the book, is the role that all three Wiggin children played in the safety and well-being of the earth. All three were born to "save the world," but the government only focused on Ender's ability to be a military leader. In the end, however, it was all three of them who created the new and better world. While Ender was fighting the war in space, Peter and Valentine were fighting the war on earth. It was Peter and Valentine's writings and influence that changed the world. In the end, all Ender had done was destroy a race that no longer posed a threat to mankind. Peter and Valentine faced the real threat, which was the one mankind posed against itself. I like, however, that in the end, Ender was able to make a meaningful difference. I liked the aspect of all three Wiggin children "fulfilling their destiny" - Peter in an impressive leadership position helping to maintain peace on earth, Valentine heading up the immigration to other planets and writing her philosophy, and Ender, as Speaker for the Dead. 

I really enjoyed this book, but what did you think? 

June-July Reading Dates

Hey everyone! Thanks for all your great input about "The Phantom Tollbooth."  I enjoyed seeing what you all thought about the book.

Our next read will be "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card.

The discussion for this book will start July 27th.  Happy reading! :)

"The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster

I love "Alice in Wonderland."  It is one of my favorite books.  I found "The Phantom Tollbooth" to be in a similar category as "Alice in Wonderland."  One of the things I particularly liked about "The Phantom Tollbooth" in contrast to "Alice in Wonderland" was the sense of purpose in Milo's journey.  Alice's only quest was to find The White Rabbit, which leads to a sort of senseless adventure, whereas Milo sets out to save the Princesses Rhyme and Reason - learning all sorts of things along the way.  By the end of his journey, Milo has a new appreciation for things he used to not care about...numbers, words, sounds, etc.  Milo's journey helps him (and us) to find the beauty in everything, particularly the small things.  It showed him (and us) just how much time we waste everyday doing nothing.  I loved at the end of the book when he realized he had been gone for only an hour and it says how he had never realized how much he could do in such a short time.  And on top of that, when it said he would like to go back, but he was too busy with all the things to do and see and hear right in his own world.

The quirky characters in this book were so fun and likable.  I felt instantly connected with Tock and grew very fond of the HumBug. I was very impressed with the creativity of Juster in coming up with all the characters; people who grow down instead of up, the terrible Dynne, the orchestra that plays the colors...the eccentric mix of people really made this book enjoyable.

Juster's use of words was also very impressive - and very entertaining.  One example that comes immediately to mind is the Which/Witch.  The play on words in this book was very clever.

I think this book is an excellent read for people of all ages.  It has that fun, whimsical feel of "Alice in Wonderland" for children but is also equipped with plenty humor for the educated adult.  I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

What did you think?