Monday, March 31, 2014

Book Blog #102: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Author: J.K. Rowling
# of Pages: 309 (paperback)
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Adventure
Rating: ★★★★★
Synopsis: Harry Potter has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick. He's never worn a cloak of invisibility, befriended a giant, or helped hatch a dragon. All Harry knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry's room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in eleven years.

But all that is about change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to a wonderful place he never dreamed existed. There he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic around every corner, but a great destiny that's been waiting for him...if Harry can survive the encounter.
Review: I finally found the time to reread the Harry Potter series, and it makes me wonder why I didn't do so sooner.

It's been eight years or so since I first read this book, so I couldn't remember a lot of what happened. I was worried because sometimes rereading the book degrades my opinion of it. But Sorcerer's Stone is still as wonderful as I remembered it. I was laughing and crying and...there are just too many feels going on inside of me right now.

Unless you haven't read the many other positive reviews, read the Harry Potter series!

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Book Blog #101: Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Title: Dead End in Norvelt
Author: Jack Gantos
# of Pages: 341 (hardback)
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Humor
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: Melding the entirely true and the wildly fictional, Dead End in Norvelt is a novel about an incredible two months for a kid named Jack Gantos, whose plans for vacation excitement are shot down when he is "grounded for life" by his feuding parents, and whose nose spews bad blood at every little shock he gets.

But plenty of excitement (and shocks) are coming Jack's way once his mom loans him out to help a feisty old neighbor with a most unusual chore—typewriting obituaries filled with stories about the people who founded his Utopian town. As one obituary leads to another, Jack is launched on a strange adventure involving molten wax, Eleanor Roosevelt, twisted promises, a homemade airplane, Girl Scout cookies, a man on a trike, a dancing plague, voices from the past, Hells Angels . . . and possibly murder.

Review:  This is one of the weirdest books I've read in a long time.

I heard that there was humor in it, but I think I was cringing more than I was laughing. The people who live in Norvelt are crazy. And then, to my horror, I find out that the author is Jack Gantos! If this is, in any way, based off of his childhood, I'm horrified.

Read if you dare!

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Book Blog #100: Fairest of All by Serena Valentino

Title: Fairest of All
Author: Serena Valentino
# of Pages: 250 (hardback)
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Rating:★★★☆☆
Synopsis: The tale of the young princess and her evil stepmother, the Wicked Queen, is widely known. Despite a few variations from telling to telling, the story remains the same--the Queen was jealous of the girl's beauty, and this jealousy culminated in the Queen's attempt on the sweet, naive girl's life.

Another tale far less often spoken of is the one that explains what caused the Queen to become so contemptuously vile. Still, some have attempted to guess at the reason. Perhaps the Queen's true nature was that of a wicked hag and her beautiful, regal appearance a disguise used to fool the King. Others claim that the Queen might have hated the girl for her resemblance to the King's first wife. Mostly, the Queen is painted as a morally abhorrent woman who never loved another being during the course of her miserable life.

In fact, the theories about exactly what cause the Queen's obsessive vanity and jealous rage are too numerous to catalog. This book recounts a version of the story that has remained untold until now. It is a tragic tale of love and loss, and it contains a bit of magic. It is a tale of the Wicked Queen...

Review: The cover = fantastic!

The content...not so much.

When I picked up this book, I immediately thought of Wicked, and throughout my reading of this book, I would compare and contrast the two stories. In this review, I will be sharing these comparisons with you.

In Fairest of All, I was looking for a Wicked-type story. Most people view the Wicked Witch of the West as pure evil. But after Wicked became popular, many began to sympathize with her. She even has a name: Elphaba!

This is where Valentino fell short. Our protagonist, the evil Queen most commonly know from Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, is simply called "the Queen". This creates a barrier between the story and the reader, making the character seem distant. There seems to be so much more to the Queen, obviously so because I don't even know her name!

In Wicked, Elphaba becomes "evil" after a series of unfortunate events occur, forcing her to near insanity from trying to deal with people who reject her. She made the effort to fit in and try to be good and even when she captured Dorothy,  she was only temporarily blinded by the grief from the loss of her sister.

The Queen, however, can't seem to get over the loss of her husband. It doesn't even seem like she was trying to move on; she just cared about how pretty she was. This story of the Queen seems too close to Snow White"s Queen; I still view her as an evil person.

If you're a fan of Snow White, go ahead and read it! Otherwise, you can probably find something better to read.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

OTS #10: Divergent the Movie

As many people know, Divergent was released on the 21st of March, 2014. Many anxious Divergent fans have long-awaited this moment while also acknowledging the fact that pansycakes everywhere will claim to be Divergent fans when they didn't even read the book. READ THE BOOK; IT'S AWESOME!

Of course, the movie was good, but not as good as the book. One of the scenes that I anticipated the most happened to not make it in the movie (if anyone was wondering, the scene I'm talking about is the Peter, Edward, and butterknife bit).

Other aspects of the book were changed in the movie, such as Tobias/Four's age. In the book, Four is said to be 18, only two years older than Woodley's character, Tris Prior. Their age difference isn't that big and is accepted by most readers. HOWEVER, in the movie, Four is suppose to be 24 because the actor playing his character, Theo James, is 29 and looks it. This puts 8 whole years in between Tris and Four, which is unappealing to some, especially since Tris is still a minor while Four is not.

Obviously, the number of fears Tris has is not going to be very important in the plot of the movie. In the book, she has seven, a number that changes later on in the series. But in the movie, only five are shown. One of her fears, intimacy with Four, is portrayed as an almost-rape. I can't remember the movie as well as I did yesterday, but I don't think Four reacted to seeing that fear (since he was in the room during the final test) as he did in the book when Tris told him about it. In fact, I don't think Four reacted to it at all.

After seeing Divergent, I became very anxious to see TFIOS, which happens to be featuring Shailene Woodley as Hazel and Ansel Elgort as Gus. Both actors were in Divergent as bother and sister (Woodley played Tris and Elgort played Caleb). Luckily for TFIOS fans, Elgort is only 20 and will be able to pull off being a teenager. Woodley happens to be 22, making her older than Elgort, but I couldn't tell.

Anyway, it's a fantastic movie! I would recommend it!!!


Friday, March 21, 2014

Book Blog #99: Here Today, Gone to Maui by Carol Snow

Title: Here Today, Gone to Maui
Author: Carol Snow
# of Pages: 204 (paperback)
Genre: Women's fiction, Chick-lit
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Synopsis: When Jane Shea's boyfriend, Jimmy, invites her to spend a week at a swanky resort in Maui, she's thrilled-of course-but nervous. She worries about missing their flight. She worries about losing her luggage. It never even occurs to her that she might misplace Jimmy. But paradise has a way of attracting trouble, and Jane hasn't even managed to learn the hula or paddle under a waterfall before Jimmy disappears. When the police suggest that Jimmy has drowned, Jane thinks things can't get any worse-but her troubles have just begun. This is one vacation the guidebooks never prepared her for.
Review: The only reason why I bought this book is because it was the summer time, it said Maui on the cover, and I thought it was a YA. After reading the first few chapters, I realized I was mistaken. So it's not really the book's fault that it only received two stars; the wrong reader just happened to pick it up.

It's not really a bad story; sure, the beginning really sucked. But since there's a bit of a mystery behind it, it held my attention and actually became quite interesting in the end. However, that doesn't stop me from disliking the protagonist and cringing and the writing style now and then.

If this genre of books is meant for you, sure, it's a good book. But if not...then no.

Monday, March 17, 2014

OTS #9: St. Patrick's Day 2014

Wow! I can't believe my favorite holiday is here again!

...not.

No offensive to anyone, but St. Patrick's Day seems like a pretty useless holiday to me. The only reason why I'm blogging about it is because I remember writing a blog post about it last year on my old blog. I had written what I though St.Patrick's Day was all about, and then I researched to see how far from the truth I was (and I was VERY far from the truth, if any of you were wondering). St. Patrick's Day is a religious holiday, and the guy called Patrick wasn't even Irish...jeez.

I only pinched one person this year, which is pretty disappointing. I remembered to wear green, thank goodness. As far as special events, there are these two mayors in New York who refused to march in St, Patrick's Day parades due to the parades' exclusion of LGBT groups.  Good for them!

In closing, here's a picture of people dying the Chicago River green; an annual tradition on St. Patrick's Day.


Saturday, March 15, 2014

Book Blog #98: Deadly by Julie Chibbaro

Title: Deadly
Author: Julie Chibbaro
# of Pages: 292 (paperback)
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Mystery
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: Every week more people fall ill, and despite thorough investigation, there's no cause in sight. It's not until the city's most unlikely scientist-sixteen-year-old Prudence Galewski-takes a job as an assistant in a laboratory that the evidence begins to fall into place. It seems one person has worked in every home the fever has ravaged; Mary Mallon, and Irish immigrant dubbed "Typhoid Mary" by the press. Strangely, though, Mary hasn't been sick a day in her life. Is the accusation against her an act of discrimination? Or is she the first clue in a discovery bound to change medical history?
Review: The cover is defiantly misleading.

I was so scared to pick up this book because I thought it was going to be a murder mystery of some sort (I don't bother reading the back cover because sometimes it spoils the story). However, after receiving encouragement from a friend, I decided to read it.

It was not at all a murder mystery in the sense I was thinking of. Although it took me a while to find the time to read Deadly, and although it started off slower, Chibbaro's novel is a relatively fast and entertaining read. When I finally convinced myself to sit down and read the book, I found myself captivated by the story. I couldn't put it down!

However, a warning to those who plan to read it; the ending is a huge disappointment. I turned the page expected to find more, only to see "Author's Note" printed in bold letters on the next page. It really lowered my rating for the book.

It's a short, enjoyable read, nonetheless, so I recommend it!

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Book Blog #97: Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

Title: Fast Food Nation
Author: Eric Schlosser
# of Pages: 399 (paperback)
Genre: Nonfiction, Food, Health
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: Fast food has hastened the malling of our landscape, widened the chasm between rich and poor, fueled an epidemic of obesity, and propelled American cultural imperialism abroad. That's a lengthy list of charges, but Eric Schlosser makes them stick with an artful mix of first-rate reportage, wry wit, and careful reasoning.
Review: Nonfiction is not my cup of tea.

It served it's purpose; it gave me facts about fast food companies, and some of it was actually interesting. But the politics...not exactly something I enjoy reading about. Ever.

Fast Food Nation is actually relatively easy to read compared to other nonfiction books. Schlosser actually tells stories of other people's experiences, so you can enjoy it almost like a fictional story. Almost.

It's a good book if you're looking for stunning facts and/or to be persuaded off of fast food.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Book Blog #96: Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Title: Incarceron
Author: Catherine Fisher
# of Pages: 442 (paperback)
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Dystopian
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Synopsis: Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells and corridors, but metal forests, dilapidated cities, and wilderness. It has been sealed for centuries, and only one man has ever escaped. Finn has always been a prisoner here. Although he has no memory of his childhood, he is sure he came from Outside. His link to the Outside, his chance to break free, is Claudia, the warden's daughter, herself determined to escape an arranged marriage. They are up against impossible odds, but one thing looms above all: Incarceron itself is alive .
Review: Well, that took a while.

While reading Incarceron, my life became very busy, so I was unable to read this book in a timely manner. However, this also means that the book failed to draw my attention, and, instead of reading it in my small amounts of free time, I watched anime. I've experienced similar situations before, and if the book was truly good, I would be drawn to the the book than Japanese anime. But, alas, I was not.

The cover looks so beautiful! This fact, however, may be part of the reason why I was disappointed. I overestimated this book. In reality, there was poor sentence structure and third person point-of-view switching (which, as some of you know, I strongly dislike).  The POV switching is incredibly distracting and spoiled the majority of the surprises that could have made the plot line more exciting.

Also, I wish there was more background development. It was one of those books where the author tosses the reader in head first and does little explaining, forcing the reader to figure out the new world on his or her own. However, the amount of information of the world supplied throughout the plot was not sufficient enough for me to completely understand the dystopia.

I do not recommend this book.