I now have a lot of free time on my hands. And waste it doing anything but what I'm supposed to be doing. Sorry this is like a week late.
Champion by Marie Lu, finished 6/1. I think Champion was my favorite out of the entire series. It was also super stressful for me -- potentially because Allegiant kind of scarred me, and I was so afraid that the same thing would happen that would ruin the series for me. (It didn't.) I'm actually really happy with how the series ended, and I think it totally does the series justice. I'm also really glad I got to read it straight after Prodigy.
This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales, finished 6/2. The book was actually hard for me to get into at first. It just seemed kind of slow. It did pick up, but my feelings about it didn't really change. For a while I was enjoying it, and then Elise made some pretty stupid decisions. Which she tended to do a lot. I'm not sure the book is all that realistic, but I did enjoy reading about music and being a DJ. I don't think I'd read it again, though.
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan, finished 6/3. (Goodreads says I read this in a day. I'm not sure if that's true.) So, like Champion, I think that The Last Olympian did awesome with wrapping up the first part of the series. It did really well for a final battle that's been building up over 5 books. The only thing I can say is that it might have seemed like it wrapped up too well, but again, it's pretty MG. And there's also another series that comes right after it. Which I'm totally excited about.
The Boy on the Bridge by Natalie Standiford, finished 6/4. The Boy on the Bridge was new for me -- I don't think I've ever read about Russia outside of a fictional account of the last czar's family, and definitely not anything about the Cold War. So while that was interesting, I really wasn't impressed by the romance. It was definitely pretty insta-love and Laura was really dumb with her decisions regarding Alexei. She learns by the end, but I feel like that wasn't really worth reading the entire thing.
Blackout by Robison Wells, finished 6/8. I actually really enjoyed the concept of Blackout. More of the superpowers than the whole collapse of things because of terrorists, though the focus was of the book was on the superpowers anyway. It was kind of weird with all of the military involvement, though. I really don't think the military would act like it did in the book. So, it's definitely not realistic, but once I got into the book it was pretty fun to read. The description for Dead Zone isn't that helpful, though, so I'm not entirely sure if I'll continue reading.
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan, finished 6/10. I had to return this book back to my friend by the day of our last exam, and I timed it wrong, so I ended up finishing the last third of it well past midnight the morning of. And I don't regret that at all, honestly. I really enjoyed the new characters, and the fact that the chapters alternated perspectives between the new trio. I had to google more of the mythology than I had to for the first part of the series, but that was mainly because I have even less knowledge of anything that's not Greek or Norse. Also, while I had an idea what was happening because of Jason, I was completely surprised by what they ended up revealing at the end of the book. And I was extremely mad that I didn't have my hands on a copy of Son of Neptune. Because I'm really excited for that now. AND I CAN'T READ IT YET.
The Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede, finished 6/15. I'm not sure I've read many books that deal with alternate histories, and it took me a while to realize it was actually set in what would be the US. I had figured it was a completely fictional world;; But I found it really interesting! I liked the whole concept of "frontier magic" (which is the name of the series). It took me a little bit to get into, but by the time that they moved west I was pretty intrigued. I'm planning to continue reading the series, though I'm not sure if the library will have Across the Great Barrier.
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan, finished 6/23. I really only started this series because I couldn't find Son of Neptune. I figured it had to be pretty similar to what I wanted, anyway. And it was! I liked that it dealt with Egyptian mythology (something I'd really only else found in The Chaos of Stars), but it still hinted that it was set in the same universe as the Percy Jackson series. It also dealt almost entirely on familial relationships rather than friendship (or being stuck on a quest with someone). The formatting was a little hard to get used to, since it was told in a way like the two were recapping their adventure via a voice recorder, but it was still pretty interesting.
Vortex by Julie Cross, finished 6/30. I'd checked out this book once before and never got around to finishing it. It took me about 20 pages into it this time to remember that;; I really liked the concepts of the story, especially in the first book, but Vortex kind of seemed like a mess. Maybe it's just because of all the tense confusion that comes with time travel and doing things that end up not being in chronological order. And the fact that they totally started to undo events that happened. That said, I still don't know much about Eyewall (or whoever they're battling) other than that they've got a sucky future, and I'm really not sure the last book is really going to cover it. Also, the ending was definitely not what I expected and I just stared at the book when I finished it.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Otakon cosplay plans
I know it's still too early to really be posting about Otakon, but I wanted to talk about my cosplay plans. I've already got most everything planned out, and I've already ordered the two wigs I needed, so I really just needed something to funnel my excitement into.
Amamiya Hibiya from Mekakucity Actors
The song "Kagerou Daze" was what got me into the Kagerou Project fandom and the Mekakucity Actors anime, so I thought it'd be nice to honor my recent fandom by cosplaying the kid that got me into all of it in the first place. I also considered cosplaying Kisaragi Momo, but I decided to postpone that. Also, Otakon falls pretty close to the Heat Haze / time loop, so I figured it was relevant. He'll probably be my Saturday cosplay, since it'll be the most recognizable.
Amamiya Hibiya from Mekakucity ActorsThe song "Kagerou Daze" was what got me into the Kagerou Project fandom and the Mekakucity Actors anime, so I thought it'd be nice to honor my recent fandom by cosplaying the kid that got me into all of it in the first place. I also considered cosplaying Kisaragi Momo, but I decided to postpone that. Also, Otakon falls pretty close to the Heat Haze / time loop, so I figured it was relevant. He'll probably be my Saturday cosplay, since it'll be the most recognizable.
Isaac O'Connor from Paranatural
Paranatural is my favorite webcomic right now. It's not all that big, but I love all of the characters and the premise of it. Isaac is pretty much my favorite character, and pretty much ever since he was introduced into the series I wanted to cosplay him. I'm not sure anybody would recognize me at the con, but I still want to do it anyway. (So he'll probably be my Sunday cosplay.)
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| art by burdge / coloring by juliajm15 |
Annabeth Chase from the Percy Jackson series
I've been looking at a lot of Percy Jackson fanart recently, though I initially found the artists through coincidence. Annabeth would be really easy to cosplay and still pretty recognizable, I think, so I'll probably be her on Friday. Originally she was going to be a backup for my Chimecho cosplay, since that one is a little more revealing than I'd like, but honestly at this point I'd rather cosplay Annabeth than Chimecho. I'm still not sure what I'd put on the t-shirt, though, because I've seen a couple different fanart designs and I'm not sure which one I like the best. (Probably the one where "CHB" is in stick-like black letters so the C looks like <.)
I don't think my plans will change between now and Otakon. The only thing I can think of would be having to drop Hibiya because the wig is currently on backorder, but that's a worst-case scenario. I'm really looking forward to Otakon at this point! I have easy cosplays planned that are of characters I really adore, and hopefully I won't have to worry about the weather!
Friday, June 13, 2014
Don't read the book first
(Possible spoilers for TFIOS)
I recently finished reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and started on Heroes of Olympus. Even before starting the series, I'd heard that the movie The Lightning Thief was terrible. And was curious about it anyway. So when I finished The Last Olympian, I asked my friend for his opinion on the first movie. He told me I should've watched the movie before reading the book.
I have learned that this is very good advice. Because the book is almost always better than the movie.
Movies end up having to simplify the books a lot -- whether it's streamlining the plot lines or cutting out dialogue / entire scenes. In the case of the Percy Jackson movies, they made enough changes that they establish a canon different from the books. I think that's why people didn't like them -- they were expecting to see all of the book's battle scenes, and they didn't get it. They ended up watching someone's creative liberties, when that's not what they wanted to watch. However, I really don't think a more faithful adaptation would've been better. It would have been too long, or possibly more confusing. (Percy's narration was what made the books perfect for me, but I'm not entirely sure you can effectively add that into a movie.) I personally think that The Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters movies are fine if you see them as removed from the books they were based off of. I'm used to dealing with different established canons, whether it's for the Pokemon series in all its different mediums or Rise of the Guardians and the almost completely different Guardians of Childhood book series.
But, of course, The Lightning Thief is not the only book that got a movie. The Fault in our Stars was super hyped, and it's a fairly simple book, so not much would be cut, right?
Not exactly. Personally, I thought the TFIOS movie did a wonderful job, but by watching it with a friend who absolutely adores the book, she called to attention everything that had been cut between the book and the screen. The movie plays up the "tragic love story" even more than the book does, and while the movie still kept most of the well-known quotes, they apparently changed some of the circumstances in which they were said. (I didn't notice.) Whether these are creative liberties or just to simplify / shorten the movie, I'm not entirely sure. I've only read the book once a few months ago and it wasn't a book that made me pay attention to every single little detail. I mainly went just because I'd promised to go with my friend, not because I necessarily wanted to see the movie.
The main reason we're getting all of these YA movies is because the YA genre is a huge audience that's willing to pay over $10 for each time they see their favorite book on the screen. YA books aren't restricted to just teenagers -- kids younger than us still read the books, and a lot of adults seem to be jumping the bandwagon, either because it's new and interesting to them or to give themselves an added "cool" factor. And I love the fact that suddenly we're getting all of these movies for books I've read, like Divergent and If I Stay and The Maze Runner. However, the people in charge of making these movies don't necessarily care about staying completely faithful to the books. That's not the reason why they decide to adapt them. In some cases, like Divergent and TFIOS, the movie adaptations are great. Depending on who you talk to.
Because if you talk to a die-hard fan, they might be upset about the changes. Which makes the movie seem like a disappointment, when really it was a great movie. The general consensus I've noticed is that "the book is always better".
So the conclusion I've come to is: watch the movie first. The book will always elaborate more than the movie can. Not to say that reading the book first is bad. I just think it'll save some disappointment in the series when you go for the condensed version first. Now, if you read the book before the movie was ever announced, it can't be avoided.
Another alternative is to just set the bar low when you go to the movies. It's easier to be impressed by a movie you don't have extremely high expectations for.
I recently finished reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and started on Heroes of Olympus. Even before starting the series, I'd heard that the movie The Lightning Thief was terrible. And was curious about it anyway. So when I finished The Last Olympian, I asked my friend for his opinion on the first movie. He told me I should've watched the movie before reading the book.
I have learned that this is very good advice. Because the book is almost always better than the movie.
Movies end up having to simplify the books a lot -- whether it's streamlining the plot lines or cutting out dialogue / entire scenes. In the case of the Percy Jackson movies, they made enough changes that they establish a canon different from the books. I think that's why people didn't like them -- they were expecting to see all of the book's battle scenes, and they didn't get it. They ended up watching someone's creative liberties, when that's not what they wanted to watch. However, I really don't think a more faithful adaptation would've been better. It would have been too long, or possibly more confusing. (Percy's narration was what made the books perfect for me, but I'm not entirely sure you can effectively add that into a movie.) I personally think that The Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters movies are fine if you see them as removed from the books they were based off of. I'm used to dealing with different established canons, whether it's for the Pokemon series in all its different mediums or Rise of the Guardians and the almost completely different Guardians of Childhood book series.
But, of course, The Lightning Thief is not the only book that got a movie. The Fault in our Stars was super hyped, and it's a fairly simple book, so not much would be cut, right?
Not exactly. Personally, I thought the TFIOS movie did a wonderful job, but by watching it with a friend who absolutely adores the book, she called to attention everything that had been cut between the book and the screen. The movie plays up the "tragic love story" even more than the book does, and while the movie still kept most of the well-known quotes, they apparently changed some of the circumstances in which they were said. (I didn't notice.) Whether these are creative liberties or just to simplify / shorten the movie, I'm not entirely sure. I've only read the book once a few months ago and it wasn't a book that made me pay attention to every single little detail. I mainly went just because I'd promised to go with my friend, not because I necessarily wanted to see the movie.
The main reason we're getting all of these YA movies is because the YA genre is a huge audience that's willing to pay over $10 for each time they see their favorite book on the screen. YA books aren't restricted to just teenagers -- kids younger than us still read the books, and a lot of adults seem to be jumping the bandwagon, either because it's new and interesting to them or to give themselves an added "cool" factor. And I love the fact that suddenly we're getting all of these movies for books I've read, like Divergent and If I Stay and The Maze Runner. However, the people in charge of making these movies don't necessarily care about staying completely faithful to the books. That's not the reason why they decide to adapt them. In some cases, like Divergent and TFIOS, the movie adaptations are great. Depending on who you talk to.
Because if you talk to a die-hard fan, they might be upset about the changes. Which makes the movie seem like a disappointment, when really it was a great movie. The general consensus I've noticed is that "the book is always better".
So the conclusion I've come to is: watch the movie first. The book will always elaborate more than the movie can. Not to say that reading the book first is bad. I just think it'll save some disappointment in the series when you go for the condensed version first. Now, if you read the book before the movie was ever announced, it can't be avoided.
Another alternative is to just set the bar low when you go to the movies. It's easier to be impressed by a movie you don't have extremely high expectations for.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Books I've Read -- May
Sorry for not posting anything else during May!;; I really didn't do anything interesting to blog about other than read... I'll hopefully have at least a few cosplay posts coming up before Otakon this August!
The Fault in our Stars by John Green, finished 5/1. Reviewed in a separate post because I had a lot of thoughts about it.
The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White, finished 5/2. The Chaos of Stars was a pretty quick read -- I checked it out right around 7:00am and had it finished by 6:00pm at the latest, classes and going to the public library included within that time frame. I loved the concept of the book. I don't think I've ever read a book regarding Egyptian gods. It's always Greek or Roman. Never Egyptian. And I liked that sense of unknown, learning about a culture I'd only briefly googled and searched wikipedia for in context of references peppered through other series. One thing I can say is that Isadora is a very rebellious teenager. But stuck in that middle school mentality at an age where she should have gotten over it long ago. Whether this is due to her relative isolation to the rest of the world and actual human contact, I can't exactly say. But I thought the rest of the characters were pretty okay (even if Ry was pretty predictable). And I liked Isadora's sentiments about not needing romance in life and turning down Ry's advancements for most of the book, even if there was her dark "everything is finite and will end" mentality behind it. I liked being able to read about a girl who didn't fall for the guy at first. Whose relationship with him was more than just 'I like you like that but I'm not sure if I want to get with you'. The romance was fairly standard for a YA novel, though. It wasn't entirely unique. I really wish there was a sequel, though.
The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan, finished 5/14. One of my friends was really surprised that I had only read the first book of the Percy Jackson series, and when I said it was because I couldn't find the second book at the library at all, he lent his copy to me. And I probably would've read it a lot faster if it weren't for the two AP tests I had soon after he gave the book to me. I really liked The Sea of Monsters! I think the Percy Jackson books are just unfamiliar enough that I can't really see what's coming, and I really like that. I also like that it incorporates something as old as Greek mythology with modern-day stuff. It makes it a lot easier for me to understand. (If only we could study this in school instead of the originals. I'd enjoy it more.) I was also caught off guard by the ending. The only negative thing I have to say about the book is the narration, as it is a little ... stiff? It is considered a "middle grade" book, so it's understandable. And it's not even so much as stiff, but it does sound like a stereotypical, reckless middle school boy telling a long but organized story. Which could be good or bad, depending on if you can tolerate that kind of storytelling.
The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr, finished 5/16. I don't have much to say about this book. It was honestly kind of boring -- I ended up putting it down a lot. It could just be the narration, which, according to goodreads, was a step out of the box for the author (using 3rd POV instead of a usual 1st). I also thought the relationships were a little weird, as well. The characters seemed out of character for themselves at some points through the book (like being soft / mean when they were usually the opposite), and Lucy's crushes on two different teachers was a little weird. I mean, the book's not terrible, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to read it again.
The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan, finished 5/19. I am enjoying this series a lot more than I expected to. I think I really needed to read about mythology and reckless middle-school aged kids after reading so many melodramatic YA books with so little action. I kind of wish there was a little bit more about the di Angelo twins, and that Bianca got a little more time, but I also hope that there'll be more in the next book. (Also, I found a geographical error, but that's just me being a nerd and has no impact to the story.) Again, I really liked how the mythology was worked with to fit in the 21st century.
The Magicians by Lev Grossman, finished 5/20. Someone in my English class recommended this to me, saying it was kind of like Harry Potter, but written for adults. He said he really liked it, and I trusted him, so I read it. Which took me a long time. (Just over two weeks.) It was ok, though it was really out of my genre range. I have a hard time reading books written for adults, especially when they're large books with really tiny print. (The library's copy was.) The book also covered a lot of time, at least six years, when in YA it probably would have been made into an entire series. Either the plot wasn't paced correctly, or I'm just not used to reading things outside YA. I wouldn't have finished it if it weren't for my classmate asking for what I thought about it whenever we saw each other.
False Sight by Dan Krokos, finished 5/21. There was a really big shift between False Memory and False Sight. The first thing I noticed was the narration, which really threw me off. I'm not used to first person present and there were often two or three simple sentences when they could've been combined together into one longer sentence. (That also made me self-conscious about my own writing. And I've been struggling to write since I realized it.) There were also huge elements of the plot that weren't really any part of False Memory, which was actually pretty annoying. There was no groundwork at all for what happened (to be spoiler-free) and it seemed to just come out of nowhere. I didn't feel any sort of attachment to the characters, and I really only finished it because of how much free time I've had in school recently.
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan, finished 5/23. I forgot everything I had to say about the book;; I liked it, but basically everything I said in the past two reviews for the Percy Jackson series applies. I was surprised by one of the plot twists regarding the characters, though. Which could have been caused mainly by my lack of knowledge regarding the mythology around the labyrinth. I don't know. I'm a little nervous about the series ending with the next book.
Prodigy by Marie Lu, finished 5/26. I read Legend well over a year ago, so I struggled a little bit to pick up the series again. I really liked learning more about the Colonies, which is apparently something I'd wondered about when I wrote my review of Legend. It was also really easy to read, and I ended up reading around half the book in a day. I'm pretty unfamiliar with the military and politics (since those are about the same in the Republic), but I think the books have done a good enough job to include the terms but also make it easy enough to get by without a large understanding. I really liked the narration differences between June and Day, especially the font and colors used for each of them. It made it really easy to know when the perspective was changing. (*cough* Unlike Allegiant.)
Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff, finished 5/26. Stormdancer took me a long time to finish, partially because of the small print of the paperback copy I had and partially because I carried it in my messenger bag and really only read it when I was outside of the house and bored. (I've had it since November.) And part of that could also be how slow the beginning seemed to be, which really wasn't compelling me to pick up the book instead of checking my iPod. But, as I got further into the book, things did pick up. (Though the frequent pick up / put downs I had with the book made it a little confusing when things were actually happening, because I'd lose my place on the page and forget what's happening.) I can say that the book would probably be confusing to someone who doesn't have a strong understanding of Japanese terms / language, though there is a glossary at the back that I hadn't noticed until the book ended with 15 pages left. I am glad I finished it, though. And I do feel a little bad about letting the book get some wear and tear before handing it over to Gigi (and for taking so long.)
Leap of Faith by Jamie Blair, finished 5/28. The goodreads summary for Leap of Faith was really interesting, but the book itself kind of wasn't. I don't know if it's just my lack of understanding regarding growing up in a broken family and drugs or what, but I really had trouble understanding Leah/Faith's reasoning. Kidnapping a baby is one thing. Trying to take care of the baby completely on your own and lying constantly to the people that are helping you out is completely different. I understood why she wanted to get Addy out of the situation she was born in, but she had plenty of opportunities to come clean to the family that was helping her, and she just took advantage of them instead. I started getting pretty annoyed with Leah/Faith by the end of the book. And it ends pretty poorly. If there was a sequel, that'd be one thing, but the ending didn't actually resolve anything at all.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, finished 5/31. I knew from the moment that I saw Fangirl at B&N that I wanted to read it. It was really my first time reading about a character that I felt I could entirely relate to. I've never really written any fanfiction, especially not anything as nearly as popular as Carry On, Simon supposedly is, but the absolute adoration for a series (dressing up, release dates, walls covered in posters and fanart) was something that I loved seeing printed in an actual book. And Fangirl had a lot more than just fandom-related problems -- there was the issue of adjusting to college life, and family problems, and relationships (which thankfully did not involve a triangle / V at all). I do wish that a little more attention had been put into Cath's reluctance to write original fiction instead of fanfiction, and her eventual finished final project, instead of her just putting it off. Also, it was really cool to have excerpts from the Simon Snow series and Cath's fanfictions. I would probably read the Simon Snow series, to be honest;; And I would probably also buy my own copy of Fangirl if I found myself with enough extra money to.
The Fault in our Stars by John Green, finished 5/1. Reviewed in a separate post because I had a lot of thoughts about it.
The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White, finished 5/2. The Chaos of Stars was a pretty quick read -- I checked it out right around 7:00am and had it finished by 6:00pm at the latest, classes and going to the public library included within that time frame. I loved the concept of the book. I don't think I've ever read a book regarding Egyptian gods. It's always Greek or Roman. Never Egyptian. And I liked that sense of unknown, learning about a culture I'd only briefly googled and searched wikipedia for in context of references peppered through other series. One thing I can say is that Isadora is a very rebellious teenager. But stuck in that middle school mentality at an age where she should have gotten over it long ago. Whether this is due to her relative isolation to the rest of the world and actual human contact, I can't exactly say. But I thought the rest of the characters were pretty okay (even if Ry was pretty predictable). And I liked Isadora's sentiments about not needing romance in life and turning down Ry's advancements for most of the book, even if there was her dark "everything is finite and will end" mentality behind it. I liked being able to read about a girl who didn't fall for the guy at first. Whose relationship with him was more than just 'I like you like that but I'm not sure if I want to get with you'. The romance was fairly standard for a YA novel, though. It wasn't entirely unique. I really wish there was a sequel, though.
The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan, finished 5/14. One of my friends was really surprised that I had only read the first book of the Percy Jackson series, and when I said it was because I couldn't find the second book at the library at all, he lent his copy to me. And I probably would've read it a lot faster if it weren't for the two AP tests I had soon after he gave the book to me. I really liked The Sea of Monsters! I think the Percy Jackson books are just unfamiliar enough that I can't really see what's coming, and I really like that. I also like that it incorporates something as old as Greek mythology with modern-day stuff. It makes it a lot easier for me to understand. (If only we could study this in school instead of the originals. I'd enjoy it more.) I was also caught off guard by the ending. The only negative thing I have to say about the book is the narration, as it is a little ... stiff? It is considered a "middle grade" book, so it's understandable. And it's not even so much as stiff, but it does sound like a stereotypical, reckless middle school boy telling a long but organized story. Which could be good or bad, depending on if you can tolerate that kind of storytelling.
The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr, finished 5/16. I don't have much to say about this book. It was honestly kind of boring -- I ended up putting it down a lot. It could just be the narration, which, according to goodreads, was a step out of the box for the author (using 3rd POV instead of a usual 1st). I also thought the relationships were a little weird, as well. The characters seemed out of character for themselves at some points through the book (like being soft / mean when they were usually the opposite), and Lucy's crushes on two different teachers was a little weird. I mean, the book's not terrible, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to read it again.
The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan, finished 5/19. I am enjoying this series a lot more than I expected to. I think I really needed to read about mythology and reckless middle-school aged kids after reading so many melodramatic YA books with so little action. I kind of wish there was a little bit more about the di Angelo twins, and that Bianca got a little more time, but I also hope that there'll be more in the next book. (Also, I found a geographical error, but that's just me being a nerd and has no impact to the story.) Again, I really liked how the mythology was worked with to fit in the 21st century.
The Magicians by Lev Grossman, finished 5/20. Someone in my English class recommended this to me, saying it was kind of like Harry Potter, but written for adults. He said he really liked it, and I trusted him, so I read it. Which took me a long time. (Just over two weeks.) It was ok, though it was really out of my genre range. I have a hard time reading books written for adults, especially when they're large books with really tiny print. (The library's copy was.) The book also covered a lot of time, at least six years, when in YA it probably would have been made into an entire series. Either the plot wasn't paced correctly, or I'm just not used to reading things outside YA. I wouldn't have finished it if it weren't for my classmate asking for what I thought about it whenever we saw each other.
False Sight by Dan Krokos, finished 5/21. There was a really big shift between False Memory and False Sight. The first thing I noticed was the narration, which really threw me off. I'm not used to first person present and there were often two or three simple sentences when they could've been combined together into one longer sentence. (That also made me self-conscious about my own writing. And I've been struggling to write since I realized it.) There were also huge elements of the plot that weren't really any part of False Memory, which was actually pretty annoying. There was no groundwork at all for what happened (to be spoiler-free) and it seemed to just come out of nowhere. I didn't feel any sort of attachment to the characters, and I really only finished it because of how much free time I've had in school recently.
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan, finished 5/23. I forgot everything I had to say about the book;; I liked it, but basically everything I said in the past two reviews for the Percy Jackson series applies. I was surprised by one of the plot twists regarding the characters, though. Which could have been caused mainly by my lack of knowledge regarding the mythology around the labyrinth. I don't know. I'm a little nervous about the series ending with the next book.
Prodigy by Marie Lu, finished 5/26. I read Legend well over a year ago, so I struggled a little bit to pick up the series again. I really liked learning more about the Colonies, which is apparently something I'd wondered about when I wrote my review of Legend. It was also really easy to read, and I ended up reading around half the book in a day. I'm pretty unfamiliar with the military and politics (since those are about the same in the Republic), but I think the books have done a good enough job to include the terms but also make it easy enough to get by without a large understanding. I really liked the narration differences between June and Day, especially the font and colors used for each of them. It made it really easy to know when the perspective was changing. (*cough* Unlike Allegiant.)
Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff, finished 5/26. Stormdancer took me a long time to finish, partially because of the small print of the paperback copy I had and partially because I carried it in my messenger bag and really only read it when I was outside of the house and bored. (I've had it since November.) And part of that could also be how slow the beginning seemed to be, which really wasn't compelling me to pick up the book instead of checking my iPod. But, as I got further into the book, things did pick up. (Though the frequent pick up / put downs I had with the book made it a little confusing when things were actually happening, because I'd lose my place on the page and forget what's happening.) I can say that the book would probably be confusing to someone who doesn't have a strong understanding of Japanese terms / language, though there is a glossary at the back that I hadn't noticed until the book ended with 15 pages left. I am glad I finished it, though. And I do feel a little bad about letting the book get some wear and tear before handing it over to Gigi (and for taking so long.)
Leap of Faith by Jamie Blair, finished 5/28. The goodreads summary for Leap of Faith was really interesting, but the book itself kind of wasn't. I don't know if it's just my lack of understanding regarding growing up in a broken family and drugs or what, but I really had trouble understanding Leah/Faith's reasoning. Kidnapping a baby is one thing. Trying to take care of the baby completely on your own and lying constantly to the people that are helping you out is completely different. I understood why she wanted to get Addy out of the situation she was born in, but she had plenty of opportunities to come clean to the family that was helping her, and she just took advantage of them instead. I started getting pretty annoyed with Leah/Faith by the end of the book. And it ends pretty poorly. If there was a sequel, that'd be one thing, but the ending didn't actually resolve anything at all.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, finished 5/31. I knew from the moment that I saw Fangirl at B&N that I wanted to read it. It was really my first time reading about a character that I felt I could entirely relate to. I've never really written any fanfiction, especially not anything as nearly as popular as Carry On, Simon supposedly is, but the absolute adoration for a series (dressing up, release dates, walls covered in posters and fanart) was something that I loved seeing printed in an actual book. And Fangirl had a lot more than just fandom-related problems -- there was the issue of adjusting to college life, and family problems, and relationships (which thankfully did not involve a triangle / V at all). I do wish that a little more attention had been put into Cath's reluctance to write original fiction instead of fanfiction, and her eventual finished final project, instead of her just putting it off. Also, it was really cool to have excerpts from the Simon Snow series and Cath's fanfictions. I would probably read the Simon Snow series, to be honest;; And I would probably also buy my own copy of Fangirl if I found myself with enough extra money to.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
TFIOS
Many people know of John Green, whether it's through his books, or Vlogbrothers, or the nerdfighter community (who, contrary to popular belief, do not fight nerds, but are nerds who fight worldsuck. Or other such things). And, what with the upcoming The Fault in our Stars and Paper Towns movies, he's been getting a lot of attention.
My friend Emily introduced me to the nerdfighter community last spring break, when she "kidnapped" me for a gathering in DC. (Actually, she'd tried with the Vlogbrothers videos years ago, but they were lost on me then.) So while I became fairly active in the NotGDCA community, and kept up with the Vlogbrothers videos that published after my introduction, it took me over a year to actually get around to reading any of John Green's (in)famous books.
I say that because I've heard a very wide spectrum of opinions on his books, especially TFIOS. I've heard that TFIOS is the best book, or the saddest, or that people dislike it because Hazel and Gus do not sound like teenagers but adults with meta thoughts about the complexity of life. And it was specifically the "omg I cried the entire time" that kept me from reading it for so long. I do not do well with sad books -- If I Stay definitely impacted my decision to avoid TFIOS, since I had such a hard time dealing with that book and how depressing it was. (I have not talked to anybody else who has read If I Stay, which is sad. I think it is just as beautiful of a book, if not even more emotional than TFIOS.)
But, because I wanted to enlist Emily's help and make a TFIOS book trailer for Video Production, I had to suck it up and actually read the book.
I didn't cry.
At all.
(To be honest, back when I still went to youth group, we watched Passion of the Christ, and I was the only one in the room that did not turn into a mess. I think I'm just heartless.)
I texted Emily when I finished and asked if I was a bad person for not actually crying, and surprisingly, she replied "nah." She has her own signed copy of the book, and cried during the entire trailer tacked to the beginning of the Divergent movie, so I was curious as to how she'd respond when I wasn't such a wreck like everyone else said they were when they finished.
And I think that part of my not-crying is because I generally knew how it was going to end. I knew one of them was going to die, so I knew not to get overly attached to either of them (since I always forgot which one ended up dying). It also took me a while to warm up to the book, because I remembered more of the criticisms I'd seen of the book than "omg I loved it, it was perfect" reactions that didn't have a why attached.
I did feel sad about the ending, though, don't get me wrong. It still hurt to read that sort of loss. But I also enjoyed reading about Hazel and Gus's relationship, and how they got all sorts of meta with each other. And I also liked all of the quotes I've seen plastered everywhere on the internet, as well as the more unused ones. (I actually posted my favorites to my twitter while I read it in Video Production.) I enjoyed the fact that they had a relationship that wasn't entirely physical. Most YA books have tons of makeout and sex scenes, and while TFIOS did have some PDA, it wasn't often. They mostly just talked and spent time with each other. I could identify more with their relationship shown through deep statements and dry humor than many I've read that are all just "I want to touch you. Almost all the time. Because I like you." It wasn't like the two liked each other simply for physical attributes. They spent time with each other for more reasons than just "the other person was cute."
I'm probably going to cry while watching the movie, though, especially if I see it with Emily. Reading about love and loss and picturing the people distantly in your head is vastly different from watching actors make it real. And I'm going to have a hard time taking their relationship seriously when all I can picture right now is the two actors as siblings in Divergent. I have a stronger (albeit bipolar) relationship with the Divergent trilogy than TFIOS.
Bringing up criticisms I've often seen: as for the language of Hazel and Gus, yes, they don't sound like teenagers. This book was also written by an author removed from his teenager years by a good span of time. Besides, I'm almost entirely certain there have to be some teenagers that sound like those two -- whether they're likable people or not, that's up for discussion. I could hear a lot of the things those two said in Green's voice -- whether that's because I've truly heard him say them, or I can just picture it due to my familiarity with his speech, I don't know for sure. But I know as a writer that characters often reflect your own speech patterns, intentional or not. Now, Green could have definitely created unique voices for the two characters, but that would have removed all of the "deep" quotes that the book has that get plastered all over tumblr and everything else in the world. As for the plot and how "boring" it is: the point isn't to have an interesting, action-packed story. It's to show the progression of a relationship between the two. And relationships don't build steadily, they often stay exactly the same for a while before anything happens.
Criticisms I've seen but cannot comment on: how the two could potentially be "carbon copies" of characters in other John Green books, as this is the only one I've read so far. However, I feel like the same sense of meta-ness / deep thoughts would apply to them as well, which accounts for the similarity. Also, there is the debate about how it handles the topic of cancer, but I have not read any other books dealing with a similar topic, nor have I really had any sort of experience with cancer in teenagers. But, if you have, I would really suggest looking into this aspect of TFIOS.
TL;DR TFIOS didn't exactly reflect what I was expecting based on what all I've heard. And I really liked that. I think it was a good book, and I'm looking forward to seeing the movie. I also can say that it's not "perfect" like some people have claimed / implied; TFIOS has both strong points and weaknesses. So while I can't tell anyone whether it's truly a "cry" book or not, I think the lighthearted and banter-y part of the novel makes it worth reading.
(As a side note. I read some 1 or 2 star reviews on Goodreads, and while I can see their points as a whole, the examples they use are kind of poor. Hazel questioning why certain foods are only regarded as "breakfast" foods isn't pretentious -- that's just wondering out loud. I wonder about the reasoning behind things all the time. Does that make me pretentious? I don't think so. Then again, nobody's said anything about it to me. Also, I have not seen anybody refer to Hazel and Gus negatively while using a word other than "pretentious".)
My friend Emily introduced me to the nerdfighter community last spring break, when she "kidnapped" me for a gathering in DC. (Actually, she'd tried with the Vlogbrothers videos years ago, but they were lost on me then.) So while I became fairly active in the NotGDCA community, and kept up with the Vlogbrothers videos that published after my introduction, it took me over a year to actually get around to reading any of John Green's (in)famous books.
I say that because I've heard a very wide spectrum of opinions on his books, especially TFIOS. I've heard that TFIOS is the best book, or the saddest, or that people dislike it because Hazel and Gus do not sound like teenagers but adults with meta thoughts about the complexity of life. And it was specifically the "omg I cried the entire time" that kept me from reading it for so long. I do not do well with sad books -- If I Stay definitely impacted my decision to avoid TFIOS, since I had such a hard time dealing with that book and how depressing it was. (I have not talked to anybody else who has read If I Stay, which is sad. I think it is just as beautiful of a book, if not even more emotional than TFIOS.)
But, because I wanted to enlist Emily's help and make a TFIOS book trailer for Video Production, I had to suck it up and actually read the book.
I didn't cry.
At all.
(To be honest, back when I still went to youth group, we watched Passion of the Christ, and I was the only one in the room that did not turn into a mess. I think I'm just heartless.)
I texted Emily when I finished and asked if I was a bad person for not actually crying, and surprisingly, she replied "nah." She has her own signed copy of the book, and cried during the entire trailer tacked to the beginning of the Divergent movie, so I was curious as to how she'd respond when I wasn't such a wreck like everyone else said they were when they finished.
And I think that part of my not-crying is because I generally knew how it was going to end. I knew one of them was going to die, so I knew not to get overly attached to either of them (since I always forgot which one ended up dying). It also took me a while to warm up to the book, because I remembered more of the criticisms I'd seen of the book than "omg I loved it, it was perfect" reactions that didn't have a why attached.
I did feel sad about the ending, though, don't get me wrong. It still hurt to read that sort of loss. But I also enjoyed reading about Hazel and Gus's relationship, and how they got all sorts of meta with each other. And I also liked all of the quotes I've seen plastered everywhere on the internet, as well as the more unused ones. (I actually posted my favorites to my twitter while I read it in Video Production.) I enjoyed the fact that they had a relationship that wasn't entirely physical. Most YA books have tons of makeout and sex scenes, and while TFIOS did have some PDA, it wasn't often. They mostly just talked and spent time with each other. I could identify more with their relationship shown through deep statements and dry humor than many I've read that are all just "I want to touch you. Almost all the time. Because I like you." It wasn't like the two liked each other simply for physical attributes. They spent time with each other for more reasons than just "the other person was cute."
I'm probably going to cry while watching the movie, though, especially if I see it with Emily. Reading about love and loss and picturing the people distantly in your head is vastly different from watching actors make it real. And I'm going to have a hard time taking their relationship seriously when all I can picture right now is the two actors as siblings in Divergent. I have a stronger (albeit bipolar) relationship with the Divergent trilogy than TFIOS.
Bringing up criticisms I've often seen: as for the language of Hazel and Gus, yes, they don't sound like teenagers. This book was also written by an author removed from his teenager years by a good span of time. Besides, I'm almost entirely certain there have to be some teenagers that sound like those two -- whether they're likable people or not, that's up for discussion. I could hear a lot of the things those two said in Green's voice -- whether that's because I've truly heard him say them, or I can just picture it due to my familiarity with his speech, I don't know for sure. But I know as a writer that characters often reflect your own speech patterns, intentional or not. Now, Green could have definitely created unique voices for the two characters, but that would have removed all of the "deep" quotes that the book has that get plastered all over tumblr and everything else in the world. As for the plot and how "boring" it is: the point isn't to have an interesting, action-packed story. It's to show the progression of a relationship between the two. And relationships don't build steadily, they often stay exactly the same for a while before anything happens.
Criticisms I've seen but cannot comment on: how the two could potentially be "carbon copies" of characters in other John Green books, as this is the only one I've read so far. However, I feel like the same sense of meta-ness / deep thoughts would apply to them as well, which accounts for the similarity. Also, there is the debate about how it handles the topic of cancer, but I have not read any other books dealing with a similar topic, nor have I really had any sort of experience with cancer in teenagers. But, if you have, I would really suggest looking into this aspect of TFIOS.
TL;DR TFIOS didn't exactly reflect what I was expecting based on what all I've heard. And I really liked that. I think it was a good book, and I'm looking forward to seeing the movie. I also can say that it's not "perfect" like some people have claimed / implied; TFIOS has both strong points and weaknesses. So while I can't tell anyone whether it's truly a "cry" book or not, I think the lighthearted and banter-y part of the novel makes it worth reading.
(As a side note. I read some 1 or 2 star reviews on Goodreads, and while I can see their points as a whole, the examples they use are kind of poor. Hazel questioning why certain foods are only regarded as "breakfast" foods isn't pretentious -- that's just wondering out loud. I wonder about the reasoning behind things all the time. Does that make me pretentious? I don't think so. Then again, nobody's said anything about it to me. Also, I have not seen anybody refer to Hazel and Gus negatively while using a word other than "pretentious".)
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