Sitting in THE HOUSE OF THE SCORPION by Nancy Farmer

Dear Blogger,

Man, it is good to be back. I would have liked to have posted way more over the past few months but school really kicked me in the butt this past semester. Thank god I'm on vacation.
So I just finished reading THE HOUSE OF THE SCORPION by Nancy Farmer, which was leant to me by my boyfriend. I went into it with high expectations after he told me he'd loved it so much he did three book reports on it, which is a pretty big deal because he doesn't read much. Let me just say, my expectations were met. They really were. I loved this book.
I will say, though, that the description on the back doesn't seem (to me) to go with what actually happens. Before I get into that, I'll give you a basic plot summary.
So Matt is a clone of El Patron, who is super evil, but kind to Matt. Matt doesn't wonder at why El Patron loves him but accepts that love graciously because clones are widely hated in this world. What he doesn't realize is that El Patron only loves what Matt can provide for him, which is transplants - anything El Patron might need to continue living beyond his nearly 150 years. This includes a heart transplant, and Matt realizes that El Patron is willing to kill Matt in order to live. Thus, this book is about Matt's struggle for survival.
Okay, so the back of the book stresses both Matt's struggle to survive and his self-discovery as he struggles with the knowledge that clones are like livestock. However, reading the book, I didn't feel like it was about his self-discovery as much as it was about his survival. Sure, he is treated badly because of who he is and he spends a good bit of the first half of the book working this out in his head, but after the middle, and definitely after he runs away from El Patron's estate, I'd say that the issue of his being a clone is widely abandoned except for him having to keep it a secret. After the middle it is a survival story more than anything, except at the end where he is told in basically two or three sentences that clones are still human and it makes him happy. For this reason, I think the back of the book is a bit misleading, as they can sometimes be.
Overall, I really liked that the dialogue in the book was a mix of English and Spanish. Don't worry, people - they translate it for you.  But it gave the book a lot of depth, and it made it so much more believable. I hate books and movies alike when they are supposed to live in Mexico or France or whatever and they're still speaking English because they want the audience to understand. That is not realistic. This book, though, was a refreshing compromise. I also liked the wide variety of characters. There's Celia, who takes care of Matt while he is a child and can seem harsh but only out of her deep love for him. My favourite was Tam Lin, the Scottish bodyguard who El Patron gives to Matt for protection and who is kind of like Matt's idol. Maria was also really great, who is Matt's first childhood friend and loves him despite also being told her whole life that clones are not human and that she should treat him accordingly. Then when Matt runs away, there's Fidelito and Chacho, who both compliment the story nicely because they are more like Matt than any of the other characters were.
I definitely think everyone should read this book. There is nothing slow about it. Even when Matt spends six months locked up in a jail cell, the two chapters discussing this go by like lightning. I really loved this book. Thanks to my boyfriend for lending it to me! :)

-Victoria

Source citation for above image: http://www.google.ca/imgres?num=10&hl=en&tbo=d&biw=1366&bih=643&tbm=isch&tbnid=aPpPpv9PJBD9AM:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_House_of_the_Scorpion&docid=2FcLp_T5Bg4gBM&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/de/TheHouseoftheScorpion.jpg/200px-TheHouseoftheScorpion.jpg&w=200&h=300&ei=TNDdUKvxCcPC2QXm-IGQDA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=2&vpy=139&dur=1589&hovh=240&hovw=160&tx=64&ty=121&sig=109519639737055989513&page=1&tbnh=141&tbnw=85&start=0&ndsp=30&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:102

The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly on the Plain...

Dear Blogger,

This weekend for school I finished reading PYGMALION by Bernard Shaw. For those of you wondering why I have used a quote from MY FAIR LADY as my title, well...it's the same thing. MY FAIR LADY is PYGMALION in musical form.
I find myself yet again struggling to critique PYGMALION as it is a very well known and highly appraised play. There are some things I may be able to say, though. For the audience watching the play, the experience would have been much different than actually reading the script. I don't know how they did it onstage when it was originally performed, but there are actually huge gaps of time in the script where Shaw has just written in what has been happening. They might have narrated this to the audience, which I hope they did because otherwise the audience missed huge pieces of the storyline. Honestly, I was reading it and wondering why on earth Shaw didn't just write those bits into the play rather than describing it to you; the pieces he didn't include seemed to have been included in MY FAIR LADY, by the way. (Like "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain" was never in the original BECAUSE in the original, Shaw simply describes one lesson that Eliza Doolittle has been having and then jumps ahead five months. He literally goes straight from Higgins agreeing to tutor Eliza to the night that Eliza emerges a "duchess".)
Anyways, there was my rant. As for a description, the play PYGMALION is a rendition of the original story of Pigmalion, about a sculptor who creates his ideal woman out of marble, makes out with her a lot, prays to the goddess Venus for his love to come to him in the likeness of the statue and then the statue comes to life. In Bernard Shaw's PYGMALION, it is much the same as MY FAIR LADY; Henry Higgins is a speach therapist working with Colonel Pickering and they bet each other that they can transform Eliza Doolittle, a cockney flower-seller who dreams of opening a flower shop but doesn't speak nicely enough to do it, into a "duchess" and pass her off as such. In the end, they succeed. That's pretty much all the play shows you, as well as a fight at the end between Eliza and Higgins. The reader can guess that Higgins has feelings for Eliza, though her feelings aren't quite clear (you could speculate that she likes both Higgins and Pickering, as well as Freddy whom she marries). In the end, nothing happens between them unlike in MY FAIR LADY.
Ultimately, it was quite fun to read the spelled-out cockney and the storyline was fairly entertaining even if there were huge lapses in time. It was definitely worth the read, and I finished it in two hours. Maybe you should pick it up?
Hopefully I'll be reading something more interesting for you soon.

-Victoria

Source for cover image: http://www.google.ca/imgres?hl=en&biw=1366&bih=643&tbm=isch&tbnid=OKs3KWnJa30MNM:&imgrefurl=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030637/&docid=WWEB4HKPbUlGRM&imgurl=http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BODI4MDE4MzYzNl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNDExMTgxMQ%2540%2540._V1._SY317_CR6,0,214,317_.jpg&w=214&h=317&ei=oiBzUO-QM_SH0QHcwIGAAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=414&vpy=152&dur=4680&hovh=253&hovw=171&tx=100&ty=110&sig=101342462150338071778&page=1&tbnh=131&tbnw=110&start=0&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0,i:140

How Does One Review a Classic?...

Dear Blogger,

So I ask again: how does one review a classic?
I ask this because obviously, a classic is good. It has passed through the hands of thousands of readers over time and has gained a Reputation, capital R. It leaves little room for critique. Also, I would feel weird critiquing the work of someone who is dead.
However, I CAN talk about what I thought of the book, and different themes I thought it had...
So I had to read FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley for the second time for school. I was both looking forward to it and dreading it. I was looking forward to it because I had read it once already; I knew what it was about and therefore would not have to spend too much time picking through the details. I was dreading it because from what I could remember, there was a lot of DESCRIPTION, and I was right in that remembrance. If you are looking to read this for fun and aren't one for long, drawn out details (and I mean three straight pages talking about how depressed Dr. Frankenstein is, then save yourself and don't read it).
For those who don't know, FRANKENSTEIN is NOT the name of the monster. Good lord, it frustrates me when people make that assumption. In fact, throughout the entire book, the monster is simply referred to as that, or "the creature", or "the wretch". He, apparently, is undeserving of a name. FRANKENSTEIN, rather, refers to Dr. Victor Frankenstein, who created the monster. You know, "IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIIIIVVVEEEEE!!!" That's him.
So when I read this book, for the particular class I am taking (Classical Myths and Literature), I had to relate this book to the ancient tale of Prometheus. The subtitle of FRANKENSTEIN is actually "The Modern Prometheus", and a fun fact for you: Mary Shelley's husband wrote an amazing poem called "Prometheus on his Crag".
So in searching for links between FRANKENSTEIN and Prometheus, I started to feel that Shelley intended for Victor to represent Prometheus: Prometheus had provided man with fire and this final straw against Zeus resulted in eternal punishment; Victor gave life to the monster and thus endured lifelong torment by his own creation. Perhaps there was a man vs. God dichotomy there in the sense that only God (or Zeus) should be the one providing life (or fire) to man and therefore others that attempt it will be punished. Huh.
However, in FRANKENSTEIN, the monster is punished almost as much and for no apparent reason. I had previously made a connection between the monster, inflicting lifelong torment on Victor, and the vulture that eternally pecks out Prometheus's liver. However, I am now not so sure. I wonder if he also represents mankind in the Prometheus story, forever being punished by Zeus out of his rage at Prometheus. Perhaps I could argue both sides.
I would love to hear somebody else's opinion on this. I know this is nothing close to how I would normally blog, but like I said, how can you review a classic? If you have opinions on that or would like to send me a review of a classic, please do. I am honestly so curious. Or just leave a comment saying hi. I know I have viewers out there. :)
Oh, and what do people have to read for school? I'm interested.

-Victoria

Source for cover image: http://www.google.ca/imgres?hl=en&biw=1366&bih=643&tbm=isch&tbnid=-bLj3Z20TPnKIM:&imgrefurl=http://sethlindberg.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html&docid=_gOKkOSLYIjxkM&imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbfUY3OFPM12SmcvkhzAixmXkhGJ-v_J7Peo_UqnjY8UQIlc0bKHDiG__S1e21r_iuC7LbMjNXisEeQqqIj3eiJX_HnBvib87H5oqVtMVoyF-x_fG9YdJ3WROGQ4m7dgkJS2yx1uOD_6s/s1600/muses_frankensteinCover.jpg&w=329&h=500&ei=1Y5rUP2ICKuB0QGmxYDgAw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=180&vpy=252&dur=660&hovh=277&hovw=182&tx=95&ty=157&sig=101342462150338071778&page=2&tbnh=143&tbnw=105&start=26&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:26,i:198

Quick Update

Dear Blogger,

This is just a quick post to let you all know that I haven't posted because school started. Yes, the dreaded school. For school I am currently reading FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley for the second time. I do plan on writing something on the blog about the books I read for school, though I don't really know how one can "review" a classic. One thing to mention about FRANKENSTEIN that I've noticed both times through it - is it just me, or does Mary Shelley go into quite excessive detail describing the characters' emotions? I swear, the lady goes on for three pages about Dr. Frankenstein feeling depressed, basically just repeating herself. Oh well. It's a classic for a reason, I guess...
On another note, I've also been trying to read two books from the middle of the summer that I have just been struggling to get into. Not only do I not have that much time, but they aren't as interesting as the back of the book made them out to be. I'll get back to you on that.

-Victoria

Not Just Paper -- PAPER TOWNS by John Green

Dear Blogger,

I'm really not sure how long this post is going to be, because the book PAPER TOWNS by John Green was so amazing that I don't even know what to say. In all honesty, the book speaks for itself. You all absolutely have to read it. The quote on the front of my copy says "Profoundingly moving" by SLJ. I don't know who that is, but they're absolutely right.
I'm sure you can tell by just this second paragraph that I loved this book. I loved it in a different way than I've loved other books. I loved this book like I loved THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER by Sarah Dessen, which was in a tender, intimate way. It's the kind of book I want to hold close to me because I'm not quite ready to be finished with it yet, and I'm not sure that I ever will be. The words and characters of this novel will stay with me for a very, very long time.
PAPER TOWNS is about a guy named Quentin in his final year of high school going on an adventure with the subject of his long-time affections, Margo. After this night, he believes - hopes - that he's left the right impression on her, and that it won't be a one-night-stand so to speak (they don't sleep together, FYI.) But the next day, Margo doesn't show up to school and then she's just missing all together. As Quentin makes it his mission to find her, he realizes that she is not who he thought she was, but even this realization does not stop him from piecing together her clues and creating an image of her in his head. Many Margos suddenly spring into existence as he and his friends try finding her in the final stretch before they choose what path they want to take.
I think what I loved most about this novel was the idea that you perceive people in a pretty set way, and when you finally see through the "cracks", as John Green puts it in the book, you can either be disappointed or you can accept them for who they really are. In this way, when the exact opposite of what I thought would happen in the end occurred, I had to either be upset and dislike the book, or I could roll with it. I rolled with it.
It was so much better.
If what I expected to happen had happened, then the book would have been just paper, like Margo was a paper girl - being exactly what she was expected to be and not so much herself. Because the opposite happens, this book becomes REAL.

*SPOILER ALERT *I would like to share a quote with you that stuck out for me:

"Imagining isn't perfect. You can't get all the way inside someone else. I could never have imagined Margo's anger at being found, or the story she was writing over. But imagining being someone else, or the world being something else, is the only way in" (Green, 299).

I love that quote so much because not only can I relate to it in terms of the past - I mean, I'm sure I'm not the only one disappointed by somebody or something that didn't live up to your expectations - but in many ways I feel like John Green is Margo and we are Quentin; when we finally get to the end, when we finally find Margo, what we thought would happen has been totally written over. We find out that Margo did not leave the clues intentionally, we find that what we expected to happen when she and Quentin reunited was not going to happen. John Green gave us the framework and we built up our own Margo, and then he went ahead and wrote over all of that in the end.

-Victoria

Source for Cover Art: http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=paper+towns+john+green&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1311&bih=655&tbm=isch&tbnid=mmE9f4ObqZiMHM:&imgrefurl=http://johngreenbooks.com/paper-towns/&docid=DGmgQ1nij097hM&imgurl=http://johngreenbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/PaperTowns2009_6A.jpg&w=546&h=824&ei=qUdOUJmQDaiY2wXEq4GACQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=173&vpy=110&dur=2107&hovh=276&hovw=183&tx=106&ty=131&sig=110521532527818361811&page=1&tbnh=141&tbnw=93&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:73

The Wonderful DEARLY, DEPARTED by Lia Habel!!!

Dear Blogger,

This will be the first review where I have actually written out notes, so let's see how this goes with the newer, more organized me.
DEARLY, DEPARTED is about a young girl named Nora Dearly who discovers the existence of zombies - good and bad ones - and fights alongside these creatures for equality and love. I don't want to write much more summarizing because I'm afraid of giving something away!
So first of all, this book was freaking fantastic. I love, love, LOVE the zombies. All zombies in general, actually. I am an avid player of COD: Black Ops Zombies and I love the movie Zombieland...I've even wanted to write a book about a zombie apocalypse and survival. So obviously I fell in love with this book rather easily. But I don't think you need to be a zombie fan to love the book. There are so many other great aspects about it as well.
So the first thing I'll talk about is that while I was reminded a bit of TWILIGHT in terms of the relationship between Nora and zombie-boyfriend Bram in comparison to Bella and Edward ("You won't hurt me, I KNOW IT!!!", "But I'm a moster!"...) it was the imperfection in DEARLY, DEPARTED rather than the perfect, glorious vamps of TWILIGHT that made this novel way less eye-roll worthy and 100% more believable. Seriously. This love story also keeps me way more on-edge because Bram WILL die again, and soon (three years). The impending doom/tragedy on their newfound love is so heartbreaking. I mean, people thought that Bella and Edward's relationship was THE most heartbreaking and dramatic thing ever, but ugh. Please. They were just whiny about everything, making it SEEM like it was a way bigger deal than it actually was. But Bram is already dead, and he has the marks on his body to prove it, and he will die again! Come on! And I mean they can't even consumate their love before he dies because he doesn't have blood! (Thank you Lia Habel, by the way, for being realistic about that and not making up some excuse like "Oh, the venom can make that happen for him", or in this case "The juices they pump into him make it work." No.)
The second really great thing about this book was the dialogue. It was realistic, not too serious but not so funny that you find yourself going "Yeah, yeah. Okay." It was written as people really talk, which I find a lot of books lack for the author's fear that it won't be taken seriously or whatever. There was just the right amount of wit and tone of voice to make each character interesting and unique. I also enjoyed how sometimes the character's narrative would tell you what they would have said if it wouldn't have been innappropriate in the situation. It was funny in parts.
Now I am not normally of fan of books that jump perspectives, but this book was so good that I actually wish I saw more of the less likeable characters' perspectives, such as Wolfe's. Just a random side-note, there.
Now a few things I didn't particularily like but that still did not ruin the novel for me (as in the last novel I reviewed)...
I actually have the same complaint as I did in the last novel I reviewed. DEARLY, DEPARTED is a futuristic novel, but the characters have reverted back to the Victorian way of things, modelling that era. Due to that, I was a bit confused as to how the many, many, many references to Bing Crosby applied, considering that it is A) set in the future and you would therefore think that many other musicians have come out of the woodwork since then and B) they are modelling the Victorian era and wouldn't you think they would then be listening to Victorian music? It can be argued that now we still listen to Mozart or Chopin...but still...It was clear that Lia Habel is definitely a fan of Bing's, but I didn't really buy it in the novel. It was sweet to have Bram sing the songs though. :)
The other thing was that even if only a little bit, I was reminded of TWILIGHT. Only at the very beginning and then again at the very end. The huge space in between, not so much. I think it mostly had to do with Bram and the "monster clan", how he was afraid of hurting her but she insisted on being with him anyways, how he sang...I didn't like that, but the entire middle made me forget about TWILIGHT entirely, so that was good. It also helped that it switched perspectives from Bram and Nora quite often, so that reminder was not a constant thing. It couldn't be.
The last thing I have to say is that I kind of wish Nora wasn't AS stubborn simply because she seemed childish at some points. However, it gave her great character development and her stubborness, like the reminders of Twilight, disappeared throughout the entire middle. BECAUSE THE MIDDLE WAS SO ACTION PACKED!!! It was great.
Overall, I really loved this book. Loved the zombies. I am definitely buying the second book in the series when I get the chance. Thanks, Lia Habel!

-Victoria

Source for cover image: http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=dearly+departed+lia+habel&hl=en&biw=1311&bih=655&tbm=isch&tbnid=48MjCrabdLwD7M:&imgrefurl=http://liahabel.com/dearly-departed/&imgurl=http://i794.photobucket.com/albums/yy223/liahabel/ddcoverhighrez.jpg&w=681&h=1023&ei=iQRFUKbbGojs0gG3sYHACw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=184&vpy=119&dur=1862&hovh=275&hovw=183&tx=81&ty=154&sig=110521532527818361811&page=1&tbnh=158&tbnw=114&start=0&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:70

My Review of AMERICA PACIFICA by Anna North

Dear Blogger,

Just finished AMERCIA PACIFICA by Anna North in about three days. I have to admit, I didn't LOVE it, but I liked it. For readers who are fans of Margaret Atwood - this book is so for you. I, for one, am not a fan of Margaret Atwood. Perhaps that is the reason why this book didn't click one hundred percent with me. The things I struggle with when it comes to Margaret Atwood, and now with this book, are the dark, rambling descriptions. While neat a couple of times, I can't love it when it makes up the entire book.
BUT don't get turned off just yet. There were parts of the book I really did get into. For example, the beginning of the book really did hook me. So did the ending. The middle was a bit of a struggle for me just because I felt that the main character, Darcy, was a bit stuck, which she was. But I didn't like that it FELT stuck, you know?
Anyways, this book is set in the future, but not very far in the future. However, it is far enough that the world has been thrown into another ice age and Darcy is now living on a Pacific island with her mother where it is hot. This has been the escape for mankind, but not all of mankind, and the majority of mankind are assumed to be dead on the mainland. Basically, life sucks. Unless you are super rich and powerful, you have next to nothing. Darcy and her mom have nothing until her mom goes missing and on her quest to find her she discovers her mom might have connections/info that can get them back to the mainland where there *might* be survivors and a better way of life.
I was originally drawn to the quest narrative as told by an eighteen year old girl set in the future. However, it became somewhat hard to buy the concept, as characters keep making references to present-time things, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger. I mean, it just doesn't seem likely that an ice age would occur in such a short amount of time that adults in that time period are referencing celebrities from my parents' generation. Surely other pop culture figures would have cropped up.
Also a warning, the F-bomb is dropped quite a few times and there is a bit of graphic content. Granted, this is an adult book. Maybe it's just me, but I still cringe at that sort of thing. Not to turn you away, but if you are like me you might want a heads-up. I will also give Anna North kudos to the fact that all of that stuff did contribute to the story. It wasn't at all random. I was made uncomfortable a few times, but at least I wasn't sitting there going, "Why was that necessary??" like I sometimes do. (Like with Margaret Atwood. I really can't read her stuff.)
Something I really liked about the novel is that as an eighteen year old and looking at her surroundings, Darcy is realisticaly flawed, and her character never changes drastically. Her moods aren't exaggerated beyond belief, the way she speaks is understandable...I really liked that. I've read some things where the character has a bit of a badass feel, but by the third or fourth chapter I find myself going, "Come on. Really?" Not so with this novel. With this novel, Darcy was a badass without trying to be, which was pretty cool.
I also really loved the ending, as I said before. I probably really started to enjoy it from the point where Darcy receives a list of people named Rosen from a few stoned, rich people. That's about one-third of the book that I didn't feel stuck. I felt that after that, there was a smooth speed to the rest of the book that was a bit of relief. So perhaps that stuck feeling was intentional, meant to provide you with a breath of fresh air before the movement kicks in.
And side note, but I think the name Darcy is really awesome.
So my complaints:
1. Felt that it was "stuck" for the majority of the middle.
2. Quite a few moments that I, personally, found cringe-worthy, though they contributed to the story.
3. Also felt that the gap between now and then should have been better explained, as well as changes between now and that time in the future. I was a bit lost as to how some of the references still applied.

Overall, I'm glad I bought it and read it as one of my Books to Read Before I HAVE to Read for School.

-Victoria

Source for book cover image: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/America-Pacifica-A-Novel/book-UzRroVE-9EuXwC_LstkEiA/page1.html

Everyone Must Read MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH by Bethany Griffin!

Dear Blogger,

Okay, so I definitely finished this book in around eight and a half hours, starting the day I bought it (Monday) and finishing it yesterday (Tuesday). It's been a long time since I've finished a book that quickly, but I couldn't put it down even if I had tried. Holy crap, this book was amazing. Inspired by Edgar Allen Poe, MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH by Bethany Griffin is dark, risque, and elegant. Let's talk about it.
The narrator is Araby Worth, a young adult who is struggling to deal with the loss of her twin brother partly to the contagion killing the people and partly to murder. The contagion is nasty. It's a massive plague that covers its victims in pussing bruises and sores, and eventually it kills them. Araby is both lucky and unlucky in that her father is the scientist that started the contagion but also has the ability to fight it off. To protect against the airborn disease, they wear porcelain masks, modeled after dolls, to cover their faces and filter the diseased air. The rich can afford them no problem; the poor are not so lucky. Araby, who was once poor, meets a man named Will who is lower class and is taking care of his two younger siblings. Araby begins to fall in love with him, but I feel that it is mostly because his younger siblings, Elise and Henry, remind her of her and her lost brother Finn, and she needs to be close to those reminders again. I say this because their circumstances are a bit awkward, and there's a love triangle. I have to admit, I am a little tired of the oh-so-popular love triangle thing. I mean, let's face it, it would actually suck to be the one stuck in the middle of a love triangle. Let me know if you feel any differently.
So anyways, there's Will and his family which is so much better than Araby's minus the threat of the disease, and then there's Elliott. Elliott is April's brother, and April is Araby's best friend. I don't really like April, nor do I usually like Elliott, though he sometimes performs kind gestures. Elliott is trying to revolt against his uncle, the evil Prince Prospero. Yes, the names are a bit odd in this book. I have to say that one thing I DID like about the love triangle thing is that I didn't really have to pick a side. I don't know if Bethany Griffin intended it this way, but while I do favour Will SLIGHTLY more than Elliott, it's only slightly, and if she picked Elliott I wouldn't be all heartbroken. I like that. I don't like when the author is trying to force you to get all invested in this love triangle drama because I wouldn't want to be in real life and I therefore do not want to be in a book! Sorry, little rant there.
So aside from the love triangle, the book is so wonderful it's hard for me to even begin listing reasons why. I honestly am at a loss for words. I guess the first thing is the time period, though I am still a bit confused on when that is. The thing that confuses me is that they wear period clothing with a seductive twist; like, the clothes seem to come out of the late 1800's, but they are low cut and the skirts are short. Now, Araby tells you that they wore this even before the disease, though the clothes are more handy now that the disease is around, so it automatically makes my mind go "Okay, they're from the 1800's." But then they have all of this modern technology, and my mind goes all "What??" So I have no idea when this book takes place, at all. BUT that's part of why it's so great, because it's mixing old fashion (making it all hot) with modern things. It makes the atmosphere of the book really romantic, in the gothic idea of romance.
I think the other reason why I love it is the obvious diversity between upper class and lower class (Araby sees both intimately), but as a reader, after experiencing both, I wasn't drawn towards wanting to be a part of the upper class. Despite the disease, despite the lack of food and money, being poor was still better when it is compared to how much Araby and her friends' lives suck. They have a total lack of freedom that they can in no way control and they all get themselves into so many messes that the poor manage to stay out of...Honestly, call me Oliver Twist.
The book ends in a bit of a cliffhanger, still stuck in a bit of a love triangle but not so much of one and with everyone's lives at risk. Oh, and a new disease, The Red Death, has struck out. Oh, wondering what will happen haunts me. That leads me to the final thing I'm going to mention as something I liked. I really loved how the masks they wear made things so risque. Like a shirt or pants, removing the mask seems like a huge revelation of one's self. At one point in the book, Araby even describes an R-rated scene where she sees a couple in the bar having sex, and she mentions how even removing your masks to kiss has become a higher act of intimacy than having sex in public. That was a shocking moment while I was reading along, let me tell you. Was NOT expecting that with my morning cereal.
So anyways, I definitely recommend this as the next book for anyone to read. It's dark and dreary and awesome, and totally worth it. And I challenge any of you to finish it in less than eight and a half hours. Go!

-Victoria

Oh, and P.S.:
I thought this was really awesome. You'll know what it means when you've read the book.

Happy reading! :)

Source for cover: http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=masque+of+the+red+death+bethany+griffin+chapters&hl=en&biw=1366&bih=682&tbm=isch&tbnid=hx4ZDEyoTGqf0M:&imgrefurl=http://glass-of-wine.blogspot.com/2012/04/masque-of-red-death-by-bethany-griffin.html&docid=yqeIbQ1eCR5HiM&imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpYoAzeXSDocF79PoVsamOAYDJQawzI0FsO8nMt9DwEA10Lx68tD3vsV7m9Mpl4aut0wNTHcdHFXzFYG-Z8HV7cucWrNyw0vDDfnNskGN0cBjDjfImsfwVMX7sJbgLm77YXBFk_lk4mzbo/s1600/12924275.jpg&w=314&h=475&ei=OEQZUMHwFoLc6wHEtoDACQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=181&vpy=114&dur=2657&hovh=276&hovw=182&tx=121&ty=141&sig=110521532527818361811&page=1&tbnh=149&tbnw=108&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:69

Source for 2nd image: http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=masque+of+the+red+death+by+bethany+griffin&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1366&bih=682&tbm=isch&tbnid=JWVZL0nsYH9U2M:&imgrefurl=http://www.bethanygriffin.com/masque.html&docid=ZNTn4aMZfgdfKM&imgurl=http://www.bethanygriffin.com/pageimages/masquecard_back.jpg&w=778&h=650&ei=-koZUIu1MILq6wH6sIGIBA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=187&vpy=152&dur=515&hovh=205&hovw=246&tx=137&ty=115&sig=110521532527818361811&page=1&tbnh=154&tbnw=184&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:71

THE NAME OF THE STAR by Maureen Johnson - Amazing.

Dear Blogger,

Okay, so I haven't posted recently because I was on a little trip to Costa Rica. Yay! But no internet access. However, the plane rides and nights where I had nothing to do have me ample opportunity to read Maureen Johnson's THE NAME OF THE STAR. I read 13 LITTLE BLUE ENVELOPES years ago and loved it, so I don't know why it took me so long to pick this one up. Perhaps because the inside sleeve was talking about ghost fighting and whatnot, and there is just so much out there on TV about that now. Lesson learned. Do not let book descriptions fool you, people. The book itself is always better.
So the book follows Rory Deveaux as she transfers from a small town in Louisiana to a boarding school in London, England. Reason A to love it. Maureen Johnson's knowledge of the city is so great as she perfectly describes the cityscape, the Underground, etc. It's so much more than her just having Google Mapped London and attempting to write about it. I could honestly put in my tour DVD of England and follow along if I had wanted to. Anyways, two thumbs up for Maureen Johnson on that front.
Reason B to love it is the historical aspect. Johnson gives thorough backround information on the murders of Jack the Ripper and the various events that followed, including letters sent to newspapers at the time, and she does this wonderful thing where she describes modern London and then tells you that in that very spot was room 13 where Mary Kelly was found brutally murdered in her own apartment...it's just brilliant. If I could, I would travel to England now, take this book with me, and follow the incredible map that she has laid out for us. (Oh yeah, there's a map in the front too, which I love, showing London and the locations of where all the Ripper bodies were found. Nice touch.) I was interested in the tales of Jack the Ripper before this, but now I'm even more hooked. I want to be a Ripper detective, too!
Reason C to love it is that if you know Maureen Johnson, you know that she's just a little bit funny. Or out there. Either one, you pick. But it definitely shows in this novel with the characters' sense of humour. Once I heard an author say that you could never make the narrator too quirky because then it wouldn't seem realistic. Maybe that's true. But Johnson has put little touches into Rory that make her just a little quirky, just a little more real, a little more like a teenage girl with a sense of humour. I enjoyed reading this book because it was like a slight insight into Johnson's mind, and that was cool.
The other great thing about this novel is that it is the first in a SERIES!!! Yeah, the cover on my book doesn't advertise that, but it is. The series, as far as I've heard, is called SHADES OF LONDON. Exciting! I can't wait until the next one comes out. I'm going to buy it right away.
If you love that touch of creepy as well, then this is also the book for you. I felt like one of the Londoners in the book, waiting around my television to find out who was murdered next. I would have placed bets if I could have. I was convinced it would be Jazza, Rory's best friend, or Charlotte, the evil prefect. At one point I was convinced it was Jerome, Rory's make-out partner and kind-of boyfriend-sometimes-when-it's-not-too-awkward-but-it-usually-is, committing the murders! I won't spoil anything for you though. You have to find out for yourself.
In conclusion, this book was amazing. I didn't want to put it down the whole trip, except sometimes I had to in order to go climb waterfalls and things. I didn't want it to get ruined!

-Victoria

Source for cover art: http://attackthestacks.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/review-the-name-of-the-star-by-maureen-johnson/

Wow!!! Let's Talk about WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE by Sarah Dessen!

Dear Blogger,

Wow!! Wow!! Wow!!
I cannot even begin to describe how much I love the book I just read.
Sarah Dessen, as my favourite author, never fails to surprise me. However, after reading my all-time favourite book by her, THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER, it was hard for me to love her other books as much as that one. Like, I LOVELOVELOVELOVED it, and her other books I only LOVELOVED or something. But then I picked up WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE, a little bit wary of how it would compare to THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER, and ohmygod. It's like being smacked in the face with good literature. I'm still a little bit dazed by it.
I have to admit, it took a few chapters, maybe two, for me to really get into it. But that can be expected with any book. I mean, the first bit is always where the author has to explain things to catch you up on where the characters are in that moment, right? I think for me, the reason it took a bit to get into it was because we didn't know Mclean yet. In the beginning, she was still playing with who she might become in the town of Lakeview. She had decided on Liz Sweet at this party next door, and we had been with this character for a little while at that point, but I still didn't feel like I knew her. I think that was intentional, though, because even Mclean isn't sure who she is or is about to be at that point.
After she was forced into being Mclean, though, I fell absolutely in love. I couldn't put it down! I really liked the fact that this is one of the few Sarah Dessen books that takes place during the cold season. It was a nice change, as most of her books are summer-themed. I also really liked that for once, I pitied the mom (Katherine) and was kind of annoyed with the dad (Gus) at points, which was odd considering Katherine is the one who cheated on Gus and kind of sent Mclean's life into the downward spiral that she was in. It was just the way that Sarah Dessen wrote the dialogue that made it work out like that for me, making it easy all around to understand the characters and what they each might be going through.
The other thing I LOVELOVELOVELOVED was how Sarah Dessen always manages to hit you with the unexpected. I think the biggest example, for me, in WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE was when Mclean had her breakdown and was at the Poseidon. She called Dave and he said he was coming to see her. There's a knock at the door, Mclean AND the reader fully expect Dave to be the one standing there, and it's Mclean's parents instead, suddenly a united front. WOW. And then Dave never shows up! You learn why, ultimately; that he had been there, but he knew Mclean was with the people she most needed to be with, and so he went home, thus getting caught and in even more trouble. But still! Oh my gosh, I was gobsmacked. And I think what I loved about that is nothing is perfect. In a perfect world, Dave would have showed up and consoled Mclean, and they would have fallen even more in love. Her parents probably would have arrived anyways, healing that wound. Everything would have turned out fine. But instead, Dave doesn't come to save the day, though in many ways he does unbeknownst to the reader, and the reader is left wondering: is he mad at Mclean for all of the Ume.com accounts? Is their relationship wrecked? Is anything going to happen from here on out with them, or is that chapter of her life closed? I was trying to read as fast as I could just to see if everything between them was okay.
In this book, Sarah Dessen also withheld a lot about each of the characters, which I think is significant. For example, you learn the most about Mclean (obviously), but she doesn't share this with the others, who are supposed to be her friends. In return, Mclean doesn't learn a lot about the other characters. Even Dave, who is falling in love with her, keeps his private life fairly private, and when he does share something, he makes it lighthearted. Heather shares a very small tidbit about her and her father, and Riley keeps almost everything to herself except for her taste in guys. I think this is important, because I felt throughout the whole book that Riley was rather jealous of Mclean when it came to Dave through her body language, but the reader can never know for sure. I think this is most significant, though, in terms of Jason, who we may recognize from THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER (!) and others where he has made an appearance. We already know his back story, but Mclean doesn't learn all that much about it. This is why I think it is so significant, because it reveals just how little information Mclean is getting from the other characters. AND I think that is important because the message I got from it was that it doesn't matter who you were in the past - what matters is who you are in the present, and there is no explaining needed to see that. This is a stark contrast to THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER, where Kristy shares a whole ton of info with Macy, and Macy and Wes play a game called Truth and they are forced to share a lot of personal information with each other. I love the contrasts in my two favourite books! I honestly think all Sarah Dessen readers should read the two books back-to-back and compare them because it would be SO INTERESTING!!!
Sarah Dessen tends to use a lot of symbolism in her books (but usually I'm not looking for anything; this is not school, people). However, there were two things I caught onto that I really liked. One of them, the Click noise that the houses on the model and the lids on the tupperware containers make, may not be so much of a symbol as just a nice link to what I saw as the start of something new (the model) and the end of something old (the containers). For me, the Click represented how Mclean had this fresh start to be herself, thus ending all the other "fresh starts" as somebody she wasn't, but that ultimately, there was always something similar - something familiar, even - that she carried with her. The second symbol I really loved was the old, abandoned hotel behind Mclean and Dave's houses. For me, the fact that the building was a hotel represented the temporariness (is that even a word?) of the mahority of Mclean's life. In a hotel, guests check in and they check out, moving on to something new. For Mclean, she was always moving into a new place with her town only to move out half a year later. BUT THEN you have the "Stay". Oh, the Stay. *swoons*. That linked for me to the fact that the building, the old abandoned hotel, is still standing there. The people who once stayed there may have moved on, the people who once ran it may no longer be around, but the hotel is still there. It stayed, like a memory. A memory, just like all the mini Mcleans that Dave stuck around the board of the model. Even if Mclean didn't "Stay", her memory, or her essence, would still be in every one of those places. Dave would never forget her.
UGH! How much I loved it all! I actually felt a lump in my throat upon finishing it, haha. I'd be reading it and find myself just smiling to myself. Not only because of the book, but because Dave reminded me of my boyfriend and I'd get all choked up, knowing that I'd never leave my boyfriend behind. Spoiler alert: Mclean didn't leave Dave behind. But still.
I have to say, though, a part of me hated how it said Gus and Opal's relationship might not have lasted, Mclean and Dave's might not have, but there was hope...In my mind, everything turned out okay. Gus and Opal are married, but without kids. I don't think either of them are ready for that yet. Mclean and Dave are still together, sharing a house where they eat tons of Egg-Eggs and toast and butter and watch U basketball with Deb, Riley, Heather and Ellis...Ah, it's perfect in my mind. A happy ending.

-Victoria

Let's Talk STARCROSSED by Josephine Angelini

Dear Blogger,

So this is my first post. Hi! My name is Victoria, a.k.a. Vicky. Whichever you prefer. I am writing this as I sit at home in bed feeling kind of bleh. It's too hot outside and the heat is getting to me. Anyways, I'm a big reader, especially for YA fiction, and I am also writing novels. Trying to get published right now is VERY HARD. Just so you know. I want to talk about the books I'm reading, and I want to share my thoughts somewhere people can share theirs too. So voila.

First up to talk about is my first real book of the summer, STARCROSSED by Josephine Angelini. I follow her on Twitter and I tweeted about reading this book and guess what?! She favourited it! I tried not to freak out too much, meaning I gushed about it for a full five minutes to my boyfriend, who just kind of smiled and nodded encouragingly.
ANYWAYS I just finished STARCROSSED a few days ago and I loved it, I did. I dunno why I'm always a sucker for the forbidden love thing. And yes, I know that I'm a little late here because the sequel is already out and many have already read it. But I was busy at university all year, okay? There were a lot of elements about this book that I thought were preety unique. For example, who the heck has written about demigods in YA fiction up till now? If there has been somebody, let me know, because I sure as heck am not aware of this. I took Greek history at university this past semester, so reading this I was all like "I know what they're talking about!!" and my boyfriend was all like "That's great, honey" *turns back to his video game*. The thing I DIDN'T find unique about this book was that it felt a lot like TWILIGHT by Stephenie Meyer to me. Does anyone else agree? I'll explain why.
First of all, you have the non-human element. Now, granted, Bella in TWILIGHT was not a vampire to begin with, whereas Helen in STARCROSSED has always been a demigod. However, Lucas and his clan of demigods felt a lot like the Cullen family, and Noel and Esme just seemed to click into the same character in many ways. For me, Jason was Jasper, Hector was Emmett, Ariadne was Alice, and Cassandra was Rosalie (attitude-wise). Then there was the fact that Cassandra could predict the future, like Alice. Then there was the fact that Helen was an only child living with her very lovable father (Bella and Charlie)...There is so much more that it made it all just seem SO similar, but I could be the only one who sees these resemblances. And I haven't read the sequel, but apparently there's a love triangle...Bella-Edward-Jacob, anyone?
I'm not saying there is anything wrong with STARCROSSED because I really did love it and I thought the writing was (so much!) better than the writing in TWILIGHT (no offense, Stephenie Meyer), but it just felt like those particular aspects were very much the same. But I think all girls and young ladies out there can agree that it was a huge relief to have Lucas actually be nice and respectful to Helen unlike Edward is to Bella (shudders). OH! That reminds me of one other HUGE similarity...the sleeping on the Widow's Walk to watch out for Helen without her knowing about it....ring a bell?...
Please don't get me wrong with all this criticism and comparison: I totally loved STARCROSSED and am not trying to put it down (especially for those of you that hate TWILIGHT with a fiery passion). I just felt like it was veeeerrry similar and wanted to hear if I was the only one. I also wanted to hear how much y'all loved it or, sadly, hated it.
Now I want to continue on to the sequel....but part of me is a bit nervous about that. First of all, I am the type of person that needs (!) a happy ending. If things end badly in a book, or not the way I want them to, I am super depressed for a very long time. I just get too invested in the characters and what I'm reading. Basically what I'm saying is that I want Helen and Lucas to end up together because we all know that they are NOT (they can't be! D:) cousins. Based on what Pandora said right before she died, anyway. So, without telling me how it ends please, just let me know on a scale of one to ten how sad I will be. One being miserable, five being "Helen toys around a quite a bit but you might actually be okay with the ending" and ten being "Whatever person Helen ends up with, it's written in a way that you'll still love it". Sound good? Okay. :)

Now, there is another book I tried reading and just could not get into. It's called A NORTHERN LIGHT by Jennifer Donnelly (I hope I spelled that right). I got maybe fifty pages in and I just haven't been able to keep going. I personally hate those books where the author jumps back and forth between the past and the present when the past events are very slow-going and don't really seem to have a purpose in the main storyline. For example, so far the main storyline is that this chick Mattie might hold the clues to a murder, but the past events they keep showing you is how Mattie got to the hotel she is working at. I get that it's meant to show you like "Oh look, she had a tough life but if she had chosen to stay home, she wouldn't have gotten involved in this murder thing", but it just doesn't seem to matter. I think, if the story is about this murder and how Mattie is involved in it, then show me more of that and less of her picking things in a field and arguing with her siblings. However, if anyone has read it and liked it, please let me know. Give me some encouraging feedback about this book so that I can maybe keep going. I rented it from the library, so I can always pick it up again.

So here's hoping I'll hear from somebody. Feedback is always appreciated! And this is only my first post - keep checking back for more if you like what you've read! :)

-Victoria