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Pedro & Me is a sad but fascinating tale of an openly gay man living with aids. The story deaply explores both subjects, providing the reader with a wealth of information. In particular Winick takes great pains to explain the truth about aids and to debunk false information about the subject. The message of hope despite tragedy really shines in this book. Definately reccommended.
Fun Home is a graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel. It chronicles the author's childhood and youth in rural Pennysylvania, USA, focussing on her complex relationship with her closetted father and how she dealt with her own sexual orientation.
The memoir explores homosexuality in a painfully true manner. In particular the memoir carefully explores how the attitude towards homosexuality has changed and how our attitude can affect the lives of otherwise ordinary people and their families in ways that might be unexpected. Themes such as gender roles and dysfunctional families is also explored.
The story is told in an non-linear fashion; Bechdel often revisits and expands upon previously mentioned scenes throughout the book. The writing is pretty good but it can be a bit confusing at times, expecially if you haven't read many litterary classics since Bechdel often uses classics such as Ulysses to explain certain ideas. However it should be mentioned that she does this because her father loved reading and because he had read many of the books that she referred to.
The artwork matches the tone of the story and is quite interesting to look at. The characters are generally depicted in a simple cartoonish method which is fine except that in this situation we don't really get to see much emotion from any of the characters which makes it hard for the readers to connect with them. Yet at times the artwork can also be very detailed such as the scene with the dead body and the way Bechdel even mimicks her style of writing she used as a child.
This was definately an interesting book but I didn't like it as much as other graphic memoirs such as Maus; I'm not sure why. However I would definately recommend it to anyone who likes graphic novels, expecially graphic memoirs, and also to anyone who likes glbt books.
Definately Dead is the sixth book by Charlaine Harris in her best-selling series The Southern Vampire Mysteries. This time the story revolves around multiple attacks against Sookie and her weretiger boyfriend Quinn and the mysterious circumstances surrounding Hadley's second death.
Definately Dead was better than the previous but it still wasn't very enjoyable to read. We got to see more of Quinn who was introduced to us briefly in the previous book although unfortunately he is even more boring than Alcide. He was also very 2-dimensional which seems to be a common trait among most of Charlaine Harris' characters. However we did get to meet some entirely new characters such as Sophine-Anne and Amelia among others.
I found this book really confusing because the narrator kept refering to important events that apparently happened earlier but which we didn't get to see in the book/series itself. I later learned that Harris wrote a short story about the events and that it can be found in a seperate book altogether which is very annoying. I think that since the short story was part of the major plot then it should not have been made into a short story or else it should have at least be included in the same book.
There was also a bit more action in this book than in the previous book which was good to see although some of that action was a bit un-neccessary and didn't really flow very well with the rest of the book. There was also too many sub plots which made it difficult to keep track of what was happening in the story. The worst thing was that Harris seems content to use repeated plots and subplots which gives me the impression that she has become bored with her own series. However some interesting information is also revieled at the end which does explain why supes are more interested in Sookie than regular human's however this was a little bit on the predictable side.
Definately Dead was better than the previous but it still wasn't very enjoyable to read. We got to see more of Quinn who was introduced to us briefly in the previous book although unfortunately he is even more boring than Alcide. He was also very 2-dimensional which seems to be a common trait among most of Charlaine Harris' characters. However we did get to meet some entirely new characters such as Sophine-Anne and Amelia among others.
I found this book really confusing because the narrator kept refering to important events that apparently happened earlier but which we didn't get to see in the book/series itself. I later learned that Harris wrote a short story about the events and that it can be found in a seperate book altogether which is very annoying. I think that since the short story was part of the major plot then it should not have been made into a short story or else it should have at least be included in the same book.
There was also a bit more action in this book than in the previous book which was good to see although some of that action was a bit un-neccessary and didn't really flow very well with the rest of the book. There was also too many sub plots which made it difficult to keep track of what was happening in the story. The worst thing was that Harris seems content to use repeated plots and subplots which gives me the impression that she has become bored with her own series. However some interesting information is also revieled at the end which does explain why supes are more interested in Sookie than regular human's however this was a little bit on the predictable side.
Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris is the fith book in her best-selling series The Southern Vampire Mysteries.
This time the story revolves around multiple shootings and a fierce competition among the local Were's to become the next packleader.
Dead as a Doornail is yet another dissapointing volume by Charlaine Harris who is quickly becomming one of my least favorite authors. Her style of writing is very simple and it doesn't seem to show any signs of improvement as the series progresses. The plot was also slow-paced and tedious to get through. Like the previous books in the series Dead as a Doornail has plenty of potential to be full of action but this is barely delivered and the tiny bit of action that we do get to see is nothing compared to the trashy nonsense which seems to take up a large portion of this silly series. In fact the only real mystery in this overly hyped-up series is trying to figure out who will be the next supe to get into Sookies pants and this is typically very predictable. I would not recommend this book/series.
Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris is the fourth book in her best-selling series The Southern Vampire Mysteries. This time the plot revolves around Eric who has lost his memory and Jason's frightening dissapearance.
Since I hated books 2 & 3 I was sure that I would also hate book 4. But I was wrong. Dead to the World is by far one of the better books in this series as it was fast-paced and it kept me guessing right until the end like any good mystery should. I still don't like Sookie very much as the main protagonist but the story was better written, the plot was really interesting and once more the conclusion was satisfying.
It was also nice to see the return of various characters such as Alcide, even though I find him a bit boring, and his less-than-pleasant associates. We also meet some interesting new characters such as the Hotshot residents and of course the witches. The new characters really seem to add to the dark tone of the series so I hope that we get to see more of them soon along with the Fellowship of the Sun members.
There's not really a lot of negative things that I can say about this book. Sure I still find it annoying that every male character that Sookie meets wants to get into her pants, and I'm getting mighty tired of the word-of-the-day calendar which so far has been mentioned in every book. However, I really enjoyed this book and would definately recommend it to any avid supernatural or vampire fan.
Club Dead by Charlaine Harris is the third book in her best-selling series The Southern Vampire Mysteries. This time the plot revolves around the kidnap of Sookie's vampire boyfriend Bill.
At this stage I'm really starting to regret that I bourght this series. The thing that really irritates me the most is the main heroine -Sookie. Could she be any more of a Mary Sue? Let's consider this: she's good-looking, she doesn't have any bad qualities and she is overly idealistic -expecially when it comes to women. She is also extremally pathetic, whiney, dull, and stupid. And don't even ask me what I think about Bill -I just hope that he will eventually get staked.
There are some good characters though. Eric might not be a sweetie but at least he knows where to draw the line. I just love the fact that he's so straight-forward with Sookie. I also love Pam's character. She is just soooo vampirey. As in the previous books we are also introduced to some new characters: Alcide and his less-than-pleasant associates. Alcide was ok as a character but I didn't really think much of him. It's not that I didn't like him but I thought that he was a bit of a snore even though he does reveal some interesting background about the Were's etc.
However although the background information about all of the Were's etc is really interesting I would still like to see some character devopement because so far there has been none. In particular I would love it if Sookie became a stronger heroine.
As for the plot, it started out interesting but I was deeply dissapointed with the conclusion. The conclusion just wasn't very satisfying. I was also disspointed that we didn't get to see more of the Fellowship or the Shifters that we met in the previous book. I will still finish the series though because I' ve been told that the books get much better as the series continues.
Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris is the second book in her best-selling series The Southern Vampire Mysteries. This novel focusses on two serperate mysteries -a murder in Bon Temps and the dissapearance of a vampire in Dallas. ( Read more... )
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris is set two years after vampires have "come out of the coffin." The plot revolves around the mysterious deaths in the small town of Bon Temps where the main protagonist Sookie Stackhouse lives with her remaining family. As the police struggle to identify the murderer Sookie enters a relationship with Bill, the local vampire, which causes rifts among her family and friends. Meanwhile she must defend her brother's innocence in an on-going crime scene investigation where all the evidence is against him.( Read more... )
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is about a 14-year-old girl named Susie Salmon who is raped and murdered by a neighbour (George Harvey) and then spends her time in heaven watching over her family and friends on earth.
Sebold's novel starts out strong -in particular I thought that the rape and murder scene was very realistic- but it quickly falls flat from that scene onwards. I know that a lot of people have commented on Sebold's poor writing skills but this wasn't my biggest problem with this novel. The only thing that bothered me in that respect was that we are never really given an actual description of George Harvey except that he was really creapy and liked to build dollhouses for a living. In fact my biggest problem with the novel was the plot, the unrealistic characters etc, and a very disatifying anti-climatic ending. ( cut because it contains spoilers )
Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie by Holly Black is a companion to her earlier novel Tithe: A Modern Tale of Faerie.
The novel revolves around the protagonist Val who runs away to New York after she discovers that her boyfriend has been cheating on her with her mother. Shortly after she arrives at the city she meets some homeless teenagers named Sketchy Dave and Lolli who invite her to stay at the tunnel where they live with Dave's older brother, Luis. Val soon learns that a troll also lives under the bridge and that Luis is his servent. Val also becomes his servent and before long she and her new friends become involved the mysterious deaths of several fairy folk.
Although I liked Valiant more than Tithe I still didn't enjoy the novel very much. Again my main problems were with the characters. In Tithe I disliked Kaye because she was nothing but a lazy arrogant thief whereas in Valient Val is slightly more likeable because although she does steal it's only because she has to in order to survive living on the streets. However she is still a pathetic character because not only does she start taking Never despite that she knows how dangerous and addictive it can be but she also has sex with someone whom she didn't want to have sex with whilst using Never to pretend that she was having sex with someone else. I find this idea both disgusting and very disturbing. The other characters such as Lolli and Dave were also equally if not more dislikeable. In fact Ruth, Luis, and Revus are the only characters in this novel that are likeable.
The most interesting character in the novel is Mabry because she is a rather complex character. As for Revus although he is a likeable character I found him a bit dull.
Therefore Valient is still a big improvement in the series because the scenes were easy to follow and because the plot was far more interesting -although the plot still could have been a bit stronger. And although I disliked the way Never was used throughout the novel I thought that the notion was quite interesting. I also liked the reference to the fairy tales "The Three Billy Goat's Gruff" and "Beauty and the Beast." Despite this though I felt that the characters let the story down so I would not recommend this novel to anyone.
Lyra's Oxford is a short story by Philip Pullman which is set two years after the end of the best selling series, His Dark Materials.
The story begins when Lyra notices a witches daemon being attacked by a flock of birds and decides to help the creature escape. The daemon Ragi explains that his witch, Yalena, is sick and that he came to Lyra becuse he hoped that she would help him find an alchemist named Sebastian Makepeace of whom is the only person who can to save Yalena. Lyra agrees to help and begins a quest to find the alchimist.
I found that the short story was just as captivating as the original series. It was also interesting to see how Lyra had changed as a result of the final battle. I would recommend this to anyone who loved reading His Dark Materials.
Briar Rose by Jane Yolen is about a girl named Becca who decides to search for her family inheritance after the death of her Grandmother Gemma. The story is based around the German fairy tale Briar Rose aka Sleeping Beauty which was Gemma's favorite story when she was still alive. We eventually learn that Gemma used the story as a metaphor for her experiance in the holocaust.
The story is written in a unusual style alternating between the present and the past. The past shows Gemma telling Becca and her sisters the story and their reactions to the tale. We learn early on that Gemma's tale differs from the popular varient because this infuriates other children who are not familiar with her story. Meanwhile the chapters set in the present explore the truth behind the story as Gemma tells it. This unique style seems to work quite well and is beautifully done.
The connections between the fairy tale and the holocaust is clear and interesting. There wasn't a single scene that had me baffled.
However there were some parts of the novel that I think could have been done much better such as the plot, the characterisation, and the entire ending of the novel.
For instance there was almost no plot so the story reads a bit like a poorly written adventure novel with little adventure. This might seem a bit harsh but I found it very difficult to actually finish the novel because of this reason.
The other major issue I had with this novel is that the characters had no personality and on top of that there was no character development whatsoever. Both Becca and her family are very 2d-like so they didn't seem like they were very real to me. In fact it was hard to picture them at all since the descriptions were handled very badly.
As for the ending I found it very frustrating because I thought that it was mainly about Josef and not so much about Gemma as it should have been.
You will also notice that this novel is often marketed as a YA book. After reading this I don't think that it is very suitable for YA because although it is very watered down for a Holocaust novel it still includes themes such as sex and suiside.
Tipping the Velvet is a historical romance novel by Sarah Waters. The story is about a young woman named Nancy who falls in love with Kitty after she sees her perform on stage as a male impersenator.
The story is written in first person and is easy to read. London is depicted very well throughout the entire novel. I almost felt as if I was walking through the streets of London myself because of the vivid descriptions in the novel. Part 1,2 & 3 all flow together really well. There's not a single part in the story which drags the rest of the story which is unusual in first-time writers such as the then Sarah Waters. The story has a rich selection of characters all of which are very realistic. In particular Sarah Waters succeeded in creating sympathetic dislikable characters which is a rare element in most litriture.
The story explores various themes such as sexuality, gender, and politics. Sexuality is explored through a number of characters; there's Nan who starts the novel as a closetted lesbian but eventually becomes an open lesbian towards the end of the novel and of course there's Kitty who remains ashamed of her sexuality throughout the entire novel. There is also Nancy's sister Alice who is homophobic and of course there are some characters who are indifferent about homosexuality. Gender is explored primarilly through Nancy's character. Throughout Part 2 Nancy realizes that it is easier to walk through the streets as a male rather than as a woman. Nancy notes that she feels more comfortable in males clothing and that it is more practical for work. Politics is explored primarilly through the characters Ralph and Florence Banner who are devoted Socialists.
So in short if you like romance novels and novels which explore sexuality, gender and politics then I would deffinately reccomend this book to you.
Tithe is about a young girl named Kaye who discovers that she is a changeling, a fairy offspring secrectly switched by members of the Seelie court with a human offspring.
I picked up Tithe because I've read a lot of positive reviews about it and because I love fantasy. However despite this I was deeply dissapointed. This was mainly because I found Black's writing style very confusing. There were many times throughout the novel where I had to re-read certain sections because the scenes were too rushed, such as the scene where the carisole poney came to life, or because they just didn't make sense.
I also disliked many of the characters such as Kaye and Janet because they were nothing but ignorant layabouts, Ellen because she is irresponsible, and the fairies Lutie Loo and Spike because I thought they were stupid and annoying and also because they lacked personality. I'm not sure about Roiben's character. I think his character could have been a lot more interesting than he was. In fact my favorite character happened to be Corny because gay characters rarely appear in fantasy but even he annoyed me as a character. However I liked the realism in the way teenagers are presented in the novel. The main character Kaye is 15 and like many teenagers she likes to drink, smoke, and shop-lift.
There were times when I just didn't understand the characters at all. For instance there was a scene where one minute Kaye was stressing about her lost friend and the next minute she was stressing about what people might think about her costume. This would never happen in real life.
I also think that the cover art is terrible. In particular I think that the fairy is way out of proportion. The head and wings are too small compared to the rest of Kaye's body which looks like it should belong to a giant not a fairy, or more technically a pixie. I also think it's a bit odd that the fairy creatures at the front are all reddish and yellowish in color whilst the fairy creatures in the back are all bluish and greenish in color. Although I do to like the later cover art with the black background and the glowing wings because it is simple and pleasing to the eye.
Anyway the strange thing is that although I did not like the book much I still would like to read the sequeals Valliant and Ironside. However this is mainly because I hate starting something and not finishing it.
On the Trail of Women Warriors: The Amazons in Myth and History by Lyn Webster Wilde explores the possible facts and fiction behind the facinating Amazons.
I picked up this book because I wanted to research real warrior cultures which I plan to use as inspiration for my own creative writing. Wilde's book is the first book that I've read on the topic and I have to say that it was the best possible place for me to start because it was deeply facinating and very eye opening.
At first I was sure that I would instantly be put off by the writing style since I rarely read non-fic but I actually found it to be a very exciting read. In fact it I read it in less than a few days.
I thought that the information was very well researched. Wilde included maps of possible Amazon locations as well as photos of Amazons in ancient artworks. I also liked the way that Wild provided an overview of various cultures associated with the Amazon legend in an open-minded, thoughtfull manner. In particular I found it facinating that there really were women warriors during the Bronze Age period which may have inspired the creations of the Amazons.
The only negative thing that I have to say is that although I think that Wilde did a good job at researching various stories which may have inspired the creation of the Amazons, some of these stories seemed far too long-winded and appeared to have little to do with the Amazon legend. There were also some chapters which I think were unneccessary -such as the chapters which explored some of the famous Greek Gods. Therefore I think that this book could have been a lot shorter than it was.
However despite this I would still reccomend this book to anyone who is interested in Amazon's or warrrior women because unlike most authors who write about this subject Wilde does not pretend that the Amazons ever existed -- she simply explores the possible inpirations behind their creations.
I picked up this book because I wanted to research real warrior cultures which I plan to use as inspiration for my own creative writing. Wilde's book is the first book that I've read on the topic and I have to say that it was the best possible place for me to start because it was deeply facinating and very eye opening.
At first I was sure that I would instantly be put off by the writing style since I rarely read non-fic but I actually found it to be a very exciting read. In fact it I read it in less than a few days.
I thought that the information was very well researched. Wilde included maps of possible Amazon locations as well as photos of Amazons in ancient artworks. I also liked the way that Wild provided an overview of various cultures associated with the Amazon legend in an open-minded, thoughtfull manner. In particular I found it facinating that there really were women warriors during the Bronze Age period which may have inspired the creations of the Amazons.
The only negative thing that I have to say is that although I think that Wilde did a good job at researching various stories which may have inspired the creation of the Amazons, some of these stories seemed far too long-winded and appeared to have little to do with the Amazon legend. There were also some chapters which I think were unneccessary -such as the chapters which explored some of the famous Greek Gods. Therefore I think that this book could have been a lot shorter than it was.
However despite this I would still reccomend this book to anyone who is interested in Amazon's or warrrior women because unlike most authors who write about this subject Wilde does not pretend that the Amazons ever existed -- she simply explores the possible inpirations behind their creations.
Title: Over Sea, Under Stone
Author: Susan Cooper
Pages: ?
My Rating: 2.5/ 5
Summary: Over Sea, Under Stone is the first novel in the Dark is Rising Series by Susan Cooper. The story follows the adventures of Simon, Jane and Barney, who discover an ancient map whilst on a holiday at Cornwell. The children realize that there is Latin writing on the map. Simon is able to translate bit's of the map and together the children realize that the map is somehow related to King Arthur. However, it's not until the children reveal the map to Merry that they discover that the map actually leads to the grail. The rest of the story revolves around the three children and Merry trying to find the grail whilst at the same time trying to protect it from the mysterious enemy who will do anything to get it.
What I liked: I liked the fact that the children had to discover the grail by themselves using only the clues on the map. The reason why I point this out in particular is becuase too many fantasy novels/ series involve children using magic or magical items to be able to achieve their goals.
What I disliked: I found that the novel was a little too childish however it can be argued that this was because the main characters were young children so this can easilly be dismissed. I also didn't like the character's Simon and Jane. I disliked Simon because he was too smug and was always insulting the others and I disliked Jane because she was stupid and annoying.
Would I recommend it? Yes. This novel is suitable for anyone to read.
Other novels that I've read by this author: none.
