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The Lovely Bones

2009-12-13T10:46:45Z

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is about a 14-year-old girl named Suzie 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.

The plot was frustrating because after the rape/murder scene the story seems to focus too much on the boring lives of Suzie's family and friends and less on actually solving her murder. I know that the novel is supposed to explore themes such as loosing a loved one and learning how to overcome that loss but I found that this made the story really dull whereas it could've been a really scary ghost story.

The characters are also very unrealistic. In particular I found it difficult to believe that a women who had spent years longing to be a teacher decides to spend eight years working in a winery. In fact the only characters that I thought were realistic at all were Jack and Buckley. And as for character development there was none. For instance we have Lindsey who reacts to Suzie's death by emmotionally detatching herself from everyone around her and although this is perfictly understandable we never learn whether or not she ever opens up to other people again.

There were also some characters which didn't really add much to the story such as Holly and Frany who rarely appear at all, and some really confusing characters such as Ruth who may or may not be a lesbian/phychic. That's not to say that those characters weren't important but I think that Frany expecially should have played a bigger role than she did -the girl was raped and murdered for crying out loud! so if that doesn't require much intake councelling then I don't know what does. We also don't learn much about Holly and Frany's past which wich could have been interesting. However I thought it was interesting that we get to see George Harvey's past although I think this could have been explored in a bit more detail.

As for the ending it was very dissatifying because George Harvey is not captured and the one moment where Suzie has the chance to reveal the location of her body she decides to spend that moment having sex with her highschool crush. It was this scene that really turned me off the novel.

However Sebold's depiction of heaven is interesting. In particular I thought that idea of "intake councellors" was unique. It was also unique because we don't get to see God or any other heavenly beings such as Angels etc, and we learn that people can have whatever they want if they wish for it. But as interesting and unique as Sebold's depiction of heaven is we never really learn whether Suzie is actually in heaven or if she is in a limbo-like state, although the latter is implied.

So if you've considered reading this because you thought it was a scary ghost story then don't because it will just dissapoint you. However if you like books which explore family relationships then this might just be the book for you.

Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie

2009-12-10T03:19:26Z

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

2009-12-10T02:04:09Z

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

2009-11-29T01:47:32Z

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

2009-11-19T10:48:52Z

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: A Modern Fairy Tale

2009-11-02T01:59:06Z

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...

2009-10-11T22:35:25Z

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.

Over Sea, Under Stone

2009-09-28T05:23:58Z

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.