The Tail of Emily Windsnap
By: Liz Kessler
Terri Thampan 804
I have recently read the book "The Tail of Emily Windsnap". It's about a girl, Emily, who finds out that she can become a mermaid when she is submerged in water. The rest of the story is all about her great adventure in finding out about her father, and her being a mermaid, and the mermaid society.
I think, as this is a children's book, it's not the best, but it's okay. It's a pretty simple plot, and the only thing that kept me going was that it was written in such a simple way, it just didn't let you go, but if anything, I usually can get through simple books, even if the plot is not bad. I just am going to say this: besides it being a bit of a boring cliche, with an easy plot, it wasn't constantly dull enough to get me to put it down.
I find Emily's personality sort of like Tess' in the book about Algebra and stuff. She's really plain, and if anything, was made that way so that girls or whoever read the book could fit in with the character (so basically girls, as the character is a female herself). I find the main character quite, to say it politely, I found the main character as a not bright person. She's not really good at being stealthy, I mean she literally gave it away to her little nemesis that she was doing something she wasn't supposed to, which caused her to get caught. Also, I'd like to think that if an a creepy man, who is somehow giving your mother drugs, gave her donuts every week, would cause normal kids to think he's drugged the donuts. If anything, I find that man's character so... Cliched it's not even funny. Creepy, old, "lonely" dude, who visits your mom for company. He gives you the creeps, he's obviously a suspicious character. I mean, that's the type of guy most kids would not feel comfortable around, or feel comfortable having their mother around. At sixth grade, or whatever grade she's in that is in middle school, I would probably think this man creepy and warn my mom. I think, if to make him less suspicious, make it so that she grew used to him because her mom has always seen this man, and he has attempted to be friendly and she has seen him as a confidant. I think that would make his whole "revealing" part seem a lot more tragic, as this was someone she trusted, and not some creepy old guy who stalked her at times.
I find so many disappointing things done to the old creepy guy, who I will now refer to his as his name, Mr Beeston. I think, it would be so much better if the author worked with his character. I think it would be amazing if he actually was Emily's father who somehow found a way to watch over his wife and daughter even though he couldn't. I think that the fact that he wasn't handsome, but in fact was a really creepy looking old guy would show so much about how a loving, kind person can be found within the hearts of a person whose outward features don't show off their heart's true beauty. I also think, that if it was going to stay the original way, to improve his acting, like I said before, and make him seem like a trustworthy guy. Though I do think that if he was going after someone in a murderous rage, he wouldn't suddenly be all touchy-feely back-story on them about his own childhood. It makes him seem like a desperate character, which may have been the intention, but it seems not so thought out as well. If you like simple stories though, here's a good one!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Thursday, February 7, 2013
There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom
There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom
By: Louis Sachar
Terri Thampan 804
I read this book in 6th grade (as a read aloud) and I thought it was wonderful. But reading it yourself gives a better experiencing somehow. As I read it, I realized how well developed the characters are. I also loved how well Mr. Sachar used the terms "show not tell".
In the book, you can tell Bradley has a problem. I love how you realize how alone Bradley is. He's so alone that the only friends he has are the plastic figurine animals that live in his bedroom. When I realized that, I felt so bad for Bradley. If anything, the whole fact that he was in the third grade made it even more sad for me as it was something that was close to me personally.
I used to get bullied in the third grade and felt so terribly lonely. To read about Bradley's loneliness made me empathize with him so much. It also shows how much Bradley cares for his figurines. They were his only friends, the things that helped him out. They told him he was right when everyone else said he was wrong.
I love how you can see Carla cares for Bradley. She gets tears in her eyes when she finds out why he "can't" do his homework, and seems to genuinely like him. It's she who gives him a chance. And I love how realistically Bradley depends on her so much, because in reality, if we were to meet someone who finally treated you nicely and then good things started to happen, you would think it's all because of them. You would have a dependence on them.
I think this is an amazingly well written story, and I love it so very much. I have always like stories written by Louis Sachar because his amazing works and I hope others read this book as well.
By: Louis Sachar
Terri Thampan 804
I read this book in 6th grade (as a read aloud) and I thought it was wonderful. But reading it yourself gives a better experiencing somehow. As I read it, I realized how well developed the characters are. I also loved how well Mr. Sachar used the terms "show not tell".
In the book, you can tell Bradley has a problem. I love how you realize how alone Bradley is. He's so alone that the only friends he has are the plastic figurine animals that live in his bedroom. When I realized that, I felt so bad for Bradley. If anything, the whole fact that he was in the third grade made it even more sad for me as it was something that was close to me personally.
I used to get bullied in the third grade and felt so terribly lonely. To read about Bradley's loneliness made me empathize with him so much. It also shows how much Bradley cares for his figurines. They were his only friends, the things that helped him out. They told him he was right when everyone else said he was wrong.
I love how you can see Carla cares for Bradley. She gets tears in her eyes when she finds out why he "can't" do his homework, and seems to genuinely like him. It's she who gives him a chance. And I love how realistically Bradley depends on her so much, because in reality, if we were to meet someone who finally treated you nicely and then good things started to happen, you would think it's all because of them. You would have a dependence on them.
I think this is an amazingly well written story, and I love it so very much. I have always like stories written by Louis Sachar because his amazing works and I hope others read this book as well.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Matilda *Spoilers
Matilda
By: Roald Dahl
Terri Thampan 804
I read this book, "Matilda", to kind of analyze the book that inspired the movie that I watched so many times as a child. As I read it, I sort of got more of Roald Dahl's style, something I never really recognized when I was reading this story back as a kid (I read the book only because of the movie). Though, I feel the movie was a bit better in developing the characters like Mrs. Wormwood and Ms. Trunchbull, I think the book was better in developing Matilda's powers.
One thing I realized was different from the book and the movie was the Mother, Mrs.Wormwood. In the book, she's a plump lady while, in the movie she's a skinny woman. Also, I like how the movie makes her character seem more caring towards her daughter Matilda, because to me it shows that the lady has at least some maternal instincts.
I think that the brother, Michael, was portrayed as the more liked child in both the book and the movie. Only I feel like in the movie it's more pronounced that he is the favorite child.
Something that really struck me in the book were the quotes. At first, it seems pretty innocent like, "Little girls should be seen and not heard," but then you- or maybe it was just me- read the quote "You chose books and I chose looks", in which Mrs.Wormwood says she has a better life because she's pretty and not book smart and that a woman will get nowhere in life with books, and realize the thinking people of that time had. It was fairly modern-ish, probably the early 1990s the date, but you see how women are limited to being like decoration and pretty things to "be seen and not heard". At first, I though it was Roald Dahl putting in his own views, and then I realized, he's not putting down women, he's sending a message for women to break through those social norms of women being decoration. I realized this just by looking at the characters. Matilda is a bright GIRL, who saves the people of her school by getting rid of the horrible Ms. Trunchbull. She is bright, and smart, witty, humble, kind, and clever, and she is a girl. Ms. Trunchbull, who although is the antagonist or villain of the story, is physically and emotionally very overbearing and strong. She instills fear into many adults and children, even though she might not be mentally stable. She is a strong character, who might be a bit of a feminist as she seems to not like that all the women in the poem "Mrs. D, Mrs. I, Mrs. F-f-i, Mrs. C, Mrs. U, Mrs. L-t-y," are all married. But she is strong and overbearing, cruel and vile, and she is a woman. She doesn't have to be a man to be cruel, and Matilda doesn't have to be a boy to be smart.
Ms. Honey is also a character who helps promote the strength of women. She is said to be a bit meek and mild woman who fears Ms. Trunchbull, but she was raised by the woman in fear. Ms. Honey is a character who is strong because she ran away, albeit no that far away, but she does live peacefully by herself. She found a way, even though she was given very little money, to get a house and get away from her Aunt at home at least. That is bravery, as she didn't stay a meek little girl, she had enough as a human and got away, and she wasn't a boy either, she wasn't stronger than the Trunchbull, but she had her courage which is why I like her so much. I think movie kind of does her little justice as in the movie she lives in a nice house, and in the book you see, Ms. Honey is poor, she lives a life that is so restricted, with boxes as chairs, a portable heater, no tap (having to use a well), and a cramped in a small house, but she is free. I guess I understand that they didn't want small children to learn about poverty, so they didn't make her as poor, but it felt like they took away the strength of the character Ms. Honey had deep inside her.
And lastly, I want to talk about Mrs. Wormwood again. She is a character that is also female, but doesn't show strength in the slightest. She lays bingo, and lets her husband bring in the money. At one point, she thinks (in the book) that her husband wasn't truly the "Dream man". I like how the book makes her seem a bit dissatisfied with her marriage, but I also like how the movie makes her seem to actually love her husband. In the book, it fits in with the whole women power message going on, as she lives by looks, and is not truly independent as she depends on her husband. It makes it seem like she only married Mr. Wormwood for his money and the promise of a life full of her material desires, and not truly out of love, and sort of regrets it. But I love how in the movie she seems to love him, because it fits the movie's whole "trying to deepen Mrs. Wormwood as a character" thing. It makes it seem like even though Mr. Wormwood is a horrible man (He is made a bit worse in the movie than in the book) to her daughter and to people in general, she still loves him, and he in his own way loves her, which gives the movie the more family appeal of a loving wife and husband. Though to say which I like more, the movie or the book, I can't decide. The the movie is very good, and quickens the events and sort of adds depth to some characters and certain parts, I like the book because of its secret message. Overall, this is a really great book and movie!
By: Roald Dahl
Terri Thampan 804
I read this book, "Matilda", to kind of analyze the book that inspired the movie that I watched so many times as a child. As I read it, I sort of got more of Roald Dahl's style, something I never really recognized when I was reading this story back as a kid (I read the book only because of the movie). Though, I feel the movie was a bit better in developing the characters like Mrs. Wormwood and Ms. Trunchbull, I think the book was better in developing Matilda's powers.
One thing I realized was different from the book and the movie was the Mother, Mrs.Wormwood. In the book, she's a plump lady while, in the movie she's a skinny woman. Also, I like how the movie makes her character seem more caring towards her daughter Matilda, because to me it shows that the lady has at least some maternal instincts.
I think that the brother, Michael, was portrayed as the more liked child in both the book and the movie. Only I feel like in the movie it's more pronounced that he is the favorite child.
Something that really struck me in the book were the quotes. At first, it seems pretty innocent like, "Little girls should be seen and not heard," but then you- or maybe it was just me- read the quote "You chose books and I chose looks", in which Mrs.Wormwood says she has a better life because she's pretty and not book smart and that a woman will get nowhere in life with books, and realize the thinking people of that time had. It was fairly modern-ish, probably the early 1990s the date, but you see how women are limited to being like decoration and pretty things to "be seen and not heard". At first, I though it was Roald Dahl putting in his own views, and then I realized, he's not putting down women, he's sending a message for women to break through those social norms of women being decoration. I realized this just by looking at the characters. Matilda is a bright GIRL, who saves the people of her school by getting rid of the horrible Ms. Trunchbull. She is bright, and smart, witty, humble, kind, and clever, and she is a girl. Ms. Trunchbull, who although is the antagonist or villain of the story, is physically and emotionally very overbearing and strong. She instills fear into many adults and children, even though she might not be mentally stable. She is a strong character, who might be a bit of a feminist as she seems to not like that all the women in the poem "Mrs. D, Mrs. I, Mrs. F-f-i, Mrs. C, Mrs. U, Mrs. L-t-y," are all married. But she is strong and overbearing, cruel and vile, and she is a woman. She doesn't have to be a man to be cruel, and Matilda doesn't have to be a boy to be smart.
Ms. Honey is also a character who helps promote the strength of women. She is said to be a bit meek and mild woman who fears Ms. Trunchbull, but she was raised by the woman in fear. Ms. Honey is a character who is strong because she ran away, albeit no that far away, but she does live peacefully by herself. She found a way, even though she was given very little money, to get a house and get away from her Aunt at home at least. That is bravery, as she didn't stay a meek little girl, she had enough as a human and got away, and she wasn't a boy either, she wasn't stronger than the Trunchbull, but she had her courage which is why I like her so much. I think movie kind of does her little justice as in the movie she lives in a nice house, and in the book you see, Ms. Honey is poor, she lives a life that is so restricted, with boxes as chairs, a portable heater, no tap (having to use a well), and a cramped in a small house, but she is free. I guess I understand that they didn't want small children to learn about poverty, so they didn't make her as poor, but it felt like they took away the strength of the character Ms. Honey had deep inside her.
And lastly, I want to talk about Mrs. Wormwood again. She is a character that is also female, but doesn't show strength in the slightest. She lays bingo, and lets her husband bring in the money. At one point, she thinks (in the book) that her husband wasn't truly the "Dream man". I like how the book makes her seem a bit dissatisfied with her marriage, but I also like how the movie makes her seem to actually love her husband. In the book, it fits in with the whole women power message going on, as she lives by looks, and is not truly independent as she depends on her husband. It makes it seem like she only married Mr. Wormwood for his money and the promise of a life full of her material desires, and not truly out of love, and sort of regrets it. But I love how in the movie she seems to love him, because it fits the movie's whole "trying to deepen Mrs. Wormwood as a character" thing. It makes it seem like even though Mr. Wormwood is a horrible man (He is made a bit worse in the movie than in the book) to her daughter and to people in general, she still loves him, and he in his own way loves her, which gives the movie the more family appeal of a loving wife and husband. Though to say which I like more, the movie or the book, I can't decide. The the movie is very good, and quickens the events and sort of adds depth to some characters and certain parts, I like the book because of its secret message. Overall, this is a really great book and movie!
Thursday, January 24, 2013
The Graveyard Book *Some spoilers*
The Graveyard Book
By: Neil Gaiman
Terri Thampan 804
I am currently reading "The Graveyard Book", by Neil Gaiman and I am loving it.
The main character is this kid Bod (short for Nobody) Owens, who is raised by ghosts in a graveyard. Why is he in a graveyard? Well, it's a close call actually because he pretty much escaped from his house before he could be murdered.
What I think is a pretty symbolic is the Gray Lady. She is like this figure of Death, but not out right saying it. I like that this figure is a woman because it seems to symbolize even more. I am being a bit feminist-ic (not a word, but I don't know how to say that any other way) because I myself like FEMALE POWER, but when things are in the form of a woman or a man, it's to take on certain qualities or traits that associated with that come with that kind of persona. I feel like the Gray Lady is supposed to be shown as wise as a mother of grandmother teaching the children how to grow, a mysterious kind of seductress, one that we will always meet, but who ultimately is kind. I feel like her white horse was sort of taken from the bible to show she is the bringer of death and moving on to a new plane of existence, like in the bible Jesus is supposed to ride in on a white horse to bring onto the humans an age full of prosperity in heaven during the end times.
What I read during the Macabre Chapter gave the whole story some more depth. In the beginning of the book, many of the ghosts did not think that Bod should be raised in the Graveyard as he was still alive. I get that the Gray Lady made them change their minds, but I felt it was kind of fast that they accepted Bod. The Macabre chapter sort of showed the deeper part of this whole relationship Bod has with the ghosts. Even if he was raised with them, he wasn't truly one of them as he was alive and they weren't. It made me feel like though they tried to be nice to Bod, the fact that he was alive was what always stayed on their minds. He wasn't like them, and so there was a sort of segregation of living and dead. It truly shows in this chapter as not even his Mother (Mrs. Owens who adopted him) would tell him what was going on, and how he ended up at the Graveyard truly alone, and how he danced as one of the living.
The Last person who I really want to address is Silas. I think Silas is a really cool, really mysterious character. I mean, that's how he's supposed to be portrayed, but like I think he's cool as in he has taken Bod in even though he never even knew Bod. I also think he's hiding a sadness as he is different. I think it's not that he hates himself for being different, but he's sad and wants to do things that those who are living or dead can do. This really makes me feel bad for his character and want to read more to find out about the mysterious Silas.
By: Neil Gaiman
Terri Thampan 804
I am currently reading "The Graveyard Book", by Neil Gaiman and I am loving it.
The main character is this kid Bod (short for Nobody) Owens, who is raised by ghosts in a graveyard. Why is he in a graveyard? Well, it's a close call actually because he pretty much escaped from his house before he could be murdered.
What I think is a pretty symbolic is the Gray Lady. She is like this figure of Death, but not out right saying it. I like that this figure is a woman because it seems to symbolize even more. I am being a bit feminist-ic (not a word, but I don't know how to say that any other way) because I myself like FEMALE POWER, but when things are in the form of a woman or a man, it's to take on certain qualities or traits that associated with that come with that kind of persona. I feel like the Gray Lady is supposed to be shown as wise as a mother of grandmother teaching the children how to grow, a mysterious kind of seductress, one that we will always meet, but who ultimately is kind. I feel like her white horse was sort of taken from the bible to show she is the bringer of death and moving on to a new plane of existence, like in the bible Jesus is supposed to ride in on a white horse to bring onto the humans an age full of prosperity in heaven during the end times.
What I read during the Macabre Chapter gave the whole story some more depth. In the beginning of the book, many of the ghosts did not think that Bod should be raised in the Graveyard as he was still alive. I get that the Gray Lady made them change their minds, but I felt it was kind of fast that they accepted Bod. The Macabre chapter sort of showed the deeper part of this whole relationship Bod has with the ghosts. Even if he was raised with them, he wasn't truly one of them as he was alive and they weren't. It made me feel like though they tried to be nice to Bod, the fact that he was alive was what always stayed on their minds. He wasn't like them, and so there was a sort of segregation of living and dead. It truly shows in this chapter as not even his Mother (Mrs. Owens who adopted him) would tell him what was going on, and how he ended up at the Graveyard truly alone, and how he danced as one of the living.
The Last person who I really want to address is Silas. I think Silas is a really cool, really mysterious character. I mean, that's how he's supposed to be portrayed, but like I think he's cool as in he has taken Bod in even though he never even knew Bod. I also think he's hiding a sadness as he is different. I think it's not that he hates himself for being different, but he's sad and wants to do things that those who are living or dead can do. This really makes me feel bad for his character and want to read more to find out about the mysterious Silas.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Fallen #2 *Spoilers
Fallen
By Lauren Kate
Terri Thampan 804
I have just finished reading "Fallen", and I have to say, it's okay. I mean, I see the appeal as it is a supernatural love story and all that, but I'm at least glad the writing didn't bore me.
I think that Cam falling in love is unrealistic. Unless of course, the reason is explained in some other book, I think Cam is just thrown in to put int a pointless love triangle. Which brings me to an even bigger topic. Throughout the book Cam seemed like the nice guy, the guy who would be good to a girl. Then at the ed, he gets a random change of personality that completely threw me off the loop. Apparently, Cam is the type of guy who likes violence and the like. Now, I never saw a hint of this inside the book and if anything, I would think Daniel would be the more violent character. Which if that happened, I think it would make their love (Daniel's and Luce's) so much more likable because she loves him despite the fact he isn't perfect, because he's a jerk, and is quite violent, but has a good side. Sadly, she just instantly falls in love with him even though he is a jerk, then he reveals this whole thing that would be a spoiler and starts to act kind.
Now, I think the whole thing would be better if Daniel and Luce had like moments where he was nice, like more than the one time AFTER he got jealous of Cam and Luce.
Overall I don't think it's that great of a book, but it's something that other people might enjoy.
By Lauren Kate
Terri Thampan 804
I have just finished reading "Fallen", and I have to say, it's okay. I mean, I see the appeal as it is a supernatural love story and all that, but I'm at least glad the writing didn't bore me.
I think that Cam falling in love is unrealistic. Unless of course, the reason is explained in some other book, I think Cam is just thrown in to put int a pointless love triangle. Which brings me to an even bigger topic. Throughout the book Cam seemed like the nice guy, the guy who would be good to a girl. Then at the ed, he gets a random change of personality that completely threw me off the loop. Apparently, Cam is the type of guy who likes violence and the like. Now, I never saw a hint of this inside the book and if anything, I would think Daniel would be the more violent character. Which if that happened, I think it would make their love (Daniel's and Luce's) so much more likable because she loves him despite the fact he isn't perfect, because he's a jerk, and is quite violent, but has a good side. Sadly, she just instantly falls in love with him even though he is a jerk, then he reveals this whole thing that would be a spoiler and starts to act kind.
Now, I think the whole thing would be better if Daniel and Luce had like moments where he was nice, like more than the one time AFTER he got jealous of Cam and Luce.
Overall I don't think it's that great of a book, but it's something that other people might enjoy.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Fallen #1
Fallen
by: Lauren Kate
Terri Thampan 804
I haven't so much as given up on reading "Eclipse", it's just that I grew rather bored with it, ad wanted something fresh for a while. So I'm going to kind of juggle these two books at the same time.
Today is the first day I have started "Fallen", by Lauren Kate, and I'm 108 pages in. I checked the pages, then thought I had enough reading time to actually write a blogpost about it.
Now I usually read books pretty fast, maybe I get like 200 pages a day (on a good day) or more. On bad days, I ca pretty much get 1 page by. This is what happened with Eclipse, there were a lot of boring parts which I would rather not read. Now, back to Fallen.
"Fallen", has a very familiar plot. A teenage girl has to go to a new place and a new school. Lucinda Price, has been sent to reform school, and it is about the worst place ever. On her first day, she gets into a "Fight" at school; I put quotes around fight because it's more like she knocked into a girl's (Molly's) tray, and then Molly gets frustrated and shoves the food all over Luce's hair, and so Arriane (Luce's new sort-of-friend) punches Molly. There's also this really gorgeous guy who acts like a jerk to Luce even though she does nothing but blush when looking at him. Maybe he hates girls who look at him and blush.
Right off the bat, I can relate this to Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight", albeit, a bit better. I really like Arriane, and sort of wonder about her past with Cam, as in, why does she dislike him so? I find her personality really sort of say adorable. As in, I might be as psychotic as her. Okay, enough with the as ins, but I find her bubbly like in the way that she acts. Almost a bit cutesy really. But it's more like it's a mask that she wears, a mask that she might enjoy wearing, as she seems to have fun in her own insanity. I find that really cool, as I have a weird like for slightly insane characters (Like Luna Lovegood, she is so adorable), and pretty much find them adorable, while others think she's just plain crazy. To me, it's usually the more insane people, the people who sort of act insane, and super happy, and energetic, are the more sad people. It feels like they use the Happy, Slightly insane (not like actually insane, insane, like killing people insane, but like weirdo insane) to hide their pain, and maybe distract them from it. This makes me want to really learn more about her past.
I also feel like there's a little chemistry going on between Arriane and Cam. She seems to hate him, but I wonder if itt truly is her way of coping with her feelings of maybe liking him. She is unstable enough to get landed into a reform school, so she might not have the emotional capacity to truly come to grips with herself liking him. Or she might feel as if it would ruin things between them. Or, I could be totally wrong, and She knows that Cam is some evil dude, and is trying to protect Luce from him. But I'd rather think she would be jealous if he hung out with Luce, as he obviously likes her. I mean, what better way to hide jealousy then saying you want the other person, not the one you actually like. Note: I don't know if Cam is actually evil, it's just a theory.
While I was reading this book, it was painfully obvious that Luce is going to end up with Daniel (the guy who acts like a jerk to her). What kind of really annoys me is when romance novels totally give away the romance on the back cover/blurb. I think it would have been better for people to make assumptions as to who the characters end up with, then just telling us in the blurb. In fact, it just gets me more angry at the whole Daniel/Luce thing because, not only does he treat her like a jerk, she still flocks to him. I get it, hormones make people attractive, but really, do you have to always stare at him Luce? It's pretty creepy as a person who would rather be a bystander and watch love unfold. I mean, I guess I understand her wanting to know why she has this feeling of deja vu near him, but couldn't she just be like, angry instead that when she first glanced at him, he flipped her off, and has continually been rude to her. Couldn't she have just marched over there angrily and asked what his problem was?
That's why, I would prefer Cam/Luce. He's a total gentleman. He seems like a really nice guy, and he definitely shows that he likes he as well.
I guess, if the romance wasn't given in the back, and if the author slowly starts building up the relationship between Luce/Daniel, I would really love that. In one of my favorite Anime series, Princess Tutu (The anime was made originally, then the manga, and the anime is way better, even though it does sound girly), the main character is Ahiru. That in English literally translates to duck. The anime, though it sounds very girly, is really complex in its story line, as it's about characters who discover that they are actually the characters in a famous book written by a famous and brilliant (but horrible) man who loved tragedies (and could make his stories come to life) and how they try to defy the fate of the tragic ending they are supposed to live through. The first season is not as complex, but it builds up to the complexity of the second season. Pretty much, in the first season, you really want Ahiru to get with the main character Mytho. Mytho is the prince from before mentioned story titled "The Prince and the Raven". In the book, in order to defeat the raven, he breaks his own heart (like emotions, not actual heart). Ahiru, then transforms as the magical Prima Donna princess, Princess Tutu, and collects the heart shards (which are scattered, and posses other people, and make them feel extreme emotion/the emotion the heart shard is)and then returns them back to Mytho. She does this out of her love for Mytho, and you can clearly see how much she loves him, because throughout the whole anime, she tries to vie for his love. Then in the second anime, you start to see her love life take a turn. I mean, I have nothing against girls falling in love with guys who were jerks to them, or vice-versa, but it has to be written or made nicely. In season 2, Ahiru is forced to team up with Fakir, a boy who has been "friends" (more like he's taken care of Mytho because Mytho does stupid things as he has no heart) with Mytho since he was younger (Because Mytho never ages, literally, when his heart is broken, literally as well). He acts like a straight out jerk to Ahiru. But when they are forced to work together, they start to learn how to tolerate each other, and then appreciate each other, then get to know about each other, and then they start to give each other strength, and it is so obviously hinted that they have fallen in love, or that Fakir has anyways, but it seems pretty mutual. But, the way it was so gradual, and not forced or rushed, it just made me love the pairing even more, and I truly treasured that it made me scream, "Get together already!", when before I would never think of those two getting together. That shows amazing story telling, and now, I just seem to be reading stories where the love is being rushed.
Not to say this story is bad, I do think it's pretty good, writing wise; but I'm not loving the romance. I will keep reading as it is more interesting than Eclipse.
by: Lauren Kate
Terri Thampan 804
I haven't so much as given up on reading "Eclipse", it's just that I grew rather bored with it, ad wanted something fresh for a while. So I'm going to kind of juggle these two books at the same time.
Today is the first day I have started "Fallen", by Lauren Kate, and I'm 108 pages in. I checked the pages, then thought I had enough reading time to actually write a blogpost about it.
Now I usually read books pretty fast, maybe I get like 200 pages a day (on a good day) or more. On bad days, I ca pretty much get 1 page by. This is what happened with Eclipse, there were a lot of boring parts which I would rather not read. Now, back to Fallen.
"Fallen", has a very familiar plot. A teenage girl has to go to a new place and a new school. Lucinda Price, has been sent to reform school, and it is about the worst place ever. On her first day, she gets into a "Fight" at school; I put quotes around fight because it's more like she knocked into a girl's (Molly's) tray, and then Molly gets frustrated and shoves the food all over Luce's hair, and so Arriane (Luce's new sort-of-friend) punches Molly. There's also this really gorgeous guy who acts like a jerk to Luce even though she does nothing but blush when looking at him. Maybe he hates girls who look at him and blush.
Right off the bat, I can relate this to Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight", albeit, a bit better. I really like Arriane, and sort of wonder about her past with Cam, as in, why does she dislike him so? I find her personality really sort of say adorable. As in, I might be as psychotic as her. Okay, enough with the as ins, but I find her bubbly like in the way that she acts. Almost a bit cutesy really. But it's more like it's a mask that she wears, a mask that she might enjoy wearing, as she seems to have fun in her own insanity. I find that really cool, as I have a weird like for slightly insane characters (Like Luna Lovegood, she is so adorable), and pretty much find them adorable, while others think she's just plain crazy. To me, it's usually the more insane people, the people who sort of act insane, and super happy, and energetic, are the more sad people. It feels like they use the Happy, Slightly insane (not like actually insane, insane, like killing people insane, but like weirdo insane) to hide their pain, and maybe distract them from it. This makes me want to really learn more about her past.
I also feel like there's a little chemistry going on between Arriane and Cam. She seems to hate him, but I wonder if itt truly is her way of coping with her feelings of maybe liking him. She is unstable enough to get landed into a reform school, so she might not have the emotional capacity to truly come to grips with herself liking him. Or she might feel as if it would ruin things between them. Or, I could be totally wrong, and She knows that Cam is some evil dude, and is trying to protect Luce from him. But I'd rather think she would be jealous if he hung out with Luce, as he obviously likes her. I mean, what better way to hide jealousy then saying you want the other person, not the one you actually like. Note: I don't know if Cam is actually evil, it's just a theory.
While I was reading this book, it was painfully obvious that Luce is going to end up with Daniel (the guy who acts like a jerk to her). What kind of really annoys me is when romance novels totally give away the romance on the back cover/blurb. I think it would have been better for people to make assumptions as to who the characters end up with, then just telling us in the blurb. In fact, it just gets me more angry at the whole Daniel/Luce thing because, not only does he treat her like a jerk, she still flocks to him. I get it, hormones make people attractive, but really, do you have to always stare at him Luce? It's pretty creepy as a person who would rather be a bystander and watch love unfold. I mean, I guess I understand her wanting to know why she has this feeling of deja vu near him, but couldn't she just be like, angry instead that when she first glanced at him, he flipped her off, and has continually been rude to her. Couldn't she have just marched over there angrily and asked what his problem was?
That's why, I would prefer Cam/Luce. He's a total gentleman. He seems like a really nice guy, and he definitely shows that he likes he as well.
I guess, if the romance wasn't given in the back, and if the author slowly starts building up the relationship between Luce/Daniel, I would really love that. In one of my favorite Anime series, Princess Tutu (The anime was made originally, then the manga, and the anime is way better, even though it does sound girly), the main character is Ahiru. That in English literally translates to duck. The anime, though it sounds very girly, is really complex in its story line, as it's about characters who discover that they are actually the characters in a famous book written by a famous and brilliant (but horrible) man who loved tragedies (and could make his stories come to life) and how they try to defy the fate of the tragic ending they are supposed to live through. The first season is not as complex, but it builds up to the complexity of the second season. Pretty much, in the first season, you really want Ahiru to get with the main character Mytho. Mytho is the prince from before mentioned story titled "The Prince and the Raven". In the book, in order to defeat the raven, he breaks his own heart (like emotions, not actual heart). Ahiru, then transforms as the magical Prima Donna princess, Princess Tutu, and collects the heart shards (which are scattered, and posses other people, and make them feel extreme emotion/the emotion the heart shard is)and then returns them back to Mytho. She does this out of her love for Mytho, and you can clearly see how much she loves him, because throughout the whole anime, she tries to vie for his love. Then in the second anime, you start to see her love life take a turn. I mean, I have nothing against girls falling in love with guys who were jerks to them, or vice-versa, but it has to be written or made nicely. In season 2, Ahiru is forced to team up with Fakir, a boy who has been "friends" (more like he's taken care of Mytho because Mytho does stupid things as he has no heart) with Mytho since he was younger (Because Mytho never ages, literally, when his heart is broken, literally as well). He acts like a straight out jerk to Ahiru. But when they are forced to work together, they start to learn how to tolerate each other, and then appreciate each other, then get to know about each other, and then they start to give each other strength, and it is so obviously hinted that they have fallen in love, or that Fakir has anyways, but it seems pretty mutual. But, the way it was so gradual, and not forced or rushed, it just made me love the pairing even more, and I truly treasured that it made me scream, "Get together already!", when before I would never think of those two getting together. That shows amazing story telling, and now, I just seem to be reading stories where the love is being rushed.
Not to say this story is bad, I do think it's pretty good, writing wise; but I'm not loving the romance. I will keep reading as it is more interesting than Eclipse.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Eclipse #2
Eclipse
By: Stephenie Meyer
Terri Thampan 804
So I'm back with the epic love story of. . . EDWARD AND BELLA! Well, it's not really that fun. The story thus far is that Eddie-kins and Bell-bells are like super in "wuv" and Jacob's jealous and then Victoria (the evil vampire) comes back again.
So basically, let me start off with the antagonists of the story. The main villain of this story is Victoria. She's a vampire who as I said before, wants revenge against Edward for killing her mate. I think it goes to show how loyal she is that she tries to get revenge for her mate, and it seems to make her seem like a strong character, as she never seems to get caught by the big burly "men" vampires or werewolves. It makes her a pretty respectable character. From what little she is actually mentioned, she's made out to be quite cunning and swift, being able to move around so freely and get away for her pursers. While Bella on the other hand, just stays at home all worried and doesn't really do anything.
So another thing I read about in this book is something called "imprinting". And frankly, the whole Idea makes me sick. It's the most messed up thing EVER. So, first off, what is Imprinting? I would say something sick and twisted but that doesn't really help out, not to mention it's quite repetitive. Imprinting happens to werewolves; it's when they see someone and they automatically fall in love forever. Though, it's kind of like the creepy stalker kind of love. Like, the person always wants to be with you, is always trying to protect you, makes you feel all fragile and delicate. I have to admit, having someone who loves you and is there for you and is always loyal is really cool. But then, doesn't it get tiring to have to deal with their constant over protectiveness? Don't you start to lose your own traits of self because they try to protect you? Doesn't it start to feel a bit. . . cramped?
Another thing I don't like about this whole imprinting business is that, you can't chose who you imprint on! I mean, Jared is a fine example. He ends up imprinting on this girl in his school. But, before that, he never really cared about her. See! He pretty much ended up MAGICALLY LIKING HER! That is so bad! It makes it seem like the girl, Kim, who liked him, couldn't get a guy to like her because of who she is. And then, you never really get a guy to like you for who you are. Also, if they act all lovey-dovey with you (the person being imprinted on), how can you learn to love the person? Do you really, really know them? It pretty much seems that you're getting a fake mask of love, and not the genuine article. I mean, does this Kim girl ever really hang out with Jared enough to know she thinks he's a good guy. I don't think so, not before the imprinting happened. This is pretty much a cheap way to get a "Happily ever after".
I also want to relate the whole Imprinting deal to the world of "Uglies" and "Flowers for Algernon". Because basically, like in Stephenie Meyer's other book "The Host", the entire mindset is being dealt with here. In "Uglies", the surgery to be pretty changes how you think and your personality. In "Flowers for Algernon", the thinking gradually changes, increasing in complexity, to finally deteriorating. In this book, Imprinting is a cool, amazing thing. In those books, the mindset is pretty sad (As Charlie starts to lose his intelligence) or really horrible (Changing the way we think about things, and who we are). But like, to make someone change all who they are, just like that. They could have not cared about the person, and then suddenly magic makes it so they do. What happened to their free will? The ability to choose who we love and like and who we dislike and hate? In "The Host", they pretty much just give up their bodies (the humans), because the aliens are so special and amazing and perfect.
Anyways, Jacob Black also doesn't want to imprint. Why is that important? Because he loves Bella Swan for whatever reason there is. But I know for a fact, that he imprints on someone in "Breaking Dawn" (It's really messed up, the person he imprints on, but you can go wiki it if you care). That really makes me sad for him because his mindset is so drastically changed to love the imprinting.
Imprinting is also gross. Like, Embry, ended up imprinting on a THREE YEAR OLD GIRL! How messed up is that?!!! Oh, here's a hint for Jacob, he imprints on someone younger than that! But really!? That's messed up! Especially when Jacob's like 'oh, he only acts like what she wants him to be, a brother or father or protector!' Well what if she doesn't want to marry big bro? Also, ever heard of child grooming? It's when you make a little kid trust you so they end up doing "dirty" things with you. Really messed up.
But then, there are other victims in this whole thing. The exes. Poor Leah, her man got stolen away by her own cousin. They were in a relationship for years! I bet she thought he was going to propose, oh no, it's instead, "Wanna go to my wedding with your cousin?". That's just awful. Not to mention the fact that "No one can deny the werewolf imprinting on them" kind of stuff being thrown around. I mean, no one can deny all that love, affection, and awe? Really? I mean, if it were me, I would be creep-ed out. I bet you, if the guys who imprinted on them were ugly, they would be calling the cops. Because that's basically what's going on. They can't deny the surface, the fake love. 'Oh, a hot guy is like stalking me! I love it! It's so great!" (Reminds me of Bella and Edward), but if it was some ugly, or a regular looking teenage boy (like a plain dude), the girls would be like "Oh EWW! He is soooo creepy!!!! Why can't he like stop being so possessive and protective? I need my space!"
So pretty much, Smeyer's world is pretty shallow, and never really dips into true love, which this does not pass off as. I mean, I doubt there is any true love in here, which is kind of sad for a romance novel. I mean, isn't love getting to know each other, without magic forcing you to like someone first, and then learning to love someone?
By: Stephenie Meyer
Terri Thampan 804
So I'm back with the epic love story of. . . EDWARD AND BELLA! Well, it's not really that fun. The story thus far is that Eddie-kins and Bell-bells are like super in "wuv" and Jacob's jealous and then Victoria (the evil vampire) comes back again.
So basically, let me start off with the antagonists of the story. The main villain of this story is Victoria. She's a vampire who as I said before, wants revenge against Edward for killing her mate. I think it goes to show how loyal she is that she tries to get revenge for her mate, and it seems to make her seem like a strong character, as she never seems to get caught by the big burly "men" vampires or werewolves. It makes her a pretty respectable character. From what little she is actually mentioned, she's made out to be quite cunning and swift, being able to move around so freely and get away for her pursers. While Bella on the other hand, just stays at home all worried and doesn't really do anything.
So another thing I read about in this book is something called "imprinting". And frankly, the whole Idea makes me sick. It's the most messed up thing EVER. So, first off, what is Imprinting? I would say something sick and twisted but that doesn't really help out, not to mention it's quite repetitive. Imprinting happens to werewolves; it's when they see someone and they automatically fall in love forever. Though, it's kind of like the creepy stalker kind of love. Like, the person always wants to be with you, is always trying to protect you, makes you feel all fragile and delicate. I have to admit, having someone who loves you and is there for you and is always loyal is really cool. But then, doesn't it get tiring to have to deal with their constant over protectiveness? Don't you start to lose your own traits of self because they try to protect you? Doesn't it start to feel a bit. . . cramped?
Another thing I don't like about this whole imprinting business is that, you can't chose who you imprint on! I mean, Jared is a fine example. He ends up imprinting on this girl in his school. But, before that, he never really cared about her. See! He pretty much ended up MAGICALLY LIKING HER! That is so bad! It makes it seem like the girl, Kim, who liked him, couldn't get a guy to like her because of who she is. And then, you never really get a guy to like you for who you are. Also, if they act all lovey-dovey with you (the person being imprinted on), how can you learn to love the person? Do you really, really know them? It pretty much seems that you're getting a fake mask of love, and not the genuine article. I mean, does this Kim girl ever really hang out with Jared enough to know she thinks he's a good guy. I don't think so, not before the imprinting happened. This is pretty much a cheap way to get a "Happily ever after".
I also want to relate the whole Imprinting deal to the world of "Uglies" and "Flowers for Algernon". Because basically, like in Stephenie Meyer's other book "The Host", the entire mindset is being dealt with here. In "Uglies", the surgery to be pretty changes how you think and your personality. In "Flowers for Algernon", the thinking gradually changes, increasing in complexity, to finally deteriorating. In this book, Imprinting is a cool, amazing thing. In those books, the mindset is pretty sad (As Charlie starts to lose his intelligence) or really horrible (Changing the way we think about things, and who we are). But like, to make someone change all who they are, just like that. They could have not cared about the person, and then suddenly magic makes it so they do. What happened to their free will? The ability to choose who we love and like and who we dislike and hate? In "The Host", they pretty much just give up their bodies (the humans), because the aliens are so special and amazing and perfect.
Anyways, Jacob Black also doesn't want to imprint. Why is that important? Because he loves Bella Swan for whatever reason there is. But I know for a fact, that he imprints on someone in "Breaking Dawn" (It's really messed up, the person he imprints on, but you can go wiki it if you care). That really makes me sad for him because his mindset is so drastically changed to love the imprinting.
Imprinting is also gross. Like, Embry, ended up imprinting on a THREE YEAR OLD GIRL! How messed up is that?!!! Oh, here's a hint for Jacob, he imprints on someone younger than that! But really!? That's messed up! Especially when Jacob's like 'oh, he only acts like what she wants him to be, a brother or father or protector!' Well what if she doesn't want to marry big bro? Also, ever heard of child grooming? It's when you make a little kid trust you so they end up doing "dirty" things with you. Really messed up.
But then, there are other victims in this whole thing. The exes. Poor Leah, her man got stolen away by her own cousin. They were in a relationship for years! I bet she thought he was going to propose, oh no, it's instead, "Wanna go to my wedding with your cousin?". That's just awful. Not to mention the fact that "No one can deny the werewolf imprinting on them" kind of stuff being thrown around. I mean, no one can deny all that love, affection, and awe? Really? I mean, if it were me, I would be creep-ed out. I bet you, if the guys who imprinted on them were ugly, they would be calling the cops. Because that's basically what's going on. They can't deny the surface, the fake love. 'Oh, a hot guy is like stalking me! I love it! It's so great!" (Reminds me of Bella and Edward), but if it was some ugly, or a regular looking teenage boy (like a plain dude), the girls would be like "Oh EWW! He is soooo creepy!!!! Why can't he like stop being so possessive and protective? I need my space!"
So pretty much, Smeyer's world is pretty shallow, and never really dips into true love, which this does not pass off as. I mean, I doubt there is any true love in here, which is kind of sad for a romance novel. I mean, isn't love getting to know each other, without magic forcing you to like someone first, and then learning to love someone?
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