Saturday, September 28, 2013

The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh



If the deepest secret has been spoken…can the deadliest curse be broken?
 
Right off the start, I knew I’d love this book. It has a cover that appeals to me and that represents the words between the covers perfectly! Right underneath the heading of the first chapter the author gives you the year and the season as the winter of 1347. It immediately puts me in the mind of a cold day, likely snowing in a year well before any modern conveniences. Centuries before the Civil War or even the American Revolution.
Then I read the first sentence: “William crouched behind the fallen oak tree and listened. Close by, someone-or something-was whimpering in pain.” 

Now we know that our main character’s name is William, that the story is told in third person, and that we aren’t going to have to sit through three pages of a stuffy prologue. We’re in the middle of the action and Walsh has given us a great opening line. It really grabbed my attention and pulled me into the book.

This book was titled well in my opinion. The plot revolves around the death of an angel about one hundred years ago and the monks of Crowfield Abbey and a man from Yagleah are the only ones who know it. Knowing that God’s angels can be slain is The Crowfield Curse. It shakes their beliefs and they fear word getting out. Shadlok, the Seelie Fae has accompanied his master Jacobus Bone to the abbey so they can find the angel’s grave. Will is a human boy who has the Sight and befriends a hob, who he names Brother Walter. Together Will has to fight the Dark King of the Unseelie Court and find the angel’s grave. 

That’s a rough sketch of the book’s plot but it doesn’t really do it justice. While reading, I had a hard time defining the motives of Shadlok. He seems to despise all humans but he conducts himself as the manservant of Bone who is in fact human. At the end of the book, I learned that the Dark King had cursed Shadlok to be bound to a human until the King releases him. I’d hate to spoil the ending of the book, so I won’t go into more detail but there is a sequel to the book titled The Crowfield Demon and both Shadlok and Will play major roles in it. 

I’m not much of a fan of Fae books, but this one was an exception. It took me about three hours to read the 319-page book and I’m glad that I started reading it early because otherwise I would have been up late into the night reading it when I should be in bed. It definitely has reread value and until I get my hands on the sequel, I might just have to open it up again. I see this as a wonderful start to the series. 

If you were a Fae would you be Seelie or Unseelie?

Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines



There were features I loved and hated about this book. Stepping away from it after I stayed up till 3:30 in the morning reading it, yes I read the book in one go, I have developed a very firm opinion on the book. Don’t worry, it’s mostly good. 

1.      My Own Misconceived Notions: This is more of a book about grieving, and coping with hurdles in life than romance or action. The front cover led me to believe that the book would go into more details of the fights and that the main character Lyn would spend more than five to ten minutes in an arena. Also on the cover is a girl with long hair, due to a head injury early on in the book Lyn’s head is shaved. Oh the misrepresentation…

2.      Dialogue: The dialogue got on my nerves quickly. “This is how almost all authors do dialogue.” –This is how the book does it. She said. –It was jarring and I didn’t like it. I like that it’s different but several times it caught me off guard or I lost track of what I was reading. I have a feeling this happened to several other readers.

3.      Lyn and Uber: The romance was sweet and a little hopeful. I genuinely liked Uber, even though he killed Lyn’s father, Tommy in the arena. He was just a likeable character to me and his clumsiness was adorable. I like how the romance didn’t overpower the plot but I would have liked just a teensy bit more. But in the epilogue when he asks her to dinner and she puts him off for a second and then accepts, I had an aww moment.

4.      Prologue: It was a little dry compared to what I’m used to reading but once I got through that, it was fine. Although again with the prologue, it mentioned far too many brands for my liking. It was almost a commercial. I remember Nike, Armani, and also a mention of Russell Crowe. The author did a fantastic job of dating this book, which I don’t think was a smart thing to do but eh. At least Apple products weren’t popping up around every corner.

5.      Pacifism. Throughout the book Lyn keeps mentioning that she’s a pacifist but never goes into much as to why she is. It quickly began to get on my nerves especially during her brief fight with Uber. She had no trouble fighting in that arena. Not for a girl and certainly not for a pacifist. One of two things happened here. Either this was meant to be her act of rebellion against her mom or the author added this fact intending to make it a bigger deal and then never did.

Noticing that my list is compiled of mostly negative comments doesn’t make me like this book any less. There are reasons I had to read it cover to cover in one night. I couldn’t put it down despite all the negatives and I wouldn’t hesitate to read this book again. In fact I think this is a story I will have to write fanfiction for soon. I can see so many ways to flesh out the romance between Lyn and Uber and I can’t wait to give it a go.

So what’s your opinion on fights to the death like in this book or comparatively like in The Hunger Games?

Thursday, September 26, 2013

5 Reasons I'll Never Watch Cast Away Again




For the first time I watched Cast Away yesterday night and while I recognize that it was a critical success, I won’t be watching it again anytime soon. Here’s why:


1.      The Ending: I like happy endings. Anyone who has seen this movie knows that while the ending does leave the viewers hoping for a brighter future for Chuck, it is also heartbreaking. Kelly has moved on with her life and he just doesn’t have a role in it.

2.      Kelly: Generally, I like Helen Hunt in most movies and while there was nothing wrong with her performance here, I found it difficult to like her character. When she tells Chuck that he is the love of her life, I instantly hated her. If someone is truly the love of your life then you can never let him go. For her to say that, have an impromptu make out session with him and then go back inside to her family I found her to be very indecisive and mildly hypocritical. She knew he was alive but caved to peer pressure to move on with her life. I’m sorry but no. I would have accepted this plot if she hadn’t called him the love of her life and insisted that she knew he was alive. It was realistic until that point.

3.      The Box: I really wanted to know what was in the box marked with the angel wings. After all, it could have been something to help him escape the island or help him to survive. Since watching the movie I have browsed the web and realized that there are two theories. One being that there was a solar powered satellite phone in the box. To me this would have been great to put in the movie. A true face palm moment. However, it seems that the director was only joking when he mentioned that. Other sources say that based on the script there was some salsa and a note in the box. I’m fine with either answer but it bugs me to have the question truly left unanswered.

4.      Injury Count: It’s not unreasonable to get hurt as Chuck did while stranded on that island. I just have a problem with the frequency. Every time I looked at the screen, he seemed to be bleeding. From stepping on rocks, being cut on coral, and various other things. It just seemed over used to me.

5.      Kelly Again: I have one more detriment to this character. When Chuck was rescued and welcomed back officially, Kelly was asked to see him, and she agreed. But at the last minute, her husband walks into the room drops the bomb that Kelly has moved on with him and that this is incredibly emotional for her. That was low. She couldn’t even say that she was glad he was alive? Moreover, for the husband to speak for her just didn’t sit right with me. The scene was an irritation.

Okay there we have it in a numbered list. After reading through it again, I seriously doubt I’ll ever watch this again.

So question time! If you have seen this movie, do you like it or not and why? If you haven’t don’t let me discourage you from watching it. We all have to form our own opinions and despite only listing negative things, this movie did have some good stuff too. Nevertheless, for me the good outweighs the bad.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

The Host by Stephenie Meyer



This has been a long time favorite of mine but I still remember my reaction when a friend recommended it to me. The cover stood out and I found it interesting, my eyes immediately focused on the silver lining around the pupil of the eye. The next thing I noticed was the author’s name. It will probably come up in a later post so I won’t give all my reasons here but I am not a fan of the Twilight series. Authors each have a unique voice in their writing and I have noticed that different books or series that share an author often feature similar themes or characters. To my pleasant surprise, it was not the same with The Host and Twilight.

 
From the premise to the genre, the books are completely different. The Host is a science fiction novel that is essentially about an alien invasion and the human resistance after it. The aliens’ physical forms are akin to silver worms that can attach to a creature’s spinal cord and thus possess its body. Of course, with all medical procedures there are some risks, in this case when the alien is placed within a host there is supposed to be nothing left of the host. The body is supposed to be a shell or husk. In the case of Wanda, her host was still alive. Alive and determined to preserve her life. Mel was able to convince Wanda to seek out Mel’s family by showing her sentimental memories and arguing with her every day.

 In addition the romance shines through between Wanda, an alien who has been to almost every planet her kind have colonized and Ian, a human who at first meeting attempts to kill Wanda and her host Melanie. The love triangles in this book were interesting. On triangle has Wanda, Melanie, and Melanie’s boyfriend Jared. The second has Wanda, Ian, and Jared. Although the romantic struggle and mix up was nice in theory, I never really had a moment where I thought Wanda would end up with anyone other than Ian and likewise with Jared and Melanie. 

The biggest reason I love this book is Ian. I’m not even going to try to lie. Despite knowing Wanda’s true form, Ian is still able to love her and after she is removed from Melanie’s body and placed into another host he doesn’t have much trouble accepting her new body. He truly loves her for her personality and mind which I find very sweet and emotional. 

The ending is satisfying to me but it leaves plenty of room for a sequel. The romantic plot is resolved but overall the resistance isn’t over. Aliens still inhabit human hosts and I can see Meyer writing a sequel exploring that further. I’m also excited to see how the movie adaption turns out. 

Readers, how do you feel about love triangle in YA fiction? Are they useful plot devices or trite and overdone?

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

5 Signs You're a Natural Redhead



1.      You feel strongly about the word “ginger”. The feeling may be either positive or negative but I have never met a fellow redhead who was nonchalant about the term.

2.      More than one person has asked, “Is your hair color natural?” It always amazes me that no one comments on a blonde’s dark roots but they feel that asking what bottle my hair came out of is a socially acceptable question. This is the redhead equivalent of asking a woman when her baby is due and having her glare at you because she is just pudgy.

3.      At some point, you have been in the same room as another redhead and a teacher or co-worker has assumed you are related to each other. This can also double as the mistaken identity rule. I once had a soccer coach scream direction to me and I blissfully ignored him. Granted if he had called me by my name rather than that of another redhead on the same team, I might have realized he was talking to me. This tie backs into the rule because he later assumed we were cousins.

4.      Experiences from childhood have made you take a firm anti-bullying stance. There is a finite line between teasing and bullying. 

5.      You are used to people asking if they can touch your hair. Also if you are used to people touching it without asking. Ah, the checkout lines of Wal-Mart and little old ladies. The combination has given me a mild paranoia about my personal space. It was also a major consideration when I decided to cut my hair.

There is much more I could add to this list but these five seem the most important to me. Fellow redheads are welcome to chime in and I would also like to hear from everyone else on this question too. How do you feel about the stereotypes surrounding your hair color? Do certain things happen to you because of your hair color or type?  Comment below.