Best Sequel: The Far West by Patricia Wrede
Best Debut and Guilty Pleasure Book: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.
(This was the year he debuted, but this was his debut book and it was the one I read first)
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Monday, December 24, 2012
Some Bests from Brown
Best Book of the Year and The Best "New to Me" YA Author: Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman
Brown
The Pale Assassin
Well. This one'll tread the line between review and rant. The Pale Assassin, by Patricia Elliott. I didn't like it.
A severely underaged girl's family is haunted by mysterious man out for revenge who wants to kill all her male relatives and marry her, set amidst the French Revolution.
Congratulations first: One character (one.) is subject to ingenious characterization and is granted a stunning plot-twist/revelation towards the end of the book. Congratulations. That character developed smoothly, sneakily, and I had my suspicions and was quite gratified for them to be sneakily founded over one hundred pages later.
Umm.... other congratulations: This book evoked emotions. I wanted to throw it against the wall and stomp on it and strangle (viciously) the main character. But I kept reading. I made it to the end.
Here be not congratulations:
1) The main character, Eugenie. I found no reason at all to sympathize with her until well over half way through the book. I found her clueless, vapid, utterly stupid, self-absorbed, and with no awareness of the world. Redeeming qualities? A couple of times (when they are escaping Paris and are on their way to Calais), Eugenie has the guts and the talk to get them through a sticky situation. But. That lasts for maybe 20 pages total, out of a 327 page story. She's not a bad person. Just... in any other book she would be the stupid aristocrat who dies in the first mob.But because she is our protagonist, she has to stick around. Also, she seems to be a disturbingly young but alluringly attractive young teenager for far too long... She never quite manages to turn sixteen, which is when our horrible mysterious person would be able to marry her.
2) Julien, a secondary character, who becomes much more significant as the novel progresses. Namely, I take issue with his characterization and his behavior. He's a law student and all his friends say he is the clever one. Well. Clever? Maybe up until Eugenie gets her chance to shine. Then all his brains go out the window and he nearly gets them killed more often than he helps.
Elliott names the chapters by dates, always important events in the Revolution. Our characters manage to make a great many significant events. This book ends without concluding the story, perhaps promising another book (I don't know, I haven't looked). If so, I will not be reading it. So go read Sally Gardner's The Red Necklace instead: same/similar subject matter, much better execution.
Blue
A severely underaged girl's family is haunted by mysterious man out for revenge who wants to kill all her male relatives and marry her, set amidst the French Revolution.
Congratulations first: One character (one.) is subject to ingenious characterization and is granted a stunning plot-twist/revelation towards the end of the book. Congratulations. That character developed smoothly, sneakily, and I had my suspicions and was quite gratified for them to be sneakily founded over one hundred pages later.
Umm.... other congratulations: This book evoked emotions. I wanted to throw it against the wall and stomp on it and strangle (viciously) the main character. But I kept reading. I made it to the end.
Here be not congratulations:
1) The main character, Eugenie. I found no reason at all to sympathize with her until well over half way through the book. I found her clueless, vapid, utterly stupid, self-absorbed, and with no awareness of the world. Redeeming qualities? A couple of times (when they are escaping Paris and are on their way to Calais), Eugenie has the guts and the talk to get them through a sticky situation. But. That lasts for maybe 20 pages total, out of a 327 page story. She's not a bad person. Just... in any other book she would be the stupid aristocrat who dies in the first mob.But because she is our protagonist, she has to stick around. Also, she seems to be a disturbingly young but alluringly attractive young teenager for far too long... She never quite manages to turn sixteen, which is when our horrible mysterious person would be able to marry her.
2) Julien, a secondary character, who becomes much more significant as the novel progresses. Namely, I take issue with his characterization and his behavior. He's a law student and all his friends say he is the clever one. Well. Clever? Maybe up until Eugenie gets her chance to shine. Then all his brains go out the window and he nearly gets them killed more often than he helps.
Elliott names the chapters by dates, always important events in the Revolution. Our characters manage to make a great many significant events. This book ends without concluding the story, perhaps promising another book (I don't know, I haven't looked). If so, I will not be reading it. So go read Sally Gardner's The Red Necklace instead: same/similar subject matter, much better execution.
Blue
Saturday, December 22, 2012
The Girl of Fire and Thorns
The Girl of Fire and Thorns, by Rae Carson, was not something I expected to like. I picked it up on a whim, but as soon as I finished I requested the second book from my library. I loved this book.
Carson starts out with the younger-princess-with-special-powers-saves-the-nation scheme, but completely makes it her own. For one, Elisa, our heroine, is fat. Huge. The book opens with her arranged marriage, and the dress is far too tight and makes her feel like a sausage. When she hugs her father, she knows he cannot feel her ribs. When she looks down, she cannot see her bellybutton. So internally I went Ooooooo.... and curled up to keep reading.
Elisa, the younger of two princesses, feels she is completely unremarkable, except for the Godstone (see: special powers) in her navel that appeared at her christening. Her older sister is charming and wise, a suitable heir to their kingdom. Yet, Elisa is the one who is married off in the first twelve pages. Later, she figures that she is the counter offer, and was only accepted because her husband Alejandro needed her father's military aid.
Elisa, however, has courage that unfolds throughout the book, from saving her husband's life, to eventually saving the nation. She does not enjoy a loving, or otherwise, relationship (read: no relation at all) with her handsome but indecisive husband. But that's okay, because Carson takes a swing at us in the latter half of the first part that veers the story from ugly-girl-gets-loved-for-herself, to I-didn't-see-that-coming.
On pain of spilling too much, I'm keeping it, I'd read it again, even though one of my favorite characters doesn't quite make it (it's refreshing to see villains who don't dither and just kill), and I'm looking forward to more from this author.
Blue
Carson starts out with the younger-princess-with-special-powers-saves-the-nation scheme, but completely makes it her own. For one, Elisa, our heroine, is fat. Huge. The book opens with her arranged marriage, and the dress is far too tight and makes her feel like a sausage. When she hugs her father, she knows he cannot feel her ribs. When she looks down, she cannot see her bellybutton. So internally I went Ooooooo.... and curled up to keep reading.
Elisa, the younger of two princesses, feels she is completely unremarkable, except for the Godstone (see: special powers) in her navel that appeared at her christening. Her older sister is charming and wise, a suitable heir to their kingdom. Yet, Elisa is the one who is married off in the first twelve pages. Later, she figures that she is the counter offer, and was only accepted because her husband Alejandro needed her father's military aid.
Elisa, however, has courage that unfolds throughout the book, from saving her husband's life, to eventually saving the nation. She does not enjoy a loving, or otherwise, relationship (read: no relation at all) with her handsome but indecisive husband. But that's okay, because Carson takes a swing at us in the latter half of the first part that veers the story from ugly-girl-gets-loved-for-herself, to I-didn't-see-that-coming.
On pain of spilling too much, I'm keeping it, I'd read it again, even though one of my favorite characters doesn't quite make it (it's refreshing to see villains who don't dither and just kill), and I'm looking forward to more from this author.
Blue
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly wasn't a bad book. Though the subject matter didn't naturally fall to my taste, hey, it's a Newberry Honor book, so I'd figure I would give it a shot.
Calpurnia is an 11/12 year old (she has a birthday in the book) in 1899 (and a tad bit of 1900). As the only girl in the middle of six boys, she's well outnumbered, yet she is still expected to behave as a normal girl would of the time. Yet, she is not interested in how to embroider or bake; she bonds with her naturalist Grandfather and yearns to spend her time studying nature.
I enjoyed the characterization, for the most part. Kelly was able to impart a unique character to everyone, whether or not you were meant to sympathize with them or even like them. And as for liking, Kelly let you have your own opinion.
There were two things I did not like about this book:
1) My copy, purchased from a Scholastic warehouse sale, is missing pages 313 and 314. The page wasn't torn out; it's just missing.
2) Calpurnia. (And here be spoilers, maybe) I thought she was a brat. She belongs to one of the most privileged families in her county, and she takes advantage of that, perhaps as all children take advantage of their circumstances to some extent. She needs to learn to sew and cook (her mother's dictum, not mine) and since she dislikes those activities, she avoids them, even after her grandfather tells her that during the Civil War, he and his men had to do those activities to survive. Now, Kelly emphasizes that Callie Vee, as she is called, is made to learn these things because she is a girl, not because they are useful to know; perhaps she might find these activities more useful if her brothers were made to learn them as well. But! One of her reasons for not needing to learn them is because her family employs a cook and a maid. Well. What if her mother died? What if Viola left or died? What if their family lost their fortune and could not afford the help? Callie doesn't want to be made to marry in the future either; she'd like to be a scientist. Unless her family gives her substantial monetary help, for at least the first few years, who else but her would cook and clean? Granted, she'd twelve. But part of me would like to strangle her, and the other part would like to see her spanked. And then made to cook dinner for the entire family for a month all by herself because she doesn't seem to appreciate any work that she doesn't enjoy (and then her brothers could each take a turn so that their mother wouldn't have to do it all, either).
[3) Because I realized that I loathe this character as well, not that he's poorly written, just that I don't like him. Grandfather. Old, rude, and can't be bothered to learn the names of his grandchildren. Gives an 11 year old alcohol (alcohol that he's trying to make out of distilled pecans, an experiment). At the end, praises his only "grandchild", Calpurnia. After taking a drink, he amends that with "granddaughter", but I think he truly meant it. Of his seven grandchildren, Calpurnia is the only one who shares his interests, not because he shared his interest with her, but because she found the interest all on her own and sought information with him. He's rude. He's a jerk. I was really hoping for him to die. Gruesomely.]
Conclusion: Well-written book with excellent characterization. Did I like it? Oh, go read it. But check to see that you have all the pages first.
Blue
Calpurnia is an 11/12 year old (she has a birthday in the book) in 1899 (and a tad bit of 1900). As the only girl in the middle of six boys, she's well outnumbered, yet she is still expected to behave as a normal girl would of the time. Yet, she is not interested in how to embroider or bake; she bonds with her naturalist Grandfather and yearns to spend her time studying nature.
I enjoyed the characterization, for the most part. Kelly was able to impart a unique character to everyone, whether or not you were meant to sympathize with them or even like them. And as for liking, Kelly let you have your own opinion.
There were two things I did not like about this book:
1) My copy, purchased from a Scholastic warehouse sale, is missing pages 313 and 314. The page wasn't torn out; it's just missing.
2) Calpurnia. (And here be spoilers, maybe) I thought she was a brat. She belongs to one of the most privileged families in her county, and she takes advantage of that, perhaps as all children take advantage of their circumstances to some extent. She needs to learn to sew and cook (her mother's dictum, not mine) and since she dislikes those activities, she avoids them, even after her grandfather tells her that during the Civil War, he and his men had to do those activities to survive. Now, Kelly emphasizes that Callie Vee, as she is called, is made to learn these things because she is a girl, not because they are useful to know; perhaps she might find these activities more useful if her brothers were made to learn them as well. But! One of her reasons for not needing to learn them is because her family employs a cook and a maid. Well. What if her mother died? What if Viola left or died? What if their family lost their fortune and could not afford the help? Callie doesn't want to be made to marry in the future either; she'd like to be a scientist. Unless her family gives her substantial monetary help, for at least the first few years, who else but her would cook and clean? Granted, she'd twelve. But part of me would like to strangle her, and the other part would like to see her spanked. And then made to cook dinner for the entire family for a month all by herself because she doesn't seem to appreciate any work that she doesn't enjoy (and then her brothers could each take a turn so that their mother wouldn't have to do it all, either).
[3) Because I realized that I loathe this character as well, not that he's poorly written, just that I don't like him. Grandfather. Old, rude, and can't be bothered to learn the names of his grandchildren. Gives an 11 year old alcohol (alcohol that he's trying to make out of distilled pecans, an experiment). At the end, praises his only "grandchild", Calpurnia. After taking a drink, he amends that with "granddaughter", but I think he truly meant it. Of his seven grandchildren, Calpurnia is the only one who shares his interests, not because he shared his interest with her, but because she found the interest all on her own and sought information with him. He's rude. He's a jerk. I was really hoping for him to die. Gruesomely.]
Conclusion: Well-written book with excellent characterization. Did I like it? Oh, go read it. But check to see that you have all the pages first.
Blue
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