|
July 05
|
|
|
|
July 03
|
|
Cassie
marked as to-read:
Violet Eyes: A Retelling of the Princess and the Pea (Once Upon A Time...)
by
Debbie Viguié
bookshelves:
to-read
|
my rating:
|
| |
|
|
June 25
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cassie
read and liked
Miss Clark's
review of Max (Maximum Ride, Book 5):
"Wow, what a complete waste of an hour and half. This books goes nowhere in terms of plot, except possibly in terms of Max and Fang's relationship. There is no coherency left in this series, no continuity from the first two volumes. Just vague command...more
Wow, what a complete waste of an hour and half. This books goes nowhere in terms of plot, except possibly in terms of Max and Fang's relationship. There is no coherency left in this series, no continuity from the first two volumes. Just vague commands to save the world, with no explanation as to how or why it needs saving or from whom, merely that, wait for it, Global Warming is around and we so totally need to stop it. Forget evil corporations messing around with the human genome. Forget the creepy voice in your head. Forget the clones and the evil, take-over-the-world ploy from three books ago. No, really, just forget it. The poor fishies are so much more important. And, really, where did the novel really go in terms of even that plot. Oh, yes, that's right. No where. Whatsoever. Ugh.(less)
"
|
|
June 22
|
|
|
|
June 19
|
|
Cassie
marked as to-read:
The Pale Assassin (Hardcover)
by
Patricia Elliott
bookshelves:
to-read
|
my rating:
|
| |
|
|
Cassie
gave  to:
Silver Phoenix: Beyond the Kingdom of Xia (Hardcover)
by
Cindy Pon (Goodreads author)
bookshelves:
bookwyrm_chrysalis_reviews,
fairytale,
ya-fantasy
|
my rating:
|
| |
Cassie said:
"Silver Phoenix is an exquisite Asian fairytale, something I’ve been hoping for for some time. Of course, my knowledge of ancient China is pretty limited, but it felt very authentic to me, and we can chalk up any problems to the fact that this is fa...more
Silver Phoenix is an exquisite Asian fairytale, something I’ve been hoping for for some time. Of course, my knowledge of ancient China is pretty limited, but it felt very authentic to me, and we can chalk up any problems to the fact that this is fantasy, and not exactly China. I especially loved how Pon stayed true to restrictions and prejudices toward girls, but worked around them in a way that didn’t make me go "But.. but… one girl is not going to change the gender prejudices of a whole nation!!!!!" It was great to see a fairytale style story that is very distinctly set in a non-western country, and one that doesn’t feel like it was just transplanted there without regard for all the little nuanced differences that come between western and eastern societies.
Another element I found well done was the topic of sex. The book opens on Ai Ling pretty much getting a sex ed lesson from her mother, about her duties as a wife, and throughout the book the topic of sex and purity is artfully and realistically woven into the story. Of course that makes me hesitate to say it’s appropriate for kids under 13, without knowing the kid, but I must commend the author on her good usage of the subject. I’m tired of books that use sex as purely a "look, kids, we’ve got smut!" or where girls are constantly threatened with rape ’cause they are girls in a male dominated society. The issues of sex, rape, and purity, though, were of great importance in earlier societies, so I also dislike it when authors glaze over them or pretend "oh, let’s have a medieval society, except everybody is openly promiscuous and the guy totally won’t care if he doesn’t know if he’s the father of the kid." Those kind of social changes take a lot more background history modification. But I’m digressing, and my grand debate about women’s roles in older societies can be left for a different day.
My least favorite thing about the book? The ending. Darn those open endings that need a sequel! It’s always been a pet peeve of mine when I get towards the end of the book and start realizing "wait a sec…. the author wants me to hang around for a sequel before she wraps things up, doesn’t she???" (Un?)fortunately, this was an excellent book and I will be eagerly awaiting the sequel to see how things turn out, especially with the unspoken promise of getting to see some other countries in this world. I’m not sure how to feel about the fact that the author told me on Goodreads that the book would have ended there even if there hadn’t been a sequel coming, but I probably would have felt a tad let down. I like my fiction to have what I consider happy endings. Life has enough ambiguity for me.
Read more about this book and more of my reviews at Bookwyrm Chrysalis(less)
"
|
|
June 17
|
|
|
|
|
June 09
|
|
Cassie
gave  to:
Before Midnight: A Retelling of "Cinderella" (Once Upon a Time)
by
Cameron Dokey
bookshelves:
bookwyrm_chrysalis_reviews,
fairytale,
ya-fantasy
|
my rating:
|
| |
Cassie said:
"This retelling of Cinderella from the Once Upon a Time series is like most of the books in the series, taking a short fairytale and expanding the characters and plot, but still managing to keep the heart of the original story intact. In order to tell...more
This retelling of Cinderella from the Once Upon a Time series is like most of the books in the series, taking a short fairytale and expanding the characters and plot, but still managing to keep the heart of the original story intact. In order to tell the tale more believably, it’s split into the tale of Cendrillion and Raul, automatically complicating the plot, but helping to lead the tale to a satisfying conclusion. Yet even though the book takes away the element of a fairy godmother’s magic, other symbols like glass slippers and pumpkins still find their way in. Even without a blatant fairy godmother, it’s evident that a more subtle magic is taking placebehind the scenes, a power driven by wishes and one’s heart’s desires, often depicted through the reaction of nature (sudden storms, odd growing seasons, and the like).
In the author’s note at the back of the book, Dokey mentions that when she began researching Cinderella, she found that the father was not dead in the earliest versions, like he typically is in modern versions. Therefore she wanted to explore his role in the tale and his share of the blame for what happens to Cinderella. In fact, in this version, there’s very little that’s evil about the step-family; they’re merely reacting to a confusing situation that none of them asked to be a part of. Certainly, one sister is a bit of a spoiled brat and the other nice but aware of the difference in station between her and Cendrillion, but neither could be called “evil” by any means. Cendrillion shares her own blame in her fate, too ashamed of the fact that her father never mentioned her to correct the mistake and claim her life as a noble daughter.
I love this series for how quick the books are to read. I read this one night when I wanted a fast read, and in three hours I was done with the book, thoroughly entertained and smiling. It’s nice to read a good book that doesn’t take forever to get to a plot, yet still has plenty of intrigue and character development to spare.(less)
"
|
Q&A with Sarah MacLean
— 52 members
— last activity 02/24/2009 11:03AM
