Alexis Lampley's Blog, page 21
February 2, 2016
Gold: A Maddie Moo Baby Book Review
Written by: Abi AyresIllustrated by: Clarissa Anderson
A Collection of Colors is a series of list poems converted into children's books. List poems are a carefully thought out list of things, people, places or events that are meant to make readers reflect and ponder. Discover powerful life lessons as you dive into the imagination of a young girl, who examines different colors and their meanings. "Gold" is the first book in the series. {cover copy}
Slobber Durability: 5/10
NOM Resistance: 2/10
Tear & Fold Resistance: 4/10
Font Readability: 9/10
Baby Engagement: 9/10
We received this book from Aspen Rose Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
I have to say, I adore the colors in this book. {It doesn't hurt that the nursery is decorated in grey and gold}. And I think the illustrations are adorable! The pops of color seemed to engage Madeline, and she appeared to be interested in what was happening on the page. I really like the idea of this book and the series. I love colors, and love to color-coordinate things {including Madeline's baby books}, so the idea of having a series of books focusing on specific colors for each book is very appealing to me.
The only thing I would like to have seen in this book is a stronger through-line for the moral in the overarching theme. It was leading up to the Golden Rule, but that part feels a little bit tacked on rather than leading seamlessly into it the way I think the book was going for. I think a mention of "people think gold will bring them happiness" or some similar one-liner
at the start of the book
would have been a simple addition and would have tied the beginning and end together much better for me.
Aside from that, I think this is an adorable book. Madeline enjoyed it, and I'm very interested to see what the author and artist do with the next colors in the series.
Gold: A Baby Book Review
Written by: Abi AyresIllustrated by: Clarissa Anderson
A Collection of Colors is a series of list poems converted into children's books. List poems are a carefully thought out list of things, people, places or events that are meant to make readers reflect and ponder. Discover powerful life lessons as you dive into the imagination of a young girl, who examines different colors and their meanings. "Gold" is the first book in the series. {cover copy}
Slobber Durability: 5/10
NOM Resistance: 2/10
Tear & Fold Resistance: 4/10
Font Readability: 9/10
Baby Engagement: 9/10
We received this book from Aspen Rose Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
I have to say, I adore the colors in this book. {It doesn't hurt that the nursery is decorated in grey and gold}. And I think the illustrations are adorable! The pops of color seemed to engage Madeline, and she appeared to be interested in what was happening on the page. I really like the idea of this book and the series. I love colors, and love to color-coordinate things {including Madeline's baby books}, so the idea of having a series of books focusing on specific colors for each book is very appealing to me.
The only thing I would like to have seen in this book is a stronger through-line for the moral in the overarching theme. It was leading up to the Golden Rule, but that part feels a little bit tacked on rather than leading seamlessly into it the way I think the book was going for. I think a mention of "people think gold will bring them happiness" or some similar one-liner
at the start of the book
would have been a simple addition and would have tied the beginning and end together much better for me.
Aside from that, I think this is an adorable book. Madeline enjoyed it, and I'm very interested to see what the author and artist do with the next colors in the series.
February 1, 2016
The Stack: January 2016
So... this was an embarrassingly pathetic completed stack this month. Can it really be considered a stack with only two books? I had two {one on Audible and one I'm reading} that I thought for sure I could finish before the end of the month, so at least I'd have 4 total, but between releasing my own book {get it here!} and having a sick kid and parents in town, all in the last week of the month... it just wasn't in the cards for me. This month will be better. I'm determined. Also, I'll be implementing a new section to my reviews soon {as in later today} so get ready for that, because it's gonna be exciting {and adorable}The Young Elites Marie Lu See review
The Here and Now Ann Brashares See review
January 26, 2016
The Here and Now
by: Ann Brashares
This is the story of seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn't come from different country. She came from a different time--a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins.
Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they're from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she's told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth.
But everything changes when Prenna falls for Ethan Jarves.
Thrilling, exhilirating, haunting, and heartbreaking, The Here and Now is a twenty-first century take on an impossible romance. A girl from the future might be able to save us... if she lets go of the one thing she's found to hold on to. {cover copy}
I enjoyed this book more than I was expecting to. I don't know why I felt that way. I guess sometimes I buy a book, feeling excited about it, but then over time feel like it isn't going to hold up. Perhaps this happens when I impulse buy. Which is a lot of the time. Anyway, the story kept me engaged throughout. I love time travel, so that was an enjoyable aspect. Especially because it reminded me of my favorite when I was in middle school, and probably the story that made me love time travel: Both Sides of Time by Caroline B Cooney. I also really enjoyed the mystery aspect of this book-- trying to solve a crime before it's committed. There were parts of the plot that felt a bit convenient, others extraneous, and parts of the ending that I definitely saw coming, and I wasn't completely sure about the plausibility of Prenna's argument to have {SPOILERS: the "bad guys" leave her alone and not kill her}.
The only other thing that pulled me out of the story was when Prenna talks about the future she came back from and how it came to be that way. I know she is describing what happens, and that it's based on what's possibly trending toward our current future, but it bordered on feeling like the author was preaching to the reader. For a paragraph or so I would feel uncomfortable and wonder what the author's agenda was. But then the story would continue and that thought would go away.
Overall, it didn't blow me away, but I didn't hate it.
PS this was a total cover buy. But when I look closer, I kindof hate that there are tears coming from both sides of the girl's eye.
His dad had to work, so Ethan had gone fishing alone. {first line}
"Already he is the drip, drip of water that carves a canyon right through the middle of me."
"And here, I realize, is a thing you can't undo. When you open yourself to somebody, when you feel the things that you feel, well, what do you do then? You can try to ignore it, maybe you can try to forget about it, but you can't undo it and you can't give it back."
"I can't think my way into the what if, because even a tiny step stings me with hope and fear and drags along behind it a feeling that is overwhelmingly sad."
"The truth is strong. Unlike a lie, it gets stronger over time, and it has the power to draw disparate feelings and ideas together in a way that a lie never can."
"I guess memory is a deep well, and you don't know what's down there until you lower the bucket and start hauling it up."
"No matter how our hearts break, we bend toward life, don't we? We bend toward hope."
• next • {last word}
{view on Goodreads}
This is the story of seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn't come from different country. She came from a different time--a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins.Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they're from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she's told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth.
But everything changes when Prenna falls for Ethan Jarves.
Thrilling, exhilirating, haunting, and heartbreaking, The Here and Now is a twenty-first century take on an impossible romance. A girl from the future might be able to save us... if she lets go of the one thing she's found to hold on to. {cover copy}
I enjoyed this book more than I was expecting to. I don't know why I felt that way. I guess sometimes I buy a book, feeling excited about it, but then over time feel like it isn't going to hold up. Perhaps this happens when I impulse buy. Which is a lot of the time. Anyway, the story kept me engaged throughout. I love time travel, so that was an enjoyable aspect. Especially because it reminded me of my favorite when I was in middle school, and probably the story that made me love time travel: Both Sides of Time by Caroline B Cooney. I also really enjoyed the mystery aspect of this book-- trying to solve a crime before it's committed. There were parts of the plot that felt a bit convenient, others extraneous, and parts of the ending that I definitely saw coming, and I wasn't completely sure about the plausibility of Prenna's argument to have {SPOILERS: the "bad guys" leave her alone and not kill her}.
The only other thing that pulled me out of the story was when Prenna talks about the future she came back from and how it came to be that way. I know she is describing what happens, and that it's based on what's possibly trending toward our current future, but it bordered on feeling like the author was preaching to the reader. For a paragraph or so I would feel uncomfortable and wonder what the author's agenda was. But then the story would continue and that thought would go away.
Overall, it didn't blow me away, but I didn't hate it.
PS this was a total cover buy. But when I look closer, I kindof hate that there are tears coming from both sides of the girl's eye.
His dad had to work, so Ethan had gone fishing alone. {first line}
"Already he is the drip, drip of water that carves a canyon right through the middle of me."
"And here, I realize, is a thing you can't undo. When you open yourself to somebody, when you feel the things that you feel, well, what do you do then? You can try to ignore it, maybe you can try to forget about it, but you can't undo it and you can't give it back."
"I can't think my way into the what if, because even a tiny step stings me with hope and fear and drags along behind it a feeling that is overwhelmingly sad."
"The truth is strong. Unlike a lie, it gets stronger over time, and it has the power to draw disparate feelings and ideas together in a way that a lie never can."
"I guess memory is a deep well, and you don't know what's down there until you lower the bucket and start hauling it up."
"No matter how our hearts break, we bend toward life, don't we? We bend toward hope."
• next • {last word}
{view on Goodreads}
January 15, 2016
The Young Elites
by: Marie Lu
A decade ago, a powerful blood fever sweeps through the nation. Most of the infected perished, but some survivors were left with strange markings, rumored to signify powerful gifts for those who possess them. And though their identities remain secret, this group of survivors has come to be called The Young Elites.
The Inquisition Axis seeks to destroy them. The Dagger Society aims to find them before the Inquisition Axis. And Adelina Amouteru just wants to be left alone. But two truths will soon surface:
Adelina's powers are far from ordinary... and she is not to be crossed. {cover copy}
If you've never read a book on a pre-determined schedule with a bunch of other book nerds, so you could discuss the day's chapters as you go... then you are totally missing out. This is what happened when I read this book. A group of book lovers on "Bookstagram" {Instagram, but all about books. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you are missing out there, too}. Anyway, I really enjoyed this book and this reading experience. I have been so busy finishing up edits for my own book {which comes out on January 31 and is available for pre-order} that the schedule really helped me finish this book. Otherwise I may have still been on page 30 or something right now!
I loved the overall darkness of this book. It is certainly one of the darkest YA Dystopians I have read. And the twists. Wow. I kept thinking I could see what was coming, but I definitely couldn't. Well done, Marie Lu. Well done. And the writing and descriptions are beautiful. The hair, the eyes! So many beautiful people in this book, "markings" and all. Also, the acknowledgements were quite a revelation. It was so interesting to learn what she had to say about the process after reading the book. I really loved the powers in this, and felt like it was something I hadn't seen before as far as powers generally go, which was nice. As for characters, I think Adelina is fascinating and dark and sad and I feel bad for her but also don't. What I'm saying is, she's very complex. Which is great. I feel maybe some of the other characters could have been fleshed out more, but I think the ones that matter are. I'm very excited to read the next one with this same group of girls and see what happens next!
{PS Madeline is starting to get a little handsy with these book review pictures! haha luckily I kept this one out of her mouth. Drool + Books = damaged book and me being sad}.
Want to see what some of the other girls in my reading group have to say about the book? Click the link{s} below! {I will add them as they come}
Andrea @ Eat. Drink. Read... Repeat {she will be posting tomorrow}
I'm going to die tomorrow morning. {first line}
"Embellish your flaws ... They will turn into your assets."
"The breeze combs through his hair, revealing several brilliant sapphire strands glistening under the black, jeweled lines moving against a night canvas."
"How do you shut out a scream that comes from inside your mind?"
"It is pointless to believe what you see, if you only see what you believe."
"Everyone has darkness inside them, however hidden."
"The truth would do its damage soon enough."
"To love is to be afraid. You are frightened, deathly terrified, that something will happen to those you love. Think of the possibilities. Does your heart clench with each thought? That, my friend, is love. And love enslaves us all, for you cannot have love without fear."
"What in the world can you buy with an apology? * Tomorrow, I will take on all of these things. I will be unstoppable."
• visit • {last word}
{view on Goodreads}
A decade ago, a powerful blood fever sweeps through the nation. Most of the infected perished, but some survivors were left with strange markings, rumored to signify powerful gifts for those who possess them. And though their identities remain secret, this group of survivors has come to be called The Young Elites.The Inquisition Axis seeks to destroy them. The Dagger Society aims to find them before the Inquisition Axis. And Adelina Amouteru just wants to be left alone. But two truths will soon surface:
Adelina's powers are far from ordinary... and she is not to be crossed. {cover copy}
If you've never read a book on a pre-determined schedule with a bunch of other book nerds, so you could discuss the day's chapters as you go... then you are totally missing out. This is what happened when I read this book. A group of book lovers on "Bookstagram" {Instagram, but all about books. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you are missing out there, too}. Anyway, I really enjoyed this book and this reading experience. I have been so busy finishing up edits for my own book {which comes out on January 31 and is available for pre-order} that the schedule really helped me finish this book. Otherwise I may have still been on page 30 or something right now!
I loved the overall darkness of this book. It is certainly one of the darkest YA Dystopians I have read. And the twists. Wow. I kept thinking I could see what was coming, but I definitely couldn't. Well done, Marie Lu. Well done. And the writing and descriptions are beautiful. The hair, the eyes! So many beautiful people in this book, "markings" and all. Also, the acknowledgements were quite a revelation. It was so interesting to learn what she had to say about the process after reading the book. I really loved the powers in this, and felt like it was something I hadn't seen before as far as powers generally go, which was nice. As for characters, I think Adelina is fascinating and dark and sad and I feel bad for her but also don't. What I'm saying is, she's very complex. Which is great. I feel maybe some of the other characters could have been fleshed out more, but I think the ones that matter are. I'm very excited to read the next one with this same group of girls and see what happens next!
{PS Madeline is starting to get a little handsy with these book review pictures! haha luckily I kept this one out of her mouth. Drool + Books = damaged book and me being sad}.
Want to see what some of the other girls in my reading group have to say about the book? Click the link{s} below! {I will add them as they come}
Andrea @ Eat. Drink. Read... Repeat {she will be posting tomorrow}
I'm going to die tomorrow morning. {first line}
"Embellish your flaws ... They will turn into your assets."
"The breeze combs through his hair, revealing several brilliant sapphire strands glistening under the black, jeweled lines moving against a night canvas."
"How do you shut out a scream that comes from inside your mind?"
"It is pointless to believe what you see, if you only see what you believe."
"Everyone has darkness inside them, however hidden."
"The truth would do its damage soon enough."
"To love is to be afraid. You are frightened, deathly terrified, that something will happen to those you love. Think of the possibilities. Does your heart clench with each thought? That, my friend, is love. And love enslaves us all, for you cannot have love without fear."
"What in the world can you buy with an apology? * Tomorrow, I will take on all of these things. I will be unstoppable."
• visit • {last word}
{view on Goodreads}
December 31, 2015
The Stack: December 2015
This month has gone by in a flash. Every day was full to brimming with to-do lists, and if it weren't for my best friend, Audible, I would not have read many books this month. Also, the fact that this edition of Pride and Prejudice is a Manga, and has more pictures than words, helped! Oh! And I read an entire manuscript for a friend. That counts, too. But it isn't pictured. The Sea of Monsters Rick RiordanAnother great Percy Jackson book, and I can't wait to see what happens next!
The Looking Glass Wars Frank Beddor See review
The Success Principles Jack CanfieldI can already feel things changing in my life because of this book. Thanks to my husband, who downloaded it on Audible and insisted that I should read it, swaying me to the idea by telling me that he thinks I need to focus on getting my manuscript published, I am on track to publish my book as an ebook on Amazon at the end of January, and I'm sending queries out to agents already.
Six of Crows Leigh Bardugo See review
Pride and Prejudice {Manga Classics} Jane Austen {sorta}This is the book I read every year, and while this year's is a little different in format, I quite enjoy it. I can't help but grin at the slightly more dramatic version this story tells, and the artwork is stunning. Cartoonists just blow me away. I'd love to be able to draw like that.
Six of Crows
by: Leigh Bardugo
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price--and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams, But he can't pull it off alone...
A convict with a thirst for revenge
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager
A runaway with a privileged past
A spy known as the Wraith
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes
Kaz's crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction--if they don't kill each other first. {cover copy}
Well hello there! It's only been 14 days since my last review? It feels like four months. Wow. But yey for me not being as bad this month at posting as I thought I was!
Anyway.
This book. Was great. Despite me having a lot going on, and therefore taking forever to read this, I was engaged every time I opened the book. Leigh Bardugo does characters and relationships really well. I especially enjoyed the ones in this book. While I enjoyed the characters in the Grisha series, I find these six more compelling. The richness of their backgrounds gives them great depth, and their personalities are such a good mix. Because there's always tension. And tension is lovely. Especially in relationships. While I loved Kaz {except for this one thing he did that made my eyes go all big and I had to cover my mouth because it was gaping open} and his one-liners and smarts, it was Nina and Matthais whose interactions and relationship was my favorite. That is, until close to the end, when a certain something is said by a certain someone to Kaz, and it was perfect and they were edged out.
Aside from characters, I really enjoyed this plot. It had that Ocean's Eleven feel, where you root for the bad guys the whole time and watch them succeed at pulling one over on people left and right. But it was definitely not as easy for these six as it was in Ocean's Eleven. And definitely not as clean, either. People die. That didn't happen in Ocean's Eleven. This book was a great new story in the world of the Grishas that Bardugo has built, and it actually made me love the world more than I did before. I'm very much going to jump on the sequel the first moment its available! In fact, I can't wait. So, I would kindly request that Ms. Bardugo WRITE FASTER! Thanks.
Joost had two problems: the moon and his mustache. {first line}
"Every act of violence was deliberate, and every favor came with enough strings attached to stage a puppet show."
"Besides, old women must know something, or they wouldn't live to gather wrinkles and yell from their front stoops."
"A secret's not like coin. It doesn't keep its value in the spending."
"Men mock the gods until they need them."
"If you fail, all the world will suffer for it." || "Oh, it's worse than that ... If I fail, I don't get paid."
"You're passable at demo. You're excellent at hostage."
"The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true."
"Facts are for the unimaginative."
"Better terrible truths than kind lies."
"She looked like someone facing the firing squad and saying damn the blindfolds."
"A gambler, a convict, a wayward son, a lost Grisha, a Suli girl who had become a killer, a boy from the barrel who had become something worse."
"There was no part of him that was not broken, that had not healed wrong, and there was no part of him that was not stronger for having been broken."
"That she was lovely and brave and better than anything he deserved."
"We are all someone's monster... "
"I will have you without armor ... or I will not have you at all."
• made • {last word}
{view on Goodreads}
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price--and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams, But he can't pull it off alone...A convict with a thirst for revenge
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager
A runaway with a privileged past
A spy known as the Wraith
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes
Kaz's crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction--if they don't kill each other first. {cover copy}
Well hello there! It's only been 14 days since my last review? It feels like four months. Wow. But yey for me not being as bad this month at posting as I thought I was!
Anyway.
This book. Was great. Despite me having a lot going on, and therefore taking forever to read this, I was engaged every time I opened the book. Leigh Bardugo does characters and relationships really well. I especially enjoyed the ones in this book. While I enjoyed the characters in the Grisha series, I find these six more compelling. The richness of their backgrounds gives them great depth, and their personalities are such a good mix. Because there's always tension. And tension is lovely. Especially in relationships. While I loved Kaz {except for this one thing he did that made my eyes go all big and I had to cover my mouth because it was gaping open} and his one-liners and smarts, it was Nina and Matthais whose interactions and relationship was my favorite. That is, until close to the end, when a certain something is said by a certain someone to Kaz, and it was perfect and they were edged out.
Aside from characters, I really enjoyed this plot. It had that Ocean's Eleven feel, where you root for the bad guys the whole time and watch them succeed at pulling one over on people left and right. But it was definitely not as easy for these six as it was in Ocean's Eleven. And definitely not as clean, either. People die. That didn't happen in Ocean's Eleven. This book was a great new story in the world of the Grishas that Bardugo has built, and it actually made me love the world more than I did before. I'm very much going to jump on the sequel the first moment its available! In fact, I can't wait. So, I would kindly request that Ms. Bardugo WRITE FASTER! Thanks.
Joost had two problems: the moon and his mustache. {first line}
"Every act of violence was deliberate, and every favor came with enough strings attached to stage a puppet show."
"Besides, old women must know something, or they wouldn't live to gather wrinkles and yell from their front stoops."
"A secret's not like coin. It doesn't keep its value in the spending."
"Men mock the gods until they need them."
"If you fail, all the world will suffer for it." || "Oh, it's worse than that ... If I fail, I don't get paid."
"You're passable at demo. You're excellent at hostage."
"The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true."
"Facts are for the unimaginative."
"Better terrible truths than kind lies."
"She looked like someone facing the firing squad and saying damn the blindfolds."
"A gambler, a convict, a wayward son, a lost Grisha, a Suli girl who had become a killer, a boy from the barrel who had become something worse."
"There was no part of him that was not broken, that had not healed wrong, and there was no part of him that was not stronger for having been broken."
"That she was lovely and brave and better than anything he deserved."
"We are all someone's monster... "
"I will have you without armor ... or I will not have you at all."
• made • {last word}
{view on Goodreads}
December 16, 2015
The Looking Glass Wars
by: Frank Beddor
When Alyss Heart, heir to the Wonderland throne, must flee through the Pool of Tears to escape her murderous aunt Redd, she finds herself lost and alone in Victorian London. Befriended by an aspiring author named Lewis Carroll, Alyss tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Alyss trusts this author to tell the truth so that someone, somewhere will find her and bring her home. But he gets the story all wrong. He even spells her name incorrectly!
Fortunately, Royal Bodyguard Hatter Madigan knows all too well the awful truth of Alyss' story and he is searching every corner of out world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland so she may eventually battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts. {cover copy}
So I found this book in a used bookstore several years ago. I loved the cover and vaguely remembered someone saying this was really good. I bought it. For like two dollars. And it sat on my shelf until recently, when I saw it on Audible and thought, hey, I need to read this. So I did. Well, I had it read to me, but whatever. Anyway, I really enjoyed this book! There were some fun things done in the editing of the audio for certain parts that really gave it that Wonderland quality, and the story itself was really good. I haven't read a lot of re-imaginings, and I really liked the way this was shifted to something darker and different, all while retaining that very wonderland-esque quality about it. I'm really glad I got around to reading this one.
Everyone thought she had made it up, and she had tolerated more taunting and teasing from other children, more lectures and punishments from grown-ups, than any eleven-year-old should have to bear. {first line}
"For most of the universe's inhabitants, life is not all gummy wads and tarty tarts; it is a struggle against hardship, unfairness, corruption, abuse, and adversity in all its guises, where even to survive--let alone survive with dignity--is heroic. To soldier through the days in the wake of failure is courageous act of many."
"We all look funny sometimes. Some of us look funny all the time."
• wonderful • {last word}
{view on Goodreads}
When Alyss Heart, heir to the Wonderland throne, must flee through the Pool of Tears to escape her murderous aunt Redd, she finds herself lost and alone in Victorian London. Befriended by an aspiring author named Lewis Carroll, Alyss tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Alyss trusts this author to tell the truth so that someone, somewhere will find her and bring her home. But he gets the story all wrong. He even spells her name incorrectly!Fortunately, Royal Bodyguard Hatter Madigan knows all too well the awful truth of Alyss' story and he is searching every corner of out world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland so she may eventually battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts. {cover copy}
So I found this book in a used bookstore several years ago. I loved the cover and vaguely remembered someone saying this was really good. I bought it. For like two dollars. And it sat on my shelf until recently, when I saw it on Audible and thought, hey, I need to read this. So I did. Well, I had it read to me, but whatever. Anyway, I really enjoyed this book! There were some fun things done in the editing of the audio for certain parts that really gave it that Wonderland quality, and the story itself was really good. I haven't read a lot of re-imaginings, and I really liked the way this was shifted to something darker and different, all while retaining that very wonderland-esque quality about it. I'm really glad I got around to reading this one.
Everyone thought she had made it up, and she had tolerated more taunting and teasing from other children, more lectures and punishments from grown-ups, than any eleven-year-old should have to bear. {first line}
"For most of the universe's inhabitants, life is not all gummy wads and tarty tarts; it is a struggle against hardship, unfairness, corruption, abuse, and adversity in all its guises, where even to survive--let alone survive with dignity--is heroic. To soldier through the days in the wake of failure is courageous act of many."
"We all look funny sometimes. Some of us look funny all the time."
• wonderful • {last word}
{view on Goodreads}
November 30, 2015
The Stack: November 2015
This was a relatively successful month of reading, seeing as how I was also participating in NaNoWriMo! Here's to hoping I can finish strong. According to my notebook, I have read 61 books so far this year, and I'm currently reading three {plus a friend's manuscript}. So, maybe, just maybe, I can make it to 70 books total by the end of Decemeber. Wish me luck!The River of No Return Bee Ridgway See review
Bad Magic Pseudonymous Bosch See review
The Raven Boys Maggie Stiefvater See review
The Book of Achilles Madeline Miller See review
Asking For It Louise O'Neill See review
November 27, 2015
Asking For It
by: Louise O'Neill
*TRIGGER WARNING: RAPE*
It's the beginning of summer, and Emma O'Donovan is eighteen years old, beautiful, happy and confident. One night, there's a party. Everyone is there. All eyes are on Emma. The next day, she wakes on the front porch of her house. She doesn't know how she got there. She doesn't know why she's in pain. But everyone else does. Photographs taken at the party show--in great detail--exactly what happened to Emma that night. But sometimes people don't want to believe what's right in front of them, especially if the truth concerns the town heroes.
A brave, bold and important novel about sexual consent and betrayal, victim blaming and truth in the age of smartphones. {cover copy}
This is not a feel-good book. It is heavy and sad and angering and frustrating and triggering. But it was a really good book. I haven't read a book in two days since my daughter was born, I don't think, and this one I did. I even stayed up past midnight reading when I knew I was only going to get a few hours of sleep if I went to bed at 11. The main character starts out as an unlikeable character, but I soon became outraged for her and wanted to fight for her and was very much in her corner, though I wanted to slap her several times throughout the book for her personality pre- and post {as she puts it in the novel} that word. Also, I came to really dislike the core group of people who should have been supportive of her. I thought they did a crappy job. Except for one character, who was pretty much the only one who was doing and saying what I wanted them all to be doing and saying. But I understand. I understand that it is the point of this whole book. This is definitely worth a read. Though I warn you, it has me very worried about my daughter and her future and if I'll be a good enough mother to have made a strong enough daughter to persevere through anything life throws her way.
My mother's face appears in the mirror beside my own, bright red lips on powdered skin. {first line}
"It's superficial," I said, because that's what you're supposed to say when people tell you you're beautiful."
"If you're filming this, I will literally cut you."
"I am afraid to fall asleep. I am afraid of my dreams."
"The word fills the room, until there's nothing left, and all I can breathe is that word (rape) and all I can hear is that word (rape) and all I can smell is that word (rape) and all I can taste is that word (rape)."
"I bend over with the crippling pain of it, aware of nothing but the sobs hacking up through my chest and a blistering heat building behind my eyeballs, and I'm rocking back and forward. A bottomless grief."
"It is a process, and each step must be taken carefully. Alpen in bowl. Yogurt. Stir. I am focused on the present moment. Mindfulness, the therapist calls it. If I do this right, if I get every part of this right, maybe today will be OK."
"There are other ways to ruin lives. We were never warned about those."
"I am not falling apart. I am being ripped at the seams, my insides torn out until I am hollow."
"Was there always this much of {don't say the word, don't say that word ever again} before, on TV and on the radio, and in songs and in movies and in the papers and I just never noticed?"
"They are all innocent until proven guilty. But not me. I am a liar until I am proven honest."
"How is it that two eyes, a nose and a mouth can be positioned in such varying ways that it makes one person beautiful, and another person not? What if my eyes had been a fraction closer together? Or if my nose had been flatter? My lips thinner, or my mouth too wide? How would my life have been different?"
• girl • {last word}
{view on Goodreads}
*TRIGGER WARNING: RAPE*
It's the beginning of summer, and Emma O'Donovan is eighteen years old, beautiful, happy and confident. One night, there's a party. Everyone is there. All eyes are on Emma. The next day, she wakes on the front porch of her house. She doesn't know how she got there. She doesn't know why she's in pain. But everyone else does. Photographs taken at the party show--in great detail--exactly what happened to Emma that night. But sometimes people don't want to believe what's right in front of them, especially if the truth concerns the town heroes.A brave, bold and important novel about sexual consent and betrayal, victim blaming and truth in the age of smartphones. {cover copy}
This is not a feel-good book. It is heavy and sad and angering and frustrating and triggering. But it was a really good book. I haven't read a book in two days since my daughter was born, I don't think, and this one I did. I even stayed up past midnight reading when I knew I was only going to get a few hours of sleep if I went to bed at 11. The main character starts out as an unlikeable character, but I soon became outraged for her and wanted to fight for her and was very much in her corner, though I wanted to slap her several times throughout the book for her personality pre- and post {as she puts it in the novel} that word. Also, I came to really dislike the core group of people who should have been supportive of her. I thought they did a crappy job. Except for one character, who was pretty much the only one who was doing and saying what I wanted them all to be doing and saying. But I understand. I understand that it is the point of this whole book. This is definitely worth a read. Though I warn you, it has me very worried about my daughter and her future and if I'll be a good enough mother to have made a strong enough daughter to persevere through anything life throws her way.
My mother's face appears in the mirror beside my own, bright red lips on powdered skin. {first line}
"It's superficial," I said, because that's what you're supposed to say when people tell you you're beautiful."
"If you're filming this, I will literally cut you."
"I am afraid to fall asleep. I am afraid of my dreams."
"The word fills the room, until there's nothing left, and all I can breathe is that word (rape) and all I can hear is that word (rape) and all I can smell is that word (rape) and all I can taste is that word (rape)."
"I bend over with the crippling pain of it, aware of nothing but the sobs hacking up through my chest and a blistering heat building behind my eyeballs, and I'm rocking back and forward. A bottomless grief."
"It is a process, and each step must be taken carefully. Alpen in bowl. Yogurt. Stir. I am focused on the present moment. Mindfulness, the therapist calls it. If I do this right, if I get every part of this right, maybe today will be OK."
"There are other ways to ruin lives. We were never warned about those."
"I am not falling apart. I am being ripped at the seams, my insides torn out until I am hollow."
"Was there always this much of {don't say the word, don't say that word ever again} before, on TV and on the radio, and in songs and in movies and in the papers and I just never noticed?"
"They are all innocent until proven guilty. But not me. I am a liar until I am proven honest."
"How is it that two eyes, a nose and a mouth can be positioned in such varying ways that it makes one person beautiful, and another person not? What if my eyes had been a fraction closer together? Or if my nose had been flatter? My lips thinner, or my mouth too wide? How would my life have been different?"
• girl • {last word}
{view on Goodreads}
