Kate Spofford's Blog, page 33
March 18, 2012
distractions
Review: Darkhouse
March 15, 2012
Review: 172 Hours on the Moon
172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad
When a librarian on the YALSA listserv said this was too scary for them to read, I knew I immediately would have to read it… luckily I had an ARC from the publisher in my stash!
Summary: It's the year 2019, and the powers that be want to return to the moon, ostensibly to mine some rare mineral, but also to investigate something that happened during the Apollo 13 mission. Also, there's a base called DARLAH-2 that no one knows about, but the plan to distract people from this is to hold a lottery to select three very lucky teenagers who will travel to the moon for 172 hours. Even before the mission begins there are some strange happenings. Then they land on the moon, and everything goes to hell in a handbasket.
Everyone has assumed that equipment built or left on the moon for 40 years is going to be in perfect, working condition. It isn't, and not only that, there seems to be other people on the moon with them…
Character Rundown:
Mia: A 15-year-old Norwegian who wants to be a famous rock star. In an effort to be different and cool, she listens to the Talking Heads. What, you've never heard of the Talking Heads?
Antoine: A 17-year-old French boy who spends his days spying on his ex-girlfriend through a viewing machine on the Eiffel Tower. This is all we ever really know about Antoine. That he's a stalker. And he apparently likes Mia, because he likes to be in close proximity to her (there is absolutely no chemistry between them).
Midori: A 14-year-old Japanese girl who escapes her strict family by hanging out in Harajuku and dressing Gothic and Lolita style. She's most excited to go to the moon because she wants to snag Buzz Adrin's boots that he left on the moon 40 years ago to wear back to Harajuku. I think Midori was totally underutilized.
Awesome Taglines:
"It's the opportunity of a lifetime… but little do they know that something sinister is waiting for them on the dark side of the moon. And in the black vastness of space, NO ONE IS COMING TO SAVE THEM."
Plot Holes Big Enough to Drive a Lunar Rover Through (SPOILERS AHEAD)
"Gentlemen, what if we send some teenagers up there?"
So every moon landing mission – which includes Apollo 13 as a huge government cover-up – encountered these doppelgangers hanging out on the moon waiting to kill everyone. The government has vowed never to return to the moon, lest these doppelgangers somehow hitch a ride back to Earth. So let's send three completely random teens up there, nothing could go wrong! It never felt like the 4 astronauts manning this moon mission had any clue, even though one of them had been involved in the original coverup.
(Don't ask me why one of the original guys is still spry enough 40 years later to go to the moon, while another of the original guys is in a nursing home suffering from Alzheimer's).
"In space, no one can hear you scream…" (or, Horror Movie Cliches!)
(Mia thinks this line to herself, without ever attributing it to the movie "Alien.")
Aside from all the characters being cliches in themselves, there were plenty of other cliches to be had. The entire idea of returning to the moon and finding something there, something covered up from other space missions – it's been done in "Apollo 18″ and "Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon." (Both of these came out after this book was originally written in 2008, but still).
Most randomly, Midori tells her fellow astronaut teens the legend of the Slit-Mouthed Woman. I've seen this Japanese horror movie from 2007 based on the legend, "Carved." There was not really any reason for this, aside from doppelganger Midori making a joke at the end.
If you are a horror movie fan, you'll probably like this book
Basically, this was an awesome idea that could have been so much more. What did happen to the first mission? Maybe if the characters had found some kind of captain's log from that mission we could have learned more, or maybe if the one person who knew anything wasn't an Alzheimer's patient and could actually remember something. Maybe if we got to know and feel the characters' terror instead of making all the real terror happen off screen. The photographs throughout were a nice touch, and there was a definitely creepiness about the doppelgangers. If you love horror movies, you're probably used to laughable plot holes, and even enjoy them (like I do). I'd say this book is worth a read just for a fun ride.
March 14, 2012
Review: Sweethearts
March 13, 2012
Review: Questions Young People Ask
At the library, we get many book donations. Some are great and add to our collection or bring in money from the book sales. Other donations, however, are in a class of their own. (If you have ever read the blog Awful Library Books, you'll have some idea of what you're in for.)
As the teen librarian, I often find books like this gem waiting for me:
Questions Young People Ask: Answers that Work (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., 1989)
"How can I carry on a successful courtship?"
Teens ask me this question ALL THE TIME.
"No Means No!"
Sometimes you just have to tell your girlfriend to back off!
Dangerous Minds
"How can I get along with my teacher?" Not stabbing him is a good start.
I thought they were my real friends… until they introduced me to prostitution.
"How can I control my TV viewing habits?"
Just put your TV in an out of the way place, such as on the top shelf of your closet!
Acing the job interview
Surely you won't be turned down for a job when you show up wearing shades…
Among other concerns:
"Masturbation is widespread. Reportedly, some 97 percent of males and more than 90 percent of females have masturbated by the age of 21." – from chapter 25, "Masturbation – How Serious Is It?"
"Reading romance novels has become an addictive habit for some 20 million people in the United States alone… Romance novels may make absorbing reading, but do they teach a wholesome view of love and marriage? … Interestingly, sexually explicit romances – available in public libraries in some cities – are the ones most requested by teens." – from chapter 35, "Does It Matter What I Read?"
Tagged: awful library books
March 12, 2012
Review: The Lifeguard
The Lifeguard by Deborah Blumenthal
I read this ARC via Netgalley.
Summary: Sirena's been sent to live with her aunt this summer while her parents work out their divorce. On one of her first days, she swims out too far and comes face to face with the lifeguard. She is drawn to Pilot, more so than his good looks can explain, and he seems drawn to her. But there's a blonde always near him, and he rebuffs her when she makes her feelings known. She tries to hide in her volunteer work at the hospital, and painting with Antonio, an old artist, but Pilot always seems to be there…
One part formula, one part supernatural: Parts of this book seemed straight-up teen summer romance: hot guy, the beach, the girl she assumes is his girlfriend standing in the way. But there were supernatural elements to this story as well, from the ghosts in the attic Sirena hears at night, to the way Pilot shows up before the trouble starts, and the way he and Antonio have shaman-like healing powers. These elements kept the story from being totally predictable. I couldn't help but wish I was on the beach reading this…
The name game: On the one hand, you had a girl who kept running into the ocean practically drowning herself to get a guy's attention… and her name was Sirena. That, being the first name I came across in the story, was just a bit too literal. But Pilot – that's a cool name. I don't really understand why a family of Latin American descent would name their son Pilot, but the name has that little edge of cool and is different enough to make you notice it. (It probably helps that the guy is hotness personified).
March 11, 2012
top 5 news stories
Just got word today that my short story, "His Type of Girl," was accepted for an anthology called I'll Never Go Away, to be published in May 2012 by Rainstorm Press!
I've also been working on a short story for another anthology. I found this anthology listed on Ralan.com, a great site if you are a writer of speculative fiction (e.g. horror, sci-fi, fantasy, or any combo of the three). The working title of the anthology is Steampunk Cthulhu which inspired me to write something new… so far so good!
In sewing news…
I finally got down to the fabric store so I can finish my kitchen curtains. I had already made the valance:
but for the tier curtains I needed a matching shade of red:
Curtains are necessary and all, but they're not the most thrilling thing to make… but lately I've been thinking about this year's Halloween/RenFaire costume. My costume is inspired by this one worn in the trailer for "Mirror Mirror."
Mirror Mirror costume
I love this bodice and I love the color of the top. For my costume, instead of having the bottom be black pants, I'm going to make the top into a long chemise. The chemise will be fairly easy so it's step one.
Although I did see a few really cool Steampunk-style patterns in the Simplicity catalog… Maybe I'll have time to make two costumes this year?
Material for my costume
In movie news…
I went to see "Silent House" with my friend Melissa last night and it was really good! I had read that the movie was one continuous shot, or at least the Spanish original was, so I was watching to see if the same would be true of the remake. Luckily the way the movie's plot went, I did not have to sleep with my lights on or anything – although in the beginning I was getting really freaked out and thought I might have to.
In circus news…
My aerial silks classes are going well, mostly working on strength and doing short sequences. Last week I forgot batteries for my Flip camera so it will be yet another week before I can make a new video. In flying trapeze I've been working on the flexus for a few weeks now, but have yet to attempt to catch it.
In Hunger Games news…
I will definitely be going to the midnight show!! I'm buying my tickets right now!!! Can you tell I'm excited?????
Tagged: anthology, circus, Halloween, horror movies, publication!, RenFaire, sewing, short story
March 9, 2012
Review: The Dead Boys
The Dead Boys by Royce Buckingham
Teddy just moved to a new town, where his mother will be starting a job at the nuclear power plant. Next door to his house there's a tree that years ago sucked up some toxic waste, then developed a taste for 12-year-old boys. Teddy keeps meeting kids his age, who talk and dress funny. Albert runs from a bully and floats down the river. Walter jumps into a ditch and gets buried. When Teddy tries to show the police, suddenly the landscape has changed. Quickly Teddy figures out that the boys he's been meeting have been missing for years, and they all have something to do with that tree…
This was a creepy little story that was unexpectedly chilling. That tree was so gross sounding and so many times I wanted to yell at Teddy to run away. While the ending wasn't especially realistic (like toxic boy-eating trees are realistic?), it was an interesting and terrifying idea that puts Little Shop of Horrors to shame! After all, trees can get much larger than a Venus flytrap. Imagine a carnivorious Whomping Willow!
March 8, 2012
Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Karou is living a double life: one as a student at a Czech art school, and the other in a mysterious world filled with chimera (creatures that are part human, part animal). This other life is so mysterious that Karou does not even know what the teeth she is sent across the world to collect are for, or even where she came from.
Then Karou begins noticing hand prints burned on the magical doors that lead to her foster father Brimstone's office, and soon she has met the culprit – a beautiful seraph named Akiva. As Karou falls in love with him, and he with her, she remains unaware that the chimera and the seraphs have been warring for centuries.
The descriptions are so beautiful and lush that I could practically taste this book. I've heard criticisms of the cover looking photoshopped but I rather liked it and felt it fit the book. I raced along, trying to figure out Karou's origins and what was going on. The characters all felt very alive and unique, although I do wish Karou's friends, Kaz and Zusanna, weren't dropped off at the end so suddenly. Karou was a great heroine, who was smart and strong and creative with her otherworldly advantages.
My only reservations that kept this from being a 5-star review were a) I wasn't expecting this to turn into another angel-romance, and b) the fact that this is the first book in a series. The ending is wrapped up quickly and not well enough, so I guess I will have to read the next book, Days of Blood and Starlight, when it comes out in November (although it won't be a chore…).
Review: Where She Went
Where She Went by Gayle Forman
Three years after Mia decided to stay (you should definitely read If I Stay before this), Adam is still grieving. Mia may have recovered, but when she left for Juilliard, she left Adam too. That left Adam to use his feeling to write a hit album with his band Shooting Star, but fame hasn't exactly helped Adam to get any closure. He's distant from the band, angry with reporters, and taking prescriptions for his emotional state.
Then, on the night before he's supposed to leave on tour, by chance, he sees that Mia is playing a cello concert. After the concert Mia calls Adam to her room, and this leads to a night where Mia and Adam relive those years since they left as well as the times they spent together before and after the accident.
Probably I'm not in the right frame of mind to read a book like this (recent breakup…). For most of the book Adam just sounded whiny. I wanted to shake him and tell him to stop being such a self-absorbed asshole. And Mia was so floundering and indecisive at times that I grew annoyed with her too and could not understand why Adam was so in love with her. Anyone who has ever wanted "closure" in a relationship will probably love this book – it was a novel-length "closure"… except they ended up back together at the end. It all got a little too gushy and melodramatic for me.
I did enjoy the bits of guitar riffs and cello music, but they were not as frequent as the cello music in the audio of If I Stay. There are a few swears and one non-graphic sex scene.
