Eunice’s Comments (group member since Sep 19, 2016)

Eunice’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Would have posted earlier, but server was down :<

June 26th - DQs Day 11 (Chapters 28-29)
38. That was a stressful chapter 28! Did you have any doubts that Jake wouldn't succeed after all?

39. Do you think this will be the last time we see Sadie? If not, any predictions on how they'll meet again or maybe even get together? Because this can't be it for them after what they've gone through. (Yes, I'm in denial)

40. What did you think of the government's reaction to Jake's role in the whole disaster? I thought that he got off more lightly than I expected, but maybe all the American espionage media has made me think worse of them.

41. We all know that changing the past never ends well. I'd say it's practically been foreshadowed since the beginning. Would you agree that a future (or present depending on your perspective) with JFK alive is likely to be worse or do you have a different opinion?

Jenny wrote: "I am watching reruns of The Rookie, and cooking at the moment. I will be finishing a couple of books later today.

Eunice, are you still up for your DQs for 11/22/63? It is in a couple of days."

Yep!

Also, finished a chipmunk task

Planning to read one each by the end of the month.

Jenny wrote: "Here are the current chipmunk tasks that have not been claimed yet.
Do any of the books you have read in June fit?

-10 Commandments - "Don't steal" - Read a book with a theft
-10 Things the Chipmu..."

Claimed task 73 with a read book

Jenny wrote: "Eunice, the edition of Murder at the Mena House on your TT shelf has 288 pages, and you have 304 listed on the spreadsheet. Which is the correct edition?"

It's 304, I changed the edition on my shelf

Finished with task 24

Karolyn wrote: "Yep, had a banked book, so…

NEW TASK

66 X marks the spot - Read a book with MPG Adventure"

The Xibalba Murders can work for this task, but I'm not sure if you prefer it to be used for rainbow tower or for the chipmunk task since there are other books that have MPG Adventure

Karolyn wrote: "NEW TASK

65 "10 Commandments - ""Don't kill"" - Read a book with a murder"

I’m hoping we can find a banked book for this one"

Most of my books are murber

Edit: Nvm, didn't see that you've alr put a book in

Tory wrote: "Eunice wrote: "
Is this red enough? TinEye says it's only 44% red"

If you add all the reds together it's more like 65%. So I'd say yes, it's red enough.

That..."

Stupid me, I forgot to check the other colors beyond the first one. I'd been about to leave for driving school earlier and was in a rush.

I think the most interesting part of the novel was all the references to Mayan history and culture. The murder mystery part was average, and I smelt the culprit from miles away.

Coincidentally, the previous book I read was The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, which was also set near and at Merida.

Is this red enough? TinEye says it's only 44% red

BOM Completion Tracking Post

Day 1 - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 2 - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 3 - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 4 - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

DQs: Day 4 Ch 19-25

15. Welcome to the penultimate set of chapters! A lot of revelations came to light in this set of chapters: did any of them surprise you? If so, which ones?
The foreshadowing that Carlota is actually a hybrid was laid pretty thick before the reveal. But the other revelations were a surprise.

16. Montgomery and Carlota finally seem like they are going to make love but Montgomery stops this from happening. Do you think he made the right choice? Why or why not? Also do you think they’ll still get together in the end?
Yes, because he knows that Carlota isn't in this because she loves him but as some sort of coping mechanism. It shows that he is being responsible and level-headed. I think they have a chance of getting together if Carlota gets over Eduardo. Personally, I'm rooting for Montgomery.

17. It looks like Dr. Moreau is going to die by the end of the book. In the original novel and adaptations Dr. Moreau is a villainous figure. Do you think he is portrayed as a villain in this book or do you think he has redeeming qualities?
I think he is an obsessed scientist with a research interest that is considered unethical and unacceptable to society, and that's why he is a villain in our eyes. He claims to have good intentions, but it is generally agreed that the ends don't justify the means. Not to mention, he didn't even really achieve his stated goal of enabling his research to help cure difficult-to-treat diseases.

18. Carlota is given a key to the laboratory. What do you think she will find there? Also any predictions for the end of the book?
Research, I guess. I think the end of the book is going to be a peaceful resolution for the hybrids, Carlota, and Montgomery. I will just await any incoming surprises.

DQs: Day 3, Chap 12 - 18

10. I've noticed Carlota's perceptions are often described using non visual cues: she hears a lot, and even smells Montgomery behind her bedroom door but then dismisses the idea. After her attack, she finds herself noticing that "Her fingers, in the mirror, looked very long, the nails almost too sharp and the eyes...". Do you feel Carlota ever questions her own nature as a human/hybrid or is she too ingenuous to do so? Do you also feel the author is using alternate senses and, if so, as clues for the reader or red herrings?
Definitely very sus descriptions. I think they're clues that Carlota is not 100% human. I can't blame Carlota for not doubting that she's not as human as she thought she was, because she doesn't look like the other hybrids. She's never had any reason to think otherwise. I was also fooled by the fact that she initially looks completely human, though it looks like she's beginning to show some animal characteristics.

11. For much of this part, I felt Montgomery was conflicted regarding his feelings for Carlota. He "writes" to his wife using what I felt was a brotherly perspective only to realise, a few lines and drinks later, he could not resist kissing her if she were there in that moment. What did you make of this change of heart and do you find his various missteps bring something to the story?
It seems to me that Montgomery knows he is not a good match for Carlota. So he redirects his thoughts toward his ex-wife just like he used to, who had once been the shining light in his life. Maybe he's trying to conjure that feeling back up so he doesn't think of Carlota in a romantic sense anymore.

12. We're already halfway through the story - Doctor Moreau and Montgomery are both complex characters. Am I alone in thinking Carlota and her hybrid friends deserve to be more thoroughly fleshed out and layered?
No, you're not alone! Especially Cachito. Wish he had more screen time because Carlota and Lupe have been hogging it so far among the three of them.

13. What did you make of the scene where Carlota loses her virginity by the cenote - did her reaction seem natural to you or did you find yourself questioning her fearlessness? In your opinion, if Carlota is herself a hybrid, what effect might that have on their progeny?
She's a teenager. It's not unnatural for her to be horny, excuse the crudeness. Also, we have always seen that she has a strong and stubborn character, just that she tries to keep it under wraps in accordance with her father's wishes. Her fearlessness seems in character with what we've seen from her.

14. There's a storm brewing as the hybrids plan to join Juan Cumux and Carlota attempts to retrieve her father's notes and formulas. Do you think the hybrids will remain subservient once they remove themselves from Doctor Moreau's influence or could the story turn dark?
They were raised in a human environment. If left alone, I think they wouldn't be a danger. Moreover, many of them are physically frail. The problem is that humans would never accept the hybrids' existence. If they ever find out about them, it might cause a widespread hunt for them. So I think whether the story turns dark depends on how the environment reacts should the hybrids ever reveal themselves to other humans.

DQs: Day 2, Chap 6 – 11

6. As Sonia noted, we jump six years. Do the characters, especially Carlota, feel six years older? Do you like books that have time jumps or would you have preferred to see Montgomery get used to working in his new jobs? (Sonia already asked about the fallout but feel free to add that here).
I don't mind time jumps if they make sense. If nothing eventful or important to the story happens during the in-between years, why not? After the six-year jump, Carlota does feel more mature in that she has gained romantic interest in men.

7. Do you like the method of telling the same scene from both points of view? Is there one point of view you prefer?
If it's the exact same scene, then no. But in this case, I think the start and end and the way each perspective is written are different enough. There wasn't much repetition. I don't have any preference between the two POVs.

8. And we have the start of a love triangle. What do you think of the two young men and Carlota’s reaction to them?
Carlota is too sheltered that she's attracted to the first handsome young men she saw outside of the men she's interacted with growing up. Not to mention, she's too stubborn to see the warning signs that Lupe noticed. Considering their personalities, I wonder how harmonious they would be as a couple.

9. So far these feels very much like a historical fiction book with relationships being forwarded over the science and hybrids. Do you agree, and were you expecting that?
Agreed, and it was to be expected since the main protagonist is a sheltered girl who is coming of age. She's bound to be exposed to the outside world sooner or later.

Bonus: If you were part critter, and didn’t have the health concerns, what species would you prefer?
Maybe an eagle. I think being able to fly and have sharp vision would be cool. Or a lion.

DQs: Day 1, Chap 1 - 5

1. Have you read the original Island of Dr Moreau book? Or watched any of the films? I only saw the 1996 movie, so, in my head, I keep seeing Dr Moreau as Marlon Brando, Val Killer as Montgomery and Fairuza Balk as Carlota.
Haven't read the original book or watched any of the films. I did read a brief synopsis of what the original book was about, so that I have some idea of what this book is trying to retell.

2. In the movie, Fairuza was one of the hybrids, although here, she only has "treatments" with jaguar genetic code. Do you think it's just a ruse from the doctor and she is actually the first hybrid?
That's possible since her origins so far have been brushed over and kept vague (supposedly from the doctor's second relationship, but the woman was never mentioned). But from Montgomery's POV, he didn't notice anything strange or animal-like about her, so I'm currently inclined to think that the author turned her into a human as part of the retelling aspect.

3. Montgomery's past was a sad one. And he looks like just a drunk with some natural instincts to protect the innocent. Were you surprised he was considering not to accept the job, and then when the incident happens and he needs to kill the hybrid he decides to stay?
Not really. He got his own POV in the first part of the book, so it wouldn't make sense if he refused and his POV suddenly disappeared for the next parts. Also, rather than having natural instincts to protect, I feel like he's trying to compensate for his past mistakes, for what he couldn't do for his sister.

4. I'm a bit disappointed that he didn't explain exactly how his studies came to be. In a scientific point of view, how is it even possible? We're in the 1870s... way before in vitro fertilization or genetic advances... and he manages to separate and mix genomes, or as called in the book gemmules? Not to mention that the original story was written way before cloning was a thing....
I guess it's better to just accept that the science was magically successful than to give some hodgepodge scientific rationale for how it came to be. In these enlightened times, the author might get flack for giving unscientific scientific explanations.

5. So, hybrids are dangerous. Specially when they're still developing, and their animal instincts are overpowering the human ones (in theory, since we had no idea what the level of brain maturity the developing hybrid was). Back in the movie, there is a rebellion and it doesn't end well for humans. Do you think it will be the case here?
Not sure what to expect from this novel, to be perfectly honest. I barely know what happened in the original book, so I have no prior expectations.

And a bonus, Am I the only one that is sad that we're jumping 6 years? I wanted to see the fall out from the incident.
I'm not sure what fallout there could be from the incident, other than the kids getting scolded and a promising specimen getting killed. It wasn't like the specimen escaped. All things considered, it was just a minor incident imo, but I could be wrong.

As for the time jump, it makes sense since Carlota is still young and clueless at that point. The purpose of starting the book at that time period is assumably just to introduce the two protagonists and their backstories.

Jenny wrote: "New task #43

X Books - Read a book where the title starts with X"

I found one.

Sorry again for the mixup! : (

Killer Twist was used for the crime fighting duo first and then for the hat on cover. A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons also fits the crime fighting duo, so I thought maybe it can be used as the replacement. I've entered it into the sheets, but not in the completed chipmunks section

Eunice wrote: "Angie ☯ wrote: "Eunice wrote: "Hello, my book Killer Twist was used twice in the chipmunk tasks. I'm sorry for the trouble! Can I change the book for the crime-solving duo task? A book I recently f..."

Just going to up this. Wasn't sure whether I can edit the chipmunk task since it's already locked in

Angie ☯ wrote: "Eunice wrote: "Hello, my book Killer Twist was used twice in the chipmunk tasks. I'm sorry for the trouble! Can I change the book for the crime-solving duo task? A book I recently finished also fit..."

A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons - Finished 6/6/23

I already put it in the sheets, but not in the chipmunk tasks part