daily dose (3)

Daily Dose is a meme hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly. It showcases inspirational and beautiful pictures.

It's Monday, which means it's time for some pictures to lighten up your day! I had a entirely too much fun looking for pictures this week, haha. Enjoy :)












Credits:
First 4 photos taken from some combination of tumblr/flickr/weheartit
Last photo by Rafal Milach

review: fallen + music

Book Description:

There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.

My Opinion:

I'm baffled by Fallen. Completely and utterly baffled.

It's not that it's a particularly intellectually stimulating text; it's quite the opposite. In fact, Fallen is the run-of-the-mill paranormal romance that tells the story of a normal girl who comes to a new school, falls in love with a gorgeous boy (or two) that actually have [insert fangs, fur, horns, fish tails, wings, webbed feet, bad breath, etc. here] and whose special paranormal specialness is revealed by [insert the sliver of the moon, daylight in which they sparkle, furry v-shaped indentations in their backs, a stinky fish smell etc here]and then she finds out. And the love of course, has no basis, and most of the 400-500 pages are full of hopeless ramblings of an female main character who just loves the way their bodies move, and the kiss is only realized after drawn-out cold-shoulders and misunderstandings. Of course, none of these cliches stops the all encompassing hype for every new book with a pretty cover.

In this case, we'll insert the female main character. She's called Luce, and she has dark hair and white skin. And those are the only characteristics I can come up with, but of course, they're not important, because who needs fleshed out characters? Anyways, Luce is sent to reform school, and this is just a handy setup in which we'll be able to meet the two hot male interests: Daniel (the aloof one) and Cam (the warm friendly one).

The plot from there moves at a slow pace, while Luce encounters both Daniel and Cam, is occasionally frightened by black oozing shadows that only she seems to see, and grapples with the trouble of making friends in a hostile environment. Luce is barely there in Fallen, she wavers in every scene, generally has nothing interesting to say, and quivers quite a lot. Actually, one character sums it up nicely when they tell her, "Lucinda, most of the time, you're a downright bore." Because that's precisely what she is. Her interactions with other characters are half-hearted and irrelevant. But on the other hand, I acutally enjoyed the descriptions of the setting; there was plenty of them, which makes for an a strong atmospheric writing. Which I'm a huge fan of.

But what I'm baffled by: the inconsistencies in this book. I have mixed feelings about Fallen; in one aspect, I enjoyed the setting, and the some parts of the writing. And then for other parts, I completely disliked it. And unfortunately, in this case the dislike is more overpowering than the like.

The inconsistencies of character struck me when Luce is grappling with grief, bedecked in black in a schoolwide funeral, and blaming herself for everything. Her mind wanders and she starts thinking about the flowers she'd gotten from Daniel and if it omg did it mean he was interested in her? These strange jumps stretch out throughout the entire book: Luce will be thinking sombering, very serious and sad thoughts and then...BAM. Omg, Daniel/Cam is so hot! How can Luce like totally not be entranced by their gorgeous bodies and rippling muscles and golden skin and sparkling eyes?

The shifts in good to bad writing and messages is disconcerting, to say the least. Which is why I'm so confused. I feel like Lauren Kate is a better writer than this; there's bits of lovely writing interspersed throughout, and just when I was thinking hey, this book isn't that bad after all, there'll be a line or a paragraph or a scene that completely threw me off and soured my opinion of this book.

And in the end, what stood out is the things that really bothered me. I mean, there's just some lines like:

"Todd's shoulders caved forward like parentheses"

which are absolutely gorgeous, but for the most part there's writing that just bothered me to no end. And it was always in the romance parts where this happened. Somehow, I got the sense that if Kate hadn't been writing a book that was modeled off of Twilight, she could've come up with something much better.

But I figure my complaints aren't making much sense without concrete quotes:

• "Every single step he took away from her made her feel more and more freakishly alone."

So this translates to: [sarcasm] if you're rejected by a boy, you're a freak. God, you poor boyfriend-less freaks out there. [/sarcasm]

• "She could picture him looking buff in a sleek black bathing suit, waving her over to the crew with his big smile, making her feel immediately welcome, even important."

This equates to saying that a girl's sense of worth should be defined by a boy's approval. Am I the only one who has a problem with this?

• "His kiss was the only thing that felt right, the only thing that comforted her, and reminded her there was a reason to go on."

So kissing is the only thing that's going to get you, Luce, to move your butt and do something? This again shows that Luce needs a boy to motivate her into action. Which goes directly against my ideal of a strong female heroine.

• "She could, at the moment, have died for him."

I think this takes the grand prize for creepiness. Luce thinks this after she's been kissed for the first time. Umm...okay? You kiss a guy and, voila...you're ready to sacrifice your life for him? Talk about twisted messages.

The problem here is that the "true love" that endures over everything is based off of nothing but sexual appeal. Daniel is hot, Cam is hot, and Luce is pretty. The bulk of the book consists of descriptions of physical appearances, and Luce continually relates her love of a character back to their physical appearance. This is lust, clear and simple, and I'm not buying it as a love story.

Unless to you, lust is love, I wouldn't recommend this book. If you're a fan of Twilight or Hush, Hush, this book will probably appeal to you, since the elements that bothered me with Fallen probably won't irk you. But if you don't want to further the pervasiveness of helpless girl heroines, sick romances, and tired cliches in YA, don't pick this one up.

My Rating: I give it a 5.75/10. I can't agree with the messages, but the majority of the writing isn't bad.

And now, I'm pretty excited to post Fallen by Franz Ferdinand, one of my favorite bands. Lovely music :)




Did you do a review of Fallen as well? Link it here, don't be shy!

in my mailbox (13)

This is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.

Won from Sophistikatied Reviews:

Bought from Costco:

From the trusty used bookstore:

1. Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken: Woot for winning a contest and thanks a bunch Katie! I'm really happy because I've been dying to get my hands on Brightly Woven and this is my second ARC and such a lovely book too :D

2.The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger: There's a movie coming out and it was super cheap at Costco. Also, I've been hearing glowing things about this book and since Niffenegger has come into the spotlight with that $5 million book deal of hers, I figured I'd make an exception for this book. It'll be my first non-classic adult book review!

3. The Picture of Dorian Gray: Recommended by the lovely ink. Apparently, Wilde makes purple prose become enviable descriptions. Can't wait to read it :D

Waiting on Wednesday [12]

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme that spotlights eagerly awaited upcoming releases. It's hosted by Breaking the Spine.

This week's pick: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.

***

What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life? Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last. Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

***

So this is one of my books for the Debut Author Challenge, and it just has such a striking, wonderful cover. Also, I've been reading some reviews around the blogosphere of Before I Fall, and they've all pretty much been glowing. Which has me thinking optimistically that this is going to be one of the best books of 2010. Hopefully. The premise does sound really cool--reliving the day of her death. I love books that deal with the butterfly effect--how little decisions can affect everything; and I think this book will be in that vein. It'll be interesting to see how Oliver executes it.

All in all, I'm pretty excited about this book, and pleased it's coming out in about a month! Can't wait. :D

Release Date: March 4, 2010

Daily Dose [2]

Daily Dose is a meme hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly. It showcases inspirational and beautiful pictures.

Which mostly gives me an excuse to look a pretty pictures. You know, not that I ever procrastinate for hours doing that. *shifty eyes*

Anyways, enjoy!

Review: Willow

Book Description:
Seven months ago, on a rainy March night, sixteen-year- old Willow’s parents drank too much wine and asked her to drive them home. They never made it—Willow lost control of the car and her parents died in the accident. Now she has left behind her old home, friends, and school, and blocks the pain by secretly cutting herself. But when Willow meets Guy, a boy as sensitive and complicated as she is, she begins an intense, life-changing relationship that turns her world upside down.

Told in an arresting, fresh voice, Willow is an unforgettable novel about one girl’s struggle to cope with tragedy, and one boy’s refusal to give up on her.

My Opinion:

I don't like whiny characters. I don't like characters that blame themselves for everything. I don't like characters that hate themselves.

If they hate themselves--well, it's just so easy for me to hate them back. If they're continually telling me as a reader that they're awful and worthless, I'm inclined to believe them. I normally don't read problem books, so maybe this is why I found the self-indulgent angst, endless wavering actions, and characters in Willow to be irritating. This book is packed with self-pity, self-hate, and a narrative told in a sobbing whine. And that is why I hurled it across the room three quarters of the way through.

Literally.

I aimed. Then threw. And the pages fluttered and the spine arced beautifully. Then there was the resounding crash against the wall. Lovely sound.

To phrase it lightly, I didn't like this book.

Of course, it's understandable that Willow feels guilt, shame, and grief [insert other self-defeating emotions here] after her parents died. After all, she was the one who was driving the car. As she continually thinks, as the author continually tells us: It's. All. Her. Fault.

Everything.

Her brother's financial troubles. Her being alive. Her parents dying. War. Famine. Global warming. Poverty. Locusts. THAT PUPPY THAT JUST DIED?

Willow's fault.

Everything is Willow's fault.

Her fault.

And this is how the book is structured. Willow goes to school. Just as she's..you know, not thinking about anything...Willow thinks...I'm an awful person. Can I just die? [rinse, lather, repeat. Repeat. Repeat for the next 300 pages.] I'm left gritting my teeth and saying yes, Willow, please die.

Maybe I'm just being insensitive.

But I can't stand Willow.

At all.

I know she's got problems. I know her problem is awful; being orphaned. If I knew anyone in real life with that situation, I would be sympathetic. I should be sympathetic towards to Willow. I mean, Hoban pratically hits us over the head with all her problems. Parentless. Friendless. Passionless. Everything in the world sucks for Willow. But the only thing I feel for her is frustration and annoyance.

Willow's way of dealing things is to cut herself. And I don't feel like Hoban did a great job handling this subject. I found her need to cut herself to be melodramatic and gratuitous. Sort of like how vampires feed on blood, Willow will get this burning need to see blood, and will go into the bathroom and...*gasp* cut herself. And then she bleeds.

So yes, I admit I'm being insensitive here. Cutting is a real problem; I'm not claiming that it isn't. But as it's portrayed in this book, I just found Willow's situation to be irritating. I have absolutely no sympathy for her.

And that's why the whole premise didn't work for me. Add in some awkward prose to the mix, and I just really didn't enjoy this book. Third person present tense is very hard to pull off without it coming off as self-conscious. I really just didn't like the writing style.

So I'll stop now. I always feel bad for giving negative reviews, but I'm not willing to sacrifice honesty if I have a low opinion of a book.

If you will get annoyed by characters that hate themselves, by repetitiveness, by tell-y writing, then definitely don't pick up Willow.

If you're looking for a book that details a girl dealing with self-destructive behavior, I'd pick up Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson instead. It's written beautifully, and anorexia is portrayed in such a realistic, harrowing way that I definitely felt sympathy for the main character. And it's one of my favorite books.

There are a lot of books out there that detail grief wonderfully. That manage to make their characters likable, even when we shouldn't like them. (I'm thinking of Cracked Up To Be* here). It's the opposite with Willow: I should like her but I don't.

Willow, in conclusion, was just not for me.

Harsh review, but something just really hit the wrong chord with me with this book.

I give it a 4/10.


*wonderful book, YOU MUST READ IT if you haven't.

Want more opinions on Willow? Check out these other reviews by bloggers for their thoughts:
Book Crazy Jenn: Willow
A Good Addiction: Willow

In My Mailbox [12]

This is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.

So I stole, borrowed my Mom's library card and got these two pretties:

Bought from Amazon:

From the lovely Becky at The Bookette:

1. Fallen by Lauren Kate: So I'm not ashamed to say that most of the reason I wanted to read this is because of the cover. Definitely one of the coolest covers I've ever seen and hopefully this will break the reading slump I've been having with paranormal romances.

2. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl: Again, another one of those crazy bestselling hyped books. I feel left out not having read it yet, haha. Again, hoping to break the paranormal romance slump.

3. Sweethearts by Sara Zarr: I love this cover. So, so cute. And I'm proud of myself because this definitely falls under the reading more contemporary resolution.

4. The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh: From the book description, this sounds like exactly the sort of middle grade novel I'd love. Also, the great review from The Bookette convinced me of it's amazing-ness so I can't wait to read it!

Vote for your top ten favorite middle grade books of all time!

Elizabeth Bird over at the School Library Journal is conducting a poll on the Top 100 Children's Fictional Chapter Books. And she's asking everyone to go on over and shoot her an email with your vote by January 30th.

The rules are below, but check out this link for the official post.

***

The Top 100 Children's Fictional Chapter Books Poll


Here are the rules:

*

Vote for your top ten middle grade books of all time (not just this year or last year) by 11:59 Eastern on January 31, 2010. This will NOT include young adult books (for kids 13 and up) or early readers (like Mr. Putter and Tabby or Frog and Toad Are Friends). How do you determine if a book is middle grade? Well, I'm very fond of Powell's, so why don't you use their site if you're uncertain. These are books for kids who can read full chapters on their own and who are under the age of 13. You may, of course, write a justification for a book if you feel it really does belong on your list. I have the final right of refusal, however.


*

List these books in your order of preference. I cannot stress this enough. Your #1 chapter book would be the one you feel is the most important, so I will give it 10 points. Your #2 choice will be only 9 points. And so on and such. So be very careful how you order your books. During the picture book poll people would just list their ten willy-nilly, but that haphazard order led to a more creative final result than some would have liked.


*

Submit these books to me at Fusenumber8@gmail.com. Write "Chapter Book Poll" in the subject line. I'd rather you didn't leave your votes in my comment feature on this site since it's finicky and difficult to use (plus I want everyone's votes to be a surprise).


*

If you like, you can submit what you like about each title. At the beginning of February I will tally up the totals and I will pull from the submitted pieces why one reader or another liked a particular book (naming the reader, of course). That way we'll be able to hear from a whole mess of people why they love one book or another. I will then count down from 100 to 1 the top choices of what folks feel the best children's chapter books of all time are.
***

So here's what I'm thinking of off the top of my head, I might edit or change it if I think of any new books! :D Not necessarily in order of favorites, I kept remembering more and more.

1. Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones
2. The Witches by Roald Dahl
3. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
5. Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge
6. Half Magic by Edward Eager
7. The BFG by Roald Dahl
8. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
9. The Little Princess by Frances Burnett
10. The Windsinger by William Nicholson
11. A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L’Engle.
12. Matilda by Roald Dahl
13. Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield
14. The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards
15. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
16. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
17. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
18. The Blue Sword by Robin Mckinley
19. Ella Enchanted by Gail Levine
20. The Moffats by Eleaonor Estes
21. The Nine Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones
22. The Akhenaten Adventure by P.B. Kerr
23. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
24. The High King by Lloyd Alexander
25. Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
26. The Secret Garden by Frances Burnett
27. The Pinhoe Egg by Diana Wynne Jones
28. The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas
29. Erec Rex: Dragon's Eye by Kaza Kingsley
30. Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson
31. Island of the Aunts by Eva Ibbotson
32. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
33. The Magicians of Caprona by Diana Wynne Jones
34. The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
35. The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

Okay. I'm stopping, I'm stopping...RIGHT NOW*. I keep thinking of more and more and more, which shouldn't be surprising since I love middle grade fiction (shh, but I actually like it more than YA, DON'T TELL ANYONE!). Hopefully this list refreshed your memory a bit?

Wait. Wait...how am I EVER going to pick just 10?! ::::heartbreaks::::

But while I deliberate and hesitate, get your votes in! IT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION OF YOUR LIFE!**


* I'm not really, but I've stopped listing them here, haha.
**not guaranteed, some conditions such as choice of college, spouse, religion, or career may make this statement void.

RIP J.D. Salinger

"Boy, when you're dead, they really fix you up. I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetery. People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap. Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody."

J.D. Salinger passed away yesterday, but it made headlines today. He was 91 years old.

The J.D. Salinger of Catcher in the Rye fame. Of the seclude-myself-and-not-publish-a-book-for-40-years fame.

I'm not going to say I'm bawling my eyes out or something because I didn't know the guy. I just knew the book and all. Knew Holden. So maybe I did know him, just a bit. Because every author's main character has a bit of them in them. So Holden is a bit of Salinger, maybe more. Holden Caulfield, who's the greatest antihero I've ever read, who wanders around New York after being expelled from prep school, who's the champion of teenage angst and rebellion. Who has this amazing, voice--like boy, it really is amazing. So amazing that it's rang true since the book's publication in 1951.

Catcher in the Rye has been censored and banned all over the place but it's still managed to sell 65 million copies since it's just so great. Not phony at all. I mean, I'm sure it's a lot of people's favorite book. For what it's worth, I loved it. And thank you Salinger for writing it.

Anyway, people are already getting into a frenzy and speculating about all the possible books Salinger kept locked around in his safe. Because even though he didn't publish anything since the 1960s, he still wrote everyday. He wrote for himself. Which I think is the greatest form of writing. When you don't do it for anybody else, but just because you love it.

Maybe we'll be seeing some more books by Salinger in bookstores in the upcoming years. Maybe not.

But, RIP Salinger. You were eccentric, sure. You have a very interesting bio on wikipedia, that I still remember reading from a couple months ago and just going, "Boy, that was fascinating."

But you were brilliant and I loved Catcher in the Rye when I read it last summer.

Loved it.

Still do.

"I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all… I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye."

quotes from Catcher in the Rye

Read more about it here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/books/29salinger.html

Waiting on Wednesday [11]

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme that spotlights eagerly awaited upcoming releases. It's hosted by Breaking the Spine.

This week's pick: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (SQUEE!):

***

Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.

One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.

Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them--Set--has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe--a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

***

*dies*

Okay, Rick Riordan is awesomness. He's the author of the Percy Jackson series. You know, THAT SERIES. The series of lovely books about Poseidon's son that are amazingly voicey, that have been on the NYT Bestselling List for months on end, and that have about the coolest chapter titles ever.

And I love Egyptian myth. I love London. I love traveling. I love museums, and I'd give my arm to get to got to the BRITISH MUSEUM.

*dies*

And I am so proud of myself for not getting all fangirlish because I WAS SERIOUSLY TEMPTED JUST TO CAP EVERYTHING AND GO EXCLAMATION MARK CRAZY, LIKE EVERYWHERE!!!!!! (<---- sort of like that).

Because I'm so excited. So, so excited.

I'm smiling even thinking of reading this book, haha.

COME TO ME SHINY BOOK, I WANTS YOU.


Release Date: May 04, 2010

***

Extra: Percy Jackson movie trailer. I can't wait!