Friday, October 31, 2014

I AM NOT A LION! by Prince Hamlet


**Disclaimer:  This is probably obvious, but just in case, I'll say it: this isn’t a real guest post. This is for a final project in my English class, and I thought it’d be a special post for Halloween. :) Also Prince Hamlet’s opinions on Disney/ the Lion King DO NOT reflect the views of this blogger.  On the contrary, I wholly disagree with him (Lion King is one of my favorite Disney movies;) ), but I did my best to write this in what I thought would be his take on the Lion King. xD  **



**MAJOR SPOILERS FOR HAMLET COMING UP!!!!!!**

**Official Cover TBA**


Hi everyone! Hope you all are having a wonderful week! :)

Today’s author is a well-known member of royalty and a close friend of Shakespeare. Please welcome Prince Hamlet of Denmark and his new memoir, I Am Not A Lion! Below is a guest post written by Prince Hamlet ( The Lion King: Setting the Facts Straight), as well as more information about the book. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author: Prince Hamlet
Publisher: Shakespeare Co.
Release Date: March 15th

Summary:
The prince has spoken! In his new memoir, Prince Hamlet of Denmark discusses his supposed insanity,  his identity crisis, and the anguish of indecision.  With wit, irony, and soliloquies, Prince Hamlet writes about his emotional journey through revenge and the question of being.  He explores the idea of humankind ultimately being dust and addresses claims over his “unnatural” obsession with death.   His is not a story for the faint-hearted, but is a story of facing demons, making decisions, and ultimately proving why Simba has nothing on him.  

Guest Post:



The Lion King: Setting the Facts Straight
by Prince Hamlet of Denmark


Many people believe that the Lion King is a wonderful Disney classic.  Bah, I disagree.   Turning something as serious as my life into a trivial musical with singing lions and dancing hyenas- what has this world come to?


My main concern is with the lions themselves. Based on my life, they say? Rubbish! Simba is nothing like me.  I don’t run away from my problems literally.  I run away from my problems mentally and metaphorically- which is a huge difference. How? Well, running away from problems mentally and metaphorically requires a huge amount of contemplation and soliloquies. You can't forget the soliloquiesBut Simba does forget- and he makes a huge mistake, running away in the spur of the moment. Also,  this Simba character blames himself for the death of his father (which, by the way, is not done right; my father, who has a face like Jove and eyes like Mars, did not die grovelling to my uncle and rolling down a cliff ungracefully- he was poisoned; how does one mix up poisoning and pushing people lions off cliffs?).  I never blamed myself for his death; that was clearly my uncle’s fault. (So why was I still so hesitant, you ask? It is in my nature to think before I act for EVERYTHING- except when it comes to rats. Those I kill without a second thought.)  Then Simba goes off into the wild and starts singing every ten minutes at random intervals.  I may be crazy, but I'm not that crazy.   


If Pumba and Timon are supposed to be Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, than I am Hercules himself.   Rosencrantz and Guildenstern betrayed me and played me like a recorder.  We did not sing “Hakuna Matata” together, nor did they ever aid me in my struggles.  Rather they were self-seeking, and unlike Pumba and Timon, I could not tell them apart at times; in fact, the best way to describe them would be two sides of the same coin.  Sometimes I rather wonder how we were such good friends growing up. I found their songs rather annoying, and it was a great pity that they don’t perish like Rosie and Guildie do.  


And this Nala character- is she suppose to represent my sweet Ophelia?! Oh, how far has the Disney world fallen! The songs Ophelia sings are of madness, death, chaos, and innuendos, not of love and dreaming of me being king (though that is a sweet sentiment...).   Ah, this movie brings about remorseful feelings; as I watched the movie, I thought to myself why the Fates couldn't have been kinder to me and made Ophelia be the one to draw me out of my insanity and indecision (like Nala does to Simba). Alas it cannot be so; and bluntly put, my Ophelia was crazy- and dead. No more will she be handing out sweet rue or rosemary or fennel.  That scene where those two creatures pull each other into the water while prancing about into the night- my, that broke my heart and disgusted me with its insensitivity.    


Mufasa is perhaps one of the better portrayed characters.  Regal and majestic, he has Hyperion's curls.   He was nearly perfect- nearly.  My father did not appear on clouds, booming, “REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE.” That is ridiculous; of course I knew who I was.  My father visited me to remind me of my purpose, not to remind me to remember my destiny as king- that I knew. But I will admit (reluctantly) that Simba's purpose and my purpose are at least a bit similar (we both are to purge the land of evil). However, it also is not in my father's character to be so… encouraging like Mufasa.   And brightly colored clouds with flashing lightening? Way overdone.


Zazu reminds me much of Polonius, as they both constantly jabbered on.   I don’t particularly care to elaborate here (but if you do want to know, my new memoir has a chapter solely dedicated to him- he is my dead lover's dead father-: How to deal with chatterboxes); after all, he is dining with the worms.  I find it a pity in the movie that Scar didn’t eat him.


Lastly, Scar, the representation of my uncle, is the best portrayal out of all of them.   Conniving and manipulative, just watching that horrid man lion scheme murder makes me rage all over again. How satisfying that ending is, that his own minions turn against him! But the best part? He doesn’t marry my mother in the movie.  And oh, how I loved that ridiculous over-the-top musical scene!  A perfectly foolish song for a perfectly foolish man like him.

~~~
And there you have it folks, a guest post by the *ahem* delightful Prince Hamlet of Denmark! For more of his witty and charm-filled writing, look out for his new memoir coming out on the Ides of March. 

(Huh, would you look at that. ) 
~~


Thanks for reading XD  


Thursday, October 30, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday Wk 25


Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by the fantastic Jill over at Breaking the Spine!:)
What I'm waiting on this week:
20736580
Plot blurb:
Fifteen-year-old math prodigy Seth Gordon knows exactly what he wants to do with his life—play video games. Every spare minute is devoted to honing his skills at Starfare, the world's most popular computer game. His goal: South Korea, where the top pros are rich and famous. But the best players train all day, while Seth has school and a job and divorced parents who agree on only one thing: "Get off that damn computer." Plus there's a new distraction named Hannah, an aspiring photographer who actually seems to understand his obsession.

While Seth mopes about his tournament results and mixed signals from Hannah, Team Anaconda, one of the leading Korean pro squads, sees something special. Before he knows it, it's goodbye Kansas, goodbye Hannah, and hello to the strange new world of Korea. But the reality is more complicated than the fantasy, as he faces cultural shock, disgruntled teammates, and giant pots of sour-smelling kimchi.

What happens next surprises Seth. Slowly, he comes to make new friends, and discovers what might be a breakthrough, mathematical solution to the challenges of Starcraft. Delving deeper into the formulas takes him in an unexpected direction, one that might just give him a new focus—and reunite him with Hannah.


This book sounds REALLY interesting. Starfare seems a lot like League (which I don't personally play, but ALLL my friends are obsessed with it xD ) and it's set in Korea! :)

Comes out November 11th, 2014!

So what are you waiting on this week? :)

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour

7664334
Author: Morgan Matson
Release Date:  May 4th, 2010
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Genre(s): YA Contemporary
Pages:   344
*Stand Alone*

~Spoiler Free~

Summary (Goodreads):
Amy Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it's Amy's responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar - especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory - but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.


Review:
Loved it, loved it, and then the ending came...

This book was just lovely, really.  It was sweet, and I loved all the characters.  The heart of this book wasn't so much a plot, but just a road trip to find themselves.... But then the romance....

*face palm*  I wish this book didn't have the romance.  Now, yes, I did want them to end up together (THEY ARE SO CUTE), but not in this forced, really awkward way.  But despite that semi-bad ending and the romance, this was a good book.  I won't deny that.

So, I'm not a huge fan of road trip novels (I thought they were a bit boring and cliche), but if all road trip novels are like this (disregarding the *romance* of course), then I want to get my hands on ALL OF THEM.   :D

What I loved the most about this book was how the road trip became sort of a symbolic journey for them finding themselves through the various stops- and they do.  I also really liked the pacing of the book; I thought it was slow enough to bring the reader closer to them, but fast enough to keep our interest (their character development... not their romance ~ugh~).  I thought it was nice how the author revealed pieces of background information along the way too, like we were on a road trip ourselves, instead of dumping the info like road-kill. (Sorry! It's not often I get to play on words related to roads. I'm milking it for what it's worth. ;) )

As for the characters, I loved getting to know Amy and Roger!!!  I really liked their friendly chemistry with each other; it was a bit awkward in the beginning, but they warmed up to each other, and their easy banter was pretty cute. xD  No cardboard here; multi-dimensional all the way.  ;)

 I LOOOVE books that suck me in, and this book was no exception. The details in this book were so pretty!! I think my favorite part of the road trip was the description of Utah.  Even though I've been through Utah several times, I've never really looked out the car window and observed the landscape (too busy reading a book ;) ).  But because of that scene, next time, I'm going to be looking out that window to really see that beauty -and loneliness- for myself. ;) I also found some pretty awesome music (their playlists!!) through this book.  I totally recommend playing some of it while reading the book. :)

I also liked the themes of the book, and how the book balanced the fluff and the non-fluff.  This book seems like a fluff book: fluffy title, fluffy cover, and fluffy synopsis.  And while, it is a bit fluffy, it's also a lot deeper than I expected it to be. The biggest themes I thought were finding yourself and dealing with your past- both which I thought were dealt nicely in the book (until that ending D:). 

And now... finally... I will address...the Romance (dun dun dun).

To put it bluntly, the romance ruined this book. No, it wasn't a love triangle- but there was this sort of weird insta-love going on at the end.  BUT it wasn't exactly insta-love because their attraction to each other was (arguably) growing throughout (well, more from Amy's side than Roger- Roger actually had a bit of insta-love), but the romance did feel VERY forced at the end.  It definitely needed to be more fleshed out- and I HATED IT SO MUCH.  I felt like the ending just undermined the whole point of the book, the deeper parts of it, and the characters themselves/ their journey as well.  (And yes, I did have high expectations for the romance due to the lack of insta-love; it was suppose to be the cherry on top. Oh well... I never really liked cherries anyway. xD )

Final thoughts? A fun book, despite the ending/romance, that'll make you want to go on an epic road trip! :D 

Thanks for reading!:D

Friday, October 24, 2014

Sidekick Showcase Wk 11

This meme is hosted by the fabulous Jaclyn over at JC's Book Haven!
:)

In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Breast Cancer Awareness, we are celebrating strong women!:)


My sidekick:  

301479

Mrs. Gage from Midnight Rider!

This book was/is one of my favorite books from when I was younger and sparked my interest in US History (and semi-obsession with the American Revolution xD). 

 Mrs. Gage isn't really a prominent character (though hints are dropped throughout) until the end.  She is torn between loyalty to her homeland and loyalty to her husband.  It's a tough choice to make; and while at the end her choice is not clear, her convictions are, and she stands up against her husband to save Hannah.  It must have taken her immense courage to do so, especially in favor of someone proven to be guilty of treason ( under the British law), and I truly admire her strength and will in such a difficult time.    


Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday Wk 24


Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by the fantastic Jill over at Breaking the Spine!:)
What I'm waiting on this week:

21393526
OMG THIS COVER IS SO PRETTY!!!

Plot blurb:
Since she was a baby, Aza has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to speak—to live.

So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of her medication. But Aza doesn’t think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on the ship calling her name.

Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who’s always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. Aza is lost to our world—and found, by another. Magonia. Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was.

In Magonia, she can breathe for the first time. Better, she has immense power—and as she navigates her new life, she discovers that war is coming. Magonia and Earth are on the cusp of a reckoning. And in Aza’s hands lies the fate of the whole of humanity—including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie?


Can't wait for this one to come out! :D

So what are you guys waiting on this week? 
:)

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Feature and Follow #11

Increase Blog Followers


Hi everyone! This weekly meme is hosted by the fantastic Alison at Alison Can Read and the fabulous Parajunkee! :)


This week's question:
Share the song you can’t stop listening to via Journey Through Fiction

*love this song!:)*

And bonus (^-^):

*One of my favorite songs by my favorite band ever! :) *

Thank you so much for stopping by!:)
So what are some songs you're addicted to? xD



The Bean Trees

The Bean Trees
Author: Barbara Kingsolver
Release Date:  March 1st, 1989
Publisher:  Perfection Learning
Genre(s): Adult Contemporary 
Pages:  232 
 *1st book of a series*

***So to shake things up a bit, I- along with my friend ^-^ - decided as our final project to write a review/analysis of The Bean Trees and post it as a blog post. The review/analysis is for my English class, so it is SUPER long.  If you just want to read our opinions on the book (if you ignore the analysis and summary, I do believe this is the shortest review I've ever written LOL) , scroll to the bottom.  :)*** 

Summary, review, analysis: 
The story opens with a young high school girl finding herself a job in a hospital. This girl overcomes some dramatic experiences in this job and continues the job for five years. With the savings that she has gained herself over the years, this girl (or should I say new adult)  buys herself an old, beat-down car. Wishing to distance herself away from her hometown and background, the girl gave herself a new name, Taylor, and drove away in the second handed car.
Taylor’s trip opens up the story. Her trip is the beginning of the quest of growth and hardship. When Taylor’s car broke down in Oklahoma, she encounters a woman who offers Taylor her daughter. Reluctant with her decision regarding to the child (yes I am so not going to spoil xD) Taylor finds herself facing a decision  that will give her the chance to experience something that she had never wanted to experience before: motherhood.

*SPOILER ALERT! If you continue reading this post… the story might… just maybe… will probably... could be… most likely… umm… will be… spoiled!* (To continue reading, or to not continue reading? That is the question…)

As Taylor’s car journey may have stopped, her journey in life did not. Through the rest of the book, Taylor meets many other characters; the main characters are Taylor Greer (the narrator), Turtle (the baby), Lou Ann, Mattie, Estavan, and Esperenza.  Taylor is a strong independent woman who needs no [sic] man. She is sassy and seems perfectly indomitable, but all is not as it seems. For example, she tells her three roommates that she and Turtle are going to “envision [themselves] in some other space” (Kingsolver 75) after turning down the alfalfa tea. Taylor’s sassiness is shown in this quote, undeterred by the tea.  Throughout the book we feel like she likes to “hide” behind her sass; even though the book is in first person narration, and she tells us about her thoughts in a seemingly reliable way, she implies a lot of her feelings, and the readers have to infer from the text what she’s truly feeling.  The only time she truly breaks down is after Turtle is almost abducted again.  For example, Taylor says,“‘ Why should she?’ I wanted to know. ‘Would you? I've just spent about the last eight or nine months trying to convince her that nobody would hurt her again. Why should she believe me now?’” (Kingsolver 177). This shows her lack of confidence in her ability to become a mother, which is different than before when Taylor, though she never thought she was competent to be a mother,  had a strong mindset that if she set her mind to it, she could do it.   We feel this part is significant because it not only shows the different sides of Taylor (and gives her depth instead of just this strong, need no man woman; Kingsolver, the author,  is strong supporter of feminism), but also a character development that parallels nicely with Lou Ann’s character development. Lou Ann is more traditionally “feminine” than Taylor; she is soft spoken, wants a man, and lacks self-confidence. For example, Lou Ann states that, "I feel like the only reason I have any friends at all is because I'm always careful not to say something totally dumb, and if I blow it just one time, then that's it" (Kingslover 89). This shows her lack of self-confidence in the beginning and her softspoken nature.  The two women are almost foils of each other in that one is this independent woman and one is more traditional woman.   At the start of the novel, Lou Ann is soft spoken and very motherly.  She goes from a dependent housewife to an independent single mother who speaks her mind.  For example,  towards the end, she gets a job, and she speaks her mind on how the shady place next to Jesus is Lord tires is disgusting.  On the other hand, Taylor, though she does not go from a strong woman to a weak woman, she begins to express her vulnerabilities and accepts them; she learns that getting help from others isn’t a bad thing, and a little dependency on other woman, and getting strength from them, isn’t a bad thing either.  (Please note that this may be a flawed assumption on Lou Ann’s character, for the story of Lou Ann is told from a third person’s point of view, while Taylor’s story is from a first person’s point of view.)
As for symbols, Turtle seems to be more of a symbol than anything else in this book (as in her role in this book is a symbol); she seems to symbolize perhaps the burden that comes with being born as a woman.  Also, Turtle could be a symbolic name in itself that a turtle is always hiding; for example, Turtle (the baby) is very quiet throughout the novel, but slowly towards the end she begins to talk and come out of her shell so to speak.  She’s also shown to subtly express her Native American roots through her love of the garden and her main words (when she starts talking) about things that come from the earth.  Mattie is the ultimate mother figure in this novel. She can best be described as a mama bear: fiercely loving and tough.   She takes action and inspires others to do as well.  Estavan and Esperenza is an immigrant couple who Taylor becomes close with, especially Estevan.  We think it is interesting how he is the only guy in the novel that has a positive light shed on him; all the other guys are portrayed in a really negative light. Taylor “likes likes” him, but she acknowledges that her feelings for him are for naught (he’s married).  Estavan is consistently described as a man of high intelligence by Taylor. I think it’s really refreshing that an immigrant character is portrayed in an intellgent manner.  Esperanza is his wife; well her name says it all doesn’t it? Esperanza means “hope” in Spanish. As a women who is not that highly educated in English, Taylor struggles to communicate and converse with Esperanza, yet in this book something drives the characters on to keep trying, almost as if there is a slim beam of hope (what did Esperanza mean again? Did you just say hope? Yup good job ^-^) shining upon the characters, urging them to keep moving. One object that really caught our attention is the snake that appeared a few times in the book.  Snakes (okay yes snake equals animal) portrayed in most English texts are villains and are evil. (This is an allusion to the Bible and the Temptation of Eve.) Not surprisingly, in this book, when a snake appears in one of the chapters, Turtle is  injured and hurt not much later. It is  almost as if the snake is a foreshadowing of the negative things that will eventually happen in the story.
The author uses a lot of unconventional characters and dispels the stereotypes of them (while adding stereotypes to others as well).  Estevan is an immigrant, but he’s very intelligent and speaks English very well; usually a stereotype of immigrants from South America is seen as coarse and unable to speak English.  Taylor also constantly describes Estevan as a teacher as well.   The women in this novel also dispel stereotypes as well.  Mattie is the unconventional mother (loving but still tough and activist), Taylor is also sassy and tough- quite different from the soft spoken female view at that time. The stereotypes of men (of American men) are that they are evil and sexist. Yet, the plot is a very typical story of a women struggling in her faces of motherhood, and adulthood, and survival-hood. The plot is interestingly narrated in two views, both from the same narrator. The main protagonist, Taylor, first narrates her own story to the readers, and the same time, she shares a story of a friend’s (Lou Ann’s). This allows herself to develop two different points of views and angles to share the story in this book.

One of the major themes in this book is about family.  Unconventional families work just as well as conventional ones. An example would be Lou Ann and Taylor; perhaps the author is saying that single mothers can raise children well and strong.  It’s a very strong feminist message. This book also reminds us of that quote on how it takes a village to raise a child.  In this case, it is a community, and while the main point of the book isn’t to raise the child, it still takes a village to raise up people.  The bonds of community also reinforced how unconventional families work just as well.   It was a community of purely mostly women.  Another theme is about motherhood. Perhaps the author was making the point that motherhood is rewarding and shouldn’t be seen as something that holds a person back.  Taylor didn’t want to become a mother, but she became a mother anyways.  It is thrust onto her.

This book has taught us a lesson. Despite the main themes and messages that the author was sending through the book, we learned that, even though there may be hardships and fear, and there may be many discriminating views from the society to an individual women taking care of a child ( or even a women doing anything in general), we should not doubt the ability of anyone, especially ourselves.  That you should always believe in the choices you make for yourself and believe that you have the ability to do whatever you want. There is one section in the book that will stay in our head forever; when Mattie was giving Taylor advice on whether or not to keep the children, Mattie told Taylor to stop asking herself questions that will doubt her abilities, but to start asking her questions that reveal her inner thoughts. A continuous self-doubt will never make Taylor make a decision that she will not regret, but a thought to reveal her potential actions will be the best decision factor for both Taylor and anyone struggling to make decisions.

The genre of this book is contemporary.  

OPINIONS:
To conclude this, we included some thoughts and messages below:

A’s thoughts:
 I thought the book was sweet, and I liked it a bit,(just a little),  but I felt it was off and a bit detached.   I think this came from the fact that she seemed to be hiding something, and we had to read a lot between the lines.   But this book is undeniably funny at times, and I did enjoy Taylor’s voice.  There wasn’t really a big plot in the novel; it was more heart driven and driven by the characters.   I thought the parallelism, symbolism, and paradoxes were a bit too obvious, but perhaps that was the intention of the author- to make it standout.  Overall, I thought the book was ok.   It was nothing groundbreaking to me, but perhaps that's because I'm reading it from a 21st century view of modern views rather than the views of the 1980s on women.
Rating: 2.7 out of 5

C’s thoughts: (and maybe a little advice to the readers?):
This book was very interesting, the major themes of parenthood, family hood, and a women’s individualist (feminism, if you want to say…) gave the story’s plot a sweet “womanly” feeling. By womanly, I sense the aura of a mother growing out of the character. Despite the fact that Taylor did not want to become a parent at the start of the book, fate eventually brought her to face motherhood. After the times she spent with Turtle, the child that changed the course of her life, Taylor went through her quest of facing many struggles and eventually taking care of Turtle. I finished the book in two sittings, which I ultimately regret. I wish I have read the book a bit slower, so I could develop more analysis into the plot. As an easy read, I finished this book way too quickly to actually play attention to the author’s message behind the book. It wasn’t until I had to complete the assignments that were given out weekly as homework, until I realized that i have barely paid attention to the loaded amounts of literary devices used in this book. For those of you reading this blog, I would definitely recommend this book, but just as an opinion, you should really slow down when you’re reading this book. It contains so much thought in the book, which by just reading through the book to get it over with will cause you to miss out on a great piece of literature. Don’t be so eager to know about the ending, pay attention to all the minor details that lead up to that conclusion!
Rating: Pi out of 5

Thanks for reading!!:D

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday Wk 23


Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by the fantastic Jill over at Breaking the Spine!:)
What I'm waiting on this week:
18308520
*love the cover!*

Plot Blurb:
Before Matt, Ella had a plan. Get over a no-good ex-boyfriend. Graduate from high school without any more distractions. Move away from Orlando, Florida, where she’s lived her entire life. 

But Matt—the cute, shy, bespectacled bass player who just moved to town—was never part of that plan.

And neither was attending a party that was crashed by the cops just minutes after they arrived. Or spending an entire night saying “yes” to every crazy, fun thing they could think of.

Then Matt abruptly left town, and he broke not only Ella’s heart but those of their best friends, too. So when he shows up a year later with a plan of his own—to relive the night that brought them together—Ella isn’t sure whether Matt’s worth a second chance. Or if re-creating the past can help them create a different future. 

In alternating then and now chapters, debut author Lauren Gibaldi crafts a charming, romantic story of first loves, lifelong friendships, uncovered secrets, and, ultimately, finding out how to be brave.



Hmm. This premise sorta reminds of Just One Day (a teensy bit). xD
But it sounds like a sweet book. :D 
Comes out June 16th, 2015!


So what are you guys waiting on this week? 

:D

Sidekick Showcase Wk 10


This meme is hosted by the awesome Jaclyn over at JC's Book Haven!
:)

In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Breast Cancer Awareness, we are celebrating strong women!:)


My sidekick:  
14061957
Genya from the Grisha series

When I first read the topic of the month, she was one of the first people that popped into my head.  She endured so much, but she persevered, and despite it all, in the end, she was able to rise. :)

So, who is your sidekick of the week? :D

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday Wk 22


Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by the awesome Jill over at Breaking the Spine!:)
What I'm waiting on this week:
18046288

Plot Blurb:

Wishing doesn't make it so, Azra does.

Azra has just turned sixteen, and overnight her body lengthens, her olive skin deepens, and her eyes glisten gold thanks to the brand-new silver bangle that locks around her wrist. As she always knew it would, her Jinn ancestry brings not just magical powers but the reality of a life of servitude, as her wish granting is controlled by a remote ruling class of Jinn known as the Afrit. 

To the humans she lives among, she’s just the girl working at the snack bar at the beach, navigating the fryer and her first crush. But behind closed doors, she’s learning how to harness her powers and fulfill the obligations of her destiny. 

Mentored by her mother and a small community of Zar “sisters,” Azra soon discovers she may not be quite like the rest of her circle of female Jinn...and that her powers could endanger them all. 

As Azra uncovers the darker world of becoming Jinn, she realizes when genies and wishes are involved, there’s always a trick.

Will be released on May 12th, 2015

Oooo genies!!! This sounds like a neat book. :D

So what are you guys waiting on this week?
:)

Monday, October 6, 2014

The One

20572939Author: Kiera Cass
Release Date:  June 5th, 2014
PublisherHarperCollins Children's Books
Genre(s): YA Dystopia
Pages:   323
*3rd(final) book of a trilogy*

~LOTS OF UNCOVERED SPOILERS (though, to be honest, this book is so predictable, it's a stretch calling them spoilers....)!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!~

Summary (Goodreads):
The Selection changed America Singer's life in ways she never could have imagined. Since she entered the competition to become the next princess of IllĂ©a, America has struggled with her feelings for her first love, Aspen—and her growing attraction to Prince Maxon. Now she's made her choice . . . and she's prepared to fight for the future she wants.

Find out who America will choose in The One, the enchanting, beautifully romantic third book in the Selection series!




Review: 
*Hi guys! I know I've been really  MIA lately (I'm so sorry!! :( ), but this MIAness (?) will probably continue until the end of this month. >.<   I didn't expect my life to become so hectic lol, but such is life, and still we live it (quote credit to my Latin teacher). :)  Oh! And I've decided to keep aiming for the ten reviews a month thing until I finally reach my goal.  I probably won't reach it this month (LOL), but I'm still going to try! :)*

That gorgeous cover is misleading. DON'T FALL FOR IT'S DIABOLICAL LURE. Because hiding underneath is it... badness.

What a rollercoaster- and I'm not particularly partial to those.  I think the only reason I even stuck with this series is that it was so bad, I just had to know how it was going to be salvaged it was going to end (that, and since I started this series, I wanted to finish it).   This book/series is THE negative stereotype of YA books ( love triangle, pining/whining, a weird plot, etc).


I decided not to make this a series review only because it's been a while since I've read the last two books (and I did not want to re-read them).  But I may make references to it, and there will be lots of spoilers in this review. (*edit: look back over it, it sort of turned into a series review actually LOL).

When I first set out writing this review, I thought that finally, I'd be able to reach my goal (speaking of goals, I guess I failed pretty bad on the 10 reviews >.<  but I'm going to try again! :D) of a short review because all I'd say was: REALLY BAD.  But that's not much of a review, and I feel the need to justify myself (and bring happiness to all those English teachers out there ;)):

1. Love triangle:  Welp.  I think we all know how that goes.  Throw in wishy-washiness, whining/pining, etc, and BAM. A stereotypical YA romance is born.   This book (well, series) is like the definition of a love triangle consuming the book.   I can literally see it happening as I read the book; the author makes no attempt to make it subtle.  This book is about a love triangle, and the competition/dystopian aspect is just background stuff- well, actually, the background stuff is also a weird mish-mash of the competition and some rebel trouble too. ( I don't even know anymore. )

2. Pining/whining: SO. MUCH. She went back and forth so many times (for the silliest reasons), it gave me whiplash. But it wasn't just America that did it, but the prince guy too. Double whiplash. x_x  It's not until the very end that she FINALLY realizes that she loves Maxon.  But it was pretty obvious who she/he was going to choose in the first book (YA stereotype book...), and I hated how unnecessarily dragged out it was.  

3. Messy world/plot: This book (series) is a sorry excuse for a so-called dystopia.  I don't think a caste system (not very well explained, and it's really just a background thing- almost like a minor detail I thought) and some minor rebel trouble should mean this book is a "dystopian."  This book (series) has terrible world building.   In fact, most of the world is "built" (well more like straight up told to us) in this third book (ummm??). And the plot is really messy.  It's mainly suppose to be about the competition ( I guess??), but there's also a rebellion (I get the feeling the author was trying to make America into a Katniss like figure- heck, Katniss herself) and a love triangle that basically just swallows the book. 

4. Predictability:  I'll make this short: we all know who she's going to choose and who he's going to choose. There's no doubt, and any attempt at making us doubt should not be considered an attempt. America's the protagonist in a YA stereotype after all.  

5. Cardboard characters: The boys are cardboard with makeup. Not much personality, and the guard dude (I think his name is Aspirin?) is clingy and very whiny. 99% of his dialogue is: "I'll love you forever. Choose me. Choooose me.  Why won't you chooose me?!?! I looooove you." As for the prince dude, all I can remember about him is that he couldn't make up his mind.  *face palm*  Not even gonna go there.  I'm getting tired just thinking about it. 

Thanks for reading! :)

Rating: 1.5 out of 5 (Well, I finished it, didn't I? ;) )