Reader's Corner
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Isabel Allende is probably most famously known for her book, The House of the Spirits, however, she’s written a number of other works that are also quite interesting. We usually read her essay “Writing as an Act of Hope” in class, so when I saw Daughter of Fortune on a shelf at one of my favorite Durham bookshops (shout out Letters Bookshop!), I decided to grab it. It has the Allende staple of magical realism that we see in many Latin American works, but it also tells a truly beautiful story of friendship and love.
The story begins in Chile, and follows the life of Eliza Sommers, who is left on the doorstep of a wealthy English merchant and his spinster sister. Eliza is raised in the lap of luxury, having her every wish and desire fulfilled, until she meets her first love and follows him to San Francisco at the height of the California Gold Rush in 1849. The people she meets and trials she faces along her journey end up shaping her in a way that she never would have imagined. I’ll admit, a lot of what I read is for pure entertainment purposes and doesn’t necessarily fall into the “good literature” category, but this book definitely does. Allende’s writing is truly beautiful. Take this line: “Joaquin Andieta lived the torment of a political romanticism that had no echo in that country of practical and prudent people (Allende, 112). There is SO MUCH to unpack in that sentence and it just flows so beautifully off the tongue that I literally just want to read it out loud over and over again. First, what is political romanticism? Let’s really think about that. So Joaquin (also a name that is really fun to say...pronounced wa-KEEN) is this kind of lost soul that has “romanticized” politics, meaning he believes that politics is the solution to all of his country’s (or really his) problems. He approaches politics in a pure, almost childlike way. But he’s tormented by this. So this beautifully pure thing that he believes in is also the proverbial Achilles Heel of his existence. And then Allende describes this country that Joaquin is so invested in fixing as one that has neither “practical” nor “prudent people.” Oh my alliteration. And the IRONY of it. You have a guy who is passionate about the world that surrounds him, he thinks deeply about it, he romanticizes politics, he thinks it will solve all problems - and yet, not a single person around him could care. The injustice apparent in that one line! And her novel is full of these types of lines and scenarios that are both beautifully crafted and also break your heart or move you emotionally in some kind of way...have I geeked out too much? Ok, I have. Time to come back to reality. If, like me, you appreciate some truly beautiful writing, then this is certainly one to put on your list. I mentioned earlier that this book tells a beautiful story of love and friendship, and I truly mean that. The plot is engaging, the magical realism is present, the writing is beautiful. What’s not to love?
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If you’re into suspense and like a good surprise ending, you’ll want to pick up Watch Me Disappear by Janelle Brown. It has a kind of Girl on the Train or Gone Girl vibe that leaves the reader going “what the heck just happened?” Have I peaked your interest?
So, the plot. Olive Flanagan lost her mother Billie, a year ago. The worst part, Billie’s disappearance was never solved. No body was ever found, no death certificate was ever signed. Billie simply went for a hike one day and never came back. But now, a year later, Olive has started seeing her mother - not really seeing her - but having visions of her that are so real Olive is sure her mother is still alive. Despite her father thinking she’s crazy, Olive embarks on a determined journey to find out what happened to her mother a year ago. Weaved in through Olive’s narration, is a story that Jonathan Flanagan is writing about his beloved lost wife. Through this perspective, we learn that Billie wasn’t always the perfect wife and mother she pretended to be. As Jonathan continues to dig into Billie’s past, he learns that she had been hiding a lot of dark secrets, and he begins to wonder -- did he even really know the woman to whom he was married? If you’ve read any of my other book reviews, you know I’m a fan of a good switch in narration. I don’t know if it’s my ADD brain or the fact that I feel like I’m getting a more well-rounded account of the story, but I love it. I think this switch in narration is done particularly well because it lends itself to a lot of dramatic irony. Both Olive and Jonathan are essentially trying to figure out the same thing, what happened to Billie? But, for a myriad of reasons, neither wants to share what they are learning with the other. So, as the reader, you start to figure things out before the characters even do, and that’s kinda cool. Another thing I like to read about in a story is a good villain -- and let me tell you this one’s got a good villain. I wont say too much about this because I don’t want to spoil the book for anyone, but let’s just say this villain comes outta nowhere, but once discovered, this villain is LOATHSOME! You’re gonna hate ‘em. And of course, there’s a couple of cool plot twists which kept me guessing. Because, who wants to know the whole story before it even happens? That takes away the joy of reading - and reading should bring joy! The idea of waking up on the same day over and over again is not a new concept in entertainment. Movies like Groundhog Day, and Edge of Tomorrow, and TV shows like Supernatural and Russian Doll have all played with the concept of repeating the same day on a loop. However, in The 71/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, Stuart Turton takes the idea and runs with it, creating a murder mystery in which the reader loops through the same day, experiencing each day in the body of a different guest. Sound interesting? It is.
To give you a quick plot overview, Evelyn Hardcastle, wealthy heiress, will die at 11 p.m., in front of a large crowd, at a party full of her family’s “friends.” And she will continue to die, until someone figures out who killed her. Everyone is a suspect. So there are a couple things about this book that I really like. One, there are a TON of plot twists. This book kept me guessing the entire time. I had NO idea who did it until the very end...and then there was ANOTHER plot twist. It’s crazy y’all. Seriously crazy. I don’t know how Turton managed to keep it all straight. The only thing I can say is that he must have had one serious outline prepared before he started writing. The second cool thing about this book is that it switches narrators throughout the entire story. This story really plays around with the concept of perspective. The reader wakes up in the body and brain of eight different guests, some of whom are more reliable than others - and some whose experiences and understandings of events directly contradict others. Knowing who you can trust as a narrator will keep you guessing the whole time and keeps things really interesting. I will say, I spent the first few chapters really confused. Like...really confused. But, I promise if you stick with it, it will all make sense. Just know that you are not alone in being confused and that Turton actually WANTS you to be confused. The plot is full of action and moves fairly quickly through events. There is some character development for the guests that the narrator inhabits, but otherwise this is more of a plot-driven novel. Totally fine by me, but if you’re a fan of Tolkien and really like heavy character development, this is not what you’re looking for. Honestly, I loved this book. I grew up playing Clue as a kid and reading Nancy Drew books, so this book was right up my alley. If you, too, like a good mystery, definitely check this one out. If you like sci-fi mixed with fantasy in a utopian/dystopian society, this series is for you. Initially, author Pierce Brown intended to write a trilogy, and he did, but the books gained such popularity that he continued on to write FIVE books and counting, starting with the namesake of the series, Red Rising.
Red Rising takes place in a world where humans no longer live just on earth, they have learned how to make all the planets in our solar system (and moons too) inhabitable. Darrow lives on Mars and works underground as a miner, running a clawDrill, the most dangerous job one can have. Darrow has never seen the sky. He thinks that everyone on Mars lives underground mining helium-3, which will one day make Mars habitable for everyone - what he doesn't know is that he is on the lowest rung in a very complex caste system. He is labeled a Red and his whole life is defined by this label - his job, who he can marry, where he can live, what he can eat, even how long he will live. I won't spoil it for you, but let's just say Darrow is not one to allow himself to be walked all over, and when those in charge take his wife for daring to want a better life - daring to look at the sky, Darrow sets out on a mission to make those in charge pay for their crimes. I'll admit, I'm not a huge sci-fi person but this series has me hooked. I've read the initial trilogy and have the latest book Dark Age sitting on my nightstand. If you're looking for a series to get into, this is it. The books do a great job of weaving together character development with a lot of plot action, so there are very few "dead" areas. I'm also one who tends to guess the endings or plot twists, but this series keeps surprising me which I REALLY appreciate. I was literally gasping in surprise by chapter 2. So, to summarize: sci-fi/fantasy/utopia/dystopia - check, well-developed characters you can get behind - check, amazing plot with lots of unexpected twists - check. What's not to love? CAUTION: SPOILERS COMING!!
If you are a fan of Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series, do yourself a favor and pick up the third book, King’s Cage. As with Glass Sword (book two), King’s Cage, picks up right where book two left off with Mare taken prisoner by King Maven. Of course, the Maven - Mare - Cal love triangle continues and we learn that Maven has no intention of killing Mare, but rather wants to keep her around as his pet. He forces Mare to deliver a speech denouncing the Scarlet Guard and imploring newbloods to surrender themselves to King Maven for protection. This plan works to an extent, but ultimately doesn’t do the damage Maven intends. Meanwhile, Maven’s court is in open revolt against him with many of the powerful houses, including Evangeline’s House Samos, leaving Norta and forming their own alliances and kingdoms. Of course, storms are a-brewing and Maven’s reign is threatened on multiple fronts. I won’t give away too much more but you’ll have to read the book and see what happens! Also, here’s the book trailer for this book...it’s pretty creepy, but it will definitely get you excited to read Kings Cage. While you definitely won’t be disappointed, there is a major difference between this book and the first two that threw me at first. While the first two books are narrated exclusively by Mare, the third book SWITCHES NARRATORS!! Yes, I said it, the book SWITCHES NARRATORS between Mare, Cameron, and….EVANGELINE! I’ll give you a minute to pick your jaw off of the floor. … What’s crazier is that, after reading her parts, I actually like Evangeline. I know, I know, if you’ve read the first two books you’re world is officially turned upside down right now but it’s true. Ok so, why does Victoria Aveyard decide to switch narrators? After all, things were going pretty well with Mare narrating the first two books, why change things? I’ve thought about it long and hard (I actually put the book down for a few weeks when I came to the first Cameron chapter) and I’ve come up with a few reasons for this. First, while Mare is stuck as Maven’s prisoner there is no way to know what is going on with the Scarlet Guard unless we have another narrator. Cameron is actually a good choice because she’s not a big fan of Mare, Cal, or the Scarlet Guard at the end of book two or the beginning of book three so she tends to reason things out a little better and with less emotion than Cal or even Farley would. Plus, she gives some good perspective on Mare’s character which helped me to like Mare a little more. We see Evangeline, for the same reason - to get information that Mare doesn’t have access to. Without Evangeline’s narration, it’s impossible to know what the houses that have broken away from Maven are plotting and that information is crucial to the plot. Second, if the whole story was narrated by Mare, honestly, it’d be pretty boring. She spends a lot of the first half of the novel bound by silent stone and reading books. Switching up narrators keeps it interesting. Overall, I’m a fan of the switch in narrators, and I hope it continues in book four. And yes, it seems as though there will be at least one more book in the Red Queen saga. Aveyard couldn’t quite wrap things up in three books, and I, for one, am quite alright with that. I know we read a chapter from Sherman Alexie’s novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, in class, but after reading that I decided to pick the book up again. I read it once about five years ago and I remember really liking it, and something about the way Alexie writes this story drew me in yet again. TATDPTI is about a kid named Junior who lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington. Like many Native American’s, Junior’s family struggles with money, alcoholism, and depression, and Junior struggles socially as well. He’s smart and he tries and he wants to do something with his life someday, however, he feels very trapped on the reservation. He sees his parents and older sister going nowhere, and he fears he will suffer the same fate. As he’s about to start high school, Junior decides he’s had enough, and makes the choice to leave the reservation and attend the all-white high school in Reardan, a small town about 22 miles outside of the reservation. He thinks this move will help him to make something of his life. He finds himself the only Native American at Reardan and on the reservation, everyone considers him white. Junior becomes an outsider not only at his new school, but on the reservation as well. The novel follows Junior through his freshman year of highschool as he deals with normal high school things, like falling in love and having his first girlfriend, and not-so-normal highschool things, like attending three funerals within several weeks of each other.
In writing this post, I would be remiss if I did not disclose the controversial nature of this book. Suffice to say, this book is not for everyone. Pretty much since it was published it has been on the banned book list. There are plenty of reasons for this, foul language and violence being just a few. So, why bother with this book? Well, I wouldn’t have read it if I thought it was one of those books that uses foul language “just because”, or that includes violence for shock value alone. In this case I believe that the somewhat controversial aspects of this book are included because it keeps the story realistic. There is no way you can have a character go through all of the things that Junior has and not let him curse the world at times. It’s this realistic, raw, and gritty approach to the story that is - in a way - refreshing to readers. They appreciate the vulnerability of Junior, who will punch his best friend in the face in one sentence and begin to cry about it in the very next. We can relate to this character because, sometimes, we are him. We all have moments where we feel exposed, living on an emotional roller coaster. We have those moments where just get so overwhelmed we feel like a volcano about to erupt. We’re human. WARNING: SPOILER ALELRT!!
If you haven't read Red Queen yet, but plan to, do not read this blog post!! As you may have guessed from the above spoiler alert, I've just finished reading the second book in Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen trilogy, Glass Sword. The novel pickes up right where Red Queen leaves off with Mare waking up in her brother Shade's arms. Originally presumed dead, it turns out Shade has actually been on the run, discovering that he too has powers and is being hunted down as a result. Shade has joined the Red Guard's upper rankings and Mare and Cal quickly join him. However, their help is not reaidly accepted by those who still see Mare as a silver pawn, and Cal as the silver king. Mare, however, has no time for the Red Guard's distrust and quickly sets in motion her new plan of rescuing others like herself, that are now in danger of being hunted by King Maven. Just because Maven's turned against Mare, doesn't make him any less in love with her, and his quest to capture her and those like her becomes a personal vendetta, leaving Mare to question her own feelings and reasoning. While different, Glass Sword lives up to expectations, giving us much more than many readers bargained for. However, some readers that loved Red Queen have come away saying that Glass Sword was a disappointment. While I don't agree, I have a theory as to why this happens and it all has to do with Mare's character changes. While in the first book she was still fiesty and took care of herself and those around her, she was still unsure of herself and dependent on Cal, Maven, and others to feel confident. However, in Glass Sword, she becomes a completely take-charge, make no apologies kind of person. Through the plot, we can see how this is a necessary development in her character, but reader's who really liked the romance dynamic in book 1 may be turned off by this development. While she still needs the support of Cal and others to defeat King Maven, she doesn't need them to pat her on the back every ten minutes either. As far as a relationship, she can take it or leave it. And if it affects her mission, she's leaving it. As you can imagine, this does a little bit of damage to the love story angle of the plot. Now, all couples have to go through tourmoil, but Mare and Cal are going through a lot. It's no wonder that they aren't able to have a loving relationship. By the end of the novel, it seems that they really can't stand each other, and while that might be a little disappointing to some readers, it really sets us up for a wonderful third installment. I can tell you one thing, I'll be pre-ordering King's Cage and counting down for it's Feb. 7th release! Blame Hurricane Matthew and the lack of power for 5 days, but somehow I forgot to post my review of Yann Martel's Life of Pi when I originally finished it. Well, ya know what they say, better late than never. So, without further adieu, I give you this long overdue blog post:
I just finished Life of Pi by Yann Martel, and, though I rarely (never) say this, I think the movie was much better than the book. For those of you that haven't seen the movie or read the book, Life of Pi, is about a young boy from India whose family owns a Zoo. Pi Patel grows up learning from and loving this little slice of heaven. Then, for political reasons, his father and mother decide to sell the zoo and move to Canada. They secure passage from India to Canada on a Japanese freighter. For unknown reasons, the freighter sinks in the middle of the Pacific ocean. Only Pi survives, making his way onto one of the life boats. He is joined by an injured Zebra, a hynea, an oranatang, and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. For obvious reasons, Pi soon finds himself left with only Richard Parker as a companion (because RP eats the other animals). Pi must learn how to survive in impossible conditions, all while learning how to tame a Bengal tiger, one of the most dangerous predators on earth. Pi spends more than 200 days lost at sea before he is finally rescued, but the majority of the story concerns his experiences while on the lifeboat with Richard Parker. At the end, Pi tells his story to the Japanese company that owned the freighter and they don't believe him. He then retells the whole story, but instead of animals with him on the lifeboat, there are other passengers from the crew. The readers are left to wonder if Pi's story was true, or simply allegorical. So, why do I say that the movie was better than the book? Well, for those of you that have seen the movie, the graphics in it are absolutely stunning. Probably some of the best cinematography I've ever seen. In fact, in 2013 the movie won a myriad of awards including the Academy Award for Best Director, Best Visual Affects, Best Cinematography, and Best Special Visual Affects. So when I say the movie is visually amazing, I'm not alone in my thoughts. But the reason the cinematography has to be so amazing is becuase, not a lot happens in the book in terms of action. Most of the book is Pi's inner thoughts about how he's surviving. He describes the amazing things he sees, but those things are much better actually seen than read about and imagined. The book also seems somewhat disconnected and random. For example, an obscene amount of time is spent explaining how Pi got his name. It's very interesting to read about the story, but it is in no way connected to anything else in the novel so it seems really random. Also, toward the end, it seems like Yann Martel really wanted to have an even 100 chapters, so some of the chapters included are really pointless. For example, Ch. 97's entire contents are the words, "The story." Now, I'm fully aware that my opinion of this story is generally not shared by others. I've heard plenty of people remark, after reading this book, that it was "so deep" and that they really enjoyed the allegorical implications at the end of the novel. Well, that's all fine and good, but as for me, I felt cheated. Why did I just read 300 pages only to find out that it wasn't true? Or maybe it was true. The reader is left to wonder. Well me, I like to know where I stand, so being left to wonder if I just wasted my time reading this story where in the end the author is like "just kidding" - well it doesn't sit well with me. So, Life of Pi, to read or not to read. Honestly, if you like to think deeply about what you're reading and being left to wonder then knock yourself out. If not, watch the movie. Trust me, it's good. I decided to read Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard after it was recommended to me by a number of students. Let me just say I am SO glad I did. I couldn't put the book down, even getting up at 7 a.m. on a Saturday to finish reading it (I know, I'm a loser). Red Queen is set in a futuristic society where one's blood determines their status. Red's are regular humans, like us and Silver's are gods (or humans that have evolved into gods) and have supernatural powers such as the ability to manipulate fire or read minds. Reds have become slaves to the powerful Silvers, who oppress them at every turn. The Silvers are ruled by a monarchy and want for almost nothing, while Reds are barely able to put food on the table. Silvers live in excess while Red's starve to death.
Red Queen follows Mare Barrow, a Red who has learned theivery as a means for providing for her family. When she pick-pockets a boy who she assumes is a servent, she finds herself being summoned to the castle. She thinks she is going to be punished, but ends up getting a job as a servent for the castle - a job that will provide much better for her family than pick-pocketing does. Imagine her surprise then, when she realizes that the person who gets her this job is the boy who she tried to steal from, and is no Red at all, but the future Silver king. When she sees him presiding over the Queenstrial battles, she is so shocked that she loses her footing and falls into the arena. She should die from the electrical shock of the lightening dome that protects spectators for the gladiators in the arena. Instead, lightening shoots from her hands, revealing to Mare an unknown power of being able to control electricity. But, Mare is a Red. She shouldn't have powers. Now Mare finds herself in a predicament. She's a Red, but she has powers like a Silver! Her existence threatens the power of the royal family and as a cover, they invents a story for Mare, calling her the long lost daughter of an ancient Silver family. You know what they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Mare finds herself now living in the world of the Silvers, pretending to be something she's not - a Silver. One drop of her red blood could cost her life, and she has enemies everywhere she turns. Who can she trust and how is she going to make it out alive? Read and find out. While none of us live in the world of Mare Barrow, we can all relate to her main conflicts in the book. Essentially, she is trying to fit in where she don't belong. She doesn't always know who she can trust, and at times she feels betrayed by those she thought she could trust. Sound familiar? While the stakes might be higher for Mare (her life), we can all relate to this feeling of not belonging, not knowing who to trust and feeling betrayel. Whether it's in school, with our friends, or even our family, we all have those moments where it seems like the world is out to get us. In those moments it's hard to know where to go or who to trust. Betrayel is a feeling we can all relate to at some point or another in our lives. If you haven't already, it's likely that at some pointin your life, you will feel betrayed by someone. Whether it's a friend who promises to keep your secret and then doesn't, or something more serious than that, at some point we will all feel that gut-wrenching disappointment. When we do, like Mare, we will wonder who can we really trust. This is why this book was so interesting to me. While I don't live in Mare's world exactly, I can relate to the feelings that she's having as she endures the conflicts of this novel. This novel could be considered dystopian literature, and it's one reason I decided to read it now while we are doing our dystopian novel studies. As we discussed in class, one feature of dystopian literature is the relatability of characters to young adult readers like yourselves. YA readers like that the main characters in these novels tackle problems head on and without regret. We want to emulate their actions in our own lives (obviously with less drama and death, but with the intent of standing up for our beliefs). Much like Katniss Everdeen and Tris in Hunger Games and Divergent respectively, Mare Barrow gives readers a character to relate to, look up to, and ultimately root for. So, if you're in the mood for an action packed book that will keep you flipping the pages, pick up Red Queen and give it a read. Over the Thanksgiving break, I decided to pick up an old favorite, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I've read this book a number of times, and every time I read it, I find something new I didn't notice or that I forgot about. Pride and Prejudice is about the Bennett sisters, specifically the second eldest, Elizabeth Bennett. Because they have no brother, once their father dies, his fortune and their home will go to their closest male relative, their cousin Mr. Collins. In order to avoid homelessness and complete destitution, the girls must make good marriages. Unfortunately, living in the English countryside doesn't give them a whole lot of options. They feel very fortunate when, in a stroke of luck, a wealthy gentleman moves into a neighboring mansion. Elizabeth's sister Jane immediately falls for their new neighbor, Mr. Bingley. Unfortunately, with Mr. Bingley comes Mr. Darcy, whose pride and haughty nature make him unpopular in the countryside. Elizabeth immediately dislikes Mr. Darcy. It would be safe to say she can't stand him, so imagine her surprise when he asks her to marry him! Elizabeth rejects him on the spot, but as the story goes on, she starts to wonder if maybe she didn't make a terrible error in judegment. Is Mr. Darcy really so bad? You'll have to read it to find out.
So, why, you may ask, do I love Pride and Prejudice so much? Well, it's because of Elizabeth Bennett. She might not seem like it by today's standards, but for her time, she's a rebel. To me, she’s the original feminist working within the confines of her society to bring about change. Elizabeth doesn’t just accept her lot in life with complacency. Instead she’s feisty. She speaks her mind. She turns down marriage proposals even knowing that her future is uncertain because she wants something better for herself in her life. She tells Mr Darcy, "You could not have made me the offer of your hand in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it," (131). Harsh. She stands up to wealthy heiresses who don’t know how to mind their own business, such as Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Lady de Bourgh says to Elizabeth, "Miss Bennett I am shocked and astonished. I expected to find a more reasonable young woman." She says this because Elizabeth refuses to just bow down and do what she says. Lady de Bourgh isn't used to people standing up to her, but Elizabeth takes the challenge without batting an eye. However, Elizabeth knows when she’s made a mistake and she takes responsibility for them. For example, when she learns that she's made a mistake in supposing Mr. Darcy to be a prideful man and realizes that he's actually quite honorable, she spends the remainder of the novel trying to make amends for it. In a word, she’s awesome and a role model for girls both now and in the 1800s. |