Monday Mulling #15

3 ½ Stars

Well…it’s been a while. Sorry. But here I am again, and I have not abandoned you all. I just was unable to get to a computer for the past few…2, 3 weeks to write a good review.

But I have returned, and I plan to give you what you were missing.

The latest novel that I was able to read was Becca Fitzpatrick‘s novel, Hush, Hush.

This novel has been getting quite the hype around the book world. It;s one of those paranormal teenagers novels, but this is not full of wolves and vampires and witches…just fallen angels.

The cover caught my eye majorly on this one; pretty in a dark way, the grey-scale angle contorted in mid-air, with the red accents was just lovely.

Overall, it was an interesting novel, if not sickeningly similar to Twilight in some places, which nearly drove me mad. The plot line was done well enough to hold interest, but not so overwhelming that you couldn’t follow it either.

The characters are mostly developed, but I suspect that the questions I had/have will be continued in the next book(s).

What I really liked about this novel was the fallen angel idea. I thought that it was different, and that by being different, it could turn out to be a very amazing book.

However, I admit I did not have any expectations when reading this. There was nothing really I wanted out of this novel, which was rare.

What I did not like about the novel was how some things were random. All of a sudden, things were just…there and gone. Plot points were revealed and things were discarded. It was a very fast paced novel, and I think that the author wanted to keep it that way, thus the fast-ball plot points.

This is shown in the very beginning of the book. When you open the novel and start reading, you feel like you have really missed something. The thing is, nothing has been missed; rather than the author starting off slowly and building something up, she just builds the story up right away.

The only other point that irritated me was Patch and what is going on with him. Firstly, name is a little out of place, but, I can easily deal with that, I have seen stranger names than that. Secondly, the similarities between dear Patch and Edward Cullen killed me a little inside. A plea to all authors is develop your own characters, please. However, it was not too terrible, just somethings were too Twilighty.

Overall, a good novel, but not outrageously amazing. i liked it, but anybody who is strongly opposed to paranormal teenagers running around will not enjoy this.

Nora Grey is a normal, teen-aged girl. Average. Unexeptional in most ways.

That was until she met Patch, who is the opposite in every way. The only thing they share in common is that they are now forced bio partners.

And Nora thinks that Path is different. Dangerous, scary even, considering that somebody has been stalking her, and Patch seems to fit the bill.

But when Nora tries to confront him, she finds herself mysteriously drawn to him; in a deadly way.

In a novel that is fast-paced and frightening, Hush, Hush, is a novel for all who love paranormal YA-fiction.

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Published: September 27th 2009

Page Count: 391

ISBN: 1416989412    (isbn13: 9781416989417)

Book Of The Week: Sarah’s Key

 

3½  Stars

Here we are at yet another book of the week. This one was a little different, and as I read it, I could not help but compare it to Mulling Monday #6: The Last Song. Why? Because the story tended to veer off in uncertain directions, only to stumble back onto track. And the chapters were ridiculously short.

But this novel was good. It had many elements that I was familiar with that go with Holocaust novels. There was also elements that made it very well done, and different by all standards.

What I iked about the book was the main character, Julia. I also liked the historical elements. They really added to the novels, and overall, the story was well done. Which leads to the fact that I liked the idea of the story, as well as where it went…in the beginning that is.

What I did not like was the shortness of the chapters (I mean, really. Can one page even be considered a chapter?). I also did not like that names were omitted until the last moment. It seemed like the author was debating names in her head, and when she decided the name, she started writing with it. But until then, she said, the girl said, etc. It got on my nerves. I know that it was the author’s choice, and it was being creative, but I did not like that approach. I also, once again, hated the ending. It was too abrupt, and left  lot to be imagined. But oh well, I can deal with that.

Julia is an American woman who has lived in France for 20 some years, happily married with a darling girl. She is a journalist who loves her job, her life, even though her family is rich and a little snooty. But that all changes when she is given a task by her employer to write about something tragic…something that she will soon find out holds it’s self near her life.

A mysterious family history. A event that an entire country attemps to ignore. This is what went on behind the scenes of the Vel d’hiv roundup during WWII. And the story of the woman who tried to uncover it…only to find skeletons in the closet and a mystery deep as the ocean that seperates her and her home.

Author: Tatiana de Rosnay

Published: September 30th 2008 by St. Martin’s Griffin (first published 2007)

Page Count:293

ISBN: 0312370849    (isbn13: 9780312370848)

 

Book of The Week: Ella Enchanted

3 1/2

Sadly, I did not have the opportunity to read much this week, thus, there is only one option as to the “book of the week scenario”, becuase I am still working on my mission…but you will have to wait for that review, coming up sometime this weekend, I think.

And I do admit that it is a little sad, even though I loved this book as a kid, and I still love it (yes, it is yet another YA novel…oh well.) that I am still stuck on young adult fiction. It is Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted.

 This is a novel that all the girls I knew when I was younger loved the book. And the movie, when it came out, starring Anne Hathaway as Ella.

There are major differences between the book and the movie, however.

But we won’t get into that, other than for me to say that I much preferred the book to the movie, and found that in the movie they took a lot of liberty with the plot. Moving on though…

What I like most about this book is the fact that you can love it, whether you are young or old. It has that fairy-tale quality to it that is reminiscent of  Cinderella. I also really enjoyed the characters, which were true, again to the Cinderella tale. The ugly step-sisters, the evil step-mother, the forbidden prince.It’s all one remix.

What I don’t like about this novel is that is a very light read. You can read it in one sitting, though I suppose that would not matter to ten year old girls sitting down to read it. It’s not necessarily meant for teens my age, but I will get over it. I still love this novel, even if the characters were flat, the writing sometimes awkward, and the plot sometimes slogging.

Overall though, its a good story and a light read.

Ella is not an ordinary girl in the town of Frell. If you told her to lose a race, she would do it. If you told her to do your chores she would do it. If you told her to chop off her own head…she would have to do it.

After all, her gift of obedience won’t let her do anything else.

But will she have to power to overcome her obedience when it matters most? Or will she succumb to the gift that twisted itself into a curse?

In a story that is reminiscent of Cinderella, Ella Enchanted is a read that will fascinate fantasy-lovers of all sorts.

Author: Gail Carson Levine

Published: January 1st 1997 by Scholastic Books

Page Count: 394

ISBN: 0778323420    (isbn13: 9780778323426)

 

Quick Review: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

3.7 Stars.

Let me say that I was obsessed with the musical before I ever read the book(s). I know all the lyrics, all the jokes, one-liners. I know this musical like no other, even some of those that I have preformed in. So I saw the musical before I read the book, so it has greatly influenced my opinion on it…just saying.

I had issues with the book… as so many do. (Ah ha. I have been caught already making Wicked quotes.) The idea is so intriguing, the way it was written was…different. Yes, I know that they changed the musical a lot from the book, and perhaps that is why the two seem like two different stories.

What I liked about the book was just that; the book, the story, the idea that perhaps the Wicked Witch of the West was not wicked. That perhaps she was a real person who struggled with her identity, her love, and the color of her skin.

But,  “just wait a clock tick” (oohh…)

What I did not like was where the book went. Sometimes it was choppy and slow, other times it was confusing and jarring. I also was confused because I did see the musical first, so I had a hard time letting some of the characters be different, and letting them stray off of the well-worn path that I thought was behind-the-scenes Oz.

However, overall, the story is good, the writing is well-done, and the idea commendable.

Ever wonder why the Wicked Witch of the West was wicked? This novel tells the story.  Because, behind the cute story, there is more. Way more.

Elphaba is the witch that everybody loves to hate. Even in Oz. She is difference, green, has magic powers that make her an outsider. Her sister is an invalid. Water must not come near her. Her parents hate her. They call her names like ‘little frog’ and ‘lizard girl’. She has endured much growing up, and continues to fight her way through life.

She wants to get more rights for the Animals, the Munchkinlanders, the people of Oz. It does not mean that everybody agrees with her.

What would you do if you stood out so vividly, when you have something to say?

This novel explores the gaps that were left open in the Witch’s life, and everything in between. We now know the why- and the who.

Author: Gregory Maguire

Published:  December 5th 2000 by Regan Books (first published 1995)

Page Count:  406

ISBN:  0060987103    (isbn13: 9780060987107)