The Zen Leaf

The Girl Who Could Fly, by Victoria Forester

Posted on November 7, 2010 by Thistle

I ended up enjoying this one more than expected! It was a cute story, with a lot of good messages in it, and Dr. Hellion’s character kept me guessing the whole time. I don’t have much to say about this one except that I really liked how it started and flowed, and I wonder if there is going to be a sequel because J’s character was never explained (though I have a pretty good guess who he is). I also like how the author didn’t take the easy way out with Dr. Hellion, whose story-end was very complicated and interesting. I can’t wait until my boys read this one and we can discuss it together! And yes, I know, this is a pathetic review, even for a mini review… How’s this for showing how I really felt? If there’s a sequel, I will definitely be reading it, and you guys know I’m not normally one for sequels!

Posted in 2010, Children's, Prose | Tagged mini-review, speculative | Leave a comment

Protected: The Transformation of Things, by Jillian Cantor

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Thistle

Posted in 2010, Adult, Prose | Tagged speculative | Enter your password to view comments.

The Eternal Ones, by Kirstin Miller

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Thistle

I’ve read far too many books about reincarnation lately, so I expected to preview this one and quickly remove it from my TBR. Instead, I ended up reading the entire thing in a single sitting. It was really, really well done. It still wasn’t the story I was looking for in reincarnation books, but it didn’t follow the same pattern as every other one I’ve read. It was different and unique, and extremely well-written.

I loved the aspect of dealing with the uber-religious Tennessee mountain town, where Haven (the main character) is persecuted for having fainting fits (devil possession) and her best friend Beau is persecuted for being gay. This added a whole new dimension to the book that was wonderful. I loved all the religious undertones, even if I thought some of them were a bit crazy and reminded me of some of the things I’d experienced in my own life. The only thing that took away from the book for me was how naive Haven was. All the characters were so well written so that it was obvious who were the good guys and bad guys. Nothing surprised me. But Haven – she never knew who to trust, which got on my nerves. Some of the things that she felt were betrayals were so transparent I wanted to smack her. Especially when she was being protected when she thought she was being betrayed. But that was a minor thing, and for the most part I wholly enjoyed this one!!

Posted in 2010, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged speculative | Leave a comment

The Girl Next Door, by Selene Castrovilla

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Thistle

Sam and Jess have been best friends since they were toddlers. Now that they’re seventeen and Jess has terminal cancer, they must come to terms with each other, their friendship, and their love.

I have to say, this is the hardest review I’ve written in a really long time because I’m very conflicted by this book. On one hand, it was well done, but on the other, I had a hard time connecting with it.

Rather than trying to get around this review, I’m just going to tell you guys what did work for me and what didn’t, because The Girl Next Door is the sort of book that I know others will like even if I didn’t. The things that bothered me were personal preferences only, and the book itself wasn’t bad. I didn’t dislike it – I just didn’t get along with it. I really loved the premise, and the beginning of the book was fantastic. I loved that the way these two long-time friends handled their relationship together. I liked Sam’s mom a lot, especially the way she handled Sam’s five-year-old brother who constantly wore his mother’s dresses, shoes, and makeup. I liked the direct, realistic way that the characters handled sex. I felt like the relationship between the two main characters made a lot of sense, and they acted a lot like teenagers, in more ways than one.

I liked that fact. I liked that they acted like teenagers…but this is where the crux lies. I didn’t like the way they acted. It wasn’t the sex. Honestly, teenagers having sex doesn’t bother me. It happens, and these two were months from being 18 anyway. They were smart about it, and used protection, and they were honest. That part was good. What bothered me was threefold. First, teen speak. While the author used it well, I still can’t stand “teen speak” in books in general. Second, while it’s completely realistic that once two teens start having sex, they tend to have it far more often than necessary, I felt like there was too much focus on sex in the second half of the book, especially at inappropriate times emotionally. Third, teen emotions can be extremely volatile, especially in such a stressful situation like this, and I found the narrator (Sam) to be over the top whiny and angsty.

Now obviously, a teen reading this book – since that’s the intended audience – might completely relate to those three things, but I personally couldn’t. I completely understand Castrovilla shaping the narrative so that it was fractured and disjointed, in first person, so that it simulated the roller coaster you would be on if your best friend and love of your life was dying, but I wanted the book to slow down and give me a chance to feel. I, as an adult, don’t rotate feelings as quick as I did 15 years ago, so I felt disconnected from the narrative in a way a teen reader probably wouldn’t. Honestly, I really do think that’s what this boils down to – I’m probably just too old to really understand Sam, who was telling this story.

Back in middle school, I read a book that was similar to this one in concept, called Sheila’s Dying. I remember being very effected by it, and I can see exactly how this book might give those same emotions to a teen reader. Like I said above, it’s very hard to write this review, because I’m so conflicted. It’s not a badly written book, but I personally just couldn’t connect to it. That’s the worst type of feeling when reading a book, I think. I’d rather a reading fall into the very definite category of good or bad, or even just meh, rather than this feeling of “yes I can see, but no, I can’t feel.” That’s rough.

Posted in 2010, Prose, Young Adult | Leave a comment

The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran (audio)

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Thistle

The Prophet is Lebanese classic poetry. You guys all know how difficult poetry is for me! However, I decided to try it out anyway.

My first surprise was realizing that this was originally written in English and not in Arabic as I thought. Translated poetry is even more difficult for me to read, so this was a pleasant surprise. My second surprise was that it was not a collection of poetry, but one long poem, so that it’s almost like an epic poem or a novel in verse. This is also far easier to read!

I read the first part, just a couple pages, and then decided to check if my library had an audio version. I had a feeling that I would understand the book better – that I’d be able to hear the cant and rhythm better – if it was spoken aloud. I’m glad I checked, and I’m very happy that of the two copies in my library system, one was right down the street at my branch! Yay! Talk about great luck! As soon as the library opened, I went down and got the audiobook!

The Prophet essentially takes place in three segments, thought they aren’t equal segments. In the beginning, you learn of a man named Almustafa leaving a fictional city (Orphalese) that could exist in any country and in any time period. The people of the city come to say goodbye. The man wishes to give them something, but has nothing to give, so they ask him questions and he responds with wisdom. These questions and responses make up the second section, and in the last, the man gives a final speech in preparation for leaving.

The book was very interesting because it is filled with spiritual advice, but not religious advice. There is no one specific dogma, and the words can be used to bolster nearly any religion, including those like secular humanism or agnosticism. They speak of a divine god, but not of a specific God. They advocate respect, understanding, humility, balance, fairness, mercy, compassion, hard work, learning, and a good sense of self. In some ways, there were parts that read almost like a self-help book, but there was more wisdom to it than that, so that it didn’t feel silly like a self-help book might.

For someone like me, who struggles with faith vs spirituality, this was a wonderful book to read. I admit, I preferred the middle section, where with each question there was at least one quotable passage in the answer! The beginning and ending weren’t as good to me, but I adored that middle, which was the largest section. I’m also infinitely grateful for having the audio version, because like with most poetry, I don’t think I would have gotten anywhere near as much out of it if I’d read it directly. Perhaps I should try all my poetry this way!!

As for the performance, the narrator on this version of the audio is Paul Sparer. He is clear and precise, not too fast or too slow, and my only issue with the audio is that he sounded a bit like he was falling into mystical-preacher mode when reading. I imagine that with poetry, particularly spiritually-based poetry, it might be hard not to do that. I mean, much of the book read a lot like a sermon. Once I got used to his rhythm, I didn’t even notice it anymore. There were also some “Middle Eastern sounding” musical interludes which struck me as kind of silly, but I find most musical transitions pretty silly. No big deal. It’s a short audiobook – the unabridged version is less than 1.5 hrs long – so it was easy to fit into my afternoon.

Posted in 2010, Adult, Poetry | Tagged audio, classics | 3 Comments

Armadale, by Wilkie Collins

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Thistle

A 900-page tome like this is difficult to sum up, but I will try my best. First, we have the story of the Allan Armadales. Four of them – two fathers locked in a bitter rivalry, and their two sons. Both fathers are dead either before the story starts or within the prologue, and of the sons, one has assumed the name of Ozias Midwinter, so thankfully having four Allan Armadales is never at all confusing! The main person referred to by that name throughout the bulk of the text is the son who hasn’t given himself an assumed name. Second, we have the story of Lydia Gwilt, a woman brought up to a life of crime and who feels like she is owed something from Allan Armadale due to a “service” she provided his mother in her youth. She gets mixed up with both Armadale and Midwinter, and carries the thrust of the last three quarters of the book.

I absolutely adored this book…for the first quarter. I love the prologue, I loved the backstory of the Armadales’ rivalry and the way the two younger Armadales accidentally meet. I especially adored Midwinter’s character. He has suffered so much due to his father’s sins, led a vagabond life, and yet he is still honorable and intelligent and patient and caring. He feels trapped when he finds out what happened between his and Allan’s fathers, and holds in that secret so that Allan will never have to think of his mother badly (her dying wish). He struggles with a conflict of fate versus free will. Can he overcome his father’s sins, or is he destined to hurt his best friend if he stays close? It was a fantastic setup and something I was really interested in seeing explored.

Once Lydia entered the book and took it over, however, it was downhill from there. Lydia comes from the same sort of life as Midwinter. She was brought up among criminals and never had a chance for real education or parental love. Yet, she takes to the life of crime with a relish and behaves like a criminal her whole life. Even when she has chances to go straight, she’d rather stay crooked. She also faces the question of fate versus free will, but sadly in a way that was nowhere near as interesting as Midwinter’s conflict. Once she was in the book, everything about it became unbelievable and unrealistic. Compared to a criminal like Count Fosco from The Woman in White, Lydia seems like a bratty little kid who couldn’t put a mischievous plot together if her life depended on it! Why she got away with things was the big mystery for me!

Here was my big problem with Lydia – she’s completely, ridiculously stupid, and yet everyone around her acts like she’s the most clever, witty, intelligent creature to ever walk the face of the planet. All her schemes are completely transparent, as well as her acting, her dishonesty, and her aims. Anyone – any real person, anyway – would see right through her. And yet, for some unknown reason, every single character in this book, except the lawyer, trusts her implicitly – for no reason at all, and despite all evidence to the contrary! The lawyer has the real measure of her, of course, and is completely exasperated as one by one every character falls under her spell. It made me want to smack them all! When Lydia turns up, they all suddenly have the naivety of a three year old! I could expect that from someone like Armadale, because he really is a naive, simple, trusting sort of person. But Midwinter? The Major? Bashwood? Really?? Sorry, I don’t buy it. Not to mention it’s completely insulting that the reason most of these people believe her is because she’s pretty. Ugh.

It also didn’t help that Lydia was a completely selfish and self-absorbed person, and her entire being was a web of lies. She was dishonest, manipulative, and in no way ever tries to redeem herself. Not even her ending was redemptive in my mind. In some ways, in some parts of the book, she called to mind Eustacia Vye from Return of the Native, who I said I both disliked and loved, because I understood her need to try a few steps down each path to see what was to her best advantage. It’s manipulative, but understandable. Eustacia, though, had redemptive qualities, and while she was selfish and self-absorbed, she was not vengeful and conniving, which is the biggest difference between her and Lydia. It made all the difference in the world to me. While Return of the Native has been one of my favorite books of the year, this one has been one of the worst.

If Collins had continued to explore his fate vs free will theme through the medium of Armadale and Midwinter’s unlikely friendship, I would have loved this book. The change of focus, unfortunately, did me in. Because I read this on my Kindle, I didn’t realize that it was a 900-page book. I plowed through the last 75% of the book in two days, wanting it to be over the entire time. I skimmed the horribly long sections of Lydia’s diary and tried to be patient for when other characters came in charge of the narration again.

Interestingly, after finishing Bleak House, I could see Dickens’ influence here in Armadale. The characters weren’t stereotypes (thank goodness), but they weren’t as fully fleshed out as they were in The Women in White (my favorite Collins). There was far less psychology than I wanted, and much more sensationalism and silly plot manipulation (amazing coincidences, last minute saves, deus ex machina, etc.). It’s unsurprising that these Dickensian elements were unpleasant for me, especially after just coming off Bleak House. I will admit, though, that as far as 900-page tomes go, this one was far easier and more fun to read. I’d choose it over Dickens any day.

I can’t say I’m looking forward to reading any more from Wilkie Collins. I’d wanted to read No Name, but from what I read of Lydia and what my husband told me of the narrator in No Name, I now think I’d hate it and disbelieve everything in that book too. So I’m probably done with Collins, and leave The Woman in White as the one book by him I love.

Strange note, though – all three Collins books I’ve read, I’ve read on my Kindle…and I rarely read anything on the Kindle! How’s that for coincidence?

Note: I wouldn’t take my opinion on Armadale too seriously. From looking at other reviews, it seems most people feel the complete opposite as me, that the beginning was slow and then it became a wonderful thriller with a fascinating criminal mastermind in Lydia, whereas I thought the beginning was fantastic and Lydia was an idiotic twit who killed the book.

Posted in 2010, Adult, Prose | Tagged classics | Leave a comment

Gregor and the Code of Claw, by Suzanne Collins

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Thistle

My feelings on this book started very mixed. Just like with the last book, there was too much recap. I knew the last prophecy had to come into play, but I’m really kind of tired of prophecies (more on that in a minute). There was also just too much fighting. I knew there would be – this book is about war – but I was sort of dismayed that this little boy who had been so peaceful in the beginning had been turned into a soldier, a warrior, and a killing machine when he needed to be. I understand exactly why this was necessary, but still, the hopelessness of the whole thing was a real downer. Especially since he could have just killed the Bane back in book 2 and not so many people/creatures would have been killed in the long-run, even if there WAS war. There was also what I felt was an unnecessary romance between Gregor and Luxa. While I’m not at all surprised that these two twelve year olds got crushes on each other, the way they handled themselves was far more adult-like than it should have been. I had a difficult time believing it. Lastly, I got irritated having to sort out coded messages myself, though I’m sure my son got a kick out of that part.

On the other hand, the second half of the book really made up for the first half. I found myself stirred to getting teary-eyed a couple times. Not everyone we loved escaped. Even though Gregor’s family is reunited, other families are not so lucky, and even Gregor’s family is not unscathed. Gregor himself has this conflicted identity, not really fitting in above or below ground, something heavy for a young boy to live with the rest of his life. He’s plagued by nightmares and loss, as well as horror of the things he’s done, even if those things were necessary. There is hope at the end, but no real resolution. Also, I love that Ripred finally comes out and says he thinks the prophecies are complete nonsense (which is how I’ve progressively felt throughout the books). Then of course there was Ripred’s relationship with Lizzie, which I found more touching than probably anything else in the whole series.

I do feel like even though this is the final installment, I can see more books coming from this world. We don’t really know if the temporary truce will hold, or what Gregor will choose to do with himself. We never got an explanation for Hazard being a Halflander (I personally wonder if Mrs. Cormaci’s daughter is his mother). There is so much more that can be built on, either on Gregor’s side or in the Underlander world. It makes my imagination go into overdrive, which is lovely! I can’t say this is my favorite series ever, but overall I really enjoyed it.

Book 1: Gregor the Overlander
Book 2: Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane
Book 3: Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods
Book 4: Gregor and the Marks of Secret

Posted in 2010, Children's, Prose | Tagged speculative | Leave a comment

Gregor and the Marks of Secret, by Suzanne Collins

Posted on October 23, 2010 by Thistle

This is the first book in the series that I admit to not liking as much as the others. Too much of it was spent recapping the first three books, and the plot was very haphazard. While there’s not an obvious prophecy, prophecies are involved, and that’s really getting old by now. Also, the whole “marks of secret” thing is sort of cheesy, just in the name. I don’t mind the other archaic-language uses, but this one’s pushing it a little too far. Plus, it all ends up being like a boogey man sort of thing.

On the good side, though, there was one part of this book that addressed the power of words and communication, which I really liked. Words can start a war, build a following, or bring peace to a situation. Learning how to speak each others’ languages and understand each other can help put an end to fighting and bring about friendships and alliances. That was good. Most of the book played on the same themes as the previous ones, so I don’t have much to add this time. In any case, I’m hoping the next one is better because this one faltered just a bit.

On a bizarre note – the copy my son has (a paperback) is really messed up. It’s like the copyeditor was drunk or something…there were words missing/misspelled, lines with all the letters shoved together with no spaces between them, and paragraphs that ended in the middle of a line and picked up after the next indent. It was really weird. There were errors every couple pages. I wonder if the hardback is like that too, or if this was just a cheap replication and that’s why it was so shoddy??

Book 1: Gregor the Overlander
Book 2: Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane
Book 3: Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods

Posted in 2010, Children's, Prose | Tagged speculative | 1 Comment

The Fortunes of Indigo Skye, by Deb Caletti

Posted on October 21, 2010 by Thistle

Indigo Skye works as a waitress in Seattle. Her family is poor but fun, and Indigo loves the life she’s in right now. But then things change. A customer she barely knows from the restaurant where she works leaves her a tip. For 2.5 million dollars.

The setup for this book sounds almost too typical – poor girl receives a huge amount of money unexpectedly and of course that means everything’s going to change. She will undoubtedly go through the same things that every book or movie on this topic covers. There will be mass spending or hoarding. There will be identity issues. There will be problems with people who want to use you for your money. And so on. The formula is fairly set. This book, however, was Deb Caletti’s, and I have high respect for Ms. Caletti’s writing. Nothing is ever simple or formulaic about her books, so I went in knowing that something about Fortunes would be different. Near the end of the book, Indigo has the following to say which really sums things up for me:

This is not just a simple story of Money can’t buy happiness. Or maybe that’s just what it is. And if it is, why shouldn’t it be? Because if this is something we are already supposed to know, then why don’t we know it? Why do we chase and scrabble and fight for things to flaunt, why? Why do we reach for power over other people, and through the thin superiority of our possessions, believe we have it? Why do we let money make people bigger, and allow those without it to be made smaller? How did we lose the truth in the frantic, tribal drumbeat of more, more, more?

Once again, I was very impressed by Caletti. The story is simple here, but the people within it are not. I loved Indigo’s family, which in many ways reminded me of my own childhood – not enough money, living with a divorced mother, all crammed into a small, rented house, crazy pets that everyone loves despite their craziness and cost, even a crazy speaking bird that reminds me of the cockatoo that I grew up with (and my mom still has)! This is what Caletti does so well. She makes her characters human. Real. Complex and unheroic. They’re just people, full to brim with their own quirkiness.

I also love that this is not just the story of a teenager coming into a lot of money. It’s many peoples’ story. The best thing about Caletti’s work to me is that it straddles that line between YA and Adult, dealing with older teens (17-19 years old) and also with the other people around them. Fortunes is as much Indigo’s mother’s story, or Indigo’s father’s story, or the story of the man who gave her the 2.5 million dollars. It’s the story of rich middle-aged men and women all trying to prove they belong in the crowd. It’s the story of people who feel trapped by their circumstances and weighed down by the mundane. It’s the story of an image versus the reality of that image.

What would you do if you suddenly had 2.5 million dollars to spend? I’m sure we all have some grand ideas, as well as some selfish ones, but if those dreams became reality, would you stick to that plan? I loved this quote from the book:

We think a lot about not having. When we don’t have and we think about not having, it’s called dreaming. When we do have and think about not having, it’s called greed.

Just one of many revelations that Indigo has throughout her process of shifting from her old life to her new one. How many of us would stick to those old dreams, and how many of us would create new ones? Bigger ones? It was really interesting to see the shift (for better or for worse) that each of the characters made when touched by this sudden fortune.

The Fortunes of Indigo Skye got me thinking about a lot of things. It’s not my favorite of the Caletti books I’ve read, but that’s only because the other two were both so powerful, they would have been hard to top. Still, I was impressed, and Caletti continues as one of my favorite modern authors.

Posted in 2010, Prose, Young Adult | Leave a comment

Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods, by Suzanne Collins

Posted on October 20, 2010 by Thistle

The third book in the series is happily just as wonderful as the ones that came before it! We are still meeting new creatures and learning more about the Underland (I’d love to have a map!). This time, it was Cutters and Hissers and Nibblers (giant ants, lizards, and mice) that we meet. We also find out a lot more about the royal family.

Most of this book, though, focuses on war tactics and the ethics of biological warfare. How far is too far when it comes to your enemies? Who are really the worse race in this war, the rats or the humans? Just like in the Hunger Games trilogy, there’s a lot of exploration on the effects of war and fighting on people, especially youth. I wonder, as time goes by, if by the end the characters will be wasted and torn apart inside the same way they were in Mockingjay.

Collins is so good at that realism and I’m very happy to see some of that seeping in, even amongst all these fantastical creatures. She really does an excellent job bringing up real world issues in a beautifully crafted fantasy land. My only quibble so far with the series is that after three books, I’m sort of tired of the Prophecy-Brings-Gregor-to-the-Underland setup. I hope there’s something new in the next book. There’s hope for something new, from what happens in this book, so I’m crossing my fingers!

Book 1: Gregor the Overlander
Book 2: Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane

Posted in 2010, Children's, Prose | Tagged speculative | 2 Comments