October Push

So it's suddenly the middle of October and I have so much to get done. First, I have classes, particularly my history class to deal with. Lots of reading for that one. Right now I'm looking for online journal sources (Mainly Jstor) as well as some primary sources. Ugh! Loads of work. Second I am reading several books simultaneously as usual. I'm getting through them slower than usual due to all the research for history class as well as, let's be honest, the new TV season. Yes there are quite a few shows I can't leave alone this fall, so it does hurt the reading roll I've been on all summer. Thirdly, NaNoWriMo is almost HERE!! One November 1st. I have GOT to get organized because this year...I want to win! For real. Yes. Win. Okay wish me luck and I'll keep in touch. By the way, that book I read about the Burgermeister's Daughter? Yeah, it was pretty academic. I mean, it was fine but could have been way more entertaining.
Ciao

Review: The Burgermeister's Daughter: Scandal in a Sixteenth-Century German Town

The Burgermeister's Daughter: Scandal in a Sixteenth-Century German Town by Steven E. Ozment

My rating: 0 of 5 stars



I have to read this book in 3 days, preferably in 2 days as the I have to write a book review on it for my renaissance focused, history class. I'll update you on here as well, once I have finished it.



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Ingenue

     For those of you who pay attention, you may remember me swooning over the YA novel Vixen, by Jillian Larkin. Well I'm ready to get out my long pearls and cigarette holder once more because Ingenue, which is the follow-up to Vixen is now available everywhere books are sold as well as at your local libraries.
     I really can't wait to dive back into the 1920's again and see what trouble these little chick-a-dee's are going to find this time around. Gloria was in the hottest mess around at the end of Vixen so I'm excited. I'll let you know if Ingenue turns out as good as the first book in The Flappers series. Happy Reading!
   

Screnzy Revisited

Hello all! September has just arrived and with it lots of scholastic academia. To keep myself from becoming overwhelmed by assignments assigned, I pulled out my trusty unfinished screenplay from April's Script Frenzy and have been reviewing it. I am shocked  and delighted to report it was better than I remembered. I don't even know where all those words came from! I am furthermore encouraged to revisit the idea of this script and complete it. For my own reading pleasure if for no other reason. Sometimes you just have to get the creativity...the art...out. Stay creative!
~k

I just noticed...

It's funny how much easier it is to write about things you don't like than it is to write about things you do like ...or LOVE even. I was just comparing my last 2 book reviews. I am stingy with the stars though. most of mine fall between 2 & 4 stars **** ha ha!

Review: Delirium

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This book started off promising because I really enjoy the dystopia that Lauren Oliver has created, but it was only okay. The idea that love is an illness that humans have created a vaccine or cure for was pretty original and interesting. All of the chapter intros are well ingrained in the fantasy future and the Book of SHHH is a very cool idea. Oliver is also a very good writer with a gift for unexpected imagery. Some of the descriptive passages are breathtaking. Most of the story's problems lie with the book's female protagonist. Our heroine Lena Holloway is very typical and run of the mill, and boring...I understand using relatable characters, but this girl felt like a stock character of "teen girl"...a composite of all of the other dystopian teen heroines that are now crowding the YA market.

She's a good girl (of course) very obedient who follows all the rules, she doesn't think she's pretty, she has one or more missing parents, she likes a forbidden boy (in this book Alex Sheathes)who changes everything she believes about the world, she can't control her feelings, she's scared, she's clumsy, she needs to be rescued...She's one big fat huge cliche of a character. And after having her hand basically held throughout the entire story and after said boy tells her his perspective and shows her his world, after she's ready to throw away EVERYTHING she knows to adapt HIS viewpoints, wholeheartedly and unquestioningly, then SHE feels EMPOWERED and STRONG, and I have no idea why.

Essentially she trades one set of ideas for another, and never seems to come to any of them herself. I feel like this novel just underscores the idea that a normal girl is living in a fog of obedience until some hot young guy comes along and shows her a new way to think. This character had no real growth and her passions were very PG rated for a nearly 18 year old girl. Even if she was choosing to move slowly with her newfound passions, I think she would struggle with them a bit more.

All the supporting characters were there like an afterthought, except her best friend Hana Tate who I would have preferred as the main protagonist. Please write a story about the pretty confident girl who may or may not be quite as brave...or just didn't meet her eye-opening prince yet, who actively seeks to think for herself, even if she's not sure if she's ready to act on it or not. Tacking on the concept of sacrifice as the ultimate expression of love is not enough to save this. Plus there are some dangling loose ends which are not wrapped up, nor are they sufficiently enticing to warrant a sequel.

Anyway...if you love Dystopia and are interested in well-developed female protagonists, check out Divergent by Veronica Roth or Matched by Ally Condie...and of course The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Delirium has lots of potential but is ultimately unsatisfying.



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Review: Vixen

Vixen by Jillian Larkin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This was definitely one of my favorite YA books, from the stacks I've been reading all year. It's set in 1920s Chicago, which (with bootleggers, flappers, mobsters & jazz) is always a fascinating era, and follows the hijinks  and passionate exploits of 3 very different, yet interconnected, young women. It's full of glamour and danger and tough decisions between love and duty, and finding a way to be true to yourself and survive. I really appreciate all the attention to detail that author Jillian Larkin put into the story, from using authentic slang of the era, to the exquisite fashion descriptions and popular culture references. There must have been hours and hours of really fun research. I can hardly wait until August for the next book in the planned series.



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