I am a huge fantasy fan. Anything that is fairy tale based is right up my alley. I'm always in for a good retelling.
So today I finished The Sisters Grimm- The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley and i give it a 4.5 out of 5.
Two sisters, Sabrina and Daphne Grimm, who have been pushed through the foster care system for the past year since the disappearance of their parents.Then out of the blue they are given into the care of a grandmother they thought was dead.
What ends up happening is that they realize that they are the blood descendants of Wilhelm Grimm who with his brother wrote fairytales- which were true accounts of what happened. So in this little town of Ferryharbor Landing all the Everafter's (fairy tale creatures/characters) reside and the Grimm's are to keep them in line.
First thing that comes to mind is the T.V show, Grimm, but haha, this book was published in 2005, meaning Buckley had this fun concept long before the screen writers for the show ever did.
For a children's book (target audience 9-12 years old), it's pretty fun. You've got adventure, fun characters and an interesting mystery to solve.
What I like about this book was that Sabrina thinks that all of this from the very beginning is crap. She doesn't just "magically" believe all of it.
I also enjoy the way the lore, legends, myths all play out and work together. The author doesn't tell you which character is which outright, you get to learn and figure it out yourself.
It's a fun concept and I look forward to reading the following books.
My own personal problem with this book was that I wanted to know what happened to Sabrina's parents. We know they aren't dead, but it's one of those questions I like answers to.
Anyway... there you go. Another book that is worth a read if you're in a Grimm fairy tale mood.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Books that give me headaches...
For all you wonderful people out there who don't know me in real life, I am your average book worm. As in if given the choice between going to go see a movie or getting to read a new book, I'll take the book thank you very much.
For reasons unknown to me, a good friend (a.k.a My mother) has told me on multiple occasions to blog about the books I read so here I go. I don't expect people to feel about these novels as I do. We all have different opinions and that's what makes social life exciting. Anyway... back on subject.
So here we go with some books that make my head hurt over the years:
As You Wish by Jackson Pearce. I rate this book at a 3 out of 5.
First two thirds of the book were AMAZING! Just exactly what I was wanting with this story. Two unlikely people falling in love- A jinn and regular girl, Viola. Viola is fun, she knows what she wants in life, but doesn't know what to wish for. Making Jinn's work harder than he would like, but he sees what it's like to be human, and what Viola does to him that his own kind doesn't. It's just a fun ride with the first two wishes.
And then it all goes down hill from there. The story could have had a fabulous ending, seriously. I would have totally loved this book had it not been for the author taking control over events, rather than the characters.
*Spoilers Here*
You've got the first wish, which was a mistake on Viola's part. But she was a big girl and lived with it. Then she saw how her wish effected the girl she was most jealous of, Ollie. And she spends her second wish, making Ollie's life better.
So last wish that could have make this story fabulous would have been Viola granting Jinn's wish- to be human.
But nope. Miss Pearce decided that was too easy of a story and so instead she just had to screw it all up. One key thing that is important about the third wish is that after it's granted, Jinn leaves and Viola's memories of him get wiped. Viola was written to be a smart enough character and a sympathetic enough one to have let Jinn grant his own wish.
What bothered me was that she has to wish that her friend stops acting crazy, thanks to an ifrit who is trying to smooth the wishing process along. Everything goes back to normal, and no one is happy. Even when Jinn becomes and ifrit himself, just so he can be on earth more, it still doesn't fix the problem, not really.
I felt the ending was a sad and cheap way to finish the story. No loose ends are really tied. The whole magic from the first two thirds is just ruined.
This is one of those books that make me want to write my own version, but show that my characters could have come up with a happy solution instead of the author trying to prove a point.
The Returning by Christine Hinwood 1 out of 5
One of those books that have a really interesting world that I want to explore, even though it takes place after a horrible war has ended. What made my head ache with this book was the way the characters told the story. One was homosexual and thus painted the main character in a light I rather wouldn't have liked to picture. Another was a girl who just gave up on life... kinda. And our main character's sister who begins this book, only get's three chapters to tell her story- the last of which was a great disappointment. She is acting completely against what you know and have learned about her from her previous chapters- as if the author thought that she wasn't acting the way she wanted her to so she just found some other character, gave her the same name and situation, and let her act out the way the author wanted.
The Magicians by Lev Grossman 1 out of 5
Magic- check. Interesting story line- missing. If all you care about is the world, than maybe this book would be rated a 3. If you care about the magic system and the complexity of it all, I would give it a 5. But overall mood of the story is depressing. It's like reading Camus' The Stranger set in a magical world. I didn't even make it all the way through this book because my mind began to feel like it was turning to mush.
Since As You Wish was the most recent novel I've read, that's all I've got on my mind, books that make my head hurt. But hopefully the next book I finish will be much better. :)
There you go.
As always, this Krazny is Crazy.
For reasons unknown to me, a good friend (a.k.a My mother) has told me on multiple occasions to blog about the books I read so here I go. I don't expect people to feel about these novels as I do. We all have different opinions and that's what makes social life exciting. Anyway... back on subject.
So here we go with some books that make my head hurt over the years:
As You Wish by Jackson Pearce. I rate this book at a 3 out of 5.
First two thirds of the book were AMAZING! Just exactly what I was wanting with this story. Two unlikely people falling in love- A jinn and regular girl, Viola. Viola is fun, she knows what she wants in life, but doesn't know what to wish for. Making Jinn's work harder than he would like, but he sees what it's like to be human, and what Viola does to him that his own kind doesn't. It's just a fun ride with the first two wishes.
And then it all goes down hill from there. The story could have had a fabulous ending, seriously. I would have totally loved this book had it not been for the author taking control over events, rather than the characters.
*Spoilers Here*
You've got the first wish, which was a mistake on Viola's part. But she was a big girl and lived with it. Then she saw how her wish effected the girl she was most jealous of, Ollie. And she spends her second wish, making Ollie's life better.
So last wish that could have make this story fabulous would have been Viola granting Jinn's wish- to be human.
But nope. Miss Pearce decided that was too easy of a story and so instead she just had to screw it all up. One key thing that is important about the third wish is that after it's granted, Jinn leaves and Viola's memories of him get wiped. Viola was written to be a smart enough character and a sympathetic enough one to have let Jinn grant his own wish.
What bothered me was that she has to wish that her friend stops acting crazy, thanks to an ifrit who is trying to smooth the wishing process along. Everything goes back to normal, and no one is happy. Even when Jinn becomes and ifrit himself, just so he can be on earth more, it still doesn't fix the problem, not really.
I felt the ending was a sad and cheap way to finish the story. No loose ends are really tied. The whole magic from the first two thirds is just ruined.
This is one of those books that make me want to write my own version, but show that my characters could have come up with a happy solution instead of the author trying to prove a point.
The Returning by Christine Hinwood 1 out of 5
One of those books that have a really interesting world that I want to explore, even though it takes place after a horrible war has ended. What made my head ache with this book was the way the characters told the story. One was homosexual and thus painted the main character in a light I rather wouldn't have liked to picture. Another was a girl who just gave up on life... kinda. And our main character's sister who begins this book, only get's three chapters to tell her story- the last of which was a great disappointment. She is acting completely against what you know and have learned about her from her previous chapters- as if the author thought that she wasn't acting the way she wanted her to so she just found some other character, gave her the same name and situation, and let her act out the way the author wanted.
The Magicians by Lev Grossman 1 out of 5
Magic- check. Interesting story line- missing. If all you care about is the world, than maybe this book would be rated a 3. If you care about the magic system and the complexity of it all, I would give it a 5. But overall mood of the story is depressing. It's like reading Camus' The Stranger set in a magical world. I didn't even make it all the way through this book because my mind began to feel like it was turning to mush.
Since As You Wish was the most recent novel I've read, that's all I've got on my mind, books that make my head hurt. But hopefully the next book I finish will be much better. :)
There you go.
As always, this Krazny is Crazy.
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