The Thief

by Megan Whalen Turner

I've finally read The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner! Dani has been recommending this book to me for quite a long time, and I have kept forgetting about it. This week though, I have been stuck inside because of ice and snow and I needed a new book to read. After debating for a while book I would pick, I noticed my copy of The Thief sitting on the shelf just waiting to be read. And so I finally picked it up.

I had a little bit of a hard time with the character named Pol. You see, in The Thief, Pol is a guy, but I've also read a series of books where one of the main characters - a female - is named Polgara, and goes by the nickname Pol. So in The Thief I was constantly having to remind myself that this was NOT Aunt Pol! But that's my problem, not the book's.

I found the story of The Thief to be engrossing, and surprising. I have to admit, that I never even suspected Gen's true identity, nor the connections between other character that were revealed at the end. About 2/3rds of the way through the book I was actually starting to wonder where the story was going. Gen surprised everyone in the story as well as me! I thought it was interesting to have the story from his point of view most of the time, but not to reveal all of what he's thinking or doing to the reader. The reader is then left to try to figure out what's going on on their own along with the other characters - something I was terrible at, but I enjoyed, nonetheless!

Magyk

by Angie Sage

I had really high hopes for this book when I picked it up. I'd seen it in the book store many times, and had been wanting to read it for a while. It's been described as combining the magic of Harry Potter with the cunning characters of Artemis Fowl. I love both of these series and was hoping that this book truely would have a slight flavor of both.

However, I really didn't like it! It started out kind of interesting - with the seventh son of a seventh son pronounced dead soon after birth (but it's always pretty obvious that he's not really dead, but kidnapped) and his parents taken in a baby girl found in the woods. The book then zips forward ten years and we find out who the girl child really is - the princess. Characters are popping in and out (still have no idea what most of the sons' names are), and before you know it they are all on the run to escape the Hunter and the evil wizard. The Hunter is supposed to be this big scary guy with a silver bullet that's going to hunt down the princess until he kills her. But somehow the gang manages to out run him (in a slower boat), and deceive them (with a spell), and reach the fens where they are all of a sudden safe?? The Hunter just goes back in defeat! And then the book comes to a screeching halt. I was left for 100+ pages wondering what the point was now. There was no immenent threat and the characters just seemed to be killing time. I was bored of the book by this point and almost quit reading it. But I have a really hard time stopping a book without finishing it. So I pressed on. It actually did get a little better. But the threats to the kids' safety seemed to come out of nowhere, and the keys to their salvation were even more out of the blue! I realize this is a kids book, but really - couldn't the author think of something a little more inventive than a magical boat appearing out of nowhere in an underground temple, oh, and the boat just happens to be a dragon too! Don't even get me started on the magic ring Boy 412 finds in a dark tunnel! I was just waiting for Golem to come around the corner!

The end of the book redeemed it a little. There was an interesting twist, and we finally found out what happened to Septimus. Still, I'm not sure if it redeemed it enough for me to bother reading the rest of this series.

Breaking Dawn

by Stephenie Meyer

I wrote this review after I read Breaking Dawn for the first time, but my thoughts are pretty much the same after my second reading, so I'm just going to paste it in!

So many people hated this book, but I have to admit - I adored it! Sure it may not be "realistic" but there's a reason the genre is called fantasy. I've read lots of books where people die. And yes, I can understand why an author would choose to do this - to add realism, to point out that victory is not without sacrifice, etc. But it was kinda nice to read a book - a series none the less - where you get to the end and all the characters you love are still kicking! After all, we all know real life can suck enough - I prefer it if the books I read for pleasure didn't have downers for an ending. Bella has to make a lot of difficult choices in the previous books and in Breaking Dawn we see the consequences for these choices. We were all wondering what would happen to Jacob, how Charlie would react to Bella's mysterious disappearance, what Bella would be like as a vampire, if Edward could avoid killing her on their honeymoon, if the Volturi would come for her, etc. I was hoping that Bella would not be like all the other newborn vampires. All along, Stephenie Meyer has made it pretty clear in her books that Bella was not like everyone else - from the very onset when Bella is the only person whose thoughts were hidden from Edward. I was hoping that she would end up not being a crazed newborn like they all assumed she would be, so I was thrilled that that was the way SM wrote it. Not only does Bella come into her new life with her wits about her, but she develops into this really strong character who not only takes charge, but totally saves the day! Yes, the name Renesmee struck me as totally weird when I first read it, but after a while I got used to it. The worst thing about Renesmee was that she was so hard to picture in my head! A baby that looks like a baby but doesn't act like one....it'll be interesting what they do with that if they ever try to make this book into a movie. And then there's Jacob and Charlie. After thinking that surely these two would be cut out of Bella's life, SM finds a way to bring them back in. I was shocked when I read the part where Jacob imprints on Renesmee - I remember running upstairs to where my friend Dani was (she was about 100 pages ahead of me) and yelling out something like "He imprints on the BABY?!?!" - but I wasn't really grossed out by this - SM had gone to some lengths to explain in Eclipse that it wasn't a romantic kind of love when the girl was so young, just a need to see that she is safe and happy. And I was doubly relieved that Charlie could still see Bella, and that he was finally able to know just enough so he could know his granddaughter. So yes, Breaking Dawn does wrap everything up at the end in a nice pretty bow, but I liked it that way. Bella gets everything she wanted, and everything she thought she couldn't have anymore. Lots of readers have said that this makes it too fake or cheapens it, but if we were Bella, wouldn't that be exactly how we'd want things to turn out? Real life isn't always so peachy - but books can be, so I'm thankful to Stephenie Meyer for giving us a better happy ending then I thought was possible. I enjoyed it.

Eclipse

by Stephenie Meyer

Eclipse, Eclipse, what to say about Eclipse?

So many great things happen in Eclipse - Bella's and Edward's compromise, Victoria's final apperance, Bella finally thinks about what it will mean if she becomes a vampire, we hear the stories of Rosalie and Jasper, Edward has a jealous moment but is smart enough to stop telling Bella what to do, the werewolves and vampires work together, etc.

Favorite parts: Edward's reaction when Bella agrees to marry him, when Edward talks to Jacob in the tent, and anything with Alice!

First time I read thisI was dying to get my hands on Breaking Dawn and I only had to wait a few months. Second time, I jumped right from it into Breaking Dawn. I believe both times I read it in about 24 hours. Which is quite something when you consider it's 600+ pages. Completely absorbing, every time! Stephenie Meyer knows how to suck you in!

New Moon

by Stephenie Meyer

Ack, I am seven books behind on this blog!

So after re-reading Twilight, I immediately started my second time through New Moon. Now while I still believe that there is just something magical about the first time you read a book that can only be experience that one time - the suspense, the wondering, the tension as you hope that the author you've put your trust in will finish their story in the way you hope - some books are better even better the second time. New Moon is one of those. The first time I read New Moon I spent most of the book wondering when in the world Edward was coming back! I remember stopping and flipping page after page looking for Edward's name, and despairing at how far I had to flip to find it! The pages in between I read as fast as I could.

This time, I was much more calm. I knew what was going to happen, and when Edward was going to come back (and even, the eventual end to the whole saga) so I was able to chill out. I enjoyed Jacob's part of the story more, as well as pay closer attention to the specifics of the werewolf pack that I'd missed the first time.

I was also careful to read the Italy parts more carefully this time around. I had forgotten the names, positions and talents of many of the Volturi - which was frustrating while reading Breaking Dawn the first time and not remembering them!

Still my least favorite of the Twilight series, but considerably better the second time. Now, onto Eclipse!

Twilight

by Stephenie Meyer

A couple weekends ago I was pretty excited to go see the Twilight movie in the theater. For those who have been hiding under a rock, Twilight the movie is based on Twilight the book by Stephenie Meyer. It's the first entry in a wildly popular 4-book series. I read the series for the first time this summer - the first 3 in June (each in less than 24 hours), and the fourth on August 2nd (the day of it's release) after getting it at a midnight release party at around 1am and reading without stopping or sleeping for pretty much the entire day. So needless to say these books are engrossing! But this post is about Twilight - both the book and the movie, because after seeing the movie (twice) I felt compelled to re-read the book. This time I even allowed myself 2 days to finish it! I'm actually in the middle of another book, but I found that the movie of Twilight does have some familiar side effects - something Dani and I refer to as "Twilight stupor" - basically you find yourself walking about through your day not really focusing on real-life, but instead day-dreaming about vampires, werewolves, and soggy forests. It is most troublesome! Previously I have tried to cure myself of this disorder by shelving my Twilight books and not letting myself look at them again for at least a week. However, that just did not seem like fun at all, and since I have this entire week off from work for Thanksgiving, I decided to try to cure myself by simply allowing the stupor to spread and re-read all the books! And now I begin my blog:

Twilight remains on my list of all time favorite books. However, whenever I try to explain the plot and it's appeal to someone, it always comes out sounding really hokey. And I guess you could say it is, in a way. But there is something about the way that it's written that grabs your attention and won't let you go until the final page is turned (and by final page, I mean the final page of the 4th book!) We love Bella because she's caring, selfless, and just a little bit feisty. And we love Edward because he fights for the people he loves, he always knows what to say, and he struggles to do what's right. Edward's vampire family is diverse and interesting, and the romance that runs through the books is sweet and endearing.

Now we come to the movie. You can probably figure out that I liked the movie simply by the fact that I saw it twice on opening weekend. Is it as good as the book? No. I don't think that any movie can be as good as the book. The book is always better. Always. I can think of no exception. But I did think the movie was very, very good and that they stayed very true to the book. They didn't add anything completely out there, or take anything away that was essential to the book. That said, however, there were a few items from the book that were not in the movie that I missed. Maybe some will show up in deleted or extended scenes when the DVD comes out.

Let's see...first thing was Bella cooking for her dad - instead they ate at a diner. Not a terrible change, but I did missing seeing that nurturing aspect of Bella's character played out on screen.

Second, the blood typing scene. I suppose again, that this wasn't essential to the plot, but I missed seeing the interaction between a smitten Edward, a jealous Mike, and at whoozy Bella! (dare I hope for a deleted scene?!)

Third, no where in the movie did they mention Jasper's gift! I'm hoping for this in the sequels.

Fourth, the Cullen's weren't at prom! This was one of the bigger disappointments - I was so looking forward to seeing Alice's and Rosalie's outrageous dresses!

There were also a few other minor things I missed, such as Edward staying with Bella after the car accident, there was no mention of Edward "dazzling" people, and there was no racing heart monitor in the hospital.

However, there were some changes or additions found in the movie that I DID like. Such as, Bella talking to her mom more on the phone, Bella's friends having slightly more filled-out personalities, the fight scene in the end being all flashy and such, and that they had the prom at a pretty location instead of just in the high school gym.

Biggest gripe: Edward seeming so creepy weird when he had to save Bella at the ballet studio. In the book he seemed very calm and in control of himself, but in the movie he was a little crazed. Didn't like that much, but that was my biggest complaint. All in all, a pretty decent effort!

Seeing Redd

by Frank Beddor

This book took me a long time to finish! After getting to the end of The Hunger Games I started a whole bunch of projects and Seeing Redd progressed slowly. It also went slowly because it just wasn't as interesting as I'd hoped!

This is the second book in Frank Beddor's The Looking Glass Wars trilogy. I liked the first book - thought it was unique and interesting. I was looking forward to the second one and seeing what happened with Redd and the The Cat as well as the relationship between Dodge and Alyss. I was disappointed on both accounts.

First off, Redd and The Cat appear on Earth in a very odd way. I found myself more perplexed by it than interested. And the situation with Dodge and Alyss was just FRUSTRATING! Yes, I know, this isn't a romance book, but still, authors should not tease me so! Do not drop such heavy-handed hints in the first book for a romance between two characters and then not deliver! I was about half-way through the book before Dodge and Alyss so much as have a conversation. And then there's one chapter where I finally think the author's going to let us know that yes, they still like each other, and right when things are starting to get good a bunch of other characters barge into the room and interrupt!

I felt that the whole book was bogged down by too many plot lines running at once and narrative's constant hopping between them, as well as much too much detail on AD-52s, razor cards, glass eyes, chessmen, card soldiers and various other weapons and fighters. The novelty of these started to wear off and I found myself thinking, "Oh my gosh, I don't CARE about what kind of weapon he's using and who he's battling! Get to the point!" Then, things are finally starting to get going in one direction with the stories converging on each other and all that good stuff, and I turned the page - and that's the end!! The end?! I mean, I knew there would be one more book but it was just so abrupt!

That being said, I really didn't hate it as much as it sounds, I just didn't love it. And I will read the next book simply because I MUST find out what happens!

I think perhaps this book suffered in my opinion of it partially because it had to follow The Hunger Games. Poor thing.