books and madmen
Jun. 24th, 2010 12:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
impyI've got nothing. Which isn't a bad thing. I'm just tired and feel the need, the absolute need to post something. Why, oh brain? Is it because you had something all ready to be shared with the universe at large and then SCE&G pulled the plug so they could swap out something on our meter?
Or are you just feeling entirely too self important? What, oh what, could it be?
Anyway. I've been reading. Not as much as I was at the beginning of June, but still, a little. I highly recommend Everlost, even if it's apparently the first book in a trilogy. It's a sneaky little thing. The cover tells you that HORROR awaits within, but in reality once you get past the premise (ghosts/Afterlights/death!), there is very little that's actually spooky-spooky going on. One kid, Nick, is stuck for eternity with chocolate smeared on his face because that's how he looked the moment he died. There's another kid called Speedo and I think that alone will tell you whether you'll like the book. I really do give it a big two thumbs up, even if I did take forever in finishing it. (I assure you that's because I did not want it to end and it had nothing else to do with the plot whatsoever.)
As usual, somewhere in May and June I lose my desire to catalog everything I read, and so my goodreads list is incomplete. Granted, it's only missing AG and BSC books, that I'm aware of, but still. It's a slippery slope.
Let us discuss the AG books, specifically Rebecca's as the library finally got the rest of the books in... and I might have read them.
Rebecca and Ana: I get that the books no longer have the same title scheme going on, and this one actually works since Ana arrives in America for this book... but it's totally Rebecca Learns A Lesson. That lesson? Don't be an asshole to your cousin when she's unable to speak perfect English after arriving in the country mere weeks ago.
Candlelight for Rebecca is actually very sweet. What's a Jewish girl to do when her teacher insists upon the class making Christmas decorations and then taking them home? Also, Rebecca learns that cranky people in kid's fiction are usually cranky For A Reason.
Rebecca and the Movies is where my ability to suspend my disbelief is tested. Not only does Rebecca get to visit a movie set (her uncle is an actor), but she gets to be in the movie as the female lead's little sister. Total wish fulfillment and there's nothing wrong with that on its own. But we will revisit this, k?
Rebecca to the Rescue is vexing because it's totally Saves The Damn Day. Bother! *shakes cane and mutters about kids these days on her lawn* Rebecca disobeys a direct order from her family and something bad happens. Then she disobeys them again in order to fix the bad thing. AND the day is SAVEDthanks to the powerpuff girls! thanks to Rebecca. I gotta say, I'd still be up on the top of the ferris wheel screaming my freakin' head off. Heights. Not. Your. Friend.
Changes For Rebecca is an odd one. Rebecca's story kind of... lacks an arc beyond the very, very basic one of a young girl trying to find her way. You can probably talk me over to the side of "Rebecca wants to be an actress" as an arc, but it still feels unfinished when it's all said and done. Ana's father and oldest brother work in one of the factories in NY. They're underpaid, overworked, and unable to break the cycle because no one will hire her uncle despite his impressive talents in carpentry. When a strike breaks out, Rebecca encourages her cousins to disobey their mother and join the protest in solidarity.
They see one of the big names in the movement as she starts to speak before being assaulted and hauled away by the police. Then Rebecca takes the soapbox and begins to speak. The crowd is, for a moment, transfixed by the power of her speech... until someone chucks a rock at her head. But it's okay! Because she gets to make the speech at a picnic where her uncle announces his engagement and Rebecca also comes clean about her movie involvement. (it's 1914 and movie stars haven't achieved their god-powers yet, ya'all.)
The one-two-punch of books 4 and 6, with the heroics of Book 5 (even though there are always heroics in book 5) throw things out of balance. Each character in the line has a moment where you have to just accept things.
Kirsten burns down her freakin' home and miraculously a new house becomes available as does the money to buy it (and the furnishings are included!) and the End is Happily Ever After.
Samantha and Nellie are both formally adopted by Sam's aunt and uncle. Right. Sure. Okay, that could totally happen, right? ...Right? Exactly.
Addy's family is reunited in record time and with minimal damage.
Rebecca? Gets to be in a movie, even if it's before a time when even the monkey trainer gets proper credit. She gets the solo in a school assembly (this turns into a duet of sorts with Ana, but still). She saves Ana's life, or at least climbs a really tall ladder while under the impression that she's saving Ana's life. She speechifies about the evils of factories! She can do anything!
And she suffers horribly from rehash soup. Heyo, immigration! It's like Kirsten's story, but from her cousins' side. (Ana's arrival in America.) Factory hell? Sam did that first. I'm forgetting a couple of things that I could have told you two minutes ago, but that's because I suddenly realized how tired I am. Or I'm getting old and prone to forgetting st...
I dunno. The flip side of this is that she's a sweetheart and for all the Big Things that go on, it's the little stuff that I like and probably would have loved as a kid. When Coney Island sets her up for a fall, she's embarrassed, hurt, and angry at first. THEN she hams it up when she realizes it's the best way to deal with the situation and save face. It's not her first instinct and that's something I get.
I'm curious as to how good the mystery is.
Ivy's in Columbia. This means she's going to be taunting me incredibly early. Eeep!
Or are you just feeling entirely too self important? What, oh what, could it be?
Anyway. I've been reading. Not as much as I was at the beginning of June, but still, a little. I highly recommend Everlost, even if it's apparently the first book in a trilogy. It's a sneaky little thing. The cover tells you that HORROR awaits within, but in reality once you get past the premise (ghosts/Afterlights/death!), there is very little that's actually spooky-spooky going on. One kid, Nick, is stuck for eternity with chocolate smeared on his face because that's how he looked the moment he died. There's another kid called Speedo and I think that alone will tell you whether you'll like the book. I really do give it a big two thumbs up, even if I did take forever in finishing it. (I assure you that's because I did not want it to end and it had nothing else to do with the plot whatsoever.)
As usual, somewhere in May and June I lose my desire to catalog everything I read, and so my goodreads list is incomplete. Granted, it's only missing AG and BSC books, that I'm aware of, but still. It's a slippery slope.
Let us discuss the AG books, specifically Rebecca's as the library finally got the rest of the books in... and I might have read them.
Rebecca and Ana: I get that the books no longer have the same title scheme going on, and this one actually works since Ana arrives in America for this book... but it's totally Rebecca Learns A Lesson. That lesson? Don't be an asshole to your cousin when she's unable to speak perfect English after arriving in the country mere weeks ago.
Candlelight for Rebecca is actually very sweet. What's a Jewish girl to do when her teacher insists upon the class making Christmas decorations and then taking them home? Also, Rebecca learns that cranky people in kid's fiction are usually cranky For A Reason.
Rebecca and the Movies is where my ability to suspend my disbelief is tested. Not only does Rebecca get to visit a movie set (her uncle is an actor), but she gets to be in the movie as the female lead's little sister. Total wish fulfillment and there's nothing wrong with that on its own. But we will revisit this, k?
Rebecca to the Rescue is vexing because it's totally Saves The Damn Day. Bother! *shakes cane and mutters about kids these days on her lawn* Rebecca disobeys a direct order from her family and something bad happens. Then she disobeys them again in order to fix the bad thing. AND the day is SAVED
Changes For Rebecca is an odd one. Rebecca's story kind of... lacks an arc beyond the very, very basic one of a young girl trying to find her way. You can probably talk me over to the side of "Rebecca wants to be an actress" as an arc, but it still feels unfinished when it's all said and done. Ana's father and oldest brother work in one of the factories in NY. They're underpaid, overworked, and unable to break the cycle because no one will hire her uncle despite his impressive talents in carpentry. When a strike breaks out, Rebecca encourages her cousins to disobey their mother and join the protest in solidarity.
They see one of the big names in the movement as she starts to speak before being assaulted and hauled away by the police. Then Rebecca takes the soapbox and begins to speak. The crowd is, for a moment, transfixed by the power of her speech... until someone chucks a rock at her head. But it's okay! Because she gets to make the speech at a picnic where her uncle announces his engagement and Rebecca also comes clean about her movie involvement. (it's 1914 and movie stars haven't achieved their god-powers yet, ya'all.)
The one-two-punch of books 4 and 6, with the heroics of Book 5 (even though there are always heroics in book 5) throw things out of balance. Each character in the line has a moment where you have to just accept things.
Kirsten burns down her freakin' home and miraculously a new house becomes available as does the money to buy it (and the furnishings are included!) and the End is Happily Ever After.
Samantha and Nellie are both formally adopted by Sam's aunt and uncle. Right. Sure. Okay, that could totally happen, right? ...Right? Exactly.
Addy's family is reunited in record time and with minimal damage.
Rebecca? Gets to be in a movie, even if it's before a time when even the monkey trainer gets proper credit. She gets the solo in a school assembly (this turns into a duet of sorts with Ana, but still). She saves Ana's life, or at least climbs a really tall ladder while under the impression that she's saving Ana's life. She speechifies about the evils of factories! She can do anything!
And she suffers horribly from rehash soup. Heyo, immigration! It's like Kirsten's story, but from her cousins' side. (Ana's arrival in America.) Factory hell? Sam did that first. I'm forgetting a couple of things that I could have told you two minutes ago, but that's because I suddenly realized how tired I am. Or I'm getting old and prone to forgetting st...
I dunno. The flip side of this is that she's a sweetheart and for all the Big Things that go on, it's the little stuff that I like and probably would have loved as a kid. When Coney Island sets her up for a fall, she's embarrassed, hurt, and angry at first. THEN she hams it up when she realizes it's the best way to deal with the situation and save face. It's not her first instinct and that's something I get.
I'm curious as to how good the mystery is.
Ivy's in Columbia. This means she's going to be taunting me incredibly early. Eeep!