All posts for the month January, 2012

The Scorpio Races Book Review

Some race to win. Others race to survive.

-Amazon Book Description

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Alright so Stiefvater. Her last series was death. The first book I had lukewarm feelings for. The second was worse. I never bothered to finish the series.

It follows that I would have been more than a little skeptical of this new book then. I’m not sure what it was that pushed me to try it because by all means I should have walked away. Anyways, here’s what I found.

The Scorpio Races is about two characters, a girl and a boy. The chapters are told in first person, switching between Puck (the girl) and Sean (the boy). Puck is a plucky orphan who lives with her older and younger brother in a house on a small island called Thisby.

Thisby’s economic backbone seems to come from these races they host called the Scorpio Races. The races are extremely dangerous because the creatures they ride are not normal horses, but volatile beasts that come from the Scorpio Sea. They’re monstrous and wild and see humans as a nice snack. Once caught, they also want to return to the ocean more than anything, and if you can’t control them while you’re riding, you will drown.

Sean is the current champion and he’s a bit of a horse whisperer. He understands them and would rather be with horses than humans. Sean’s got a special water horse named Corr. Corr isn’t just the fastest water horse ever, but he’s basically the reason for Sean’s existence. Sean is also an orphan, like Puck.

When Puck’s brother randomly announces that he’s moving to the mainland, she decides to enter the races in a desperate attempt to make him stay. But no girl has ever raced before. And Puck’s not even going to race on a water horse besides.

The whole story basically revolves around these races and it’s all setup to the day of. The concept kind of reminded me of the movie Hidalgo (which was good) but less action. I mean, you would not believe the amount of talking these characters can do. This book was long.

As far as characters go, Puck and Sean might as well have been one person. Both points of view were first person, and if it hadn’t said at the beginning of the chapter who was narrating, then I would’ve never known. I get that they have to be a little similar— they both like horses, they both have serious issues at stake in the races, etc, etc—but their voices were the same.

Which was weird. Because Puck is brave and obviously more rash and impulsive, while Sean is a man of few words and slow actions. Yet when I was reading their sides of the story, both characters kept a slow narration of everything that happened. They spoke the same way. Thought the same way. I mean, at that point, why even bother splitting the narration?

The writing for both parts was extremely descriptive and Stiefvater kept doing this really irritating thing where— and I think this was here trying to make Puck unique—something would be happening with Puck and all of a sudden, she’d break off on a random tangent and take ages to get back to the point. Like, Puck was chatting with people and then she starts going on to me about how she envies their accent and blah blah blah. And all I could think of was what’s the point in this? And also, on such a small island, wouldn’t she have the same accent?

Stiefvater also another irritating habit. Which was general description of stuff. She was incredibly vague where it mattered, and overly detailed when it didn’t. For instance, the time period and location of this story is unclear to me. I suspect Thisby is a sort of like Ireland and I thought the story was taking place in a early 1900 setting, or 1950s. But like I said, it’s really not clear. It could’ve been present day. I mean, maybe she’s creating a whole new world. Maybe it supposed to be set in this one. It just wasn’t clear. And I would’ve liked it to be.

But when it came to describing her every action and how the house looked at that exact moment— then I could’ve done without it.

Something that was really upsetting for me was the lack of side characters. I mean, they were there, but they were clichéd, or boring, or too vague for me to really start caring about. The only people whose names I even remember from this are Puck and Sean. I know it’s their story, but the supporting cast could’ve been stronger.

Yet at the same time, I do believe Stiefvater did a good job with using the side characters to work with the main characters motives. For instance, the town bully, while being everything you’d expect, did things that changed the story in ways I didn’t understand. So in characterization, she was bland, but their actions were strong.

While we’re talking about actions I’d like to mention the fact that Puck’s brother gave no legitimate reason for deserting his family. The way he brought it up, it wasn’t like leaving because we need money and I’m going to find work. It was leaving because I hate this island and I don’t love young enough to stay. It made the older brother seem totally rotten and while his departure was a strong motive to have Puck enter the race, in and of itself it was flimsy.

The pacing of this story was slow, but I guess it made sense since it was all build of for the big day. This was also a bit of a good thing because it gave Puck and Sean time to get to know each other and develop their romance. I liked that their romance was second place to their own personal dramas and the overall plot. It was woven in nicely. But it was also something you expected from page one. Rather than being refreshing, it was more like, okay I can check this off my list of things I knew would happen.

The ending was surprisingly and solid. I was pleased when I finished this book and I certainly didn’t feel like I had wasted my time which is a very, very good thing.

However, I must say that the absolute best part of this story were the water horses. They were amazing. I loved how perfectly they were imagined and then put in the story. There are so many stupid cheesy ways it could’ve been done (read: paranormal romance) but having them as wild, untamable beasts that are raced during the time when they return to the sea most made the whole concept of this story adventurous, despite the fact that there wasn’t tons of action. The creatures were so well conceived. I was scared of them, and in awe of them, and entranced because I’d never heard of water horses before. It was fantastic. And the way all the characters reacted to them— that was a great element to the story, and I think it brought out more of Sean and Puck than their inner-mind theatres ever did.

In all, this book was fun. Boys and girls would enjoy it— I did. Because if Stiefvater isn’t describing things, she’s not a bad writer. This book was far better than her other series. Most of that I think comes from the power of being something unique. Not a dystopia, not a paranormal romance. Something different, and in a good way.

And I’m just going to go out and say it– I think this book would actually make a really good movie. And I don’t say that often. But there you go.

Ri’s Rating:

QQQ.5/QQQQQ
3.5/5


0. Couldn’t get past chapter one for fear of wanting to kill myself. Book induced suicide…

1: Yuck. Ew. Below Average. Probably didn’t even read the middle and skipped to the end.

2. Ok. Would’ve been better if I’d written the ending and everything else.

3. Not bad at all. Very enjoyable. Quite nice. Recommendable.

4. My kind of book. Near ideal, but something was a little off (annoying names, bad ending, that sort of thing).

5. WOW. Makes me wonder why people watch T.V when this is out there. Really liked it. Don’t expect to see this often.

6 and above. What I want my book to be.

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by Ri on January 22, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Ri on January 22, 2012

http://thespottedmushroom.com/2012/01/22/the-scorpio-races-book-review/

The Space Between Book Review

I’ve seen the picture many times before, but now it bothers me and I sit looking up at it, looking up at Dark Dreadful, and the vengeful face of Azrael. Like something is getting closer and I just don’t see it yet.

-pg 12

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

Daphne, the daughter of Lucifer and Lilith, has spent her entire life in Pandemonium, a city in Hell. She has everything she wants, and yet finds her life lacking any kind of color. Her demon sisters spend their days tempting young men and her brother, Obie, is a collector of souls. One day, Obie—Lilith’s child from Adam—announces to her that he is going to live on earth because, of all things, he has fallen in love. With a half human girl who understands his half human lifestyle. So he’s leaving Hell, which is unheard of. And also dangerous.

Daphne begs him not to go. He goes anyways. And is immediately struck by misfortune. The moment he goes missing, Daphne decides to go after him. Partially on her mother’s request, but mostly because he’s the only person in Hell, besides Beelzebub (one of her father’s high ranked workers that oversees Obie’s job) that she likes.

So Daphne sets off, even though Beelzebub warned her not to. She starts with the last person she had seen Obie with— a boy called Truman. Truman had, a year ago, made a trip down to hell because he tried to kill himself. He came down the day Obie was leaving (a moment for Obie and Daphne is a year for poor Truman) and Beelzebub sent him back up for a second chance at life at what Daphne’s thinks is a favor for her. So Truman departs with Obie, and then Obie goes missing, making Truman the last person to have seen him.

So Truman and Daphne embark on a search for Obie and the results are wonderfully shocking.

I really need to say this— I love Yovanoff’s writing. She’s seriously skilled. One of those people that has the ability to weave a tale together with the perfect choice of words and phrasing. All of her characters— Daphne, her sisters, Truman— came to life and they feel so real to me.

She alternates narration with Daphne as the main focus in first person, and  Truman’s point of view told on third person. This was a perfect balance. It kept Daphne focal, but Truman’s story was touching and needed to be told and explored separately. Normally, I wouldn’t like this because the switching of perspectives, etc, etc. But because she went from first person narration to third, it was easy to discern who the narrator of the chapter was, which made it easy to follow and very enjoyable. Also, I think she chose the perfect narrator for each chapter. The voice always suited the scene.

And yes, Daphne and Truman had different voices because they had different problems. Daphne was half demon (Lilith) and half angel (Lucifer, the rebel angel cast out of Heaven). She wanted to find her brother, please her mother, explore earth, and eventually love Truman. She struggled against her demon instinct that made her want to be like her man-lovin’ sisters who were selfish (but they were just demons after all). She was demure and innocent in so many ways, but found her ground and her power.

Truman— well, we know what his problem was. After his mother died, he was depressed. He tried to kill himself. He visited Hell, and was sent back. He’s struggled with alcohol and his sadness for a year. When he reunited with Daphne, it’s not easy for him. He’s accepting of what she is because, well, he’d seen it with his own eyes. But he isn’t ready to jump on the Obie Search Wagon right off the bat because he doesn’t know Daphne. It takes time for his relationship with her to develop. And during that time, he and Daphne truly became memorable characters.

And I think that’s part of what makes Yovanoff’s writing so good. She creates these flawed characters that are resolutely human in emotions if not race, and she makes you get so attached to them. Just by experiencing their stories. No cheap gimmicks, glittering skin, sympathetic. I loved the characters because of who they were, and how they faced their flaws.

I might as well just say it here too— the romance in this book was perfect. The book isn’t a romance— it’s a story that just happens to have romance in it, and a story where love does wonderful things.

Another part of Yovanoff’s brilliance is the way she creates a world. So after I read this book, I Wikipediaed everything about Heaven and God and Lilith and Lucifer and the War of Heaven and I have to say— that’s some sweet source material. Like, it’s really, really, interesting and the characters are already fascinating. But the way Yovanoff evolves them and uses them makes them more approachable and there, in the room with you.

For instance, there’s the archangel Azrael, the angel of death. His job is to kill the demons. Normally, that’d seem like a good thing. But when your main character is a demon girl who’s rightly terrified of Azreal’s power (and his monster, Dark Dreadful), it casts him in a different light. Yet Yovanoff doesn’t try to force out sympathetic feelings for Daphne’s kind. After all, they’re sort of wicked. But it made the story different. And her characterization of Azrael had me turning on lights in the scenes where he appeared because I was scared too.

This is an incredibly long review, and I’m still not done. Wow.

So beside the simple depth that Yovanoff weaves into her story, there’s also this wonderful thing called pacing where everything happens at just the right time and the story never felt boring or slow or rushed or whatever. It just flowed and the characters took over and played their roles and I was completely engrossed.

The ending came in slowly and it shocked me. Without giving anything away, I’ll state that my one critique for this book was that that way Lucifer punishes the traitor seemed— over the top? Sure he had betrayed him to work with Azrael, but death for one of your oldest comrades? Then again, it’s the devil we’re talking about. So maybe harsh is just his deal.

But as for twists and turns and unexpectedness and originality in the ending? A+ job. It was all very believable and worked within the context of the story.

To end this, I’ll just say that this was a refreshing piece of literature. I’ve been snowed in and reading a lot, and there have been ups and downs, but this book really stood out to me. It’s not a literary classic, but it’s such a good story, I would say it’s even worthy buying. It takes some classic religion and does wonderful, unexpected things with it, and it completely blows any other angel-quasi-religious stuff out of the water (including that Hush Hush series. Pales in comparison). Simply put, it’s a perfect example of a very good book.

Ri’s Rating:

QQQQ/QQQQQ
4/5


0. Couldn’t get past chapter one for fear of wanting to kill myself. Book induced suicide…

1: Yuck. Ew. Below Average. Probably didn’t even read the middle and skipped to the end.

2. Ok. Would’ve been better if I’d written the ending and everything else.

3. Not bad at all. Very enjoyable. Quite nice. Recommendable.

4. My kind of book. Near ideal, but something was a little off (annoying names, bad ending, that sort of thing).

5. WOW. Makes me wonder why people watch T.V when this is out there. Really liked it. Don’t expect to see this often.

6 and above. What I want my book to be.

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by Ri on January 21, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Ri on January 21, 2012

http://thespottedmushroom.com/2012/01/21/the-space-between-book-review/

Crossed Book Review

“Cassia,” someone else says, a voice I know.
And then I look up, and I don’t believe what I see.
He’s here.
-Nook Sample

Crossed by Ally Condie

Right now I’m listening to Florence + the Machine and it’s certainly altering the rugged feelings I had for this book. Condie’s sequel picks up right where Matched left off. Cassia had just sorted Ky as one of the people who will be sent into the dangerous outter lands beyond the safe cities of the Society. Regreting her decision, and now seeing it as a wrong one, she goes after him. As she searches, she picks up a new friends, a girl named Indie.  Ky, whose own voice is now added as a first person narrator, also gathers some new pals that join him in his escape from the desert-like lands that Cassia accidentally sent him. Together, these two young lovers cross the land, looking for each other, and end up finding a lot more.

Like a resistance movement.

Okay, so I knew that was coming. Dystopian trilogies are so obvious. You know the first book is the realization that something is wrong. The second starts the rebellion. Ever single one I’ve read so far is like this. What ever happened to innovation?

Anyways, the resistance is so fantastically normal that I actually cared very little about it. It’s exactly what I expected it to be, which is slightly militant (borderline the exact Society it’s trying to bring down) and underground. As it wasn’t anything new, I was bored by Cassia’s insistance that she find it once she was reuinted with Ky. Because I know how that’s going to end; she’s going to join and the Society will die and someone (maybe Indie) will become the new leader, etc, etc.

I always knew this story was heading in that direction, but I definitely hoped it wouldn’t. I was thinking a takedown from the inside. Ky and Cassia’s romance builds. Their families discover it. They fear for their lives because of a few well-positioned governmental threats. A public declaration of undying love between Ky and Cassia leads to their capture and possibly Cassia’s public execution, which would be the spark of a revolution. Ky is freed from jail, spreads propoganda from the days of old Democracy and the Society collapses at the hands of the people, instead of a small group that thinks it’s doing what’s best. And during that entire time, nobody set foot outside the city.

Because honestly, it makes no sense that Cassia just escaped like that. And found Ky again. And that both parites were able to steal friends as well. All of that– without the Society caring.

Riddle me this: how does a system so advanced lack the ability to find escapees? Why don’t they care that there are so many people on the loose? Do they just assume that the outterlands are too dangerous to survive in, or that by taking the actually poisonous pills (citizens are led to believe they’ll sustain you) everyone who runs away will die?It’s clearly not working. There’s a huge rebellion growing. Are they unaware of this too?

Besides all these questions, the other unfortunate thing about having your characters play a main role in a large resistance movement is that the resistance itself has to be very well thought out. This one wasn’t. It’s more legend than reality for the majority of the book; and when it becomes real, it’s described in very vauge terms. And it’s much, much larger than I expected. Again, how does something this massive escape Society eyes?

Rebellion aside, the rest of this book did not need to exist. I loved the first, Matched. I thought it was different and quite interesting. The society wasn’t revolving on an axis of romance (like Delirium, or Bumped) and the people guninuely seemed happy to me, which made Cassia fascinating to read about as she discovered on her own why she didn’t like her world. It was like the Hunger Game’s told from the Captiol’s point of view.

But in this second book, Cassia and Ky stumble around in the wild, find each other, and then the resistance. And the plot advances not at all. This entire book could have been two or three chapters at the begining of the third one, or the end of the first.

Not to mention Cassia goes from a certain and likeable young woman to just another girl that starts question her romantic deceision. Seriously, guys. Can we end this once and for all? Love triangles are not interesting when everybody does it. It just makes the girls seems flimsy and indecisive and mostly distracts from a greater storyling.

As far as character growth, and introduction of the new characters, I’d call it all very average. The strength of Condie’s tale is in the simple writing of an unusual relationship between Ky and Cassia. The new people almost seem to get in the way and aren’t particularly interesting.

I’m ragging a lot on this book, but I feel like I have a right. I read it. Every page. And when I was done, the characters were exactly where they started; Cassia going back to the Society and Ky heading out into the wild. There was no action, no adventure. Some mild romantic growth. Nothing worth reading for. Just a lot of walking. So while the writing was readable, the plot was just not worth it.

I’m upset, alright? I had some high hopes for this. It hasn’t come to the point where I’m thinking of abandoing the series. But I’m definitely going into the next one much more skeptical of the quality.

Ri’s Rating:

QQ.5/QQQQQ
2.5/5


0. Couldn’t get past chapter one for fear of wanting to kill myself. Book induced suicide…

1: Yuck. Ew. Below Average. Probably didn’t even read the middle and skipped to the end.

2. Ok. Would’ve been better if I’d written the ending and everything else.

3. Not bad at all. Very enjoyable. Quite nice. Recommendable.

4. My kind of book. Near ideal, but something was a little off (annoying names, bad ending, that sort of thing).

5. WOW. Makes me wonder why people watch T.V when this is out there. Really liked it. Don’t expect to see this often.

6 and above. What I want my book to be.

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by Ri on January 10, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Ri on January 10, 2012

http://thespottedmushroom.com/2012/01/10/crossed-book-review/

The Near Witch Book Review

If the wind calls at night,

You must not listen,

The wind is lonely,

And always looking

For company.

-front flap 

The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

Well. I’m writing this on a Mac. I hate Macs. But I hate the idea of getting my computer more. So we’ll roll with this.

Lexi is a young girl, living with her mother and sister in a small village on the Moor called Near. In Near, there are no strangers. Yet one blustery night, a mysterious boy appears with the wind and is gone as quickly as Lexi spies him. When children start disappearing, the boy comes under suspicion. After all, there are no strangers in Near. Lexi hunts the boy down and he insists he’s innocent and implores her to help him. Lexi, understanding that something darker and deeper is at work on the moor, joins forces with the boy to protect him from the outraged townsfolk.

This book starts with a chilling bedtime story– that of the Moor Witch and the wind– which is sort of like the excerpt I posted. The story is told by Lexi, the first person narrator of the book, and her words are lyrical and haunting. I started this book at night and Lexi’s tale of the Moor Witch had me closing the windows and curling up deeper under my covers.

After Lexi tells the story (it’s a bedtime story for her younger sister), she looks out the window and sees a boy. But before she can really look at him though, he disappears with the wind. Spooky.

The story progresses, as I’ve described, with the children vanishing and the boy under suspicion and it’s all very well written. The language was simple, but it tingled, like cold fingers running up your spine. The plot itself was very engaging; a quiet little mystery, that captures you through the characters involved.

The book was relatively short, but I thought that I got a good look at everyone in the tale, except for maybe Lexi. She’s a little typical– a lot like Katniss, and as a first person narrator she really only narrates, without giving much of her own opinion or thoughts. I wouldn’t call this a bad thing necessarily because the story she does tell us is probably more interesting than her waxing poetic about the mysterious boy.

Speaking of, you could probably guess that this book was going to have a little romance in it. I mean, boys that disappear with the wind are my favorite kind of boys. How could you not love them? (Actually, the town has little trouble despising him, so maybe it’s just me. And Lexi.) The love story was not overwhelming, nor did it distract from the main plot. In fact, it is sort of what set things in motion. It was sweet and nothing happened randomly (no unnecessary arguments or love triangles) and it tied itself off nicely at the end of the story.

The end of the overall plot was well paced and it made since within the context of the story; however, say this was made into a film– in that case, it would probably seem a little weak.

I just realized what this book reminds me of– A Miyazaki movie. Have you seen them? Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke? All very, very, very good films. Typical of Miyazaki movies are strong female leads and a story that doesn’t try to define good and evil, but focuses on the how different types of people react to the same situation. That’s what this book was. Quiet, and fantasy based, yet realistic because of the people in it.

This is probably one of my shorter reviews…certainly a lot shorter than the ones I posted earlier. But, I don’t really have much criticism for this book. It was exactly the right length, and while it’s kind of a one-time read, I would definitely suggest it. It won’t take up much time (or space; the book is small) and I think it would be a rather enjoyable way to spend the evening.

Ri’s Rating:

QQQ/QQQQQ
3/5


0. Couldn’t get past chapter one for fear of wanting to kill myself. Book induced suicide…

1: Yuck. Ew. Below Average. Probably didn’t even read the middle and skipped to the end.

2. Ok. Would’ve been better if I’d written the ending and everything else.

3. Not bad at all. Very enjoyable. Quite nice. Recommendable.

4. My kind of book. Near ideal, but something was a little off (annoying names, bad ending, that sort of thing).

5. WOW. Makes me wonder why people watch T.V when this is out there. Really liked it. Don’t expect to see this often.

6 and above. What I want my book to be.

2 Comments
by Ri on January 5, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Ri on January 5, 2012

http://thespottedmushroom.com/2012/01/05/the-near-witch-book-review/

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