Stardust

Back again! I am on a roll with the blogging. I am making up for my blog slacking-ness I'm telling you. Anyways, I am reviewing a book that I finished reading a little while ago because I had actually already seen the movie and was curious how the two compared. I tend to do this a lot. If I have seen the movie, I'll want to read the book and vice versa. Usually it's the other way around but anyways, without further ado Stardust by Neil Gaiman.

Characters: Tristran Thorn: hopelessly in love with Victoria Forester/goes hunting for a falling star/is not entirely human
Yvaine: actually a fallen star/is very annoyed that Tristran has captured her/wants desperately to return back to the sky
The Witch-Queen: one of three extremely powerful witches/hunts Yvaine in order to harness her power/wishes to become young again
Lord Septimus: wishes to become the next ruler of Stormhold/has killed off most of his brothers/is the one who gets closest to becoming the next king

The Plot: Tristran Thorn is becoming desperate. He has tried everything to win the attentions of Victoria Forester (not a major character but has an important role in the beginning) but to no avail. Then one night as he walks Victoria home, Tristran watches a star fall from the sky. Victoria tells Tristran that if he brings her the star that she will marry him. Tristran travels across the Wall (Tristran lives in a town where there is a "Wall" and once you cross this "Wall" you enter a wrold of magic and faeries) in his village and into the strange land beyond where unbeknownst to him, he was born years earlier. When he manages to locate the star, to his surprise the fallen star isn't a rock: its a human. A human with quite a temper. Annoyed that she has been captured by the likes of Tristran Thorn, Yvaine attempts to escape Tristran's clutches. However, danger lurks at every turn as one of the oldest witch-queens in the land across the Wall pursues them relentlessly, in the hopes of capturing Yvaine and using her to create eternal youth. Also, Lord Septimus wants to find the amulet of Stormhold, which will make him King, even if that involves killing anyone who gets in his way.

What I liked: It is such a cute premise for a story. I thought it was really original how Tristran goes looking for a fallen star to give to his "sweetheart" Victoria. I use the word "sweetheart" in quotes here because Victoria merely tolerates Tristran's presence. But I thought the overall setup of the novel was cute and all of the characters had distinctive personalities that made the book a quick, entertaining read.

What I didn't like: I think I made the mistake of viewing the book and the movie out of order. Honestly, I liked the movie so much better that I had a hard time enjoying Stardust. Now, I am not one of those people that instantly likes the books better or instantly likes the movies better. Harry Potter? Awesome movies and books but books are still better sorry Warner Brothers. The Lightning Thief and Inkheart? No comparison. Sherlock Holmes? Stories are literary genius and while I love the movie, falls short of the book. Twilight? Both awful, and I enjoy torturing myself with watching the movies when they come out. The point is that I am not one of those people who gets freaked out about preserving the artistic integrity of a book. I think that you need to change a story to make it your own because you can never live up to the original words that people fell in love with. That being said, you cannot drift too far or you will alienate your viewing group. But I felt like the Stardust movie took a book that had potential, and turned it into something that was far better than what was originally written. Stardust (movie version) had so much more humor from the secretly gay ship captain, to the hilarious ghosts commentating on their brothers' deaths, there were so many other cute moments that I feel like Gaiman could have reached. All the elements were in place, the ghosts were present and the ship captain, I just felt...sad I guess that those little details weren't there because that is why I fell in love with the story. But I can forgive Neil Gaiman for that. I cannot forgive him for the ending. The witch-queen just decided that she was going to give up hunting Yvaine. Really? That is not only 1. completely out of character and 2. builds you up to this climax that doesn't really exist. You feel almost like you missed some crucial chapter, and just skipped to the feel-good wrap up at the end. Also, Tristran doesn't really choose Yvaine at the end. Victoria tells Tristran she loves someone else and that she'll marry him but she really doesn't want to, and Tristran wises up and decides not to marry her. He doesn't realize she manipulated him and used him and had no intention of being with him until she tells him. "Oh uh well I guess I'll just marry Yvaine then uh cause I'm afraid of being alone." says Tristran. (Not really but that's what I imagine him saying). Seriously, such an awful ending that I wanted to tell Neil Gaiman to just watch the movie and get ideas for how to fix it.

Overall: 4 out of 10. Missed a lot of attempts for humor and a terrible ending bring this score down but the cute premise and somewhat lovable characters save this book.

Cleopatra's Daughter

Hey everyone! Didn't think I'd be back did you? Ah ye of little faith. I have arrived and I am reviewing a book that I just finished reading yesterday. I figured since it's fresh in my mind why not go ahead and do it? Well here we go: this is my review on Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran, (kudos to my mom by the way she's the one that spotted this one)

Characters: Kleopatra Selene: daughter of Cleopatra and Marc Antony/the last of the Ptolemies/moves to Rome to stay with the Roman emperor Octavian's family
Alexander Helios: son of Cleopatra and Marc Anthony/twin of Selene/spends most of his time trying to prevent Selene from doing something drastic
Julia: daughter of Octavian/engaged three times since she was two/has been forbidden to ever see her mother again
Marcellus: a potential heir to Rome/currently betrothed to Julia/has a bit of a gambling problem
Juba and Agrippa: two of Octavian's most trusted allies/live in the family compound with Octavian and his sister Octavia/both very sympathetic towards the slaves
Octavia: sister of Octavian/hates her brother's wife Livia/loves to do charity work

The Plot: Kleopatra Selene, Alexander Helios and Ptolemy are the future kings and queens of Egypt. All of that changes when their father, Marc Antony loses his final battle and commits suicide as Octavian, Antony's rival for power in Rome, sweeps into Egypt and takes the throne from Marc Antony and his wife, the famous Cleopatra. As they are taken captive, Cleopatra commits suicide and Selene, Alexander and Ptolemy are to accompany Octavian back to Rome. But along the way, Ptolemy dies and Selene cannot help but wonder how much longer she and her twin Alexander, the last of the Ptolemies, will survive. They arrive on the shores of Rome and find a land that is so unlike their own Selene instantly contemplates running away. But her fear of this new land and her hope that she may one day return to Egypt prevents her reckless escape with her brother. Terrified that Octavian may decide that they are no longer useful at any point, Selene is desperate to prove her worth while not losing the part of her that will not comply with Octavian's will. As slave rebellions rock Rome, Selene is forced to question everything she knows and how far she is willing to go to return home.

What I liked: Okay so I really really REALLY like historical fiction. Sorry, I know it's kind of nerdy and all, but as I have said before I wouldn't be doing this blog if I wasn't a nerd. Just for the sake of clarity, I guess I should tell you why I like historical fiction. I like historical fiction because it captures the essence of a time and takes you to a place that has actually existed. It gives you a taste of what really happened during a particular time, and it gives you a sense of what life was like. It also breathes life into these people that you read about in your history textbooks and they each get a life of their own. I am a major history geek and I want to focus on ancient history, so this was a really awesome book for me to read. Also, I have been OBSESSED with Ancient Egypt for as long as I can remember. I love reading about Ancient Egypt and the mummies and the pyramids and how the pharaohs built these incredible monuments, some of which still hasn't been discovered. Ancient Rome is also a favorite period of mine too. But back to Cleopatra's Daughter now that I have brought my tangent back home - I thought all of the characters were extremely well developed which I found very surprising. I would have thought that because it was a historical novel, that Moran would be limited by the characters and the fact that we don't really know all that much about these people. I was caught off guard though, and pleasantly though. Selene, who had this personality which was very aware of the social injustices of her time, was so close to her brother and had such care for him. I found this very endearing because most of the sibling relationships in the novel were dysfunctional at best. And the fact that she loves architecture made her more real. Also, Alexander, the boy who loves to gamble, ride horses, and yet has a secret that he has hidden for almost anyone. No, I'm not going to tell you what it is (but by the way, I totally called it). I thought all of the events that Moran included shaped the novel beautifully. By having the children required to attend the trials of "criminals" (I put it in quotes for reasons that become clear if you read the book) you got a very accurate, penetrating description into Roman life. I thought that was truly special.

What I didn't like: *MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS.THIS WILL RUIN THE REST OF THE BOOK. IF YOU DON"T WANT IT TO BE RUINED, PROCEED TO SPOILER FREE ZONE* I thought Juba's romance with Selene was rather sudden. Don't get me wrong, I liked Juba the best because I thought Marcellus was an idiot. But all of a sudden, Selene who has been moping the whole novel over Marcellus (yes she was moping-it was pathetic because not only was he engaged but it was to her best friend) and then she suddenly realizes how awesome Juba is. All very very sudden. *SPOILER FREE ZONE* Also, there is a scene that Moran had to include but it made me actually kind of sick. One of Julia's old friends is pregnant and giving birth to a child with an old man that she is married to. He is about sixty and she's about thirteen. When he sees its a girl, he tells the maid to take the child "to the dump". It was in the middle of winter. It was awful. But then Octavian, the ruler who killed Selene's parents, has killed slaves without even caring, says that he wants to leave the old man's house. The old man says something to the effect of that it's too cold and that he should stay. Then Octavian says "I'm sure your daughter would have liked to stay the night as well. When you shiver, remember how cold it is in the dump." OH SNAP. But I had a really hard time stomaching the fact that girls younger than me were married to guys older than my dad and were already pregnant. They had no control over their lives and could be married as many times as their male relatives decided. Sometimes, I am really glad I didn't live in Ancient Rome.

Overall: 8 out of 10. While I really liked it, I found that Selene's random romance with Juba was too quick and kind of took away from the ending of the book.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Hey everyone! Well, it is the first time that I have written a blog in months but I have been so busy with school that I just couldn't find the time. But my goal *fingers crossed* is to try and blog actively over the winter break. To start it off, I am going to review a book that I just finished reading for AP English - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

Characters: Huckleberry Finn: part of Tom Sawyer's "kidnappers" and "murderers" group/ escapee from his father's clutches/friend to Jim
Jim: Huck's guardian's slave/escapes slavery after he hears he will be sold/is very superstitious.
The Duke and the King: two con-artists that Huck and Jim rescue/are truly evil/come up with various schemes to get money and harm people
Tom Sawyer: Huck's friend/is the most "well-read" of anyone Huck knows/thinks that everything can be turned into some sort of epic adventure.

The Plot: Huckleberry Finn has barely recovered from his adventures with Tom Sawyer when more danger arrives in the form of his father. His father, hearing of the money Huck got after he found Injun Joe's treasure, comes to find Huck in order to take his money. Huck is currently living with the Widow and he hates it. But when his father takes him from the Widow, Huck finds his life going from bad to worse. Huck fakes his death in order to escape his father and "sivilization" and decides to live on an island for the rest of his life. Imagine his surprise when one of the Widow's slaves, Jim, appears on the same island. Having heard that the Widow was going to sell him "down the river" Jim escapes and hopes to run away to freedom. When Huck and Jim are close to being discovered on their island, they build a raft and head down river towards the dangerous Deep South. The farther they go, Huck's rebellious spirit makes him question slavery and whether or not turning Jim in is something that he should do.

What I liked: I honestly loved this story. I think part of the reason that I loved this book so much is because I loved Huck Finn. Huck Finn was the type of narrator that any good book should have. Brutally honest, clever but with an affinity for breaking the law, and a good heart, you instantly love him. Huck has this habit of telling people what they want to hear in order to better his situation by playing off what they tell him, and twisting it so they instantly believe them. For example, at one point Huck has locked a bunch of murderers and robbers in a steamboat but feels bad because he thinks they will drown as the boat sinks. He then proceeds to tell the boatman about the boat, but the boatman says his boss won't let him leave his post. So Huck simply tells him that its his boss's family on the boat. Simple cleverness like that makes him a lovable character. The fact is though, Mark Twain chose a good narrator when he picked a young boy. If you have read "To Kill a Mockingbird", its kind of the same situation with the narrator as Scout (a young girl). By having a young child as the narrator, they are able to question society differently because they are so young and haven't accepted the social prejudices of their society. My favorite part of the book is when Huck decides early on that he doesn't want to go to heaven because the Widow's sister Miss Watson says that she is going there. Just this point blank honesty makes Huck a powerful narrator. At one point, Huck can see these men coming down the river and he swims to them to ask for directions. Huck has to decide if he will turn Jim in, even though he has been taught that God approves of slavery. He is sitting there and decides that "well, I'm going to hell then," and decides to not turn in Jim. This young boy has already accepted his fate and is not ready to change what he believes in order to compromise himself. What I thought was really interesting is that a lot of people think that Mark Twain was a racist and that this is a racist book. Personally, I just really couldn't understand that. It seemed so obvious to me that this book was about a struggle between what Huck knew was right and what society was telling him that I just couldn't understand why people think the book was racist. If I had to guess it was probably because the book had the n-word in it. I don't know that just seems ridiculous. Twain wrote a book that was true to the times and preserved the historical accuracies of the time. For me, this made the book more real: I love books that take a historical time period and put fictional characters in it in order to criticize or comment about that society. It makes the book come alive. If you didn't have the n-word, it would be like hiding a part of that society. Twain wasn't a racist, just a man commenting on society. If you want to see more of Mark Twain's satire in "Huckleberry Finn" check out this link: http://www.goatview.com/may21juliamoore.htm.

What I didn't like: Tom Sawyer is a jerk! Sorry but there really isn't a nice word for how he acts. *MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK* Jim ends up being captured and being held as a fugitive slave in Tom's Aunt's house. Tom and Huck decide to free him, but Tom thinks that Huck's plan is too sensible. He comes up with this elaborate scheme that delays Jim's rescue for several months and almost gets all three of them killed, and Jim doesn't even get rescued. Tom even withholds the information that Jim was free all along just so he can play his little game with Jim. While I understand that Twain did this in order to show how Tom hasn't changed while Huck has, I still hated this part.

Overall: 10 out of 10. An American classic that doesn't deserve the bad rap it gets.