Four Stars

Still on vacation, a friend mentioned this book and I was reminded that I wanted to read it. I’d heard about it a lot (although wasn’t clear on what it was exactly about), and much like the Hunger Games trilogy, I figure if I’m going to end up seeing the movie, maybe I should read the book. I started it at 10AM, and with the exceptions of stopping for lunch and a trip to the pioneer cemetery, I read non-stop until 6PM, when I finished it. It’s good. It’s not my favorite book, and it’s not without issues, but I think it’s a good book.

It’s a little easy to predict what’s going to happen in it (I thought), and some components are super fantastical to the point of absurd, but maybe that is how the world of wish-granting works? Either way, I appreciated the fact that the parents were treated as humans and, more importantly, these young adults were treated as humans. They have complex thoughts and feelings, are forced to be mature without necessarily wanting to be that mature, and have inner lives that aren’t just focused on their CANCER.

I’d be interested in the perspective from kids who have actually gone through the things outlined in this book – is it a realistic portrayal of some of their lives? If it isn’t, it still is an interesting story, with some moments that really resonate. I didn’t finish it thinking “I must change my life forever, and live for the people who can’t,” but I did finish it with the reminder that things are shitty and things are great but most of all, that things ARE and I need to continue experiencing these things even when I just want to curl up in a ball and sleep for days. And while I’m not the target for this book, it certainly is something I needed right about now.

Three Stars

I’m currently in the middle of reading Book 4 of A Song of Ice and Fire, but once again I made the mistake of trying to read it right after finishing the previous book. It just doesn’t work – I need a break. So I asked my friend Jen, who is an author (and the maker of these amazing literature-themed perfumes) and an overall fun woman, for some recommendations. She suggested these YA novels by Gail Carriger.

I’ve heard of but never read any steampunk, but it’s possible that I’m going to become a big fan, assuming this book is a good representation of it. Set in a floating finishing / spy school, this book follows Sophronia as she tries to figure out what’s going on at the school, which is run by an oblivious head mistress and has both a vampire and a werewolf on staff. Is this what steampunk usually is? Because AWESOME.

The book is YA and a pretty quick read; 300 pages took me about two days to get through. At times I was a little taken out of the story because the names of the technology are absurd, and some of the character names sound a bit like ones I would have come up with when I was writing short stories in elementary school. But beyond that, I think the characters are interesting and the setting is pretty cool. The writing is fine, although the plot took a while to develop and then suddenly was done. However, the book is the first in a series, so I think a lot of it was about developing the characters and the background of the school to set the tone for the next book. Which I will be reading, possibly starting tonight.

[Note: This review was written before I started the ‘second’ book and realized that I’d read them out of order. Um, whoops.]