Stardust is one of my favorite movies of all time and every time I’m asked why, I never seem to have a very good answer. “Because I like it” is usually my retort of choice. I know it isn’t a reasonable answer and I realize the vagueness defeats the purpose of the inquirer’s intent, but I really cannot seem to put into words why I enjoy the movie so much. It’s fantasy. It’s adventure. It’s Robert DeNiro in a petticoat. So, when I discovered that my favorite movie was actually based on a novel by Neil Gaiman, I rushed to my local book dealer (who am I kidding? Barnes and Noble stores are EVERYWHERE) and picked up a copy that wouldn’t fit on my already overflowing bookshelves. Jumping to the top of my “To Read” list, I poured through the pages eagerly only to find that in this case, the movie was better.
This is a story about a young man named Tristan who adventures into the land of Faerie (Stormhold, in the movie) to find a star that has fallen from the heavens to bring back to the undeserving brat he has found himself in love with. As it turns out, fallen stars are quite desirable and Tristan finds himself matched in a race with a brutal prince of the land and a trio of dangerous witches. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot because it is such a fantastic story and I wouldn’t want to ruin the fun of putting the pieces together for anyone.
The reason I like the film more than the book is just a matter of personal preference. The movie has more instances of comedic relief than the novel and leaves out some of the more provocative scenes, whose detail was really quite unnecessary to the storyline, but to be expected from a title nestled on a shelf labeled “Fantasy”. I haven’t read any of Neil Gaiman’s other novels but I have seen many snippits of him floating around the Internet which make me quite intrigued by his nature. It seems the contributors of one of my favorite websites, www.neatorama.com, are equally as intrigued as Gaiman has been the topic of many of their posts. I would definitely give another one of his books a shot but I would probably scour the library for them rather than invest in owning a copy of my own.
Overall, Gaiman’s story is worth the effort. I recommend the movie over the novel, but if you are just one of those people who MUST read the novel first, go for it. Just note: I would not hand THE BOOK to anyone who is troubled by the details of a little sexual exploit.
-Harper
Monday, July 18, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
The Bean Trees - Barbara Kingsolver
Yet another mandatory read, The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver is a flop. Because Kingsolver is such an acclaimed author I can only assume her other works are phenomenal, however, if they are all written like this one, I fear there is no hope for the literary public. Had I picked up this novel of my own accord, I would have seen that the media commentary printed boldly across the top of the cover was from Glamour magazine; not exactly the choice I would have made had there been better comments to choose from. But alas, this is another book I was asked to teach to my junior class, and by golly, I was going to get through it if it killed me!
I think my biggest frustration with the novel isn’t the fact that the story is boring and lacks a clear direction; my biggest complaint is that the protagonist, Taylor Greer, is a completely inconsistent character. She changes her persona to conform to the situations at hand. If I were asked a simple question ranking higher on the Blooms scale such as, “How do you think Taylor would react to [blank] situation,” I would be completely unable to answer intelligently because the author has given no clear indication of WHO Taylor is at the root of her being. What is the point in trying to TEACH with a book so poorly written? How am I supposed to lead students’ understanding of character development if there is no development to be had? I understand this was Kingsolver’s first novel and I also have been told by many people how great some of her later works are (Poisonwood Bible being one of them). Why the textbook adoption committee at any school district would choose this novel as a mandatory read when there are clearly better books to be read is beyond my ability to fathom. Being forced to read poorly written and/or boring books is the reason many teenagers despise reading.
There will be no summary left for this one mostly because I don’t care to revisit the story to provide one. I would like to make one thing clear: my anger is not toward the author. This was her first book. With experience comes the ability to string a great novel. My anger has been caused by the fact that this novel found its way to a mandatory reading list at the high school where, at the end of the semester, I had too many students admit books like this one were the reason they didn’t read.
-Harper
I think my biggest frustration with the novel isn’t the fact that the story is boring and lacks a clear direction; my biggest complaint is that the protagonist, Taylor Greer, is a completely inconsistent character. She changes her persona to conform to the situations at hand. If I were asked a simple question ranking higher on the Blooms scale such as, “How do you think Taylor would react to [blank] situation,” I would be completely unable to answer intelligently because the author has given no clear indication of WHO Taylor is at the root of her being. What is the point in trying to TEACH with a book so poorly written? How am I supposed to lead students’ understanding of character development if there is no development to be had? I understand this was Kingsolver’s first novel and I also have been told by many people how great some of her later works are (Poisonwood Bible being one of them). Why the textbook adoption committee at any school district would choose this novel as a mandatory read when there are clearly better books to be read is beyond my ability to fathom. Being forced to read poorly written and/or boring books is the reason many teenagers despise reading.
There will be no summary left for this one mostly because I don’t care to revisit the story to provide one. I would like to make one thing clear: my anger is not toward the author. This was her first book. With experience comes the ability to string a great novel. My anger has been caused by the fact that this novel found its way to a mandatory reading list at the high school where, at the end of the semester, I had too many students admit books like this one were the reason they didn’t read.
-Harper
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card
I read this book on a non-voluntary basis preceding a stint teaching English to high school juniors this spring. I thought the book would be extraordinary considering the awards it has accumulated over time, including both Hugo and Nebula awards, but unfortunately, it fell just into the “ordinary” category. Maybe it’s because I didn’t have a choice but to read it and maybe it’s because I wasn’t much in the mood for science fiction. Whatever the case may be, this novel did not wow me the way the critics promised.
Earth has been attacked twice by extraterrestrials called “buggers” for their apparent resemblance to bugs. Ender is a young boy, an admittedly difficult concept for me to grasp, who is chosen to attend Battle School geared toward spitting out military might and genius. Segregated from could-be friends, Ender and his colleagues are forced to play anti-gravity battle games that encourage the development of military skills in a space invasion. Ender is especially gifted in tactics and has the ability to make quick decisions, a recipe that earns him early promotion. After only a few short years, Ender surpasses all expectations, and while he earns unstated approval from the teachers of the school, he finds himself the target of juvenile jealousy. Eventually, he overcomes his angry peers and is promoted yet again to Command School where the military game continues, only this time with space flight simulators. After what is to be his last test on the simulators before graduating to the next level of training, Ender is told the war with the buggers has been won thanks to his commanding skills. Ender was tricked. He was not playing simulation games, he was commanding fleets in a battle already in motion and thanks to his expertise, the battle has been won. Ender is eleven years old.
This is the first book in a series, the reason, I’m sure, there are multiple side stories occurring simultaneously with the main story of Ender. I felt for Ender through the novel. He was only six years old when he was taken from his family to Battle School, and although he never really managed to fit in there, he was outcast even in his own family. His brother, Peter, is a sadist; a torturer of animals and children alike. Only his sister, Valentine, ever truly loves him. In battle school, he is continually singled out by teachers, leading to additional torment from students who already found him to be too young to be attending. He is alone, and while he is an excellent instructor to peers, he never finds true camaraderie with his classmates. He is terrified of becoming like Peter, convinced that killing a single person will make them alike, and regardless of his fears, the teachers secretly have him murder thousands of buggers. Ender will never be the same.
Now, it can be said that Ender HAD to kill the buggers to save mankind, but they were not attacking Earth when they were ambushed, and without his permission, Ender carried out genocide on an entire species. Through the book, it’s amazing to see how much reliance is placed on young children; the amount of trust put into them. But really, it was never the children’s choice to become soldiers. The power always remained with the adults.
I think one of the most frustrating parts of this novel was the climax. Here Card writes 14 chapters leading up to Ender’s big debut as a commander and instead of giving the readers a grand battle scene, he gives them a couple lines essentially saying, “Oh, and by the way, we lied to you, Ender. You were fighting the real battle all along.” It’s like he just lightly grazes over the climax entirely and moves on to introduce his next plot in the next chapter. It felt like he didn’t know how to end the story, so he did it quickly to move onto his next big idea and I think that was a mistake.
Overall, the book was decent. I probably won’t read it again, but if I hear great things about the series, I may consider trying out the next book. I think it might have gender-specific appeal, so I’m interested to see how my junior boys liked the book come May.
-Harper
Earth has been attacked twice by extraterrestrials called “buggers” for their apparent resemblance to bugs. Ender is a young boy, an admittedly difficult concept for me to grasp, who is chosen to attend Battle School geared toward spitting out military might and genius. Segregated from could-be friends, Ender and his colleagues are forced to play anti-gravity battle games that encourage the development of military skills in a space invasion. Ender is especially gifted in tactics and has the ability to make quick decisions, a recipe that earns him early promotion. After only a few short years, Ender surpasses all expectations, and while he earns unstated approval from the teachers of the school, he finds himself the target of juvenile jealousy. Eventually, he overcomes his angry peers and is promoted yet again to Command School where the military game continues, only this time with space flight simulators. After what is to be his last test on the simulators before graduating to the next level of training, Ender is told the war with the buggers has been won thanks to his commanding skills. Ender was tricked. He was not playing simulation games, he was commanding fleets in a battle already in motion and thanks to his expertise, the battle has been won. Ender is eleven years old.
This is the first book in a series, the reason, I’m sure, there are multiple side stories occurring simultaneously with the main story of Ender. I felt for Ender through the novel. He was only six years old when he was taken from his family to Battle School, and although he never really managed to fit in there, he was outcast even in his own family. His brother, Peter, is a sadist; a torturer of animals and children alike. Only his sister, Valentine, ever truly loves him. In battle school, he is continually singled out by teachers, leading to additional torment from students who already found him to be too young to be attending. He is alone, and while he is an excellent instructor to peers, he never finds true camaraderie with his classmates. He is terrified of becoming like Peter, convinced that killing a single person will make them alike, and regardless of his fears, the teachers secretly have him murder thousands of buggers. Ender will never be the same.
Now, it can be said that Ender HAD to kill the buggers to save mankind, but they were not attacking Earth when they were ambushed, and without his permission, Ender carried out genocide on an entire species. Through the book, it’s amazing to see how much reliance is placed on young children; the amount of trust put into them. But really, it was never the children’s choice to become soldiers. The power always remained with the adults.
I think one of the most frustrating parts of this novel was the climax. Here Card writes 14 chapters leading up to Ender’s big debut as a commander and instead of giving the readers a grand battle scene, he gives them a couple lines essentially saying, “Oh, and by the way, we lied to you, Ender. You were fighting the real battle all along.” It’s like he just lightly grazes over the climax entirely and moves on to introduce his next plot in the next chapter. It felt like he didn’t know how to end the story, so he did it quickly to move onto his next big idea and I think that was a mistake.
Overall, the book was decent. I probably won’t read it again, but if I hear great things about the series, I may consider trying out the next book. I think it might have gender-specific appeal, so I’m interested to see how my junior boys liked the book come May.
-Harper
The Hunger Games Trilogy – Suzanne Collins
I was given this book by one of the students I tutored this last winter. I honestly was not interested in reading the novel. I had no good reason, it just didn’t appeal to me from the cover and summary. But I borrowed it anyway not wanting to be rude. I thought I would leave it in my bag for a few weeks and return it when I completed my work with the student. Then, one day, as I was proctoring the student’s finals, I decided to open the book and skim the first chapter or two to pass the time and that’s all it took for me to be completely enthralled with the storyline. And, because I didn’t have the decency to open the book when the student first gave it to me, I didn’t have time to finish before needing to return it, thus starting my adventure to garner a copy of The Hunger Games and its sequel Catching Fire.
For some reason (I’m sure that reason being this is an AWESOME series), I could not find a copy of the book at the two local libraries I have cards for. Purchasing the novel was not an option either because Husband and I had just found out that I’m pregnant resulting in a massive downsizing of my personal library and there being no room at all for new books. I was stuck. I asked everyone I knew if they had a copy of the book I could borrow and considering I work for a school district, I thought for sure I would find a savvy English teacher who would have the novel. No such luck. Instead, I had Sister-in-Law send me the book from Houston. It was a long journey, but well worth the wait.
The first novel, The Hunger Games, introduces the reader to District 12, a country-like state on post-apocalyptic Earth. There were 13 districts at one point, but when the 13th went rogue and decided to rebel against the Capitol it was destroyed. Only 12 districts remain. In order to encourage complacency and obedience, the Capitol instated a mandatory battle between two contenders from each district. The battle results in more food for the victor’s district making winning desirable, but the contenders are children and there is only one victor. The Hunger Games are televised to all districts for entertainment purposes and the Capitol always likes to put on a good show.
Katniss Everdeen does the unthinkable when she volunteers to take the place of her younger sister, Prim, who was chosen to take part in the Games. What she doesn’t expect is for the male contestant to be Peeta, a boy who loves her. Using this to her advantage in the arena, Katniss shows the world she is falling in love with Peeta in hopes that viewers will take interest in their love story and send valuable gifts that will help her survive. Even though she doesn’t love Peeta the way he loves her, she is able to convince the audience long enough to demolish the other 22 players in the Game.
At the end of The Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta, who have been partners in staying alive in the arena designed for them, decide to poison themselves at the same time, so neither one is victor and the Capitol learns a valuable lesson in mistreating people. Instead, the Game is ended abruptly to avoid angry viewers resulting in both Katniss and Peeta being elected victors, a decision that has never been made before. This leads into the second book of the trilogy, Catching Fire.
The Games are over and Katniss and Peeta return to District 12. A small uprising against the Capitol has begun to gain steam and those rebelling look to Katniss’ poisoning idea as the catalyst for upheaval. Katniss’ best friend, Gale, and her mother and sister are on hand to welcome her home. Her relationship with Gale has changed since she was in the Games. He never took interest in her until she was gone, after which he decided he loved her. Her behavior with Peeta in the Huger Games hurt him but she cannot fathom how she will live without him, even if she doesn’t love him either.
The time comes for the next Huger Games to begin. It was tradition that those who had already played in the Games and survived would not be called back to the arena for a second time. The Capitol was so upset with her poisoning stunt in the last Games, however, that they change the rules requiring only contenders who had survived the Games to play in the next one. She, being the only female victor from District 12, is called back to the bloodbath once again, and with her, Peeta. The world thought they were in love so, to continue their support, they start the charade again.
The next Games are more difficult since they are playing with people who have already survived once before. What she doesn’t realize is the players decide to take the Games into their own hands and rather than all killing each other, they team up, stage a coup, and escape the arena. Peeta was accidentally left behind.
In the final book of the trilogy, Mockingjay, Katniss is safe along with her friend Gale and her family. They are taken to District 13, a place until recently had been thought to be destroyed. There they come together to take part in the uprising against the government at the Capitol. Katniss realizes that she has unknowingly become the face of the rebellion and, in order to survive and keep the rebellion going strong, she must become a pawn for District 13. She must help take down the Capitol.
Admittedly, much of the allure to this trilogy is the relationship between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. Though not a romance novel by a long shot, the story so entwines itself into their personal lives that I found myself rooting for the relationships to work. Mostly, this trilogy is non-stop action and suspense. Once I managed to get my grubby little fingers on the books, I couldn’t put them down. I carried them everywhere with me just in case I might have 30 extra seconds to dive into Katniss’ world. This is not a difficult series to read and it’s one that I might never have started if not for being bored one afternoon at work! Take my advice: read this war-tinged coming-of-age story. You won’t regret it.
-Harper
For some reason (I’m sure that reason being this is an AWESOME series), I could not find a copy of the book at the two local libraries I have cards for. Purchasing the novel was not an option either because Husband and I had just found out that I’m pregnant resulting in a massive downsizing of my personal library and there being no room at all for new books. I was stuck. I asked everyone I knew if they had a copy of the book I could borrow and considering I work for a school district, I thought for sure I would find a savvy English teacher who would have the novel. No such luck. Instead, I had Sister-in-Law send me the book from Houston. It was a long journey, but well worth the wait.
The first novel, The Hunger Games, introduces the reader to District 12, a country-like state on post-apocalyptic Earth. There were 13 districts at one point, but when the 13th went rogue and decided to rebel against the Capitol it was destroyed. Only 12 districts remain. In order to encourage complacency and obedience, the Capitol instated a mandatory battle between two contenders from each district. The battle results in more food for the victor’s district making winning desirable, but the contenders are children and there is only one victor. The Hunger Games are televised to all districts for entertainment purposes and the Capitol always likes to put on a good show.
Katniss Everdeen does the unthinkable when she volunteers to take the place of her younger sister, Prim, who was chosen to take part in the Games. What she doesn’t expect is for the male contestant to be Peeta, a boy who loves her. Using this to her advantage in the arena, Katniss shows the world she is falling in love with Peeta in hopes that viewers will take interest in their love story and send valuable gifts that will help her survive. Even though she doesn’t love Peeta the way he loves her, she is able to convince the audience long enough to demolish the other 22 players in the Game.
At the end of The Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta, who have been partners in staying alive in the arena designed for them, decide to poison themselves at the same time, so neither one is victor and the Capitol learns a valuable lesson in mistreating people. Instead, the Game is ended abruptly to avoid angry viewers resulting in both Katniss and Peeta being elected victors, a decision that has never been made before. This leads into the second book of the trilogy, Catching Fire.
The Games are over and Katniss and Peeta return to District 12. A small uprising against the Capitol has begun to gain steam and those rebelling look to Katniss’ poisoning idea as the catalyst for upheaval. Katniss’ best friend, Gale, and her mother and sister are on hand to welcome her home. Her relationship with Gale has changed since she was in the Games. He never took interest in her until she was gone, after which he decided he loved her. Her behavior with Peeta in the Huger Games hurt him but she cannot fathom how she will live without him, even if she doesn’t love him either.
The time comes for the next Huger Games to begin. It was tradition that those who had already played in the Games and survived would not be called back to the arena for a second time. The Capitol was so upset with her poisoning stunt in the last Games, however, that they change the rules requiring only contenders who had survived the Games to play in the next one. She, being the only female victor from District 12, is called back to the bloodbath once again, and with her, Peeta. The world thought they were in love so, to continue their support, they start the charade again.
The next Games are more difficult since they are playing with people who have already survived once before. What she doesn’t realize is the players decide to take the Games into their own hands and rather than all killing each other, they team up, stage a coup, and escape the arena. Peeta was accidentally left behind.
In the final book of the trilogy, Mockingjay, Katniss is safe along with her friend Gale and her family. They are taken to District 13, a place until recently had been thought to be destroyed. There they come together to take part in the uprising against the government at the Capitol. Katniss realizes that she has unknowingly become the face of the rebellion and, in order to survive and keep the rebellion going strong, she must become a pawn for District 13. She must help take down the Capitol.
Admittedly, much of the allure to this trilogy is the relationship between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. Though not a romance novel by a long shot, the story so entwines itself into their personal lives that I found myself rooting for the relationships to work. Mostly, this trilogy is non-stop action and suspense. Once I managed to get my grubby little fingers on the books, I couldn’t put them down. I carried them everywhere with me just in case I might have 30 extra seconds to dive into Katniss’ world. This is not a difficult series to read and it’s one that I might never have started if not for being bored one afternoon at work! Take my advice: read this war-tinged coming-of-age story. You won’t regret it.
-Harper
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