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gabberjaws
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2.5 stars
This was basically Castle fan fiction. Which isn't such a bad thing, really. It's just that I didn't go into this expecting fan fiction, y'know?
This was basically Castle fan fiction. Which isn't such a bad thing, really. It's just that I didn't go into this expecting fan fiction, y'know?
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Definitely preferred this to the Shadow and Bone. That ending ruined me.
At this point, I'm not so much as reading the book again, but dissecting it carefully with a scalpel
I've pretty much said all I have to say about my love these books, and, because this is my fifth time reading this, I'm able to look at this a little more critically than I used to. Hence, the four-star rating. (It used to be a five). This new rating does not change my love for this book, series, or the movies. It just means that I'm more willing to talk about its problems.
But now, more importantly:
A Study In Peeta (Alternate title for this essay: Watch me give every high school English teacher a run for their money with my symbolism and character analysis skillzzzz)
It is no secret that Peeta Mellark is my favorite character in this entire series. Heck, he's right up there on my list of favorite fictional men. Don't get me wrong, Katniss is amazing. Katniss is baller. Katniss absolutely slays. But Peeta holds a special place in my heart, for the simple fact that he's an actual dandelion in the chaotic blood-splattered snow that is his world.
Peeta is probably the most dangerous character in the series. I know what you're thinking, I'm crazy. There are tons of other, deadlier characters in these books, right? Bear with me for a minute, I'll explain. You know how president Snow is evil? He's vile and disgusting, and absolutely ruthless? Well, have you ever seen him, I don't know, pick up an ax or a spear? No. His weapon of choice is his words. He lies and he threatens and he calmly talks people into doing his evil bidding. That's how he started the Hunger Games. That's how he got Katniss to dance to his tune and play the star-crossed lover act.
Now take a look at Coin. Isn't she the same exact way? Just like Snow, she uses her words. She bargains and lies and argues calmly and rationally. That's how she rules. That's how she got people to fight the Capitol for her. That's how she got Katniss to be her Mockingjay.
And now look at Peeta - the mild-mannered, good-natured boy who can spin lie after lie without almost no thought. The boy who managed to convince, not just the people of the Capitol, but the entire nation of his and Katniss's love. Peeta may be strong, Peeta may excel at hand-to-hand combat, and Peeta may be great a camouflaging himself, but Peeta's strongest weapon is his words.
Let's think about this in terms of fire, shall we? Katniss, we've seen time and time again, is The Girl On Fire. She's the blaze that tore down the Capitol. And we all know that Rue was the spark that ignited the revolution. If not for Rue, if not for that first baby mockingjay, Katniss probably would have never gone on to become the symbol of the rebellion. But Peeta? Peeta was the kindling. Peeta was the trail of gasoline. Peeta was the matchstick poised to strike.
Why did Katniss decorate Rue's body with flowers? Because something Peeta had said to her reminded her who the real enemy was. "I want to be more than a piece in their games."
Why did Katniss pull the stunt with the nightlock? Many reasons, if I'm being honest, but ultimately, it was because she cared about Peeta. She was afraid she'd "go completely insane" if he died and she lived. And what was the main reason she ended up caring about him? His kindness. Katniss responded to Peeta's kindness. His good-naturedness and his gentle soul earned him a soft spot in her heart.
He may have not told Katniss out-right that she needed to give the Capitol the middle-finger, but he was involved every time she did it.
"Peeta's a whiz with fires, coaxing a blaze out of the damp wood"
And as much as I adore the movies (Joshy is absolutely perf as Peeta), I can't help but feel like they downplay this side of him. Movie!Peeta is much more quiet and passive than Book!Peeta ever was. Book!Peeta is also a lot more charming and wry than Movie!Peeta. Like, Peeta was such a cheeky little bastard in the books, and I really wish they hadn't watered that side of him down in the movies. But eh, maybe that's just me.
TL;DR Peeta Mellark is a precious little cinnabon who can start wars with nothing more than a few choice words, and everyone should be very afraid of him.
REREAD #5: Nov'2015
I've pretty much said all I have to say about my love these books, and, because this is my fifth time reading this, I'm able to look at this a little more critically than I used to. Hence, the four-star rating. (It used to be a five). This new rating does not change my love for this book, series, or the movies. It just means that I'm more willing to talk about its problems.
But now, more importantly:
A Study In Peeta (Alternate title for this essay: Watch me give every high school English teacher a run for their money with my symbolism and character analysis skillzzzz)
It is no secret that Peeta Mellark is my favorite character in this entire series. Heck, he's right up there on my list of favorite fictional men. Don't get me wrong, Katniss is amazing. Katniss is baller. Katniss absolutely slays. But Peeta holds a special place in my heart, for the simple fact that he's an actual dandelion in the chaotic blood-splattered snow that is his world.
Peeta is probably the most dangerous character in the series. I know what you're thinking, I'm crazy. There are tons of other, deadlier characters in these books, right? Bear with me for a minute, I'll explain. You know how president Snow is evil? He's vile and disgusting, and absolutely ruthless? Well, have you ever seen him, I don't know, pick up an ax or a spear? No. His weapon of choice is his words. He lies and he threatens and he calmly talks people into doing his evil bidding. That's how he started the Hunger Games. That's how he got Katniss to dance to his tune and play the star-crossed lover act.
Now take a look at Coin. Isn't she the same exact way? Just like Snow, she uses her words. She bargains and lies and argues calmly and rationally. That's how she rules. That's how she got people to fight the Capitol for her. That's how she got Katniss to be her Mockingjay.
And now look at Peeta - the mild-mannered, good-natured boy who can spin lie after lie without almost no thought. The boy who managed to convince, not just the people of the Capitol, but the entire nation of his and Katniss's love. Peeta may be strong, Peeta may excel at hand-to-hand combat, and Peeta may be great a camouflaging himself, but Peeta's strongest weapon is his words.
Let's think about this in terms of fire, shall we? Katniss, we've seen time and time again, is The Girl On Fire. She's the blaze that tore down the Capitol. And we all know that Rue was the spark that ignited the revolution. If not for Rue, if not for that first baby mockingjay, Katniss probably would have never gone on to become the symbol of the rebellion. But Peeta? Peeta was the kindling. Peeta was the trail of gasoline. Peeta was the matchstick poised to strike.
Why did Katniss decorate Rue's body with flowers? Because something Peeta had said to her reminded her who the real enemy was. "I want to be more than a piece in their games."
Why did Katniss pull the stunt with the nightlock? Many reasons, if I'm being honest, but ultimately, it was because she cared about Peeta. She was afraid she'd "go completely insane" if he died and she lived. And what was the main reason she ended up caring about him? His kindness. Katniss responded to Peeta's kindness. His good-naturedness and his gentle soul earned him a soft spot in her heart.
He may have not told Katniss out-right that she needed to give the Capitol the middle-finger, but he was involved every time she did it.
"Peeta's a whiz with fires, coaxing a blaze out of the damp wood"
And as much as I adore the movies (Joshy is absolutely perf as Peeta), I can't help but feel like they downplay this side of him. Movie!Peeta is much more quiet and passive than Book!Peeta ever was. Book!Peeta is also a lot more charming and wry than Movie!Peeta. Like, Peeta was such a cheeky little bastard in the books, and I really wish they hadn't watered that side of him down in the movies. But eh, maybe that's just me.
TL;DR Peeta Mellark is a precious little cinnabon who can start wars with nothing more than a few choice words, and everyone should be very afraid of him.
REREAD #5: Nov'2015
I give this book 4.5 stars, and it gave me all the feels
Mercy Thompson is right up there on my list of favorite fictional heroes. I love her to itty bitty pieces. Which is why I'm ashamed to say that I've never read any of the Mercy Thompson short stories. In my defense, this is mostly because I was only introduced to this (brilliant, brilliant) series last year, but whatever. Not having read any of the stories before meant that this entire collection was new to me. And I loved them all. Alright, I loved most of them and thoroughly enjoyed the others. Roses in Winter and Redemption were probably my favorite from the lot.
Would I have liked a Stefan short story? Hell yes.
But that's not important right now.
Full review:
So, We Read This Book
Mercy Thompson is right up there on my list of favorite fictional heroes. I love her to itty bitty pieces. Which is why I'm ashamed to say that I've never read any of the Mercy Thompson short stories. In my defense, this is mostly because I was only introduced to this (brilliant, brilliant) series last year, but whatever. Not having read any of the stories before meant that this entire collection was new to me. And I loved them all. Alright, I loved most of them and thoroughly enjoyed the others. Roses in Winter and Redemption were probably my favorite from the lot.
Would I have liked a Stefan short story? Hell yes.
But that's not important right now.
Full review:
So, We Read This Book
TRIGGER WARNING: THIS BOOK CONTAINS A LOT OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE
I have a complicated relationship with retellings. I always want to love them, but more often than not, end up feeling severely disappointed because I hold the original tales at such a high standard (see: The Lunar Chronicles) Like Beauty and The Beast and Red Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland happens to be one of my favorites, so it was no wonder that I was a little skeptical going into this one.
It turns out that I didn't need to be so worried, because I freaking loved this. Alice doesn't take place in the Wonderland we all know and love, but in a gothic-fantasy town called Old City, where Magicians once roamed free, and is now run by many underworld bosses and their respective gangs. The characters in this story aren't the ones we know and love either. Alice is now a twenty-six year old woman who, after disappearing when she was sixteen, reappeared later, with "blood dripping down her thighs", missing memories, hysterically raving about a "Rabbit". Upon her reappearance, she was deemed mad, and locked up in an asylum in the Old City, away from her parents and her home back in the New City.
She eventually finds a friend and maybe-lover in crazed ax-murderer in the cell next to hers - a mad, yet kind, man named Hatcher.
The story starts with the night a fire breaks out in the asylum, giving Alice and Hatcher a chance to escape their prison and, perhaps, their years of suffering. But they're not the only ones to escape. Something dark and evil is set free that night, something that has an inexplicable tie to Hatcher; The Jabberwock.
The Jabberwock is bad news, and his escape means complete destruction. Alice and Hatcher are the only ones who can stop it. Their quest to find the only weapon that can defeat the Jabberwock leads Alice and Hatcher into the lairs of familiar, but completely recrafted characters. Namely, Cheshire, The Walrus, The Caterpillar, and The Rabbit; the bosses who run Old City.
The reason why it didn't get a five star rating from me, surprisingly enough, wasn't the rape-y-ness. It was the ending.
Let me explain.
Rape and sexual violence bother me - in real life as well as in fiction.
That being said, it wasn't a deal breaker for me with this book, because I understood the point of it. Sure, this book would have been as gory and as dark without a lot of the sexual violence - but then its villains would have been nowhere near as terrifying. Because that's the thing about the villains in this book - it's not their magic or their power that makes them monstrous, it's their dirtiest, vilest, human qualities. They snatch girls up from their homes, so that they can use them and sell their bodies.
If you took away the magical elements, everything that happened to Alice was something that could have happened in our world. And that's what makes this so powerful.
I removed a star because the ending was anticlimactic, and the encounters with the bosses were all a little too rushed for my taste. I was happy that the tale didn't end the way I expected, but the conclusion fell flat after the epic buildup, and the pacing towards the end of the book was much too fast.
Which is a shame, because this was such a creepy little book, and I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. Give it a try, if you can stomach the darkness.
_______________________________________________________
You can also read this review here
I have a complicated relationship with retellings. I always want to love them, but more often than not, end up feeling severely disappointed because I hold the original tales at such a high standard (see: The Lunar Chronicles) Like Beauty and The Beast and Red Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland happens to be one of my favorites, so it was no wonder that I was a little skeptical going into this one.
It turns out that I didn't need to be so worried, because I freaking loved this. Alice doesn't take place in the Wonderland we all know and love, but in a gothic-fantasy town called Old City, where Magicians once roamed free, and is now run by many underworld bosses and their respective gangs. The characters in this story aren't the ones we know and love either. Alice is now a twenty-six year old woman who, after disappearing when she was sixteen, reappeared later, with "blood dripping down her thighs", missing memories, hysterically raving about a "Rabbit". Upon her reappearance, she was deemed mad, and locked up in an asylum in the Old City, away from her parents and her home back in the New City.
She eventually finds a friend and maybe-lover in crazed ax-murderer in the cell next to hers - a mad, yet kind, man named Hatcher.
The story starts with the night a fire breaks out in the asylum, giving Alice and Hatcher a chance to escape their prison and, perhaps, their years of suffering. But they're not the only ones to escape. Something dark and evil is set free that night, something that has an inexplicable tie to Hatcher; The Jabberwock.
The Jabberwock is bad news, and his escape means complete destruction. Alice and Hatcher are the only ones who can stop it. Their quest to find the only weapon that can defeat the Jabberwock leads Alice and Hatcher into the lairs of familiar, but completely recrafted characters. Namely, Cheshire, The Walrus, The Caterpillar, and The Rabbit; the bosses who run Old City.
The reason why it didn't get a five star rating from me, surprisingly enough, wasn't the rape-y-ness. It was the ending.
Let me explain.
Rape and sexual violence bother me - in real life as well as in fiction.
That being said, it wasn't a deal breaker for me with this book, because I understood the point of it. Sure, this book would have been as gory and as dark without a lot of the sexual violence - but then its villains would have been nowhere near as terrifying. Because that's the thing about the villains in this book - it's not their magic or their power that makes them monstrous, it's their dirtiest, vilest, human qualities. They snatch girls up from their homes, so that they can use them and sell their bodies.
If you took away the magical elements, everything that happened to Alice was something that could have happened in our world. And that's what makes this so powerful.
I removed a star because the ending was anticlimactic, and the encounters with the bosses were all a little too rushed for my taste. I was happy that the tale didn't end the way I expected, but the conclusion fell flat after the epic buildup, and the pacing towards the end of the book was much too fast.
Which is a shame, because this was such a creepy little book, and I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. Give it a try, if you can stomach the darkness.
_______________________________________________________
You can also read this review here
