Ranger's Apprentice Book 3: The Icebound Land

By John Flanagan

The third book in this series was a quick read. We followed the team of Evelyn and Will through the rough winter wilderness of Skandia and the journey of Halt and Horace on their way to attempt a rescue. 

There were some surprises in this fast paced adventure, more so than the last two books. Will succumbing to the warmweed was a shock. Reading about his addiction from Evelyn, Erak, and eventually Will, too, gave a subdued ending to the text. I did not expect to read about addiction in a book aimed at a relatively young audience. 

I was, again, incredibly disappointed with how Flanagan chose to write the female characters. I guess there was really only one in this book. Towards the end she tries her hand at hunting with the bow and fails miserably and repeatedly. Then, a few pages later, Flanagan is explicitly telling his audience of her perseverance, her strength, her immense will to continue on the difficult path. It seemed fake, forced. I understand that sometimes people aren't good at some skills, and her upbringing as a princess did not include bow hunting education. Instead of watching her fail and almost harping on her inabilities, I wish we focused on her adaptability and ability to think creatively and come up with a different solution that ultimately lead to success. Some might argue that Flanagan did this, but to that I say, the focus was on her failures instead of her triumph. The tone of the writing was not conducive to supporting her in all that she had already accomplished. She saved the male lead and ultimately provided standard living conditions for probably a months time as a teenage girl. We can't all be Katniss Everdeen, but this princess deserved better writing. 

This will likely be the last of the Ranger's Apprentice books that I read, at least for a little while.

Thanks for reading and showing an interest.

Happy Reading, Bookworms!

The Circle

 By Dave Eggers

As this book was a Christmas present from one of my closest friends, I placed it close to the front of my 'To Read' list. While I am a better person for having read this story, it does not rank in my top 20 favorites. There are points to be made in the conversation of this story, yes; but the writing and the characters and the general plotline are lackluster. 

Mae, as the central human of involvement (aka main character), seems delightful and role-model-esque. For Eggers' first female lead, there was ample space for her to grow and succeed and blossom. There were no other characters in competition in his repertoire and she could have stolen the show as an amazing woman. And yet, she is a malleable and hollow shell of a being. She doesn't give a second thought to anything, always moving with the tides, doing what she is told like a reprogrammable android. Frequently while reading I wondered if she had ever read anything. Had this fictional young woman ever read a book for school or pleasure that caused her to think critically? Had she ever considered that maybe her author wasn't trustworthy, or that while some characters may appear sketchy, they are the true heroes? Even with all of the discussion of schools and the constant flow of information, there is no evidence that Mae has ever read a dystopian novel. Which begs the question- do they exist in this world? Since Ty had no real foresight to see the TruPotential in his creations, and Mae is clearly oblivious, maybe there really are no cautionary tales? (Or did The Circle burn them before anyone even realized?) If anyone had read anything anti-Circle-like, it would have to be Mercer. Where did Mercer acquire such scandalous texts? Odds are, the books Mercer read were old and obscene and probably found in either his parents attic or maybe even Mae's parents attic. Then, the real question (assuming you're still following me down this rabbit-hole), why didn't Mae's parents share these books with their only child? Isn't that one of your main duties as a parent??? To educate and prepare your offspring for the dangerous world? And if you only have one child, wouldn't you be a little bit more invested since there's only one possibility of continuing your lineage?

And then, back to the discussion of Mae being Eggers' first female lead, you have to wonder if this character is a discussion of how he sees women, or if it is larger and about all humans. It is just an interesting layer to how he views the world and its occupants. 

It was basically a modern 1984. This text should be read. You may not enjoy it, but you should read it. 

The movie notes below in italics. 

Emma Watson is far too strong an actress for the role of Mae. I loved Karen Gillian as Annie. Tom Hanks was an excellent Bailey.

The basics of book to movie translation is the communication of the main ideas of the book within a similar plotline. At least, that's my interpretation of how to translate between media. The plot was a mess. There was little alignment with the text and that was incredibly disappointing. Even the ending was altered for a feel-good moment. On screen Mae was a completely different character than text Mae. Joking about 'drinking the Kool-Aid,' and having a slight distaste for the original SeeChange technology are actions never even considered by text Mae. The cherry on top (aside from the ending) was that on screen Mae urged for Mercer to not be tracked. She begged and pleaded and even fought the wills of two of the Wise Men for him to not be a target. Text Mae literally volunteered his name for fun. 

A lack of scandal with Kelton, a lack of Francis, and a lack of late night kayaking success emptied an already hollow story. 

It has been a long time since I was this disappointed in a film adaptation. Read the book.

Happy Reading, Bookworms! 

Love in a Nutshell

By Janet Evanovich & Dorien Kelly

For a book with 'nutshell' in the title, there were a disappointing number of squirrels. I will allot half a squirrel, if you are interested in the count. One half because there is only a small reference, once, to a squirrel's existence, thus giving the family vacation home the nickname. There was even a squirrel on the backside of the cover and acorns and nuts all over the cover...

Aside from the gross lack of squirrels, the story was adorable. At Christmastime my friend gets a subscription to the Hallmark Movie Channel so as to watch as many of the films as she can in a month-ish. This year I sat and watched a few with her. Hallmark doesn't mess around. The company knows what works, and, if you've seen at least two Hallmark (Christmas) movies, you know the plot to most if not all Hallmark (Christmas) movies. I only bring this into the conversation because Love in a Nutshell was cookie-cutter-cute, like a Hallmark Christmas movie (without the Christmas). The end is obvious, and I think that was okay with the authors. What they did, though, was create adorable and memorable scenes to get readers on-board with the idea of the ending. The guy and girl fall in love. It's in the title, I'm not spoiling anything here. But that is inevitable, as per the genre (basically). Plot points of an allergic reaction to beer, being stuck in a brewing chamber, and improper handling of pups caused just enough discomfort to balance the other intense moments. Scenes of washboard abs, lips brushing against each other, sexy curves filling out jeans, and five o'clock shadows were greatly appreciated by this reader. Romance is not one of the genres I frequent, clearly, and the change of pace was nice for the soul.

A slight hint of mystery was also appreciated, skeptically. (After just finishing another Agatha Christie murder mystery, most other attempts cannot compare.) 

It was a perfect mid-February read and I am glad to have added this universe to my head and to my shelf.

Happy Reading, Bookworms!

And Then There Were None

By Agatha Christie

This is the classic murder mystery story. All other murder mysteries are based around this story. With that information in mind, I channeled every single murder mystery I have ever watched or read. specifically I was thinking of the Netflix movie, Murder Mystery. There was a new appreciation for some of the scenes within the movie as they were hidden and subtle nods to this classic novel. The scene at the end of the book where Blore grabs a lamp as a weapon is absolutely referenced when Adam Sandler jokingly picks up a lamp to defend himself and Jennifer Aniston. I enjoyed having a new understanding of that already comedic moment. 

While I read, I kept a sticky note on the page with the nursery rhyme so that each time there was a death I could refer back and know what the next death was going to look like. This brought me great joy!

I also started the 1945 film adaptation as it is free on Amazon Prime. The old film was terribly difficult to watch for many reasons. The newer (2015) mini-series is absolutely worth the watch, but it is not included in generic Prime (a subscription, or 7 day free trial to Acorn is required). The notes about the film/mini-series will be in italics, as always. 

As the 1945 film begins, it feels stuffy and for the first many minutes I believed it to be a silent film. Yikes.

Also, a point of note; the mini-series called the island Soldier Island instead of Indian Island, and instead of 10 little Indians, the poem read 10 little Soldiers. An interesting shift likely for politically correct reasons. The change detracts no meaning therefore there is no reason to not accept it.

Another fun moment in the pages of this book was the little Indian figurines. The little china figures brought an element of fun to the murderous rampage occurring. It was as if the murderer was playing more than one game for his guests entertainment. Not only were they watching the events unfold in real life, they were also watching them occur to the miniatures. That's madman stuff that I can get behind. Style points, for sure. The mini-series' figurines were gorgeous and reminded me of ornate chess pieces.

The mini-series told the story almost completely in accordance with the book. There are three episodes, each about an hour long. High marks for not only capturing the spirit and essence of the book, but sometimes even going further in explanation than the text. I have never experienced such a phenomenon. There was one change between the book and mini-series that I felt was completely warranted and appreciated. When Mr. Rodgers is found, instead of Vera Claythorne getting hysterical, the mini-series had Dr. Armstrong in hysteria. I believe the reason this role was shifted was due to the response of such hysterics. In the text, written in 1939, Dr. Armstrong slaps Vera Claythorne to snap her out of it and she actually thanks him for such a blow. In 2015, no such action would be tolerated and thus the roles were switched, allowing Vera Claythorne to deliver a full handed smack across the doctors face.

The ending was a mixed bag, in my opinion. Firstly, what I did appreciate. Intense and in-depth discussion of how such a murderous plot came to be was fun to read. Knowing all of the little intricacies and back stories and motivations made the story feel complete, rounded, worthy of praise. 

I was also disappointed in the ending, though. In Murder Mystery, Adam Sandler swears for the whole movie that the murderer is always the butler. While reading, I got so much in my head with the idea that it was the butler, Rodgers, that when the finale was not such a reveal, the disappointment emerged. I thought his death was faked (even though it was an axe through his skull, yes) and adding to the equation, up until the last three deaths, we read that the group of people moved every single other dead person, but they never moved Mr. Rogers' body (it was at least not discussed).

The ending of the mini-series was delicious. Maybe because I went into the viewing experience knowing who to watch and what to expect, but even still, there were slight differences that added taste. There was also no way that the butler could have been such the mastermind (even if you hadn't read the book) because he acted so suspiciously and everyone suspected him (also because his death was incredibly gruesome and not possibly faked). The detailed conversation between Wargrave and Claythorne while one is literally dying was an excellent way to wrap up the story and replace the epilogue in the text. I do wish there was a little bit more said about the order in which the killings occurred. I wished that Wargrave elaborated on his idea of, "you were my favorite." Because in the book we understand that the deaths were administered in the order of atrocious-ness, so Claythorne would be the absolute worst human on the island, her death being last. The 'favorite' line was good, but you had to know what you were looking for to understand exactly what he meant. 

Overall, a good read. And an excellent mini-series. I am glad to have another Agatha Christie read completed and I think I will try to read Murder on the Orient Express and compare it to the film.

Luckily for me, I have not seen any of the movies based on her books so I have the privilege of reading the original art and then judging the films!

Happy Reading & viewing, Bookworms!

The Siren

By Kierra Cass

Important Preface: this is the first book written and published by Cass. Previously, I read the Selection Series and fell in love with the ease and light-natured stories. The stories have been quick reads and relatively light in nature. I anticipated the same and was quickly rewarded.

Reading began at 9pm on Monday and cover to cover was consumed by Wednesday morning. A light read was exactly what my palate needed. Finishing Dry, and before that, Book 2 of the Ranger's Apprentice, had left a dark and serious taste in my mouth. While The Siren was not all happy days and sparkles, it did offer an escape from reality. Having never read a true fantasy before, mythological creatures with magical abilities seemed unworthy of a second thought. As I read, I found myself having to remind myself to take the leap. Take a leap of faith and just enjoy the story. Pause your reality long enough to learn something that can later be applied to reality. While not admitting that letting go of reality was easy for me, I did find joy in exploring a new realm. 

Difficulty with the genre came with the inevitability of the conclusion. When there are different laws of nature, any path can be chosen to achieve a desired result. For the ideal audience of this story, the obvious path is the most likely path chosen. Cass was not writing to a middle-aged audience, or anyone skeptical of plotlines, so call them soulmates and make the love so impossibly strong, and BOOM, conclusion achieved. An important side note: This audience selection is crucial as it develops young readers. If we can't support our young readers in their time of development, how are we to ever have faith in the future generations?

While this book was not my all-time-top-tiered-forever-favorite, I will regard it fondly and with grace. An author's first book must be treated with kindness, especially when their later works are so highly regarded in their genre.

I shall move to my next book, palate effectively cleansed.

Happy Reading, Bookworms!

Dry

By Neal Shusterman

If there were a Venn diagram with H2O by Virginia Bergin and The Arc of a Scythe trilogy by Shusterman, Dry would fall directly in the middle.

The concept for this book is that all of Southern California has been shut off from clean water. The "tap-out' as it is known. All of civilization falls prey to the lack of water available. The ranges of responses from the public are quite vast, but all immense in grander. 

Shifting personalities and viewpoints of the main characters along with snapshots of people around the scene, allow for an incredibly complete understanding of the situation.

The Costco scene gives me PTSD from COVID-19 and hurricane preparations. In literature recently, there seems to be a deep understanding of what happens in grocery stores during disaster. Chilling.

Between Dry and H2O there are many commonalities. My favorite similarity is the nerdy boy 'next door' that is unreasonably prepared for a disaster situation. A meeting of Kelton from Dry and Darius Spratt from H2O would result in the worlds most annoying argument. Both boys are excellent characters for their counterparts, Alyssa and Ruby, respectfully.

I enjoyed the playful interactions between the group of surviving kids. Jacqui is fantastically hard core and a little insane. Henry is one of my favorite characters and I wish his arc ended differently. There is justice in how it ended but I had high hopes for a continued relationship/friendship with the group. Garrett is wise beyond his years and an excellent little brother. The "Of Mice and Men" scene towards the end surprised me when Garrett was aware of everything. Kelton was written well but not my favorite- they can't all be winners. Alyssa's chapters were enjoyable to read because she is probably the character to whom I am most able to relate. 

The last snapshot of Disneyland brought me great joy. There's great truth in seeing society watch the Disney corporation in times of stress/disaster. Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland, and Walt Disney World have all been tasked with reopening after national disasters and people flock to enter the parks as a sign of normalcy and recovery. Praise to Shusterman for his research and Disney knowledge!

Overall, this book was a good read and reminder of what could be (and for Kelton's sake- what to do/not to do).

Happy Reading, Bookworms!

Ranger's Apprentice Book 2: The Burning Bridge

By John Flanagan

First off, I enjoyed this book much more than the first in this series. This may be because I  knew what to expect, especially considering the style of writing. Also, a huge point of note; the book is better than its predecessor because the women in the book show more gusto, capability, and positive features beyond a pretty face -especially noting Evelynn/Cassandra. Princess Cassandra shows great duty and responsibility to her kingdom (even though it is truly her kingdom), when she is risking her life on that bridge and then ultimately gets captured with Will. She continues to show immense strength when reassuring Will as they travel with the Skandians. She is an admirable character and for that development I am grateful.

The dynamic of Horace and Will is more fun, playful, and aging quite nicely. Their brotherhood is endearing and enjoyable to read.

I find myself desperately wanting to know more about Halt and Lady Pauline. Not  in a mushy way, but the story still. Maybe from alternating perspectives between the two parties.

I still love Tug so so so much. Best horse. Abelard is a close second place for Most Awesome Horse.

Great surprise was in store for me from the Skandians and their prisoner/hostage management. I could not have anticipated the Skandians being the more reasonable and preferable option for Will and Evelyn. Ultimately acceptable and plausible for the plot lines to occur as they did. 

While in a momentary pause I noted a few things I desired the conclusion to include:

• More Halt 
• Evelynn/Cassandra to be good friends with Horace and Will, but not a love triangle between Cassandra, Alyss, and Will. That will just be annoying. One is a childhood friend and developing love interest and the other is intelligent and kind and we are just getting to know her- and she's the princess of the whole kingdom... I hope it doesn't go down that path.
• Gilian and Halt saving Will

The real conclusion really threw me for a loop. I really did not anticipate Horace to challenge Morgarath- but I bet that was the point. And knowing that this series has about 12 or 13 books truly lead me to believe that Morgarath was a long-time villain... not just a two book cruel man. His death was not anticipated. What was anticipated was Will and Evelyn being lost at sea in the end. 

I will likely read one more in the series. (The third book stares at me now from my shelf.)

Happy Reading, Bookworms!