I know this was not on my list of To Read books, but I read it anyways. I had to for class. And it made me do some thinking. My class is about diverse children's literature. I expected these books to break down stereotypes. Well, so far I am disappointed. I felt like this book did nothing but reinforce them.
It is about a young Native American boy, in the sixth grade. He lives on a reservation, but is in a general public school, instead of going to school on the Res. This book follows his life over the first semester of school that year. He does school projects and talks with the council of the res. He lives with his grandfather and great aunt.
None of these things by themselves shouts stereotypes. Except that he lives with his grandfather because his father is an alcoholic. He talks to the tribe council because they want to build a casino. The only thing that is not necessarily reinforcing stereotypes is his class project is about changing the school mascot from the Chiefs to something less demeaning. However, even this is shown reinforcing some stereotypes. At one point, someone who is in his group, who is white, gets punched by someone who wants to keep the name. He responds to this by saying that he had a run in with "white hostiles". This seems to create a stereotype against white people at the very least. The only black person even mentioned abandoned her son because she was on drugs.
It was a fairly well written easy to read book, that can be used to talk about modern day Indian Reservations, because there are parts that are encouraging. It shows the children learning their Indian language in an effort to keep it alive. It shows an Indian family that still has two parents and the kids all living together happily, even though it is just one. But if it is used in children's classrooms, I feel like the teachers would have to be very careful about the stereotypes that are still cemented within the pages.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Luck in the Shadows
This was the second time I have read this book. And once the year is over and I allow myself to reread books again, I'm going to read it first thing. Because it is amazing. Let me elaborate.
Let's start with the basic plot, shall we? It takes the basic fantasy storyline and adds a few twists in that make it fairly original, or at least as original as a fantasy story can be.
It opens on bad guys, doing bad things, though we can't really tell what they are doing. After two pages it switches to the main character of the story, Alec, as he sits in a jail cell, having just been tortured for information he does not have. He wants to die, but knows that his captors are purposely leaving him alive so that they can sell him to slavers eventually. Great. More fun. Luck is on his side however, and a man is thrown into his cell who helps him escape. Seregil claims to be a bard and offers to take Alec on as an apprentice. Alec has no where else to go because he is an orphan (stop groaning, I already warned you it follows the basic fantasy storyline) so he follows Seregil around, learning all he has to teach. It turns out Seregil is more than just a bard, but also a Watcher. Not like the Buffy kind of Watcher, more like a spy. He works for a wizard named Nysander (who, if you would like to continue on the Buffy analogies, is actually more like a Watcher. A Giles type Watcher. Not a Seregil type Watcher. You catch my drift) who accepts Alec as a Watcher as well. However, Seregil and Alec are getting in further over their heads than they know, and it is obvious that trouble is brewing.
Over all, this is one of my favorite book series. It is unique enough to keep you into it yet standard enough that you can follow it. Some of the background characters have similar names so it is slightly hard to keep track of them to begin with, but in the end, that does not detract from the overall enjoyment or ability to understand it.
My one complaint is that it was slightly difficult to get into the first time I read it. The beginning is fairly uneventful because they need to set so much stuff up, and it gets slightly tedious. The second they meet Nysander, however, this all changes and the book is nearly impossible to put down.
When I read books, I immediately begin to think about which famous actors or actresses I would cast in the different roles. This book is the only exception I have found. The characters are so real, that they seem like real people to me. I cannot picture anyone playing them, because I can picture them so clearly as is. She has painted a near perfect image of these characters, and forgive the cliche, but I feel like the literally jump off of the page. I feel like I could really know them, and actually be friends with them.
I definitely recommend this book. Plow through the beginning, and don't give up, because, in the end, it is definitely worth it.
Let's start with the basic plot, shall we? It takes the basic fantasy storyline and adds a few twists in that make it fairly original, or at least as original as a fantasy story can be.
It opens on bad guys, doing bad things, though we can't really tell what they are doing. After two pages it switches to the main character of the story, Alec, as he sits in a jail cell, having just been tortured for information he does not have. He wants to die, but knows that his captors are purposely leaving him alive so that they can sell him to slavers eventually. Great. More fun. Luck is on his side however, and a man is thrown into his cell who helps him escape. Seregil claims to be a bard and offers to take Alec on as an apprentice. Alec has no where else to go because he is an orphan (stop groaning, I already warned you it follows the basic fantasy storyline) so he follows Seregil around, learning all he has to teach. It turns out Seregil is more than just a bard, but also a Watcher. Not like the Buffy kind of Watcher, more like a spy. He works for a wizard named Nysander (who, if you would like to continue on the Buffy analogies, is actually more like a Watcher. A Giles type Watcher. Not a Seregil type Watcher. You catch my drift) who accepts Alec as a Watcher as well. However, Seregil and Alec are getting in further over their heads than they know, and it is obvious that trouble is brewing.
Over all, this is one of my favorite book series. It is unique enough to keep you into it yet standard enough that you can follow it. Some of the background characters have similar names so it is slightly hard to keep track of them to begin with, but in the end, that does not detract from the overall enjoyment or ability to understand it.
My one complaint is that it was slightly difficult to get into the first time I read it. The beginning is fairly uneventful because they need to set so much stuff up, and it gets slightly tedious. The second they meet Nysander, however, this all changes and the book is nearly impossible to put down.
When I read books, I immediately begin to think about which famous actors or actresses I would cast in the different roles. This book is the only exception I have found. The characters are so real, that they seem like real people to me. I cannot picture anyone playing them, because I can picture them so clearly as is. She has painted a near perfect image of these characters, and forgive the cliche, but I feel like the literally jump off of the page. I feel like I could really know them, and actually be friends with them.
I definitely recommend this book. Plow through the beginning, and don't give up, because, in the end, it is definitely worth it.
Monday, January 19, 2009
The Wonderful World of Tortall
When I said the bindings of my books were either broken or not touched, I wasn't kidding. And there is one author where I actually own two copies of all of her books, because I destroy them too quickly.
I read my first Tamora Pierce book when I was in the sixth grade, and there has been no turning back. I pretty much love them all.
So intermixed among the reviews of new books will be the occasional Tammy book, just because I think everyone should read them.
Just thought I would warn you.
I read my first Tamora Pierce book when I was in the sixth grade, and there has been no turning back. I pretty much love them all.
So intermixed among the reviews of new books will be the occasional Tammy book, just because I think everyone should read them.
Just thought I would warn you.
My Twilight Dilemma
Twilight. You have all heard of it. If you haven't, I'm forced to ask, which rock is it exactly that you live under? I am fascinated by people's fascination with it, and even more than that, I'm fascinated by my own fascination.
To put it frankly, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn are not good books. They are poorly written, the main characters are really annoying, and nearly all of the story lines are in some way derived from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (among other things). The values taught in the books are not values preteen girls should be reading about, yet so many of them are. When I really stop to think about it, they actually make me quite angry.
That being said, I am obsessed.
For years, friends had been telling me to read the book about Edward Cullen. He was the perfect man-the one all other men should strive to me. I knew nothing more about it other than he was a vampire. It did not interest me. Then last January, my friend told me about Twilight. She went into detail about the plot, and I was slightly intrigued. Then something clicked in my mind, and it dawned on me that if Twilight was about vampires, perhaps this was the Edward Cullen book, and perhaps I should actually read it. So I borrowed it from her.
I read it in a five hour sitting. It would have been four and a half hours, but my roommate made me take a shower in the middle of it. So I guess it was two sittings. The details are unimportant. The important thing was I was hooked. I read the next two before the end of the week, and was at the midnight release of Breaking Dawn.
This leads me to my mixed review. I figured I would break it down into Pros and Cons. I am going to skip the summary on this one on the assumption that most of you have either read it, or just don't care.
Pros
1.) The background characters are fascinating. I have never been more captivated by characters than I am by Jasper Hale, Alice Cullen, and Seth Clearwater. Even Charlie makes me smile. Meyer has a way of giving each character, no matter how small, enough of a story, that you can fall in love with them separate from the book. You do not need to love the book to be completely awestruck by Alice and Jasper's romance. In some ways I feel their love story had more depth than Bella and Edward's did.
2.) Meyer has an incredible ability to make you want to know more. It does not matter if you like the stories or not. You need to know what happens. Whether you gain this knowledge by finishing the books or asking your friends, the story is captivating and you cannot stop until you know how everything plays out. This is the main reason why I read it so quickly. I could not stop to savor it because I had to know what happens.
3.) Her characters are (most of the time) believable. With the exception of Edward, Carlisle, and Esme, I feel like the characters could really exist. Wait. Some of them are vampires. Let me rephrase. I feel like their personalities could really exist. Everyone has flaws. Everyone has strengths. And there are enough different personalities that nearly everyone can find someone they can relate to. Some girls see themselves as Bella, some as Alice, maybe even Angela. And every single girl has definitely met a Rosalie. It is an unfortunately unavoidable fact of life.
Cons
1.) Feminism. I think it sums it up right there. These are the most anti-feminist books I have read in a long time. Bella is completely useless without some sort of man in her life. She does nothing for herself, and goes into complete shut down mode when Edward leaves her, only to be brought out of it by Jacob. If Edward was not there protecting her, she would have died a long time ago because of stupid decisions she makes. Her entire existence hinges on her being the best wife and mother. I'm all for good wives and good mothers, but shouldn't there be more to life than just that? I'm normally the first person to defend chivalry. It is not dead. Or at least it shouldn't be. But does Bella even know how to open a car door for herself? Also, Bella carelessly continually wants to have sex, even though she knows the danger, and it is the man who has to calm the sexual female down and say, "Not now Bella, I would kill you." Which brings us to my next point.
2.) Sex. Once again, I feel the one word sums it up. By the time I was halfway through Book 3 in Breaking Dawn, I called my friend and said, "Have you figured out the moral of this story yet?" Her response was, "Become a vampire, because sex is fun." My thoughts exactly. There was some brief mention of sex in the other books, and it was very clear that there was going to be some in Breaking Dawn. But there was no warning that there was going to be that much, or that the books would focus on it so completely. The entire first and third books (within Breaking Dawn) were full of it. Either Bella was trying to get some, they were having it, or Emmett was making fun of it, and it got a bit overwhelming. I thought back to all of the preteen girls I saw at the bookstore the night before, and was horrified. This book was way too mature for the audience that was reading it. In my mind it does not matter what audience they are written for, it matters who is reading it. Meyer knew who was reading it. And gave parents no opportunity to stop their daughters, because there was no warning.
3.) Edward is a creepy stalker. The guy watches her sleep. From inside her bedroom. He follows her to Port Angeles without her knowledge (Okay, so that ended up being slightly helpful. But the point is he was still stalking her). He does not give her a single moment alone, save for a few "human minutes", as they call them, scattered throughout the books. Edward is far from the ideal man. He is pushy, demanding, and controlling, and I am convinced if he was not so attractive, there would have been a restraining order so fast, even Alice would not have seen it coming.
4.) Jacob is a creepy stalker. Once again, we are shown a guy who is supposed to be an ideal man. And he follows her around, will not accept her decision to be with Edward, and tricks her into kissing him even after she was engaged to Edward. And don't get me started with him imprinting on Renesmee when she was only a few minutes old. I don't care if his thoughts were not sexual. It still creeped me out.
5.) Bella is not the most selfless person ever, regardless of what the characters say. I can think of virtually no decision Bella made throughout the entire series that could be considered selfless. Sure, she told Mike to ask Jessica out, when Jessica really liked him, but she only did it to get him off of her back, not to help Jessica. She is one of the most selfish characters I have ever read (not to mention whiny), yet Edward and Jacob continually talk about how selfless she is. It makes no sense. It seems as though Meyer does not even know her own characters.
In short (okay, maybe not that short), I am obviously very conflicted about these books. They have the greatest and the worst characters and story lines I have read in a long time. And like I said, I could not put them down, and I continually recommend them to people. I guess my feeling is, young adult literature is written for an audience that is two years older or younger than the main character. Bella is 17 in Twilight. So if you are 15-19, they are great books, and you will be able to handle them. But please do not give them to an 11 year old, like I saw so many parents doing at the Breaking Dawn release. They were not written for them, and will give the way wrong impression.
To put it frankly, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn are not good books. They are poorly written, the main characters are really annoying, and nearly all of the story lines are in some way derived from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (among other things). The values taught in the books are not values preteen girls should be reading about, yet so many of them are. When I really stop to think about it, they actually make me quite angry.
That being said, I am obsessed.
For years, friends had been telling me to read the book about Edward Cullen. He was the perfect man-the one all other men should strive to me. I knew nothing more about it other than he was a vampire. It did not interest me. Then last January, my friend told me about Twilight. She went into detail about the plot, and I was slightly intrigued. Then something clicked in my mind, and it dawned on me that if Twilight was about vampires, perhaps this was the Edward Cullen book, and perhaps I should actually read it. So I borrowed it from her.
I read it in a five hour sitting. It would have been four and a half hours, but my roommate made me take a shower in the middle of it. So I guess it was two sittings. The details are unimportant. The important thing was I was hooked. I read the next two before the end of the week, and was at the midnight release of Breaking Dawn.
This leads me to my mixed review. I figured I would break it down into Pros and Cons. I am going to skip the summary on this one on the assumption that most of you have either read it, or just don't care.
Pros
1.) The background characters are fascinating. I have never been more captivated by characters than I am by Jasper Hale, Alice Cullen, and Seth Clearwater. Even Charlie makes me smile. Meyer has a way of giving each character, no matter how small, enough of a story, that you can fall in love with them separate from the book. You do not need to love the book to be completely awestruck by Alice and Jasper's romance. In some ways I feel their love story had more depth than Bella and Edward's did.
2.) Meyer has an incredible ability to make you want to know more. It does not matter if you like the stories or not. You need to know what happens. Whether you gain this knowledge by finishing the books or asking your friends, the story is captivating and you cannot stop until you know how everything plays out. This is the main reason why I read it so quickly. I could not stop to savor it because I had to know what happens.
3.) Her characters are (most of the time) believable. With the exception of Edward, Carlisle, and Esme, I feel like the characters could really exist. Wait. Some of them are vampires. Let me rephrase. I feel like their personalities could really exist. Everyone has flaws. Everyone has strengths. And there are enough different personalities that nearly everyone can find someone they can relate to. Some girls see themselves as Bella, some as Alice, maybe even Angela. And every single girl has definitely met a Rosalie. It is an unfortunately unavoidable fact of life.
Cons
1.) Feminism. I think it sums it up right there. These are the most anti-feminist books I have read in a long time. Bella is completely useless without some sort of man in her life. She does nothing for herself, and goes into complete shut down mode when Edward leaves her, only to be brought out of it by Jacob. If Edward was not there protecting her, she would have died a long time ago because of stupid decisions she makes. Her entire existence hinges on her being the best wife and mother. I'm all for good wives and good mothers, but shouldn't there be more to life than just that? I'm normally the first person to defend chivalry. It is not dead. Or at least it shouldn't be. But does Bella even know how to open a car door for herself? Also, Bella carelessly continually wants to have sex, even though she knows the danger, and it is the man who has to calm the sexual female down and say, "Not now Bella, I would kill you." Which brings us to my next point.
2.) Sex. Once again, I feel the one word sums it up. By the time I was halfway through Book 3 in Breaking Dawn, I called my friend and said, "Have you figured out the moral of this story yet?" Her response was, "Become a vampire, because sex is fun." My thoughts exactly. There was some brief mention of sex in the other books, and it was very clear that there was going to be some in Breaking Dawn. But there was no warning that there was going to be that much, or that the books would focus on it so completely. The entire first and third books (within Breaking Dawn) were full of it. Either Bella was trying to get some, they were having it, or Emmett was making fun of it, and it got a bit overwhelming. I thought back to all of the preteen girls I saw at the bookstore the night before, and was horrified. This book was way too mature for the audience that was reading it. In my mind it does not matter what audience they are written for, it matters who is reading it. Meyer knew who was reading it. And gave parents no opportunity to stop their daughters, because there was no warning.
3.) Edward is a creepy stalker. The guy watches her sleep. From inside her bedroom. He follows her to Port Angeles without her knowledge (Okay, so that ended up being slightly helpful. But the point is he was still stalking her). He does not give her a single moment alone, save for a few "human minutes", as they call them, scattered throughout the books. Edward is far from the ideal man. He is pushy, demanding, and controlling, and I am convinced if he was not so attractive, there would have been a restraining order so fast, even Alice would not have seen it coming.
4.) Jacob is a creepy stalker. Once again, we are shown a guy who is supposed to be an ideal man. And he follows her around, will not accept her decision to be with Edward, and tricks her into kissing him even after she was engaged to Edward. And don't get me started with him imprinting on Renesmee when she was only a few minutes old. I don't care if his thoughts were not sexual. It still creeped me out.
5.) Bella is not the most selfless person ever, regardless of what the characters say. I can think of virtually no decision Bella made throughout the entire series that could be considered selfless. Sure, she told Mike to ask Jessica out, when Jessica really liked him, but she only did it to get him off of her back, not to help Jessica. She is one of the most selfish characters I have ever read (not to mention whiny), yet Edward and Jacob continually talk about how selfless she is. It makes no sense. It seems as though Meyer does not even know her own characters.
In short (okay, maybe not that short), I am obviously very conflicted about these books. They have the greatest and the worst characters and story lines I have read in a long time. And like I said, I could not put them down, and I continually recommend them to people. I guess my feeling is, young adult literature is written for an audience that is two years older or younger than the main character. Bella is 17 in Twilight. So if you are 15-19, they are great books, and you will be able to handle them. But please do not give them to an 11 year old, like I saw so many parents doing at the Breaking Dawn release. They were not written for them, and will give the way wrong impression.
The Beginning of a New Year
I looked at my bookshelf over the winter holidays and realized that I have a habit of buying books. The reason for this is obvious. I love to read. But then I realized, I read the same books over and over, and most of the books I buy sit unread. The bindings on my books are either not touched, or completely broken. I donated a lot of them over the summer, because my neighbor came over to help me clean, and went through my bookshelf book by book, asking if I was ever going read them, and if I even hesitated, she threw it in the donation pile. When we were done, I was still left with a full bookshelf of books I had never read before.
When I thought about how much money I wasted on books, I actually became slightly disgusted with myself.
Which brings us to my New Year Challenge. I am not going to spend any money on books this year. Libraries will become my friend, and my bookshelf will no longer be ignored.
I will start with reviews of books I have read in the past year, and I am rereading a couple of my favorites I haven't read in a year (after this I am not rereading everything, I promise!), and then I will start with my new books adventure!
When I thought about how much money I wasted on books, I actually became slightly disgusted with myself.
Which brings us to my New Year Challenge. I am not going to spend any money on books this year. Libraries will become my friend, and my bookshelf will no longer be ignored.
I will start with reviews of books I have read in the past year, and I am rereading a couple of my favorites I haven't read in a year (after this I am not rereading everything, I promise!), and then I will start with my new books adventure!
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