Hey world! Goodness, what a failed bring a friend day last week was! No comments, no friends, no nothing! Yeeshers. I thought you guys were my fans...Anyways. Wednesday has rolled around again, and oddly enough, I only have one book to review, and it's the same book I hadn't finished last week!
So, six minutes into yesterday I finished this book called Great Expectations by none other than Charles Dickens. I realized it had been quite a while since I read a "classic" and I was in a Dickensian mood, and this book was on my To Read list, and my book bag was kind of light...all those variables coming together couldn't be ignored, so I read this standalone novel. It took a while, over a week, but I'll get to that later.
Summaryish: When a young poorish orphan boy named Pip living with his sister and her husband meets a heartbroken woman named Miss Havisham, who has lived most of her life in a state utter hopelessness and grief, his whole life is changed. This meeting combined with meeting her adopted daughter, Estella, and a chance encounter with an escaped convict turn his life upside down! On top of all that, he comes into property, or great expectations, and moves from his home to the big city of London where things...don't go well. Terrible terrible summaryish...
Review: Whoa, snap. This book was good. Because it was written in the 1800s, I expected to be tuning out quite a bit, but I ended up glued to the pages! The story was intriguing from the very beginning and the way everything ended up tying into every thing else until every detail was a neat tapestry was amazing! I literally gasped out loud multiple times! The weird thing was, my copy had two endings; the real ending, and something called "Original Ending." I must say, I liked the original ending better, and I was glad that I could kind of choose between the two, so if at all possible, try to get one with both. Maybe they all have it - I'm not sure. I am sure, however, that you can't go wrong reading this book. Well, maybe you can, since I know someone who hated it...I loved it! Oh, that ending! I'll never forget it!
Words to the Characters:
Pip: I liked you, then I hated you, then I liked you again. I'd say that's the sign of a good character!
Biddy: That...shocked me.
Okay, see you next week!
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer.
Hey world! It's Bring a Friend Day! Did you bring your friends? If you did, go ahead and comment that, maybe with a suggestion for me to add to my To Read list which is growing short, and then you will have wonderful chances of winning the lame prize that is given to people who bring their friends, or enemies, or anyone who can read. And since it's Bring a Friend Day, I obviously have to post a review of something! The problem is, I haven't finished the book I'm reading because I've been so busy lately! Not to fear, there was a time before this blog, and there are multiple books that have made quite an impression, and I can review completely honestly, as if no time has passed. Problem averted through a trip down memory lane!
So, a really long time ago, at least more than two years, but not more than four years, and certainly not more than nine years ago, I read a book called A Drowned Maiden's Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz, who appears not to have a personal website, but does have a Wikipedia. This is a standalone book, and unlike most of the books I review, which are generally teen and adult, this is a children's book. You know, that part in the library with the shorter shelves?
Summaryish: A young girl named Maud is living in an orphanage when a charming lady named Miss Hyacinth, who either has one sister or two, adopts her and takes her home. She soon finds out that the only reason she was adopted by the woman was so that she could help with elaborate faked séances for grieving parents or other such relatives. She is then torn between her desire to please her new guardians and her growing dirty conscience.
Review: Oh my gosh, if I remember one thing about this book, it's that I didn't like it at all. I suffered through endless pages of pretty much nothing but suspense growing by the hair's width. I do remember that the characters were nicely brought to life, but the boring story line totally overshadows that. I've spent the last no more than four years getting through bad books by telling myself I've read worse. Thinking to myself, "At least it's nor Drowned Maiden's Hair" I would immediately get a second story-wind. Yeah, I read it quite a while ago, but something this bad stands out in one's memory. But then again, maybe I'm just incompatible with this kind of story telling, and slow moving tales are the kind of thing you like. The tagline, "A Melodrama" probably should have warned me I wouldn't like it...
About the Title:
The title was the thing that drew me to the book in the first place, and I can at least say that it's properly curiosity-inducing. So at least that was done well.
See you next week. Thanks for bringing your friends!
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer.
Hey world! It's finally time for that bonus post I told you about yesterday! Woohoo! Welcome. Remember, next Wednesday is Bring a Friend Day. And by next Wednesday, I mean the one that's about to happen. I hear there's controversy over the whole "this" and "next" thing when it comes to dates. Me, I'm confused about "next month." Does it mean onthe same day next month, or about 31 days from now? And what if it's a leap year?
So, about two days ago I finished this book called X Isle by Steve Augarde that I started a week before that date. The link in the author's name is to his blog, I can't seem to find an official author site, but that's fine with me so I hope it's fine with you. As far as I know, this book is not starting a series or anything, it is a standalone. Though, disappointingly, Mr. Augarde has written several other books. I never would have guessed it (I think you see where this is going).
Summaryish: After terrible floods that leave most of the Earth covered in water, the only hope for young Baz to find a better life for himself is on X Isle - a salvage operation rumored to be a great place to live and work. The only problem is, it's the only hope of dozens of other boys just like him. But when he is chosen to live on the island, he learns that not everything is sunshine, roses and three meals a day. The island is run by a madman, and what once was his only hope is quickly turning into the death of him.
Review: Maybe you picked up on this, but I did not like this book. I feel so bad for this story, which probably would have been wonderful in the hands of Eoin Colfer, but instead was killed by an endless telling void of showing. Yeah, sure, the story was okay, and it definitely has potential, it was simply poorly written. The characters were flat, and dare I say clichéd. I didn't care about them at all. Plus, it took forever for the story to even go anywhere. I felt like I was wading through waist-deep imagery for years. I do respect the fact that everything that happened did contribute to the story. There was no pointless wandering, everything had a destination in mind. But it certainly could have happened a lot faster. In addition, I felt one step removed the whole time. I couldn't get into the characters' minds like I like to. It just wasn't that great of a read.
About the Cover:
It was such a great cover...I saw it and immediately wanted it. Judging books by their covers generally works for me. How disappointing.
See you on Bring a Friend Day!
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer.
Hey world! It's Wednesday!I have two books to review today, and I'm pretty excited about both. Reminder: Next week is Bring a Friend to SYTYWTRT Day. Enemies are accepted, too. Animals are not. Unless the animal is an elephant. Elephants are always accepted everywhere. I mean, really, who's going to stop them from doing what they want?
So, it seems like a while ago that I read this book called After the Snow by S.D. Crockett, but it really wasn't. This book has been published in several different languages, and has a sequel that I believe is only available in the UK at the moment, but I might be able to get my hands on it. I have connections, you know. I really don't, but it sounded cool to say that. Ms. Crockett has a very mysterious website, I highly recommend exploring that.
Summaryish: After the oceans stopped working, the world was thrown into a sort of ice age. Society inevitably crumbled, leaving few cities standing in chaos, and others surviving on their own in the mountains. Willo Blake is one of these stragglers. When he comes home one day after hunting, he finds his entire family missing. Unused to being alone, he sets out to find where they have gone and hopefully rejoin them, but along the way he meets someone who will throw him off course and change his life forever.
Review: The first thing I must mention: The grammar drove me crazy!! I understand that it helped develop the character of Willo, and even lent a kind of sincerity to the tale. Still, all those "beens" in place of 'ams" and things just really bothered me. I got used to it after just a short time, and I could immerse myself in the story, which was fantastic! Even the slower moments were fabulous! The characters were all very likeable and I honestly enjoyed every moment of reading this book. Except for the grammar...Which, let's be honest, did add to the story. So maybe even while it bothered me to no end, I still secretly loved it. I'm looking forward to finding out where I can get the sequel!
Words to the Characters:
Willo: I love how I can't tell if your a simpleton schizophrenic or not. Even if you were without a doubt...I don't think that would make you any less awesome as a person.
I wish I could do both of my posts today, but I'm late. Bonus post tomorrow, then! Bye!
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer.
