EricaO

Yeah, yeah, I'm a jerk for not loving a book co-written by a five-year-old. Heard it all before.

The thing is, this starts out really well: "The king happened to be a horribly horrible monster, which made him an excellent king" Wonderful beginning!
The ending involved eyeballs so is obviously also delightful.
It's the middle that tripped my things up.
I understand why there is repetition but I would have liked different answers from the different delectables encountered and I got bored and barely even looked at those parts. This is a kid's book and I couldn't be bothered to read the middle because it bored me? Dude, that's really bad.

Personally, I would have liked the illustrations to have been darker. Not scarier but darker. There's so much white space, light colors and, to me, a horribly horrible monster king would have more gray, more shadows, more...dark all around. I also bemoaned the lack of detail; I imagined what this would have looked like had it been a [a:Mercer Mayer|692|Mercer Mayer|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1245185581p2/692.jpg] book: way more fun and interesting.
It's like grown-ups are scared of pictures of monsters scaring the little children. That is what pictures of monsters ARE FOR. I swear, if the current generation grows up to be unimaginative and boring? Oh, I don't know what I'll do. Move to some other place where kids are allowed to be safely scared witless, I guess.

Back to the book. It's a fun idea that tumbles into an ok story with ok pictures. Everyone who likes to feed their children happy funtime, scary-lite stories will love it.

This book is not recommended for karen because it is about birds.

It is recommended for children who like nature or people who are trying to teach children about birding.

The illustrations are simple and not-brightly-colored; the illustrations are painted in muted, earthen tones with lots of browns and mossy greens, some quiet orangey reds, and soft yellows. It's pleasing to the eye, not garish. Elegant but not hoity-toity.

The birds are recognizable as creatures that are in our own backyards and the whole book has the feeling of a childhood summer afternoon.

Also, in regard to the title, the first thing that went through my mind: http://youtu.be/2WNrx2jq184

Did...
Did I just read a very broad and updated adaptation of [b:A Christmas Carol|5326|A Christmas Carol|Charles Dickens|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1165518693s/5326.jpg|3097440]?
...I sort of feel like I did if I step back far enough, tilt my head, and look at it in just the right light.

But, no. That's probably pushing it and, really, there are tons of redemption(ish) stories like that one so it's probably not a thing at all. I'm just being a dork, pretty much.

I do wish I were one of those highly erudite people who could translate all the feelings in my mind, all the vague connections I'm grasping to make, all the moments in which I think I actually realized something into words that illustrate the framework of my thoughts. If I were more academic, I'd write some sort of paper on this book, something about the painting being the bridge to Theo's past while also being tangible evidence of survivor's guilt and also being the thing that sets him apart from everyone else; The Goldfinch, rather than the tragedy he lived through, becomes the embodiment of the horror of one day and gives him special status, known only to himself. I'd compare and contrast Andy and Boris then Boris and Hobie, Kitzy and Pippa, Andy's parents and Theo's parents, and discuss my thoughts on how two of the strongest forces in Theo's life are dead people.
But if I did that as myself, not as an academic - and I'd have to write it as myself because I am not an academic - it would all come out all wrong and I would only reveal the fact that I missed all the points of the whole story and that I am very shallow and unable to grasp meaningful concepts. I get in trouble for that at work all the time, actually.

I will admit I was really slow on the uptake throughout this whole story. Looking back over my status updates, I see this took me over an emotional roller coaster but I never came away from the book feeling sad or angry or exhilarated. I merely had this overall feeling of happily enjoying it all...not too different from Theo, actually, merely existing without thinking. At least, that is what I'd thought of Theo until the last quarter of the book when I finally started to understand what had been happening all along, when I realized I'd been wrong to think, "Man, this kid is dealing with what he's gone through pretty well, all things considered." I think it was when adult Theo forgot about Popper that I realized I didn't actually like the guy, that he wasn't who I'd thought, that he is more than just flawed, he's shattered and sort of being held together with dingy, shredding bits of duct tape and memories.

I loved all the talk about art, from paintings to music to antiques, about what it means, about why it's all important, about specific pieces. I understand nothing at all about art so always appreciate explanations lowered to my common denominator. Running alongside the descriptions of art were the descriptions of relying on drugs to dampen the world, something I also don't understand and was also able to appreciate as it was explained in simple, easy-to-grasp terms.

I'm done with the book, now. I'm not going to think about it or try to come up with some brilliant review - we're all stuck with this one. But I was dazzled by the whole thing. I'm not sure I know why. It didn't go where I necessarily expected nor did it end the way I thought it might and all the philosophy at the end made me laugh because, really, what does he know? but I also didn't really care where it went, I just wanted to be along for the ride.

I had a couple of practical moments in which I was kicked out of the story: the use of repetition of practically the same sentence in the same paragraph bugged me and also, why the heck was Gyuri (I listened, remember. I have no idea how the driver's name was spelled) always caroming around corners and tossing his passengers into the doors? It must have been important because it was mentioned at least twice.
These things have nothing to do with anything, they were just anomalies that made my brain go, "Hey, wait, what?"; they were little hiccups.

Had I been the publisher, I would have strongly argued for the subtitle of People Who Have Loved Beautiful Things, which is not only a direct quote from the book but also pretty much a giant theme throughout.

Mmmmm...I dunno that I'd agree this compilation of abstracts is really a MUST READ BEFORE YOU DIE bucket list as much as it is a shopping list of things to read so you can talk to other people at parties who read these things. I've maybe read 20 of the titles listed? I was pleased to see my favorite ([b:Yotsuba&!, Vol. 01|511240|Yotsuba&!, Vol. 01 (Yotsuba&! #1)|Kiyohiko Azuma|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1284943754s/511240.jpg|499238]) right after karen's beloved [b:Fluffy|330705|Fluffy|Simone Lia|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320535550s/330705.jpg|321278] and my interest was piqued over some titles I'd previously overlooked because they didn't sound interesting at the time, but as a READ THESE BECAUSE THEY ARE THE BEST GRAPHIC NOVELS OF THE CENTURY...not so much.

This is good reference material for those who are not familiar with comics, manga, graphic novels, and the like or for those who would like to understand what it is those kids with comics are reading.

Hi, I'm Erica and I'm a dissenter.

Everyone else, "Hi, Erica..."

I did not love this book.
I should have loved this book. It's a primer to magical realism, getting young readers ready for [a:Alice Hoffman|3502|Alice Hoffman|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1390431605p2/3502.jpg], [a:Sarah Addison Allen|566874|Sarah Addison Allen|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1372537232p2/566874.jpg], [a:Suzanne Palmieri|5778486|Suzanne Palmieri|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1332694465p2/5778486.jpg], and the like.
It's got sisters, magic, funky aunts, a nifty little town, quirky characters, an ice cream factory, a mysterious benefactor, a curse, a dog, the love of words and all the other things that go together to create a fun, magical, wonderful story.

And yet, I did not love it at all.

I hope that the intended age group enjoys this story. I want it to be a special book, a beloved book, the kind of book that changes a child's viewpoints if only just a little.

Unfortunately, even had I read this as a 10-year-old, I wouldn't have liked it. I could feel the kid in me being pissed off at not being able to engage with the tale. I didn't like the main character, I couldn't trust her. She was always giving out information that would have been nice to have known chapters in advance...like when she freaked out over sevens and storms. It was so sudden, so unexpected, and that made it unbelievable. Why are we just finding this out now? Why wasn't it part of the beginning? There were several instances of just-in-time information which is great in some stories but it didn't work for me in this one.
I didn't care about the mom and her mystery or the greater mystery about the town. I didn't care about quirky Aunt Cleo. Or the bus driver. Or the BFF with the big secret. Or about the ten billion characters who kept showing up. Why were new characters introduced after the halfway point? This isn't Game of Thrones. We shouldn't have to keep track of so many names!

The floating words. It's such a neat idea. I couldn't stand it, though, and I especially hated "spindiddly" (I think another reviewer summed that up nicely with a Samuel L. meme) It rubbed me the wrong way for reasons unknown. Ditto the
Yes
Yes
Yes
all through the book. Maybe I found it all too gimmicky? Maybe I thought it was trying too hard, doing too much, being too disingenuous? I'm not sure but it bothered me a lot.

What is wrong with me?

Regardless of my nearly violent distaste for this story, I recognize it's got a good base. The idea is fun, the plot moves along as it should (mostly), and it's fast. It's all a great package for an enchanting tale.
Again, I really hope this does well with its intended audience because I want kids to love this book even if I could not.

I made it through four discs then called it quits.

The problem I had was that, to me, this is a mediocre story made worse by the wrong reader.

The book had originally intrigued me for many reasons: It has a slightly magical description, there's a cute little fairy house on the cover, and most-important, it's about sisters. I love stories about sisters. From the first description of them, though, I was put off - the oldest was apparently the most hideous child ever birthed, so ugly that no one in town would even look at her. That seemed weird to me. I don't think I've ever seen a child so homely that I couldn't even look at it. However, her parents loved her ... so, really, why did she even notice at such a young age the actions of the townsfolk? Shouldn't she have been secure in her place in the world because her parents didn't treat her like the ugliest child ever created? Shouldn't it have taken her a whole lot longer to notice that everyone's eyes avoided her? This isn't something she should have picked up on at, what, age three?
But whatever.
Seven years later, her little sister, Rachel, comes along and this second child happens to be the most beautiful girl in town and probably the county. Sadly, a childhood illness strikes her blind and she has no idea she's stunningly lovely or that her sister is hideous.
So we're starting out with a fairy tale and one that never sits well with me - the ugly older sister and the fetching younger one.
Helen, the grotesque child, hates her sister based solely on their outward appearances and takes to emotionally torturing little Rachel. So now we have exterior facade matching interior motivation and the whole story is centered on looks, jealousy, and who can see which truths in which tales.

It's also a broader family story, pulling the past - the story of the manipulative and abusive town founder - toward the present - Helen and Rachel - via the relatives in between such as Helen and Rachel's parents. This is fine, lots of stories do this, not a problem...until other people start getting pulled in and now there are too many stories to keep up with, stories that aren't necessary, stories that could have been told somewhere within the context of the family line, not as break-out stories of their own. This became a huge problem for me when I started to feel manipulated into appreciating the quirkiness of the Roam/Arcadia area; it felt forced, these multiple perspectives of wacky people and their interchanges with other strange folk and so I stopped caring.

I might have trudged through the book, letting it play in the background and not really paying attention, had there been a different reader. However, this reader seemed to be maybe the worst possible choice. She sounded, to me, as if she were reading this story while hiking up a mountain with a group of not-very-bright third-graders. The cadence of her speech was odd, flowing at a conversational pace and then slowing down for SERIOUS ENUNCIATION then she'd start yelling words at random...the speech patterns were similar to Captain Kirk's, actually. None of it made sense, it didn't fit with the story, and it distracted me to no end.

I'm turning this back in today and my ears will thank me for it on my drive home tonight.

This is closer to what I'd expected from [b:Cinder|11235712|Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)|Marissa Meyer|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388186881s/11235712.jpg|15545385].

In addition to the Cinderella tale, we are now also following the Little Red Riding Hood (complete with red hoodie,Wolf, and grandmere) story.

I don't like that tale nearly so much as Cinder's. I don't have feelings for or against Little Red Riding Hood; it's just there, part of the fairy tale/fable oeuvre so I wasn't biased one way or another based on my feelings toward the original.

Scarlet, however, is one of those heroines who irritate me. I know other people like this type of girl - the one who is very passionate and always acts on instinct. Hell, I love the spunky, zany, over-the-top heroine, myself, just not this one. I didn't like Wolf (he got to play the part of the secretive, yet guilt-ridden, thus clueless person, a spot usually reserved for girls and a role I find I hate no matter the gender assigned to play it), I didn't like their story, I was never invested.

However, I can also see readers LOVING the juxtaposition between Cinder/Thorn or Prince Kai and Scarlet/Wolf. If we have to pick teams, though, I'm Team Cinder all the way. For now, at least. If she becomes a sniveling shrinking violet type, though, I will just walk away.

I'm losing faith in Prince Kai. Yes, he's young and never wanted to be a ruler anyhow but it seems he's given way too much rope for a newly-minted emperor. Shouldn't there be a group of people in place to help govern until he learns how it's done? Shouldn't his advisor wield a little more sway? I dunno, he seems a bit dithery and short-sighted to me at this time.

I still enjoy the overarching story, though: Evil Moon Queen wants to take over earth. She's going about it in a push/pull crazy way, but I like the idea. And I like that Cinder is a mechanic who is now a fugitive from justice, leaving more than a little glass slipper behind.

I wonder if the Doctor is all, "Hey! Shouldn't Cinder be here in Africa by now? And maybe I should have left a note for Prince Kai. This must all be quite strange and confusing for him."
Meh. Let it slide.

I don't feel I can talk about this right now.

Bwahahaha!
Oh, gracious, this one is crazy. No, really, it's a crazy story.

Somewhere along the way, "Penguin" and "Heist" must have become synonymous...

...because the Three Orange Tabby Cat Gang immediately thinks of a penguin to assist them in their stealings of fish, a plot they would not have had to have hatched had they not spent all their gold coins on movies instead of food. Cats don't plan well.

This penguin is not the heisty type, however, and balks at being part of a criminal scheme, thus the "Peril" part of the title.

It's a crazy story but a giggly story. I figured it was French but it's not. It's British. A crazy, giggly, British story of a bad cat gang and the penguin they emperil.

Listening to this was an accident. I mean that I did not intend to ever read this story. I remember when it came across my desk, maybe a million years ago now. I loved the cover, how could I not? It's so delightfully pokey and boney and tongue-in-cheek and...I absolutely loved it, just never enough to want to read this story because covers LIE.
Last week, I had to test something on Overdrive and this title happened to be first on the list of things recently returned so I clicked the check-out button, completed my test/task and and couldn't return the eaudiobook (that's still a glitch that needs to be worked-out). As it happened, my last book ended that same day so rather than hunting down another, I figured I'd listen to this since I'd already checked it out, and all.

Feb. 24th:
Huh.
Well, I didn't see that coming.
By "that," I don't mean what I did actually see coming; I'm not being sarcastic. What I didn't know was that I was going to enjoy this story.

First off, Cinderella is not one of my favorite fairy tales. Except for singing mice and birds in the Disney adaptation and the part where the ugly stepsisters have their feet cut to bits just to fit into a tiny shoe in the Perrault version, it's never appealed.
And yet, this version, all newly-shined and set in a not-so-distant future (like, less than 200 years, yes?) was sooooo intriguing!

Second off, I've probably over-dystopiaed myself lately. It's easy to do when you read YA fiction. This is not actually Dystopian fiction...yet...but it will be if the Evil Queen of the Moon gets her hands on things! Yet, it's not all perfect, either: there is the humans vs cyborgs racism/hatred going on. And Cinderelly, Cinderelly, night and day, it's Cinerelly is still a slave for all intents and purposes. So anyway, I think I figured: Fairy tale adaptation in on-the-border-dystopian not-really-far-away future, complete with prince and menial servant and yadda yadda...boooring and eye-rolling. I can't believe I tricked myself into listening to this.

Last off, I knew there was going to be romance involved. Romance makes me sick to my brain as well as my stomach. And probably spleen. I have a fragile and delicate spleen, apparently. I didn't want to deal with teenage swooniness and signed up for it anyhow which made me predisposed to crabbiness before the book even started.

But guess what??

Cinder(ella) is a mechanic! Awesome! She likes one of the sisters! Yay! She doesn't clean the house all day! Hurrah! And while I found it odd that she did not find it odd to meet and become InstaFriends with the Prince (is New Beijing like a tiny town in Nebraska where the Mayor's kid is no big deal because, really, when there are only 8,382 people around, you can't get that worked up over someone you see all the damned time?)(don't say mean things about my disparaging of rural Nebraska : my family lives in those towns. All of them - family and towns. Hell, I live in that town, just not in NE), it was great that she did NOT show up at the ball in a fairy-godmother-made gown (because NO! She had a robot, dammit! Ha HA!) looking all beautiful and enchanting and was just so pretty that the shallow prince fell madly in love with her and wanted to marry her by the end of the night (Ms. Meyer? Kudos to you for turning that part, the part I hate most in the story, on its ear! I appreciate your effort!) Cheers all around!

Yes, some of the story is pretty obvious right out the gate. Yes, even Cinder does the whole "I'm not worth it" thing and that always makes me cringe. Yes, that is why there are 4 stars and not 5 but considering I was banking on 2? That goes to show it was a pretty good story.

There are elements of other fairy tales, too...ones I kept remembering to remember so I could put them into this review and now have promptly forgotten because I am old and senile. Pretend I brought them up and am doing some amazing literary comparison between them all and their sociological meanings and how that has obviously changed, blah blah blah. While you do that, I'm going to go check out the Playaway for [b:Scarlet|13206760|Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2)|Marissa Meyer|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1342485529s/13206760.jpg|18390691]

To sum up: listening to this was a very happy accident.

I didn't enjoy this book 3 star's worth but I understand that it has potential appeal to readers of this genre so I don't feel that I can all-the-way rant on it because I need to be a bit objective, here.
Also, it's well-written, fast-paced, and never boring and I appreciate those qualities in a story.

The reader is fantastic and kept me from grinding my teeth at all the little irritants that get under my skin like a tarantula crawling up under my eyelid: Pretty girl with no friends making her friendless way in the world; Pretty girl finds dashing Australinglish tough guy who has soft spot just for her (cuz she's pretty. And feisty. But mostly pretty, which he sees even under her bad fashion); Pretty girl gets hookered-up and turns into Hot Hot Hot with a skimpy dress, some fake lashes and thigh-high boots; Pretty girl is full of noble self sacrifices because she's not worth anything but giving up her life might save just one person and that's more than what she will ever be worth if she continues living blah blah blah; Miscommunication (or total lack of any communication whatsoever) throwing wrenches all hither and yon, monkeying-up the joint when one sentence of "Hey, this is what you need to know and I am telling you instead of just assuming you're working on the same set of principles from which I operate so here ya go: INFORMATION" would really go a long way into cutting the story in half and keeping silly things from happening.
All those plot devices, those nasty little storylines that piss me off to no end, abound. Also, there's romance and...barf. Hate the stuff. Happily, there's not an official love triangle, though, so that's something, right?

Didn't I realize what I was getting into? Yes. I did. And that's why I have to be a little more objective than usual. I didn't listen to this purely for my own entertainment. Actually, I don't know why I listened to this - it was on my To Read list on Overdrive and I have no idea why.

While this isn't the sort of story I go in for, I can see how the audience that does enjoy paranormal romance will eat it up. Eat it up like a vampire eating up pretty young girls, though not the pretty young girl in question...because she's badass and reckless except for when she's doubting herself and kowtowing to her hate-ridden mother.

So if you are like me and think romance is stupid and hate that a woman can only be universally sexy when in a hip-hugging dress that doesn't even cover one's pantyless crotch and who also doesn't understand how someone who runs around killing vampires makes rookie mistakes at clubs while also worrying so very much what her mother thinks of her, then probably you should give this book a pass. If you can't, then listen to it and be impressed with how the reader does Crying Voice. She's impressive.

BUT! If you enjoy nearly-virginal young women discovering they just happen to be aces at sexy sex and if you like thrills and rescues and daringness and self-sacrifice and men who watch over their women without making their women feel controlled as well as vampire cults and ...it's not a prostitution ring, really, but close enough...and black-belt action, then I strongly suggest you pick this book up immediately because you'll probably like it a lot.

I wanted to write a good review for this but I keep getting sidetracked when I start thinking that this book is probably based on my cat's (Evie's) dreams.

As I've mentioned, I'm relistening to the Bridget Jones books because the new one is out and I'll be reading/listening to it soon; I feel I need to brush up on what happened ten billion years ago.

So.
Bridget.
I never liked this story as well as the first one, though time has mellowed my viewpoint a bit. I remember thinking that there is no way that much could happen to one person in the course of one year and not have more of an effect. I mean, hello! She got her boyfriend, she met Colin Firth, she hung out with her mother's African...um...what was he? Guest. We'll call him a guest. Because "pet" is demeaning. She got arrested coming home from Thailand, she got to experience The Fantasy that all people go through when someone breaks up with them (the whole crawling back/turns out he was pathetic thing) and she's still a flake after ALL THAT?
But looking back, I have had lots of adventures, some scary moments, plus big events and small and if I were really honest with myself? I can't say I've grown much, either. I might be a little wiser but I think that comes more from winding down toward a sedentary lifestyle and less from learning things, meaning I'm too lazy to fight or care anymore and don't do as many crazy things as a result. So maybe her year wouldn't have changed me, either, despite what I'd self-righteously believed the first time I read this story.

Still. I liked the first book better.

Oh! I'd forgotten that I had read these until the second one came across my desk today! I'm going to re-read it. These are such fun stories!

This is a book about being different and how there are pros and cons but once the difference becomes useful, the pros outnumber the cons probably 5 to 1 or something.

Not addressed with Henny-the-chicken's arms are her teeth. She brushes her teeth. I know there's a saying about hens' teeth, but I also know that chickens, with exception of the one tooth they use to break out of their eggs, a tooth that falls off their beaks within 48 hours, do not have teeth.

To be honest, this book borders on the creeptacular. A chicken with arms. It's sadly cute in the beginning, when poor Henny has to lug her long, skinny arms behind her while trudging along, last in line. But as she gets older and tries to blend in, the arms...they are so distracting. People arms on a little white hen.

Happily, she learns to use her arms for helpful endeavors and thinks of all the other possibilities, culminating in perhaps every chicken's fondest dream and it's all wonderful.
And yet, a chicken with skinny, pink arms, it's a bit offputting. It's one of those "You have a face only a mother could love" type things...only - about that: this type of story tends to make my two latent maternal instincts come forward and I wanted to care for and protect the strange armful chicken.

On a serious note: Yes, I understand that this is about teaching compassion for others as well as being positive in the face of adversity. I get the point and know I am being the horrible person this book is intended to not create. I know this. And if I saw a real chicken with arms, I would still probably stare. It would probably peck my eyes out for my unmannerly behavior and I would deserve it. That wouldn't stop me from trying to give it a good home were it about to be sent off to the chopping block. I know this, too.

I enjoyed this book because-

Reason 1:
It would be fun to read aloud. I love doing monster voices and there's plenty of opportunity for that in this story.

Reason 2:
There are little bits of humor tucked away for grownups, like when the monster who wants to eat the bunnies who keep distracting him with friendship notices that there were seven bunnies yesterday and today there are more.
Amusing!

Reason 3:
I like the illustrations. I like the expressions on everyone's faces and I like the colors.

Reason 4:
I like the thought of eating bunnies but I like better the thought of bunnies that bake cupcakes and form clubs.