Review: "1984"

1984 by George Orwell
2 out of 5 stars

This is another one of those classics that I really could have used an English teacher to interpret and explain the themes for me. I don't know how high school kids read some of these books and get any kind of personal meaning out of them. I know I had read this previously but I don't remember when or what I thought of it at the time. I just know I didn't like it this time around, as an adult. As always, my reviews for classic books will have spoilers throughout, so be warned.

Winston stopped reading, chiefly in order to appreciate the fact that he was reading, in comfort and safety. It was bliss, it was eternity. Suddenly, as one sometimes does with a book of which one knows that one will ultimately read and reread every word, he opened it at a different place and found himself at the third chapter.

Yes, I think this book is important, in the same way that The Handmaid's Tale was. Interestingly, both books were set sorry Handmaid's Tale was written in the mid-1980s and also terrifyingly, both could still happen today. These things could still happen. Certain presidential candidates could make these things happen. How scary is that? So yes, people should be reading this book. Or at least discussing it, comparing it to their own lives. The themes (the ones I could decipher, at least) are still prevalent, 60+ years after Orwell wrote it. But does that make it a good book? Not necessarily.

We are led to believe we should feel pity for Winston Smith, the main character, but it's hard to. He's a pretty boring guy. And it's not his fault, he can't really do anything interesting without Big Brother watching. His biggest coup is sitting in the alcove of his apartment where the cameras can't see him and writing in his secret diary. (Insert your own Lord Voldemort joke here.) He knows he should stand up to Big Brother, speak out, make a change, but he doesn't know how or have the courage really.

He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.

Then he meets the lovely Julia and feels the first stirrings of hope. Going back and rereading passages for this review has made me realize that I actually really enjoyed the first half of the book. I liked Winston & Julia's relationship, their secret meetings and clandestine talks, when they get the private room above the antique shop. It's when Winston gets the book that it all goes downhill for me. Pages and pages and pages of doublespeak and political ire that I could just not wrap my head around. And then when they are captured and we get 65 pages of Winston being tortured, well it's all just too much. And for what purpose? We know the government can be evil. But what is the real purpose of Big Brother? What are they thinking, who is running it all and why? We need that back story to make this a truly good book, otherwise it's just an overly long political essay.

(images found on Pinterest, if you don't want yours shown, let me know)

Review: "The Giver" Classic a Month #1.2014

The Giver by Lois Lowry
3.5 out of 5 stars

I wanted to give myself something easy for the first classic of 2014 so I decided to finally read The Giver, which has been sitting on my shelf for several months now. I never read it when I was younger and didn't really know a lot about it until I started hearing about the movie coming out soon. I also didn't even know it had sequels/companion books so I'm going to try to get those from the library soon, because hello cliff hanger. :P

If you're like me and have never read it, here's the basic plot: way, way, way in the future there are small communities like Jonas' that have made life "perfect". In other words, super regulated and removing of all basic choices. When they hit the age of 12, each citizen is given their career. Jonas gets picked for an extra special one, The Receiver. The book spans about a year and a half to two years and tells all about Jonas' journey to realizing that his world maybe isn't perfect after all. And that's your spoiler-free review, so stop here if you still want to read it!

The book felt a little "flat" to me in some parts. It took me until roughly halfway thru to realize that they weren't seeing color or hearing music. I just thought they were overly polite & structured and that was about the only change. I enjoyed the "daily life" of the first half of the book. I laughed when little sister Lily described getting angry and her little fists. I teared up when the weaker twin was "Released". (And come on, who didn't see that immediately as a euphemism for "euthanize"??) Asher was good comedic relief, but I didn't feel the importance of him or Fiona that Lowry seemed to want to make them. Jonas was a decent young boy with little to no personality, until he met the Giver. (All this "giving and receiving" reminds me of that Friends episode lol.)

The Giver was a nice old guy who didn't want to make the same mistake as with his first replacement (Rosemary) again with his new, young Receiver so he starts out nice and slow with the memories. I loved his memory of Christmas, that was probably my favorite part. But somewhere along the way, he gets ornery and decides that maybe Jonas is right. Maybe the people do need these memories and choices. And all of a sudden, they're planning a mutiny. It just seemed very rushed and out of nowhere to me.

Of course they needed to care. It was the meaning of everything.

Questions that didn't get answered for me (mostly rhetorical, since I'm planning on reading the sequels):
1. How did the people stop seeing color? Is it in their water or food?
2. How is the climate controlled if there are no borders to other communities?
3. Why are all the Receivers born with those strange, light-colored eyes? Wouldn't that make it pretty obvious who the next in line is and they could start training earlier?
4.  Is Rosemary actually dead? (Don't answer that one! :))
5. Did Jonas & Gabriel die at the end? (I'm going to say no, but that they were hallucinating with the sled and all.)
6. Is the Receiver/Giver's gift magic or science?

Review: "Cutters (Uglies: Graphic Novel #2)"

Cutters (Uglies: Graphic Novel #2) by Scott Westerfeld
2 out of 5 stars

I was so excited to get this second installment of the Uglies graphic novels but then when I finally did, I just kept putting it off. I wasn't sure why until I actually started reading it. Like the first, I'd say if you are a mega-fan of the series, then absolutely read it. If you enjoyed them on a surface level, like me, I'd say you're okay skipping them. I probably won't buy any of the future issues, if he decides to make them.

This is starting out pretty negative, so let's talk about the things I did like about this book. The artwork is great still, for an anime-style gn. The party scenes in particular were lovely. I didn't feel like it lived up to the novel again though. I wanted to see more of the high-tech bubbly world that Westerfield created. Maybe it needs to be in color? I just thought of that. The cover is much more crisp and life-like.

I also really liked Dr Cable, her evilness shone thru the pages for sure. The rest of the characters fell flat though. I kept getting all the guys confused and even had a hard time recognizing Pretty Tally. Shay was okay, but I still disliked her as much as in the novels. Which I guess is the point. You really need to read this pretty close after reading the novels though, I was very confused throughout most of the book. Despite the title, the cutting seemed to be glossed over a lot more than in the novel. I mean, yes it does show the kids cutting themselves and having the ceremony, but it doesn't seem to have the glorification that the novel did.

Review: "Bumped & Thumped"

Bumped & Thumped by Megan McCafferty
3 out of 5 stars

I saw these books in a "What to Read After The Handmaid's Tale" post on Bookriot and since that was my classic for September, I decided it'd be interesting to read these and compare it. There is a definite similarity and I'd be comfortable calling these a contemporary remake of Handmaid's. I would at least recommend them as a companion read for it. When I checked them out at the library, my 13 year old sister was with me and after reading the summary, she said that she would want to read them as well.

I'd almost call this a utopian series as opposed to dystopian. Or at least, it's trying to be. There's a strong sense of hope and "we're doing good things" instead of doom & gloom and "everybody is going to diiiieeee". ;) Bumped is set in 2036 America and like Handmaid's, a virus has caused the majority of the population to be infertile. In this case, most women over 18 years. Why is it always women? Why can't men have a problem for once? So this means the world must rely on teenagers to have babies. Controversial for sure but McCafferty did a really great job with it, in my opinion. I have to admit I've never read any of her other books, but I really enjoyed the writing in these two.

Melody and Harmony are 16 year old twins separated at birth. Melody has grown up to become a Professional Breeder (although she hasn't gotten a contract yet to actually procreate) and Harmony was raised in an incredibly strict Church life in "Goodside". Harmony's story is very old-fashioned-no technology, communal raising of the children, etc. Where Melody's story is all about the new slang and electronics of the future-MiVu's, contacts that you put in to connect to the Net and things like that. The lingo was a little annoying at first, she was trying a little too hard to push it.

Ventura Vida has the pee stick. "The Pro/Am has an image problem," she says. "We're just not sexy enough. I mean, rilly!"

But there are some interesting comparisons to present-day as well, just like Handmaid's. In the United States, deliveries of every color and creed are valued. It's shocking to think that the government would try to stick its nose in our ladyparts. I know a lot of people believe this story is meant to be a satire, but it had its serious moments to me. When the twins reunite, they are each carrying secrets and they must come to terms with them before their relationship can grow. The struggles they face are real even if the world isn't. Their confusion about what is right and wrong is heartfelt. And of course, there are boys and romance...it is a young adult novel after all. Melody's best friend, Zen, was a lot of fun and his interactions with Harmony were particularly nice to read. Ram, a "brother" in Goodside, has a major secret that he struggles with throughout.

And then there is Jondoe. The breediest man brand you could possibly ever want to bump with. This dude is a true pro and he loves every minute of it. And I know what you're thinking: "ew gross" right? Well, yeah at first. But this guy has more depth than his stud-for-hire commercials show. So give him a chance. But be sure to wear protection haha! (Sorry, I just had to go there!)

Moving on. Bumped focuses more on Melody's side of the story and you may feel like Harmony is getting the short end of the pee stick, but Thumped brings it more into balance and you really end up liking both girls quite a bit. Be sure to get both books at once though, because the first ends on a cliffhanger (someone gets pregged!) and you will want to know what happens. I don't know if I would want my 13 year old sister reading these, even though she read Twilight ages ago, but I think an older teen would have no problems with it. Just from the reviews, you might think the books are encouraging teen pregnancy, but after reading them I think you'll change your mind. It would absolutely be a good companion to The Handmaid's Tale, as I said above. In any case, they will get you talking.

Review: "The Handmaid's Tale" Classic a Month #9.2013

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
3 out of 5 stars

As in all my classic reads, I'm going to assume you've either read it, haven't read it but know all about it already, or don't plan to read it, so spoilers will abound in this review. :) This is such a hard book to rate. I can't really say I enjoyed reading it, but I'm glad I did. Does that make sense? You know by now that I'm not a blogger who will dissect all the "themes" of the book or how it relates to the political climate we're in right now and all that stuff they make you write in high school essays. I can just write how the book makes me feel. And this book depressed the heck out of me. There are no positive aspects to this book, at all.

This book was written in 1985, set in a "distant future" that seems to be around now present-day time. Which is disturbing on so many levels. That we live in a time now that people used to create dystopian societies. And while we don't have the flying cars of Back to the Future, these worlds sometimes feel eerily similar to real life. In our present day world, the government is already trying (and succeeding here in Texas & many other states) to take away a woman's reproductive rights by defunding places like Planned Parenthood and outlawing abortions. That's a too small step to Atwood's imagined world, don't you think? I said I didn't like to get political in my reviews, so that's all I'll say about that.

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. Does that sentence even make sense? Let's break it down...Offred is a person, a female, 33 years old. Her name literally means Of-Fred, property of some dude named Fred. I kept reading it as Off-Red though, which also works, because she now has to wear a long red Nun's habit and keep her body concealed at all times. As a Handmaid, she lives with a higher up Commander, Fred, and his wife. Her sole job is to make a baby for this family, by "lying" with the husband once a month. To make it even more awkward, they do this the "old-fashioned" way, no artificial stuff here, and the wife lies with them. The Republic of Gilead is the East Coast of the former United States, in the 2010s, after a Middle Eastern religious group is blamed for shooting the President and all the members of Congress. A new government is formed, one that brings about the "old ways" of women being property, no longer able to hold jobs or bank accounts, all decisions must be made by the man of the house. Then there is a virus, a power plant explosion, something like that...it causes some women to be infertile, not the men of course. The population is endangered. Young, fertile women are taken to former schools or Nunneries and indoctrinated into a cult of sorts that makes them believe this is their destiny, their new job. The old, infertile, resistant are taken to Colonies, awful places where they just wait to die.

Offred is brainwashed into this new life just like everyone else, but she has moments where she can't help but remember her former life. She had a husband, a child...both taken from her because she was his second wife and divorce is illegal now, so the child is illegitimate. She doesn't know what has become of them, after. She wonders if this is what her life is going to be forever. Women can no longer read or write, which was actually the part of this book that upset me the most. The fact that they are taking away not just their individuality and bodies, but their freedom and ability to learn, their brains, it's just so sad.

But Offred finds ways to keep her wits, stay as present and positive as possible. She finds a Latin saying etched into the floor of her bedroom closet: "Nolite te bastardes carborundorum". Don't let the bastards grind you down. She uses it as a slogan, something to repeat over and over as she is humiliated and used. The Commander, Fred, starts to take an interest in her. He encourages her to break the rules and talk to him late into the night, play Scrabble, read old illicit magazines (Vogue). One night he takes her to a brothel, dressed up in an old sequined costume and cheap makeup. Sex is supposed to no longer be a pleasurable thing, but a way to build up the country again. But of course, men will always break the rules they make. If I were writing this as a school essay, I would use that as a main talking point. And also the question of "love" throughout the book. This passage stood out for me, as one of the most important themes in the story:

We've given them [women] more than we've taken away, said the Commander. This way they're protected, they can fulfill their biological destinies in peace. With full support and encouragement. Now, tell me. What did we overlook?

Love, I [Offred] said.

Love? What kind of love?

Falling in love, I said.

Oh, yes. Was it really worth it, falling in love? 

Love, said Aunt Lydia [Nun] with distaste. Don't let me catch you at it. Love is not the point.

Those years were just an anomaly, historically speaking, the Commander said. Just a fluke. All we've done is return things to Nature's norm.

Falling in love, I said. Falling into it, we all did then, one way or another. How could he have made such light of it? Sneered even. As if it was trivial for us, a frill, a whim. It was the central thing; it was the way you understood yourself; if it never happened to you, not ever, you would be like a mutant, a creature from outer space. Everyone knew that.

This book pushes buttons and I can understand why it has been on the Banned Books List so often. (Not saying I agree, just that I understand.) But sometimes you need to read books that make you uncomfortable and question the ways of the world. How will you grow, otherwise? And even if the book doesn't have a happy ending or even an ending really at all (like this one), does that mean you wasted your time reading it? I don't think so.

Review: "Shay's Story (Uglies: Graphic Novel #1)"

Shay's Story (Uglies: Graphic Novel #1) by Scott Westerfeld
3 out of 5 stars

I think this graphic novel, like the Vampire Academy, is best as a follow-up to the original series. If you enjoyed the Uglies series, I would absolutely recommend this. I'd say these would work well as a stand-alone too, unlike VA. This gn gives us most of the same story as book 1, but is told from Shay's point of view so we get some new story as well. I really enjoyed reading about her beginnings with the Crims, the kids that pull pranks on Pretties. And also her adventure to the Smoke and her relationship with David.

But. There's always a but. I felt like the drawing was lacking. Well, not the drawing itself, that was fine. But the execution of the drawing, if that makes sense. The whole point of this series is to show the huge difference between the Uglies and the Pretties. In the graphic novel, there is no difference. Okay, some of the kids are kind of average looking and Tally has weird hair, but Shay looks just like one of the Pretties with her super-long, gravity-defying hair. She looks exactly the same to me in the end when she has the operation. So that was irritating. It's not a deal-breaker for me though, so I'm excited to read the second book. And this is a super short review, so how about a few more pictures?

Review: "Uglies" Series Books 1-4

Uglies Series Books 1-4 by Scott Westerfeld

3.5 out of 5 stars averaged

I finished the last book in this series the other day, so I can finally review it all! I know I'm several, several years behind everyone else probably, but I'd never even heard of Scott Westerfeld before I found these at Half Price. Now I'm kind of obsessed lol. (I have the Peeps books to review too!) Also, it took me forever to find the last one and I had to buy it new, which was kind of annoying.

So, was this the best series I've ever read? Not really, but I enjoyed it overall and I'd definitely recommend it to those who love any of the other dystopian novels that are so popular right now. The premise is unique and there is plenty of fun, new technology. It's set around 300 years in the future and of course, the world has self-destructed due to its extreme oil consumption and been rebuilt in a better way. That's one of the few things I didn't like about these books (and actually a lot of dystopian novels in general)....the whole "save the environment or the whole world is going to go kaboom" thing. I mean, yes I agree it's important and all but is that the only way authors can think of to destroy the world?

Okay, the main character is Tally Youngblood. She is fifteen years old and can't wait to turn sixteen, not because she gets her drivers license but because she gets an operation to turn her Pretty. (I just realized I wrote the same summary as Goodreads almost word for word lol...I swear it was an accident!) Tally is an Ugly right now and she hates it. She wants to be a Pretty like her BFF Peris (male) and live in New Pretty Town where you get to party all the time and you don't have to worry about anything. Sounds great right?

While Tally is waiting to turn sixteen, she becomes friends with Shay, another Ugly. Tally and Shay get along great, playing pranks and tricks, going hoverboarding (kind of like in Back to the Future lol), and going to The Wasteland which is a huge broken down city that the Rusties (ie: us now) used to live in. But there's one thing about Shay that doesn't sit well with Tally: Shay doesn't want to be a Pretty. She tells Tally all about a place called The Smoke, where people live "naturally" and don't get the surgery. She wants Tally to go with her, but Tally is like "no way, I wanna be Pretty and party all the time." So Shay takes off and then lots of spoilery things happen. ;)

Tally is finally turning sixteen, but the day of her surgery she is taken to meet Special Circumstances director Dr Cable (Dr Evil) instead. The Doctor wants her to tell her how to get to The Smoke, assuming Shay left her instructions. Tally refuses until they threaten to make her an Ugly for life. Tally finally agrees and goes on a big long journey to The Smoke, following the weird riddle that Shay left for her. The trip was kind of boring at times, but once she gets to The Smoke, it picks up again. She meets up with Shay and also a youngish Ugly called David. Of course, Tally falls for David, even though he's pretty much hideous and even though Shay likes him too. And hey guess what? David likes Tally back. Hello, love triangle. There were some surprises at The Smoke and I enjoyed the twist at the end, but I'm not going to spoil it for those who haven't read it yet. So let's move on to book 2, shall we? (Unless you haven't read book 1, then you should stop right here Mister/Young Lady!)

Pretties was probably my favorite out of the series. (Although, according to Goodreads reviews, it's most people's least favorite so take that how you will!) Tally is finally Pretty, just like she always wanted and living in New Pretty Town with her BFF's Shay and Peris. And her new boy-toy, Zane. This girl goes thru boys more than anyone I've ever seen! She's having tons of fun being Pretty and everything is totally bubbly and dizzy-making. I know the "bogus" language got on a lot of people's nerves, but I kind of liked it. And I've totally used "dizzy-making" in real life now. (My sister looks at me like I'm crazy every time I do though lol.)

So Tally is enjoying being Pretty, but she feels like something is missing. She feels like a Pretty fraud and she doesn't know why. Then she and Zane find a letter written from her past Ugly self with some pills and everything starts to become clear. This book does tend to run the same plot-line as Uglies, but it has some twists. The pills are the cure to the "Pretty-headedness" that David's mom came up with at the end of book 1; Tally and Zane decide to take them together and disastrous things happen.

I do have to mention this and I apologize if it is triggering for anyone: the use of cutting and starving themselves to stay clearheaded was one of the most disturbing things in these books. I feel like it was very well-written, but at the same time, Westerfeld seemed to condone it. I don't know if others felt this way or not? I can understand explaining why someone would cut to get "Icy" and how they feel doing it, but to glorify it the way he did...it just felt icky. These are books geared towards teenagers, mostly girls. Take some responsibility here man. Okay, off my soap box.

Specials is book 3 in the series, actually the final book in the original trilogy and you guessed it: Tally has had another surgery. She's now one of Dr. Cable's Special Circumstances, meaning she's a cop basically for the city. She's also a special Special; Shay has had her turned into a Cutter like herself. This group is super dangerous and lethal with unbreakable bones, razor-sharp teeth and fingernails, and all kinds of technology built into their bodies.

I enjoyed this book a lot, probably as much as Pretties, but it was really hard for me to like Tally in this one. Which I guess is the point. She's not supposed to be likable. But the way she treats Zane, who is damaged a bit from the previous book, is heartbreaking. *Highlight for spoiler if you have already read this book: She is totally disgusted with his tremors and "averageness". And when he died, I cried. Like for real, cried. /spoiler There is plenty of action in this one, but the ending felt a bit lacking to me. Another spoiler: Tally ends up staying Special and going off with David. I understand that she has grown and matured since the first book, but it still felt weird to me. /spoiler Overall though, it was a good conclusion for the series.

Extras is book 4 technically of the series, but can also be read as a stand-alone. I loved the cover of this one. Aya Fuse is the main character in this book, a 15 year old girl living in Japan 3 years after the end of Specials. It actually took me a long time to even realize they were in Japan lol...There are no longer Pretties and Uglies, but society is now based on your popularity rank. I really enjoyed the concept of this. Everyone has a face rank that is bumped up by how popular their feed is. Similar to Facebook and YouTube, the more friends and views you have, the higher your society ranking is and the more money you get from the government.

I think we can all definitely relate to this and even feel a little conceited about it sometimes. I mean, how many times do you check your blog stats to see how many views you've had in a day? Or get upset when you lose a friend on FB? Or obsessively see how many comments a review/video/picture has? This book takes that all to a new level.

Aya Fuse is obsessed with becoming popular and bumping her rank out of the 400,000s. She needs a big story to kick and she thinks she finds that when she meets up with the Sly Girls, a group that does killer tricks but stays totally anonymous at the same time. They agree to let her come along for a few tricks, including hoverboarding on a train, and she records them with secret cameras and her hovercam called Moggle. Let me just stop and say that I think Moggle is the cutest character in the whole series and I want one lol.

Okay, so Aya starts out just recording the Sly Girls' stunts but it turns into a huge secret other-wordly story that she is totally not in control of. I honestly didn't enjoy the second half of the book nearly as much as the first. There was too much preaching, ET aliens, "bigger story" here. Also, Tally Youngblood is back and not nearly as good a character as in the other books. I don't know, I think Westerfeld just wanted to write more fun technology stuff (which he is very, very good at) but didn't really think about the actual plot of the book and when it came time to end it, he was just like "oh, let's make it a good thing and how about a big party?" Yeah.