French Friday (2): the Halloween Version

I know it's Saturday, but if you've been following my blog for a little while, you've perhaps noticed two things:
1)I'm very bad with keeping up with weekly memes
2)When I do post them, I almost always manage to do it a day late.

So, keeping with that tradition of lateness, I'm doing French Friday on Saturday this week. It's hosted my Charlotte at The Book On the Hill, and this week she talks about the (somewhat boring) French covers of Harry Potter. You'll also get to see the French attempt at a cover for Graceling (can I say fail?)




It is a well known fact that the French don't celebrate Halloween. They tried to for a little while, but for some reason that I will just never understand, it didn't work out, and now it pretty much doesn't exist here at all.

Still, I figured they must have some Halloweenish books. Right? So I went to the book store to see what kinds of spooky Halloweeny books I could find, and aside from a couple books about vampires (since books about vampires are all the rage nowadays and all), well, there were none. I guess I shouldn't have been shocked, but I was. I mean, I thought I would at least find ONE Halloween-themed book. For cultural purposes and all.
So I went to Amazon, thinking that it was ridiculous that the French had no Halloween books, that it just couldn't be so (I should perhaps note that I went to at least 5 different book stores).
And I found this:
This is basically a children's History book that explains what Halloween is and how it is celebrated. I sort-of wish that I could have looked inside it. It dates from 1998 when the French tried and failed to do Halloween. Can you imagine, though - a Halloween "how to" book for kids.

I also found this:


This means T'choupi celebrates Halloween. T'choupi is a very well-known and well-loved (by French children) curious little penguin, and he has many different adventures in a series of French story books. I was very glad to discover that he gets to take part in one of my favorite American holidays.

So there we have it, the French don't do Halloween.
Intersting fact: I taught my students about Halloween (none of them had ever even heard of it - I guess their parents did read them that particular T'choup book), and I tried to get them excited about dressing up and candy. And they all seemed to think it was one of the lamest things they had ever heard about. They all voted that it was NOT something in which they wanted to participate. They were between the ages of 7 and 11. WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?!?

Up next week: an interesting phenomenon I discovered while at the book stores this week. Check back next Friday (or Saturday)!

And, of course

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

. . .And we Have a Winner!!!! + New Layout

I used the Contest Winner Picker, and it decided. . .
the winner of the Vampire Diaries is. . .

Shawna from The Blind Cupid


I have sent you an e-mail. You have 48 hours to contact me or I will pick another winner.

In other news, you've perhaps noticed that I HAVE A NEW LAYOUT FOR MY BLOG!!!! I absolutely love it, and I would like to thank Cindy from Tynga's Blog Design for working so closely with me to make this happen. She was awesome and a pleasure to work with, and we got it pretty much all done in just two days. I'm psyched, and I love my new design! Let me know what you think about it by voting in the poll in my left sidebar there.
Please vote! It will give you two extra entries in my next contest, which will hopefully be coming up soon!

Review: Dirty Little Angels by Chris Tusa

This one sort of got swept away in a read-a-thon frenzy, and since I reviewed it for the author, I thought it would be a good idea to bring it back up to the top for it to get the facetime it deserves.

Title:Dirty Little Angels

Author:Chris Tulsa

Rating:

Recommended?Yeah; I really, really enjoyed reading this book, and I think most people would.

What I Have to Say: When this author contacted me to review this book, I said yes. Not because I thought that the book looked extraordinarily interesting, but because the author was from Louisiana. Being from Louisiana myself, I do my best to check out local authors as often as possible.
Well, let's just say that I'm glad that this author happened to be a Louisiana native, therefore enticing me to read this book. Because I LOVED it!
Hailey Trosclair is one of the most interesting and hard to put my finger on characters that I have ever read. Her innocence in thought and the innocent way in which she approaches the most violent or tragic of things is, well, baffling.
Her lack of emotion when it comes to the most severe of issues is, yet again, baffling.
Hailey is this weird mixture of a 16 year old girl living the life of a 21 year old girl and yet with the mentality of a 5 year old. And I am still shocked that Chris Tusa managed to pull off a character like this, and brilliantly, at that. Is he really a man? Can he possibly be sane?
All of the characters in this book surpass the normal stereotypes given to kids of the slums of New Orleans. Through Tusa's brilliant descriptions, we get a real look at what it must be like to grow up there, what it must feel like to live a life of dysfunction when you are surrounded by poverty and more dysfunction.
To sum it up, Dirty Little Angels is the haunting story of dysfunction gone wrong, seen from the point of view of someone who can't seem to grasp what that means. It is brilliantly written, with well-developed characters, a well-developed plot, and a narrator that will capture your heart, even if you don't like her, and even though you certainly won't understand her.

SummarySet in the slums of New Orleans, among clusters of crack houses and abandoned buildings, Dirty Little Angels is the story of sixteen year old Hailey Trosclair. When the Trosclair family suffers a string of financial hardships and a miscarriage, Hailey finds herself looking to God to save her family. When her prayers go unanswered, Hailey puts her faith in Moses Watkins, a failed preacher and ex-con. Fascinated by Moses's lopsided view of religion, Hailey, and her brother Cyrus, begin spending time down at an abandoned bank that Moses plans to convert into a drive-through church. Gradually, though, Moses's twisted religious beliefs become increasingly more violent, and Hailey and Cyrus soon find themselves trapped in a world of danger and fear from which there may be no escape.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by the author in exchange for a review.

HAPPY READING, EVERYONE!!!!

Blog Tour Review: Japan Took the J.A.P. Out of Me by Lisa Fineberg Cook

Title:Japan took the J.A.P. Out of Me

Author:Lisa Fineberg Cook

Rating: 1/2

Recommended?To expatriates everywhere! Or to anyone that might ever someday be an expat; also to fans of Elizabeth Gilbert

What I Have to Say: I tend to enjoy memoirs, especially when they involve Japan. If I had understood how LITTLE this one actually did involve Japan, I probably wouldn't have read it. I went into the book excited to read about the Japanese culture and came out feeling like it could have taken place anywhere. I'm glad that I didn't know it would be like that beforehand, because I probably would have missed out on what turned out to be a great book.

Lisa Fineberg Cook and I have NOTHING in common. Well, very little, at least. I find her to be bratty, snobby, self-involved, and self-inclined. She is the kind of person that some of my friends might occasionally be friends with, and I would just never get it. This entire memoir is basically just her whining about Nagoya, Japan and how it is different from Beverly Hills/L.A. She's also an avid smoker (although she does occasioanlly try to deny this), and anyone that knows me knows that this is an immediate deal breaker for me. (I feel bad saying these things about the author, but I'm sure she would think I am too stuffy and moral for her tastes as well, so it's all good. Our ideas of fun are just very different.)

Now you might be thinking - but wait, I thought you "really enjoyed this book." And the fact is that, despite not really liking Lisa and knowing that she and I would NOT get along in life, I did like it. It was a fast-paced, witty, fun, and easy read. I would't go so far as to say that it's laugh out loud funny, but I did find myself smiling and laughing in my head on a regular basis.
More than that, though, she really does get across what it feels like to be an ex-patriot. I've been an ex-pat for over two years now, and I could relate on so may levels to the things she was going through. I would have dealt with them differently than she did, but she really made me understand that an ex-pat is an ex-pat no matter where they are. I could have written a similar book whining about Paris.
Reading about her experiences made me feel a sense of solidarity with her and helped me to understand her where everywhere else I just couldn't.

Oddly enough, despite my complaints, I found this to be an extremely enjoyable read that I literally could not put down. I read it in two sittings (I don't read books in one sitting, so this is pretty awesome for me).

Summary:This humorous, moving, and insightful debut memoir follows a young newlywed from Beverly Hills to Nagoya, Japan, where her husband has a new job.

Blog Tour: Flesh and Fire

First of all, a big shout out to all of the Read-A-Thon cheerleaders! You guys definitely kept me going when the going got tough, and I assure you, the going did get tough. So thank you all for all of your wonderful comments.

Secondly, Flesh and Fire by Laura Anne Gilman is on a blog tour today, and Brizmus Blogs Books was supposed to be participating in that tour.
Unfortunately, the book didn't arrive in the mail until today. And as much as I love to read and would have liked to be able to post this one on time, I just couldn't finish it in a day. Be expecting a review soon!

Summary (from GoodReads):Fourteen centuries ago, all power was held by the prince-mages, who alone could craft the spell-wines. But the people revolted against harsh rule, and were saved by a demigod called Sin-Washer, who broke the First Vine, shattering the hold of the prince-mages.

In 1378 ASW, princes still rule, but Vinearts now make spellwines, less powerful than in days of old. Jerzy, a young slave, has just begun his studies to become a Vineart when his master uncovers the first stirrings of a plot to finish the work Sin-Washer began, and shatter the remains of the Vine forever. Only his master believes the magnitude and danger of this plot. And only Jerzy has the ability to stop it…before there are no more Vinearts left at all.

Now, while you're still feeling excited about this book from that awesome summary, go check out the other blogs on the tour:

All About {N}
Beth’s Book Review Blog
Drey’s Library
Revenge of the Book Nerds
The Neverending Shelf
Layers of Thought
Fantasy Freak
Undercover Book Lover
Carol’s Notebook
Starting Fresh
Pick of the Literate
My Friend Amy
Cheryl’s Book Nook
Opinionated? Me?
Readaholic
One Person’s Journey Through A World of Books
My Life In Not So Many Words
Geek Girl Reviews
Sci-Fi Guy
Wendy's Minding Spot
Found Not Lost
25 Hour Books
Temple Library Reviews

Read-A-Thon OVER!!!!

I'm done, it's over, I made it, GOOD NIGHT!
(even though it is 2ish in the afternoon here in France)

Read-A-Thon Update (11): Last Hour

So we're well into the last hour now, and I'm reading Evermore by Alyson Noel. The Hunger Games was AMAZING, and I am SUPER psyched to start Catching Fire next week!

In the meantime, I thought I'd do the end of event meme:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? hour 19; I seriaouly thought I was going to fall right back asleep after my nap. I don't know how I managed not to.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? ALL of the books I've read: the Hunger Games, Vampire Academy, Dirty Little Angels, and even Evermore for the moment
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? someone else said more spread out mini-challenges, and I think this idea; also, I know it's hard to have it during the week, but Saturday is hard for me.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? the keeping people up to date memes hosted on the read-a-thon site were awesome!
5. How many books did you read? 3 full books, half another book, and the beginning of a 5th book
6. What were the names of the books you read? Dirty Little Angels, Vampire Academy, the Hunger Games, the Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society, and Evermore
7. Which book did you enjoy most? the Hunger Games
8. Which did you enjoy least? the Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society, but that was probably just becaue of how crappy the version I had for my kindle was, with weird marks between all the letters. I'll give it another try later on.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? was, unfortunately, not a cheerleader
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I will ABSOLUTELY participate again as a reader!

And that's all for now, folks! Back to reading for the last hour. And then: SLEEP!

HAPPY READING, EVERYONE!!!!

Read-A-Thon Update (10)

I'm participating in a mini-challenge from over at Princess Bookie!

Name 8 Of Your Favorite Things (not all books either LOL)

My List:
1. the Neverending Story
2. books
3. punk rock
4. artichokes with nutritional yeast
5. light houses
6. puzzles
7. unicorns
8. magic

My mind is a little fuzzy right now from lack of sleep, so the creativity thing just isn't happening. Sorry!

There we go. I'm almost done with the Hunger Games, and I'm still almost falling asleep, but hopefully I'll finish nonetheless!

HAPPY READING, EVERYONE!!!!

Read-A-Thon Update (9)

Well, I've just woken up from what was supposed to be sleeping 4 hours but turned into sleeping 5 hours. My alarm didn't go off. Don't ask me HOW I managed to wake up without it.
I'm about to be headed back to reading, but I thought I'd do a couple mini-challenges to help wake myself up first.
First, for Chronicle of an Infant Bibliophile, I have to list 5 children's books that I love. So here we go:
1)the Hungry Caterpillar (I've had to read this moe times than I can count; it's a good thing I love it!)
2)Any of the Clifford books
3)Harold and the Purple Crayon
4)Where the Wild Things Are
5)Walter the Farting Dog

For another, for Fyrefly's Book Blog, I had to shake my booty for at least the duration of a whole song. This was actually a very helpful mini-challenge. I chose "Dance Party for Two" by the Unlovables.

At the Hungry Readers, I had to complete this sentence: "I would rather read than _____________ any night!" with a phrase from page 23 of my book. Unfortunately my book is a kindle book, so I don't actually know if it was from page 23, but I tried, and this is what I came up with:
"I would rather read than successfully struggle to overcome barbarism any night!"

It's kind of lame, but I'm still half dead to the world.

I think that's it for now. I'm going back to reading, and I will TRY not to fall back asleep. Agh!

HAPPY READING, EVERYONE!!!!

Read-A-Thon Update (8)

Well, I've managed to stay up until 2:30 in the AM here; don't ask me how. I DESPERATELY need sleep, though, so I'm going to read another chapter then take a little sleeping break. My alarm is set for 7 in the AM, and I'm hoping I'll then be back and ready to attack the books.

In the mean time, though the
Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now? the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

2. How many books have you read so far? Finished 2 and read half of another one before starting this one

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? a few moments sleep, perhaps

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? not really, actually; just needed to make sure I'd be fed

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? I have, unfortunately, had two very large interruptions. I just kind of rolled with it, doing my best to read as much as I could throughout them and trying not to let myself feel guilty for not reading.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Two things - sometimes I can be a fast reader; sometimes I read ridiculously slowly. I thought I was always slow. And then that it is 2:30 in the AM here, and I am not yet passed out dead (though I will soon be)

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? None at all; I think you guys are doing a FANTASTIC job this year!

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? I would make sure to call all of my bf's friends and have them bother him regularly throughout the day :-)

9. Are you getting tired yet? I am literally about to pass out

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? Eat A LOT!!!!

Read-A-Thon Update (7)

It's 1:00 in the morning here in France, and I am already ABSOLUTELY FALLING ASLEEP!!!! Agh!

I was reading the Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society on my kindle, but the version I had of it was HORRIBLE - it was full or weird little marks in between almost all of the letters of all of the words.
In the end, I deemed it unreadable. I feel bad abandoning a book once I've started reading it, but it seemed I had no choice.
So now I am reading the Hunger Games. Can I just say: SO GOOD!!!!

Now, the Hour 10 Mini-Challenge hosted by Reading With Momma. I absolutely can NOT get enough of the Neverending Story by Michael Ende. I could really go back and read it over and over and over again. I feel the same way about Bridge to Terabithia. There is something so magical and wonderful about these two books that just manages to keep me captivated every time.

Thanks for all of your wonderful comments, and HAPPY READING, EVERYONE!!!!

Read-A-Thon Update(6)

I've been reading for a little while now, and my eyes are mega hurting. I'm liking the Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society, but it's a little slow going for me. So I'm going to take a big break with the boyfriend for some dinner.
Hopefully I'll be ready for a full night of reading when I return!

In other news, I am SUPER excited! I entered the very first challenge over at the Dewey's Read-A-Thon website, and I WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I never win ANYTHING. I enter tons of contests, and I always lose! I won a book once from Persnickety Snark, which still hasn't arrived. But that's it. I once was one of 13 entrants into a contest that had 10 winners. Did I win? Absolutely not.

So anyhow, I'm super psyched about this! :-)

Thanks for all of your encouraging comments!
HAPPY READING, EVERYONE!!!!

Read-A-Thon Update (5)

I just thought I'd take a quick break for another update to let you guys know that

I FINISHED BOOK #2


That's right, Vampire Academy has been finished, and I absolutely loved it!
Now I have started on and for the time being am super enjoying book # 3, the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
Wish me reading luck!

HAPPY READING, EVERYONE!!!!

Read-A-Thon Update (4)

I don't know why, but I was inspired to take another break right now, half an hour after my last one. I mean, I'm loving the Vampire Academy!

For this post, I thought I would once again point you back to Princess Bookie, where all the fun is going on. Like I said, she's hosting TONS of contests!

Another one of these is for four AWESOME ARCs - if you win, you get the Unwritten Rule, by Elizabeth Scott, the Dark Divine by Bree deSpain, Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn, and Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves.
I would LOVE to win these books! First of all, I am obsessed with anything dragon, so of course I need Voices of Dragons. And then I have read a million great reviews of Bleeding Violet and the Dark Divine. Not to mention that I saw this HILARIOUS the Dark Divine promotion video where some male author painted his fingernails purple and went around squeeing in public about the book.
How could I not NEED to read it after that?

So anyhow, go check out the contest and tell Cindy why you need these books.

HAPPY READING, EVERYONE!!!!

Read-A-Thon Update (3): Princess Bookie

Well, my reading is going along fantastically. I'm super enjoying Vampire Academy, and it's looking like I'll be finishing in another hour or two.

In the meantime, I thought I would send you guys over to Princess Bookie (you'll notice a little box to her in the sidebar).
She has some mega contests going on today to help distract us from our reading. You absolutely do NOT want to miss out!

One of the books that she is giving away is Captivate by Carrie Jones. Check out that particular contest here. She's asking us to tell her why we HAVE TO HAVE this book. I'm sure my reason is kind-of lame, but I HAVE TO HAVE this book because I find myself slightly obsessed with the cover. I can't stop looking at it and that one beautiful golden tear rolling down the cheek on the cover. I find it absolutely captivating. Don't get me wrong, the summary also looks great, but it is for the cover that I NEED this book. Can't stop staring! Unfortunately, staring at it is taking time away from my precious reading time.

So, check out the contests over at Princess Bookie. And back to reading I go.

HAPPY READING, everyone!

Read-A-Thon Update (2)

Just reading away, but I thought I'd check it with the meme from 24hourreadathon.com

Today, I am reading from my comfortable apartment in France. I'll be alternating between my bed and my two couches.
Three facts about me:
1)This is my first read-a-thon
2)My boyfriend is sick today, making the read-a-thon thing less easy (is that really about me?)
3)I believe in unicorns!

My TBR pile for the next 24 hours can be found here. Go check it out for yourself to see how many books it contains!

My goals for the read-a-thon are to have a great time, to remember to eat, and to use it as a de-stresser as opposed to a stesser.

HAPPY READING, EVERYONE!!!!

Read-A-Thon Update(1): And it begins. . .

Well, folks, it's about 2 in the afternoon here in France, which means that THE READ-A-THON BEGINS!!!!
I'm about halfway through the book that I am presently reading. So far it's been a ridiculously quick read, so I'm hoping to be done pretty quickly.




I'm glad that it looks like I'm going to finish book #1 towards the beginning of the read-a-thon; that whole sense of accomplishement thing. :-)

Afterwards, I've decided I'm going to dive right into the first Vampire Academy book, as it also seems pretty short, and I've heard many good things about it. After that, I was thinking I would just go with the flow. If I'm in the mood for another Vampire Academy book, then so be it. Another Vampire Academy book it will be, and I will most likely get my fill of vampires.

Aside from that, I'll be doing my best to update every once in a while. Every time I finish a book or when I just can't blog anymore. I'm thinking it should happen about once every two hours or so.

That's it for now - HAPPY READING, EVERYONE!!!!

Blog Tour: Over the Holidays by Sandra Harper

Well, Over the Holidays is on a blog tour today, and it was SUPPOSED to be reviewed by me.
BUT, I still haven't received my copy. ::sob:: I'm so looking forward to reading it. In the meantime, I thought I would give you a little taste by introducing you to the author and showing you what it's all about. And also, giving you links to visit all of the other blogs that have been writing about it (it appears that most of them did receive their copies in time).

Summary(from GoodReads):It's only December 1, and Vanessa Clayton has been dreading Christmas since she spotted tinseled trees at her local mall in September. Thankfully, she and her husband, JT, can't afford to drag their twin boys across the country to New England for the annual celebration at her stuffy sister-in-law Patience's home. Not that Vanessa has prepared a proper Christmas for her family in years, and she has less time than ever since she agreed to consult on the script of a local play. Her older sister, Thea, is no help -- she'd rather make art and flirt with surfers than babysit her nine-year-old nephews. Then Patience drops a holiday stress bomb: Her family will come to California instead.

In between "baking" cinnamon rolls for the school potluck and overbearing Patience testing her patience, Vanessa can't stop thinking about the difficult but charming playwright at work. Meanwhile, Patience's teenage daughter, Libby, obsesses over a college boy she has met by the pool, and Thea searches desperately for the meaning of Christmas -- for her latest installation, of course. As their holiday plans go comically awry, these four women discover the true spirit of the season is hidden in every festive surprise.

Doesn't this book just sound fantastic?

About the Author (biography taken from Simon and Schuster):Sandra Harper is the author of the play, Magpie's Tea Room, which enjoyed a successful run in Los Angeles at The Ventura Court Theatre. She has written a cooking column, "The California Cook" for the newspaper, Skirt. A script reader for Pathe Studios and Springcreek Productions, she also wrote and produced fashion and rock videos for Elvis Costello, Chaka Khan and Vidal Sassoon, amonf others. Ms. Harper recieved her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Southern California and has completed a children's book, The Witches Club.

I CAN'T WAIT TO READ THIS BOOK!
While you're waiting patiently for my review, go check out everyone else's reviews!

Rundpinne: http://www.rundpinne.blogspot.com
Frugal Plus: http://frugalplus.com
The Life (And Lies) of an Inanimate Flying Object: http://haleymathiot.blogspot.com/
Drey’s Library: http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com/
Wendi’s Book Corner: http://wendisbookcorner.blogspot.com/
Opinionated? Me? : http://readingwatchingliving.blogspot.com/
Me, My Book and the Couch: http://memybookandthecouch.blogspot.com/
Libby’s Library News: http://www.libslibrary.blogspot.com/
Bookin’ With Bingo: http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com/
Books, Movies, and Chinese Food: http://books-movies-chinesefood.blogspot.com/
Psychotic State: http://www.psychoticstate.blogspot.com/
Readaholic: http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/
That’s A Novel Idea: http://thatsanovelidea.blogspot.com
All About {N}: http://www.bookwormygirl.blogspot.com/
Starting Fresh: http://startingfresh-gaby317.blogspot.com/
A Sea of Books: http://aseaofbooks.blogspot.com/
Just Another New Blog: http://justanothernewblog.blogspot.com/
Blog Business World: http://www.blogbusinessworld.blogspot.com
My Friend Amy: http://www.myfriendamysblog.com
Cheryl’s Book Nook: http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/
One Person’s Journey Through A World of Books: http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/
I Read: http://sumanam.wordpress.com/
So Many Books, So Little Time: http://purplg8r-somanybooks.blogspot.com/
Keep on Booking: http://keeponbooking.blogspot.com
Reading at the Beach: http://ilratb.blogspot.com/
Found Not Lost: http://jmomfinds.amoores.com/
Brizmus Blogs Books: http://brizmusblogsbooks.blogspot.com/
Book Reviews by Buuklvr81: http://www.buuklvr81.blogspot.com/

French Friday

French Friday is a meme hosted by Charlotte over at The Book On the Hill



Since, for the time being, I'm living in France, I thought I would try to participate.

A while ago, Lenore at Presenting Lenore posted some German covers of YA books. I thought this was a great idea and wanted to do the same thing for some French book covers. So, I made my way over the fnac and took some pictures, and was all excited about posting them.

And then I never did.

One thing I found interesting was that, well, when it comes to YA, the French are. . .boring when it comes to their YA covers (oops! Don't tell them I said that!). For the most part, they just steal from us Americans.


(sorry about the glare; my camera sucks)

Notice how the only thing different about these two Mortal Instruments books is the titles.

Occasionally, they do change the covers.


(did I mention my camera sucks?)

But when they do, it's like they've forgotten creativity exists. Maybe it's just me, but I find the original Blue Blood covers infinitely more interesting. I guess maybe, just MAYBE, I could say that I rather like the cover for "the Vampires of Manhattan."

I guess I shouldn't be judging, though - I haven't actually read the books yet. Maybe the French ones fit better what is going on.

That's all for now, folks! I'll try to think of something more interesting for next Friday. :-)

Review: the Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

With the imminent release of Millenium 3 in the US and the recent release of it in the UK, I thought it was time for me to pick up my copy for a read and review.

I would first like to direct my readers to my review of the Girl Who Played With Fire, the second book in the Millenium trilogy and also the second review in my blog.
Good, now that that's taken care of, on to the review of the third one.

Title:Millenium 3: the Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Author:Stieg Larsson

Rating:

Recommended?YES!!!! Read them all, and do it NOW!!!!

What I Have to Say: This third installment in Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy (which was originally meant to contain twelve books; due to Stieg Larsson's premature death caused by a tragic and brutal heart attack, it became a trilogy) is easily the best of the bunch.
Stieg Larsson is a genious. And there is no doubt in my mind that, in time, he will become known as one of the best crime thriller writers of all time. If not the very best. It made me step back and go "whoa!" on more than one occasion.
There is something complex and magical about the simplicity of his writing. Every word and every sentence flows easily into the next as we follow each of the characters through basically every step of their everyday lives (which, I must say, are nothing at all like my everyday life). At one point in time, we are follow six whole stories at the same time; never once does it seem daunting or overwhelming (even with all those crazy Swedish names). Never once did I feel lost, and I cared equally about all of the stories and their interconnections. Not one small thing is left out, and yet there manages to be nothing superfluous about the content.
Because we get to see each of the characters at their best and their worst, doing some of the most mundane things, we grow to know them and all of their complexities without even realizing it. I can easily say, without even giving it a second though, that Lisbeth Salander is the most real and unique heroine I have ever read. And Mikael Blomkvist is up there with one of the most believable, unique heroes I have ever read.
Even the secondary characters are well thought-out, well-developed, integral parts of the story.

This is a story about being on the wrong side of corruption and about fighting for the basic rights that come with being a human being. It is a crime thriller, to be sure, but this book is accessible to everyone (well, grown-ups at least). Stieg Larsson's to the point way of presenting all the facts one after the other will, without out a doubt, leave the reader open-mouthed at the edge of their seat until the very end. And even though, as this is the last of the three, everything is tied up nicely, with no loose ends so to speak, the reader can't help but crave for more.

GO OUT AND READ THIS BOOK NOW!!!! (but read the other two first)

Summary:In the third volume in the explosive trilogy that has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide, Lisbeth Salander confronts political corruption from her hospital bed while a killer lurks next door.

This is the summary from Amazon. Originally, I was going to add more, but honestly, if you've read the first two, which you should, you don't need more than that. So we'll just leave it at that.

And now for a game of "Which cover do you prefer?
The big one up there is the French version, which I read. I can't help but be partial to it, as it's this particular line of covers that made me want to read the books. It's sleek and gothic in it's blackness with just a brief hint of photo. Then we have these:



I think these are both kind of boring, though I do like the UK one (on the left) better than the US one (on the right). What do you think?
There are quite a few other covers in other languages, but I'll leave it at these.

Yay! And now I can finally rent the movie - which is in Swedish. I don't doubt that an American re-make will be made eventually.

Good Golly Miss Holly

I discovered a new blog today that you should ABSOLUTELY CHECK OUT!!!!

Good Golly Miss Holly

The blog is super cute (I only wish mine had as nice of a look), and I am absolutely expecting good things from it.
Right now, she is giving away a copy of Three Willows by Ann Brashares (author of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)!
So, go check out the contest and the blog.
Good times!

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon

So, I've been really hesitant about signing up for the read-a-thon for many reasons.

1. I have the attention span of, well, a 5 year old with ADD.

2. I have NEVER IN MY LIFE stayed up for 24 straight hours. I think I tried once before and collapsed after 20 hours. I then proceeded to sleep for a good 12 hours.

3. I take Viet Vo Dao on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and I am already going to miss it this Wednesday.

4. I have trouble reading more than one book at a time. I don't want to start something that I would normally love and then get frustrated with it because I am supposed to be reading it nonstop.

I'm sure the reasons could go on, but I'll stop there.
All that said, I have finally given in and decided to just go for it. If I need to take a break to go to Viet Vo Dao, so much the better. Besides, it's an excuse to make my boyfriend cook for me.





I hope that people will come cheer me on as I think I will definitely need it.

In a way, I think I subconsciously knew all along that I was going to give in and sign up for it, as I have been sort-of hoarding books that would potentially work for it.

So here's my list of books that I'll possibly read (I of course won't read all of them, but they will all be on hand for my reading pleasure):

1. Evermore - Alyson Noel
2. Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead
3. Vampire Academy 2 Frostbite - Richelle Mead
4. Vampire Academy 3 Shadow Kiss - Richelle Mead
5. the Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
6. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
7. City of Bones - Cassandra Clare
8. City of Ashes - Cassandra Clare
9. City of Glass - Cassandra Clare
10. Immortal - Gillian Shields
11. Along For the Ride - Sarah Dessen
12. Midnighters 1 the Secret Hour - Scott Westerfeld
13. Vampire Kisses - Ellen Schreiber
14. the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer
15. Pendragon, the Merchant of Death - D.J. McHale

I'm sure I won't read more than three or four, but it's good to have a ton around just in case.

What is everyone else reading?

Now, all I have left to do is pick out which songs to put on my ipod to have non-stop all day fantastic reading music! Is anyone else picking music ahead of time? If so, what will you be listening to.

Yay! I'm psyched about this!

Old Reviews (3): South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami and the Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi

REVIEW #1

Title:South of the Border, West of the Sun

Author:Haruki Murakami

Rating:

Recommended? ABSOLUTELY; maybe not to someone who only reads young adult, but other than that I would say, if you like to read, you'll like this.

What I Have To Say: I love Murakami's writing style and the way he always manages to turn a slightly boring character that one would rarely ever think about into something fascinating and almost always strange. This book isn't any exception to that, and I loved it for everything it was, and there was nothing missing from it. It's just so hard, though, not to compare it to everything else I have ever read by him, and because of that, I just can't give it the five stars it perhaps deserves.

Summary:In South of the Border, West of the Sun, the arc of an average man's life from childhood to middle age, with its attendant rhythms of success and disappointment, becomes the kind of exquisite literary conundrum that is Haruki Murakami's trademark. The plot is simple: Hajime meets and falls in love with a girl in elementary school, but he loses touch with her when his family moves to another town. He drifts through high school, college, and his 20s, before marrying and settling into a career as a successful bar owner. Then his childhood sweetheart returns, weighed down with secrets.
N.B.The GoodReads summary goes on, but I thought it should end there.

REVIEW #2

Title:the Spiderwick Chronicles

Author:Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi

Rating: 1/2

Recommended?For very young readers or parents that don't mind reading to their children about magic and scary creatures

What I Have to Say:These books are for someone way younger than me. Each of them takes about a half hour to read, and I didn't read them all together, which I definitely should have. Maybe then I would have liked them more. As it as, I was kind of bored and spent the whole time wishing there were less of them and that they were over. I wouldn't have finished had I not been a little bit curious. And I wouldn't have been curious had there not been so many mystical creatures. So I guess it was okay. It was just,. . .VERY young. Even for me.

Summary: It all started with a mysterious letter left at a tiny bookstore for authors Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. Its closing lines: "We just want people to know about this. The stuff that has happened to us could happen to anyone." Little could they imagine the remarkable adventure that awaited them as they followed Jared, Simon, and Mallory Grace and a strange old book into a world filled with elves, goblins, dwarves, trolls, and a fantastical menagerie of other creatures. The oddest part is in entering that world, they didn't leave this one!

Five captivating books!
One thrilling adventure!
The Spiderwick Chronicles
N.B. I still want to see the movie!

Old Reviews (2): Plum Wine by Angela Davis-Gardner and the Princess Diaries 10 by Meg Cabot

As I said in this post, I'm moving over mini reviews that I did in my old non-book blog. Here are the next two for your enjoyment!

REVIEW #1

Title:Plum Wine

Author:Angela Davis-Gardner

Rating:

Recommended?Yes, if you are a woman interested in Japan

What I Have to Say:This book was a great look at what it must have been like for an American woman to be living in Japan during the Vietnam war. It was touching and heartwarming, and I managed to basically adore it despite not really liking the two main characters. I think that's saying a lot.

Summary:Bottles of homemade plum wine link two worlds, two eras, and two lives through the eyes of Barbara Jefferson, a young American teaching at a Tokyo university. When her surrogate mother, Michi, dies, Barbara inherits an extraordinary gift: a tansu chest filled with bottles of homemade plum wine wrapped in sheets of rice paper covered in elegant calligraphy—one bottle for each of the last twenty years of Michi’s life.

Why did Michi leave her memoirs to Barbara, who cannot read Japanese? Seeking a translator, Barbara turns to an enigmatic pottery artist named Seiji, who will offer her a companionship as tender as it is forbidden. But as the two lovers unravel the mysteries of Michi’s life, a story that draws them through the aftermath of World War II and the hidden world of the hibakusha, Hiroshima survivors, Barbara begins to suspect that Seiji may be hiding the truth about Michi’s past—and a heartbreaking secret of his own.

REVIEW #2

Title:The Princes Diaries 10: Forever

Author:Meg Cabot

Rating:

Recommended?Yes, yes, yes yes, YES!

What I Have to Say:So, I unfortunately like Mia less in this book than in the other books. She has also become a flexetarian that is flexible even for a flexetarian, which I think is ridiculous and kind of a cop out. And it doesn't really fit with her character. (And HELLO, she should have gone vegan!) But still, it was the last in the Princess Diaries books, and despite my minor complaints, it was possibly the best of them all. I feel like saying - Meg Cabot has done it again!

Summary:What's a Princess to do? It's Mia's senior year, and things seem great. She aced her senior project, got accepted to her dream college(s), and has her birthday gala coming up . . . not to mention prom, graduation, and Genovia's first-ever elections. What's not to love about her life? Well . . . Her senior project? It's a romance novel she secretly wrote, and no one wants to publish it. Prince Phillipe's campaign in the Genovian elections isn't going well, thanks to her totally loathsome cousin René, who decided to run against him. Her boyfriend, J.P., is so sweet and seemingly perfect. But is he the one? And her first love, Michael, is back from Japan . . . and back in her life. With Genovia's and her own future hanging in the balance, Mia's got some decisions to make: Which college? Which guy? How can she choose? Especially when what she decides might determine not just the next four years, but . . . forever!

Waiting on Wednesday (3)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.


This week, I have chosen the third book by an author that I just LOVE! So far she has released two other books, "Garden Spells" and "the Sugar Queen," and I would so totally give them both . I don't know how they both managed to escape review.
So now we have:
The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
Publication Date:March 16, 2010
Publisher:Bantam Discovery
From Randomhouse.com:In her latest enchanting novel, New York Times bestelling author Sarah Addison Allen invites you to a quirky little Southern town with more magic than a full Carolina moon. Here two very different women discover how to find their place in the world…no matter how out of place they feel.

Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. For instance, why did Dulcie Shelby leave her hometown so suddenly? Why did she vow never to return? But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew—a reclusive, real-life gentle giant—she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life.

Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor bakes hope in the form of cakes.

Everyone in Mullaby adores Julia Winterson’s cakes. She offers them to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth and in the hope of bringing back the love she fears she’s lost forever. In Julia, Emily may have found a link to her mother’s past. But why is everyone trying to discourage Emily’s growing relationship with the handsome and mysterious son of Mullaby’s most prominent family? Emily came to Mullaby to get answers, but all she’s found so far are more questions.

Is there really a ghost dancing in her backyard? Can a cake really bring back a lost love?
In this town of lovable misfits, maybe the right answer is the one that just feels…different.

Old Reviews (1): Blindness by Jose Saramago

Okay, so as I mentioned in my Man Booker Rant, a long time ago, before I started book blogging, I used to do short little reviews of books in my other blog.

Presently, I have embarked upon a heavy duty very time-consuming writing schedule, in an attempt to finish my present WIP. I also decided to start a 700 book (that I am reading in French, meaning slightly slower reading pace)at the same time. Which means, I am guessing, that's it's going to be hard for me to post reviews for the next little while.

SO, in the meantime, I have decided to go back and post my mini reviews of books that were originally done in my other blog, Vegan In the Land of Frog Legs and Cheese. I was thinking I would do two per post, but since this is an introductory post, it will just get one.



Title:Blindness

Author:Jose Saramago

Rating

Recommended?Sure thing, even to a YA crowd. This book is GOOD! And even if you're not someone who would normally read a book that won the Nobel Peace Prize, don't let that scare you away. This book is a total page turner!

What I Have to Say:
I absolutely LOVED this book! I had for some reason heard bad things about it, but I can't even begin to understand why. I really couldn't put it down, and I am now dying to see the movie, despite the fact that there is NO possible way that it will do the book justice.

Summary(from GoodReads)(but I wouldn't read it if I were you; I feel like it gives away too much of the book):In an unnamed city in an unnamed country, a man sitting in his car waiting for a traffic light to change is suddenly struck blind. But instead of being plunged into darkness, this man sees everything white, as if he "were caught in a mist or had fallen into a milky sea." A Good Samaritan offers to drive him home (and later steals his car); his wife takes him by taxi to a nearby eye clinic where they are ushered past other patients into the doctor's office. Within a day the man's wife, the taxi driver, the doctor and his patients, and the car thief have all succumbed to blindness.

As the epidemic spreads, the government panics and begins quarantining victims in an abandoned mental asylum--guarded by soldiers with orders to shoot anyone who tries to escape. So begins Portuguese author José Saramago's gripping story of humanity under siege, written with a dearth of paragraphs, limited punctuation, and embedded dialogue minus either quotation marks or attribution. At first this may seem challenging, but the style actually contributes to the narrative's building tension, and to the reader's involvement.

In this community of blind people there is still one set of functioning eyes: the doctor's wife has affected blindness in order to accompany her husband to the asylum. As the number of victims grows and the asylum becomes overcrowded, systems begin to break down: toilets back up, food deliveries become sporadic; there is no medical treatment for the sick and no proper way to bury the dead. Inevitably, social conventions begin to crumble as well, with one group of blind inmates taking control of the dwindling food supply and using it to exploit the others. Through it all, the doctor's wife does her best to protect her little band of blind charges, eventually leading them out of the hospital and back into the horribly changed landscape of the city.

Notice how short that was. And how very little it said about the actual book. Some are a little bit more detailed than that, but that's about what you'll be getting for the next few posts.

YAY for Blindness.
N.B. I still have not seen the movie.

It's Tuesday, Where Am I? (3)

It's Tuesday, Where Are You? is a meme hosted by An Adventure in Reading.




I'm in Sweden!!!!
I'm in a hospital in Goteburg, feeling threatened.
I'm also in the offices of the monthly journal, Millenium, trying to figure out what my next step is.
At the same time, I am in a hotel room next to the train station in Stockholm, thinking about the past events that have led me to where I am today and contemplating the best way to get rid of a someone.

I don't want to say too much, because I'm reading the third book in Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy, and these books are absolute MUST READS!

Where is reading taking you today?

In My Mailbox (1)

In My Mailbox was started by The Story Siren and inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie.

So I don't really order books off the internet, as I really just love bookstores. And I haven't started receiving books from publishers for review yet, as I'm still kind of new to this, and I haven't yet figured out how that whole thing works.
And I usually don't get books from the library, as the English libraries here have a RIDICULOUS yearly fee.

So the In My Mailbox thing isn't really something I can do, as books don't really arrive in my mailbox.

HOWEVER, this past week I picked up two books from the bookstore that I am super excited about. And since this was the first time in a LONG time that I actually bought MYSELF a book (people buy me books a lot, because I love them so much and all), I thought I would post them in an In My Mailbox post.


Evermore by Alyson Noel, since I've been reading so many great reviews of it
Audrey Wait by Robin Benway since it's about an Audrey. And it looks awesome!


YAY for books!

Review: Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

Title: Odd and the Frost Giants

Author:Neil Gaiman

Rating:

Recommended: Absolutely; and because it's such a quick read (I think I read it in half an hour), I think I would recommend it to ANYONE. While I don't see how someone couldn't enjoy it, at least if you don't you won't have really wasted your time.

What I Have to Say: This short story for children is basically everything I love about Neil Gaiman broken down into a quick 90 pages. The writing is fun and fluid with a knack for description that leaves just enough up to the imagination. The way he weaves the Norse Gods into his story is fun, exciting, and realistic. It gives just a little taste of what the Norse Gods are like, thus invoking curiosity about them in any reader (and what a better way to learn more about them than to go read Neil Gaimain's other books - American Gods, to be specific!) - which I think is exactly what is needed in a children's book. Any book that makes kids curious and inspires them to learn gets an A+ in my book.
In general, I find that Gaiman does adult novels and comics better than he does children's books. At least, I used to feel that way until the awesomeness of the Graveyard Book. This book aims at a younger audience than that of the graveyard book and still manages to be fantastic for an adult audience.
With Odd and the Frost Giants, Neil Gaiman shows that he is, indeed, able to take the awesomeness of his ideas and make them accessible to children. And yet, through it all, he throws in the occasional reference that children may not understand (and don't need to understand to appreciate the book) but that leave the adult riveted through the entire epic journey.
All in all, this book ends up being the perfect read for a mother or father to read to their child. Or for a child just getting into books. Or for an adult with a quick half hour in the waiting room.
It was just wonderful.
I don't think any more needs to be said. :-)

Summary:After the death of his father, Odd's life has been stuck in a downward spiral. However, his luck begins to change after he frees a trapped bear in the woods. Discovering that the bear is actually a Norse god, twelve-year-old Odd embarks on a perilous quest to save the other gods from evil frost giants.

Very long rant about The Man Booker Prize

So the other day S. Krishna had a post about how she loves the Man Booker Prize, and it reminded me of what an odd beast I find this prize to be.
A long while ago, back when I only had my blog about my life, before I had a book blog even, I posted a rant about the Man Booker Prize. I feel like ranting more, so I'm going to post a slightly different version of the post I posted way back then.

The Man Booker Prize is a weird thing, I think.

The first Man Booker winner I read was "the Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. I LOVED it. Seriously. It was a great book. I just loved the author's way of expressing himself. Serious yet funny and almost sarcastic at the same time. And the story was so fantastic and interesting, and I just wanted so badly to believe. And I loved all the imagery and the way the author presented it. I really think that the only thing about I didn't like was that it wasn't a true story. And that the author decided last minute to try to make you believe that even within the fiction it wasn't true. I really did love this book.

The second Man Booker winner I read was "The God of Small Things." In my Summer Book list post, this is what I had to say about it:
Title:The God of Small Things
Author:Arundhati Roy
Rating:0 Stars! (I would give negative stars here if I could.)
What I Have to Say:This is possibly the WORST book I have ever read. The author was trying to hard, and it seem like she was deliberately trying (but failing, actually) to confuse the reader (maybe into believing that there was a point to her ridiculous prose). Seriously, I don't know how I finished it. I hated the author's writing style. I hated the story. I hated the non-stop onomotapoeias. And more than that, I sort of hated the characters. I was intrigued enough persever unti the end, hoping the ending might make it just a bad book and not a horrible book, but I hated even the ending. Somehow the ending managed to make it even WORSE, which before the ending, I didn't think was possible.
Seriously, I really think that this is the worst book I have ever in my life read.

So then I went on to read "the Gathering" by Anne Enright, was also a Man Booker winner. And it, too, was horrible. The main character was ridiculously annoying. There were times when I just wanted to strangle her (rather a violent reaction to a book character, I know). The author also did the really annoying onomatapoeia thing from "the God of Small" things, but less, so it was a little less annoying. Anne Enright seemed to be going for the vaguness of old memories, and she really got it. Everything just seemed vague and out of place, and stories were ending before they even started. And, as a reader, I never knew what to believe or even what she wanted me to believe. This put together could have actually been nice and given a great impression of how she was feeling (the premise was her family getting together because her brother died). But it wasn't. The best way to describe it is just plain ole boring and slightly annoying.

Then I was confused. Because "the Life of Pi" was so good, but "the God of Small Things" and "the Gathering" were both horrible in sort of the same way. I decided nonetheless to try "the Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood. And GUESS WHAT?!? I was once again disappointed by the Man Booker Prize. At least it was better than the other two. I mean, I didn't hate it this time. I was mostly just bored with it. I would give it 2 1/2 stars, or 3 if I am being nice.

So then the other day I was at the bookstore, and I saw a book that I have been wanting to read because of the beautiful cover, "the Enchantress of Florence" by Salman Rushdie. Unfortunately, it wasn't the version with the beautiful cover you see at the left, but I decided to buy it anyway and ended up with the less beautiful cover you see at the right.
I get home only to discover that, at the bottom of the book is written "Winner of the Man Booker Prize." And so now I will ONCE AGAIN read a winner of the Man Booker prize. I almost just want to host a giveaway and not even give it a try. After 4 flops and 1 awesome book, is it really worth it? But then I already own it, and there is that off chance that it will be awesome.

So, has anyone read any of the books in this post? If so, what do you think about them? Or has anyone ever read another Man Booker prize book? What are your thoughts? And most importantly, what are people's thoughts about "the Enchantress of Florence?" Should I suffer through it? Is there a chance that I will love it?

Really Incredibly Awesome Contest

As usual, over at Princess Bookie there is an awesome contest going on!
Tons of great books are up for grabs, some ARCs, some hardbacks!
If you win, you get to CHOOSE the book you want; these awesome titles are just some of the possibilities:
Its Not You Its Me, Reincarnation, Slept Away, Demon Chick, My Fairy Godmother, Strange Angels, Sweet Life Of Stella Madison, Once Was Lost, Sucks To Be Me, Indigo Notebook, Karma For Beginners, When It Happens, Last Song, Jumping Off Swings, Van Alen Legacy, LA Candy, Blood Promise, When It Happens, etc. . .

Head on over right now to Princess Bookie for the details!

Review: Wonderland by Gabriel Common (and a way to get more entries in my giveaway!)

I almost feel guilty reviewing this book. The author is from Eunice, Louisiana, which is a small town not too far from the small town where I gew up. I discovered his book this summer when he was doing a book signing while I was back home visiting.
It looked good, and I wanted to show support to local Louisiana authors, so I picked it up. I really, really, REALLY wanted to like it, but well. . .read my thoughts.

Title: Wonderland

Author: Gabriel Common

Rating:

Recommended? ONLY if you want to spend two hours of your life reeling from/mortified by bad grammar.

My Thoughts: This was a story about a man who was born to be a hero. Circumstances changed, and he had to learn what it means to be a true hero. The story itself was quite cute (thus the 2 stars instead of 1).
And that's about the only good thing I have to say about this book.
I could probably rant on for hours about it, but in an effort to be nice, I'll try to be quick.
First off, this book WAS NOT EDITED! Somewhere in the beginning of the book it is written: "This book was allowed to remain exactly as the author intended, verbatim, with no editorial input."
Let me just say that this was a HUGE mistake. It really seems like the author quickly wrote the book and never even ONCE looked back over it.
Even if he had looked back over it, though, I don't think it would have helped much. This was written by someone who has possibly never in his life taken an English class - I have never in my life seen so much bad grammar all amassed into 231 pages. There, their, and they're were constantly mixed up. Through and threw, lead and led, past and passed, where and were - all mixed up, and the list could possibly go on forever.
The tenses changed on a regular basis throughout the book, to the point in which in one sentence we were in the present and the next we were in the past.
Sometimes he even managed to change tenses in the same sentence.
At times, people in the book were being anger (seriously, it's like the guy had never even heard the word angry).
It was painful, really it was.
The book was written by someone who never learned the basics of writing and who, it seems, never learned how to speak, either.
I might still have given the book 3 stars, in an attempt to see through the bad grammar and the bad word choices.
But it was badly written aside from that as well.
Everything happened just a little too easily. At one point, the good guys were being attacked by this huge bird thing that had been summoned using black magic. They needed paper, a rock, and a candle to summon the light back. Of course this was all easily found. And then they had a wall of fire around them, and of course a tree just magically fell down for no reason over it so that they could walk out of the ring of fire.
Some of the bad guys, who were evil to the core, just suddenly decided for no reason whatsoever to fight with the good guys.
So many things didn't make sense and so many things happened way too easily and the grammar was just so horrid and, well, ugh!
I said I was going to be brief, and this is getting long winded, so I will stop here.
Even though I really could go on finding more negative things to say.

Summary (straight from the back of the book): Wonderland is a place where people can be free. They can do what they want, be what they want without having to worry about being ridiculed or looked down on. They believe in peace and free will of all things, but we all know that even in the most perfect society, not everyone can be happy. The one who’s responsible for making everyone else happy can never have happiness of his own. He finally gets a chance to live a normal life like everyone else, but what he doesn’t realize is that by doing so he has to turn his back on the ones who rely on him the most. He gives up the ones he cares about for a life of happiness, then realizes that true happiness lies in not the way he lives but the ones around him. He realizes that even against the odds he can do the impossible. He learns what it means to be a true hero.

Now, I leave you with a question. Which of the following phrases makes more sense to you?

a)A hero is not a hero because he wants to be. It's because he feels he has to be.
b)A hero is not a hero because he feels that he has to be. It's because he wants to be.

Personally, I'm going to have to go with phrase b. If a hero is only saving the world because he feels like he HAS to, then he really doesn't have a choice in the matter, and he's really not a hero. If he's doing it because he wants to, because he loves the world he lives in and the people he's protecting, he has a choice. If He has chosen to protect the world and is thus a true hero.

The author of this book seems to go with phrase a.

What do you think? If you answer this question, it's +2 entries in my giveaway.