The Babes in the Woods: Book Review

No, not the horrible children's story but rather my book club book. I know some people seem to prefer my spoiler reviews, but I just don't feel right giving the spoilers of a mystery story. Still, I'll endeavor to give a more engaging review than the non-spoiler ones usually are.

The story itself is in a series of novels focusing on Chief Inspector Wexford, a British police officer in a town called Kingsmarkham. In this tale Wexford is told of some missing children and their babysitter, believed to be drowned in a flood that has swept the area. Wexford doesn't believe the children have drowned, but the more he looks into it, the more twisted and bizarre the case becomes. The house was left in perfect order before the parents arrived home, no forced entry, the beds made, a the children's coats are even missing, as if they and their babysitter only left for an outing. Except none of them ever returned.

I admit the book didn't seem too promising to me at first, but I feel it got better. It starts with some crazy religious ceremony in the woods. Of course, I knew that had to be part of the mystery, but I didn't feel invested in it, crazy religious ceremonies not being my primary area of interest. Still, I perked up when I found the book takes place in Britain (something I might have guessed from the name "Wexford" but didn't") and the author is British herself. I tend to favor the British style of writing over the American. Maybe I'm just a snob that way, but I just prefer their turn of phrase to ours.

Flipping through the book, I had also glimpsed a line something like "Please, find my darling children!" which seemed a bit over the top to me. But I soon learned that the character who utters that line is a bit over the top herself, which made me feel considerably better about it. The religious thing, as I expected, served a purpose, but I couldn't really guess exactly what until very near the end.

The main character, Chief Inspector Wexford, was okay. He wasn't exactly as much of a personality as Holmes, but he wasn't a complete camera. However, sometimes I would get a little disoriented when the author would change character perspectives, particulalrly if it was a different police officer because they tended to think similarly to Wexford. In addition to that, I felt that his family life was often a plot device to help him figure out the mystery, but perhaps his family are better developed in the other books. It's a very old series that's been around since the 60s, but this book is new (from 2002) and the writing didn't seem dated, so the author has adapted well enough to the times. Otherwise, Wexford was at least a believable and credible main character, very human, a rock surrounded by rather crazy suspects.

As for the actual mystery, I did manage to guess some aspects of it, but it was a bit like a game of clue where you might know it's Colonel Mustard, but you don't necessarily know if it was in the drawing room with the candlestick or in the parlor with the knife. And you may never know what his motive was in the first place. Luckily, unlike Clue, I did eventually get a motive, but it was admittedly not exactly what I was expecting, though I had narrowed down the suspect before they named the person. Actually, in a way, I was both right and wrong about who was responsible for the crime. At the same time it wasn't out of the blue. There were clues that could have helped you guess at everything. The mystery just had so many facets that you weren't likely to guess all of them.

So, I did like it enough to stay up later than even I usually do to finish it. Do I recommend it? Well, if my review intrigued you, I'd say try reading to the part with the first meeting with the parents of the missing children. If you're not interested by then, you probably won't be later.

Oh, and if you do read this book, do NOT read the summary first. It reveals something that doesn't happen until 1/3rd of the way through the book and pretty much eliminated several possibilities for me right off the bat.

Well, that's all for now. If you got this far, I hope it wasn't just because someone tied you to a chair with your eyelids taped open. Thanks for reading!

The Year of Living Biblically: A Book Review

I had previously attempted to read A.J. Jacob's previous book about reading the encyclopedia all the way through. It was amusing, but at times felt a bit too much like I was reading the encyclopedia all the way through, and I confess I didn't have the fortitude to continue. In this book Jacobs also said he sometimes googles his name to read reviews. On the small chance that he should stumble on mine, I should add that I read Know-it-All in a book club and my opinion was in the minority. And it may also have been influenced by the fact that I disagreed with the selection of the book based on the fact that it was book club for young adult book club and I didn't believe that Know-it-All was ever intended for a teen audience. At least, not specifically for them. This isn't to say teens cannot read and enjoy just about anything, but if one makes the argument that any book a teen can read is a teen book, then there hardly seems any point in making it a category at all.

But I digress.

I thought I might only read passages of The Year of Living Biblically, but I did actually read and enjoy this book from cover to cover. Unlike the encyclopedia, I have always wanted a better understanding of the Bible, but have never had the discipline to teach myself. Jacobs made it easy with his sometimes hilarious and sometimes moving personal journey. Even when I didn't agree with Jacobs' interpretations, I appreciated that he supplied as much information as he could. A blurb on the back calls it a cliff-notes version of the Bible, and that it is, mixed in with autobiography and comedy--my favorite sort of non-fiction.

One also has to admire the open-mindedness with which Jacobs approached this quest. As I said, I may not have always agreed with his conclusions, but you have to respect someone who treats other people with so much respect--particularly when so many others simply think they're crazy.

I also really enjoyed how much this quest involved Jacobs family. Perhaps it was because I didn't get much further than half-way in his previous book, but his family was something I felt lacking. He would mention how he and his wife were trying so hard to get pregnant that sex had become a chore (another thing I thought a teen would have trouble relating to), but his quest to read all the encyclopedias was so totally unrelated to his personal life that it just wasn't the same as his desire to seek religion in hopes he could raise his son better. And perhaps it's voyeristic, but I was pleased to hear so much about his wife and how she was responding to the things he would do. Though I also could not help but feel that it would be an entirely different, and much darker, quest for a woman to take the bible literally. Particularly from the bits of sexism that Jacobs could really only note indirectly or after the fact, such as the Hasidic women not being included in joyous dancing or women not being touched while they're "impure." However, I did enjoy it immensly when his wife had sat in every seat in the house while she was impure.

I also enjoyed the intern/slave towards the end and laughed out loud at dozens of other things I can't quite recall.

Still, I was expecting something a little harsher, but I was pleased to find that it would be difficult to become angry or offended with Jacobs for so honest a quest. At the same time, it still had its hilarious moments along with the insightful ones. I would feel comfortable recommending it to just about anyone, regardless of their stance on the Bible.

Uglies: Audiobook Review

In the first book of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies trilogy, we meet Tally a normal girl who longs to be pretty -- just like everyone else, and soon she will be. In a society where everyone gets cosmetic surgery at the age of 16, everyone's equal. Choices can't be based on looks because everyone is beautiful. But what happens when equality isn't a choice?

It took me a long time to get around to this book because I have a hard time getting into distopian societies. Particularly ones eerily like our own. Tally's image-obsessed world seems purposely designed not to be so far from our own modern day issues with appearance and beauty, and the thought of reading about a world where beauty had won sounded depressing. But when I finally did get it in playaway form from the library, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have put a reserve on the second one.

A few of the romantic entanglements in the story annoyed me (more on that in the Book Club section at the end of this review), but overall I did find I was able to relate to the main character a lot more than I expected. I was also able to see why teens in particular could relate to the character and the concept as a whole. In a lot of ways this is a story about rebellion and seeing the world in a new light, but also how frightening that is. Westerfeld doesn't take the easy way out and glorify the rebellion. Tally is often terrified by the thought of striking out by herself, and the author allows the reader to see the facts of the society and evalute for themselves what's right. Though they're fact's that are hard to argue with.

Still, the story was more multi-faceted and nuanced than I expected and dealt with more than just beauty, but also questions of the individual versus the group, as well as the ethics of choices.

PLAYAWAYS

The reader, Carine Montbertrand, was quite good. I think female readers often have an easier time being both genders believably. I noticed she made the villain sound a bit like the Wicked Witch of the West, but this didn't actually bother me.

So instead of reviewing the reader, I'd like to review the playaway format since it's the first time I've used it. Playaways, for all of those who don't know, are little devices about the shape and size of a somewhat clunky ipod that carry one audiobook on them. It was convenient not to change CDs, and I certainly see where these would be useful to the large portion of people who no longer have CD players.

But to be entirely honest, I was a little underwhelmed with the quality of the device. The controls are not immediately intuitive and most are not as good as a CD player's controls. The volume, for instance, must be turned all the way up before it can be turned down again. Additionally, to my constant frustration, the play, pause, and power button were all one in the same and I kept forgetting which one it was the first few times and getting stuck in the menu which has a symbol that looks suspiciously like play, but is actually the speed adjustment (although why you would want the reader to sound like an over-excited hamster, I have no idea).

On top of all the issues with the controls, the sound quality is not very good at all. I half expect there to be a tiny little cassette player inside. It's certainly not CD or ipod quality. Then the device itself is a bit flaky. Several times the display froze. I tried turning it off but to no avail. The only way I was able to reboot the device was to take the battery out and then but it back in.

Still, I will admit I put a hold on the next book in playaway format, so I don't hate it completely. Plus, I think I've finally got the hang of the controls. But I hope, and am relatively certain, that these devices will be only a short-lived stepping stone to a far better format soon to come.

BOOK CLUB

I've decided from now on that if I'm going to reveal plot points or spoilers in a review, it can be considered like my own little book club where you're all free to participate or not. Just like in a book club you don't have to have read the book, but just know that I will discuss it in detail as if you had read it.

So I have to admit the love-triangle bothered me. It had everything that usually bothers me about love-triangles like the obliviousness of the main character and the jealousy of the slighted third person. I also sympathized a lot with Shay and was really bothered by the fact that David's admiration of Tally was based on a lie. Shay may never have had a chance with him, but until she was honset with him, Tally didn't deserve one. Even though I actually did like Tally as a character, I couldn't get into any of the romance because of this.

Also, Tally forgets rather easily about Paris. I know she insisted they didn't have a romantic friendship, but he still used to be her best friend. She saves Shay even though she's been made pretty, so why not Paris? Understandably they're pressed for time but she never even It's not his fault he has the same legions as Shay. Perhaps I'll get to see this in the next book, though. I'll just have to wait and see.

I thought the orchid metophor was a bit heavy-handed but not too over the top. I did find it ironic that the pretty rangers dealt with the danger of beautiful sameness choking out all other life every day and they never made the connection to their own beautiful and restrictive homogenous society. It made me wonder whether, even when they have tricky jobs, if they still have a few legions in their brain. Or perhaps literature education just isn't stressed. I guess that is one important use for metaphor though -- being able to see for yourself if you live in a distopian society.

As for the end, I was pretty sure it was going to be a cliff-hanger since it didn't seem possible for them to resolve everything before the end. As cliff hangers, go though, I suppose it's not too bad. If I hadn't liked the characters or plot, then I wouldn't feel the need to see what happens next. So I didn't feel the ending was too much of a cheap trick (my general opinion of cliff-hangers).

Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian: Book Review

In this last chapter of the Percy Jackson Olympian saga, the heroes of Camp Half-Blood make their final stand against the Titan Kronos and his armies to decide the fate of Olympus and the world. Faced with a fatal prophecy, sacrifice, and betryal, Percy is forced to question what truly makes a hero and whether Olympus is truly worth protection.

One word describes this book: Epic.

When I read this final book of the Percy Jackson series I felt most like I was reading a Greek epic poem updated for modern times. It still had the humor and camp of the rest of the series that I've enjoyed, but it's easily the darkest of all. The entire book is basically one huge battle scene. Normally that would be a bad thing for me, and I still felt like I had to catch my breath from time to time, but I do feel this book was amazingly well done.

I LOVED the identity of the Last Olympian referred to in the title. I never would have guessed who it was, but it was PERFECT. Admittedly, I was skeptical at first, but it gave the book a beautiful depth and meaning. It is the Last Olympian who helps Percy see what's worth fighting for.

I was also satisfied with the resolution of the romance and the ending as a whole.

BOOK CLUB

This is the section where I'll discuss the details of the book as if I were in a book club. Great if you've read the book, but if you haven't, beware the spoilers and zombie soldiers.

What I really like is how Riordan doesn't pull his punches. This book really dealt with death and war in a realistic way. Even when he killed secondary characters I got choked up every time, which both shows his skill in building up the characters and in making you care about a character who's not the main character. For example, both Beckendorf and Silena's deaths choked me up and I don't usually get choked up over characters I don't know all that well. But Riordan managed to make the circumstances so tragic. When Beckendorf sacrificed himself to destroy Kronos's ship and when Silena turned out to be the repentant spy I almost cried. I definitely got a lump in my throat when Percy declared Silena a hero in spite of how she had betrayed them. It also wasn't like a forced forgiveness like I've always felt the forgiveness of Edmund in the Chronicles of Narnia was. I truly believed that Percy was right; Silena did believe she was doing the right thing, and she sacrificed her life in an attempt to set things right. It beautifully mirrored what happened to Luke at the end.

I was also very happy that Percy and Annabeth ended up together. The kissing underwater definitely a great romantic use of Percy's powers. It was a little convenient that Rachel ended up the oracle and therefore couldn't be with Percy. But it was still good.

While I was glad the series had a definite ending, I was happy to see the new prophecy. I've watched interviews with Riordan where he promises that the first Olympian series is done, but there will be a new series, and I'm looking forward to it because I was glad that I'll be able to see how the changes in Camp Half-Blood will take effect. I was so excited that they finally bult cabins to all the gods. It changes things so much.

But by far my favorite part of this book was Hestia. Riordan read my mind again. Not only have I always wanted a story with hippalektryon, but I've always loved the goddess Hestia. Most people would think that's strange because she so rarely features in mythology at all and she's the goddess of the hearth. Hardly exciting. But I loved her because of those things. Hestia represents home and family, both things I love, and she is not renowned for cruelty like the other gods often are. She's also a mystery. Since she doesn't get in the same scrapes as the other gods, she's rarely talked about.

Hestia was the perfect last Olympian. At first, even with as much as I loved her, I thought it strange that Riordan didn't choose a more grandiose god to be the last Olympian. But in the end it was elegant and perfect. Hestia would be the only one who would never leave the hearth of Olympus. And she was the perfect goddess to guard hope for Percy since protecting home and family were at the center of Percy's hopes, and those are what he was driven to protect in the end.