Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe
Chloe is a rather self-centered main character, something that is even more obvious when its written in first person. You know how on Ugly Betty, all the colors are just super bright? This drives my mother bonkers-- she won't watch the show. It just gives off such a fantasy, fake sort of feel. That is the first thing I thought of when I was stumbling through the first, rough chapters. Chloe exists in some fantasy version of Southern California somewhere between La Jolla and Marina Del Rey (though the latter is most obvious because of the location's name) and even the seedier parts have a fake-y annoying brightness to them. The story picks up when the radio show starts-- and even managed to address the issue of-- what the heck is a radio show?
Cinder- Marissa Meyer
Four Stars (YA Science Fiction. Why yes, it earned a star just for being in that genre!)
I waffled on reading this one for a bit, but I ended up really enjoying it. At first I was still concerned with the fact I learned more about Chinese culture from one quarter of Chinese than the author seemed to have encountered in her research, though I am willing to ignore that to an extent because of the whole "Earth goes Kaboom, here's the aftermath" side of things. Still would have liked proof she had actually Done the Research, but hey, its YA, can you even ask for that anymore?
Cinder strays far enough from its premise as a retelling to be engaging, but yet again, a YA novel hinges on the relationship between the protagonist and the male love interest. The world building had far more cohesion and stuff going on that in most pseudo science fictional YA settings, which again, was somewhat interesting.
I was also slightly disappointed with the fact that it is the first installment in a series, but again, its YA, what am I expecting? Overall, a quick, rather engaging read, even though my first reaction on finishing it was to pick up "The Diamond Age," because I was curious what effect nearly 15 years would have on the kind of technology portrayed in a superficially similar world would be.
The answer? Not that much-- though Diamond Age actually bothers hypothesizing how such tech would work--radio antennas having to be a certain size! How quaint! But yes, Cinder is very clearly a lay person writing science fiction novel, which isn't necessarily a bad thing....except when you can directly compare it to one that, well, isn't. Still a fun read, but lacking
I waffled on reading this one for a bit, but I ended up really enjoying it. At first I was still concerned with the fact I learned more about Chinese culture from one quarter of Chinese than the author seemed to have encountered in her research, though I am willing to ignore that to an extent because of the whole "Earth goes Kaboom, here's the aftermath" side of things. Still would have liked proof she had actually Done the Research, but hey, its YA, can you even ask for that anymore?
Cinder strays far enough from its premise as a retelling to be engaging, but yet again, a YA novel hinges on the relationship between the protagonist and the male love interest. The world building had far more cohesion and stuff going on that in most pseudo science fictional YA settings, which again, was somewhat interesting.
I was also slightly disappointed with the fact that it is the first installment in a series, but again, its YA, what am I expecting? Overall, a quick, rather engaging read, even though my first reaction on finishing it was to pick up "The Diamond Age," because I was curious what effect nearly 15 years would have on the kind of technology portrayed in a superficially similar world would be.
The answer? Not that much-- though Diamond Age actually bothers hypothesizing how such tech would work--radio antennas having to be a certain size! How quaint! But yes, Cinder is very clearly a lay person writing science fiction novel, which isn't necessarily a bad thing....except when you can directly compare it to one that, well, isn't. Still a fun read, but lacking
How to Eat a Cupcake- Meg Donohue
Received from Netgalley, forthcoming in March
Annie is basically everything I'm afraid of being in a few years-- a severely underemployed late 20s Berkeley grad who divides her time between her real inspiration, making cupcakes, and dead end side jobs like walking dogs in the Mission. If she were ever slightly so more successful, she'd own a shop in a trendy gentrifying part of Valencia, and be a cool hipster person.
Oh, wait. You see where this is going, right?
How to Eat a Cupcake shifts between two different perspectives, the underachieving Annie and the seemingly perfect, gold spooned Julia, who is set to marry some guy at a winery. Actually, to be fair, one of my absolutely favorite part of this book was the level of detail in describing some of the aspects of the San Francisco neighborhoods, because yes, I am a setting snob. But um, how have the late 20 somethings not kept tabs on each other through Facebook? According to my Actual Late 20 Something Friend, Facebook didn't hit every college until after her graduation, meaning people only friended who they actually wanted to talk to on a regular basis AFTER the fact. How odd! But of course, this logistics means that Annie can awkwardly reconnect with an old friend from high school.. who happens to be Julia's ex! Scandalous.
Chick lit is not dead! Long live chick lit!
Annie is basically everything I'm afraid of being in a few years-- a severely underemployed late 20s Berkeley grad who divides her time between her real inspiration, making cupcakes, and dead end side jobs like walking dogs in the Mission. If she were ever slightly so more successful, she'd own a shop in a trendy gentrifying part of Valencia, and be a cool hipster person.
Oh, wait. You see where this is going, right?
How to Eat a Cupcake shifts between two different perspectives, the underachieving Annie and the seemingly perfect, gold spooned Julia, who is set to marry some guy at a winery. Actually, to be fair, one of my absolutely favorite part of this book was the level of detail in describing some of the aspects of the San Francisco neighborhoods, because yes, I am a setting snob. But um, how have the late 20 somethings not kept tabs on each other through Facebook? According to my Actual Late 20 Something Friend, Facebook didn't hit every college until after her graduation, meaning people only friended who they actually wanted to talk to on a regular basis AFTER the fact. How odd! But of course, this logistics means that Annie can awkwardly reconnect with an old friend from high school.. who happens to be Julia's ex! Scandalous.
Chick lit is not dead! Long live chick lit!
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