Alanna

I really like this story for a variety of reasons. It takes place in the middle ages, for one. It involves magic but odes not entirely center around magic. Alanna herself is interesting and charismatic--I really like her. George is like, my man. And I'm always pretty intrigued by novels centering around a girl in disguise as a guy. I don't quite know why. It's intriguing to me, and the type of thing that doesn't involve anything paranormal but could never be a position I would be put in, both because it's not necessary in this society and because, well, I don't think I would pull it off very well. Despite being called a "guy" or having jokes made about me wherein I am a guy, I think it would be pretty obvious going by body shape alone.
I really want to read the sequel. Unfortunately, when I checked out our local selling-out borders, they had books 1, 3, and 4. Seriously?
But, like I said, I reallyreallyreally like this book, and you can tell because of the shortness of this post. Not one angry rant. Not one! Except I think she could have thrown in a scene where Alanna makes out with George, just for my amusement. Authors should really confer with me before finalizing their novels.
Pierce: So, Mannin, what did you think?
Manon: It's Manon. Muh-non. Ma-nawn. Mispronounce it one more time and you'll be Tamborine Purse for the rest of your life. I can make that happen.
Pierce: ...
Manon: Anyway, I think it was great, except you left out that part where George makes out with Alanna.
Pierce: What part...?
Manon: Exactly. Now, get typing!
Pierce: But, why? That wouldn't bring anything to the story, except make George and Alanna's relationship really awkward. He's several years older than her, and it's been established that Alanna thinks he's lying and is actually older.
Manon: It's the middle ages! People can do stuff like that then! That's why we write in that time period, isn't it?
Pierce: I was more interested in the swordplay, feudal system, roles of men and women, and association with magic...
Manon: Personally, I think the scene would win you fans.
Pierce: Why?!?!?!
Manon: It would appeal to a broader audience. And it would be funny. And more people would talk about it, making more new readers.
Pierce: Somehow that just doesn't seem likely...
Manon: Of course it's likely! If Suzanne Collins had made Katniss make out with Finnick like I said she should, Hunger Games would be Harry Potter but bigger!
Pierce: I just don't understand your logic...
Manon: My logic is the most logical think about me! It worked for Rowling!
Pierce:...?
Manon: RonxHermione, HarryxGinny, HarryxCho, that other dude and that other chick...
Pierce: I think Rowling's success can be more accurately linked to her amazing development of a supernatural world existing alongside our own, her creative magic, her enticing plots, her engaging action, her charismatic characters...
Manon: And her pairings! Don't tell me you don't think HarryxGinny won her some fans.
Pierce: I honestly doubt it.
Manon: That would be me.
Pierce:... oh.
Manon: See? Now, run along and write me that scene, and then I shall approve of your novel.
Pierce:... [mutters] there's something wrong with that girl...

What would make me really happy right now:
-Considering I just wrote that last post on Mockingjay five minutes ago, you can kind of just take a look at that...

Next book: Perks? Who knows?

Mockingjay

I literally just finished this minutes ago. I'm still kind of numb from the ending, but I liked the way it ended--with Peeta. Someday kids will be reading this instead of To Kill A Mockingbird, and I like that, but it also scares me. Katniss, Gale, and Peeta didn't seem quite real to me. But the society--that was reality. It was life. It was humanity. And I don't want it to be real.
I have two very big fears. One is death. I don't want to die. I cannot imagine not existing in this world anymore. Also, I want to leave an impact. I cannot go forgotten--I can't! I need to be smarter than Napoleon, more powerful than the medieval Catholic Church, more inspiring than Gandhi, more interesting than any Hapsburg and even more immortal than any artist or writer or philosopher. Maybe these things are far outside of my grasp, but I have to try! Doesn't everyone want to try? Your life is precious. For God's sake, do something with it! The concept of dying forgotten is terrifying in a new kind of way.
I am also afraid of endings. The last time I enter a room; the last time I see a person; the last chance to take part in something. I am afraid of regret.
I am also afraid of things that are already dead. Bodies of people, creatures, anything. I cannot stand their presence. Will they return, soulless, vengeful, come to take me with them to their realm of hatred and sorrow? I do not like death.
This book unsettles me. It is about death, and it ends. Death makes me feel very alone in the world. Right now, I feel very alone. Please, come, I need your company. Please don't die. Please don't kill me.
Let's live forever, and may our book never end.
I think that's how my mind works.

What would make me really happy right now:
-For someone to buy me the second book in Tamora Pierce's series Song of the Lioness, the individual installment entitled In the Hands of the Goddess.
-Sushi and magic sushi powers, see my last post.
-More books
-A green beret.

Next book: Perks or Alanna.

To Kill a Mockingbird

So, I hate this book. And I kind of like it.
It was one of those "curriculum" books, y'know?
The Negative Post (Where I vent my feelings...)
This book is a poorly written, verbose account of an interesting event told in the point of veiw of a Mary-Sue-ish elementary school girl named Scout. Scout has very little personality and I do not connect with her at all. The story is written in a way that rambles on about events or concepts that have absolutely no bearing on the story whatsoever and just made this book that much more painful for me to drag my eyes across these last couple of days. The number of words Harper Lee uses to convey a simple message is completely unnecessary. Her paraphrasis irks me.
However...
The events in the story are significant. I tried writing in the same style used by Lee, and it actually worked quite well in getting me interested in the story I was writing as I was writing it. However, it still sounded rambly and I am convinced another person reading it would feel the same toward my prose as I feel toward Lee's. In short, the story is awesome, but the style truly needs work.

What would make me really happy right now:
-A few more hours in the afternoon to read
-More books
-Some sushi
-The magical ability to make any food taste/smell like sushi
-Including mac and cheese ^
-Bagpipes

Next Book: Mockingjay, unless The Perks of Being a Wallflower doesn't distract me.

Angel

ARGENSHNOGGENHIGGENHOGGENHOOFENBLOGGEN.
ASDFGHJKL.
RAWR.
GRR.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
Manon is not happy.
Manon is very not happy.
Manon is so unhappy that she's going to speak in third person for this whole post. Or at least as long as she remembers because when she's angry it's hard for her to concentrate.
I am team Fang. I think Max belongs with Fang because the book was written so that the reader becomes emotionally attatched to FangxMax. (Hey, look! I already dropped the thir person thing! Wow, my attention span=squirrel on---Hey look! A pencil!) When Fang and Max parted at the end, I wasn't totally into the whole DylanxMax thing, as Max was not either. I truly felt as if the guy I used to love had just left me with a possible new boyfriend while he fights evil with my clone. This is pretty good writing, but That Is Not How You End A Series!!! That's what EPILOGUES are for. You get me all sappy and pissed and THEN Max and Fang go make out in a corner and everyone's happy again. Or you write another book. You do not leave Manon feeling pissed. Not. A. Good. Idea. And now Manon has to read To Kill A Mockingbird, which she REALLY DOES NOT WANT TO DO. (See next post with a detailed description of Why That Book Sucks.) (Hey look! Back to third person!) Manon isn't happy now. Manon wants to go die in a corner while ripping up old photos of Max-Manon and Fang, which is not how miss Neverhadaboyfriend Manon should feel after reading a mediocre novel several grades below her reading level. Why does Manon torture herself so? Because words are addictive. Or something. But Manon thinks ther should be a law against ending a Whole Frickin Series (like, seven books long) by crushing her hopes and dreams AND THEN LEAVING HER TO READ TKAM IN UTTER SADNESS AND DEPRESSION. (Authors need to pay more attention to the fact that some (strange yet existant) teenage girls have a habit of using their novels to cushion the blow of the bad stuff, like having to read books that suck and not having a boyfriend. Why does this keep going back to that?)
MANON VERY ANGRY.
You know Manon very angry when she leaves out the verbs, because Manon a grammar snob.
Manon isn't going to post any more tonight because Manon is very angry.

WHAT WOULD MAKE MANON REALLY HAPPY RIGHT NOW:
-FangxMax
-Angel to have a better ending
-Angel to have a whole sequel that's way better (Called Iggy, duh.)
-Some sushi, beeey-otch.
-Not having to read TKAM (not even going to bother spelling it out. It's not worth the effort.)
- a boyfriend

Next book:TKfrickinAM

This Is Not A Book.

So, remember when I fangirled all over the place about Arkarian and Isabel? Well, guess what Ms. Curley did in the Key?
And nooo, I haven't actually read it yet, but it's gonna take me a while to get to that point. Why, you ask?
So, I read the prologue like my life depends on it while my mind shieks "WHERE IS ARKARABEL?"
Chapter One
Rochelle
Okay, so, I hate Rochelle, but I can stand a couple chapters of her whineyness in between my Arkarabelness.
Chapter Two
Matt
Heh. Well, it's book three, right, the last of the series, so she must be doing chapters in all the character's POVs. Yeah, that must be it.
*flips to next chapter*
Rochelle
GAAH
*flips through entire book*
MattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelleMattRochelle
Yeah, like that.
No Isabel. No Arkarian. Just my two least-favorite characters. Maybe even less than Marduke. And that is saying something.
So yeah, my Australian time-travel novels have betrayed me.
If anyone knows any really good Arkarabel fanfics, link me in the comments. And I will read the Key, just not necessarily right away.

What would make me really happy right now:
-Arkarabel Fanficciness
-Arkarian
-Sushi
-Sarah and Savvy to come back XD
-More books? XD

Next book: I will commence finishing Mockingjay.

The Dark

Okay, sorry for the lack of reading, (if anyone actually reads this asdfghjkl) I've been pretty blech lately and this is the first time I've been able to focus on a book. However, I'm not all gone-- this took me less than two days to read--that's still low for my standards but we're getting better. Healing takes time. So, the following is copy-and-pasted out of MS Word, so italics and stuff might not show up. Don't go all grammar Nazi on me; that's my job.
Oh, and Bee-tee-dubs, I tagged this non-spoiler but if you haven't finished the Named there's one tiny little detail that might spoil something, I don't know.

Australian time travel novels. I mean, AUSATRALIAN TIME-TRAVEL NOVELS. I love you, Marianne Curley, random Australian chick who writes awesome stuff.
You know, there is in fact a distinct possibility that I wrote these books. Doubt it? Well, if time travel is possible, then Future Manon could magically travel back in time, publish a book under a different name, and just wait for normal me to find it. The following are my reasoning:
-First, Marianne Curley and Manon Garulay, especially when you use one of the common mispronunciations Gurrlay, kind of rhyme a little. Also, even if you protest that Marianne Curley is a “normal person” name and thus I Manon would never even consider associating myself with it, well, there you go: if I want to hide something from myself, such as my own association with it, I make it normal. Note that I’ve ever done this before. It’s just one of those things that you think about…
What???
-Second, Isabel. I have this character that I use in, like, every other one of my books. Her name is Isabel and she has blonde hair (usually) and either brown or dark blue (or occasionally green, but usually brown) eyes. Now, look at Isabel of the Guardians of Time. Blonde, brown eyes… Ding ding ding we have a match. Maybe my Isabels are usually a bit quirkier, weirder, etc., but still. It’s uncanny right down to the spelling of her name.
-Third, time travel and the Middle Ages. It is quite clear that my dear Marianne has a thing for Medieval history. So do I, my friend, so do I. Also, I recently wrote a novel about time travel that spent a lot of time in the Middle Ages. But not only does she focus on the period of history between the fall of the Roman Empire around 500 A.D. and the Renaissance/Enlightenment/Scientific Revolution that took place around 1500 A.D., she also dips a little into ancient Greece and Rome as well as colonial America. Not just America, if I remember correctly she specifically mentioned in the first book, The Name,d that this part took place in Colonial Massachusetts, the area of actual history that I have had the most in-depth and early understanding of as I have been exposed to and interested in this time since early elementary school. But anyway, Marianne and I share a bit of an obsession with certain parts of history.
-Fourth, and most importantly, IsabellexArkarianASDFGHJKLQWERTYUIOZXCVBN <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Yeah, that many hearts. You know I don’t award hearts very often, so this is a special case. If I were to come up with one romantic pairing that was in my mind ideal for a scifi/fantasy novel to make me want to squeal and heart all over my blog, it would be my dear Isabel and a blue haired, purple eyed, magical dude that was born in the Middle Ages. Like, ASDFGHJKL. I have no words. And you know that with me that doesn’t happen often –cough-. I mean, even though he’s like six hundred years old he’s still not all twilight-creepy. He’s like, I don’t know. MIZ CURLEY YOU HAVE RENDERED THE MOST VERBSE TEENAGER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD WORDLESS. No one in the universe has the power to do such a thing. Thus, Marianne Curley must be me.
-Fifth, she’s AUSTRALIAN. Australia has cute little koalas and kangaroos and accents and, from December to June, Scott and Justine. Sounds to me like a nice place to go, right?
I don’t know about you, but I think I need to call this woman up and ask her, like, stuffthatonlyfuturemewillknow. You know?

What would make me really happy right now:
-For Marianne Curley to call me/email me and me like, "I IS FUTURE YOU WITH AN AUSTRALIAN ACCENT FTW!!!"
-OOOH OOH OOH did you know Australians spell "pajama" "Pyjama?" /off topic/
-SUSHI. What else?
-I'M STILL SICK ASDFGHJKL MAKE IT GO AWAY.
-More Australian time-travel novels. They own.

Next book: The Key, by Mariann Curley, of course! Australian time travel FTW.

Nobody's Princess

Okay, so if this post sounds any different than any of my others (or if there's actually anyone reading this) it's because I have a reading log due for English class and I figure it would kill two birds with one stone to just hand my teacher a few pages of bloggage and be like, I read.
So, on to the book...
Nobody's Princess is a novel by Esther Friesner about a Spartan princess named Helen who will someday become Helen of Troy. The story shows her childhood in ancient Greece surrounded by heroes and Greek mythology. The interesting thing is that it is written rather than having the mythology as fantasy but as religion, thus to the character truth. There is a lot of contemplatence about the religion itself, and the fact that Helen likes certain goddesses more than others, particularly Aphrodite over Artemis.
The author spun the story a lot, however, and in some ways I wonder for what reasons. The real Helen of Troy was kidnapped by Theseus as a child. This would make an awesome plot. However, the author left it out completely, although Theseus does make an appearance and hints that Helen needs a husband to "calm her down." On the other hand, the author does add in a lot about Helen being more rebellious, taking secret swordfighting lessons with her brother's teacher and learning to hunt from her mother, then later learning to ride from the huntress Atalanta and helping her in the boar hunt.
I like the rebellion, and the fact that even though Helen was sort of a pretty brat in the beginning she became bearable once the story got started (I'd never have been able to read it otherwise) but there seems to be a lot of plot taken out of her story.
And, the one bit of creative licensing that the author is fully entitled to yet bothers me excruciatingly is the fact that Sparta traditionally had two kings, five ephors, a council of advisors, and a citezen class. Athens, on the other hand, had a democracy. In this story, both have rather simple monarchies, and Helen's family passes the crown through the daughters.

What would make me really happy right now:
-Some sushi
-Some crab rangoon and duck sauce. Like, major craving right now.
-A greek princess dress. I'll have to sew myself one.
-More books.

Next book: Nobody's Prize, the sequel to Nobody's Princess.