Why, Donna, WHY?

I'm not going to post the cover of The Little Friend by Donna Tartt. It's CREEPY. So creepy that after I bought the book at a library book sale, I couldn't bring myself to read it for months because of the cover: all black, with a cutout of a baby doll's eyes. And there isn't even really a doll mentioned in the book! When I finally did read it, I kept it face down at all times when I wasn't reading it.

The Little Friend is a Southern gothic novel that takes place over a summer. (In that respect, I was thrilled to read it; I love reading books set in the same season.) I have to admire how completely Tartt switched from the New England/ivy league college setting of her first book, The Secret History, to the completely rural, class-conscious atmosphere of a small town in Mississippi. And her narrators switched gender, age and worldviews.

So the basic plot is this: 9-year-old Robin was found hung in his backyard; no one knows who did it. Twelve years later, Robin's sister Harriet decides she's going to find his murderer. And then she becomes involved with a certain trashy family and snakes and wow, Harriet's life is crazy and odd and gothic.

Tartt is a detailed writer and this book is certainly character-driven. (In my opinion, too character-driven. You get to know SOOO many people far too well.) Harriet is a fascinating character that's not entirely sympathetic. But that's okay, because otherwise she wouldn't have accomplished what she did. As for plot, well, random things happen. Like poisonous snakes nearly killing people. Looking back on it all, my main problem is that I didn't end the book feeling resolved on anything.

Here's my main issue and it's a bit of a spoiler: THE ENDING IS AWFUL. There's no resolution. None. Every single plot line is left open: Harriet's parents, what will happen to Danny and Harriet, the murder.....GAHHHH. Donna, you strung me along for 600+ pages; I WANT ANSWERS. I know, I know; life isn't pretty and full of answers but fiction isn't real life.

I just want to talk to someone else who read this book. Help me move on and resolve my issues...

Rating: 6/10 (more like a 8.5 for writing but a 5 for plot because I'm still so bitter)

From existential to serious

After reading The Moviegoer, I couldn't just switch to a light, happy novel. My follow-up read was The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham.

To start, this is a weird cover, isn't it? It's a potrait of some woman, and from her apparel, I would guess the 1920s, which is when The Painted Veil was written. It mesmorized me; those eyes, her haircut, that bird...I couldn't look away.

Yet I evidently broke the spell and actually opened the book and was surprised by how easy it was to read and that I actually enjoyed it.

Bred with one goal in mind, marriage, Kitty is a bit startled to realize that she's reached her mid-20s, is unmarried and her sister is about to marry a titled lord. She hurriedly chooses one of her suitors, Walter Fane, to marry because he adores her, will be going to the Orient for his job thus sparing her the pain of staying in England to watch her sister's grand wedding...and yeah, those are her reasons.

The marriage is a disaster and Kitty has an affair. Walter figures it out and forces her go with him to a cholera-infested area of China--in hopes that she'll die (or so Kitty believes). Kitty must reckon with herself and who she has become--and what she will do in the future.

This is not a romance, but rather a story of flawed people who make poor decisions--yet they struggle for redemption and hope. I wasn't sure if I would like the story but I did. It's deep without being painful (eg., The Moviegoer) and still manages to present an interesting story.

Rating: 9/10

Buzz-worthy?

The blog lands have been a-buzzing about Kristin Cashore's Graceling. The reviews have been very positive, so I picked up a copy to read.

First of all, I'm a bit worried about my observation skills. I did a Google search to find an image of the book's cover--and noticed there's a huge, angry eye in the sword looking out at me. My first thought was, "oh, that must be a different edition than my copy. My copy doesn't have that scary eye on it." I just checked. It does. How in the world did I miss that? After all, I'm the girl that has a "creepy eyes" tag for her blog. I guess I have a lot of work to do before I can join the CIA.

I'm feeling lazy, so here's an edited description of the blot, courtesy of Houghton-Mifflin:

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug. She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace—or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

Katsa is a strong, independent heroine. The development of the characters and plot are excellent and I imagine fans of Tamora Pierce will enjoy Graceling. Also, there is romance--and I really liked the male lead.

But honestly, overall, it wasn't a keeper for me. It's a book that I've read and will likely forget--but that doesn't mean it wasn't a good or well-written book. Katsa was just too strong-willed and unable to handle any part of surrender, which I didn't like. Love requires surrender and selflessness; Katsa didn't seem to grasp that at all. She just didn't want to be bound by anyone, which I know is caused by her background. Still, it bugged me. Love requires sacrifice of yourself--but the rewards are worth it.

Rating: 7/10

Layered with fairy dust

First of all, can I just say it's snowing here again? My word, it's only the second week in November and already it's snowed numerous times. Thank you lake effect snow.

One of my favorite Disney movies is Sleeping Beauty, which I'm shocked to learn was released in the 1950s. (I was completely positive it was released in the 1930s.) Anyway, Robin McKinley's Spindle's End takes the classic fairy tale and twists it up.

All the creatures on the front cover slightly creeped me out but they ended up being very appropriate for the story. Still, this book has earned the tag "creepy eyes."

The story follows the basic plot of Sleeping Beauty: a princess is cursed by an evil fairy--she will die by pricking her finger on a spindle. However, a good fairy (actually fairies) step in and raise the princess as their own, hiding her from the evil fairy and all prickly spindles.

McKinley really fleshes out the story, adding in characters and extra plot lines. There's also much detail about fairies, magic and talking with animals. This book is definitely a fantasy. I want to re-read the fairy tale itself to compare with this story--because we all know Disney makes very-happy-versions of fairy tales. (In the actual Little Mermaid story, Ariel turns into foam. No Prince Eric, etc. Just foam.)

One last note: Princess Briar Rose is blessed with all sorts of silly things--long, golden hair, a sweet singing voice, graceful feet, etc. I was prepared to hate this perfect girl, but McKinley doesn't make her beautiful or perfect! Instead, Rosie was an accessible character, one that was utterly ordinary. I thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed that.

This book was well-written and while targeted to a YA audience, it's absolutely great for adults, too. This was my first McKinley book; I think I'll be picking her up again.

Rating: 8/10

Days later...

It's not a secret that I really like Stephenie Meyer's writing. I think she's amazing and has such an incredible imagination. Really, I could gush about her. (But I promise I'm not like the girls that dress up like her characters from the Twilight series or have a fansite; I just like her writing.) That being said, I was still a little "hmmmm" about The Host because it's about an alien.

First of all, what a mesmerizing cover! I had to flip it over to the back whenever I wasn't reading it because the eye was too intense.

The book itself was also intense--but so good! Here's a quick plot summary from Amazon: "Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human...But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind...Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love."

The awesome part of this book? It's not really about a love triangle--it's about defining what a human is and what connects people. The ending is powerful and beautiful (and happy! As you get into the book, you realize there can't be a happy ending, but again Meyer strikes with a perfect answer. I was so thrilled.)

Her treatment of love is great--you'll see that at the ending. Love is about a person's soul and not based on looks and lust. That's sadly a rare concept in many romance--and other--books.

That's enough; go read it. Days later I'm still thinking about it!

Rating: 10/10

Puzzling

I read The Givenchy Code by Julie Kenner because it had quite a few 5 star ratings on Amazon. The plot is a rip-off of The Da Vinci Code, obviously, with a twist on fashion. Except it's not as good.

Graduate student Melanie Prescott loves high fashion, history and math--particularly ciphers. However, if not for the author telling us she's in grad school, you'd never know--she doesn't do homework, worry about classes, etc. Instead, she's involved in a game called "Play.Survive.Win." (PSW), a sort of role-playing game with assassians, targets and protectors. PSW was just an internet game--until some sicko transferred it into real life.

So Mel is now a target, with some guy named Lynx after her. Yeah, you barely even get to know Lynx or even care about him. Instead, you meet Matthew Stryker, a hott ex-Marine who's been assigned to protect her.

The rest of the plot is basically Mel figuring out clues around New York City, Lynx using GPS to track them, and Stryker being hott/pushing Mel out of the way of bullets.

Character development is a bit thin. Mel and Stryker end up sleeping together and maybe end up together in the end....but you don't know! I hate it when characters end up together just because they're both pretty people. The ending is so vague and not really explanatory--I don't think anyone was even punished for starting P.S.W. And there's one character (Todd) who may be bad or may not...but honestly, I can't even remember. And it's been a day since I finished it. That should sum up this plot-driven book for you--lots of action, but forgettable characters.

Rating: 5/10

I do have to thank this book though, because it's helped me realize I hate reading about high fashion. It just kills me when people spend so much money on CLOTHES that will be out of style in a year or two. That really bothers me.

Vamping it up

So I just finished Masquerade by Melissa De La Cruz (cool last name!). And can I just say that the cover freaked me out a bit? Take a close look: it's pretty, ornate, I love the idea of masked balls, etc.....

But then take a closer look....

How freaky are those eyes?!?!?! I didn't realize a real person's eyes were in the mask before I really took a close look at the cover. Then I was freaked out and couldn't handle looking at the cover.

Masquerade follows Blue Bloods, which I actually think I liked a bit better. The books are about a group of people known as the "Blue Bloods" aka vampires. I like De La Cruz's take on vampires and all that...I think the books will appeal to those who like Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. However, the action was a bit slower in this book and there's quite a bit of mystery about who's a "Silver Blood" aka the bad vampires and who various characters are actually in love with and such. The beginning didn't really hook me, but by the end I was involved. So if you can handle creepy eyes, give it a try.

Rating: 7/10