The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy

It's been a while since I've blogged about a book and I feel a little guilty.  One, it isn't like I have stopped reading - quite the opposite! - but more because I haven't felt like blogging.  Two, it's because I have another blog that keeps me more active (and interested).  Thirdly, since I'm no longer working, I've been idling away my time with fluff romance books that I'm a little embarrassed to admit to reading.  And sometimes the time and thought processes that go into a book review, I feel, just aren't worth my time if I'm reading something that isn't provoking any actual thoughts.

That being said, I just finished a book that not only made me laugh, a lot, but made me also want to pass on the advice I learned.  Recommended by my very good friend, The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine is hilarious.  It's a no-nonsense (and entirely nonmedical) approach to pregnancy; more like having a coffee date with your best friends and chatting about their experiences and what they learned while pregnant.  It is forthright and non-judgemental while still being informative.  And entirely non-PC!  She tells you that what you're feeling is normal, while giving you examples from her own pregnancies or that of her friends, and if it isn't, she suggests heading to your nearest OB to get it checked out.  Covering everything from infertility and miscarriages to delivery and life after pregnancy, Vicki's commentary is funny, frank, and sometimes gory, in her desire to cover all the bases. 

From a Canadian perspective on an American pregnancy book, the only differences would be the medical practices and tests.  Otherwise, giving birth is giving birth, with all the terror and confusion included, regardless of which country you call home.  One of the things I admired most was her ability to cover the little aspects of pregnancy as well as the embarrassing ones.  And the way she tells her stories makes you believe you're sitting right there hearing them!

I highly recommend this book - but only if you're already pregnant or have already had children.  Otherwise, the graphic nature of this book may compel you to decide against ever having children of your own.  And be warned if you are pregnant: my hormones caused me to laugh hysterically and then promptly bawl my eyes out.

Magic Bleeds

Magic Bleeds - book 4 of the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews - explored Kate's relationships with various people and groups in the different aspects of her life. 

For familial relationships, Kate meets her crazy aunt Erra - and has to stop her from killing everyone Kate has ever loved.  Going against every lesson taught her by Voron, Kate has finally accepted others in to her life and in order to save her friends, Kate is willing to sacrifice herself.  Even disposing of her aunt could draw unwanted attention from her father and Kate doesn't believe herself strong enough for that confrontation yet (and really, Ilona Andrews is contracted until book 7 so it can't end now!).

Regarding romantic relationships, Kate and Curran have finally hooked up.  However, due to their stubborn personalities - plus the shapeshifter politics - has caused huge headaches and huge compromises for both parties.  Kate has officially chosen Curran, and his Pack, over The Order, and as Curran's mate, she is now the alpha of all alphas.  Changing her status within the Pack caused a huge upheaval, especially when Curran was in the coma; however, Kate was determined to prove herself worthy - against the better judgement of her advisors!

Kate's friendship with her best friend Andrea is now strained, since Kate was free to quit The Order when the Pack needed her.  As an estranged beastkin who could have been killed in her youth by other shapeshifters, Andrea feels more loyal to The Order.  Even the prejudices of Moynohan aren't enough to dissuade Andrea's faith in the core belief of The Order.

There was an interesting take on biblical stories as well, keeping with the author's theme of mythology.  The author chose to use the story of Esau and Jacob, with Esau being the first vampire created by Roland.  Another take was on Samson; in this version Samson being one of Erra's crazy offspring - who was growing out his hair because he was balding.

This book was a good read.  It wasn't as action packed as the others and Kate's heartache coloured her decisions; however, it was nice to see Kate act more human for a change - it's hard to relate to a character who feels no fear and doesn't have the same emotions as everyone else.  I definitely think it's a shame that I'm going to have to wait 8-9 months before I can read the next book.  I also do look forward to reading more about Kate's world, her friends and even her family.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

This story requires little introduction; however, you'll get one anyway.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was written in 1865 by Reverend Charles Dodgson, under the pen name Lewis Carroll.  This story can be read on different levels - ranging from innocent child's story to a story written by a pervert with a drug problem who likes little girls too much.  Some common FAQ's about the story can be found here, as well as some alternate explanations here.  So I don't have to do it, a synopsis can be found here.

It had been a while since I'd last read it so I thought the story was incredibly confusing, as well as fun and nonsensical; fortunately, that seems to have been the author's intent.  The writing was interesting with play on words running rampant, enabling a change of subject or change of context to what was being said.  It seemed like just when I started making sense of the story, it would change again - out of the blue!  Even the ending was abrupt: a deck of cards flying in Alice's face wakes her. 

Earlier in the year I read The Looking Glass Wars, so I was finally able to contrast the real story with the spin-off.  (Which I had meant to do shortly after I finished the book, I promise!).  And just for fun, here's a link to the Johnny Depp movie (you're welcome). 

Due to when the story was written, I know that there are social and/or political nuances that I've missed.  Despite that, I really enjoyed the story and will be reading the sequel, Through the Looking Glass soon.  Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is on the Banned Book Club list of potential stories to read, so if chosen, I'll be one up on the others!

The Running Man

Now that I finished The Satanic Verses, I have TONS of time to read other books!  Plus, I'm currently on vacation, so I hope to get heaps of extra reading done.  If I'm going to spend money for the books, I might as well read them, right?!

The Running Man is a novel by Stephen King, written during his Richard Bachman phase.  Made into a movie in the late 1980's, it is loosely based on the novel.  By loosely, I mean that it involves running from people trying to kill Ben Richards.  And that's it.

In this dystopian novel, set into the not-so distant future (2025!), the social gap has been split even further.  The rich are still living the high life, but the less fortunate are so poor that in order to make money they vie to be contestants in game shows that may cause injury or even death.  Ben Richards, the novel's hero, is a 28 year old man who is desperate to keep his wife from making money "on her back" to pay for the medicine that their 18 month old daughter needs to treat her influenza.  In a last ditch effort to provide for his family, Ben goes through the extensive physical and mental testing required by the game show corporation and ends up on the highly acclaimed, and highly paying, Running Man show.

In this game, the contestant runs for his life: for every hour he survives, he earns $100 and for every hunter he kills, he gets $100.  On the flip side, the public is encouraged to help the hunters find the contestant: for a reported sighting, the person gets $100 and for a sighting ending in a kill, the person gets $500 and if the contestant makes it 30 days, he'll receive $1,000,000.  However, the longest record for survival is only 8 days.

Ben's plan of attack is to stay low; using his first 12 hour head start, he attains a fake ID to fly to New York.  Convinced that his mandatory twice daily tapes to the studio are being traced, he buses to Boston and stays in a run-down hostel.  Bored and watching cars, he realizes that the men outside the window are hitmen; to solve this problem, Ben sneaks in to the basement and blows up the hostel on top of him.  On the other end of the sewer, he meets a kid by the name of Stacey and his older brother, Bradley. 

Turns out, Bradley is an educated gang member who enlightens Ben on the issues of the poor air quality.  In his videos, Ben attempts to address this problem, but the games corporation does its own form of censorship: voice overs to increase hostility towards Ben.  Bradley helps Ben by smuggling him through road blocks and sending him to meet his contact: Elton.  Unfortunately, Elton's mother tips off the hunters, resulting in a car chase. 

Separating, Ben ends up in a small town and he hijacks a car driven by an upper class woman named Amelia.  Bluffing his way through a few road blocks, he demands a jet and for the head hunter, McCone, to join him onboard.  While on board, Ben is offered the job of head hunter by the head of the games corporation, Killian.  When Ben refuses, he learns that his wife and daughter were murdered at the start of the show.  In a fit of madness (or perhaps clarity) Ben kills everyone on board and crashes the jet in to the building of the games corporation.

I really liked the concept of this book: running for your life and money.  I honestly believe that reality tv will end up this way in a few years (hopefully decades).  I mean, look at UFC!  Sure, that isn't to the death, but it could end up that way eventually.  For example, Roman gladiators and hangings of the past were for the entertainment of the public.  However, I didn't really care for the personality of Ben Richards - who was too cynical and too quick to flip off everyone. 

Having read books by Stephen King in the past, I figured that there was a 50/50 chance of Ben surviving this show.  However, I didn't like the ending: sure, the building was destroyed, but who did that benefit?  Definitely not Ben or his family; and he sure didn't help out the poor by breaking the news of the poor air pollution and nose filters.  Essentially, he destroyed the building out of spite.

So, honestly?  If you like dystopia, you might like this book.  If you've watched the movie, you may get a kick out of the book to see the differences.  Otherwise, I don't know if you'd like it.  The language is racist and coarse, the hero really isn't a hero and some scenes are unnecessarily graphic (which is typical of Stephen King).

the perks of being a wallflower

the perks of being a wallflower is a story by Stephen Chbosky about an antisocial teenager who writes a series of anonymous letters to a recipient that is never named.  His advanced english teacher tells him to truly live life, instead of just watching it happen and so "Charlie" ends up befriending a guy in his shop class. 

As Charlie's friendship grows with Patrick, Charlie begins to party and use drugs, making friends and gaining a girlfriend in the process.  However, Charlie's home life, while stable with good parents, begins to deteriorate after he sees his sister get hit by her boyfriend.  A comment to his teacher, which in turn makes its way back to his parents causes his sister to alienate Charlie after their parents forbid her from seeing her boyfriend again.  There are continuous references to an Aunt Helen who was always in an abusive relationship, before she passed away due to a car accident on Charlie's birthday years ago.

As the reader delves further into the story, more carnal subjects appear: homosexuality and teenage sex (which, for one character, leads to an aborted pregnancy).  Charlie's life becomes more complicated as one of his friends puts the moves on him, and Charlie, for the sake of friendship, doesn't stop it.  Not even a girlfriend will prevent him from pining for his elusive Sam.

Charlie is brutally and whimsically honest with his friends, which they pass off as "Charlie-esque" and cute.  He is emotional and never truly tries to be someone he is not.  He is protective of his friends and will (literally) fight anyone who threatens them. 

He is damaged.

It is not until nearly the end of the story that you realize that he has been molested by someone close to him when he was a child.  It was buried in his subconscious until Sam attempts to be intimate with him. 

He is also a survivor.

His final accounts are of his rehabilitation and counselling.  He believes that he no longer needs the support of his unknown reader to live life.  And that he'll be just fine.  His final letter ends with: "So, if this does end up being my last letter, please believe that things are good with me, and even when they're not, they will be soon enough" (page 213).

I found this story to be bitterly sweet.  Charlie is a likeable character who is intensely in love with Sam, but was told to "not think that way" at the start, so he's truly fighting it every step of the way.  He's a good kid with a good family, but they have problems just like everyone else. 

There's a poem that I want to share with you, from the story (pages70-73) that I find mesmerizing and tragic.  You'll see why:

"Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines / he wrote a poem /
And he called it "Chops" / because that was the name of his dog
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A / and a gold star
And his mother hung it on the kitchen door / and read it to his aunts
That was the year Father Tracy / took all the kids to the zoo
And let them sing on the bus
And his little sister was born / with tiny fingernails and no hair
And his mother and father kissed a lot
And the little girl around the corner sent him a / Valentine with a row of X's / and he had to ask his father what the X's meant
And his father always tucked him in bed at night
And was always there to do it

"Once on a white paper with blue lines / he wrote a poem
And he called it "Autumn" / because that was the name of the season
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A / and asked him to write more clearly
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door / because of its new paint
And the kids told him / that Father Tracy smoked cigars
And left butts on the pews
That was the year his sister got glasses / with thick lenses and black frames
And the girl around the corner laughed / when he asked her to go see Santa Claus
And the kids told him why / his mother and father kissed a lot
And his father never tucked him in bed at night
And his father got mad / when he cried for him to do it

"Once on a paper torn from his notebook / he wrote a poem
And he called it "Innocence: A Question" / because that was the question about his girl
And that's what it was all about
And his professor gave him an A / and a strange steady look
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door / because he never showed her
That was the year that Father Tracy died
And he forgot how the end / of the Apostle's Creed went
And he caught his sister / making out on the back porch
And his mother and his father never kissed / or even talked
And the girl around the corner / wore too much makeup
That made him cough when he kissed her / but he kissed her anyway / because that was the thing to do
And at three A.M. he tucked himself into bed / his father snoring loudly

"That's why on the back of a brown paper bag / he tried another poem
And he called it "Absolutely Nothing"
Because that's what it was really all about
And he gave himself an A / and a slash on each damned wrist
And he hung it on the bathroom door / because this time he didn't think / he could reach the kitchen"

This story reveals itself in bits and pieces.  When Charlie mentions a poem that he read, the reader doesn't imagine it could be anything so sad.  However, later, Charlie writes down the words and one of his friends comments on how it was a suicide note.

I really can't say too much more about it, except what I've already said: bitter sweet.  I loved this story; I read it in one night and honestly didn't feel like I could write a blog about it without thinking about it first.  Unfortunately, my internet went down and I subsequently forgot most of what I would've said.  The story is beautiful and joyful mixed with sad and tragic.  Which is pretty much the definition of adolescence.

Shalador's Lady

Shalador's Lady, by Anne Bishop, was a much anticipated continuation of the Black Jewels series that I've read in the past.  The Shadow Queen (the previous book in the series) started the story of Lady Cassidy and Gray, with this book continuing the story.

In this story, Theran Grayhaven has met Cassidy's rival, Lady Kermilla, and is determined to put Kermilla into position as Queen of Dena Nehele.  Cassidy is devastated when she learns this and runs away to Shalador, leaving her rival at Grayhaven.  Kermilla uses Cassidy's absence to abuse the staff, rack up huge bills with the local merchants and cause trouble.  However, in Shalador, Cassidy used her time to help enrich the land and the lives of the people around her.  Even Gray has started to flourish with the help of Daemon Sadi's tutelage and has taken it upon himself to learn the role of First Escort to prevent his cousin from disbanding Cassidy's court.

When Cassidy split Dena Nehele into two with her own Territory to rule (Shalador Nehele), the Warlords in the provinces left behind quickly join ranks with her.  The ones who do not give Theran an ultimatum: get rid of Kermilla or lose Grayhaven.  Since Kermilla has caused many of the Warlords to remember what it was like to live under the rule of bad Queens, the Warlords refuse to serve under her.  Taking Talon's advice, Theran breaks his own heart instead of breaking his honour.

While I think this story will continue, I think that Gray and Cassidy (as the main characters) are finished - now that Theran has a new Queen, a Sceltie by the name of Lady Rhahn.

I really like Anne Bishop's books - all of them.  She has strong female characters and tender males (which, I'll be honest, confuse me sometimes).  I'm used to male authors who have graphic war scenes; however, with Anne Bishop, her war scenes are more anti-climatic, simply because the issues are solved in only a page.  As such, I feel almost cheated when, instead of going to war, Cassidy's Steward solves the issue by dividing the Territory.

Another disclaimer: the later books are milder than the first three.  The witches in the Dark Jewels Trilogy are much crueler and the rule under those Queens involved rape and torture to control their subjects.  Sometimes graphic, sometimes just implied, it is a way of life for the characters until Jaenelle created the Witch-Storm.  So, if you can't stomach that sort of thing, don't read the Trilogy.  It is possible to fully enjoy the series without having read the Trilogy.

Having said that, I would call this a chick lit series as there is a huge focus on family and family ties.  There is brotherhood between brothers, comrades and strangers with common goals.  Though the men can rise to "the killing edge" they are also quick to rein in their brothers, as well as offer advice and friendship which is something that you don't normally see in books with warriors.  Unless it's written by a female author.  The one thing that I think the author has nailed is the dynamics of female cattiness and female friendships.

While I do recommend the book and the series, I do think a reader's preferences for a series should be taken into account.  I personally really enjoy the series, but others may not.

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig is a book within a book.

It starts out in contemporary times with Eloise Kelly, an Harvard grad student searching for information about the Purple Gentian for her dissertation "Aristocratic Espionage during the Wars with France: 1789-1815". However, her real passion lay with uncovering the true identity of the Pink Carnation. Luckily for her, a relation of the Purple Gentian had kept the correspondences and diaries of Lord Richard Selwick (the Purple Gentian) and Miss Amy Belacourt, a half French girl bent on joining the Purple Gentian's League.

Reading the papers, the focus shifts from Eloise's perspective to that of Amy and Richard. A chance meeting on a boat to cross the channel separating the French and English countries ignites a spark of interest between them that grows each time they encounter each other. Amy's discovery of Richard's work (he was Napoleon's Egypt Antiquities specialist) causes Amy to think of him as a traitor to the country; however, Richard decides that her dislike is for the best as it will prevent her from distracting him from his mission - which is to prevent Napoleon from invading England.

While hiding in her brother's study, Amy meets the masked Purple Gentian and offers help, without knowing that it is Richard. After that meeting, Richard is determined to keep her from his alter ego, but decides that courting her as himself is safe. Confused, Amy eventually discovers his true identity - after both her chaperone, Miss Gwen, and her beloved cousin, Jane, have figured it out.

In an attempt to thwart Amy from following him on a raid of Napoleon's treasure, Richard, as the Purple Gentian, repudiates her and breaks her heart in the process. So, after finding out who he really is, Amy and her cohorts decide to form the League of the Pink Carnation and to steal the treasure from the Purple Gentian. Unfortunately, Amy was captured and Richard was forced to reveal himself to the Assistant Minister of Police, Delaroche. A rescue was planned and executed, causing Richard and Amy to flee Paris for England.

At the end of the tale, Eloise finds out that there is more information to be found at Selwick Hall and agrees to a weekend jaunt with Colin Selwick, the current occupant of the hall. And the tale continues in the next book, The Masque of the Purple Tulip.

There's only one word to describe this book: cute. Or fun. They both work. The flavour of the stories as it switches between Richard and Amy to Eloise and Colin doesn't change. The bantering is equal in both, as is the behaviour between the couples. Since the relationship between Colin and Eloise develops much slower (being stretched out over the next several books), it will be interesting to see it play out in full as Eloise learns more about Colin's ancestors.

This book has been repeatedly referred to as chick lit, a genre that I had always associated with romance novels. Apparently the main difference is that the character's relationships with their family is just as important as their romantic relationship. Thank you, Wikipedia! And the other characters in this book are just as fun, especially Richard's family. Amy's brother is a deplorable toady (described as such several times), but Richard's family is warm, protective and hilarious. Jane, is refreshingly level headed, considering Amy's impulsiveness, and Miss Gwen is surprisingly romantic beneath her shrewish chaperone demeanour.

Like I said, it's cute and fun. I laughed, repeatedly, throughout the book at Amy's antics and the repertoire between the main characters. It is entirely fluffy and fictional, so if you are looking for a serious book based on historical events, you will be disappointed. But, if you're looking for brain candy, you will be well pleased. I really liked the story and will continue on with the series. And if Lauren Willig's other books have the same dialogue I will definitely venture into her other novels.

Fahrenheit 451

I finally finished reading it! I postponed writing this until after the B&C Banned Book Club meeting, but I don't think I'll wait in the future. The main reason being that it contaminates my thoughts on the subject if I discuss different aspects of the books that we covered at the meeting. Especially if it was a subject that I didn't even think about. The only downside to writing immediately is that sometimes I remember something that I did/did not like after I've finished the blog. Ah well.

On to the book!

Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopic novel written by Ray Bradbury in 1953. Originally written as a short story called The Fireman for a Sci-Fi magazine, it was later expanded and then published in Playboy for $400.

This story features a society that lives in a fast-paced world, teaches destruction in school and promotes an introverted way of life plugged in to the radio or watching the wall screens. It is also a society that has chosen to stop reading anything more substantial than comics and has taken to burning books as well as the homes they're found in.

When Guy Montag, a fireman by trade, meets his new neighbour, Clarisse McClellen, he begins to question the world as he knows it. A conversation with his fire chief leads Montag to read the books that he'd been stealing from homes as they burned and a meeting with an old man in a park proves the old man to be a scholar - a closet book reader by the name of Faber. After an outburst (involving poetry) in front of his wife and her friends, Montag's hidden cache of books is burned. In the confrontation, Montag murders the fire chief and goes on the run. The infallible mechanical hound is sent to track him down and he runs to Faber for help.

To hide his scent, Montag travels downstream on a river until he comes to a farm on the outskirts of the city. Montag then meets up with some fellow scholars to discuss books and who has retained what book in their memories. In the end, the city is obliterated after repeated warnings on the radio regarding the incoming war.

I found this book to be incredibly interesting - and informative. Considering this book was written over 50 years ago, it is almost scary how Bradbury could have thought this stuff up. I found that the parts of the story that I was most intrigued by really didn't have anything to do with the immediate story: it provided information to the society that Montag was a part of and the problems that were prevalent in that era (ie, how groups of kids aged 12-16 would joyride around and run people over for the fun of it; how little parents interacted with their children outside of shipping them off to school or plunking them down in front of the tv; how people stopped interacting with eachother and would "interact" with the characters on tv - their "family").

In an age where books are already losing a battle with the internet and cell phones, it is fascinating to read about a world that is already there. And it's frightening to think that one day we may soon arrive.

The next book on the Banned Book Club list is Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie.

Magic in the Blood

Magic in the Blood is the second book in Devon Monk's Allie Beckstrom series.

In this book, Allie still hasn't recovered her lost memories of Zayvion Jones, but her physical reaction to him makes her think that she had fallen hard for him. She also starts to see ghost-like apparitions when she is casting magic. Unfortunately, they can see her and their touch can steal magic from her and leave a rash-like wound behind. On top of that, she's being stalked by a thug out of prison who will kill her if she doesn't deliver a fellow Hound, Martin Pike, to him. Allie is also approached by the MERC side of the police to Hound a job involving some missing girls. Overwhelmed, she goes to visit her father's grave, but her magic reveals that the coffin is empty.

Allie goes to a Hound meeting to speak with Pike and ends up with one of the members promising back up while she's working. Afterwards, her Hounding job goes bad when the ghosts show up and jump her. And the blood magic she finds at the scene of the crime belongs to her friend Pike, but as it feels wrong, Allie is determined to find out what really happened. A meeting with Zay explains the ghosts as the remnants of magic users in the past. While on her way to meet with the police, Allie is magically called to visit the thug - and sees a critically wounded Pike along the way. Retracing his steps, Allie finds a few dead bodies along the way and finishes the thug herself. Pike's dying words about a doctor having her blood leads her to Hound her own scent to an abandoned warehouse.

In the warehouse is Pike's protege, Anthony, along with the missing girls. And her father's body. The doctor shows up and attempts to open a gate between the living and dead using her and her father's blood. All hell breaks loose as Allie's father's spirit attempts to possess her body to stop the doctor. In the end they win, but Allie loses memories of her father in the warehouse. Zayvion lobbied on her behalf to gain Allie entrance into his secret magic club and Allie is glad to learn magic that would allow her to gain control of her powers.

This book is interesting. I like several things about this book: how any magic used has a price - whether it's a cold or headache; the Veiled creatures; and how Allie's father tried to possess her. I like how Allie is a magical conduit, with her arms having a positive and negative end - despite how everyone else in that book is determined that it isn't possible.

And that is also what I don't like about it. Allie is a smart-talking lone wolf (not literally - not weres in this book!) how is almost obsessively anti-social. She chalks it all up to being a Hound, but she has some serious trust issues that I hope she grows out of. I get how she doesn't trust Zayvion - how could she when she's forgotten him? - but it's a little painful to watch, especially since he is aware that she doesn't trust him either. She also gets thrust into a leadership position by her fellow Hounds and immediately has an uprising as one of the younger female Hounds storms out stating she'll never follow her. The younger Hound's issues stem from jealousy - how annoying.

I think I'll read the next book (Magic in the Shadows) in this series immediately. The next book after that (Magic on the Storm) is out May 4th, so I might as well catch up on this series ASAP.

New Moon

New Moon is the second book in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. This book starts out with Bella's birthday, in which she will officially be older than Edward - and she melodramatically argues with him about it. At the party she cuts herself and Edward has to protect her from the teeth of his brother. To protect her from himself and his family, Edward breaks up with her and moves away.

Time passes and Bella survives. Barely.

She discovers that by doing things that Edward would disapprove of, she is able to hear his voice. As such, she starts to engage in reckless activities (ie, talking to strange boys outside a bar, learning to ride a motorcycle, walking in forests that are known to have bear attacks and cliff diving). It is the cliff diving that, ironically, brings the vampires back to Bella. Alice witnesses Bella jumping off a cliff and drowning. After mentioning it to her sister and before checking on Bella herself, Edward hears about it and sets off to die.

When Alice learns of his behaviour, she takes Bella to Italy to prevent it, thus meeting the Volturi family. Alice promises to turn Bella in the future to spare her life, much to Edward's dismay. They return to Forks and Bella is convinced that Edward is still a dream. After talking it out for a while, Bella goes to the Cullens for a vote on her mortality; the majority votes for her to turn. Back at Bella's house, Jacob (Bella's rock while Edward was gone; he's also a werewolf) tells Edward that if any one in his family so much as bites a human, the treaty is over and war will break out between the werewolves and vampires. Bella is horrified at the implication that her becoming a vampire will start a fight between the pride and the Cullens.

I had a discussion at work about this series: I really didn't care for the first book and I heard that this one would be worse. And at first it was, especially post-breakup. However, once Bella started to get on with her life, with the help of Jacob, I started liking her more. And I found that if the author had substituted Edward's voice with her own common sense, I would've liked it a lot more. I definitely liked Bella more when she was around Jacob; the only exceptions being when she started referring to herself as broken and how she could never love again.

I adored Jacob. Not so much when he first turned, but after they hashed that out, I liked him again. I thought it was kind of sad when he was willing for a relationship with Bella where she had no emotional input, but given time (and no Edward), she probably would've been able to love him for real.

Edward still pissed me off and once he and Bella got back together, they both reverted back to their previous behaviours. After Bella talked to him rationally about how she was certain he would leave again, I assumed that she had grown up, but she lost all of her own strength when she realized that he was there to stay. I really really don't like how they parallel their relationship with Romeo & Juliet's - everyone knows how that one ends.

Like I said, I did like this one better (probably because there was less Edward) and so I am a little excited about the next one (Eclipse) since everyone says that it is better than New Moon. Maybe I ended up jumping on the bandwagon, but I won't be sure until the end of the series.

Twilight

Twilight is the first book in a young adult series of the same name about a teenaged girl, Bella Swan, and the creatures she encounters in her small town in Washington state.

Bella insisted on moving to her father's home in Forks after her mom got re-married (the new husband is a basketball player so they would've been gone most of the time travelling). Coming from her sunny home in Phoenix, Forks is dreary and way too green. Luckily, the folks are friendly and Bella quickly makes new friends, despite her miserable attitude to the contrary. At lunch she has an across-the-room encounter with Edward Cullen and is confused by his continual glaring. Biology is even worse when she has a class with him and the only empty seat is at his bench. The whole class consisted of him glowering in her general direction and leaning as far away as possible. At the end of the day she sees him again in the office, trying to switch into a new class. Miserable, she goes home and can't stop thinking about him.

After about a week, he finally comes back to school and is friendly, much to her surprise. After he saves her from being crushed by an oncoming vehicle, they become friends and start hanging out more. An outing with her friends in a nearby town causes Bella to become lost and harassed by some locals; Edward saves her and she discloses that she knows his secret: that he's a vampire. With that out of the way, they admit to being in love with each other and are ready to meet each other's families. However, while watching the Cullen family play baseball in the rain, some strange vampires show up and notice that Bella is human. When Edward comes to her defense, the vampire James takes it upon himself to personally kill her. Running away to Phoenix doesn't help and Bella surrenders herself to save her mother. Fortunately for her, Edward shows up in time to save her life, yet again. The story ends with Edward taking Bella to prom, much to her horror and dismay.

I had put off reading Twilight since Christmas, mainly because I wasn't sure what to expect. I've heard reviews that ranged from terrific to terrible; however, when a friend of mine rented the movie the other day, and liked it, I decided that I would read the series.

Unfortunately, I found it to be mediocre.

I found that it took too long to finally get into the story. Bella is moody and depressing to have as a lead character - especially since it is read in the first person. She is constantly shooting herself down and putting Edward on a pedestal. Everything she has to say about his looks are filled with dismay, and is always followed by an "I'm not good enough" sentiment. She is clingy, and if I knew someone who was that obsessed with their partner, I'd be afraid that a breakup would drive them to be suicidal.

Edward really isn't that much better: he moods are very mercurial and it doesn't take much to set him off. As much as Bella torments herself with her own insecurity, Edward hounds himself about potentially hurting her - physically - if he gets carried away.

The worst part of the storyline are probably the two main characters. I didn't like how much both Bella and Edward beat themselves up over hurting the other (Bella couldn't stand it if one of his family members were hurt helping her and Edward couldn't stand it if she were hurt simply because she knew him). One of my main pet peeves was found in Bella: how every guy she came across was drawn to her and wanted to go out with her.

However, I did like Stephenie Meyer's take on vampires and how some vampire myths stayed as such (ie, burning to ash in the sunlight). I also liked how she made the Cullen family into "vegetarians," how some traits found in humans are magnified as vampires and I especially loved the baseball scene.

I think that if I were a romantic teenager wanting to read about the star-crossed lovers (which is a stupid term for them since both families support the relationship), I would really love this series. I don't think I could've identified with it since Bella isn't a typical teenager: her mother refers to her as 17-going-on-35 (I would disagree about her relative maturity).

Like I said, overall I found it mediocre. It could be that I went in with high expectations and therefore didn't enjoy the book as well as I could've. I will keep reading the series, just to see how it ends, but I don't think I'll raise my expectations for the next book, New Moon. Especially if Bella is going to continue brooding.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins, is book one in a series by the same name. This series centers on Katniss Everdeen, a 16 year old girl who supports her family with the game she hunts and the greens she forages for daily. Living in the Seam, a seedy part of District 12, she does what she can to protect her small family. Even if it means taking her sister's place in the Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games is a fight-to-the-death amongst the tributes (ages 12 to 18) on a televised program. A macabre combination of Running Man and Lottery, but with all the flash and pomp of a beauty pageant, the tributes are paraded in the Capitol, show off their talents before a panel of judges in private and then interviewed live on tv. By doing so, the tributes attempt to gain sponsorship by showing the crowd that they will win; sponsors will then return the favour by sending gifts into the arena (which is a closed, controlled environment) to help the tribute survive.

Katniss, along with Peeta (her fellow District 12 tribute), are told to act like a couple in love and Katniss keeps this strategy in mind throughout the game. During the games a new rule is announced: if tributes from the same District are the last two standing, both will live. This rule allows Katniss to open up to Peeta and she plays up the love angle knowing that her affection will gain them gifts from sponsors. Unfortunately, this is not an act for Peeta and when they win, Katniss is worried for her life if they don't keep it up. Peeta finds out on the train ride home and this is where the book ends.

This book was very morbid but very captivating. The book is set in a futuristic North America, where the Hunger Games were a means of putting an end to a rebellion. By creating the games, and forcing the people to watch it, the Capitol showed their citizens that rebellion was useless: afterall, weren't their children chosen at random for a duel that only ever yielded one survivor?

Katniss proves herself to be a strong (if clueless when it comes to boys) female lead. She's capable and has the drive to succeed - which is why her sister & mother were still alive - and why she was able to win. She also had a level head - another reason why she was able to win. I think these are traits that are important to be featured in female lead characters since most are portrayed as fluffy.

Overall, I really liked this book: after hearing my coworker rave about it, I moved it to the top of my "to read" list and the second book "Catching Fire" will be next. Unfortunately for me, the third and final book, Mockingjay, won't be out until August. However, I've already pre-ordered it so I'm good to go.

The Lovely Bones

I chose to read The Lovely Bone (by Alice Sebold) mainly because it was made into a movie, and the movie previews looked interesting. Going into the book I expected (from the trailers) that it would be a murder mystery, with the victim (Susie) assisting her father's quest for the murderer from beyond the grave.

What I did not expect to find was that the book was about moving on and how the characters found the strength to live, despite the death of their daughter/sister/neighbour/crush.

Don't get me wrong, the father tried in vain to bring the murderer to justice. They even knew who it was after 2 years, but the man escaped. When that happened, I didn't know what to expect for the remaining half of the book. Would they chase him across the state and drag him to face time for his crimes?

Instead, they lived their lives. First, for Susie, then for each other. The remaining children banded together to take care of their father after their mother left. In the end, they lived for themselves. They were survivors. And while they never brought the murderer to justice, justice was found in the fact that they did not allow this tragedy to kill them too. They became a family again after 6 years of estrangement and a heart attack. While they never forgot Susie, she no longer consumed their lives.

I still want to go see the movie, but I doubt that the movie will capture this aspect of the book. How can they? There was too much going on: what Susie saw and how she followed the thoughts and lives of her family members, friends and acquaintances as they grew, first apart and then back together.

I enjoyed this book. I went in expecting one thing and came away with a much greater appreciation for life. Susie always yearned for the life she never had in the book; after reading that, how can you not appreciate your own life? Susie never experienced love - can I take mine for granted?

It makes you think, too, about life after death. And those that have gone on already. Are they there watching over us like Susie watched her family?