Ash
Author: Malinda Lo
Little, Brown, & Co., 2009
ISBN: 9780316040099
YA: fairy-tale retelling of Cinderella, with the Godmother replaced by a besotted fae male, and the Prince replaced by a Huntress.
I'm glad to see Bisexual characters that aren't caricatures, and it's nice to see a westernish medieval fairy-tale country that isn't homophobic or strictly hetero.
I have to say I have an irrational dislike of the name Aisling, so using Aisling to get Ash as a nickname, while utterly reasonable, bothered the crap out of me. Personal problem. I also didn't like that the "sleeping on hearths" was thrown in the way it was - either leave it in or take it out. I don't like half-assing.
The Huntress was a great concept, and I liked the idea of a kingdom where magic is slowly fading away, and so the relationship with the other world of the fae, and the people of that other world, is also slowly fading away. The fae themselves were great. I am a fan of inscrutable and vaguely menacing otherworldly fae. I'm just not into sparkles and kisses, or benevolent pixies and fae-king's sons. That said, I would have enjoyed knowing just a leeeetle more about the whole fae kidnapping thing. The hinted reasons (why, and why not as often anymore) didn't really satisfy me.
I'm a bit sad that the greenwitch character from the beginning just falls off the radar. I'm also a bit perplexed by Ash's ability to non-magically (?) dance a pavanne when she admits she can't dance. I've tried - it's hard. When you don't do it right, you look like an idiot, because you're out of time with EVERYONE else.
The penultimate "paying her favor" scene was also a bit off for me. Either go all the way and admit what's going on (and reward your readers with a payoff scene), or don't and just don't go there at all with hints and teases. I really didn't like how that played out, especially since we have no way of knowing what's in S's mind at the time. It was all too easy and quick to really be an emotional climax scene.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Thursday, May 16, 2013
How Children Succeed, Paul Tough
Perfect name for this author.
How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character
Author: Paul Tough
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012
ISBN: 9780547564654
Nonfiction: discussing the importance of "non-academic" skills such as "grit" and "perseverance" to success in scholastics and in life.
I like this book. I grew up very staunchly Christian, and either Christian-schooled or home-schooled, and I am very familiar with "values-based" education. I grew up surrounded by stories such as those found in the Book of Virtues and old collections of short stories that made it absoiutely clear that only people with solid character foundations would succeed in life. They also came with a hefty dose of scripture and really preachy moralizing that would put Elsie Dinsmore to shame. I've often despaired of finding any sort of scientific backing for my bone-deep conviction that character is important, or of finding resources that don't approach the issue from a overt Christian perspective.
This book is that resource. Very straightforward, and answers a few simple questions: "Why do many smart people fail at life after school?" "Why are some people bad at school, but succeed in life?" "Why is there a difference in the life-paths of people who graduate High School and people with GEDs?"
First question answered: Book smarts aren't everything. Often people who are successful at school are simply naturally good at the few skills that schools value. Without learning how to study and apply themselves (which the book successfully demonstrates are learnable skills) they flounder in situations where their natural skills don't aid them as much.
Second question answered: Book smarts aren't everything. Often people who aren't good with standardized testing or the restrictive school environment blossom when their avenues open up and they are encouraged to take advantage of their other skills, like perseverence, critical thinking, and curiosity.
Third question answered: Book smarts aren't everything. GED students look much more like dropouts than like high school graduates, and the proposed reason is that their lives are being impacted by their lack of "grit." They may gain the technical knowledge they were supposed to gain in high school, but that knowledge isn't helping them succeed. Something else is necessary.
That something is really hard to pin down with the politicized climate of education today. It's a landmine to find a good name for the non-academic skills that are important, but the individual ones will be easily recognised: Perseverance. Curiosity. Critical Thinking. Self-Honesty. Mental Toughness. Self-Discipline.
Finally (and here's the part I cheered for) the book shows several programs and pilot studies that are being worked on that are increasingly proving the idea that we can teach these "soft skills" or "character traits" to children (and to adults) to help them along in life.
Some specific programs to look into:
Tools of the Mind
KIPP Schools
Cognitive-Behavior Therapy
Excellent resource, and not a single scripture or "holier-than-thou" moment to be found.
How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character
Author: Paul Tough
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012
ISBN: 9780547564654
Nonfiction: discussing the importance of "non-academic" skills such as "grit" and "perseverance" to success in scholastics and in life.
I like this book. I grew up very staunchly Christian, and either Christian-schooled or home-schooled, and I am very familiar with "values-based" education. I grew up surrounded by stories such as those found in the Book of Virtues and old collections of short stories that made it absoiutely clear that only people with solid character foundations would succeed in life. They also came with a hefty dose of scripture and really preachy moralizing that would put Elsie Dinsmore to shame. I've often despaired of finding any sort of scientific backing for my bone-deep conviction that character is important, or of finding resources that don't approach the issue from a overt Christian perspective.
This book is that resource. Very straightforward, and answers a few simple questions: "Why do many smart people fail at life after school?" "Why are some people bad at school, but succeed in life?" "Why is there a difference in the life-paths of people who graduate High School and people with GEDs?"
First question answered: Book smarts aren't everything. Often people who are successful at school are simply naturally good at the few skills that schools value. Without learning how to study and apply themselves (which the book successfully demonstrates are learnable skills) they flounder in situations where their natural skills don't aid them as much.
Second question answered: Book smarts aren't everything. Often people who aren't good with standardized testing or the restrictive school environment blossom when their avenues open up and they are encouraged to take advantage of their other skills, like perseverence, critical thinking, and curiosity.
Third question answered: Book smarts aren't everything. GED students look much more like dropouts than like high school graduates, and the proposed reason is that their lives are being impacted by their lack of "grit." They may gain the technical knowledge they were supposed to gain in high school, but that knowledge isn't helping them succeed. Something else is necessary.
That something is really hard to pin down with the politicized climate of education today. It's a landmine to find a good name for the non-academic skills that are important, but the individual ones will be easily recognised: Perseverance. Curiosity. Critical Thinking. Self-Honesty. Mental Toughness. Self-Discipline.
Finally (and here's the part I cheered for) the book shows several programs and pilot studies that are being worked on that are increasingly proving the idea that we can teach these "soft skills" or "character traits" to children (and to adults) to help them along in life.
Some specific programs to look into:
Tools of the Mind
KIPP Schools
Cognitive-Behavior Therapy
Excellent resource, and not a single scripture or "holier-than-thou" moment to be found.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The Rithmatist, Brandon Sanderson
YA "Gearpunk" Fantasy
The Rithmatist
Brandon Sanderson
Tor Teen, May 14, 2013
ISBN: 9780765320322
I read this yesterday. This is where the "rambling" comes in.
First off, some basics. This book is YA - there are certain expectations persuant to the genre as to the levels of violence and the specific character archtypes and relationships. I'm not going to bash on a book for adhering to an overall genre formula. That would be like smacking A Song of Ice and Fire for being gory and political. Missing the point.
However, (and I do think the YA genre enhanced this feeling quite a bit for me) there was a certain... workmanlike quality about this book. Nothing so bad as to be clunky or plodding or badly plotted, just... well, go read Alloy of Law or Legion or The Emperor's Soul and then compare them to this. It's servicable. Not quite soul-satisfying.
Secondly, I LOVED the technical drawings, and I am very happy they were included. They made the technical magical system information in the book much more understandable to a very non-spatial person. They also provided more information to the close observer (much like Sanderson regularly does with his chapter headings..) Also - unicorns and bears and spiders! (Why does it always have to be spiders?)
The magic system itself reminded me strongly of FullMetal Alchemist. If you think about it one way, yes, I admit, on the face of it, perhaps a bit silly to think of magic through chalk, and to have a whole population afraid of tiny little squiggly bits (most of which usually can't impact humans or non-chalk objects anyway). However, there are a lot of people who are unsettled by little creepy unnatural oddly-moving things regardless of what they're made of, and furthermore it seems like laypeople in the story world can't tell any difference between chalklings that can eat people and those who can't. Lastly, imagine our cultural heritage including fighting bloodthirsty chalk creatures that ate people's skins and eyes instead of Indians that scalped us, and - oh, just by the way, normal people can't do ANYTHING to avoid or fight off being overtaken, crawled all over, and then eaten away while living. Less silly now. Only oddity that I saw was that they hadn't developed the acid-bath version of the water gun, given their affinity for springs and pumps.
The characters were servicable. Joel seemed a bit immature and clueless, but no more so than many teen boys I know. Melody started very histrionic, but nearly immediately settled down, so I'm reading her introduction as how she over-dramatizes her boring life. Fitch (sp?) was lovely. I was happy to have a "wise older mentor" with an actual limitation that was limiting and important. I would have liked to see either Joel or Melody realize that Fitch had difficulties with confrontation, and have to decide whether they thought he was cowardly or not (rather than having it spelled out for us by Fitch). The school president (York?) was another strong male authority figure, and I'll just comment that if you ever put "n," "z," and a section that rhymes with "mal" into a character's name, they're going to be evil. They just are. It's one of the foundational rules of fantasy that you can't break. LOVED that character/story arc, with the Harry Potter echoes.
The plot was well done. I anticipated that Melody and Joel would end up where they did regarding the Melee. I did NOT correctly guess the identity of the Scribbler. (I did call the related twist.) I was happy with the proportions of completed plot for this stand-alone book compared to all the different leads heading off for sequels/related works. I thought the totally unnecessary addition of the Korean/Chinese/Mongolian takeover of Europe was brilliant and vastly amusing. I want to eat spaghetti with chopsticks and water-chestnuts now (not so sure on the soy sauce).
I (of course, as always) have many questions about the magic system, and how to work it/abuse it/work around it. In a related curiousity, I'm puzzled about the incorporation of "gears" and scientific principles (and scientist-saints!) into Christianity, and really would like to hear some background on how those traditionally opposing forces joined to become a whole. I am intrigued by the Tower of Nebrask, and in who/what is hidden there besides the chalklings. I find it interesting that the Native population was nearly annihilated, but enough culture survived to give the islands their names. I'm interested to know why springs and not steam.
The Rithmatist
Brandon Sanderson
Tor Teen, May 14, 2013
ISBN: 9780765320322
I read this yesterday. This is where the "rambling" comes in.
First off, some basics. This book is YA - there are certain expectations persuant to the genre as to the levels of violence and the specific character archtypes and relationships. I'm not going to bash on a book for adhering to an overall genre formula. That would be like smacking A Song of Ice and Fire for being gory and political. Missing the point.
However, (and I do think the YA genre enhanced this feeling quite a bit for me) there was a certain... workmanlike quality about this book. Nothing so bad as to be clunky or plodding or badly plotted, just... well, go read Alloy of Law or Legion or The Emperor's Soul and then compare them to this. It's servicable. Not quite soul-satisfying.
Secondly, I LOVED the technical drawings, and I am very happy they were included. They made the technical magical system information in the book much more understandable to a very non-spatial person. They also provided more information to the close observer (much like Sanderson regularly does with his chapter headings..) Also - unicorns and bears and spiders! (Why does it always have to be spiders?)
The magic system itself reminded me strongly of FullMetal Alchemist. If you think about it one way, yes, I admit, on the face of it, perhaps a bit silly to think of magic through chalk, and to have a whole population afraid of tiny little squiggly bits (most of which usually can't impact humans or non-chalk objects anyway). However, there are a lot of people who are unsettled by little creepy unnatural oddly-moving things regardless of what they're made of, and furthermore it seems like laypeople in the story world can't tell any difference between chalklings that can eat people and those who can't. Lastly, imagine our cultural heritage including fighting bloodthirsty chalk creatures that ate people's skins and eyes instead of Indians that scalped us, and - oh, just by the way, normal people can't do ANYTHING to avoid or fight off being overtaken, crawled all over, and then eaten away while living. Less silly now. Only oddity that I saw was that they hadn't developed the acid-bath version of the water gun, given their affinity for springs and pumps.
The characters were servicable. Joel seemed a bit immature and clueless, but no more so than many teen boys I know. Melody started very histrionic, but nearly immediately settled down, so I'm reading her introduction as how she over-dramatizes her boring life. Fitch (sp?) was lovely. I was happy to have a "wise older mentor" with an actual limitation that was limiting and important. I would have liked to see either Joel or Melody realize that Fitch had difficulties with confrontation, and have to decide whether they thought he was cowardly or not (rather than having it spelled out for us by Fitch). The school president (York?) was another strong male authority figure, and I'll just comment that if you ever put "n," "z," and a section that rhymes with "mal" into a character's name, they're going to be evil. They just are. It's one of the foundational rules of fantasy that you can't break. LOVED that character/story arc, with the Harry Potter echoes.
The plot was well done. I anticipated that Melody and Joel would end up where they did regarding the Melee. I did NOT correctly guess the identity of the Scribbler. (I did call the related twist.) I was happy with the proportions of completed plot for this stand-alone book compared to all the different leads heading off for sequels/related works. I thought the totally unnecessary addition of the Korean/Chinese/Mongolian takeover of Europe was brilliant and vastly amusing. I want to eat spaghetti with chopsticks and water-chestnuts now (not so sure on the soy sauce).
I (of course, as always) have many questions about the magic system, and how to work it/abuse it/work around it. In a related curiousity, I'm puzzled about the incorporation of "gears" and scientific principles (and scientist-saints!) into Christianity, and really would like to hear some background on how those traditionally opposing forces joined to become a whole. I am intrigued by the Tower of Nebrask, and in who/what is hidden there besides the chalklings. I find it interesting that the Native population was nearly annihilated, but enough culture survived to give the islands their names. I'm interested to know why springs and not steam.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
The Athena Doctrine, John Gerzema and Michael D'Antonio
The Athena Doctrine
John Gerzema & Michael D'Antonio
ISBN: 9781118452950
Jossey-Bass, 2013
The premise is pretty obvious - traditional "male" values like competition and ambition and control aren't the best options for a fractured but interconnected world where everyone depends on everyone else, and everything impacts us all.
However, I'd like to note that I find it vastly amusing that the theories of "girl power" are being researched and then promoted by a duo of self-described "bald white guys." I don't know why, but it just strikes me as a little odd.
The book is interesting, and not what I was expecting. I was expecting graphs and charts and recreations of the data they reference in the start from the surveys and demographic studies they did prior to publishing the book. That's not what this is.
Instead, what we get are a series of snapshots of "Athenas" in various countries (of both genders, I would like to make clear) who are using more feminine virtues and strengths to build their countries and communities up in the face of adversity. (Excepting Bhutan, where they're building their country in the face of overwhelmingly apathetic comfortable conformity.)
Given the title, I'm sure no one will be surprised to learn that all of the Athena ventures highlighted here are either actually successful or at least inspiring. I was surprised that there were no counter-examples of specific male ventures that have failed, other than the epic recounting of Iceland's troubles at the very beginning of the book. That is, unless you wish to place the ENTIRE blame for the terrible state of the world squarely on the menfolk in charge up til now. I'm not entirely sure that's not what they had in mind, but that feels a bit harsh to me.
That said, the book is inspiring, if a little short on actual ideas to implement or to change in your own everyday life. The innovators featured aren't successful because they model "Athena" values, but because they are innovators - they have the creativity to spark new ideas, and the drive to attain their goals. Without those twin fires, even with all the Athena virture possible, world-changing is much less likely to ensue, and I think that failing to acknowledge and prepare readers for that is a real sticking point.
John Gerzema & Michael D'Antonio
ISBN: 9781118452950
Jossey-Bass, 2013
The premise is pretty obvious - traditional "male" values like competition and ambition and control aren't the best options for a fractured but interconnected world where everyone depends on everyone else, and everything impacts us all.
However, I'd like to note that I find it vastly amusing that the theories of "girl power" are being researched and then promoted by a duo of self-described "bald white guys." I don't know why, but it just strikes me as a little odd.
The book is interesting, and not what I was expecting. I was expecting graphs and charts and recreations of the data they reference in the start from the surveys and demographic studies they did prior to publishing the book. That's not what this is.
Instead, what we get are a series of snapshots of "Athenas" in various countries (of both genders, I would like to make clear) who are using more feminine virtues and strengths to build their countries and communities up in the face of adversity. (Excepting Bhutan, where they're building their country in the face of overwhelmingly apathetic comfortable conformity.)
Given the title, I'm sure no one will be surprised to learn that all of the Athena ventures highlighted here are either actually successful or at least inspiring. I was surprised that there were no counter-examples of specific male ventures that have failed, other than the epic recounting of Iceland's troubles at the very beginning of the book. That is, unless you wish to place the ENTIRE blame for the terrible state of the world squarely on the menfolk in charge up til now. I'm not entirely sure that's not what they had in mind, but that feels a bit harsh to me.
That said, the book is inspiring, if a little short on actual ideas to implement or to change in your own everyday life. The innovators featured aren't successful because they model "Athena" values, but because they are innovators - they have the creativity to spark new ideas, and the drive to attain their goals. Without those twin fires, even with all the Athena virture possible, world-changing is much less likely to ensue, and I think that failing to acknowledge and prepare readers for that is a real sticking point.
Strands of Bronze and Gold, Jane Nickerson
Strands of Bronze and Gold
Jane Nickerson
ISBN: 9780375971181
Borzoi, 2013
YA magical realism retelling of Bluebeard set in the Deep South in 1855.
This was a lovely book. Creepy as hell without being overly gory or melodramatic, a nearly perfect Bluebeard, and an excellent heroine that walked a lovely line between abused mindset and pert independence.
I'd place this up there with Entwined and Beauty as one of my favorite retellings, and that's saying a lot. Bluebeard is a HARD tale to do - it's such an odd and creepy fairy tale on the surface, and the traditional "lesson" of being an obedient wife in the face of temptation is a really unfortunate one in modern days. This book beautifully works past all that baggage to revel in the gothic feeling of a creepy master of the house with the ghosts of dead wives hovering around. Heck, it even manages to get some abolitionist fervor going on as well.
I'm especially pleased with how well Nickerson puts the experience of being with an abusive partner - the power imbalance that makes it hard to tell the abuse is abuse, the attemps to define abuse as harmless personality quirks, then the abuser using their own dramatic or unfortunate past to excuse and justify their outrageous behavior, the attempts to isolate the victim, to use their family circumstances to trap them with the abuser, the violence towards animals or beloved possessions of the victim... all done excellently well.
Like Sophia, I felt sorry for Bluebeard at first, only slowly realizing that he wasn't nearly the victim that he made himself out to be. I even felt sorry for his poor house manager.
The ending differed a bit from canon, but I didn't mind, and I actually thought that the alterations built the strength of the portrayal of an abusive partner very well. The ending in this version remains a satisfactory end for all involved.
Required reading to counteract all of the Edward Cullen-loving fangirls who think that possessiveness and control are attractive qualities in a mate.
Jane Nickerson
ISBN: 9780375971181
Borzoi, 2013
YA magical realism retelling of Bluebeard set in the Deep South in 1855.
This was a lovely book. Creepy as hell without being overly gory or melodramatic, a nearly perfect Bluebeard, and an excellent heroine that walked a lovely line between abused mindset and pert independence.
I'd place this up there with Entwined and Beauty as one of my favorite retellings, and that's saying a lot. Bluebeard is a HARD tale to do - it's such an odd and creepy fairy tale on the surface, and the traditional "lesson" of being an obedient wife in the face of temptation is a really unfortunate one in modern days. This book beautifully works past all that baggage to revel in the gothic feeling of a creepy master of the house with the ghosts of dead wives hovering around. Heck, it even manages to get some abolitionist fervor going on as well.
I'm especially pleased with how well Nickerson puts the experience of being with an abusive partner - the power imbalance that makes it hard to tell the abuse is abuse, the attemps to define abuse as harmless personality quirks, then the abuser using their own dramatic or unfortunate past to excuse and justify their outrageous behavior, the attempts to isolate the victim, to use their family circumstances to trap them with the abuser, the violence towards animals or beloved possessions of the victim... all done excellently well.
Like Sophia, I felt sorry for Bluebeard at first, only slowly realizing that he wasn't nearly the victim that he made himself out to be. I even felt sorry for his poor house manager.
The ending differed a bit from canon, but I didn't mind, and I actually thought that the alterations built the strength of the portrayal of an abusive partner very well. The ending in this version remains a satisfactory end for all involved.
Required reading to counteract all of the Edward Cullen-loving fangirls who think that possessiveness and control are attractive qualities in a mate.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
The Technologists, Matthew Pearl
The Technologists
Author: Matthew Pearl
American Historical Fiction - 1868
Random House, 2012
ISBN: 9781400066575
This was an interesting read.
I first picked this one up over a year ago when it first came out, but never got around to reading it (yay grad school!) until now.
I'm actually a bit pleased with how that worked out, because if the book hadn't echoed some of the circumstances of my own life, I don't know that I would feel as charitable towards it as I do.
I've not read any of Matthew Pearl's other work, and I picked this one up mainly because it was advertised to me as being a little bit "alternate history science fiction." First off, gotta say that was very much overemphasized. I didn't see much of anything that would make me put this into anything other than historical fiction.
That said, I did find it interesting.
Gist: The first graduating class of MIT (1868) in the months leading up to their graduation have to overcome challenges caused by their different backgrounds and personality types, the financial difficulties facing their Institution, a growing rivalry with Harvard, and a madman's attempts to destroy Boston with scientific discoveries put to nefarious purpose.
The good:
The story deals with the feelings and worries of the students as they prepare to graduate, work their butts off in their last school assignments, and worry about their futures. Really hit home for me as I graduate in 2 weeks myself. I very much identified with Marcus and his fears especially.
I've not read anything before about the beginnings of MIT, and I staunchly support science and "tech" schools. I found the origin story to be really fascinating, especially that both the "gentlemen" of Harvard and Boston and the "laborers" of the factories disliked the technologists and feared that they would upend society. (Smart people - they were right!)
Many of the characters in the book were actually real, and essentially all of the graduating seniors were actual people. That always makes for an interesting thought. I was especially thrilled to learn that Ellen Swallow was a real person, and a real student at the time. Very brave of her.
The bad:
After finishing the book, I read that a hallmark of Pearl's is to include lots of red-herrings. I don't particularly like that technique, and found that instead of being tantalizing leads, they were a bit heavy-handed, and therefore suspicious.
I was expecting there to be more "steampunk" or "alternate" science. To be fair, that was more because of the specific recommendation I got, and less to do with the book itself, although I do think it would have been much better if he had been more descriptive of the science-y parts - either wholeheartedly embraced the psuedoscience involved and just blithely made descriptive shit up, or talk to a real chemist and work out a way to achieve the results in real life and then describe the process/remnants that way. I thought the half-hearted descriptions did the plot a major disservice.
I didn't like the casual inclusion of viewpoint characters just for them to be killed off.
I didn't like how little time was spent dealing with the motivations of the bad guy. While trying to avoid spoilers, let me just say that it should be entirely possible for those motivations to have merited more than two short flashback segments out of the entirety of the book. In addition, the racial issue was a little bit distasteful. I know it shouldn't matter, but it does to me.
Overall it wasn't amazing. I am glad I read it, I enjoyed most of it. I would recommend it to MIT students, historical (or Americana) readers, or people who like a good twisty thrillerish mystery.
Author: Matthew Pearl
American Historical Fiction - 1868
Random House, 2012
ISBN: 9781400066575
This was an interesting read.
I first picked this one up over a year ago when it first came out, but never got around to reading it (yay grad school!) until now.
I'm actually a bit pleased with how that worked out, because if the book hadn't echoed some of the circumstances of my own life, I don't know that I would feel as charitable towards it as I do.
I've not read any of Matthew Pearl's other work, and I picked this one up mainly because it was advertised to me as being a little bit "alternate history science fiction." First off, gotta say that was very much overemphasized. I didn't see much of anything that would make me put this into anything other than historical fiction.
That said, I did find it interesting.
Gist: The first graduating class of MIT (1868) in the months leading up to their graduation have to overcome challenges caused by their different backgrounds and personality types, the financial difficulties facing their Institution, a growing rivalry with Harvard, and a madman's attempts to destroy Boston with scientific discoveries put to nefarious purpose.
The good:
The story deals with the feelings and worries of the students as they prepare to graduate, work their butts off in their last school assignments, and worry about their futures. Really hit home for me as I graduate in 2 weeks myself. I very much identified with Marcus and his fears especially.
I've not read anything before about the beginnings of MIT, and I staunchly support science and "tech" schools. I found the origin story to be really fascinating, especially that both the "gentlemen" of Harvard and Boston and the "laborers" of the factories disliked the technologists and feared that they would upend society. (Smart people - they were right!)
Many of the characters in the book were actually real, and essentially all of the graduating seniors were actual people. That always makes for an interesting thought. I was especially thrilled to learn that Ellen Swallow was a real person, and a real student at the time. Very brave of her.
The bad:
After finishing the book, I read that a hallmark of Pearl's is to include lots of red-herrings. I don't particularly like that technique, and found that instead of being tantalizing leads, they were a bit heavy-handed, and therefore suspicious.
I was expecting there to be more "steampunk" or "alternate" science. To be fair, that was more because of the specific recommendation I got, and less to do with the book itself, although I do think it would have been much better if he had been more descriptive of the science-y parts - either wholeheartedly embraced the psuedoscience involved and just blithely made descriptive shit up, or talk to a real chemist and work out a way to achieve the results in real life and then describe the process/remnants that way. I thought the half-hearted descriptions did the plot a major disservice.
I didn't like the casual inclusion of viewpoint characters just for them to be killed off.
I didn't like how little time was spent dealing with the motivations of the bad guy. While trying to avoid spoilers, let me just say that it should be entirely possible for those motivations to have merited more than two short flashback segments out of the entirety of the book. In addition, the racial issue was a little bit distasteful. I know it shouldn't matter, but it does to me.
Overall it wasn't amazing. I am glad I read it, I enjoyed most of it. I would recommend it to MIT students, historical (or Americana) readers, or people who like a good twisty thrillerish mystery.
Summer Reading Theme: Mummies!
I'm running my branch's summer reading program this year, and our overall theme is "Dig into Reading." There are 4 sub-themes involved (essentially one per week) : Mummies, Carrots, Dinosaurs, and Gardens
I'm picking titles for the programs now, based on what I've read before and what I'm finding now, and I may as well review them!
Mummies.
Only got two titles so far for this theme.
First up is
Where's My Mummy?
Author: Carolyn Crimi
Illustrator: John Manders
ISBN: 9780763631963 (full-size hardcover)
ISBN: 9780763643379 (miniature hardcover)
One look at the inquiring little rotund mummy on the cover of this book should be all you need to know there's some great illustration inside.
Baby mummy isn't done playing Hide and Shriek, but Big Mummy is busy. So when Mummy gets tired of hiding in the graveyard, he goes in search of Big Mummy. Various "monsters" pop up in various stages of their own bedtime preparations (the slime monster is washing it's face, Drac is washing his ears) to gently chide Mummy and encourage him to go to bed, and when Mummy gets scared (of a mouse!) Big Mummy is of course right there. Too cute for words, and perfect because it's not scary at all.
Next is
Working Mummies
Author: Joan Horton
Illustrator: Drazen Kozjan
ISBN: 9780374385248 (hardcover)
I'm not so sure about this one. I don't know that I will use it. The rhyming commentary is mostly ok "Hilda's mum's a teacher / Her smile becomes a frown / Whenever screaming goblins / Refuse to quiet down." but is often a little too punny "A doctor mummy / Checks the throats / of spooks with raspy moans. / Then doses them with coffin syrup / to soothe their frightful groans" or the language gets too advanced "A writer mummy works at home / she isn't a commuter. / She conjures spells for witches / on her personal computer."
Likewise, I like most of the illustrations - they're garish and vibrant and loose, but still have nice details to them. However, some bits are on the too-creepy side (vats of Frankenstein's Monster's spare parts, a freaky ghost rising up out of a creek, a witch conjuring a giant multi-eyed monster (less creepy and more touchy because of witches vs the Bible Belt...)) I just don't know whether toddler parents would freak. (Please note I'm not worried about the KIDS freaking out - I'm worried about their parents. Kids are tough. :)
So... a solid maybe. We'll see how I feel closer to the summer.
I'm picking titles for the programs now, based on what I've read before and what I'm finding now, and I may as well review them!
Mummies.
Only got two titles so far for this theme.
First up is
Where's My Mummy?
Author: Carolyn Crimi
Illustrator: John Manders
ISBN: 9780763631963 (full-size hardcover)
ISBN: 9780763643379 (miniature hardcover)
One look at the inquiring little rotund mummy on the cover of this book should be all you need to know there's some great illustration inside.
Baby mummy isn't done playing Hide and Shriek, but Big Mummy is busy. So when Mummy gets tired of hiding in the graveyard, he goes in search of Big Mummy. Various "monsters" pop up in various stages of their own bedtime preparations (the slime monster is washing it's face, Drac is washing his ears) to gently chide Mummy and encourage him to go to bed, and when Mummy gets scared (of a mouse!) Big Mummy is of course right there. Too cute for words, and perfect because it's not scary at all.
Next is
Working Mummies
Author: Joan Horton
Illustrator: Drazen Kozjan
ISBN: 9780374385248 (hardcover)
I'm not so sure about this one. I don't know that I will use it. The rhyming commentary is mostly ok "Hilda's mum's a teacher / Her smile becomes a frown / Whenever screaming goblins / Refuse to quiet down." but is often a little too punny "A doctor mummy / Checks the throats / of spooks with raspy moans. / Then doses them with coffin syrup / to soothe their frightful groans" or the language gets too advanced "A writer mummy works at home / she isn't a commuter. / She conjures spells for witches / on her personal computer."
Likewise, I like most of the illustrations - they're garish and vibrant and loose, but still have nice details to them. However, some bits are on the too-creepy side (vats of Frankenstein's Monster's spare parts, a freaky ghost rising up out of a creek, a witch conjuring a giant multi-eyed monster (less creepy and more touchy because of witches vs the Bible Belt...)) I just don't know whether toddler parents would freak. (Please note I'm not worried about the KIDS freaking out - I'm worried about their parents. Kids are tough. :)
So... a solid maybe. We'll see how I feel closer to the summer.
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