A Not-Review Commentary on Harry Potter IV

After you have beheld my skills with MS Paint, let me explain the reason behind that perfectly executed question mark.

I have read the Harry Potter series books one through three and five through seven. It took me two years to pick up the fourth, and for me, the final. It wasn't the maddening length or the strange color scheme of the cover (mmmm not a fan). As a matter of a fact, I have no idea why I never read the fourth Harry Potter book. I even left it out of lists when naming the books of the series. For some reason far back in my mind, it just did not seem important.

Okay.

So it was kind of important. After all of these years I have finally read the fourth book and am actually quite pained by the fact that I never picked it up beforehand. I mean honestly, veelas, Hermione's-almost-lovah, Voldemort comes back, someone dies?? It was out of control! And now the rest of the series has several little holes filled in for me. I was rather at a loss for several explanations of events and characters. So now it has all come full circle.

Aaaand despite his being a stupid ferret-type, I am still deeply and madly in love with Draco Malfoy (look at that intensity!). They should have support groups for this sort of thing.

--Leigh

Review: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Have you ever read one of those books that strikes you so deeply, so powerfully, that it is difficult to describe it to its full potential? Wintergirls = one of those books.

Unfortunately, I have not yet had the chance to blah all over my blog about how ver awesome Laurie Halse Anderson is. Another day maybe. But you'll get the idea from my review.

“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.
“Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another.
I am that girl.
I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.
I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.

Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend’s restless spirit. (Gracias Goodreads for the Sypnosis)


Sounds depressing right? And amazing right? And just... gah... even the summary is beautiful. Laurie Halse Anderson did things in her typical style. The characters were so harsh, just in your face and real. So much honesty went into the writing of this book. It was very much a wake up call. "Hello! People like this are out there. Stop whining and help to save a life!" Everything in here read that way to me.

I really don't have any major complaints. Although the book was very emotional and sometimes quite graphic or disturbing in scenes of sorrow or self-mutilation, it is worth the read for the writing (incredible), characters (biting, shocking, very real), and the experience. Prepare to open your eyes.

Plus. The cover = amazing *is not obsessed with cover art*


--Leigh

Waiting on Wednesday: Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover

This is my first Waiting on Wednesday, but I've always loved reading them on other people's pages. So hopefully I can keep up with the demand of consistent postage.

Call me lame, but I love a good spy book. I was the first person in my town to pick up I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You. By the end of the summer people were running away in case I were to thrust another book in their arms and beg them to take it out of the library. I'm an Alex Rider fan girl, I demolished the entire Cherub series in a week, my cousin shipped in the newest Young Bond from the UK and I slipped it inconspicuosly into my bag after a family dinner. I'm sure you understand.

So the third book in the Gallagher Girls series comes out June 9th! That is! So soon!
--

When Cammie "the Chameleon" Morgan visits her roommate Macey in Boston, she thinks she's in for an exciting end to her summer break. After all, she's there to watch Macey's father accept a nomination for vice president of the United States. But when you go to the world's best school (for spies), "exciting" and "deadly" are never far apart. Cammie and Macey soon find themselves trapped in a kidnapper's dangerous plot, with only their espionage skills to save them.

As her Junior year begins, Cammie can't shake the memory of what happened in Boston, and even the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women doesn't feel like the safe haven it once did. Shocking secrets and old flames seem to lurk around every one of the mansion's corners as Cammie and her friends struggle to answer the questions, Who is after Macey? And how can they keep her safe?

Soon Cammie is joining Bex and Liz as Macey's private security team on the campaign trail. The girls must use their spy training at every turn as the stakes are raised, and Cammie gets closer and closer to the shocking truth... (From Ally Carter's Website. Linked Above)

Is anyone else excited for this? And if you wouldn't mind leaving nods to upcoming books. I'd love to check them out.

-- Leigh

It Goes Hand-In-Hand

Today I was noticing a trend. Is it just me, or since the release of the ever-so-memorable Twilight cover, have there been more and more books in the newly formed tradition of unfocused backgrounds and hands that hold things in the foreground, especially in fantasy. I guess the only way to really make this clear is to give examples. And there are plenty of them.

All the same, I am loving the cover of The Awakening. The colors are beautiful, especially with that blue jewel right in the middle. In other cover news, I was stunned by the sheer creativity and difference between the covers of the latest Gone book (Hunger) by Michael Grant and the previous title in the series. That was sarcasm. Sorry. I think I'll have to work on that.

VS

Deep. All the same, I'm still looking forward to reading Hunger. I really liked the first one, nothing deep, but a solid and fun adventureish read. Has anyone else noticed any trends in cover-dom?

-Leigh

Review: What I Saw and How I Lied

Title: What I Saw and How I Lied
Author: Judy Blundell
Pages: 288
Publisher: Scholastic

Evie can't wait to grow up. World War II is over, her stepfather is home, her family has come upon some money, and she is just coming up on that age where yeah, she does want boys to notice. But they don't. Until the family picks up and heads to Palm Beach for the summer. There she meets Peter, an ex-private who had served with her stepfather Joe in the war. Not only is he an older man, but he seems to understand her. Evie falls like only a 15 year old girl coming into her own is able. But it seems as if there is an ugliness beneath the glitz (I really do not like that word) and shimmer of Palm Beach. Evie is forced into adulthood by exposing the secrets of her sheltered school-girl life, by discovering herself, and learning how to lie.

I'm going to go for the bad first. There was some. As a matter of fact, right there in the first bit I thought I was going to have to put it down. It was reading like a catalogue, with so many cultural references to products of the late 40s that I felt compelled to buy one. And if the pre character development Evie referred to someone as "movie star handsome" one more time... blah... bad things were going to happen to a future review. That was the condemning phrase through the entire novel. Also, the war-time celebrity name dropping was rampant and not so subliminal. As in, I just rented about four films with black-and-white guys in tuxedos and impossibly curvaceous heroines swooning about on the case. But.

It was definitely worth it. I grew to really like Evie through the book. I could relate to her in many ways and understand how she thought, even while I drew my own conclusions as to the conflict around her. I was crossing my fingers for her to figure it out before she got hurt. Her voice matured through the flipping of pages and it was quite literally like spying on a someone's most private thoughts and development. The plot picked up as well. After around page 30, the references took a holiday and I was able to see the course of events, which was both moving and rapid enough to keep me interested. I am SO glad that I didn't put this down. And when I finally did it was with an ache as I let the bittersweetness just sort of sink in. Fan. tas. tic. I ended up loving it and even re-reading some sections. And who doesn't love that feeling when its attached to a book?

I'm ditching the rating system. How does one rate something like a story? It means something a little different to everyone. Draw your own conclusions.

Plus. Isn't that cover gorgeous?

Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce

First review. Okay. Fingers go.

Tamora Pierce is amazing. Yes. That statement is as much a warning as a fact because I AM one of those Alanna-Cooper-Daine-Alianne fangirls. I have been Tortall obsessed since I was just a wee one. I recommend getting the background on those books and reading the first Beka Cooper book (Terrier) before going after this one. But you'll want to get around to it eventually because it is pretty fantastic.

Beka Cooper, ancestor of everyone's favorite Rogue, has returned to the dark backstreets for more head thumping and villain tracking. But the crime in Tortall is worse than ever and a new batch of suspicious activity is coming forward. It appears as if there is counterfeit in the cities, shaking the treasury to its roots. Beka, joined by her new scent finding dog Achoo, is off to a foreign city where she finds assassins, first love, and a nasty Rogue who could stand to feel the club of Lord Provost's hardest young dog.

I can assume that you've already guessed my opinion on this. Excellent action. Fantastic characters. Hilarious and well thought out dialogue. Plus plenty of plot twists I wasn't expecting at all. I have been disappointed by Pierce before *cough* rarely *cough*, but this is not one of those times. Bloodhound has met my expectations and more. Be sure to grab yourself a copy when it comes out April 28th! I'm only hoping the final cover is alot prettier.

A rating system is in order I guess. But I don't really have anything at the moment. Um. Er. Well. Perhaps I will steal the number of another blog and rate out of seven, which coincidentally, is an excellent number. I hope the Maelstrom doesn't mind...

6 out of 7 Broken Q Keys.

I'm Leigh

I wish you could see the view from here. Books. Everywhere. Stacked high or spread open on the floor. Some with bookmarks and some without, although there are scraps of paper everywhere. An ancient laptop, open and with the battery rapidly dying. Every so often it clicks disconcertingly and the image on the monitor resets in a splash of shattered color. The carpet is stained with ink. There is a glass of water, nearing three evenings old, sitting on the bedside table by a copy of Octavian Nothing. There are dust motes drifting about... and a box of expired allergy medicine by the mirror.

This is my room.

It has come to my attention that simply reading books is no longer quite good enough for me. I need to write them. That is one purpose for this blog. Perhaps I can find one or two people to join me on the way with this work. The second reason, perhaps even more pressing an urge, is that I need to share my passion with others. Some things in life are certain. So here I am. Leigh. 16. Blogging. Spread the word.