I think that I'm going to stop posting on this blog, mostly just because I feel like I don't have enough time. I'll obviously still post on my tumblr, which now has Disqus so that you should be able to make comments even if you don't have a tumblr. I'll move my IMM's to there. I won't be deleting this blog, since there are a lot of old posts that I put a lot of work into.
So thanks everyone for following and reading!

Review: Stolen

Title: Stolen
Author: Lucy Christopher
Publisher: Chicken House Ltd
Publication Date: May 4th 2009
Genre: YA, Realistic Fiction

Taken from her family in a Bangkok airport, Gemma finds herself kidnapped by Ty, who has been watching her from afar for years and even knows things about her life that she doesn’t. Drugged by the coffee he bought for her, Gemma finds herself in a dessert in Australia, surrounded only by wilderness. Although she is fearful of Ty, he swears that he just wants a companion and someone to love and be loved by. Although Gemma sees herself as being stolen, Ty believes that he saved her. As time wears on, thoughts of escape occupy Gemma’s days. Unfortunately, the compound where they live is only surrounded by a dangerous wilderness, and there doesn’t seem to be anywhere to run to. When Ty makes a deal with Gemma that if she stays for another six months and still wants to leave he’ll take her to civilization, she gladly agrees. While Gemma cannot imagine not wanting to leave and return home, Ty has hope. Could Gemma actually come to love the man who kidnapped her?

Stolen is told as a letter from Gemma to her captor, written with a raw and honest beauty that makes this book so special. I think anyone who starts to read this book can expect that Gemma will experience some variety of Stockholm Syndrome, but no one ever expects to feel it themselves. Not to say that I was in love with Ty, but I did understand and sympathize with him. This is just a sign of how strong a writer Lucy Christopher is. The fact that Gemma’s kidnapping is more complicated than it seems, that is was premeditated, is one of the things that makes this so interesting and thought provoking. Everything in this novel, from Ty to Gemma, is more complicated than it seems. The fact that the vast majority of the novel is spent in the isolated compound where Ty and Gemma live might make this novel sound boring, but it was anything but. My one criticism is that it was a bit predictable. However, this book is the kind that will make you think and will stay with you even after the last page, which should be the goal of every writer.

4/5

“When the darkness gets easier, you know you're sinking deeper, becoming dead yourself.”

In My Mailbox (51)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, in which book bloggers post about the books they've bought, borrowed or received in the past week.

Last week I ordered Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier, the sequel to Ruby Red. I'm very excited for this one since I loved the first book. The series follows an English school girl who finds out that she carries the gene to be her family's time traveller. The book finally came in early this week, and a day later I found Ruby Red for $5 at Chapters, so I bought it to complete the set.

From the library I took out Fodor's Australia and Lonely Planet's New Zealand to look though. My hold on The End Of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe came in, and I'm really excited to read it! This book seems to be one of the 'big things' right now, and I read a tiny bit of it at the library and enjoyed it. I also recieved a review e-copy from the author of The Wales Boy by Rachel M. Greenebaum. This book looks very interesting and original, based on the description. Once Angelica hears the superstitious stories of The Wales Boy, she dismisses the horror stories and begins to make up her own for fun. Soon, she finds herself a character in one of her stories. 

What was in your mailbox this week? 

Review: The Selection

Title: The Selection
Author: Kiera Cass
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: April 24th, 2012
Genre: YA, Dystopian Romance

When Prince Maxon is ready to find a wife, the country of Illea allows all girls between the ages of 16 and 20 to put their names forward to be selected. One girl from each of the 35 provinces will be chosen to live in the palace and vie for the prince’s affections, allowing him to eventually select his wife with all the world watching. Illea is part of a caste system, and America Singer belongs to the 5th caste, for artists. While she could be worst off, America’s family is often hungry. Being selected means never having to starve, even if you aren’t chosen to be Princess. While entering the competition means half of her worries would be gone, America is in love with Aspen, a servant of the 6th caste. When he insists that she enter, she can’t imagine being randomly chosen; what are the odds? But the selection process proves to be less random than she thought, and America is whisked away to the palace to compete for the affections of the stiff looking Prince Maxon. America wants nothing more than to stay in the competition just long enough to keep her family comfortable, but she soon sparks a friendship with the prince, who she initially misjudged. Just as America might be starting to feel something real for Maxon, Aspen comes back into the picture, bringing with him all of America’s old feelings. While Maxon still has to make his selection, with his feelings and the good of his country playing a role, America has a selection of her own to make.

You can’t say the cover for The Selection isn’t beautiful! I wasn’t going to read this book until my friend and I were trying to decide whether it would be good or not, since we couldn’t help but scoff a little at the name America Singer. I decided to read it and find out for the both of us. This book will appeal more to fans of romance than fans of dystopia. I’ve heard it described as ‘fluff,’ which is fair. This book is sort of The Bachelor with a dystopian backdrop. Not to say that it is exactly like The Bachelor; while the girls to interviews, cameras do not follow them everywhere. However, comparisons between the two are inevitable.

To me, this book was really just entertaining. There wasn’t a lot of depth and the world building was very flawed, since a lot of history was piled in a history lesson midway through the novel. We don’t know a lot about America’s world. Dystopian literature really should be thought provoking and make you examine the world you read about and the world you live in, which The Selection didn’t do. At the heart of the novel, this is a romance, with a love triangle to boot. America enters the selection thinking things are over with Aspen, but doesn’t believe she could love Maxon. For this reason she is different from all the other girls, being honest and even mean to the Prince. This, of course, wins his affection, but soon Aspen reappears. The whole thing was a bit predictable, but it was fun. There were a lot of cheesy moments, especially with Maxon’s dialogue. At the same time, The Selection was entertaining and enjoyable. If you’re the kind of person who likes books with love triangles and good looking characters, then you’ll find in The Selection a book that will make you swoon.

3/5

“True love is usually the most inconvenient kind.”

Review: Who Could That Be At This Hour?

Title: Who Could That Be At This Hour (All The Wrong Questions #1)
Author: Lemony Snicket
Illustrator: Seth
Publisher: Little Brown
Publication Date: October 23rd, 2012
Genre: Junior Fiction, Fantasy

Lemony Snicket is a clever thirteen year old who just graduated from a school where he received a very extraordinary education. Now he is apprentice to his new mentor, S. Theodora Markson. Theodora and Lemony are hired to solve a mystery of a missing statue in the town of Stain’d-by-the-Sea, which is no longer located anywhere near the sea. In this town, Lemony, accompanied by the worst mentor he could have possibly chosen, meets a variety of people, from a sub-librarian to a girl reporter. As he tries to solve the case, he asks all the wrong questions and even trusts the wrong people. But why would someone report something missing that wasn’t there’s in the first place, especially when it is of no value? Where are Lemony’s parents and who were the people with him at the train station? Where did he go to school and who has he been corresponding with? Before the Baudelaire orphans and before the VFD, Lemony Snicket was just a boy with his own story to tell.

Lemony Snicket (or, Daniel Handler) is back with his new series, All The Wrong Questions, which will be told in four parts. In the first book we are introduced to a young Lemony Snicket, who is a resourceful detective who makes many mistakes throughout the book. This book shows hints of the beginning of the writing style Snicket uses in A Series of Unfortunate Events, while still being told in a different manner altogether. Just like the illustrations are completely different, so is the entire mood and tone of the novel. While the Baudelaire’s story lead from one misery to another, Lemony’s is the same way with mysteries. Who Could That Be At This Hour was intriguing and even a bit confusing, in the best way. It reminded me a bit of The Mysterious Benedict Society, which I love. This book was different from A Series of Unfortunate Events, making it feel fresh and unique. At the same time, it also had similarities that will appeal to fans of the series, such as being a clever book full of big words and literary references, with perspective children and foolish adults. While fans of Snicket’s original series will enjoy the exploits of the young Snicket, you don’t have to even know who Olaf and the Baudelaires are to enjoy this book. The illustrations, by Seth, are very well done and tie in well with this mystery, and are more fitting to the style than Brett Helquist’s drawings, which I adore. Being left with so many questions was frustrating, and this book didn’t have the humour that A Series of Unfortunate Events had. Overall, Lemony Snicket wrote a great book that both lived up to the series that brought his name to fame, while creating something original and fun to read.

4/5

“They say in every library there is a single book that can answer the question that burns like a fire in the mind.”

In My Mailbox (50)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, in which book bloggers post about the books they've bought, borrowed or received in the past week.

I'm writing this IMM from my hotel in Detroit, since we drove down for the weekend to go to my 78 year old Uncle's wedding (fun fact: he's remarrying his first wife.) America is sort of like Canada with some important differences, like there's no kinder eggs and apparently no one knows what Christmas Crackers are. And no one wears poppies for Remembrance Day. And, you know, some other stuff too. But they have something I love that we don't have: Barnes & Noble! Really, it isn't that much different from Indigo, but I just love it. I bought The Beatles: A Hard Day's Write (The Story Behind Every Song) by Steve Turner. I actually bought this as a Christmas present for my brother, who doesn't read my blog and hopefully won't start. I also bought two purple moleskines and You Against Me by Jenny Downham. 

I also took out The Last Last Council (Amulet) by Kazu Kibuishi from the library. I'm really liking these graphic novels so far, and I usually read them in the car, since regular novels make me car sick. I read this on the drive from Toronto to Detroit, and I thought it was the best yet! It reminded me a bit of The Empire Strikes Back. I also started volunteering at my library's little bookshop again, which means 50 cent paperbacks for me! I bought a 2011 Fodor's Guide to Walt Disney World, since the family is thinking about driving down to Florida over March Break, and taking me to the Magic Kingdom! And by that I mean they'll drop me off and pick me up, staying as far away from the actual park as they possibly can. I guess the happiest place on earth isn't for everyone.

What was in your mailbox this week? 

Review: The Diviners

Title: The Diviners
Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 18th, 2012
Genre: YA, Paranormal Fantasy

Evie O’Neil has always known that she is just too much for Zenith Ohio, and that couldn’t be clearer than when she has to leave her small town in a hurry after offending a powerful family. But Evie’s punishment could not suit her better: she gets to stay with her Uncle in New York City. The year is 1926 and Evie is a true modern girl, with her bobbed hair and bad drinking habits, prohibition be damned. Helping her uncle at his museum near Central Park, The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition and the Occult, Evie can’t help but be drawn to some of her Uncle’s interests, such as the belief in people with special abilities. For a long time, Evie has been able to read objects to learn personal things about the people they belong to. So far, this has just been good for party tricks (and for getting Evie in trouble) but when a young girl is brutally murdered and found in the Hudson River, Evie’s ability might prove to be useful. The murderer has used symbols from the occult, but nothing quite makes sense. As Evie immerses herself in the case while taking advantage of New York City, this quick talking, fun-having girl finds herself enwrapped in ghost story and a mystery.

I first read Libba Bray’s A Great and Terrible Beauty nearly nine years ago, and fell deeply in love with it, and the following books in the series. It was for that reason that I picked up The Diviners by Libba Bray, although the fact that it is a supernatural tale set in prohibition New York also caught my attention. Evie is a modern girl: a flapper who likes to party. Full of wit and hidden depth, she’s a great lead character. The narrative also looks into the perspective of many other characters throughout the story, and all of these characters felt full fleshed and convincing. Evie leaves her small town for the most happening place in the world, New York City. There she intends to make full use of the glamour and glitz of city life, but her special ability and connections manage to get her involved with solving a mystery. This book is a bit of a brick, at nearly 600 pages. For the most part it was quick moving and the bulk didn’t make it drag along or feel long. It was well written and clearly thoroughly researched, full of excitement and suspense even though the reader knows who the murderer is from the start. In a world full of people with unexplainable abilities, the world building in The Diviners was one of its strongest points. The characters and the setting also added so much to the novel. I do wish that this was a stand alone novel, because at this point I don’t really see the point of a series, unlike with The Name of the Star. I also thought that the story ended abruptly and that the end was not as strong as the rest of the book. This book is perfect for Halloween, since it was creepy enough to have me hearing every little noise in my house and feeling anxious. While, for me, nothing can compare to the Gemma Doyle books, The Diviners was a promising start to the series, set in a fascinating time period in a city where anything can happen.

3.5/5

“She knew what it was to wait for someone who would never come home. She knew that grief, like a scar, faded but never really went away.”

Review: The Stonekeeper (Amulet Vol. 1)

Title: The Stonekeeper (Amulet Vol. 1)
Author: Kazu Kabuishi
Publisher: GRAPHIX
Publication Date: January 1st, 2008
Genre: Junior Fiction, Graphic Novel, Fantasy

Two years after the death of their father, Emily and Navin move into the countryside with their mother into an old house in the family. Some quick investigations of the house lead the family to the room of Emily’s Great-Grandfather, who went missing years ago. When Emily finds a mysterious amulet, she secretly takes it. When her mother is taken by a monster, Emily will have to use the amulet to save her. With Navin, Emily enters an impossible world where only she has the power to save her mother and the whole world. With a rabbit robot called Miskit, Emily will have to take the power of the amulet if she wants to reunite her family. While the power of the amulet can do great things, Emily will have to stop it from taking power over her. I’ve been on a graphic novel kick lately, and this is one of the best ones I’ve read. Beautifully drawn, the story sucks you in from the very beginning, with an emotional start and a quick moving plot. I know some parents stick up their nose at graphic novels, but this book is perfect for young reluctant readers. Original and exciting, this story features characters with depth and an interesting story, and it will all take you not quite half an hour to read. Even with so much packed into such a little book, The Stonekeeper does what it set out to do perfectly: tell a story.

4.5/5

In My Mailbox (49)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, in which book bloggers post about the books they've bought, borrowed or received in the past week.

Although I wasn't going to originally, I ended up buying Who Could It Be At This Hour (All the Wrong Questions) by Lemony Snicket. The book is part of a new series from the perspective of a young Lemony Snicket, before all that Baudelaire orphan business. 

Sort of a boring week for me, book wise. I took out the second and third books in the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi early in the week and have already read and returned them. I'm really enjoying this series so far and think that they're a really fun and quick read. 

To make up for this not so good IMM, here are some Halloween pictures. 

This is me last weekend. I was sort of Hermione, since I had the Gryffindor robes and the time turner, but I didn't do the hair and I'm wearing a beanie because it was cold.

This is my cat, who I very quickly dressed up as Princess Lei, in the costume I had for my build a bear. Her name is Penny Lane and she is not happy with me right now.

So Happy Halloween everyone! Feel free to comment with what books you recieved this week and what you're dressing up for for Halloween, if you are. 

Review: A Moveable Feast

Title: A Moveable Feast
Author: Ernest Hemingway
Publisher: Vintage
Publication Date: 1964
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir

In this fictionalized memoir, Ernest Hemingway tells stories from his first years in Paris as a blooming writer, spending his days writing in cafes and his nights in love with his first wife, Hadley. With Paris of the 1920’s as the backdrop, Hemingway remembers trying to make ends meet in the City of Lights. One of the Lost Generation, Hemingway tells stories of the people who mattered to him, such as Sylvia Beach and her beloved bookshop, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound and Scott Fitzgerald.

I bought this book from Shakespeare & Company in Paris, for fairly obvious reasons since the older version of the shop and its owner are on the cover. Before I left, I’d asked someone if it was a cliché to read Hemingway in Paris, and I had been told that it definitely was. All the same, I bought it anyway and read most of this book in my hostel, in cafes and even in Luxembourg Gardens. It might be a bit of a cliché, but I was the only person I saw reading Hemingway, the majority of people reading 50 Shades of Grey. There really is no better place to read this book, and it really added to my enjoyment of Paris and to reading A Moveable Feast. It was interesting to see Hemingway’s Paris in the backdrop of my Paris, and to see other writers from his perspective. I love how Hemingway breaks all the rules your grade school teacher told you about writing, and how he does so beautifully. The chapters read like short stories, and are all written very simply. Some of the stories towards the end dragged on a little, although I’m not sure if these were part of every edition or just included in mine. If you have absolutely no interest in Paris, Hemingway, or any of the writers he knew, then this book isn't for you. However, if you hold any interest in these things, A Moveable Feast is worth checking out. Whether you already love Paris and Hemingway or not, this is a great little book and perhaps a good introduction to Hemingway. Just like the city he loved, Hemingway’s writing is a moveable feast.

5/5

“But Paris was a very old city and we were young and nothing was simple there, not even poverty, nor sudden money, nor the moonlight, nor right and wrong nor the breathing of someone who lay beside you in the moonlight.”

In My Mailbox (48)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, in which book bloggers post about the books they've bought, borrowed or received in the past week.

I swore to myself I wouldn't buy any books this week and I didn't, although it was a close call. I was going to buy this lovely copy of the The Spiderwick Chronicles (books one through five). There was some water damage, so I ended getting it for free, thus never technically bought any books this week. I've never read the series or seen the movie, but I've always wanted to. 

Library books! I'm starting to worry that I've taken out more than I can handle. I have The Last Letter For Your Lover by JoJo Moyes, The Anne Frank House Authorized Biography by Sidney Jacobson, The Stone Keeper (Amulet) by Kazu Kabuishi, The Kill Order by James Dashner, When the War Began by John Marsden, Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta and Volumes 3 and 4 of Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya. All of my holds just came in at once! The Amulet books are supposed to be very good graphic novels. I've read the other books in The Maze Runner series and am looking forward to the prequel, The Kill Order. Jellicoe Road and Where the War Began were both recommended to me. The beautiful mug pictured was made for me by my friend Nicole. 

What was in your mailbox this week? 

Shakespeare & Company, Paris

I think you could safely say that Shakespeare & Company in Paris is the most famous bookstore in the world. Selling English books, Shakespeare & Company is tucked away on Rue de la Bûcherie, just across from Notre Dame in the 5th Arrondissement on the left bank. This store was opened by George Whitman in 1951, named in honour of Sylvia Beach's famous bookshop, which was a second home to writers like Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce and Ezra Pound. Beach's shop was closed during the German Occupation.

The shop is now owned by Sylvia Beach Whitman, George Whitman's daughter. George himself died in December of 2011. The shop famously allows writers to live in the shop in exchange for work. It also has a great reading room as well an antiquarian room. I bought a postcard, a Shakespeare & Company blank journal for my friend and a copy of A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. You can see some more pictures here. I've been wanting to go to this shop for ages and it definitely lived up to the hype, although it was ridiculously busy. I wouldn't recommend going on a rainy day and it might be smart to head over right as it opens. While you will have to be sure to check out everyone's favourites like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, don't forget about the bookshop with a big name when you're in Paris. You can watch an amazing video here and find the shop in movies like Midnight in Paris and Julie and Julia and read about it in Anna and the French Kiss. 

Review: Fire Spell

Title: Fire Spell
Author: Laura Amy Schlitz
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: September 13th, 2012
Genre: Junior Fiction, Fantasy

The year is 1860, and a young Clara Wintermute is looking forward to her twelfth birthday party, in which a puppeteer is coming to create a magical puppet show for Clara and her friends. While the puppet show will be enchanting, Clara is more excited to see the two children who help with the puppet show. They are unlike anyone Clara has ever met, and she actually feels like they genuinely like her, unlike her other friends. For Clara is a very lonely little girl, and it feels as if the ghosts of her deceased siblings are everywhere she goes. After the puppet show, Clara Wintermute goes missing. Parsefall and Lizzie Rose, the two orphans who worked as puppeteers, might be the only ones who can save Clara. Tied to Clara’s fate are two dangerous magicians, caught in an age-old battle for power. Amidst the grey world of Victorian London, three children will have to confront magic and ancient curses.

I bought this book at Foyles in London, mainly because Stacey from Pretty Books had heard it was good, and because it looked like the perfect book to buy in London, with Big Ben and St. Paul’s on the cover. I actually read this book in Paris and I quickly got wrapped up in it. I adore the cover art, and the novel as a whole captures and even lives up to the eerie and beautiful picture depicted. I loved the atmosphere presented in the novel, and how Victorian customs, especially pertaining to death, were dealt with in the novel. It was well-researched and interesting historical fiction. The story takes us into the minds of various different characters, from the rich to the poor, the good to the evil. All the characters were all well written and intriguing, and it was nice to see London of the mid 19th century from the perspective of characters from different social standings. Even as I spent my days in Paris I found my mind being drawn back to this book, which I was reading at night. It was well written with a fast moving and unique plot. In the middle I was feeling a little let down, wishing there had been more explanation as to why Grissini did what he did to Clara. In the end, I was very happy with the ending and how the novel took you there. Full of spells, puppetry and impossibilities, Fire Spell was enjoyable read for lovers of fantasy.

4/5

Film Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Title: The Perks of Being a Wallflower 
Director: Stephen Chbosky
Production Company: Summit Entertainment
Release Date: September 28th, 2012
Genre: Drama

Not long after the suicide of his best friend, Charlie (Logan Lerman) is starting high school and couldn’t be more friendless. In his letters to someone he doesn’t even know, Charlie reveals his fears and innermost thoughts. When he becomes friends with the exciting duo of Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller), Charlie is introduced to a world of the typical teenage rites of passage, from first kisses to first time doing drugs, but he also finds people who don’t see him as just a wallflower to look past. Based on the 1999 novel of the same name, The Perks of Being a Wallflower was written and directed by Stephen Chbosky, which isn’t something that happens very often. For book to movie adaptations, there are always two ways to judge them: both as a stand-alone film and as a retelling of the novel. Just looking at it as a movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is the best teen movie I’ve seen in ages, and is not comparable to anything else. Taking an epistolary novel and turning it into a film is always difficult, but Perks manages to pull it off. The acting was very well done, and the actors helped make a very emotional film that had a strong affect on me. The three leads were just phenomenal: Emma Watson’s expression alone sometimes were enough to break your heart and Ezra Miller made Patrick hilarious, while also showing how he was the rock of the group and how he tried to hide his own pain. Charlie is a very difficult character to pull off, mainly due to how emotional and passive he is, but I think that Logan Lerman did a great job. I thought that the film spoke truthfully about high school, and even though Perks is set in the early 1990’s the story is still relevant today, although mixed tapes are out. It really was just a beautiful film that could make you feel the full gamut of emotions.

As an adaptation of a much-loved novel, I thought that Perks was one of the best I’ve seen. Of course, not everything is included in the film, like with any book turned into a movie. You could look at this as a good thing in a way, since one of the main criticisms of this book is that too many things happen to the characters, to the point that it feels unrealistic. Having loved many books that have been made into films, I long ago accepted that not everything can make it into a film. Not only that, but things that work on the page don’t necessarily work on the screen. It’s been a year since I read the book, but it was mainly little things that were removed, such as the reading of the poem, with one of the bigger things omitted being part of Charlie’s sister’s storyline. Most of the things I can think of that were not included didn’t really tie into the main plotline, or wouldn’t have worked as well in the film. Some things, mainly conversations, were added to the film and we also got to learn more details about characters. Most importantly, the film beautifully captured the spirit of the book, which is a difficult thing to translate onto film since the entire book is told through letters. There were parts that worked better on film than in the book, in my opinion, such as the ending and the “infinite” scenes. Overall, this was a great film that I would recommend to everyone, whether you read and liked the book or not. If you have only seen the movie and enjoyed it, then I would definitely recommend reading the book, which is always a different experience and will add so much to the story and characters you already know. I only wish that every book I love could be made into a movie that is directed by the author. The Perks of Being a Wallflower stayed true to the book in creating a film that makes you want to laugh and cry.

5/5

In My Mailbox (47)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, in which book bloggers post about the books they've bought, borrowed or received in the past week.

While I withstood temptation by spending hours at Indigo and not buying anything, I made up for it this weekend. My parent's friend has a cottage we like to visit, and it happens to be near some shops I really like. I bought The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, which I've been meaning to read for a while. 

On the way home we returned to The World's Smallest Bookstore, which I've spoken about before (x). Books are self serve and $3 each, so I got carried away. I bought Exiles from Paradise: Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald by Sara Mayfield, This Side of Paradise and The Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I'm a bit unsure about the last book, since I didn't enjoy Love in the Time of Cholera.

Library books! My hold on The Diviners by Libba Bray came in, and I'll hopefully get to this one soon. My hold on the second book in the Fruits Basket series by Natsuki Takaya also came in. I read the first book the other day and am currently watching the anime and I'm really loving it. This is my first manga ever. 

What books did you receive this past week? 

Bookish Halloween Costumes

When making your costume selection for this years Halloween party, why not go literary? Here's a list that will hopefully help you pick and make your costume for Halloween this year.

Just For You

Max from Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. The crown is easy enough to make, and if you're older and having difficulties finding a white onesie, you could always use white pants and a sweater. This instructable can help you make an awesome hat for your costume. You can also find instructions for the full costume here. This is a good choice for someone who lives somewhere colder (like me), especially for trick or treating. 

Madeline from The Madeline Books by John Bemelmans Marciano. She may be small, but inside she's big! You could always search thrift stores to make this costume, or, if you're crafty, make your own. You can find a tutorial here.

The Paper Bag Princess from The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch. This is probably the cheapest costume on the list. I've seen a few people do this costume over the years, and where I live the book is very well known so everyone gets it. You can find a good example here. Plus, you can always wear clothes underneath.

Amelia Bedelia from the Amelia Bedilia books by Peggy Parish and Herman Parish. She might not be the best maid in the world, but she sure can bake a pie! You can find a no-sew costume here (you could also use flowers from a dollar store lei instead of making your own) or another version here.

Pippi from the Pippi Longstocking books by Astrid Lindgren. You can see a particularly good one here.

Peter Pan from Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. Halloween is best for the young at heart, so there's really no better costume than Peter Pan. You can find a tutorial here.

Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. While not everyone would have got this costume last year, now everyone will. This site has a lot of different videos on how to do her hair and makeup. You can also see a good costume here. You can make your own bow and arrow here and the Mockingjay pin can be found online from Waterstones, Amazon Canada or Amazon USA.

Ramona Flowers from Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O’Malley. The girl of Scott's dreams, Ramona changes her hair colour every few weeks, so you'll have a lot of choices. This costume can be made mostly by throwing together things from thrift stores. You can see a very good costume here. You can learn how to make your own bag here, hammer here and goggles here. I've also seen foam hammers at Dollarama, which could easily be spray painted to look like Ramona's.

Waldo from Where's Waldo by Martin Hanford. This one's fairly easy if you can find a white and red striped shirt and glasses. You can find a simple tutorial here.

Holden Caulfield from The Catcher and the Rye by J.D. Salinger. If you can find a red hunting cap and a baseball glove, you're half way there. You can see a good costume here. Picture by westwolf270.

For Groups 

The Gang from The Magic School Bus by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen. There's someone for everyone: Ms Frizzle, Liz, Dorothy Ann, Phoebe, Carlos, Arnold, Keesha, Ralphie, Tim, Wanda and the Bus. A large group did this in my high school, and it was awesome. This could be made mostly using thrift store clothes for the kids and Ms Frizzle. Liz could be made just by wearing all green, painting your face and make a tale, felt horns with a head band and felt spikes for your back. Bus could be made by doing something like this. You can see a tutorial here.

The Cat, Thing 1 and Thing 2 from The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. You can see different Cat in the Hat costumes here. Don't forget Thing 1 and Thing 2! You can learn how to make the costumes here.

Various characters from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. While these costumes are based more on the movie than the book, there always fun and everyone will recognize them. Here is a tutorial for the an Oompa Loompa, Veruca, Violet and Mike. You can see Willy Wonka himself here.

Various characters from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. This site for the book has great ideas and examples. You can also find help for the Alice costume here. You could also go all out by doing this.

Various characters from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. If you’re depressed that you’ll never be able to dress up for another movie/book release, then there’s always Halloween. There are so many characters to choose from; the possibilities are endless. From the trio, Snape, Luna, Voldemort, Moaning Myrtle, Hedwig and The Fat Lady, you could be anyone. I bought my Gryffindor robes just from Costco, and I'm sure you can find them now at most places (the official WB ones are very expensive.) You can find lots of interesting things here.

Dorothy, The Tin Woodman, The Scarecrow and The Lion from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. You can learn how to make Dorothy's ruby slippers here, although in the book they were actually silver. You can get some help here.

Good luck and Happy Halloween!

Review: The Casual Vacancy

Title: The Casual Vacancy
Author: J.K. Rowling
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: September 27th, 2012
Genre: Fiction

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the residents of the small town of Pagford are shaken. Barry was a father, a husband, a friend. But at the same time, others in this seemingly ideal English town are secretly less than devastated about Barry’s death. Now that Barry is gone, his former seat on the parish council is open. With an election in the works for Pagford, the town finds itself divided. Barry was a crusader for the people living in the Fields, the poor development that is technically part of the principality of Pagford, but still looked down on. Now that Barry is gone, the fate of the Fields and the addiction clinic are in peril. For people like sixteen-year-old Krystal Weedon, Barry was someone who believed in her and saw the best in her, when to everyone else she was just the daughter of a druggie and a prostitute. To others, Krystal is just another reason Pagford should have nothing to do with the Fields and its residents. As the election looms over the small town, each candidate has a different motif for running and each has their secrets. Through the eyes of the many different residents of a small English town, The Casual Vacancy looks at poverty, secrecy and the gaping hole left in a town by one man.

This is J.K. Rowling’s first book for adults and her first book outside of the Harry Potter series, which was obviously what brought about her fame and success. Before you start reading this book, if you choose to, you should come in with no expectations and forget about the name on the cover. To enjoy this book, I really think you have to let go of Harry Potter for at least a few days and take The Casual Vacancy for what it is. Initially, I was under the impression that this book was a murder mystery, which made sense to me based on Harry Potter. It did not take me long to figure out that this was not a mystery. I quickly chose to forget everything I thought I knew about J.K. Rowling as a writer and pretend this book had been written by anyone else. The only thing that this novel and Harry Potter have in common is that they are both very good. While I would say that some of the strongest aspects of the Harry Potter books are the construction of plot and the world building, that’s not the case for The Casual Vacancy. World building is more important in fantasy, and the plot isn’t what drags you into this book, unlike Harry Potter. Like in Harry Potter, the characters were what made me love this book, but in a completely different way. While the Harry Potter books were very much about the internal battle between good and evil in all of us, I think everyone had characters that they loved, even if they were flawed. Any of the characters in The Casual Vacancy would give you reason to detest them, but I thought they were all very real. I was impressed with the honesty it would have taken when writing the many characters in this novel, and even admired how Rowling wasn’t afraid to show the very worst parts of people, without apologies.

I’m a fairly big fan of the Harry Potter books, but somehow I was still impressed by the writing in The Casual Vacancy. There were honestly a few parts where I would put the book down and curse, because the writing was just so good at times. It reminded me more of The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach or even The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. I was very impressed and easily engrossed in the story. I was also impressed by how smoothly the novel transitioned through the different characters’ narratives. The multiple third person perspectives were handled expertly, and having so many characters could have easily made this book fall flat. Another one of its strongpoints was the deep emotional effect it had, and how well it presented the issues that were at the heart of the novel. This is really a novel about poverty and prejudice and Rowling dealt with important issues that were obviously very important to her very well. After finishing this book I felt sort of like I had been punched in the stomach, in the most heart breaking way. That sounds like a bad thing, but this is the type of story that should leave you feeling that way, if the writer is doing their job.

I haven’t read very many reviews of this book, but I can guess what the main criticisms are. Firstly, this book is slower moving at the beginning, although it might feel that way in part because of all my anxiety over whether I would like this new book by my favourite author. There is a lot of swearing and things that you would never see in a Harry Potter book, like sex, drugs, rape and abuse. I feel like most people are complaining about the swearing, but this is a book for adults, and based on the topic and some of the characters, of course there’s going to be swearing. I don’t think it would be true to character if some of the people in this book didn’t swear. I feel like people will make a big deal about the writer of such beloved children’s books writing a very adult novel, but I was impressed with how J.K. Rowling boldly departed from her former series in a very extreme way. If you want this book to be the next Harry Potter, then just skip it and reread the books you already love. However, if you think you can read a great book by a great writer without any expectations, then The Casual Vacancy is a book that deals with unpleasant truths with fearless honesty.

5/5

“Things denied, things untold, things hidden and disguised.”

In My Mailbox (46)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, in which book bloggers post about the books they've bought, borrowed or received in the past week.

This past week I went to Chapters for the first time in forever and bought Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson and Stolen by Lucy Christopher. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand has been recommended to me over and over, and I was lucky enough to find this edition that was much cheaper than the more popular version. My friend Amiee recommended Stolen to me and since then I've seen a lot of other people praising it. 

From the library I took out The Selection by Kiera Cass, Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya and Friends With Boys by Faith Erin Hicks. I also took out Frostbite by Leigh Dragoon and Richelle Mead, the sequel to Vampire Academy.  

Feel free to respond in the comments with what books you bought and recieved this week. 

In My Mailbox (45)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, in which book bloggers post about the books they've bought, borrowed or received in the past week.

I just got back from Paris on Wednesday, and although I'm still really tired and jet lagged and haven't yet gotten back into the swing of things (like by putting up photos) here are the books I bought! I obviously went to Shakespeare & Company and ended up buying A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. I was reading this in Paris and haven't yet finished it due to another little book that's been taking up my time, it was really enjoyable to read it in Paris and added a lot to my experiences.

My England books! In Bath I bought Persuasion by Jane Austen, even though I own a copy already. But, you know, I was in Bath. Stacey from Pretty Books and I went to a tonne of bookstores, where I bought Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and Fire Spell by Laura May Schlitz. At the Waterloo Book Market I bought And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. At the WB Studio Tour I bought this Marauder's Map mug, copying Stacey's. I also bought The Blitz: A Very Peculiar History from The London Museum. 

I got home Wednesday night and bought The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling the next day. I'm still very jet-lagged and keep waking up at 2 in the morning, so I haven't been reading at my normal pace and am only half way through. But I really really am enjoying it. A lot. I know I'm fairly biased towards J.K. Rowling but I think it's very good so far, although not what I expected. 

That's it for me; what books did you receive this week? 

I'm leaving today to spend the next two weeks travelling in London and Paris. The blog will on hiatus until the end of the month, when things will go back to normal. I will hopefully return with lots of pictures of pretty bookstores and some new books!