Serpentine by Cindy Pon (Review)

Date Finished: February 13, 2018

Page Count: 274

Genre: Fantasy 

            This was refreshing. This was amazing. This was the exact blend of fantasy and character/world building/exploration I was looking for in the past few disappointing novels, and my mood has been uplifted after finished this book. This book also has a really cool cover in case you didn’t notice, which is what got me interested in the book last Saturday anyway. That and the title. I actually had a phobia of snakes and hated them before reading this, but now I realize how cool snakes can be, though I still have a phobia. Never trust a snake guys, they’re crafty and good at getting you to fall into their traps. Now that I think about it though, I was actually born in the year of the snake…. Welp, my statement doesn’t necessarily apply to people, so take it with a grain of salt! All this aside however, let me tell you how great of a book Cindy Pon’s Serpentine is!

            For starts, I was super happy I could correctly pronounce all the names and locations having taken nearly two years of Chinese so far. (Speaking of Chinese: 新年快乐！) But I digress, that was just something personal that I really enjoyed about the book. However, one of the strange things about this book was that the main character, Skybright, was named, well, Skybright! I get that here only the highest ranking people got to have regular Chinese names (after a while), but I find it still rather odd that her name would be something as English/Western as Skybright. Why not translate Skybright into Chinese?! Then it’d be, 天明 or, Tiān Míng (which technically means, “dawn”, but individually “天” means “sky” and “明” means “bright” but whatever. On a side note, if you switched the two characters around it’d be 明天， tomorrow). Heck, even Skybright’s mistress, Zhen Ni, and lover, Kai Sen, had Chinese sounding names! Other than Skybright and a couple other characters though (I’m looking at you Stone), the names generally fit the setting, and boy what an amazing setting it was!

            I’ve been missing the high fantasy/science fiction setting I usually read about as they make it so much easier to do things and screw up the world in tons of unique ways. The world Pon created was high fantasy AND historical which I fell in love with immediately. It reminds me a lot of the Touhou Project but with more of a Chinese vibe instead of Japanese. So you have people living normal lives in this world, like Skybright and Zhen Ni were doing, and you have monks who do Buddhist or Daoist or Confucianism (probably not Confucianism though, that more about social hierarchy than spiritual rights and wrongs) stuff along with slaying demons if they ever come around like what Kai Sen was doing, and you have the people of Hell/the Underworld who do your typically underworld stuff most of the time. Since the border between the Human world and the Underworld is breached in this book and demons are turning people into the undead, there are tons of chances for Skybright to transform into her serpentine form and rolls some heads and Pon thankfully didn’t let an opportunity pass her up. While the action scenes weren’t the most blood pumping action scenes I’ve ever read, they were extremely vivid and fluid, being able to keep up with the crazy commotion and at the same time clearly describe the few moments Skybright got to jump into action. Those scenes were probably my favorite in the whole book and I’d love to draw Skybright in action taking out some of the undead, but she never wears clothes in her serpentine form. Next time though, I’ll draw me a Skybright for sure!

            Aside from the action there was a bit of *gasp* romance, but I was okay with it in this book as there it was outshined by all the non-romantic moments and when there were romantic moments it was seasoned nicely with plot. For example, Zhen Ni falls in love with Lan, the girl of lesser nobility who visits the Yuan family manor at some point in the book. This makes Skybright jealous that Zhen Ni cares for someone else (finds some other friends girl, and not creepy stalkers like Stone), and the relationship greatly angers her mother which causes her to beat Skybright (cause Skybright protected Zhen Ni obviously) and Lan to be sent home. With Lan gone Zhen Ni gets super upset to the point of setting out on her own to see Lan one last time despite the hordes of demons wandering about that could capture her. Skybright, being the loving sister figure to Zhen Ni follows her, and then all sorts of conflict happens which would spoil the ending. I feel generous today because it was such a good book and it’s more fun to read books when you don’t know the ending _{it ends in a cliff hanger} so I hope more people will be exposed to this lovely work of fantasy.

            Okay, I’ve covered the setting, the fight scenes and the romance scenes which means it’s time to get to the best part now. Skybright, the main character half-snake demon, was punctual, straightforward and often times the no-nonsense type. Her mind was constantly troubled with her origins and grappling with her new serpent powers which led her character down the path of lots of self-development. Her journey was often plagued with trouble though as Skybright was extremely loyal however and would do anything to keep her loved ones safe from potential, including herself which is where most of her problems came from the fact that she tried to hide her true nature from her loved ones which I found to be quite interesting. Hopefully this isn’t a problem in the sequel though, characters need to grow. But as for in Serpentine, Skybright was one of the most developed characters and one that grew the most which made me happy since she is the main character and doesn’t deserve to get the short end of the stick.

            As for side characters, they were nothing more than just that! It’s not that they were bad necessarily; I can’t think of anyone I disliked in the book, it’s just that there isn’t much to say about most of them. Zhen Ni causes tons of trouble despite her adventurous nature and is a plot device. Kai Sen is the love interest, good hearted, good looking guy that can fight and stand firm in the face of opposition, but I had trouble seeing him as much other than a love interest. Stone was Yukari Yakumo done wrong but it matter not to me, he was a plot device also and his detached personality was refreshing. Everyone else was just a plot device/archetype so there’s no point in mentioning them except for in this little shout out right here; without you guys, the world of Serpentine wouldn’t be nearly as in-depth or divers as it is.

            Overall, did I like this book? Yes I did. Did I like it enough to read the other books in the series? Yep, I’ve already got Sacrifice on my want to read list. Do I think you should read this book? Well, I didn’t spoil the ending for you so you can assume I want you to go and see how good this book is for yourself. This here is some great high fantasy for young adults with not too much romance and interesting characters and setting that will bring you right into the plot. Just know there is a ton of Chinese names in there so you might not be able to pronounce everything. 再见你们， see you in the next book review!

Perfect by Ellen Hopkins (Review)

Date Finished: February 8, 2018

Page Count: 622

Genre: Realistic Fiction

            Ellen Hopkins is a true words smith. I could vividly see everything she described in the book and it was lots of fun being in a freestyle poetry format. The characters were open books, and I was easily able to see what made them unique and develop options about them. Truly Perfect is a master piece, but as the book teaches the audience: true perfection is unattainable and this book, while very good, has far too many thing to be disgusted by if you ask me. Seriously, why would someone my age even read this kind of stuff? I’m not so sure a book as explicit as perfect should be in the school library. Oh well, it’s America but sometimes we have to put restrictions in place am I right guys?

            So to makes this easier, I’m going to format this into a list about what I liked about Perfect and what I didn’t like. The like list will go first so people who are curious about the book will have less of a chance to see what I disliked about it; that way it might be easier for some people to keep interest in the book and avoid bias. It also allows me to properly overshadow all the good in the book and emphasize how much I dislike it. I kid you not, this book scarred me so bad it was worse than the time I was a 6^th grader and some friends told me the alternate meaning for, “lemon” and a heck of a lot more scarring than Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Some may say I’m innocent because of that, but I just don’t like that kind of intense stuff. Blood and gore are pretty okay (I’ve drawn a couple bloody things in my life) but there are certain areas I don’t touch even with that (giant naked people running around eating actual people who live inside walls are in the okay category by the way). So warnings aside, lets dive right into the likes.

What I liked about Perfect

1.      The formatting. Like I stated before, it’s in free style poetry told from the perspective of four different characters, each using a different font. Lots of times the text will be shuffled around and arranged in a specific way to emphasize the emotions of the character like when Conner succeed at suicide and everyone was super depressed. Then you have each of the “chapter” openings where there were two columns: one with a couple stanzas and one with more than just one stanza. When only the single stanza column was read a message revealing the characters deeper thoughts was revealed and it was super cool (also super dumb since I didn’t notice it until around page 162). My overall favorite had to be “love and sex. aren’t interchangeable,” because I really relate to this statement and think of it as true (Hopkins 421).

2.      Each character represented different paths. Something that can easily be observed in the main characters (and a couple side characters) is what happens when one tries to achieve perfection. Cara found her peace in life as well as love (which I’m super salty about but more on that later), despite being forced down the path of perfection and having a major fall from grace. Kendra wanted the perfect body but in her attempts to do so she stopped loving herself and developed and eating disorder plus being forced to have to use her body to get what she wanted. Sean tried to be the perfect athlete with the perfect life but his overuse of steroids cost him his manliness, Cara, his dignity and nearly got him arrested (because remember kids, sexting is illegal). Andre was a black Romeo, loving with only his eyes to the point where he started dating Jenna for her looks and then got trapped by her warped personality, almost to the point of being unable to break off the relationship. Conner (side character) was pressured to be perfect like his twin sister Cara, got down with older women to cope and ended up attempting suicide one his pleasures were reveled and having to be sent to a mental hospital before jumping off a cliff later on to kill himself. And finally Jenna (side character) had a terrible childhood with a bad father so she stopped loving people other than herself and only lived in the moment; in addition she was an alcoholic (a 16-year-old alcoholic), she didn’t truly love Andre, and ended up getting raped and beaten. How could a person not fall in love with Hopkins’ diverse illustration of these coming of age stories, and the different paths so many people can take despite living so close to each other?

3.      Hopkins deals with “taboo” subject. I say “taboo,” because while not outspokenly taboo, you don’t see many authors take up subjects like Hopkins did so casually, especially 7 years ago. You know what I’m talking about here: modern racism, parental abuse, LGBTQ, mental illnesses, religion, lust, suicide, etc. A bold move on her part and I applaud her for that. At the same time though, I kinda have to frown on this fact which segways nicely into my next list of:

What I disliked/hated about Perfect

1.      Cara falling in love with Danielle. No, it’s not because it’s same sex love (although it’s not my cup of tea I can tolerate it), but because she fell in love with her in like ten minutes or so, just because Dani saved her life. And, she was still dating Sean when she fell in love with Dani and stared seeing her for Christ’s sake! Come on man, back stabbing is bad, but doing it in a few minutes is even worse. It’s hard for me to like love if it’s love at first sight sorta thing and doesn’t have much depth to it which is exactly what this was so I was not going to board this ship, no sir.

2.      “Let’s get naked guys.” No, that’s not a quiet for the book, but there was so many sexual moments in the book I wanted to throw up. I can clearly remember two scenes where two characters had sexual engagements and it was absolutely atrocious! Maybe I just don’t care about this stuff being asexual and thus a virgin and all, but there was way too much of that in there for comfort and I was slightly alienated the whole book. Don’t even get me stated on the fact that so many characters fell in lust, or would talk about throwing their bodies anywhere without are care so long as it was pleasuring. Ugh! So not my cup of tea!

3.      Kendra and her self-hate. On a character standpoint, I find this a very interesting aspect of her and it gives me a reason to have some interest in what happens to her. Hopkins stretches this a little too much for comfort to me, despite how real it makes Kendra’s character feel, as she constantly call food her enemy, her body not small enough if it wasn’t size two and the fact that she felt her breast were too small. Get over yourself girl, nobody’s prefect and a size two with D-cup breast is absurd if you thought you’d get that way naturally.

4.      Kendra is waaay to hung up on Conner. For real girl, can’t you see how screwed his life was once he left school and realized that you two split up for the best. He was even hitting on older women like that one teacher. If that’s not a red flag that the guy isn’t the best to be around I don’t know what is and your constant nagging about missing him and feeling that you two really had a connection was almost as bad the #3 thing I didn’t like. Then again, society should try to reach out to “troubled” individuals so we don’t end up killing everyone off due to minor flaws they have.

5.      Jenna. Lol, that’s kinda extreme now that I take a couple steps back and look at that one name in red. “Jenna,” Kendra’s little (?) sister who doesn’t care about anyone but herself and will use her body to her advantage to get some booze. I’m pretty sure she only dated Andre because he was black and seemed nice to mess with her racist dad due to him having left her for reasons she was unaware of. You totally didn’t deserve Andre the way he treated you but you totally had that rape coming for you girl, should have seen it a mile away.

6.      That ending. So Cara realizes she’s got her life going the way she wants it, Andrea dumps Jenna and prepares to pursue his dream as a dancer, Sean feels slightly regretful for using steroids and having sexted that picture of Cara, and Kendra cries. All the while this takes place at a funeral and the final page says nothing more than, “…a perfect paper airplane,” (Hopkins 622). It’s a long story as to why that was the final line, but what the heck? How dare you leave so many unanswered and ambiguous things about Conner and the other character’s futures Hopkins! You’ve got to elucidate something as deep and philosophical as this, so you don’t leave the readers who weren’t expecting this type of book and don’t particularly enjoy this kind of stuff unsatisfied with the ending and wanting more! COME ON!

7.      At one point Andre’s dad makes the comment about artist being gay. Because as an asexual/heterosexual artist I take offense to that. Nothing deep, just something I don’t think is true.

And there you have it folks! Don’t read the book if you feel the same way as I do based on this list of what I don’t like (except that last one, that one’s kinda a joke) and do read it if you like lots of romance, philosophical/thought provoking, or coming of age novels. On a side note, I need a serious detachment from romance for a while, and me if you reading this NEVER READ ANOTHER ELLEN HOPKINS NOVEL AGAIN. That stuff is not you cup of tea. Zàijiàn readers, and see ya’ll in my next book review!

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp (Review)

 

Date Finished: February 1, 2018

Page Count: 282

Genre: Realistic Fiction

 

            This is Where It Ends? More like, “this belongs in a trash bin!” Wahahahahahaha, ah, sorry, not sorry Marieke Nijkamp but I had to do that. But hey, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure so don’t think this book isn’t worth reading just because I say so. Let me give you a couple reasons on why not to read this book from inside my shoes, and then you can gently set this book in trash can for someone who might like this kind of story to find. Yeah, I’m not going to say this book sucked primarily because the characters sucked, but because I think I’m not a part of the target audience. I know, a shame. You think a book with such a seemingly symbolic cover would have more depth to it.

            Disclaimer though, school shooting, or any shooting really, are a serious thing here in the states. I may make some jokes on this post here and there and treat the context of the book like it’s nothing and belongs in a garbage bin, but I am (大概) far less callous when that happens in real life. I mean no disrespect with my attitude towards the contents of this book, as I simply see it as fiction and thus not real. Alright, now on to the actual review!

            Going into this book, I should have known it wouldn’t satisfy my taste immediately after reading inside the book jacket, “told… over the span of fifty-four harrowing minutes.” It’s kinda hard to learn a lot about a character in merely fifty-four minutes which sucks, because I read for the characters in most situations and putting it in real time made the book feel more real (not that I wanted it to be, or felt much sadness over any of the character’s deaths or whatever), which was cool but sadly overshadowed due to how poor the characters were. Out of Claire, Tomás, Autumn, and Sylv(ia), the four characters who narrated the story I only cared about the one that died! That’s right! Tomás done went and killed himself (you’re welcome)! Claire seemed too detached from the events for me to really pay much attention to (although it was nice to have the story told form the perspective of someone who wasn’t inside the school when the shooting happened), Autumn was pity party No.1 and wouldn’t shut up about her love for Tyler (the shooter) or Sylv (her sorta-secret girlfriend), and Sylv was pity party No.2 and wouldn’t shut up about wanting to protect her brother (Tomás, which she failed at) and Autumn (her sorta-secret girlfriend, which she also sorta failed at). The other characters I actually cared (一点儿， 好啊？) for were Fareed, Tomás’ partner in crime who actually survives, and Matt, Claire’s crippled younger brother who dies (so stop hoping he’ll survive guys). If either of them were narrators though, I don’t think I’d like them as much though since they function better as side characters. So don’t read this for the characters as you don’t see much out of them other than fear, hope, all those stuff that comes along with tragedy, and although I will admit you learn a ton about these guys for 54 minutes/281 pages thanks to flashbacks it’s still not enough for those who depend heavily on good characters to like a book if you ask me.

            I also didn’t like the idea of a school shooting being the should focus of the book (with flashbacks for seasoning of course).

            But M******, why did you read the book then since you knew that was what it was about?

            Because I though a school shooting would be a cool book topic.

            ???

            Sadly, I was wrong though, as it was just A World of Nightmares Never Seen Before ….

            My god, did you just sneak in a Touhou reference?

            *Gaps* how dare you accuse me of such a thing!

            How is that even a bad thing?

            You think just because I like different things from everyone else, I’m a weirdo with nothing in common with you and therefore can’t relate to you in any way. For shame reader who is actually myself and yeah, why am I’m doing this again? Seriously I need to stop going on tangents like this.

            But you don’t want to, this blog would be so stale if it were too normal.

            Shut it me! Wait, I’m not even talking. *sits blankly listening to music for a bit* Right, this book sucked! Go listen to A World of Nightmares Never Seen Before instead of bothering to finish the review since it’s leaving such a bad taste in your head! It’s an awesome song from an awesome game with an awesome OST that I’m assuming most Americans (my audience) have been missing out on! Go on, scat!

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lol, I was joking k? I still got some garbage I want to put with this book before I leave it in the trash bin for good. So, I didn’t like the idea of a school shooting being the focus of a book yet, I thought it would be a cool topic? The heck? Don’t worry, I have an explanation: I simply though it’d be a good idea in theory, but how Nijkamp executed it like she executed thirty-nine of the people, Haha! wasn’t good. Only two or so chapters took place before the actually shooting started so the situation got hellish pretty quick. I wish Nijkamp gave us some time to see this characters more before the shooting since it would have presented them in a different life and give the chance for us to see how big the impact of the shooting was on them. It would then also give more time for background information to be told and ties to the characters to be developed. I could have actually been super concerned about the fate of my favorite characters and speed through this book in a day or two to make sure they lived.

You also have Tyler, the killer who is slightly whack in a bad way. I get it, he was screwed after his mom died and his father turned into an alcoholic and his girlfriend (Claire) dumped him and he found out his sister was dating Sylv (he didn’t approve since he thought she would steal Autumn from him and maybe because she was a girl? I’m not sure about the last part) and everyone at school hated him and pushed him away. I get that he wanted to kill the loved one’s of the people who hated him as that would be worse than killing them, and by shooting Autumn in the knee he’d most likely take away her chances of doing what she loved (dance), and then rubbed salt in the wound by killing what she loved (himself). That’s the smart thing to do if you truly hate someone and I should applaud Nijkamp for her genius decisions to really hit it out of the ball park with how much collateral damage Ty was able to do. And yet somehow I’m still disappointed in him. I think it had something to do with Nijkamp leading me to believe there was more to Ty than meet the eye, like a good side to him, yet I didn’t see that very well with the limited about of flashback of him, not to mention most of them were bad memories of him. Don’t try to make me feel one way about something Nijkamp and then not give me enough reason to keep feeling that way! You should only ever do that with wise old “sages” and whatnot who aren’t meant to be understood in fantasy novels or the Zorro/antihero characters. I don’t care that Ty was the villain, you tried to humanize him at one point so finish what you started!

But I digress, that’s all I really found trashy about the book that convinced me to open my review in such a way. I’m sure Nijkamp is a fabulous author who takes worthwhile risks with her characters, but This is Where It Ends was not one of those times in my opinion and I found the book to be terribly mood dampening, a poor thriller, and not worth recommending to people even if I think they’d enjoy it. Who knows, maybe I’m just jaded thanks to watching too much Attack on Titan and growing up in such a violent country, so someone with a stronger emotion connection would be shot in the feels about now and typing a review about how much they enjoyed the book. But since I’m not that person, don’t read this book for the characters, or the plot. Only read if you have a sick fascination interest with books on school shooting since I doubt many books are about that and this can probably be a really compelling thriller if you’re into that sort of thing. Alright, go listen to A World of Nightmares Never Seen Before and don’t read this book if you can help it and I’ll catch you readers later.