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Book Critiques

White Girl Tragedy

5/24/2018

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Hello Readers! My promise to you has been fulfilled since I'm writing this article on, well you guessed it, the Fault In Our Stars, a White Girl Tragedy. 
​Now that I've graduated, I can continue my crusade on book critiques for the Summer in Italy. So please, recommend some books that I can give an honest rating for and why I've rated it, for I want to do my best to write my critiques. 
I hope there's enough content to fill up your gullet, so sit down, eat some salted vinegar chips and enjoy.
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By: John Green
Rating: 4/5

Summary 

This is literally my description of the first chapter, which could be a synopsis for the book. Our protagonist, Hazel Grace, has cancer in her thyroid, and a lungs dysfunction that forces her to use alternative oxygen to breathe. 
Every week on Thursday, her mom makes her go to a cancer group in the basement of a church that's more of an intervention than encouragement since there's a youth pastor whom gotten his testicles removed due to cancer (yes you heard me, this guy quite literally has no balls). 
She is also unable to give any cares to her life as well as herself, and didn't think anything including the cancer group would change the course of how she wanted to live, which is one of the main reasons why her parents took her over there to help her in her fight not just against cancer, but also clinical depression. 
That's until she met this lad named Augustus, playing the staring contest with her for a long time. What the crap? Any time I do it, the ladies end up running off like a doe, my brother told me once that staring is one of the most uncomfortable things anyone can do...unless there's something this Gus is doing right...? Nah, I'll just stick to the tactic of avoiding eye contact. Anyway, where was I? Oh yea, after the stare-down, Gus takes a seat and reveals to the group that he has osteoporosis and cancer (osteoporosis is when the bones become brittle and weak). But do you know what this chap does? He continues to joke about it and call out Hazel. His friend Isaac, who came in with him, reveals he has cancer in his eyes, further more, he makes puns about it. Man, eye guess you can say that he's the pupil star of puns. Oh sorry, I guess things are getting cornea. :D
After the group meeting, as Hazel was getting out, Augustus stopped her so that he could flirt with her. She tries to flirt back, and after much conversation of this cliche romance getting along, he invites her to watch V for Vendetta with him at his house. Never having heard of it, she was reluctant to say yes since of course this son of a gun is the first (and last) lad she'd date. 

Characters

Hazel Grace: The central protagonist in the story of which has cancer in her thyroid, and has been so for as long as she could remember. She didn't have that many friends, only her mom and dad since they were they were the only ones who stuck by her side.

Augustus Waters: Hazel's one and only romantic interest, he is a young man full of enthusiasm as well as charisma. He likes to do the opposite of the norm, take for example, his cigarette trope. He doesn't actually take them, but uses them to grab the attention of others, his "metaphor" on nothing left to be lost after he dies.

Isaac: Gus' friend whom had gotten his cancerous eyes removed. He's equally enthusiastic and loves to make puns about his sight, yet beneath all of that, he was a pretty sad character that made you want to pity him. 

Peter Van Houten: An author of a book with no ending, Hazel is constantly re-reading it since it's about a girl with cancer (how unpredictable) and her struggle to live. It's based around the death of a daughter he once had. This guy is a lazy alcoholic, not really much of a nice person, and enjoys an intelligent discussion as long as it's by e-mail and not face to face contact. 

Lidewij Vliegenthart: An optimistic side character that is disappointed all the time since she doesn't make a reality check.

Mrs Lancaster: Hazel's mom, whom doesn't really do much other than attempting to be her friend, stalker, and cupid...which if I'm being honest, I'd be annoyed too if I were in Hazel's shoes.

Mr. Lancaster: Hazel's dad, whom really doesn't do much in this story other than...nope, he really doesn't matter. 

Mr Waters: Gus' dad, who was also one of the most influential side characters in his life, has watched his son get worse over the few years of having cancer. 

Mrs Waters: Gus' mom, whom suffered along with her son by watching him die slowly. 

Theme

There were two significant themes in the plot and story of the Fault in our stars, and was played well by the author to the point where you could feel sad for these melancholic characters. The first that I have recognized is that it's not just a tragedy, but a romance too in the sense of being with someone who has cancer. Normally, people either get shunned or for getting a sorry look that outright makes people angry. An average life is lost due to having a disease for most of someone's life, and causes them to live secluded from their friends and romantic interests. We see here that it's uncommon to date someone with cancer let alone the other one having it as well. For Isaac, a friend of Gus, it ended with his girlfriend breaking up with him since it was "too much" to handle. 
Yet we see that Hazel and Gus' relationship is like that of a married couple, not in the sense of that cliche in which the couple is united and goes through the honeymoon stage. No, it was more like seeing each other at their worst, especially their weakest, when either of the two had problems that could kill them. Hazel's lungs for example get worse, and so she stays at the hospital for a few days. Gus especially is having more trouble with his weak bones and cancer, that progress into a rate where he eventually dies. I can remember one particular chapter in which the two play video games after his visit from the hospital, and he was almost like that perfect boyfriend, literally catching bullets for Hazel in the game. The next day she comes over, and he's in a pathetic state that would scare off most girls away. He was in pain and could hardly play, yet Hazel, for the first time, took care of him and loved him even in the state he was in, especially when he wept.
The second theme I noticed was that it was ok not to be well at all, and that acceptance is not really a way of saying ''I give up" but more of a way of saying "I'm tired."
I feel like Gus and Peter played a significant role in helping Hazel understand that it's alright to have cancer, not necessarily that it's right of it killing her, but more of that many others like her are either fighting it or just embracing life for just a few moments of what time you have left. Because either way, no one can escape death, which makes it meaningless. As depressing as it sounds, it's true. Our lives are finite, and if I were to offer my personal thoughts on what Ecclesiastes says in a summary, it would be that life is meaningless if God isn't in the picture. In this short life, as chapter nine of Ecclesiastes suggests, marry the one you love, work hard to make life bearable, and always fear the Lord so that we may find peace and wisdom in what He says. 
​I always find that when I fear Him, that everything else pales in comparison.    

Good Stuff

What I enjoyed the most out of John's dialogue was that it was blunt, almost like a comedy. He didn't hesitate to say the facts as it were when it came to cancer, treated it without patronizing the reader or the characters, and even made a few jokes on the way that was a blend of making dark humor light. I also like reading his grammar, which was fluid for a modern day reader to read, yet also somewhat challenging for even the scholar. He of course used vocabulary that was challenging enough for someone new in the book world to read. 
I personally agreed with the opinion the author incorporates into Hazel about death being upon us all, whether we're rich or poor, we all have one thing in common and that is we all die. 
I said before that John Green's writing was full of jokes, well I'll say it again, he's funny. It was entertaining to read his work even for a subject that's so depressing. Then again, you would have to make some wise cracks and puns just to stay sane if that much was going on. 
I've also noticed something in the style the author incorporates, and that's stereotypes. He does so well to give us a picture of what each individual is. Take Hazel and Gus' families for example, the target audience was obviously white American girls, however it was also families who struggled with their kid having a disease no one could prevent. Since it also took place at church in many parts of the story, you can say the author was also targeting both homeschoolers and Christians alike since most of the American population is so (although I will say that it is in decline, but that's for another article). Besides, the author really doesn't hesitate to make it obvious that there are cancer stereotypes that we shouldn't ignore, patronize, and make fun of cancer since it really isn't something anyone can control if their head is buzzed, they breathe through a tube, or are amazingly skinny. Because to deal with cancer let alone fight it, one must take any necessary means to get better. Even if it ends up costing someone's physique, which I can say that it's like a badge of honor if someone is trying, and that they should be encouraged to do so as the author suggests, whether or not it actually does change. 
There's also an enchantment that lies in this story since of course it's a tragedy, it's a dark nebulous one that can suck anyone into it. It sure has a rollercoaster of feelings, and can make someone cry at the end (although I didn't). 

Problems

This book has flaws of course, it would be five stars if it weren't for these reasons. 
What the author succeeds in using grammar, slang, telling a story, and character development, it does not bode well when it didn't really challenge me as how the classics did when it came to old English language. Compared to some of the other tragedies I've read in the past, it wasn't really that sad for me. I don't mean to sound cold, but that's what I feel about the subject since I didn't really weep as others did after they read the ending. I just wish that the author would make it challenging for me to read since there were some parts I didn't feel were grand as everyone else says it is.
I felt like the whole "I love you" scene on the plane was rushed, and just plain cliche. I wish the author would have taken the time to make this scene not so bland and turn it into something memorable. 
I really couldn't take that one verb "okay" seriously, I honestly laughed when they said it would represent a promise. Oh brother, maybe it was the way the author used it, and I either couldn't take it seriously because I thought it was another one of the author's jokes, or it sounded like it was a verb used in a middle school drama. If the execution was done properly, I would say that it would have been a word used for many couples today. But do you hear anyone say it? No, because too many are saying "always" instead. Besides, I didn't even remember they even used this as their 'promise' until I read my notes for this post (oh goodness, that rhymed). 

Conclusion

Look, this is a great piece of work, you can tell the author worked hard to write it, especially since it was written for a girl who had cancer. But I won't say that it's a work of art, it's definitely something I'd read only once and that's it. That's just me, and my critiques are only my opinions of what I think is good since I have a specific taste, like others (I suppose this will also have to wait for another article). 
But seriously, if you're a classic buff and have read countless books like me, chances are that you're not going to enjoy it as much as everyone else did, but if it's the opposite I'd be wrong. For it's most certainly a casual read that many would dive into if they were busy or at the beach. Now it would be great for anyone wanting to get into fiction since it would be easily relatable in pop and cancer culture, and has many tropes many millennials struggle with and that's a good beginning. 
I would say that it's way overrated than what it needs to be in a romantic tragedy, and that there are plenty of others that would be better like Les Miserable, Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, the Winger, and many others. 
Now I'd like to thank any of you whom have read this, and I encourage you to read this book to see what you would think because after all, we're all different. Please like, share, tweet, and use whatever means necessary to get my posts out there. 
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Musical trash

9/14/2017

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Echo
Written by: Pam Munoz Ryan
​Ratings: 3 out of 5

Hello Readers! Again, my apologies for taking too long. I meant to finish and publish this a few months ago, and I've kicked myself pretty hard for not doing so. I saw this standing proudly on a bookshelf, and noticed it received a well rating. I thought "why not? Since this book obviously did so boast in a way to read it, might as well give it a go." I'm satisfied to say the least, however there is a reason as to why it received the rating I thought it deserved. So please, sit down, eat a bowl of cheerios, and share this to the world! Enjoy reading, this article is bound to be full of delicacy and charm.

Characters

Friedrich: A shy, passive child from the country of Germany. He has a loving family and a birthmark on his cheek; he's considered crazy by some folk for having an imaginary friend, conducting an invisible orchestra, and having a passion for music. Because of this, he's bullied by many of the kids at school. Since his confidence ceased, he was with his father on day when he heard the sound of many instruments playing, leading him to one of the strange harmonicas that played the tune so. 

Mike: The American in this story who lives in a foster care in New York. As the second chief protagonist, he's extroverted, and a great pianist. After he and his brother, Frankie, are adopted by a prestigious rich woman. Her butlers (that's how I remembered them any way) take them to get clothes in town as well as a new instrument. Mike is attracted to a harmonica that is exactly alike the one Friedrich has, and gets it to  express the sorrow within.

Ivy: Although her race is Latina, she was born and raised in America. She's moved from one home to another, so that her father can find a better life for Ivy and her family. When they have to move again, Ivy is devastated since she already made a best friend and went to great lengths to be the best harmonica player in her class, taking a lead role on the radio. The harmonica she was given was, well you guessed it, the same as Friedrich's and Mike's.

Elisabeth: The sister and protector of Friedrich, since he's constantly bullied by others who consider him to be 'flawed.' When Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany, many followed him and basically worshipped him. Elisabeth was one of the Hitlerites who became a nurse in the War. 

Frankie: Mike's little brother, who is known to be naive and honest with everyone. He's also a good pianist, however not as melancholic as Mike is. 

Susan: Ivy's new friend, she's incredibly extroverted; which causes her to be lonely since her mom only lets her play with kids her age if one of her parents are in the room. The reason for her being "sheltered" is because her brother died during the war. 

Synopsis

, The story begins with a boy named Otto, who meets the characters in the book he was reading known as the three sisters; their names were Eins, Zwei, and Drei (which literally translates to One, Two, and Three). Their story is a tragic one, since they are actually daughters of the king in their land, they're given to a witch for their father wanted a son; not a daughter. After the king's son dies, the sisters are told to return home, however the witch cursed them into staying in the woods. Otto is sent back to his world after they teach him how to use the harmonica he had to get out.
The story shifts to Germany, a few years before WWII, when Hitler is Chancellor. One of our chief protagonists is named Friedrich, a young lad with a birthmark on his face. His home is safe with the love from his father, and sister, Elisabeth; the music his father makes as well as his provision for the family. Friedrich's life begins as a tragedy when he's yanked out of school for getting bullied by kids for his birthmark and tendency to "conduct" to an imaginary orchestra. His father homeschools Friedrich at his workplace, a harmonica factory, where Friedrich is not only learning mathematics, but also how to work in the factory with his Uncle. One day, he follows the beautiful sound of music to the abandoned part of the factory and finds a strange harmonica with an M on it. Now, I'm not sure why it does and how it's relevant, however it's there to make the point that it's a unique harmonica. Since he got it, it gave him a confidence that he never had...
Then we have Mike and his brother, Frankie, who are talented with
music but are orphans due to their mom’s death. They’re taught music and are cared by their grandma, who dies later on. So with no parent or gaurdian, they are sent to a orphanage. Since they are unwanted, they feel sad and dejected. Well all that changes when someone indeed does adopt them because of their musical talents. It seems too good to be true, but the author never really does make it so. They arrive to their new home to a grieving mother who lost her boy only to adopt them, she’s upset when they’re boys and not girls, since they remind her of the child she lost. She keeps them nonetheless and sends them to shop for their clothes, on that day, they also go to a music shop where Mike finds the harmonica with the M stamped on it, and it gives him the same effects it gave to Friedrich...
Our transition turns to Ivy, whom is an American born Mexican. Honestly, her story is a lot better than the other two. For it’s about a girl that’s trying to get by in a society that’s not exactly cruel, but not really nice. Her brother is in the War, and she’s left with her family that moves all the time. Again, the stupid M harmonica slips its way into the plot, only instead of a dramatic appearance, it’s simply a harmonica found in a pile with other musical instruments. Because she moves to California for a job opportunity that her dad takes, she’s left sad and more lonely than ever. Her only friend there is a girl named Susan, whom is the daughter of a government official. Ivy is the best musician at the new school she goes to, yet it doesn’t make up the fact at how terrible the system over at that school is. For it’s a system based on race.

Theme

I always thought the story was cenered around the ones who are different, and how society treats them as a whole. For many are born with extroardinary gifts in music, yet the story manages to connect with those whom are underrated. The ones who will become great are usually the ones struggling to find their place in society as well as their voice. Or at least that's what this story is trying to portray. 

Good Stuff

I always try to start these critiques with optimism and positivity, so as to not be totally negative. Yet It's hard to say anything nice about a story so bland and dull. At least that's what I remember from reading this musical trash.
The author tries to be honest in how she writes, and that's good since that's one of the first steps into writing a story. It's certainly pleasant as it tries to tell the story of a cast of "the Greatest Showman" wannabes. 
The main characters are not totally bad, they're roughly three dimensional to say the least. Their were some I absolutely despised (since they were jerks to begin with) and others I deeply relate to such as Mike since I have the same love for my brother and want to protect him from the bad. 
One good quality is that that the author was focused on the theme of this story, and pushed to make it bloody clear to even a simpleton (probably because this book is written for kids). 
Some of the plot points surprised me, yet others failed to deal the execution of making it shocking. 

Problems

This is where I go berserk on how much of a piece of garbage this was. See, earlier I said that this book was made for children, and that would be a plausible argument if not there were other far more enjoyable children's books to read such as the Chronicles of Narnia, the Hobbit, Percy Jackson, Bridge to Terabithia, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Alice in Wonderland, the Harry Potter series, and many other books such as those titles. This is my point, if a story can only be enjoyed by one age group, then it's not good since anyone else can't read it without cringing. 
One of the many problems is that the beginning is made up to be too sweet, almost sickening. The whole time I was thinking, "what the bloody heck does these three girls have to do with anything?" or "why is this boy introduced only for him not to be mentioned again?" I think the author was struggling to find out how to begin this story, which is a common problem to any writer. Yet she thinks that meaningless drivel about a fantasy story or about the good times, when in fact it should have started out bad so as not to bore the reader with no reason to push forward. Speaking of those three sisters, who are they? What is their role in this book? Why the heck would this author make their names easily forgettable, unpronounceable, and just plain stupid in the first place? 
I feel as though the author didn't want to kill anyone off for moral reasons as to not scar children. Well, as one intelligent person said on an anime: 
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But in all seriousness, people die all the time, and killing them off to motivate characters or create some sort of twist to your story is necessary, as cruel as it sounds. In fact, it could be the time your reader will actually care for those side characters. I understand if the author doesn't want to kill off anyone to protect the innocence of a child, but like it or not, death is real, and a child will inevitably learn of it when someone does eventually pass away. You don't have to make it dark, but not everything has sunshine either. 
One thing I really can't take seriously is that the author seems passive and afraid to share her own opinions. It's poison to the reader if they're not challenged with another person's thought on something controversial, or even simple enough as to why it's bad to steal. Besides I wouldn't listen to someone's argument if there really isn't a point to it. 
Finally, the three sisters that are easily forgettable. I mean c'mon! This part of the story is obviously meaningless, so why continue with it like they were angels or something? If something doesn't really matter in a story, no matter how cool it is, then there obviously is no point to even mention it. This is one of the parts that actually made me die inside.

Conclusion

I rated this a three out of five since the author really did try, it just seemed like she was trying a little too hard. 
I enjoyed some parts of the story, and it would have been nice to see if it took different turns, I would have loved to be surprised by the actions these characters would have made on their own. Isn't that one of the reasons why we read and write? So as not to be bored by actions that are obviously wise? 
I loved the story for its willing to say that so what if we're different? So what if we can do what others can't? It's in those differences and individualities that makes us all unique as well as human. 
I would recommend this only for children to read since only they can handle the substance we call cringing. I definitely would not recommend this to read for fun or as a book project since it feels like it takes forever to end in the first place. Unless of course you enjoy this sort of...what's the word?...insubstantial taste of fiction.
I hope you Readers enjoyed my criticism, and will post another book I was supposed to upload months ago (seeing as this one was last written in September). So please be on the look out for it. 
Obviously this isn't my best post, but I think you lot may enjoy the next one soon. Again, my apologies for taking too long, and for not putting in as much content as the last one.  
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A beautiful tragedy

8/21/2017

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Wuthering Heights

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Written by: Emily Brontë
​Ratings: 5/5

Hello Readers! It's been about...what two weeks since I last posted? I guess I need to get into the habit of it, since I'm only starting now. Eventually I will. With school in my way, it'll be harder to discipline myself to read; since I like to procrastinate that is.
Anyhow, I'm not here to talk about my life, I'm here to talk about one of literature's greatest achievements in romance (if you can call it that), and tragedy (there we go)! Wuthering Heights is definitely something worth picking off from the shelf, for you hardcore readers out there. It's now become one of my favorite top ten classics, for its rich story full of depth, complex dialogue that makes it intriguing, and character development that readers will remember for life. I would say more, but that's for the last part of this article. Al' righ', le's git intoit!  

Characters

Heathcliff: An arrogant, spiteful man who cares nothing for others but his own well being. He's not only bitter from his soul mate's death, but because of the way society has treated him. He's also the bane to others around him for he has a great need to take his holy revenge on the ones who've wronged him.

Lockwood: The tenant of Wuthering Heights, and the narrator of this story. He plays a significant role just by observing and listening to Nelly's side of the story on the tragedy of Wuthering Heights.

Ellen/Nelly Dean: The true story teller of this novel, her role is simply to share the wrongs that have happened at Wuthering Heights and the truth to Heathcliff's revenge.

Catherine Heathcliff: Her mother was the original Catherine, and became the late daughter in law of Heathcliff by marrying his son Linton. She plays a bigger role than you would have imagined, in fact this sweet girl who has a love for everything in life, is Edgar's hope, and Linton's survival in the harsh reality that is best represented by Heathcliff. Plus she's got grit, who doesn't like that?

Linton Heathcliff: The husband to Catherine, who is also her cousin...umm, let's go with second cousin since it's already creepy enough. Anyhow, he's a coward who loves his wife. That's kinda it for him...Oh yea! He also died of an illness, and his father Heathcliff did nothing about it, and let him lay there, suffocating in his own phlegm. 

Hareton Earnshaw: Another (second) cousin of Catherine's, he's also in love with her but is like, ten years older than her (again, NOT creepy at all, if I must jest). Anyway, he's actually a pretty decent guy, hard working, not that smart, and not really that handsome. His constant cursing and immaturity drives people away. Catherine, well, her sweetness doesn't exactly give up on being his friend, let alone his love.

Catherine/Cathy Linton: A woman full of spunk, or as the author likes to describe her, a saucy woman. She is the childhood friend of Heathcliff, whom was not only her true love, but also her soulmate. Sadly they never did get together until before her death, the reason being is because her brothers separated them, making them be snobs in society. It's like Gatsby's story, only, everyone dies!

Edgar Linton: Heathcliff's opposite, only because he married his betrothed, Cathy, while Heathcliff didn't. He doesn't have as much hate for the world, but he did end up a hermit after Catherine's death, so...
Aside from the fact that he doesn't have love for the world, he is genuinely a decent husband and father. It made me sad to read his death too.

Isabel (Linton) Heathcliff: She is Edgar's sister, and married Heathcliff out of having a crush on him. Kinda embarrassing if you ask me. Because it turns out, she hated throughout the years they were married. Not because he was lazy, but because he was abusive towards her with his words. he mistreated her so bad that it makes all the mean girls in the locker room look like amateurs. 

Joseph: The servant of Wuthering Heights who can be a self righteous prick about his religion, Calvinism. He's not at all warm, or friendly to the people around him. He doesn't have that many friends, probably because he's too busy pointing out other people's sins rather than his own.

Hindley Earnshaw: The father of Hareton, and husband to...what's her face. Honestly, I can't remember her name because she was one of those side characters that was there, but not really ('cause she died giving birth to Hareton literally as soon as they even mentioned her name). Anyway, he was also a prick that was Joseph's (only) friend and owner of Wuthering Heights. He died of alcohol poisoning, leaving the inheritance not to his son, but to Heathcliff. 

Synopsis

  Okay, time to dissect this son of a gun! Based on what the characters went through and how their stories intertwined, it starts off with the co-narrator, Mr. Lockwood; a tenant to Wuthering Heights. 
The first thing he was "welcomed" by was these ferocious dogs that could give a really hard bite. Fortunately enough, he's saved by Heathcliff's butler, Joseph, and Heathcliff's side-kick, Hareton Earnshaw. Joseph is reluctant to give him a rather icy welcome. Hareton...just does his own thing. 
After Lockwood is introduced to the two, they bring him inside the mansion, where terrible things brew. What I mean is that he meets a ticked off Mrs. Catherine Heathcliff, and a intense man with an air of arrogance who is Heathcliff himself (aka captain dirtbag).
Heathcliff tries to give him a proper greeting and apologizes for Catherine's *ahem* hussy attitude. Lockwood assures him that it's alright, but really, he's just bull crapping his way into solitary where he can be away from this selfish man. 
The next few days, he's moved to the Grange, another property owned by Heathcliff. Since Lockwood is already bored out of his mind, he couldn't talk to anyone at Heights without being watched by Heathcliff, so he talks to Nelly, a woman with the actual truth to the story as to how Wuthering Heights is the way it is; and also, she's our main narrator. 
Heathcliff was a homeless boy with no education, no future, and no hope. But when Mr. Earnshaw passes this boy, he has great compassion and takes him under his wing at his home, Wuthering Heights. 
Heathcliff enjoys his stay, and befriends Cathy Earnshaw, who is a year younger than Heathcliff. They quickly develop into best friends, and eventually, soul mates. One night in particular changed the course of not only their relationship but also their lives, for as they were sitting on the couch, leaning against the other, Mr. Earnshaw, Cathy's father, dies of old age by the fireplace, in the same room where everyone was enjoying their time with the rain dropping onto the roof tops.
At Mr. Earnshaw's funeral, everyone is there not to grieve, but to patronize him in death (except for Cathy and Heathcliff, of course). Hindley even goes as far to bring his newly wedded wife (which I forgot the name as soon as I read it) as a middle finger to his dad, not out of spite, but because he could. Since Mr. Earnshaw is dead, Edgar married the woman he loved, but the one his father also despised. 
Afterwards, things took a rather unpleasant turn when Cathy is bit in the ankle by a dog. Fortunately, since Heathcliff was with her, he grabbed a large stone, and started beating it off her. Of course, after Heathcliff brings her home, Hindley and Joseph blame him and tell Heathcliff not to be with Cathy anymore. 
Five weeks later, Cathy returns home, with not only a scarred ankle, but also with a beauty that transcends womanhood. Heathcliff is rude...because he likes her? Honestly, I dunno why, maybe it was a comparison to throwing rocks at people you like. 
Afterwards, the two kids apologize, and Heathcliff is left unsatisfied as well as Catherine. So what does he do to gain an attractive impression on her? He gets dressed for a party later that evening, Nelly even helps him and boosts his esteem. Now is a "romantic" night, filled with passion, and all sorts of crap that makes you feel mushy inside, right? WRONG!
Instead, Joseph and Hindley successfully plan on keeping Heathcliff away with many chores, and Catherine is left alone in a room full of idiots she doesn't even like. Loneliness is a lot better when you're alone, for at least you can despair in privacy. However in a party, you suppress it, and fake your smile, with twice the misery you had before. Since Heathcliff wasn't there to talk to her, Catherine's isolation increases to three times the potency. I like to think of these last two paragraphs as an example of how much society keeps two people apart, who are different from each other, creating not only a gap of separation, but of prejudice.
Now we're skipping off to the next Summer, when  Heathcliff is 16 and Catherine is 15, when Hindley's wife dies in labor to his son, Hareton. 
Now, you'd think she'd ask why he couldn't show up and be there for her, right? Instead, she's stuck up, along with her friends, and treats Heathcliff like a servant boy. Now Heathcliff is ticked off, so he points out Cathy's snobby attitude, and they get into a fight, and he leaves with his pride bruised. Cathy tries to justify it by explaining the story to Nelly, and even Nelly calls her naughty. Cathy slaps her in the face, literally and figuratively, when Nelly pointed out the truth that lay in the situation. Hindley at this point is drunk, because of his loss, and often returns home late at night from the local tavern. Well, this time, he returns drunk, and has a gun in his hand, on top of that, he is throwing a baby-adult-sized tantrum. I think Hareton was a toddler then, not really so sure, but he was old enough to take physical abuse from his dad. Well, Nelly makes things worse by standing in the way, and she gets beaten too. Well, our local anti-hero, Heathcliff, jumps on Hindley and cursing at him here and there to divert Hindley's attention to him. 
Heros usually don't get praise, however Heathcliff doesn't even get noticed. I make this point because on that week, Edgar Linton asks for Catherine's hand in marriage in which she accepts...yea, you'd think things couldn't get any worse. Well, keep reading.
See, after she does, Catherine asks for Nelly's advice on the subject. Nelly criticizes her, and asks her if she truly does love Edgar, and why. Catherine gives a rather...interesting input, to shorten it up, she basically tells Nelly that she only loves his good looks and the surface of his personality. While she was, then she gives a surprising account of Heathcliff. Let's just say that she deeply criticized Heathcliff in the opposite form she praised Edgar. However, she goes on to say that she actually is in love with the boy in servants clothes. Here's some irony for ye, ready? Heathcliff heard everything up to Catherine's criticism of him, and he runs away!
After realizing this, Catherine is beyond distressed. In fact, she goes on looking for her soulmate everywhere at Wuthering Heights. She had no luck finding him. Then she stays outside all day and night when it rained (and I don't think I can do that) by hoping that Heathcliff would return. He never did. 
Jump into three years into the story, and we've got an unhappy Mrs. Catherine Linton, and a bitter, angry Heathcliff. Catherine at this point is no longer at Wuthering Heights, she's at the Grange, Edgar's house. Heathcliff comes there, to be discovered by Nelly, who tells him everything that had happened in the space between three years. Heathcliff seems to have hidden intentions about why he's visiting, but no one seems to notice. Apparently, he lives at Wuthering Heights again, but lived there sometime after Catherine moved out. He's a guest at the Grange for some time, and the first day Cathy heard Heathcliff was back, she was indeed full of joy. They catch up on everything.
Heathcliff gains an attraction not from Catherine, but from her sister in law, Isabel. Cathy notices out of jealousy, and fails to convince Isabel to stay away from the man (if you can call him that) Isabel has a crush on. Well, here's some more irony for ye (there's a lot of it in this book!), Heathcliff walks into the library one day with Isabel and Catherine in the room, reading their books. Isabel leaves, for Cathy tells Heathcliff that Isabel has a crush on him, and they have one of their famous fights over the subject and finally agree  that it would not be a great idea to go after Isabel. Well...you'll see why Heathcliff is a hypocrite here in a sec. 
​After Nelly comes over to Wuthering Heights (because her intuition guessed that Hindley was likely dead), she not only discovers an alive, but drunk Hindley, and his cursing son, but Heathcliff and Isabel making out. Nelly goes back to the Grange and tells Cathy everything in fury. Shortly after that, Isabel and Heathcliff come back to the Grange, but not together...at this point everyone can call your bull crap when the two "happen" to enter at "different" times. After Heathcliff and Catherine get into another fight, Edgar is ticked off and leaves to call for his friends to get the sack of trash (Heathcliff) out of his house. Heathcliff evades the danger, and Catherine is beyond rage to express this.
Cathy locks herself in her own room, not eating anything, or resting, for Edgar pressed the issue and asked who she would choose.
Of course, Isabel marries Heathcliff, Edgar gets mad and disowns her, and Cathy is now a mess. 
Catherine has become so depressed that she's finally in a state of being honest with herself as well as Nelly, and that is she was miserable without Heathcliff in her life.  
Two months later, Isabel confesses that her life with Heathcliff was a disaster. No warmth came from Edgar, only was Nelly the only source of Isabel's comfort lay where Wuthering Heights didn't. Meanwhile, Edgar becomes the sweet, gentle husband Catherine needs by soothing her with words and holding her. He's still unforgiving to Heathcliff for taking his sister, however he sends Nelly as Isabel's comfort. Nelly finds a dysfunctional marriage and a vulnerable Heathcliff. This "vulnerable" Heathcliff forces Nelly to take him to Catherine before she potentially dies.
​Nelly reluctantly does take him to her, and he's even more sad when he does. For as he held what little life she had in his arms, he knew he could never be with her.
Cathy dies later on, after giving birth to her daughter, Catherine II. Hindley also dies the same year, from alcohol poisoning. Heathcliff...well, he's beyond distraught. Apparently Heathcliff wanted his revenge on those that did him wrong, you can already guess that he kept on giving Hindley alcohol, making him not only drunk for the rest of his life, but also making him dependent on Heathcliff's services, until he dies of course. Note that this is only the beginning to Heathcliff's revenge. 
Catherine II is sheltered by her father, Edgar -whom has become a hermit since his wife's death, and is only allowed to go so far from her home, the Grange, where her mother is buried in either the front or back yard. After thirteen years, Catherine and Nelly stumbleupon Wuthering Heights for some reason, and the first person they meet is none other than Hareton, who is now twenty one years old. Well, he actually opens up to her because she represents that innocence, and joy her mother did not have; plus she's pretty. After getting offended for Catherine thinking he was a servant, he curses at her and runs off. Little Catherine is surprised, because in all of her life she was called an angel, yet this man calls her a *ahem* devil from hell, I think, the point is it was something like that and she did not expect that.
I forgot to mention, during those years, Isabel runs from Heights and is provided by Edgar during that time, and has a son named Linton. Here's why I'm mentioning this, Catherine meets him one day and the two fall in love, but that bliss  is ruined after Isabel dies, and Heathcliff coming over to reclaim what's "his." 
Catherine refuses to accept that fact, so she sees him again at Wuthering Heights some months later. After that, she was practically grounded, for nothing good comes from the man who destroyed the name of Earnshaw, and Linton without even trying. Unfortunately, this doesn't stop her from visiting her love. For three weeks, she never did stop sneaking out of the Grange to see Linton, on the last time she saw him, he was in bad spirits and was ill, so all she did was sooth his pain by singing and telling stories.
Turns out, after some time, Heathcliff wants the two to be married for a reason unknown. Edgar hears of this from his own daughter and agrees, as long as he gets an interview with Linton. He even lets Catherine see Linton, however, Linton was never the same after that one night. For even though his illness passed, something changed, and for a year, he hardened. Why, you ask? Because Heathcliff physically and mentally abused him by severe beatings in places no one would notice, so that they wouldn't question it. 
Then Heathcliff does something despicable, one day, he overpowered Nelly and Catherine and locked them both up as prisoners in his home for some days; did I forget to mention that they were separated?
Nelly is finally released, however, Catherine is in Heathcliff's grip after he forces her to marry Linton, for since he was their father in law, and Edgar was dying, he had legal rights to not only the couple, but for Wuthering Heights and the Grange and everything they all owned. What was the first thing he did to Catherine? He burned all her books. 
This was his revenge all along, to seize ownership of everything his enemies owned, and tarnish it. He even ruined Hareton in a way, since Hindley ruined Heathcliff's chances of being with his soulmate Cathy. 
As the only act of kindness he gave, he let Catherine see her father for the last time. 
The jerk ever since then keeps Nelly at the Grange, for he didn't want any comfort to his daughter in law, speaking of which, he even tries to make sweet Catherine cower beneath his power, like his son, Linton; he fails, and instead produces a girl full of courage, and grit. This makes him angry. 
As his final act of revenge, Linton falls ill again, but this time, he doesn't send for a doctor. For he wanted to kill the only thing Catherine loved, as well as his deceased wife, Isabel, whom Linton reminded him so well by his facial features. For Isabel kicked him when he was grieving for the death of his soulmate, before she ran away, of course.  
Linton dies, and Catherine is cold with fury at those who didn't help her then, and pretended things were alright when they weren't. She makes this clear by expressing her unforgiveness towards them. Hareton now is sorry he didn't help, and tries to say sorry by reading her books and learning.
This happened a year before Lockwood came to Wuthering Heights, now that Nelly told everything that transpired, he goes back to Heights to tell Heathcliff rather rudely that he will go back to London and does not intend to tenant the home much longer. 
Two months later, when Lockwood returns from London to "save the day," he finds a totally different Wuthering Heights from before. Nelly is sitting on the porch, knitting, and Catherine and a well groomed Hareton are talking while she also teaches him how to read. 
Nelly tells him the story that transpired that happened within those months, and it's actually quite redeeming in a way. 
Hareton finally manages to get Catherine to forgive him, and Catherine asks for the same from not only Hareton, but also from everyone else but Heathcliff. For she tells him that when he's dead, no one would miss him, like Joseph (who gets offended) and Heathcliff is so enraged. But he does not harm her, instead his hate literally consumes him to death because he sees new love being born between Hareton and Catherine; he has a "vision" of his own heaven, which Nelly thinks is bull, but he's dying on his bed, so that's all she's going to do is listen. 
Now everyone is happy, since Heathcliff is dead, Joseph was practically fired and new servants were made. Catherine and Hareton marry the next January. 

Theme

There's three distinct themes that are clear in this story full of tragic romance, redemption, and revenge. The first is of society being a bunch of prejudiced idiots (yes I used that right, for it literally means ignorance). It still happens today, the snobbiness that keeps people apart, like in highschool, where a delinquent is frowned upon by the pep rally for being "rude" when really they're only being honest. Or the other way around, where punks judge the "popular" kids harshly for being fake, which is true, but they're only being that way because they're trying to be "decent" people. They're both right, yet they're also wrong, because you can be honest and at the same time be pleasant, while you can also be reserved, but not indifferent. The point is to this one is that no one should stop being friends just because you're not their stereotype; quit bull-crapping. Hareton and Catherine's relationship by the end is a perfect example on how two different people can like each other without society telling them otherwise.
Second, the redemption in this story is that love always wins. Sure, you can argue that Heathcliff and Catherine I's relationship is not exactly "redeemable" since the two married other people and that they were unhealthy for eachother, I'm talking about Catherine II's love for her father, Edgar, and life, Linton, and Hareton. Besides, if Hindley had loved Heathcliff, like his father did, I'm sure the story would havee taken a different, and perhaps a better turn for Heathcliff. The real redemption was the love these young souls shared, not the hate and intensity Heathcliff displayed, speaking of which, the third distinct theme is that vengeance doesn't bring true happiness, it only brings despair, and breeds hate. 
I guess the author also wanted to point out that emotions can consume a person to death, as what happened to Catherine Linton, and Heathcliff. That it should be something we can control, even though I know it's hard for some people, and that it doesn't just go away. What I'm trying to say is that we need help or help others with emotional problems by empathizing with them, since that was the one thing everyone failed at in the story, and was the reason why that Catherine died and Heathcliff also.  

Good Stuff

What makes this classic attractive to read is its grammar, that makes it so smooth, and the wording which would now be considered advanced. I always love to know new words, especially since they work in a story. Modern day books like to focus more on grammar than on a high vocabulary level for the reader simply because they need it to be "entertaining" to read. It's a shame, really, that they would aim for this, instead on improving a reader's way of talking and writing.
The characters are lifelike, making you love them or hate them. I found myself getting angry for Catherine when Linton died, and I was left with a sensation of raw emotions for her. I did not like Heathcliff for his arrogance and intensity (wait, that sounds like me, hahaha), because he used it in such a way that destroyed others around him with his so called "holy vengeance." 
In a book, or any story for that matter, does it ever feel like that you're wasting your time when passing through a big event, and the author never even works on anything else in the middle? Well, be surprised when you read this, for it doesn't waste any time driveling on and on about details that don't matter. Instead, the author doesn't even hesitate to not only be honest, but work on the characters' quirks. For example, Heathcliff is best remembered for his constant cursing, or Joseph is known for his self righteousness by "reading" the Bible, but never applying himself to it. Even Catherine is known for her love for knowledge and literature when she's educated by her father, Edgar.
The symbolism is rich with depth, there's only one I can think of, which is when Catherine passed by a flower still frozen, it was a reflection on how much she's full of life, yet froze when the weather got to cold, and is trying to dethaw. 
In Heathcliff's revenge, I didn't notice it until it all happened. Then I thought about the events Heathcliff was in and exacted it when it occurred. Before anyone including the reader knew it, his revenge was fulfilled after it all transpired.
The ending worked, this story couldn't have been done happily besides what went down. 

Problems

Now, just because I rated this a five out of five, doesn't mean it's entirely perfect. For one, it's slow paced, and boring for the novice reader, and they have to have something called reader's discipline to read it all the way through. 
If you're a fast reader, chances are, you're going to have to slow it down. For every little detail counts, you have to pay attention to this story, because if you don't, you're not going to enjoy it as much. 
This book is not a walk in the picnic, I was supposed to have it done by last week, and this article should have been published last Sunday, but it wasn't. It wasn't because I wasn't busy or distracted with other things like school, and reading other books, it was because I had to slow it down just a little, so I could write the synopsis. It was a constant annoyance to write a summary for each chapter in my notes. If you're looking to do a book report on this, don't. 
Overall
I really thought this was one of the best tragedies I've ever read. The author did well to make it have a happy ending (even if it wasn't compared to some books). I connected with all the characters, but I mostly connected with Heathcliff. Yes, it was because of his pride and the other things that made him a great villain (even though I'm not myself) because there are times I want to be the villain when things didn't go my way, and yes that is a sin, if it weren't for Jesus, I would be a terrible person. I have a tendency to be evil, and sometimes I desire it. But because I have Christ in me, His Holy Spirit makes me a new person filled with love, hope, peace, and joy. 
The story was well told, the author makes it clear what the theme is and that is emotions are dangerous. They can be our worst enemies, or our best friend, because that's what killed Catherine Linton and Heathcliff was their own feelings. Catherine had depression and died because of it, while Heathcliff had a hate so furious that it even consumed him.
I was glad to see this ending through, because even though it was bad from beginning and middle, it ended leaving me with hope for these characters. It's a beautiful story about how much love can really save. I encourage any of you to read this, for it not only has a good story or characters, but a good message behind it. 
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Please Collect All My Braincells

8/5/2017

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Guardians Of The Galaxy:
Collect Them All

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Written By: Corinne Duyvis
Ratings: 3 out of 5

Hello readers! I'm proud to present my first legit article from my blog. Now in all honesty, I didn't like this book. In fact, I detested it. So why am I proud of this particular article? Well for a simple reason: because I get to display my critiqueing skills to the fullest. 
As you saw above, I rated this a three out of five. "Why?' you ask. After I get into the characters, synopsis, and theme, I must get to the problems I had with this book, and "the good stuff". Disclaimer: lots of brain cells were harmed during the reading of this pathetic excuse of literature. Now if there are some things that you disagree with, we can talk about it. I'd be happy to read your opinion. But I'm not going to change anything just because you're offended, that would make me a terrible critic!

Characters

Groot: A tree species that loves water, the galaxy, and his friends. His story is that he was kicked out of his planet because he disagreed the way they treated humans. 
After dying, Groot can come back, that is if they plant him in a pot. Now that's where the plot creeps its way in; someone has been salvaging pieces of Groot, making him weak for they have been cloning him.

Peter Quill: The one who started the Guardians of the Galaxy. He's a terrible flirt that's half human and half god...kinda like a demigod! Except that there's no Half-Blood Hill (a place in the Percy Jackson world)...such a shame. 
He was stolen as a boy from his step-dad Yondu for Quill's real dad who was a god. Did I forget to mention that his mother died of cancer before all that?


The Collector/Tivan: A god that has a fetish for collecting everything. Well I wish I could say more about him, but there's really not anything much to tell.

Rocket: A raccoon that has augments of his own as well as a love for technology and weapons.  

Drax: Also known as the Destroyer because...well he destroys things I guess. He's the most feared berserker in the galaxy for his annihilations on Thanos' army; the Kree. What made him this way was the destruction of his planet, and the murders of his wife and daughter. And guess who the lucky son of a gun was who killed them. You guessed it; Thanos himself.  

Gamorra: Much like Kiya, they are both from the same planet. Gamorra is the adopted daughter of Thanos, who took her under his wing and made her an assassin with augments (which is another word for robot parts; which kinda makes her a cyborg). 
After finding the Guardians, she turned her back on the life she had and used her specialties for good.


Kiya: A teenage Zen-Whoberian (the same species as Gamorra) with an attitude. She was Tivan's "assistant" in the cloning Groots. Apparently Tivan wanted to make her like Gamorra for his...collection. He takes her from her home at a young age and augments her. 
After she ran away from him for the second time, she took the notes on how to make copies of the Groots from her "master." 
 
Synopsis
​
What happens in this excuse for literature, is that the Guardians of the Galaxy figure out that Groot is weak after they all save a kree planet meant for prisoners. They find out, at a landing bay, that there are multiple Groots and that they know one person whom could have done this; Tivan, otherwise know as the Collector. They land on Tivan's base and get a somewhat warm welcome. After much useless diplomacy, they finally have a discussion about the cloned Groots. Tivan admits to cloning Groot after one of the Guardians' battles. Then they shift to his assistant, Kiya, whom helped him with the growing of the clones. Come to find out, she ran away, took some of his notes on Groot, as well as some of the other copies of Groot, and left a small trace from selling them. Because of this, they have to not only find Kiya, but collect all the Groots. After many delays, many fights, and many hours of flying into space, they find Kiya in a small apartment. After fighting her, Gamorra finds out that Kiya's the same race as her; a Zen...Zen-Who...Zen-Whoberi-what? For now, let's call them the Zen race because I have a hard time pronouncing this. Anyway, the real reason Tivan wants Kiya is for the augments he planted in her body. After realizing this, Gamorra and Drax attempt to beat the crap out of Tivan while the others lead Kiya to the ship. 
All of them manage to escape the Collector's grasp, along with this strange Kiya chick and her grown Groots. She doesn't talk for a time, for her distrust is great. Instead of treating her like a prisoner, they treated her as their own. After she uses their shower, she eventually tells them her plan to escape Tivan's clutches for good by selling copied Groots to shady people (including a dad with spoiled children) as well as what he did to her. One of the important buyers was at a bar (on a planet I can't remember) and instead of retrieving information from Annay, the bar keeper, they are found out by the Collector and they have to escape him again. However, he's come prepared with an army of bots. Drax escapes with Kiya and Annay in a secret tunnel below Annay's bar, while the others are fighting Tivan's army.

After much fighting, the Guardians escape yet again with Kiya and Annay on board. They fly to Vardan, a planet where a ceremony is being held. It's also where this politician will strike, for he is indeed one of Kiya's buyers. However he bought a poisonous Groot and plans on killing an entire city for his political gain. After planning, they go into the city to save it; long story short, they evacuate the citizens in the area, and it was all the Groots whom save it by merging and block the poison. 
Then the Guardians fly to Tivan's base to hand Kiya over only it was an elaborate plan to trick him. After they did so, Kiya ended up on her home planet where she will be house arrested for the rest of her life as well as having her augments complete. 
Finally the Guardians flew into space where they might save the galaxy yet again.

​Theme
The theme isn't exactly clear. Apparently it's about trauma and accepting that you can't really go back to what "normal" was. 

Good Stuff
The author seems to do well in plot building, you can tell if you made a short time-line about it.
It appeals to the ages of eight for its corny dialogue, somewhat funny jokes and its innocence at trying to tell the story. I believe it stays true to the comics, mainly due to the jargon and the fact that Marvel published this. The real character development going on here is Groot, though the author tried to make Kiya the protagonist, I believed it was Groot that took the spotlight for his kind and innocent heart, his love for humans, and his protection against poisonous spores that could have killed the citizens of Vardan.
The author's research on growing Groots seem legit as well his body absorbing the other Groots to himself. 
The author tries to express the theme in trauma, I'll give her that too. She actually says it here:
 “I focused primarily on the characters and their conflicts. Those conflicts let me explore some themes I’ve also played with in my other novels, like identity or trauma; these themes fascinate me, and I loved weaving them into the story and the character arc, but I did try to keep the focus squarely on the individual characters rather than getting too abstract and philosophical. First and foremost, this novel had to be about plot, humor, and characters.”
In the cultures of this world, she manages to do well in expressing them like how much the Kree and the DiMavi hate each other, as well as Tivan's Elder side in dealing with things.

The action in here is not too bad, it's decent. She describes how the actions in this book are carried out. 


Problems
Though there was some good, unfortunately this contained more problems in this book (and believe me, I would know). For example, some of the sentences repeat in this. "Wow" you must be thinking "Kent, that's such a small detail, no one would pay attention to that." You're right, you would probably miss it. But would you miss the same line in a bad song, being in constant repeat all the time until your ears bled? Of course you would! Their are plenty of terrible songs that have a repetitive structure that make it not only boring to listen to, but also annoying. That's the case with this book, it's definitely cringe worthy. 
The characters in this book lack developement. Why? Well when you think of a character like Harry Potter or Katniss Everdeen, you love them not because of the things they say (although that's also some of the best in those books), but because you remember their dreams, hobbies, and all the traits that make them who they are; in the end, you come to love these characters and feel as though you're fighting with them. Not in this book, did I ever find this. I found weakly developed characters that had no hopes, no dreams, no habits, no originalities, not even the things that made them different from each other. It seemed as though the author was trying too hard at making these people clowns instead of real people. I would have liked to see what it was Gamorra feared, like spiders; or a quirky obsession that Quill had. Or even a softer side to Rocket where it showed his weaknesses and not his expected side like the world class jerk he is. Besides, they didn't do anything that surprised me. As a reader, I'm supposed to be astonished if a "good" guy makes a terrible choice that causes utter ruin, or a "bad" guy making a beautiful choice that not only benefits them, but also others around him. A story without this is meaningless.
The jargon in this book was too ridiculous to pronounce. I've read better science fiction books with better made up words. 
Every word at the end of a sentence was a *shudders* adverb. It was he gasped this, or she mused that, or they laughed this...you see my point? It's stuff like that makes anyone, including me, recoil. It should have ended with a simple he said, she said, they said...see how much better that sounds? I think she was trying to reflect body language, which is something some authors have issues with. If she wanted to include body language, she should have described it before the characters said anything. Besides, look at the slang! Who in the world says flark? It just sounds unnatural, like you're trying to substitute sugar for sweetener. If you're going to curse in a book (and I recommend not to), you might as well say it instead of using the second or third word that came to your mind because it just doesn't sound like you're being honest to the reader. 
The author didn't seem to portray her thoughts at all. The only kind we see is based off her theme on trauma (it definitely was, just by reading this trash). The only reason how I know this wasn't because I read it, I had to have help from the internet to tell me what it was. Even the theme itself was vague! I honestly didn't learn anything in this except not to write that kind of quality in anything just to fill space or to end the story as fast as she could, and not because she was eager, but because it was as if she was bored herself! 
This book was published this year, here's my point, it felt as though she took some lines from the movie. C'mon, add your own creativity! It didn't feel original or creative at all. More like a shadow of its predecessor. I mean sure, not every idea is original, in fact most are re-hashed. What I'm trying to say is this: make the writing style your own, not a copy of someone else's. Just look at some literary works made from classics like the Lion King, a story from Hamlet. Even though it was set in Africa, it had the same story from Hamlet (well, maybe not all of it). Flip it around, if it's set in space make the story different; make it non-canon if you have to! Because the whole point of a story is to sway the reader like a dance. Gregory Maguire manages to do just that perfectly in his many books on the Grimm fairy tales, but his best being Wicked, based off the Wizard of Oz. 
I'm going to get so much hate for this, but whatever. Was it really necessary to add a lesbian? Let me rephrase that, was it necessary to force one of the characters into being one? I won't get into whether it's wrong or not (I might write an article about it soon anyway), but I felt like the author only did that to push her own agenda in making it published. Now you or her can spout all that crap into 'relating' to homosexuals by saying they're a 'minority' and that they need to be 'recognized' as normal people. If you say that, I'll roll my eyes simply because I'm not criticizing whether or not it's right to be that way, but because that part was unnatural in the sense of this character's personality. Yell at me all you want, but this can't be ignored. Let's say (if you had one) your brother was naturally supposed to be a rebel, with a violent heart. Well what if one day he forced himself to be fake by acting good and all? He wouldn't be who he truly was because that part is not a trait of his. Besides, don't we live in a culture that says 'be yourself?' Wouldn't it be hypocritical if our culture taught us to be 'spontaneous?' If so, then a forced trait shouldn't be 'forced' upon if it isn't who they really are. It's just lazy writing to include something like that so our society could accept it as well as getting it released.

Overall, this book is filled with a number of cliches that could kill some brain cells, making it predictable and plain boring. Sure, the action is great, but besides that, it felt like a waste of my time. I could have been reading something else with just as many cliches; any of those stories seems better than this. While she tries to relate to traumatized people, I don't think it's something she's experienced. Sure, I get the part about not being philosophical, but the story has to reflect the author somehow and that means what she did in the midst of some sort of pain she was in. I'm afraid if we were to truly reflect the author's life it's that she can do all the research she wants, all the plot building, and character development she'd like, however if your heart isn't poured out into all the pages of a story, then clearly you'd be known as the writer who did nothing but observe from the inside your home instead of going out to where the adventure really is, the real world.


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    A little about me

    I love to read as well as in great varieties. My favorite genre is Fantasy and my favorite books of all time is Lord of th Rings.

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