The Color Purple

I was planning on posting the following on facebook, but then I realized I have a blog for these personal revelations, so here it is:

So, I see lots of people talking about their personal philosophies on Facebook, and I'm generally like psh, no one cares what I think about these things.  But I've realized I care about what they think about things enough to read longish posts, so either I'm pathetic, or my friends might be slightly interested in reading something I might want to say in a longish way.  So Imma get on my soapbox here and write a little bit about what I've learned (or am learning) this summer because what the heck right?

Sometimes, my life seems to have themes.  Like I'll learn the definition of a word, and all of a sudden it pops up in lots of conversations across different parts of my life (for example, the word "canonical").  At the moment, I feel like this quote from The Color Purple (which I've just finished and is beautifully amazing and Im cry) sums up the theme of my summer:

"I think us here to wonder, myself.  To wonder. To ast.  And that in wondering bout the big things and asting bout the big things, you learn about the little ones, almost by accident.  But you never know nothing more about the big things than you start out with.  The more I wonder, he say, the more I love" (283).

I've learned this through reading this book, which I feel I've barely scratched the surface of (and which I'll definitely have to come back to), but also through my summer job.  The students I work with are having a really hard time with some of the material they see in their lectures (I work at a math camp), and it seems really far out to them, like how is this math if we don't solve for x?  But I've been trying so hard to tell them to ask questions when they don't understand something, either to ask me, or (the real challenge) to ask the professor during class.  I want them to appreciate the things they don't know.

But after drilling this message into these kids, I've realized that it's actually such a good strategy for most things in life, whether its math, literature, or just personal philosophy.  Someone posed the question today, "What gives people fulfillment?" (or something like that).  I think we get the most fulfillment when we ask big questions, even if we can't even begin to understand the answer yet.  Every time we ask, we learn something small, and once you ask enough times, those small things grow until all you want to do is ask big questions.  This is why I want to come back to this book.  It didn't really give me many answers, it just got me wondering what it could all possibly mean, and I think if I read it enough over my life, someday I'll puzzle something out.

You know, it's kind of rare for a book to inspire me to write (sometimes these blog posts feel like a chore), but ever once in a while, one definitely does.

The Color Purple

I was planning on posting the following on facebook, but then I realized I have a blog for these personal revelations, so here it is:

So, I see lots of people talking about their personal philosophies on Facebook, and I'm generally like psh, no one cares what I think about these things.  But I've realized I care about what my friends think about things enough to read longish posts, so either I'm pathetic, or someone might be slightly interested in reading something I might want to say in a longish way.  So Imma get on my soapbox here and write a little (lotta) bit about what I've learned (or am learning) this summer because what the heck right?

Sometimes, my life seems to have themes.  Like I'll learn the definition of a word, and all of a sudden it pops up in lots of conversations across different parts of my life (for example, the word "canonical").  At the moment, I feel like this quote from The Color Purple (which I've just finished and is beautifully amazing and Im cry) sums up the theme of my summer:

"I think us here to wonder, myself.  To wonder. To ast.  And that in wondering bout the big things and asting bout the big things, you learn about the little ones, almost by accident.  But you never know nothing more about the big things than you start out with.  The more I wonder, he say, the more I love" (283).

I've thought about this while reading this book, which I feel I've barely scratched the surface of (and which I'll definitely have to come back to), but also during my summer job.  The students I work with are having a really hard time with some of the material they see in their lectures (I work at a math camp), and it seems really far out to them, like how is this math if we don't solve for x?  But I've been trying so hard to tell them to ask questions when they don't understand something, either to ask me, or (the real challenge) to ask the professor during class.

But after drilling this message into these kids, I've realized that it's actually such a good strategy for most things in life, whether its math, literature, or just personal philosophy, especially for a college student.  Someone posed the question today, "What gives people fulfillment?" (or something like that).  I think we get the most fulfillment when we ask big questions, even if we can't even begin to understand the answer yet.  Every time we ask, we learn something small, and once you ask enough times, those small things grow until all you want to do is ask big questions.  Which is why I want to come back to this book.  It didn't really give me many answers, it just got me wondering what it could all possibly mean, and I think if I read it enough over my life, some day I'll puzzle something out.

You know, it's kind of rare for a book to inspire me to write (sometimes these blog posts feel like a chore), but ever once in a while, one definitely does.

The Raven Boys and Attachments

These are also sort of opposites!  I like writing about two books at the same time.  I doubt anyone else has written a review of both The Raven Boys and Attachments in the same blog post.

So, why are they opposites?

I suppose the same reason as Afterworlds and The Sky is Everywhere.

The Raven Boys is very dramatic and all about plot.  If it's really about any character, it's a coming of age story for Blue and Adam.  The relationships between the characters form suddenly and unexpectedly with little explanation.  I really liked how such different people formed a family so naturally.  Their group dynamics and their creation would have made a whole different story, irrelevant to the plot line of this one.

Attachments is all about characters and their relationships (or, dare I say, attachments).  Lincoln is trying to find himself and a community, so I suppose it is a "coming of age" for him, but one that takes place while he is a mature, non-moody adult.  It almost makes me wonder if it's better to grow up and find yourself when let down's aren't so life shattering.  Lincoln is cool and very little fazes him - the antithesis of Adam who gets riled over everything Gansey does (also a foil to Lennie from The Sky is Everywhere whose coming of age almost "destroys" Josh).  Also, the voices of Beth and Jennifer are so distinctive that I never got lost in their conversations, even with no context between their messages.  Rainbow Rowell knows how to make dialogue between friends so natural, so it's obvious how much they share and how well they know each other.  Their dialogue is also clever and funny, and I see why Lincoln loves them.  (Though I recognize some of the back-and-forth between the girls as the dialogue in Carry On between Penelope and Simon).  The plot of Attachments is also better than that of The Sky is Everywhere because it does not revolve around negative nor teenage drama.  Lincoln never makes horrible mistakes nor does he dwell on them for long.  He always has people he treats well and respects, like his mom or Doris (even when his mom is terrible).  This story is a happy story, a story that could truly stand alone.  I've started rating books by the way they make me feel when I'm done (such as how I feel changed, mind blown, or ecstatic) instead of their literary quality, and this one got five stars for happiness.  This is a book that could never have made me depressed in high school and could've given me some perspective, and I highly recommend it.

The Raven Boys had a great plot and was really exciting.  Noah was my absolute favorite character and totally cracked me up.  I was slightly disappointed that the story started with a premise that will take four books to complete, but I felt more fulfilled once there was a climax to the story.  I felt like Whelk was a mere subplot for most of the story and suddenly became the main plot at the end.  My friend told me the stories take on a dreamlike quality, which I suppose is an excuse for the relatively unfinished ending to this book, but it took a star off my review.

Yesterday, I reread Linger and Forever (sadly, I don't own Shiver and I'd have to put it on hold to read it,  It's okay though, I don't know how I could stand Grace and Sam without Cole).  I actually like the Mercy Falls series better than The Scorpio Races and The Raven Boys because it doesn't revert to plot as often.  Every character is completely defined and unique.  Sometimes, in Sam's case, so beautifully distinct it's annoying (he keeps touching random things or staring off at stuff, which (as Isabel points out) impairs his ability to do anything!!! *sigh* Gotta love Sam)  I absolutely love Cole and Isabel in all their complexity as well as the relationship between Grace and Sam.  So far, I think this is Stiefvater's best series.

Anyway, I suppose, yet again, character has trumped plot!

Afterworlds and The Sky is Everywhere

These books were total opposites.

Afterworlds had an exciting plot and awful characters, while The Sky is Everywhere had spectacular characters with a going-nowhere plot.

Afterworlds was fun to read - so fun I read it in an afternoon.  Darcy was a slot every YA fangirl could fill, which probably explains why her novel's characters were limited to the first dimension, especially Lizzie.  Nevertheless, the plot of Darcy's Afterworlds was full of excitement and fun, while Darcy's life was lighthearted and easy to breeze right through.  I'm not entirely sure why Westerfield admitted in the novel that Lizzie was devoid of character, but he definitely delivered on that front - exactly none of Lizzy's story focused on the personalities of the characters and their relationships with each other while every page zeroed in on the action.  Maybe it was to make Darcy's debutante writing more believable.  Darcy's Afterworlds definitely improved as it went on, but the story as a whole remains a fangirl's fantasy, which sort of cheapens it.  The plot itself was creative, lighthearted, and fun, but it left me feeling little emotion towards any of the characters.

I loved the voice of Lennie in The Sky is Everywhere.  She is quirky and fun and delightfully synesthetic. Exactly 100% of the book captured some element of Lennie's relationship with her sister, Toby (an extension of the relationship with her sister), her family, or Joe.  The characters were so vividly crafted, and Nelson made sure we knew them all very well by the end.  The plot was much less dramatic - it was basically a silly romance.  At times, I felt certain plot points were repeated/drawn out (like her attempts to be with Joe or her struggle to reacquaint herself with Sarah), but this book really wasn't about the plotline.

Basically, I've realized that character development matters much more than plot (something Darcy's epic girlfriend understands).  I'd have been happy with Nelson's detailing of Lennie's coming of age, even if her sister wasn't dead, while Darcy's action packed fantasy world was nowhere near as satisfying.  I'd suggest both, but then again I'd suggest Code Name Verity more than either (seriously, that book had everything).

Code Name Verity

This is going to be a rave I hope.  The entire post may be a SPOILER though, so be warned.

I literally can't think of anything to say that isn't a spoiler, so, I would just highly encourage anyone to read this book without me telling them anything about it.

Alright, the spoilers are beginning! Look away!!

I really didn't like the character of Queenie in the beginning, she seemed so vain and witless, though now I understand just how wonderful and beautifully crafted she was.  I admire so much how she put her most vulnerable self under von Linden's scrutiny, sacrificing the truth of her love for Maddie to the Gestapo for any information that actually mattered. She also crafted wonderful stories that foreshadowed what was to come, like the great aunt who killed her husband, and, my personal favorite, her narrow escape from the German who brutally damaged her neck.  I love how she basically revealed herself - that she gets in incredibly dangerous situations, but her riskiness is what makes her methods effective, and she always slips out.  However, she always needs Maddie to repair the damage in the end, which she does, both times.  ("Kiss me Hardy!! Kiss me QUICK!"  That line is so emotional).  If Julie is a flame that burns in and out, Maddie is her rock that is steady and there for her "Fly the plane, Maddie."  It's just so beautiful.  (I also shipped them very hard).

Also all of the other characters were so wonderful and complex, like von Linden with Isolde (such a beautiful name), Paul with his creepiness who still died for what was right, and especially Anna Engle who was so smart and brave.  The female protagonists were incredible, especially because none of them were there to fulfill some romance, they were 100% adventure.

Oh man, this book was just wonderful.  I'm so happy I got to read it.

The Scorpio Races

Hello Internet!

I'm going to take a go at this blogging idea again since I have a mostly free summer with little to do but read, exercise, and study electricity and magnetism!

Yesterday, I read The Scorpio Races.  It was probably a bad idea to read the whole book in one day because it lends little time to thinking, but I was pretty bored.

Honestly, I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out where to start.  How about a pro con list?

Pros:

1. My favorite part of this book was the interesting and relevant feminism struggle of a tomboy.  I really appreciated how Puck was not totally devoid of all traditionally feminine characteristics.  I love when Puck is struggling to work out how she wants to be seen by the other riders, and a strong female character responds "All I'm saying is that you're asking them to treat you like a man. And I'm not sure either of you want that."  She hints at the fact that Puck is more complicated than just a man (or just a woman in any case)and should not settle for being seen as such.

2.  The symbolic relationship between the island, the ocean, Puck, Sean, and their capail uische (or however it's spelled) was super cool.  I could tell that the author was trying to justify the risks they take to race using this incredibly deep relationship.  I didn't quite buy it - that Gabe would leave his family and Puck would risk her life and participate in a game full of needless death just because of how much they hate/love the island and the horses- but it was all the same very neat.

Nitpicks:

1.  The language.  Yes, this book was full of symbolic imagery, however I don't think Maggie Stiefvater's writing style lends itself to this.  She doesn't use big fanciful words and creative diction (by this, I mean more that she doesn't choose very unusual language than that she doesn't use the words she has creatively).  This is a valid style that can be complex and symbolic; however, when writing lengthy descriptions, simple diction makes the text not as engaging.  I feel like common-yet-powerful words are better for more minimalist or action packed writing, which wasn't what the author was going for.

2. This is somewhat of an extension on the first point.  The beginning is very long and dragged out where the reader knows that Sean and Puck have to meet eventually and race, but the author won't tell us how this happens for about the first half of the book.  I'd categorize this with the first point because the novel straddles the line between a quick, action packed story and a slow one with lots of nice scenery and character development.

All in all, a really fun, thoughtful read that was thoroughly enjoyable (though slightly slow).

Anyways, not a top-notch post, but hopefully these will improve over the summer!