Review: The Princess of Las Pulgas

When Carlie's father dies, she is overwhelmed with grief and not at all ready to deal with life.  Life doesn't give her a choice, though, when Carlie's mother is forced to sell their beachside house and move the family to Las Pulgas, the poor side of town.  Carlie is horrified by their disgusting apartment and disgusted with the new school and its ghetto students who nickname her "Princess."  Las Pulgas is nothing like the privileged Channing where she grew up, and it seems to be tearing her family apart...

Entertainment: ★★★★

Although it's a little out of my usual genre, I enjoyed The Princess of Las Pulgas a lot more than I expected.

Plot: ★★★

It wasn't exactly the most original plot line I've ever read.  But it was sweet, at times even touching.  I enjoyed the story and I thought it ended well, with excellent closure on all fronts.

Characters: ★★★★★

Carlie started off, frankly, as a spoiled brat.  Her grief aside, she was so whiny about "Omg, I have to live with poor people??" that I was a little turned off.  However, I thought her personal growth and acceptance that poor people are people too, despite being a little expected, was well done and realistic.  I enjoyed seeing her mature and learn.  In addition, I thought her feelings of loss and her eventual acceptance of her father's death were excellently well-written and very touching.

The rest of the cast were also fairly well-written; I particularly enjoyed Sean, Lena, and K.T.  Lena, in particular, since I used to have a similar "friend" and so I could relate a lot to Carlie's relationship with her.

Writing: ★★★

There were some fairly egregious grammar errors, but since I was reading an uncorrected proof I won't factor them into my review.

I though Carlie's internal struggled was done excellently.  Her emotions were realistic and relatable, her grief remarkably well written.  Her external world, however, was less impressive. The description was a little lacking, the pacing a little rushed, and it was just generally less interesting.  So I enjoyed reading about Carlie, but I found her context a little less interesting.

End Result: four stars.  A good book, definitely worth your time.

Trailer Tuesday

This trailer is super-suspenseful; the music is a little eerie and the "blurring" special effects were really cool.  To be honest this trailer freaks me out a little - but it also makes me really curious about the book!

More about Shadow Hills - sounds like a cool book, no?

Review: Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina is young, beautiful, wealthy, and happily married, and  she adores her son.  Her life is happy, if dull, until she meets the dashing Count Vronsky.  It's love at first sight... and he's not her husband. She finds herself relucantly turning to him, torn between loyalty and love.

Entertainment: ★★★★★

So, the name Tolstoy turned me off at first.  I mean, would I really want to read an 817-page book that practically exudes an aura of stuffiness?  That was what I asked myself as I checked out, but at the urging of pushy people who feel I need to "expand my literary horizons," I was going to force myself to suffer through this six-inch book that screamed "classic."

I was so completely, totally wrong I don't even know how to say it. I loved this book to death.

Plot: ★★★

It's pretty slow going.  Tolstoy is intense; you need to take a brain break every 15 pages or so.  Also, there's a few chapters of politics here and there which, to he honest, drag.  It's been a while since I've taken this long to get through a book.  But, wow, what a subtle, intricate, entrancing story.  And I could not guess the ending!

Characters: ★★★★★

The thing about Tolstoy's characters is that they aren't characters.  They're people.  Levin, Vronsky, Kitty, Anna, Alexei, and all the rest were just so solid, so flawed, so perfect, so real.  I don't know what to write here, except that this book contains some of the best characters I've read in a long time.

The relationships between the characters deserve a spotlight all of their own.  The One True Loves fight with each other, for example. Thank you, Tolstoy, for some real relationships.  Just because two people are Soul Mates does not mean they will never ever ever disagree, or get bored with each others' company, or exhibit any other all too human flaws.  The fact is, love takes work, and Tolstoy demonstrates that brilliantly.

I'd also like to note that I actually didn't like any of the characters.  Some of them at times disgusted me with their childishness, naivety, or plain obnoxious self-centered stupidity.  They weren't the airbrushed, Photoshopped version of humanity we find all too often in books; they were just plain people.  Now, I realize this might not appeal to some people.  In fact, maybe a lot of people prefer the airbrushed characters; I don't really know.  But for me, Tolstoy's characters were amazing.

Writing: ★★★★

See the above note: this writing is intense.  But it's such a masterpiece.  There are the classics you are forced to read, which produce a feeling similar to being force-fed cardboard.  And then there are the classics, books so utterly brilliant they will never go out of style, never get old, and never, ever disappoint.  Anna Karenina is far and away a star of the second group.

End Result: four stars.  A good book, definitely worth your time.

TGIF!

Hi, blog hoppers! I'm Nova, and I'm delighted to welcome you to novapsych!

Follow Friday Question: What book(s) have you discovered lately from someone's book blog?

I just finished Tyger, Tyger, and although I can't remember whose blog I first noticed it on I remember seeing it pop up a lot on book blogs lately.  Oh, and Virals - I haven't started it yet but I'm sure I'll love it.

Blog Hop Question: What book influenced or changed your life? How did it influence/change you?

Wow, hard question.  I'm going to go with Scott Westerfeld's Uglies, because that book convinced me that I wanted to be a writer.

Review: Front and Center

DJ Schwenk has made it onto the basketball team, but even there she's not happy.  The coach keeps trying to force her to speak up, and if there's anything DJ hates, it's expressing herself.  Which is why she's kind-of dating Beaner when she kind-of likes Brian, but can't tell either of them the truth.  It's why she's shoved college and college sports to the back of her mind, even when basketball scholarships start pouring in, and avoided making a decision.  It's why she feels like everything in her life is spinning out of her control...

Entertainment: ★★★

I'm a little biased here, having read Dairy Queen and The Off Season before.  And I have to say I enjoyed both of them a little more than Front and Center, for the reasons below.

Plot: ★★★

It was just a little windy... slow... tangled... it twisted around a lot without ever really getting anywhere, I felt.

Characters: ★★★★★

As always, I loved Murdock's characters.  She manages to have them grow and progress believably, which is a rare and wonderful thing, and also many of them are just interesting and fun to read.

Writing: ★★★★

For the same reason as the plot, the writing here didn't seem to have any direction.  It meandered around a lot, with a little too much introspection for my tastes, and just seemed a little confused and lost.  That said, though, DJ's voice is still coming through loud and clear and narrating excellently.

End Result: four stars.  A good book, definitely worth your time.

Trailer Tuesday

Warning: this video may induce compulsive hand-washing.



It's a little eerie and a little icky, okay, but it also really piques my interest.  I'm actually a little fascinated.

Interested in Deadly?  Read more about it.

Music Monday

This week's song suggestion is short - let the song speak for itself.  It's my new favorite.

We Are Young - 3oh!3