Identical

You know, for twins, they're not that identical...

Raeanne and Kaeleigh are twins and daughters of well-respected members of the community. With a politician for a mother and a judge for a father, one would expect both twins to have a moral compass permanently pointing to "Angelic." No so, with an absent mother and a father married to the bottle, the twins have learned to raise themselves and quickly realize that life isn't normal for them.

Beautifully written, but very graphic, I had troubles reading certain parts of the book and found myself skipping a few parts. It did not take anything away from the story and though it did make me uncomfortable at times, I would still recommend it to anyone looking for a heart-wrenching emotional roller coaster.

Other than that, I'm not sure what else I can say about this book.
It hit a little too close to home for comfort.

Music Obsession.

Just thought I'd share some of the songs I have been listening to over and over again. (:

This song makes me cry:

Tricks.

Watch me sell my body to strangers so that I lose all my self-worth.

Five teenagers, five different lives, five heart-breaking stories. Each of them has gone through his/her own personal hell and through it all, they've learned the basic art of survival. They each earn cash through some form of prostitution. Eden, Whitney, Cody, Ginger, and Seth discover how bad their lives can really become.

I know I'm probably in the minority when I say that I didn't like this book. Yes, it's a good lesson for all those teenagers that think they have it rough, but I found most of the situations to be extremely cliche. Maybe it's just because I have heard all these stories before, told other ways, in other books.

Over-religious family bans their daughter from seeing her "one true love."
Homophobic father kicks out his gay son.
Girl lives in sister's shadow and gets depressed about it, so she decides to run away with her boyfriend.
Mother who isn't much of a mother ends up with a rebellious lesbian daughter.
Boy loses his father and gets addicted to gambling.

It's all common story topics, but crammed into one novel that's supposed to be suitable for Young Adults. When I think "Young Adult" I think teenagers between the ages of 13 to 17. No 13-15 year-old should read this, it's far too graphic. Perhaps if they were extremely mature for their ages, they might be able to handle it, but otherwise I'd advise them to stay far, far away.

Hopkins is one of my favorite authors, don't get me wrong, but this book just didn't do it for me. I found all the characters too difficult to relate to, therefore it seemed so fake to me. Some of the stories branched out in interesting ways and I did enjoy having a few of them over-lap towards the end, but I just expected more.

Confession: I skipped almost every poem that began a character's new perspective because they were so dull to me.
Revelation: Maybe I'm too old for Young Adult books? It feels like the ones I've been reading lately have fallen short of my expectations. Either I'm maturing (God forbid) or my expectations are too dang high.

2 out of 5 stars.

Hopkins, you are disappoint.

Seriously...

This is the shittiest rap I've ever heard in my life but I can't stop listening to it. What the fuck is wrong with me?

The Queen's Fool

Hannah Green just wants to wear pants, Goddammit.

Oh, Ms. Gregory, I have finally fallen in love with one of your characters. Though Katherine of Aragon has a special place in my heart, Hannah Green stole the entire organ and ran for her gender-confused life. 

Henry VII's reign is finally over, he's dead and worm food. His heir? His only son Edward, who dies of an unfortunate sickness. Haha, Henry. Haha. Before his death, two of his trusted allies locate Hannah Green by chance in her father's bookstore. Disguised as a boy, Hannah has a secret talent that allows her to see into the future, among other things. Hannah and her father are immigrants from Spain, fleeing from the Inquisition to protect their Jewish heritage. Robert Dudley believes that Hannah has holy visions and informs Edward of her talents. She becomes a fool, A HOLY FOOL, to amuse the king. Next in line for the throne is the daughter of Henry and Katherine (yay!), Mary. Mary inherits Hannah as a fool and they form a bond between them. 

But this bond is threatened by Mary's half sister, Elizabeth. Hannah finds herself caught between the two in a vicious catfight for the throne. Throw in some forbidden love for Robert Dudely, a betrothed that's constantly disappointed, and a woman who just wants to wear pants, dammit. What does that get you? An awesome book.

Hannah Green has some balls. Though I can't reveal all the twists and turns that take place, she does make me insanely happy. Why? Because she stands up to the men. Sure, it takes her a while to grow into her own. But when she does, she's amazing. She's strong, independent, and stubborn.

I left some lack-luster reviews for the previous books. My frustration with the time period was too great. I hated the lack of intelligence in the former queens. They lacked real personality, and ended up being the same vain, selfish person in a different body. While Hannah is not perfect in every way, she challenges male authority and even challenges the queen on a few occasions. 

I'm hopin' and prayin' that the last two books give me something to rave about.

When She Was Good.

Sure I'm 18. I'm just really short and haven't hit puberty yet.

 Em is small for her age. Probably because she keeps lying about it. Though she is too young to work, Em is forced to grow up early after running away with her sister, Pamela. Years of abuse at Pamela's hands follow, from beatings to verbal insults. After Pamela dies, she finds herself completely alone for the first time and unable to cope with life's basic tasks. Jobless, friendless, and almost homeless, Em desperately searches for a job to support herself.

See Em sleep, see Em think, see Em get harassed, see Em become hopelessly depressing.

^ There's the storyline.

The story itself could have been more solid if there was an explanation for Pamela's crudeness, but there wasn't. There seemed to be no character development in her at all. In fact, there wasn't any character development for anyone and instead all of the development went into Em (with the exception of Louise in the last 3 pages of the book). Which is understandable, most people want to fully display their main character's growth and maturity throughout the novel, but these authors also include others.
I feel bad, but I didn't enjoy the story at all. I found it painfully depressing and boring. I'd really hoped for more.

1 depressing star out of 5.

Falling Angels

Grave-diggers are the new gold-diggers.

Kitty Coleman feels caught between her boring life a a housewife and a desire to make something of herself. She and her husband, Richard, are constantly at odds with one another and her daughter, Maude, often feels the sting of her mother's unhappiness. When Maude meets her friend Lavinia, she discovers a different family dynamic, once which she prefers to her own. Together, Lavinia and Maude change each other's worlds and even the life of the apprentice grave-digger, Simon.

I find it difficult to summarize this book because so much happens. The book is told from about 5 different perspectives. Kitty, Gertrude, Lavinia, Maude, and Jenny are among the returning characters. Simon, Richard, Mrs. Baker, and a few more opinions are scattered in there as well. With so much happening at once, I can't possibly give my opinion without ruining some aspect of the plot. :[

That's really the only annoyance I have with the book. It's too hard to explain!! People thought I was crazy.

"What are you reading?"
"Falling Angels."
"What's it about?"
"I don't know."

Lol. That's okay though. I found the characters to be fascinating all around and enjoyed hearing for each and every one of them. Chevalier paints a very beautiful picture of what life was like then. It's not romanticized in any way. It's honest and gritty and sometimes just weird. For instance: Simon and Livinia. Why? Nothing happened. And that upset me. Not that I wanted something to happen between them, I preferred a Maude/Simon pairing. But still? Why write it if nothing happened? D:

As always, my favorite character is the one who is quiet and possibly socially retarded. Thank you, Ivy May, for all your contemplation and cuteness. :] Thank you for making me smile whenever I read your name. And forget you, Ms. Chevalier for what you did to her. ]:[ I won't forget this next time I read one of your books.

Since I don't want to ruin the book for anyone, I'll just say that this is a great novel for anyone who enjoys historical fiction and character development. I highly recommend it!

Dead to the World

WHERE ARE YOUR SHOES, ERIC!?

Sookie's just not having a good time lately. Her boyfriend cheats on her, she gets beat up, and now her brother's missing. On top of all that, she finds her ex's boss, Eric, running through the woods buck naked with no memory of who he is or what's going on. Will Bill, the ex, in Peru, Sookie's gotta deal with this all on her own, and she's discovering that a memoryless Eric is a lot more interesting than the real one.

I did like this book, though I had a nasty habit of skim reading again so I could hear what the characters were saying to each other. D:
I'm terrible, I know, I just can't help it. I love the way Harris creates personalities by the way her characters speak. It's so entertaining.

I can't say I'm a huge fan of the Eric/Sookie pairing at first, but it did start to grow on me toward the end, and I was so disappointed when it was over. Part of me still hopes that Sookie and Bill end up together. I don't know why, as he is obviously a douche for leaving her for that Lorena vampire in the first place, but they just fit so well together that I hate to see it die!

And there's the fact that the real Eric makes me want to punch a kitten.
I hate egotists they drive me crazy.

All in all, Harris has amused me once again with a creative plot line and fascinating character development. I find myself able to connect with Sookie more in this book than any of the previous ones and I appreciate the fact that it can still make me laugh 4 books in.

ALSO, I'M CUCKOO FOR FAERIES. THANK YOU, CHARLAINE. Thank you! :3

4/5 stars.

Heavy In Your Arms.

"Heavy In Your Arms" by Florence + The Machine has stolen my heart. I have a special obsession growing for this band, which began with my purchase of their album "Lungs" way back when. Florence Welsh has a lovely voice. She's incredibly talented when it comes to writing lyrics and to be honest, her songs seem more like poetry than music, it's so beautiful.

Now, this single is not available for single-track downloads, and you must purchase the entire Eclipse soundtrack to get. Boo. I don't like any of the other songs and I am itching to get my hands on this one. Just this one. Not the other ones. But that is impossible. So I shall rape the repeat button on YouTube until I can get my greedy hands on this song.

Roswell.

Roswell - housing sexy aliens since 1947.

Roswell, New Mexico, is famous for their claim of an alien spacecraft crashing into the desert in 1947. They cash in on the event in any way possible, they even have a cafe dedicated to the critters. Liz Parker,  a simple waitress, is serving coffee one day when a shooter somehow manages to screw up and hit her right in the abdomen. Max Evans places his hand over the wound and viola! It is healed. Unfortunately, this leads Liz to realize that Max is not human and his sister, Isabel, and their friend Micheal Guerin are not either. Max is an alien. Isabel is an alien. Micheal is definitely an alien. And so begins a strange journey to discover what exactly they are, where they're from, and why they're here.

Netflix has served me well, I made a deal with a friend that if he watches all the seasons of Grey's Anatomy, I will watch all the seasons of Roswell. Which I thought would be hell because I don't believe in aliens, but I do enjoy this show very much. Though some of the first season is slow moving, after you get past it your reach the fast-paced, action-packed fun that is serious alien ass-kicking.

My favorite character is Liz, for reals. She's so terribly normal and inexperienced with everything. And such a goody-goody. Maybe I just like her because she reminds me of myself. Oh well. I love you Liz, and I hope you continue to stumble through the series with that wonderfully bewildered look you always have on!

All in all, I rate the first season 4 out of 5 stars.

The Virgin Suicides.

1 dead, 2 dead, 3 dead, 4, 5 dead. 5 DEAD SISTERS. MUHAHAHA.

Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon have 5 beautiful, thriving teenage daughters. Cecilia, Mary, Therese, Bonnie and Lux are unknowingly the talk of the town with their homemade baggy clothes and unavailable nature. But when Cecilia inexplicably commits suicide, the obsession rises. A group of men try to piece together the pieces of the puzzle to discover the reasons behind their love for the Lisbon girls, Cecilia's self-destruction, and the events leading up to the the suicides of all 4 remaining sisters on the same night.

The suburbs in the 70's are a messy place. It's not a secret that Cecilia kills herself, the books begins with one suicide attempt, which is thwarted by the ambulance. In the first few pages, it's evident that Eugenides is some kind of master at dark humor. My favorite part? When the doctor is talking to Cecilia after she is rescued. 

" 'What are you doing here, honey? You're not even old enough to know how bad life gets. ' 

'Obviously, doctor...you've never been a thirteen-year-old girl.' " 

Some of my other favorites moments are when the boys are reading through Cecilia's diary and begin to feel like teenage girls themselves. Ahaha. Excellent. 

What I do find somewhat odd is the obsession the boys had with the Lisbon girls in the first place. I think it might have something to do with their unavailability. They obviously wanted to interact with the opposite sex, but their parental units made it impossible. Strict rules were set in place to avoid such a thing from happened. And when they were finally allowed out to a dance, Lux pretty much screwed them over by missing curfew. That's when Mrs. Lisbon decided to lock them all up like hermits. Good parenting on their part. The isolation is what really killed the Lisbon girls. 

What I particularly enjoyed about this book is also something that got tiring. It was plump full of character descriptions, which are my favorite thing in the entire world. I love knowing exactly what the characters look like and the individual characteristics that make them unique. But Eugenides took it a step farther than most and explained every character, even the most minor of them. I don't need to know what Mrs. What's-Her-Face ate for breakfast that morning, thanks. 

All in all, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Thumb's up.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

The Great Battle.

I have a problem, folks. See, I do love me a great chatroom, but I hate to actually have to download the chat onto my computer (this is why I dislike Skype so much). My alternative? Meebo.com has always been there for me when it counts. With their fabulous design and interface, you can combine all you favorites chats (Yahoo!, Gmail, Hotmail, FaceBook, AIM, etc.) in once place and log onto all of them at once. You also have a Meebo name, which allows you to chat with fellow members and (up until recently) join chatrooms. Meebo is also very easy on the eyes. You can change the background color/image and even the color of the pop-up windows to make your own scheme. Your font is also highly customizable, with several font choices and colors to choose from. But, sadly, Meebo has purged itself of all that is wonderful by destroying their chatroom option. You may no longer pop into any chat you want and instead must be invited to one by a fellow member.

Meebo's pretty design just can't make up for the absence of chatrooms.

In my desperation to talk to random strangers, I stumbled upon Teenspot.com, a site dedicated to all things teenagers love most. Chatrooms and flirting. I'll be the first to admit that Teenspot is not nearly as aesthetically pleasing as Meebo, but it does have its perks. You profile page is customizable, with the ability to add pictures and change the background and colors. The problem is that the chat itself might possibly be the ugliest thing I have seen in a long time. Though you can change the color of your font and the backdrop color, you can't change the font itself. This creates an environment that is much too uniform for my taste. There are many different chatrooms to choose from and the people are easy to get along with. Be careful though, many of the chats are dedicated to flirting. I don't do that over the internet, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

That's one ugly chat, Teenspot. But at least you have chats.

For me, the choice was easy. I had to have my chatroom fix. I still log onto Meebo, and even have an App for it on my iPod, but Meebo will just never be the same.

The Lovely Bones.

The Lovely Boner...I mean, Bones.

Susie Salmon was 14 years on December 6, 1973, her last day on earth. While walking home in the cold, her neighbor Mr. Harvey tricks her into a fateful mistake. Susie is raped and killed, her body mutilated and stuffed inside a safe. While her life has ended, she has not lost the love for her family and friends and though she is trapped in the confines of her own little heaven, she watches them diligently as they struggle to continue their lives.

The book grabbed my interest, but I admit to being very unnerved by the first-person perspective and found it extremely difficult to read the graphic rape seen at the beginning. Her description of watching her body made me flinch several times and I was forced to put down the book about halfway through so I could take a break.

I believe that the first half of the book is very well written, though it is very intense and that the last half dragged, which was disappointing. In all honesty, I thought from the first page that this would be a four star review at least, maybe even five, yet I only gave it three.

Here's why: the ending frustrated me so much that I wanted to throw the book across the room. WHY, ALICE SEBOLD? WHY? I wish I could express my anger fully, but I'd love for anyone reading this to read it for yourselves and decide. Was the ending complete crap? Or was it genius? I lean towards the latter.

It's the big glaring flaw in an otherwise solid novel.
3 out of 5 stars.

Girl, Interrupted.

 

Bitch be crazy.

Susanna Kaysen is an eighteen year old girl. One who is told that she is crazy, though she has some doubts. In Girl, Interrupted, Kaysen recalls her year spent in a psych ward and what effect her diag-nonsense really had on her and at what point she crossed the thin line from sane to insane. 

I did enjoy this book, though it puzzled me. Kaysen never really seemed crazy throughout the entire story. In fact, the only real "crazy" episode she had was after being there for a few months, which makes me wonder if perhaps the medication they insisted the patients take in the 60's made them worse, not better. In attempting to make them more compliant, did they hurt them instead?

 

Kaysen often alluded to the fact that she didn't understand her diagnosis. This isn't such a surprise, since they kept it hidden from her for the majority of the time she spent in treatment. At the very end of the book, she goes to a bookstore to read the official description of her "illness" to see if she can understand it. She picks it apart sentence by sentence, comparing the generalization of the symptoms to the ones she felt best described her.

Honestly, the medical description sounded like every teenage girl I've ever met. The generalization seemed almost too general. Too simple. Everyone's crazy, according to that. Reckless driving. Casual sex. What? 

As for the book itself, I'm half-and-half. I liked Kaysen's writing style but often found myself lost. Reading the back, I saw a bunch of praise for the autobiography and couldn't really understand why. It was a fascinating account of her months in the ward, but what did it really accomplish? It didn't make me think any more or less of mental illnesses. Or maybe that's what Kaysen meant by it. She wasn't trying to make a best-selling novel, she was just telling her story. It seems like she didn't really care what others had to say about her book. She just wanted to say what she wanted to say.

3 out of 5 stars. 

Bodily Harm.

Why everyone should hate politics.

 Rennie Wilford is a twenty-something journalist who writes "lifestyle pieces." Simple articles, like fashion trends and where people like to travel. After learning she has cancer, her life begins to spiral downward. As though having cancer was not hard enough, she develops feelings for her doctor - who is married. Too married, as she puts it. The strain of losing her self-confidence and loving someone who shouldn't love her back affects her relationship with Jake, the man she has been living with. When he leaves, Rennie is alone. And being alone makes her easy prey. Though a close call scares her away, she treats the time as a vacation of sorts, writing an article on a small island in the Barbados. During a time of political unrest, Rennie has chosen a very bad time to travel.

I was very surprised that I enjoyed this novel as much as I did. It's not because I have negative views on the author, because I had no idea who the author was. I'm surprised because the novel is older, taking place in a time period when I wasn't even born. Most of the time, it's hard for me to understand why people can't just pick up a cell phone when I'm reading. Then I remember - there weren't cell phones yet. So strange. I know I probably sound like such a youngin' for saying all this, but I think it's important for some reason.

To start, the novel was written very, very well. It had this elegant ring to everything - even though some of the characters said the dirtiest, raunchiest things you could imagine. Dull moments didn't exist, and Atwood had you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Sometimes you were in suspense waiting to hear of character's fates. Sometimes you were contemplating whether or not the part you read was a flashback. Sometimes you had to decide for yourself when an event took place.

I loved the characters. They were fascinating in so many aspects. Rennie had so many layers, though she did seem a bit whiny during some moments. But how could she not? She's been put into a terrible position and she knows nothing about it. Politics go over my head; politics go over Rennie's head. In this, we match. To tell the truth, I had no idea what the hell was going on most of the time, but neither did Rennie, so that made me feel much better.

There's a possibility that I'm blowing this book out of proportion and giving Atwood more credit than a more dedicated fan would. Since I've only read two of her books (this being number two), I find it intriguing.

4 out of 5 stars.

Hallelujah.

I'm currently enthralled with a cover of Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" as preformed by these three lovely ladies, Jodi, Alana, and Morgan. I don't know much about the girls, but the song has been one of my favorites for as long as I can remember.

See, I found this because my dad gave me an iTunes gift card for Christmas. Normally I don't buy anything off of iTunes because, frankly, Amazon is cheaper. But I was looking for a song that cost less than a dollar and I found this cover. I do think that this song can be sung by either gender (though it is considered a masculine song by some) and that it sounds wonderful from a well-trained female vocalist. And here we have three.

Shall I rate?
4.5 out of 5 stars.

The Tudors.

Henry VIII, I am.

So I got Netflix, it streams to my Wii, laptop, and my ipod touch. I have to admit, I do love it a lot. Though I'm against ordering the actual DVDs (I know I'd just lose them), I use the instant streaming like a madwoman. It just so happens that The Tudors seasons 1 and 2 happen to be on Netflix. I was giddy like a schoolgirl. Why? Because I'm currently in a Tudor phase, caused by seeing the 2008 film The Other Boleyn Girl. This followed by reading the novel encouraged me to keep learning. I'm not much of a history buff, but once I'm interested, I can't stop. I'm almost done with Phillipa Gregory's series, have finished the first 2 seasons of The Tudors, and am looking for other movies to watch and documentaries online. 

Back to the show, though. It grieves me that I have to order seasons 3 and 4, but I know that I will because of how much I loved the first 2. I know it's not historically accurate (most historical movies aren't), but it is interesting and definitely knows how to hold your attention. It's written more like a soap opera, but Showtime wasn't looking for a documentary. 

I thoroughly enjoy the acting, which is very good. The costumes are gorgeous. The characters are fascinating in both the show and history. What I like the most is that it prompts some people to actually research the history of Henry VIII on their own, and who doesn't love to learn about an impotent king with an anger problem? 

I don't like to give away the plot, so I'll make the description of the show very short and sweet. King Henry VIII is married to Katherine of Aragorn, who was married to Henry's brother, Arthur. Arthur died shortly after the wedding, and Katherine claimed that they never consummated their marriage, allowing herself to marry Henry and become Queen. Unfortunately, Queens don't have happy ending in real life like they do in Disney movies. Due to her inability to produce an heir, she's kicked to the curb for a younger, ambitious girl named Anne Boleyn. The Catholic church does not agree with Henry's decision to divorce Katherine and so he decides to split from them. And that's were all the shit started.

Obviously most of you know what happens after that. The show goes through all 6 of Henry's wives though the first 2 seasons only focus on two, Katherine and Anne. Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves (my second favorite), Katherine Howard (my favorite), and Catherine Parr are introduced in seasons 3 and 4.

With all that in mind, I bestow upon this drama a 3.5 star out of 5 rating. 

The pretty actors and gaudy costumes just can't make up for the fact that the show is not entirely accurate when compared to actual historical events.

Club Dead.

Sooooookie.

I've been dabbling in Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mystery series for quite some time now. To some, they're just "Sookie Stackhouse Novels" or that show on HBO, True Blood. Frankly, the show has very little to do with the books after the second season. So don't think that you can get away with watching the television show and then pretending that you've read the books. It doesn't work that way. 

Sookie Stackhouse has not only has the uncanny ability to read minds, but she also seems to be a magnet for hostile vampires, werewolves, and even some downright mean shapeshifters. If they're ready to kill someone, Sookie is always conveniently that person. It probably has something to do with her vampire boyfriend, Bill - who just happens to be the cause of her grief this time. When Bill goes missing, Sookie must tag team with his egocentric (but attractive) boss, Eric. But what she finds is not worth the effort.

The thing about the Sookie series is that I can't seem to put them down once I start reading them, I can't stop. And even though I'm unconsciously picking out all the flaws in the storyline, I'm enjoying myself too. Because I just find these books hilarious. Her writing style reminds me of Janet Evanovich, who is another author I enjoy.

As usual, I praise the characters and their stunning personalities. Pam is still my favorite, and pink as ever and borderline mean. Eric changes a lot in this book, but it doesn't amuse me as much as I thought it would. I mean, he's a softie all of a sudden. That's not Eric, come on. Bill seems to have lost all his personality, which is understandable given his situation. Sookie develops a lot in this novel, and you see a less confident side of her that is realistic.

I like the quirky one-liners and often find myself skipping ahead to find where the characters start talking next in hopes of finding something funny to read. Bad me. Bad.

What I think is hilarious is the little "errand" the Queen sends Bill on. You spend the whole book trying to figure out what could be so terrible to get him kidnapped and tortured and then you find out what it is. And it's so ridiculous that you can't help but laugh and think, "Damn these guys are dumb." I know Harris was trying to make the task seem important, but it just seems like a waste of time to me.

Oh, Charlaine Harris, how you amuse me.

4 out 5 stars.