soph (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sophia_sol) wrote2014-06-24 05:35 pm
sophia_sol) wrote2014-06-24 05:35 pm
Entry tags:
- anent: book thoughts 1,
- author: brandon sanderson,
- author: jean little,
- author: randa abdel-fattah,
- book theme: alternate earth,
- book theme: fantasy,
- book theme: modern earth,
- book theme: poetry,
- book theme: reread,
- book theme: ya,
- fandom: random books,
- pub date: 1986,
- pub date: 2005,
- pub date: 2013,
- rating: ***,
- rating: ****
book thoughts!
Oh look, once again (as always) I am behind in posting my book thoughts, so here's three at once!
Hey World, Here I Am! by Jean Little
Gosh do I love this book. It's a short book of poetry written as if it is poetry by one of the teenage characters from some of Jean Little's novels - a Jewish girl named Kate. A few of the poems in the book are a little too trite for me and feel like what an adult thinks a teenager would think as opposed to being authentically teenage-sounding, but mostly it's a collection of poems that were REALLY EMOTIONALLY REAL to me when I was Kate's age, and they continue to be amazing today.
My favourite poem in the book is "My Own Day." I just really adore the feel of the first four lines:
My second favourite of the poems is "Today," which begins:
It goes on in that vein for a number more lines and then ends with "I need a rest." Yeah. I know that feel, Kate. I know that feel.
Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah
This is a book about a Muslim high-schooler in Australia who decides to start wearing the hijab full time. The book's heart is definitely in the right place in so many ways, which I really appreciated, but it is pretty much the opposite of subtle about any of it. And the teenager dialogue made me wince. But it was enjoyable enough that I still read the whole thing, so.
The Rithmatist, by Brandon Sanderson
A very compelling alternate-Earth fantasy novel! I loved the worldbuilding aspects, and the characters were also very well done. I got Essie to spoiler me on the ending, which I'm very glad of, because otherwise I think it would have been too stressful for me to read. The most frustrating thing: it is a book that very clearly sets up the need for a sequel and aaaaaaahhhhhhh THE SEQUEL ISN'T OUT YET. The sequel is still in the early stages of being written! I really want to know a) what happens next and b) everything about the history of this world. The sequel will definitely provide the former and I am DEEPLY HOPING it will at least partially provide the latter. I hope it comes out soooooon. (From what I can see, Brandon Sanderson is ALARMINGLY PROLIFIC so I hold out hope it won't be an egregiously long wait!)
(the other frustrating thing: there are almost no female characters, and I can't think of a single scene that passed the Bechdel test. And the world is one where sexism is definitely a thing, but the sexism is never plot- or character-relevant or even particularly world-relevant, so WHY DID THAT HAVE TO BE A THING? But one of the secondary main characters is female, and she's also incidentally my fave character in the book, so it does at least have that going for it, non-dude-wise.)
Hey World, Here I Am! by Jean Little
Gosh do I love this book. It's a short book of poetry written as if it is poetry by one of the teenage characters from some of Jean Little's novels - a Jewish girl named Kate. A few of the poems in the book are a little too trite for me and feel like what an adult thinks a teenager would think as opposed to being authentically teenage-sounding, but mostly it's a collection of poems that were REALLY EMOTIONALLY REAL to me when I was Kate's age, and they continue to be amazing today.
My favourite poem in the book is "My Own Day." I just really adore the feel of the first four lines:
When I opened my eyes this morning,
The day belonged to me.
The sky was mine and the sun,
And my feet got up dancing.
My second favourite of the poems is "Today," which begins:
Today I will not live up to my potential.
Today I will not relate well to my peer group.
Today I will not contribute in class.
I will not volunteer one thing.
It goes on in that vein for a number more lines and then ends with "I need a rest." Yeah. I know that feel, Kate. I know that feel.
Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah
This is a book about a Muslim high-schooler in Australia who decides to start wearing the hijab full time. The book's heart is definitely in the right place in so many ways, which I really appreciated, but it is pretty much the opposite of subtle about any of it. And the teenager dialogue made me wince. But it was enjoyable enough that I still read the whole thing, so.
The Rithmatist, by Brandon Sanderson
A very compelling alternate-Earth fantasy novel! I loved the worldbuilding aspects, and the characters were also very well done. I got Essie to spoiler me on the ending, which I'm very glad of, because otherwise I think it would have been too stressful for me to read. The most frustrating thing: it is a book that very clearly sets up the need for a sequel and aaaaaaahhhhhhh THE SEQUEL ISN'T OUT YET. The sequel is still in the early stages of being written! I really want to know a) what happens next and b) everything about the history of this world. The sequel will definitely provide the former and I am DEEPLY HOPING it will at least partially provide the latter. I hope it comes out soooooon. (From what I can see, Brandon Sanderson is ALARMINGLY PROLIFIC so I hold out hope it won't be an egregiously long wait!)
(the other frustrating thing: there are almost no female characters, and I can't think of a single scene that passed the Bechdel test. And the world is one where sexism is definitely a thing, but the sexism is never plot- or character-relevant or even particularly world-relevant, so WHY DID THAT HAVE TO BE A THING? But one of the secondary main characters is female, and she's also incidentally my fave character in the book, so it does at least have that going for it, non-dude-wise.)