Book Review 002

January 6, 2009 at 3:22 pm (Reviews)

Book: The Shadow Theives

Author: Anne Ursu

Just got finished reading the first book in the The Cronus Chronicles series by Anne Ursu. One of the reasons I love working at a library is because you are instantly surrounded by free books, the key word being free. You can take as many as you want home and not have to worry about if you can afford them or not. At this moment I have over 30 books checked out and since starting in mid December I have read over that many. Belatedly I remembered that I had thought to do book reviews on the books I read. I would like to go back and do the ones I have read before now but that’s some number of books.

At any event The Shadow Theives by Anne Ursu is a young adult book that I have enjoyed reading. It takes place in an American town, part of London and the Underworld. It’s a story about Charlotte Mielswetski (Meal-wet-ski) and her biracial cousin (at least I think he’s biracial his father is white and his mother is black but Ursu refers to him as black…so don’t know really) london born cousin Zachery Miller. Charlotte seems like a normal teen besides the fact that she has no inclination to improve her bad attitude, trying harder at anything or meeting new people. And her cousin is normal as well besides the unexplained illness all his freinds and the kids at his school and summer club have come down with, but he seems okay. So nothing should be thought of when Zachary comes to live with Charlotte and then the kids around her start getting sick. She can’t think about that right now she has to take care of the new kitten she just found.

Reading this novel I found myself smiling and laughing at loud often. My favorite part was when we are introduced to Cheron in the passage,

“Everyone knows he has the worst jon in the Underworld. He spends his days rowing back and forth along the Styx, listening to the Dead freak out because they’re Dead and they had so much to live for blah, blah, blah, and where in the heck are the pearly Gates anway?”

There’s adventure, action and a little bit of magic. Mrs. Ursu has a unique and fun style of drawing the reader into her story and ultimatley her mind. If you are looking for a story that’s garunteed to make you question everything you know about Greek mythology, or confirmation that some teachers are really weirder than they semm, or that guy down the street named Phil is really at the heart of something naferious, then by all means pick this one up at your local library.

-B.J.

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Book Review: 001

August 8, 2008 at 5:10 pm (Reviews)
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BEWARE SPOILER ALERT!

Book: His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass

Author: Philip Pullman

Summary: In the first book of Pullman’s trilogy, The Golden Compass, introduces us to the main characters Lyra Belacqua and her “dæmon”, Pantalaimon. We are also introduced to a world that in many ways is still our own but has elements of fantasy well placed. Lyra’s world is drastically changed when she feeds into her natural curiosity and stoles away in a wardrobe and spies the Master of the college where she is a ward, poisoning her uncle, Lord Asriel. After successfully saving his life she thrust into an unknown world, where numerous children are going missing everyday. Rumors are flying all over the place about a horrible group of people labeled, “The Gobblers” , but to Lyra it’s just another game to play while being safe in the walls of Jordan College. Until one day a kid she knows goes missing, now Lyra is over playing games. But she is sidetracked by the beautiful woman, known only as Mrs. Coulter and her golden monkey “dæmon”. Mrs. Coulter promises to take Lyra to the North to be her assistant, which makes Lyra happy because the rumors say that the kids are being taken North.

When it becomes obvious that Mrs. Coulter is not going to take her to the North she because supicious and later finds out that Mrs. Coulter is with the Gobblers, a board created by the Magisterium, an organization based on the Church. It all comes down to a unknown thing called, ‘Dust’. The Church and Mrs. Coulter are obsessive with the Dust and its affect on humans and how they could change this. The kids who are getting kidnapped are being taking to a station in the North to be separated from their “dæmon”, which is a painful and never before done thing. Some kids are dying because of the operation and others are being left a shell of an human. She manages to run away to the safety of the Gyptians. Who after a while takes her to the North, where she meets a Texan, aeronaut and an outcast armor bear king. She meets a clan of witches after successfully rescuing the kidnapped kids and finding out that Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are her parents.

Her adventures in the North are not over she still has to find her father, who is being kept prisoner in the far North. But at last the welcome she receives from her father is not what she expected. After a tense confrontation she goes to lay down only to be awoken by the servant of her father, telling him that her father has taken her friend Roger, who she had came all the way to the North to save. As it turns out his father is just as obsess with ‘Dust” as the Church and Mrs. Coulter. Except he believes that the dust is the result of the original sin, committed by Adam and Eve. And if he could find the source of the Dust he could end the one thing all man fear, death. He has discovered that within the Aurora Lights, there is a gateway to different worlds that can be entered through a bridge. But the thing is he needs a child who he could harness the energy that is created when separating the kid and their “dæmon” to power the bridge. Lyra is to late to save her friend, but her and Pantalaimon decide that since the adults believe the Dust is bad it must be good, and that it’s their duty to stop her father from destroying the source of the Dust. Both she and Pantalaimon follow her father through the gateway to another world, unsure of their future but convinced that nothing but pain and death was their past.

My Thoughts: As far as a teenage aimed book this is a well written story. There are many different themes and details that are in the story that the author pays close attention to and helps create the world in which he has created in a way. The main character, Lyra, is relate-able and well research. Pullman draws you into her world and mind and makes you wanna know what happens to her. The plot flowed well and although the pacing of the story is not even and a bit chaotic in a way. There are some places and ties that are left dangling in my opinion and I hope they are addressed in the following books but I’m not sure. This book is indeed meant for older teens and adults, for I’m not sure a child of eight would truly be able to grasp the whole book and its themes. For their are some themes that are too dark that this book would not make a good bedtime story for kids under 15.

Recommend: I would and am recommending this book to anyone who has seen the movie or want to see the movie. I think as always there is a lot left out of the movie that is crucial to the story. I found myself wanting to continuously read on after I got to the end of a chapter. The chapters are relatively shorter than a normal adult aimed book, which makes it seem like it goes a bit faster but makes it easy to read in small doses.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

  • Great plot,
  • Great idea,
  • Well written,
  • Relate-able characters.
  • Uneven pacing
  • Unfinished ideas

B.J.

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Project Runway Season Four Episode 14 The Finale!

March 6, 2008 at 5:47 pm (Reviews, T.V. Shows, Writing Series)
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Christian won!

That’s right Christian, is the youngest project runway winner. He cried and then became very arrogant as usual. The guest judge this season was Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice), who loved his collection and wants him to dress her. Overall the judges thought the show as a whole was very strong, and were impressed with all three of the finalist.

Jillian: The judges were impressed with the attention to detail and the very feminine vibe they got from it. She was also very innovative with some of her shapes. But it wasn’t cohesive collection, the sense of Jillian was lost.

Rami: Very sleek and sophisticated. Heidi really enjoyed his collection. BUT his color choices were all wrong.

Christian: Very strong pieces from start to finish, very Christian, yet very over designed at some points. A little monotonous because it was nothing but black.

My Thoughts

Jillian: I thought her who collection was muted, especially muted. I agree with the judges that it was way to chaotic from the cohesive point of view. I think her driving force was admirable, ( I love art and I love history…come on.) but I think she could have chosen a specific thing from the painting to use.

Rami: I think it was a bit dated and it might have been the color choices, they too were a bit muted. But for the bright teal and maroon he threw in. I think he did well meshing the draping and the structure techniques. I think his collection was way more together over Jillian’s.

Christian: It was all black (with some brown thrown in too)…why was it all black? Going back to what I’ve said before, it all looks the same. I don’t think anyone really notice that until you see it all together. But differently monotonous. Very over designed and dramatic for no reason. I think the judges hit it on the head…will he be doing feathers and ruffles forever?

Over all I didn’t really like any of the final collections. I think it was all a bit muted, from the colors, to the clothes, even the music they chose to use. I guess I’m not to up on high class fashion because I don’t see how this was the best group of Project Runway designers. I’m not to surprise Christian won, he was obviously the judges favorite and viewer’s favorite. I congratulate him on being so young and having a strong point of view and wish him the best in his career. I know some industry moguls think the show has reached it’s peak but I look forward to seeing next seasons designers.

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If you want to read more of my thoughts on the last episodes of Project Runway check out these posts:

Project Runway: Season Four

Project Runway Season Four Episode 11

Project Runway Season Four Episode 12

Project Runway Season Four Episode 13

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Project Runway Season Four Episode 13

February 29, 2008 at 11:15 am (Reviews, T.V. Shows, Writing Series)
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And so I was mightily sadden when they announced that Rami was moving on to the top three. I just didn’t like his look at all. It was safe, very safe and boring. Although with Chris, I wasn’t so sure about the human hair extensions, I don’t wear fur either. But it was daring and very creative. It might have been a bit costumey, but it was still wearable. I would have worn the first to looks (minus the the hair.) I wouldn’t have worn any of Rami. But I guess that’s just me. Out of all the designers, Chris has truly been on a roller-coaster of emotions, to be kicked off than brought back and then to make it to the final four, given the time and money to make a collection and the HUGE possibility of showing at Bryant Park in the Project Runway show…I would be a mess about now. But he kept a smile on his face and a cheerful deposition. I truly thought he should have went.

 However, as many of you know, he will be showing at Bryant Park along with Sweet P and after the finale airs, I’ll watch their collections on you-tube.

As far as Christian’s collection, I’m not convinced at all. From what little we saw, it looks like what he has usually designed. And since he was constantly a judge favorite I guess he figures that’s good enough. I hope that I am wrong and his pieces are unique and interesting. It would be awesome to finally have someone who is young win. They have always penalize the younger designers for the age in the past. His concept however sounded like his concept for every thing else. So we shall see.

Jillian has surprised me somewhat, I’m still not a fan. But out of what I saw, I was intrigued to see the rest. The color palette as Tim said was a bit dreary, so I hope she takes that to heart and puts so bright and life into her collection. What was really interesting was her arrogance about who she was as a designer. I think in all aspects of life you should have some humility. Christian and Satino have both been criticized about how arrogant they were on the show but it didn’t come off to me like Jillian’s.

I remember when Tim visited Santino and he explained his past and where he was before he came to Project Runway, I understood his actions a little better. Christian is just young and arrogant I wont deny that and I wont deny he’s irritating. But I don’t know Jillian just…something…me…I can’t explain it. I give her points for having such confidence in herself. But that whole, “I know everyone else says they will be the next greatest thing, but I know I will be” kinda rubbed me the wrong way. I lot of people say that too and they don’t amount to much but they die trying so I guess as long as you have a goal in life its all good.

So next week is the finale and then that’s that. I need to find a new show to watch and write about…any suggestions? I’ll tell you right now I’m not a Idol fan. Now that’s a show that’s run it’s course.

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Project Runway Season Four Episode 11

February 16, 2008 at 7:28 am (Reviews, T.V. Shows)
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bianco-jade.pngThe past week’s episode of Project Runway was the last challenge before Bryant Park. Which meant the top three would be announced, but there were still five contestants. That meant that two people were going home. Needless to say the tensions were running high. The challenge this time was to take inspiration from a classical masterpiece and translate it into fashion.

Sweet P: chose a painting of peacocks, entitle Peacocks, Chris chose a 18th century portrait, Christian chose a Spanish portrait, Rami chose a Grecian sculpture, Jillian chose the paint Masters of the Argonauts.

As predicted Christian showed to be truly arrogant in this week’s episode and Jillian made note of it. Jillian herself, moved very slowly like always and was stressing towards the end. Chris ended up finishing up early and decided to use the rest of the time to take a nap, despite Tim’s worriedness over his garment. Rami spent most of the time trying to convince himself that what he was doing was right, no matter if it was the same old thing. And Sweet P freaked out.

On the runway:

Sweet P: “nice dress…but just not enough.”

Chris: “Can see you showing in Paris (from guest judge)…looks like the dress you and Christian did a while back.”

Christian: “you think about the show…practical… super chic”

Rami: “too normal…expected more…predictable”

Jillian:”you surprise me every time in a good way…good details”

Results:

Christian was the winner so he automatically is going to Bryant Park, Jillian came in second so she too is going to Bryant Park. Sweet P was Aufed…which is no surprise, but still a sad thing for me. And yet another Project Runway twist…Chris and Rami are both going to Bryant Park. But before you start thinking, they are going to have four show again like last season…nope. Both Rami and Chris are going but once they get there they have to show the judges their three strongest pieces and then they will choose a third finalist to show at Bryant Park.

My thoughts:

Well I’m sad to see Sweet P go, she was the most wearable designer out of the entire group. But the show isn’t really about commercialism as they pointed out. It’s about fashion, and not all fashion is about wear ability. I’m not surprise to see Christian in the top three, like I said before he’s the judges favorite. He does have a noticeable point of view, it’s just that everything he creates to me looks like it belongs to the same collection. Not that’s bad, cohesiveness is a good thing. But I would be curious to see three collections down the road, five, ten? I don’t know if he has the staying creativity to produce some new and different all the time without it being reminiscent of his previous wear. But then again I guess that’s what branding is all about. I guess I’m not really surprise to see Jillian in the top three, she’s just a bit shady to me, but the judges love her. The thing between Chris and Rami, I can totally understand. It’s almost like last seasons, all four were so unique you just couldn’t decided between them. If I had to pick right now I think it will be Chris to show, only because he was my second favorite and although he too has a certain style that he shows again and again…it’s not the same one note technical style as Rami’s. Plus he seems more willing to try and change it up a bit and tone it back, where Rami continually says but this is what I do.

Next week is the reunion and that’s always interesting to see how people feel about their ousting challenge. From the previews their were some tense moments and tears…

Cheers!

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Writing Series!

February 15, 2008 at 8:15 am (Reviews, Writing Series)
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Well for the longest I’ve been saying to myself, I really need to start a writing series. And yesterday I set my Personal Assistant to remind me to review my February goals, so I wouldn’t forget them halfway through the month, like January’s. And one of them was  to step up my blogging on here. There’s so much I can blog about my life and stuff that people will actually want to read, so I’ve kind of come to a stall. Well since I was taking a break from creative writing ( I just finished a chapter on one of my manuscripts), I started thinking of some topics I could start with. Well unfortunately it was four in the morning and I wasn’t really coming up with different topics to write about. But I did come up with general themes I could write about:

1.TV Show Reviews: My favorites

2. Music Reviews: New artist that I find and new albums from my old favs

3. Non-Fiction and Fiction Book Reviews

4. Movie Reviews

Plus an ongoing series: My Life in the South!

This is just for starters, as I come up with new ones I’ll update this list. I’ll also link to the individual post as they come about. If you know of a topic you would like my opinion on then comment here and let me know.

Cheers!

Bianco Jade

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