The Best of 2010

Nothing horrible happened to me this year, which considering 2009, is something to celebrate all its own. But some very good things happened to me as well.

Best Personal News of the Year

• I met Neil Gaiman!

• I sent out my novel and got rejections and am looking forward to many more rejections in the new year.
  

• I went to my first American Library Association Conference and got to see my awesome friend Sarah and visit Washington DC for the first time too.
  

• I got my driver's license!

• I finally feel like I have a good group of friends in the California area. However, unlike the the song Auld Lang Syne, my old acquaintance have not been forgot. I still love you guys.

• Over 300 blog posts! Gotta admit, that's pretty good.
  

Best Books

• Best Teen Book: Will Grayson, Will Grayson. I think this was easily John Green's best book with both humor and meaning--teaching us the importance of friendship.

• Best Young Adult Fantasy Books: I was sure I reviewed I Shall Wear Midnight but cannot seem to find the review anywhere! My favorite Tiffany book is still Wee Free Men, but this is still Pratchett, and thus, still wonderful and Tiffany really becomes a woman and a witch in this book.

• The Goblin Gate is another fabulous book I didn't review. I think what happened is I got these both as advanced readers copies at the ALA Conference and didn't feel right reviewing them until they actually came out and other peoople had a chance to read them. But in doing this, I forgot to review them completely! However, I do remember this is a fun, fast paced book with interesting ethical questions about survival. I eagerly await the sequel, The Goblin War.
  

• The Lost Hero was easily the best Rick Riordan book I've read so far, and that's saying a lot because I really loved his other books. I did review this one. Just click title for the link.

• Best Adult Book: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Best Movies

I reviewed both the following movies. Click the titles for the links.

Tangled







Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I







I hope your year was full of great things as well and that 2011 is even greater!

Friday Note

Blog Break. I will be taking a break from regular blogging starting now. I may still blog sporadically, but no promises or punishments as I'm giving due warning. Your regularly scheduled blogs will return Sunday, January 2nd.

Info Thursday
Low Blood Pressure, Postural Hypotension, and Salt Intake

I've known for a while that I had low blood pressure but never knew it was the cause of the frequent head rushes I get when standing. The official name for it is postural hypotension. A friend of mine mentioned today that she had the same condition because of low blood pressure, and the symptoms fit. It can also be treated with increased salt intake (though this is not recommended for those with preeisting heart conditions according to my research). This might explain my personal penchant for salty treats. It's not a serious condition but it's good to finally understand what causes it.

Sources:
http://www.medicinenet.com/low_blood_pressure/page6.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthostatic_hypotension

Wildcard Wednesday
Music Review

I don't generally feel strongly about music. I either like it or I don't, but something about internet artists inspires me to have an opinion. Perhaps it's because it's not a giant, focus-group run, corporation trying to crank out the next hit. It's actually just people doing what they like and hoping you'll like it too.

So that might be why I've been enjoying Charlie McDonnell's new album: This is Me, which you can listen to for free at: http://charliemcdonnell.com/music/

Charlie is known on YouTube as charlieissocoollike and I enjoyed his videos but never paid much attention to his music. But that's just because I didn't listen to it, until now. My favorite one is A Song About Love. I love how unpretentious it is, how unlike all the teenybopper stars out there, Charlie acknowledges that he's too young to talk about this with any expertise. The line about wanting to refine the person he wants to be before he worries about love is fantastic. I wish there was more of this type of thing in the general media. For similar reasons I loved Chemical Love as well.

The album's title song This is Me, is also great song both musically and lyrically. It follows the same youthfully wise vein of my other favorites. Same goes for Melody for Melody.

The song Bread has a great melody, and an animated music video, but I found the overall story so depressing that it can't be my favorite. But it's apparently John Green's favorite. I guess In the Absence of Christmas is also dark but I find that one funny and awesome.

Diary Tuesday
It's Not Beginning to Feel Anything Like Christmas

I can't really remember the last time I had a proper Christmas with all the decorations and feelings of anticipation. It makes sense that those feelings would mellow as the years go on, specifically in a family that doesn't really do presents. But I used to still love the season regardless. Now days it just seems to pass me by. It doesn't help that the closest it gets to winter chill in California is a gross drizzly day like today. I did have a nice cup of peppermint tea upon arriving home, which does summon some good memories of childhood. But I still don't feel like this time of year is different than any other.

It's not that I really miss Christmas. It's more that I miss, missing Christmas. I miss how important it would have once been to me to decorate and celebrate. This feeling of sameness when so many other people feel different, is worse than encountering any Christmas Scrooge.

Writing Stats Monday

FFAAAIIILLLLL.....

But at least one of my beta readers who happens to be one of the best editors I've ever met finished reading my novel, so that will be a great help.

Photo Sunday

I took this picture when I visited France in 2005 but this is the first time I've posted this pic. I chose this particular gargoyle overlooking the city of Paris from the towers of Notre Dame Cathedral because I bought a black and white photo print of this very vista when I visited in high school.

Links Saturday
Shaytards: YouTube Channel Review

This vlog is from back in August but it's a fun one. I didn't start at the beginning; I think I started watching somewhere around here.

Here's a link to the Shaytard Vlogs Channel.

As mentioned in my book review yesterday, I like watching sweet, quirky families go about their lives. It's so hard to be a cute, loving family without being obnoxiously so. But I think the well known YouTuber, Shay Carl and his family accomplish this. I'll admit I started by watching his vlogs, not his actual comedy sketches. I can't remember how or why, but I'm glad I did. I still primarily watch the vlogs. Rather than inciting annoyance or jealousy that we're not all as happy a family as them, they balance it with constant humor. In a world where people basically sign in blood to be exploited and act as dysfunctional as possible, I feel Shay's family are possibly the best reality show ever--actual reality that makes you feel better about the world.

Review Friday
Suite Scarlett

Summary

A rich and eccentric visitor comes to stay in Scarlett's family hotel for the summer, and it quickly becomes the strangest summer any of them have ever experienced. Both for the worst and the better.

Overview

Teen chick lit isn't normally the type of book that I read, but since Maureen Johnson is a friend of John Green's, and I have found her YouTube videos on writing both amusing and insightful, I thought I'd give it a try. It's still not my favorite genre, but I liked it enough to get through the whole thing and get the sequel. However, that is probably because I'm a bit of a voyeur when it comes to functional but quirky families, which is something portrayed in this book. I liked the interactions that Scarlett had with her siblings and like, just as in many families, the siblings had their favorites, those they couldn't stand, and those they just didn't understand. It wasn't a profound book, but I got the feeling it was never meant to be, and that's fine. If you're looking for light read with humor and family drama, I'd recommend this.

Book Club (Spoilers)

I kept thinking that it was going to be revealed at the end that Mrs. Amberson was actually just some crazy mental patient escaped from the institution and that she'd somehow stolen all the money she was giving Scarlett. I was a little disappointed with the actual truth.

I laughed out loud a few times while listening to this book, but one of my favorite lines was the description of Lola's "creepy underwear sandwich."

Info Thursday
Orcus and Vanth

A few weeks ago I posited on the question of Roman mythology before it was blended with the Greeks. In my readings I've been led to believe that the Romans were not particularly religious before. But this still baffles me as to why they would adopt a foreign religion.

In any event, I did find a God separate from the Greek pantheon, Orcus, an Italic god of the underworld thought to have originated with the Etruscans. While he was later equated to Hades and Pluto, it is notable that Orcus was initially a separate god and even later more related to the punishing side of Pluto.

Worship of Orcus even survived into the Middle Ages.

There was also a goddess of death by the name of Vanth who has no overlap in the Greek and later Roman pantheon.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orcus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanth

Wildcard Wednesday
Quotes and Comments

"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society."
--Mark Twain

Clearly this was before the time of the Abercrombie and Finch model.

Diary Tuesday
Why are you so cute?!

I will get to the bunny.

Today I was volunteering as a shelf reader at my local public library. For any unfamiliar with library speak, a shelf reader makes sure the books on the shelf are in the proper order. I was working on a section of the youth nonfiction shelves, and if you read those shelves like a sentence, the sentence would be something like: Cat the on mat sat. Yeah, the books were pretty out of order, though this is hardly surprising. Because it's kids, you say? No. Because they actually get looked at. Take a note adults. Read! When I was working as a shelver 90% of shelving was children's books. Which tells me why kids are sometimes smarter than adults. Actually, I'd venture to guess, if you're reading this, you probably do read more than the average adult. Good for you. Here's a cookie.

Anyway, as I was straightening up the animal books, and found like a million books on bunnies, a thought occurred to me. Why are certain animals cute? What useful purpose could it possibly serve to find the young of a different (very edible species) adorable? Shouldn't it be more common to look at it and think: "Yum, a vulnerable piece of delicious meat"? I suppose finding the babies cute could be a way to force us to let them grow before we eat them. But that doesn't explain why some animals are even cute when they're fully grown. Although, bunnies aren't nutritious enough to sustain you alone, so perhaps that's why. But I still remember this line from a fantasy book I read (Foundation, by Mercedes Lackey) where the boy sees a little girl crying over a dead rabbit, and having grown up with no food, the boy's immediate desire is to offer to help her skin it. Luckily, it's fantasy, and his magic horse prevents this social faux pas.

Still, there are some very edible animals that we consider cute. Is it maybe just conditioning, just because we're told they're cute? Did cavemen think they were cute? And why are they always mammals?

Writing Stats Monday

Sci-Fi
695 words

Fantasy
I only edited a little bit just now, so not much this week. But it is nice to know that the story started out 234,891 words and is currently 210,579 words. So I've cut 24,312 words so far.

I've come to suspect that no one actually looks at my Monday writing stats. This is actually excellent since it means you probably all believe I'm getting so much more done than I actually am...

Photo Sunday
Dark Light

A dark picture of a very light painting, both in mood and color, that I liked in the art museum in Nantes.

Links Saturday
Associations

I talked about Sirius, the dog star this week, cause I heard this song on Glee:

Review Friday
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 1

Trailer



Overview

In my personal opinion this is the best Potter book to film adaptation. The third film is still my favorite, but this one captured all of the most important parts of the 7th book, as well as being pitch perfect on the tone of both the book and the characters. Fans have often lamented than Ron's best lines from the book are given to Hermione in the film. But this was Ron at his best.

Overall, the pacing, which I feel has been the biggest problem in the last two films, was perfectly executed. I never felt things were to slow or too fast. In pacing, it's actually even better than the book, as I did feel the camping dragged on too long, but in the movie it was great character building and well integrated with excitement and suspense.

There were a couple quibbles I had with things being confusing if you hadn't read the books, but I actually saw the film with someone who had never read the books and had only seen the first film. And the only thing she said she didn't understand were the horcruxes.

Finally, the part where they chose to cut it worked surprisingly well. Many fans had been speculating they might cut it at Dobby's death but that it would be really depressing. By having Vodemort stealing the wand be the very last seen they balance that bleakness with suspense. I am eagerly looking forward to part 2.

Spoilers

Okay, so the mirror shard that Harry carries and sees what he thinks is Dumbledore's eye through, was my biggest complaint. They never explained it in any of the films and they didn't in this one either! The girl I was with who hadn't seen them probably assumed it had been explained and perhaps that's why she wasn't confused. But I knew they hadn't, so that annoyed me. But honestly I don't think it's that important. I think they could have left it out entirely. Many fans claim there's no other way to explain how Aberforth knew to send Dobby to help them. But trust me, there's always another way. But I'll reserve final judgement in the hopes they explain the mirror in part 2.

A change I loved was Hedwig saving Harry instead of simply exploding. At least she went out heroically and not trapped in a burning cage.

I also loved Dobby's speech. Only seriously maim. Golden. Some fans seem to feel it was too comedic, but I think it was just right. You can't have the entire film be dark, it would be too much. Plus, considering that we haven't seen Dobby since the second film, I think it was crucial to remind us why we love this little elf before he gets killed. Cruel, yes, but necessary to make us care.

Info Thursday
Dog Days

On the onset of winter, I thought I'd remind us all of summer. So if you've ever heard the phrase "the dog days of summer," then you may (or may not) be interested to know that it refers to the ancient, and incorrect, belief that summer was caused by the proximity of Sirius, also known as the dog star, to the sun.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_Days

Wildcard Wednesday
Moody Thoughts

The heart breaks when you lose a friend, but it's rare to have friends you don't eventually lose. If you're reading this, there's a good chance you're a friend, and I haven't lost you yet. So thank you. A big thanks even to those who will never see this. On the surface, it's a depressing thought. And, I guess, it is under the surface as well. But, in other ways, it's good that people can grow and change, even if it means growing apart. Sometimes friends are forever, and sometimes they're the person you need at that time. I don't think one is necessarily better than the other. We're trained to feel betrayed if someone leaves us, but what if we left them first? What if we changed so much or they changed so much that you're both just too different? Should that negate all the kindnesses they've done you in the past? I don't think so. I think there's something to be said for knowing when you've got nothing more to give. Having a friend grow apart from you is always a loss, but accepting that it's natural can give you solace. As long as we still have great people in our lives, we should rejoice and count ourselves lucky. I know I have (and have had) great people in mine.

Diary Tuesday
Job Interview

Spent the day preparing for a job interview. Nothing particularly exciting to report unless you want to hear about me sitting in the same chair all day as I researched the library I'll be interviewing with and only getting up to eat and exercise.

Writing Stats Monday

Fantasy Novel
Last time it was 211,670 words.
This time it's 210,601 words.
That's 1,069 words cut and my goal of having under 200,000 is looking a lot more feasible.

Photo Sunday
Castle!

I don't recall which one but somewhere in France.

Links Saturday
Barbie is Watching You

Possibly the most disturbing Barbie I've seen thus far is the new Video Girl Barbie equipped with a hidden camera. Seriously, I can't make this stuff up:

http://www.amazon.com/Mattel-R4093-Barbie-Video-Girl/dp/B0037UR206/ref=pd_sim_t_5

Review Friday

Tangled

Trailer

Overview (No Spoilers)

8/10 stars * * * * * * * *

Tangled is hands down the best film since Tarzan ended Disney's golden age. On a list of my six favorite Disney films (based solely on their stories), Tangled is my third favorite. That list is: Mulan, Lilo and Stitch, Tangled, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid.

Like these other Disney films, Tangled has a great story, fun characters, and breathtakingly beautiful animation. There's only one snag that prevents it from being utterly perfect, a disappointing bug in an otherwise tasty porridge. No, it's not the fact that they changed the name from Rapunzel to Tangled because they thought the latter would attract more boys. Really, Disney, did Snow White, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, or Mulan do poorly just because they had prominent female leads? Still, the name change was a minor annoyance, easily overlooked since it was overall a great film. No, there was something else that bugged me far more. But first I want to go over all the reasons why I loved it and why you should go and see it. What are you doing still reading this? Go now!

Story: The story was fantastic. I know the original Rapunzel tale pretty well, so I could spot the changes. But if I was a fairytale purist, I wouldn't like any of Disney's films. Besides, the changes made, in my opinion, worked very well. They added just enough life and detail to the story to keep up the pace and emotional depth over the course of a full length movie, while still staying close enough to the plot of the original tale. I'll elaborate more in the spoilers section. I am tempted to just do so here. I mean, if you don't know how Disney movies all end by now, then there's no hope for you. But I'll hold back. I do talk about a few specifics in the character section but nothing earth-shattering. You could figure out most of it from watching the trailer.

There was also a good balance of serious emotions and and humor, even though the trailer might indicate otherwise. It might be a little more comedic than the Disney classics, but what I liked is that even the comedic characters had serious sides. Pascal worries for Rapunzel and is her only friend. Maximus may always seem funny, but if you think about it, it's because for most of the film, he's out for Flynn's blood. Humor that involves wanting to kill or maim someone is always the best kind in my book. Same goes for the Vikings they encounter. Good tone is one of the first things I look for in a cartoon and Tangled delivers.

Characters: Rapunzel manages to be a very interesting character for a girl trapped in a tower for 18 years, which also makes her the first Disney princess to reach the age of consent before falling in love! She doesn't let being bored out of her mind make her a boring character, which is a tall order. She's had nothing to do but teach herself things like astronomy, guitar, and painting. She also has the drive and determination to question the woman she thinks is her mother, even though this is the only person she's ever known. And when the chance to escape her tower comes, Rapunzel grabs it (and hits it over the head with a frying pan). I also really related to her when she escapes from the tower. There's an excellent montage of her feeling alternately elated and morbidly guiltily which is absolutely hilarious.

Flynn is a more fleshed-out character than the traditional Disney male leads, like the princes from Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella. But he didn't have quite the character depth of Aladdin, the Beast, or Tarzan. Still, it felt like he did have a good backstory, just like they couldn't fit it in the film. He mentions it a little bit, just not as much as I would have liked. Still, he's the perfect foil to the repressed Rapunzel and the chemistry between them works very well and keeps you invested in both their characters.

Pascal, Rapunzel's chameleon sidekick, is easily on my list of top five Disney animal sidekicks: Mushu, Pascal, Sebastian, Abu, and Zazu—in that order. Pascal doesn't talk, but his expressive face says it all. He's clearly the enforcer of the group.

Maximus kinda reminded me of Phoebus's horse from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but I still enjoyed his stalwart and honest nature that suffers no fools, particularly not thieving ones. And you have to admire a warhorse willing to pick up a sword and fight his battles himself!

Animation: The lantern festival when all the lanterns started to light easily gave me the same chills I felt when the crowds at the Imperial City bowed to Mulan, visually stunning and emotionally moving when you think about how the lanterns represent love and longing. I also think Disney's made the right decision to do the whole movie in the style of a Rocco painting. Rocco was a reaction to being freed from the oppressive rule of Louis XIV, and this movie is all about freedom. Plus, it's just a pretty and whimsical style of painting, perfect for a cartoon. I could wish that the style of the characters had been a little more organic so it would look more like the actual Rocco style. The backgrounds did feel Rocco, particularly, Rapunzel's tower. But the characters, while charming and cute, look more like the standard plasticine doll-like versions of computer animation which would have looked right at home in Toy Story. But this would be my criticism of all computer animation. Regardless, I still thoroughly enjoyed the 3D, and it fittingly emphasized the action rather than being a gimmick. It makes the lantern scene that much more magical.

The Snag...

Okay, so after all this, you're probably wonder what I possibly couldn't like about this movie. What more is there than story, characters, and amazing visuals?

Well, from most movies, nothing. But since this is a Disney musical, there's one more element. The music. This is where this movie was a big disappointment. The songs aren't bad, but they are not anywhere close to Disney standards. They were supposed to be a musical mix of 1960s rock and medieval music, which is a great idea. I love modernized medieval music. But while the first song, When Will My Life Begin, starts well with a catchy beat, it fades away in a completely incongruously mellow way that makes it feel like two different songs sewn reluctantly together. The reprise, on the contrary, ended on a very good note but left out too much of the original bouncy nature. All in all, Out There, from the Hunchback of Notre Dame remains Disney's best song about being stuck in a tower.

Plus, other then the faintest possible Irish-like hint in the acoustic beginning, I fail to hear anything medieval about either of these songs. Rather than mixing the two genres, which could have been really fun and original, it seems Alan Menken decided to do one or the other. Although, honestly, none of the songs with lyrics had any medieval flair to them. I'm also not personally a fan of story songs, and all of them, except the love song and the one one the end credits, were tied too closely to the story to be a song that you can later turn into a radio classic.

Mother Knows Best was yet another story song and too musically repetitive, once again, with no good hook, not enough variety to the sounds or build in the middle and end of the song. The whole time she's mostly talking along to music rather than singing. Which I know is actually something they sometimes did in the 60s, but I'm not a fan of it, and the tune isn't strong enough to carry a lack of singing. Plus, it doesn't sound like a 60s song; it sounds like it's from the 50s or from a not very good theater musical.

As for the love song, after several listenings determined to like it, I've managed to appreciate it a bit more than when I first heard it, but it's still nothing special. It doesn't build enough or have a powerful enough hook to make you want to sing it, and I really don't think it challenged the singer's voices enough.

I'm usually not a fan of silly songs, but I've Got a Dream was the one that I actually liked most when I first heard it because it's got the best beat, is the most melodic, the overall tone is consistent, and it is actually sung!

Don't even get me started on the flower song. Musically, it's really pretty if a bit too short. But I can't see myself singing it. It's a song about a flower!

The instrumental score is actually quite good but not so good where I noticed it the first time around (with the exception of the excellent dance music in the town) because I was too busy being disappointed in the other songs.

Finally, the end credits song is good but sorta just stolen and not made for the film, so it doesn't really count. Though, it might have been better if they'd just stolen all the songs.

This is why, sadly, Tangled does not even make the list of my top twenty favorite animated musicals. Now, this list is strictly for the music, not the stories. I like most of their stories, but not all. Tangled doesn't even make it ahead of Lilo and Stitch (not listed), who stole all their music from Elvis. And I'm not even an Elvis fan! Yes, even a few lame Disney sequels had better music. * Note that the 1st, 4th, 5th, 14th, 15th, and 16th movies are NOT even Disney films. They are often mistaken for Disney, but they are NOT.

1.)* Anastasia 2.) Mulan 3.) Tarzan 4.)* Road to El Dorado 5.)* Quest for Camelot 6.) Aladdin 7.) Beauty and the Beast 8.) The Little Mermaid 9.) The Hunchback of Notre Dame 10.) Pocahontas 11.) Hercules 12.) Lion King II 13.) Toy Story II 14.)* The Prince of Egypt 15.)* Thumbelina 16.)* The Swan Princess 17.) Pocahontas II 18) Lion King 19.) Cinderella 20.) Sleeping Beauty

Yes, these are exactly in the order starting with my most favorite and going down from there. Yes, I am a strange person (more evident at the later ones--the first few are pretty standard). But hopefully this gives you an idea of my musical taste so you have something by which to gage my opinion.

Spoilers

Notable differences between this and the original tale:

The whole sun drop turning into a magic flower was completely Disney, but I liked it. Actually far more epic than the original lettuce that Rapunzel is named after.

They reversed Rapunzel and Flynn's social statuses. In the original story Rapunzel, is a commoner, and the man who saves her is a prince. But I was fine with Rapunzel being the lost princess. I know how Disney loves its princesses.

Mother Gothel isn't actually using Rapunzel for any magic in the original tale. She just wants a child to love. Which actually makes her evilness rather more ambiguous. Sure, kidnapping and dropping the prince from the tower was wrong, but otherwise Gothel is more the archetypical over-protecive parent than evil stepmother. I actually wished Disney had played this up more, but I realize Disney villains rarely have that kind of nuance. I didn't feel they played up her evil nature enough either. I wish there had been more hints that she didn't really love Rapunzel. I don't think her constantly making fun of her really cut it because some parents do that. It makes them bad parents, but at Gothel's level, it wasn't even really verbal abuse. It easily could have just been someone who was too selfish to know better.

The prince gets his eyes gouged out falling from the tower into a bunch of thorns, but Flynn just gets stabbed.

In the original, Gothel cuts Rapunzel's hair but here obviously she couldn't because then it would be useless to her.

Rapunzel's tears do actually heal the prince in the original, but I really wish it had been her hair in this one since it was healing hair and the whole time I thought: “This is perfect because she could use her hair to heal Flynn when his eyes get gouged.” I always thought the tear thing was cheesy in the fairytale. But at least Disney didn't have to change it for a happy ending. The prince always lived at the end of Rapunzel. Interestingly enough, the witch doesn't die in any version I've ever read. The closest she comes is getting stuck in the tower.

Rapunzel has twin babies by the prince in the original. In some it's even how Gothel figures out what's happened. Then Rapunzel wanders the desert for years with her babies until she finds the blinded prince. But I get why they didn't want to explain that to the kiddies.

Info Thursday
Being Thankful for My Sister Makes Me Unthankful for TSA

My sister has decided not to take the plane when we go to visit our family for the December holidays. The reason? She'd rather not be irradiated, shown nude, or rubbed down in all her intimate areas by TSA. Even though I don't personally have the same feelings, I do believe it should be someone's right not to have to endure this.

Plus, even I find the machines a little worrying. The back-scatter machines use X-Ray radiation. It's not very strong but some experts in the field point out that it's exposing your skin and not your bones to radiation, which puts you more at risk for skin cancer. Moreover, they just don't have enough research to prove it's safe to expose billions of people to this radiation.

The safe alternative are the millimeter-wave machines, but not all airports have these. Then my sister made a fair point that they're touching your privates with gloves that they sometimes forget to change from touching other people's privates which just is not sanitary.

But even if you don't believe it's a health risk, it still is a violation if people don't want to be touched there. Moreover, it's a violation to force TSA agents to touch people in places they don't want to touch! A bad situation all around.

I will still be traveling by plane but I will make it my mission to make TSA feel as uncomfortable and violated as they're making my sister feel. Intense eye contact, animal sounds, whatever it takes. I do feel immense sympathy for the TSA agents, but that's why I think they need to rise up and draw the line at what they will NOT do. They don't like doing it either. More importantly, it's not actually making us more safe (as proved in this video from Mythbuster Adam Savage). But there will always be too many passengers willing to travel no matter what, so it's the TSA that needs to draw the line at what they will and won't do to us. I understand we all want to keep our job in these hard times, but "I'm just following orders" is never an acceptable excuse.

Sources:
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-12/travel/body.scanning.radiation_1_backscatter-radiological-research-radiation/3?_s=PM:TRAVEL
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/11/17/whats-the-real-radiation-risk-of-the-tsas-full-body-x-ray-scans/

Wildcard Wednesday
Dream Journal

I had a bunch of dreams when I fell asleep today but the only one I can remember is one where I was in my bed and these big dark storm clouds came rushing at my window. I shouted that it was a tornado but no one would believe me. I held my breath and waited for the glass to burst as the cloud reached the window but, nothing happened.

This dream may have something to do with the fact that I had taken a nap and it was dark when I woke up.

Diary Tuesday (on Wednesday!)

Go and Punishment

So I've been pretty tired for all the job apps I've been doing but I was very pleased when I remembered I lived near a UPS since sometimes I just don't feel like going to the post office. I wish more library applications could be emailed.

Anyway, I forgot to post on time because I've been playing Go against the computer non-stop because I've also got two human opponents and I want to impress them with my amazing Go skills and make them respect the power of my Chinese blood rather than laughing as their chess champion selves crush me into the dust. Oh, yeah, did I mention they're chess champions? But they've never played Go so that's an advantage. Right? Right?! Sigh... But one was afraid to play against me. So for one brief shining moment I made him afraid. I'll always have that.

Argh! And now I owe my sister another treat!

Sigh...

Writing Stats Monday

Er, do cover letters count? No? Sigh... This has been a bad week for writing, but I did turn in a job application today, and now I want to sleep so much that the desire has carved a hole in my soul.

Punishment Sunday (on Monday)

I received a portentous knock a few minutes ago. My sister caught me not blogging. There is now a treat for her. Or, there will be.

Links Saturday
Tangled

I am so excited about this movie. I wish they'd just called it Rapunzel but, other than that, it looks like it has real potential. I've been waiting for it since I was 8 years old. There's a blog post I did in 2006 when I was drooling over the concept art. Okay, not drooling over the art exactly, which I wasn't sure about, but the concept was definitely making me drool. I hope the songs are good but even if they're just mediocre but the story is good, I'll still like it. It'd be hard for it to live up to my many years of expectation but I at least hope it's not bad. But, as far as I can tell from the trailer, it looks promising. It's even in 3D which I love. I'm a total sucker for 3D. But, I still expect a good story.

Review Friday (on Saturday)
Morning Glory

Trailer



Overview

From the trailer I expected a diverting but pretty standard girl-power comedy and that is what I got. I enjoyed it but nothing much seems to have stuck with me other than wondering if the beginning was meant to start small and get bigger or if that was a glitch with the projector.

Spoilers

The angry banter in pleasant voices between Diane Keaton and Harrison Ford was highly amusing. I quite enjoyed Ford's performance as a humorless news curmudgeon. It seemed both similar and yet worlds away from the characters he normally plays. He was clearly a man's man who enjoyed hunting and solitude and had very inflexible values, but he's not the noble hero.

The romance between Rachel McAdams and what's-his-face, however, didn't really do it for me and I can't even recall how it ended or even how the movie in general ended and I just saw it Tuesday. It was happy but forgettable.

Info Thursday
The First King of France

Since last time I told you about the last King of France, this time I thought I'd tell you about the first King of France, Clovis. Clovis is supposed to be a precursor to the name Louis. Don't ask me how. Sometimes I think linguists are just crazy. Although, they do sound similar at the end. Maybe people just got tired of saying the C and sorta slurred the V. I guess they did drink a lot of alcohol in those days.

Anyway, Clovis, according to the legend, is the reason the Fleur de Lis is the symbol of the French monarchy. He was hiding in this body of water from his enemies and came across this water lily and used it to breathe. So the Fleur de Lis is famous for being a snorkel for the first French king.

Source:
My French History class

Wildcard Wednesday: Beautiful People
Jennifer Ethle

This may seem like blasphemy to some of my dearest friends, but the last time I watched Pride and Prejudice, I found myself admiring Jennifer Ethle at least as much as Colin Firth (though the wet shirt scene is still all about Colin). I didn't hate the 2005 version. It thought the actors did all right, and even though I prefer Firth, the new Darcy wasn't so bad. I even came to respect Keira's performance. But no one can ever replace Ethle as the perfect Elizabeth Bennet. The only problem she ever had was it was impossible to believe she was the just the second prettiest sister.

Not a lot of the still photographs capture Ethle's beauty quite as well as film. This one is good for showing off her amazingly symmetrical face, and lively dark eyes that always seem to hide a bit of mischief. But I wish I could have found one that also showed her smokin' period bosom. Although, it's probably better for the admirers of good bosoms to see it heaving. Perhaps there's something about seeing her vivacity and sparkling eyes in action that just can't be captured in most the static photos they had her pose for.

Diary Tuesday
Energy and Sexy, Sexy Structure

Today I went went out with some girls in my area. We played games, ate lunch at one girl's house, and then saw Morning Glory, which I enjoyed except for the odd part at the beginning where the projection started small and progressively got bigger. But now I'm beginning to think that wasn't part of the movie at all but rather someone just learning to use the projector.

While looking back on some blog posts from my undergrad years, I also realized how much more energy I had back then. I don't think this was just because I was younger, but also because I interacted regularly with the people around me and enjoyed their company. In grad school I was far more isolated, and too busy to work in much social time. Now the trick is meeting people, but I feel like I finally know a pretty decent amount of people for regular activity, so things are definitely looking up.

I also need more structure. In life, just as in other things. The self-imposed structure of this blog has been working out really well for me. At first I thought the restrictions would drive me crazy, but now Wildcard Wednesday is easily the hardest day because I don't know what to expect. I need to keep it though, because there just aren't enough days in the week for all my segments.

What's that? Where's the sexy part? Well, I was just going to write structure in the title, but then I realized how incredibly boring that sounded, so I added the sexy part. I waited until now to tell you, so you'd read this far. Yup. I'm evil.

Writing Stats Monday

Fantasy Novel
Last time I checked it was 213,591 words.
This time it's 211,670 words.
That's a difference of 1,921 words for anyone not wanting to do the math. I think if I could at least get it under 200,000, that would be something.

Photo Sunday
Escargot!

Five years ago I spent a semester abroad in the beautiful city of Nantes. On one of my first days out I informed my host mother I was going out, only to be captivated by this snail on the wall. She caught me taking a picture of it and was completely baffled at my fascination. But I do agree that, as much as I love snails, Nantes is far more wonderful as can be seen by the pictures below.

Above are both the outside of Nante's history museum.

Err... I THINK still the museum.

Some of the fabulous (if slightly tilted) architecture in the center of the city.

Links Saturday
Veronica Mars the Movie?

http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/11/10/veronica-mars-movie-rob-thomas/

I'm on the fence about this because I loved the show but I'm not sure that'd translate well to film.

Review Friday
Al Capone Shines My Shoes

Summary

Moose's life seems to be going better. His sister's finally in the school she needs, his mother spends more time with him, and his friend Scout can finally come to Alcatraz to play ball with him. But the reason Moose's sister got into school was Al Capone, and now it seems like Moose may have to pay the piper.

Overview (No spoilers)

Choldenko's gift of narration and Moose's character kept me turning the pages. I did want to know what happened next. There was everything you needed for excitement--real peril and dastardly plots. However, I didn't get as much character development in this book as I was hoping. Perhaps the author plans to write more books because it made me feel like it was a coming of age story that didn't quite come of age.

6/10 stars * * * * * *

Book Club (Spoilers)

I still hated Piper's character at the end of this book and was annoyed with Moose for being attracted to her in spite of her obnoxious behavior. I don't care if she was having a hard time because of her mother's pregnancy. Maybe if she had been nice in the first book and this marked a change in her character, but she was the same in the first book, so she's just a horrible, selfish person in good times and bad. I also didn't quite get or believe Al Capone could be involved with getting Moose's sister into school and even though there was a jail break on Alcatraz, the children's involvement seemed far-fetched.

However, in spite of these complaints, I would read another of these books because it could simply be that the story isn't finished yet, and I would still love to see how Moose's story continues.

Info Thursday
The Last King of France

So due to John Green's terrific recap of the French Revolution (the first video of which is posted below) I was spurred to look up the last actual King of France. Because French history gets really murky, confusing, and bloody between 1792-1870. Basically Kings get killed, people revolt, they try to set up alternate governments, those fail, more people get killed, and then, before you know it, everyone's shouting--"Vive le Roi!"

So the last man to call himself King was Louis-Phillipe I, but the last monarch of France was Emperor Napoleon III. And, let's face it, an Emperor is just a King on steroids.

What I was shocked to discover is there are STILL people who are pretenders to the French throne. I mean, even if it was restored, seems like it wouldn't be the safest gig. Don't they know what happened to those other guys?



Sources:
John Green--as many times as he's been listed here it's probably safe to say I learn a lot from John Green. Although, I already knew a lot about the French Revolution, he rekindled my interest.

Wikipedia--but I'm reasonably confident it's true as they're simple facts and not conspiracy theories.

Wildcard Wednesday
Blog Buddies -- First Impressions

I thought it might be fun to call out the people I know read my blog at least from time to time. But if I don't mention you and you'd like me to, leave a comment. Anyway, the following are the all who I know have read because they've commented enough times for me to remember or you have told me you read my blog. Your names (in alphabetical order) are followed by either how I first met you or my first memory/story of you. But if you have a different one, I'd be fascinated to hear it!

Amber: I met Amber on a student bus at the University of Michigan since we both lived in the Northwoods. I think I may have been reading something with Neil Gaiman's name on it and she recognized the author. And talking about books is probably the quickest way to become my friend. I happened to see her a lot since we seemed to have similar schedules so after a while we just decided to hang out somewhere other the bus.

Brian: I was visiting Gilpatrick house for reasons I can't recall but may have had to do with my then fencing buddy (I think her name was Erin?). Brian was living there at the time. He had a beard. I have found over the years that the beard comes and goes but I believe it is always there--lurking below the surface. I remember he also had a dragon puppet. I tried to abscond with said dragon puppet. I was foiled. But somehow he still thought it wise to invite me to live in Gilpatrick House a year or two later. Perhaps he'd forgotten I was an inveterate dragon abductor?

Becky: Saw her many times while I was living in Gilpatrick. Often reading in the lounge. Took me several weeks if not months to realize she and Brian were siblings. I remember it clicked when I realized they both had the same last name on their doors. Becky enjoys 3D puzzles and a sort of indirect but very good first memory of her is when I first stepped into Gilpatrick after just coming back from France. I was still readjusting and feeling a bit of reverse culture shock, so I felt I was in just the right place when, on entering the lounge, a 3D puzzle of the Eiffel Tower and of Notre Dame (with a Quasimodo on top) were present.

Dejah: We met in a class in grad school but for the life of me I cannot recall which one. Clearly she was more memorable than the class. I remember we had stats together, which I dropped. Still sorry for leaving our stats group, but I don't regret dropping. Should have done it sooner.

My sister: I am told that, upon first seeing me, my sister slapped me and screamed "Take her back!" But we get on much better now, I assure you. I tried to think back if I had an oldest memory of her but there wasn't anything I could pinpoint. Far too many. She's just always been there. And I can appreciate that far more now than I could when we were screaming and pulling each other's hair as children.

Sarah: I'm fond of this story and probably told it to her too many times, but I was having a bit of a bad day and was all alone in my room in Gilpatrick when Sarah knocked on my door and asked if I was interested in scones and board games. Who wouldn't be? Sarah's one of the primary reasons I came to love Gilpatrick.

Stephen: Hmm...I honestly cannot remember. We were in middle school together but I don't think we started hanging out much until High School since I was friends with Joni and Kelly and he would eat lunch with us sometimes. Then I'd invite him to my birthday parties. Everyone remembers the pinatas! Don't know why I ever bothered to do anything else.

Thomas: I decided to join a meet-up group to make some local friends. The first meet-up I attended was at a sushi restaurant. My sister and I arrived early but ended up sitting different places at the table. I was more toward the center whereas she was at the end. He arrived late and sat at the end of the table by my sister and I noticed they talked a lot about computers. I don't think I said more than a few words to him that night, if any.

Tim: At lunch with my middle school writing team, two people entered the room at the same time. A dark-haired girl and a painfully blond haired boy--like eye-wateringly bright blond hair. One of them was introduced as Zelish. I thought it was the boy and assumed he was foreign. He sat next to me and said "Hey, wanna see something cool?" Then he partially blew up his plastic Ziploc bag, put a raisin on it, and slammed down his hand and the raisin went flying. He laughed hysterically, clearly pleased. I wondered if maybe he was a bit "special." I also actually wondered if he was hitting on me which was rare for my middle school self because I had extremely low self-esteem. I decided if he was hitting on me, I wanted him to stop. He insists he doesn't remember any of this. Three years later, we were dating.

Diary Tuesday
French Peeps, Trains, and Story Ideas

Monday night I went to a dinner with my French conversation group to meet with some French-speaking peeps at a restaurant called the Hot Italian. Most of the people were very nice, a few I can't speak for because it was a large group, and I didn't speak with them, nor have I met them previously, and one I admittedly cannot stand, but I did not talk to this person much, and I'm probably just being petty as this person has never shown me any actual malice; I just find their manners annoying. Luckily I was seated next to an actual Francophone and someone just learning but reasonably proficient. Actual Francophones are great since you can learn the most speech from them. And people who are just learning but reasonably good are nice to talk to because it makes me feel good about my skills while still exercising them.

The restaurant also had pictures of hot Italians painted on the side and there was a man hovering around our group who looked like the male portrait.

After the restaurant, I went to catch the train to meet a friend at SacState. My friend thought he could meet me at the restaurant at 9:30pm but wasn't certain. I always like to be certain of things, so I thought it might be better for me to meet him at his student union which would be open until 11PM. If it were somewhere I was familiar with, I may have been willing to wait outside, but quite a lot of Sacramento is sketchy, and I'd never been to this area, so I wanted an indoor place to wait. I realized that going to the student union would actually mean I'd spend more time in uncharted city areas, but I tend to prefer moving rather than waiting if I'm nervous about a situation. Harder to catch a moving target is my reasoning. Plus, I just hate waiting and tend to get irrationally angry at the person I'm waiting for if I'm in a place where I'm not comfortable, so I wanted to spare my friend that since he is typically late for things.

Anyway, I heard a guy talking to a girl (sounded a bit like he was chatting her up). But I was amused cause it sounded like what I imagine my dad would have sounded like if he tried to chat a girl up. So I made a fool of myself trying to speak Chinese to him, and he said he was from Thailand and didn't speak Chinese. Then I ended up talking to him and stepping on the same train--which was the wrong train. I'd like to say I was distracted from talking but I step on the wrong train all the time even when no one's talking to me. So I stepped off at the next stop but it was a ways from the other one and I had to walk along the track in effort to find my way back. Luckily, but also embarrassingly, my friend called me en route and rescued me but it of course meant I had to admit what had happened which I was hoping I wouldn't have to. I was so proud of being independent and this ruined it. But safety is always more important than pride so I'm glad he came and got me.

On the way home I conceptualized a whole universe for one of my stories and was really excited. Unfortunately I can't hash it out here other than to say it's about dreams but not in the annoying waking up makes everything better way. I don't like sharing ideas that are yet to be fully realized (or at least partially in actual writing). But I will certainly let all my friends read it once it's written.

No Blog Today

Just running out the door to be sociable. Won't be back in time.

Photo Sunday
Lettres d'une Péruvienne

This is a picture I drew years ago for a college project as a model book cover for Lettres d'une Péruvienne. I take pictures of all the pictures I draw and have to give up. So if you have a greeting card from me there's a chance I still have an archive of it too. Although, I didn't take pictures of them before I got a digital camera. I think our teacher was either going to keep this project or she gave them back but I didn't want to have to worry about it if she didn't. That black thing in the forest to the left is a llama. Every good picture ought to have a llama. I don't quite recall all my motivations for how I drew this, but her broken mask face is probably meant to symbolize how when she was at home her eyes were closed to any different life than living happily ever after with her prince. Whereas, in France, her eyes were opened to the world. I might have made her skin green to show she was exotic in France. Or maybe I just felt like it.

Links Saturday
Deer!

This article doesn't surprise me.

I was never afraid of deer before I went to Denison. Even now I'm not exactly afraid of all deer, but at Denison a stag and I had a moment out on central quad in the middle of the night. No one else was around. I looked at him. He looked at me. I looked at his huge rack of pointy antlers and imposing stature. He looked at my vulnerable and unprotected fleshy shell. And we had an understanding. I lived by his grace.

I feel bad for the deer in the article, though. Poor thing seems to have just gone crazy and they had to shoot it down.

Review Friday
The Lost Hero

Summary

Jason wakes up not remembering who he is, where he is, or how he got there. Unfortunately, the monsters chasing him aren't very considerate of his amnesia. He and his new friends Piper and Leo are soon drawn into a world of Ancient Greek gods and beasts of legend. They seek refuge at Camp Half Blood where they discover their godly parents and meet others like them. But the oldest and darkest power is rising, and even the heroes of Camp Half Blood won't be enough to fend it off. Could Jason be the key to finding the help they need or will he be the instigator of war?

Overview (No Spoilers)

I LOVED this book! It has a slightly more serious tone than the Percy Jackson series. In some ways I thought of it as American Gods for kids except a whole lot less depressing! This is not just because it's about gods but because it's about how gods need people. There's still plenty of humor, however, and it's just as action-packed as all of Riordan's previous books. My sister likes to say they're about to die on every page, and I'd have to agree with her. I also loved all of the characters almost instantly which is pretty rare for me with any book. For an amnesiac Jason is quite interesting. Probably helps that he has fragmentary memory and that even the reader doesn't know who he was before, so we're not shouting at him the whole time to stop being so stupid. We want to discover his past as much as him and are just as baffled by it.

I also loved both Piper and Leo, which I'll go into more in the spoiler's section. But it's not a spoiler to say that Leo reminded me a bit of Marco, my favorite character from the Animorphs (another excellent YA series). They're both, small, funny, and snarky with troubled pasts that make you just want to hug them, and they're both overshadowed a bit by their best friends, but they still transcend the average role of sidekick to be heroes in their own right. It also helps that the story is told from all three points of view. That's also probably what made it so long but hard to mind the length when it's such a page-turner. The chemistry among the three heroes as also so much fun to read! They're the perfect ensemble.

9/10 Stars * * * * * * * * *


Book Club (Spoilers)

One star deducted because he suggested a love-triangle at the end, and I am firmly team Piper. But the jury's still out on that. Riordan has written one of the few, if not only, tolerable love triangles before. He may yet do it again.

It was great that Leo was actually the only one of the three whose godly parent I guessed before they got to Camp Half Blood. In the Percy Jackson books I could pretty much always guess so he's getting better at being mysterious even if you do know the gods. Even though Jason showed he could fly early on that didn't tip me off that his father was Zeus because Thalia never showed any ability (or inclination) at flight. The lightning didn't tip me off either first because I wasn't even thinking Zeus would have another kid since he'd promised not to. Silly me. I even thought it was possible Jason didn't have a godly parent because of all the Roman stuff which baffled me pretty much until the end of the book and it's all still pretty mysterious. I thought he might be something other than a half-blood but clearly I was wrong about that.

I thought it might be Piper's dad who was the god after all because I couldn't think of anyone who fit her ability to talk people into things except for Hermes. But again I was stunned to find her mother was Aphrodite! Yet it made perfect sense even though Piper's the farthest from what one would expect of a child of Aphrodite. Even her beauty didn't tip me off since it was sch a natural beauty and you do always think about magic causing unnatural beauty (like Barbie girl beauty). I loved what he did with this fact, too, showing an entirely more formidable and admirable side to Aphrodite's powers.

I also loved that she had named her zit Bob.

Riordan's use of actual facts are very satisfying as well. I loved that when I looked up Jack London and Wolf House all the things Riordan said were actually true, or even better, were real life mysteries that are solved in his fantasy world. London, for instance, grew up thinking that a man named William Chaney was his father, but when he wrote to Chaney as an adult, the man vehemently denied the relation. Now, in the real world Chaney's accusation that London's mother slept around was either true or he was a deadbeat (or both). But it's more fun to think that London actually was the son of Mercury.

I didn't quite believe they would leave the burnt ruins of London's house on a national park but that's true too!

I liked the end of this book a lot but, of course, this is going to be a whole series so I'm not sure about the second one. On one hand I hadn't even guessed Percy might be with the Romans until the end which is another one of those impressively obvious things. On the other hand, I'm not sure I'm looking forward to an amnesiac Percy since that could get annoying. But if anyone can do it well, it would be Riordan.

Info Thursday
Can You Take the Greek Out of the Roman?

So far I've only done some light Wikipedia research just to see if I can find a time BEFORE the Romans worshiped Greek gods. But I can't seem to. Even in the founding myth of Rome, Romulus and Remus are said to be related to Aeneas, who was the son of Venus (a.k.a the Greek goddess Aphrodite). My sister pointed out that this means the Romans think of their greatest hero as a really hot dude. Julius Caesar also claimed to be descendant from Venus, so I guess, even more than their warrior status, it was important to the Romans that people know how pretty they were.

Legend has the founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus as April 21st 753 BC. Pretty specific for a legend. This time period also coincides with a vast immigration of Greek peoples to the Italian peninsula which did lead to an influx of Hellenic culture (or Greek stuff). But while I know a few gods specific only to the Romans, I still cannot find any mention of their religion before the Greek's arrival. I know they were there, because in actuality, Rome developed from a federation of villages which were there long before the city and before the arrival of the Greeks. But on Wikipedia, at least, I am unable to find any mention of the religion of the original Latin tribe.

Wildcard Wednesday
Dream Journal Encore

I should have written down my dream earlier because I've forgotten the details already. I recall something about porkpies but not how they were related. I remember there was a point in my dream where I considered putting on my RenFaire costume, but I don't think I did, and I was being chased down by someone in a sort of toy race car. I think.

Diary Tuesday
Disturbed Dreams

So a few nights back I dreamed that the guy from CSI Miami was hunting me and I had to hide behind these trees which were really good cover, so then I guess my subconscious realized that this would be a pretty lame nightmare if I was all safe and secure behind some actually really pretty autumn trees, so then I was transported to a house which are always terrible places to hide, especially in nightmares. So I got outside the house and ended up scaling three barbed wire fences. I actually woke up tired, as if I'd been running.

Then I had another dream that I think contained some problem but all I can remember clearly is a big tower of Christmas cookies, so that was a nightmare fail.

Most recently I had another dream where I had a little girl named Amanda and let a relative named Stacy watch her. But both Stacy and Amanda got kidnapped and I spent the rest of the dream screaming their names and it's probably the only dream where my throat actually hurt.

This is anomalous as I usually don't recall this many of my dreams.

Writing Stats Monday

Fantasy Novel
Last time it was 214,457 words.
This time it's 213,591 words.

Happy Halloween!

I tell you, the sugar is eating my brain or something. I can't believe I forgot to post again. But here's a pic of some decorations my sister made for Halloween and enlisted my aid in coloring (I colored the ghosts). Pacpumpkin fears ghosts!

Links Saturday
TELL ME YOU LOVE ME!

I found this great web series parody of The Legend of Zelda and there are about thirty episodes, all of which are hilarious, but the third one is, by far, my favorite. Knowing the Legend of Zelda series is a big plus, but even if you don't, you should be able to still appreciate a lot of the humor. Although, I do warn you, the humor is VERY adult. I don't think I have any particularly sensitive blog readers, but just in case, you've been warned.

Legend of Neil Channel
Tags: Atom.com,Atom Originals,Atom Blog,Upload Videos

Review Friday
The Goblin Wood

Summary

After her mother is murdered by her own village, Makenna runs away and only survives by making the unlikeliest of friends--goblins. She renounces her humanity and defends the goblins against people, but soon a plot to destroy them all forces her to accept the aid of a human knight and find a gateway into another world.

Overview (No Spoilers)

I actually owned this book for quite some time, but I didn't read it until recently because goblins aren't really my thing and the cover wasn't that prepossessing. It made me think the story was just some little girl wandering into the woods and meeting plucky goblin friends. But when I got an advanced reader's copy of the sequel, The Goblin Gate, at the library conference back in June, my sister read them both and loved them. Since we usually have similar taste I figured I'd finally give it a chance and I loved it too. The characters have so much mettle from the very first page that I immediately liked them all. Independent, determined, Makenna and her devious but faithful goblin companion, Cogswhallop. I also felt Tobin the knight's perspective of Makenna, the feared sorceress, added a depth to the story that we would not have otherwise had. It's a morally confusing but satisfying mix of rooting both for and against the main characters when they find themselves pitted against each other and having to decide what they truly believe is right.

Another thing I loved about the story was the moral ambiguity in general. The characters struggle throughout, never quite knowing if what they're doing is right, even at the very end. We see both sides are fighting to survive. Is one any more justified than the other? The question's never really answered in this book, but I still loved the characters enough not to care if they were always morally right. I liked the fact that they questioned themselves, but there's never any convenient or easy answer--just like in life.

The sequel, The Goblin Gate officially came out just this month, but since I already read that, I must now eagerly await the third book, The Goblin War, which does not yet even have a publication date. I guess that's the only downside to advanced readers copies, now I must wait even longer for the next one!

Book Club (Spoilers)

In the beginning it was Makenna's vengeance on her former town that cemented how I related to her. I know if I had seen someone I loved murdered by villagers she had helped all her life, I too would have wanted to flood the town. I probably would have wanted to do worse, but what she did is clever and so human. We mostly acknowledge that our desires for vengeance are often wrong or won't really solve anything, but almost all of us feel it. I always prefer a flawed protagonist to one who always does the "right thing."

I was also surprised to find that I didn't mind so much that the attraction between Makenna and Tobin never fully blossomed into romance. Although, one can interpret Tobin's actions at the end to be largely based on how he feels about Makenna--they're still also based on the love he develops for the goblin people.