Review - Tithe by Holly Black

I promised you all a review soon a couple of posts back, but of course my Nook Color's charging cable splintered in about 3 different pieces. Luckily, this apparently is a common experience, so Barnes and Noble is replacing it for free. Just have to wait for it in the mail.

However, I did finish reading Tithe and Ironside by Holly Black. There's a book in between those two that I also have on my Nook and HAVE read before, but I can't remember the name of it.

Basically, Holly Black wrote about Faeries. Faeries, in her description, are all sorts of creatures, from Ogres and Nixies to Hobs and Pixies. They are mean, they are cruel, but they cannot utter a single lie. The main character, Kaye, finds out that though she looks and was raised human, she is in fact a Faerie. She is about 15 I believe, and when she returns to the land of Faerie, she doesn't know much about mannerisms Faeries practice.

The 3 book series is undoubtedly dark and gruesome,  at least the first and last book, and a much better read than Twilight would be to a darkling. I recommend this series if you are interested in the Fantasy genre, especially if you enjoy books that have a perfect mix of real life and the fantasy world. These characters are set in the real world, yet they do not belong in this world. Iron makes Faeries sick, yet some are "banished" to live in the city.

They have a magic called glamour, in which they make themselves and other objects look like other things. When they need money, they pick leaves out of the gutters on the streets and make them look like any bill they wish too. They make themselves look like whatever they want, even down to their clothing. They can take a knife and glamour it to look like a pen.

Strangely, the glamour makes Faeries see what other Faeries want them to see. Regular people who have "the sight" can see through the glamour. They see that what Faeries are eating is actually old, rotten fruits and mushrooms. Faeries themselves don't see that.

It is a good read and, while I haven't read other books by Holly Black, I think I would recommend her as a favorite author. Don't say you got that from me, (yet).

Review - Twilight series.

I am not a fan of Twilight. The plot of the books just repeats itself, and although they are well written, I feel that her degree in English may have had a negative effect on Stephenie Meyer's skills as a writer. Almost all of the dialogue in the books seem rigid and too perfect for a person speaking.

Source: Google

While reading the books, I got a sense of Deja Vu: something happens to draw attention to Bella, Edward attempts to hide her, they end up killing people in order for Bella to survive. The same thing, in every book. Sure, the story is different, but the idea is the same.

See, I have an actual opinion, instead of just being prejudiced against the series. Even so, if I were simply prejudiced against them from the get-go, (and in all honestly, I was), I would have found that it was because (1) it's a romance, (2) it supposedly shows the "perfect" relationship to young girls, and (3) it is a mainstream title. The reason I ever read the books? A relative sent them to me. Brand new books. I couldn't just leave them sitting unread! Plus, at that point, I got curious. What the hell was so great about these books?

Nothing. They were a popular series about yet another girl and vampire. Perhaps it's the kindest story about a girl and a vampire, at least that I have read, but people were entranced: So this is what it's like to love a vampire! They're nice and caring and they are simply the perfect men to go after! They can just read recipes and cook good food? They are strong and protect you from bullies? Even if they leave for the better part of a year, when they come back I'd understand! They just wanted to protect me!

It was just another description of a boyfriend that every girl is now going to seek out. I have actually heard of girls breaking up with their boys that they had been dating for 2 years in order to find their "Edward" or maybe even their "Jacob". There is an actual website, My Life is Twilight, for people to post on how obsessed they are with Twilight.

"Today, there was a big thunderstorm in my town. I told my children that the thunder was vampires playing baseball. MLIT."

Here ends my potentially horrible review for Twilight. Maybe it was more of a rant, but I tried.

Review - The Last Unicorn

I have to tell you, I'm not a big fan of Unicorns. I might have a book about the last one, and I might have an adorable unicorn figure, but the way unicorns are described these days isn't something I like. They are supposed to be beautiful, graceful, magical, better than anything on earth, disgusted by humans and entranced by time as it passes them by. They are supposed to be perfect. Perfection is BORING. Nothing happens when everything is perfect. (Which is why as a child, I decided satanism and thoughts of simply killing myself was the way to go. Why go to heaven, where everything is perfect? Let's go to hell! ROCK AND ROLL!!! Aw, children. )

Source: Google

In The Last Unicorn, the book begins this way: everything is good, the unicorn is content in her forest, she knows she is beautiful, and la di da. Yet then an incident occurs and she is left wondering where all the other unicorns are. She becomes restless. Thus, her quest begins! Where are all the other unicorns? I must find them!

I haven't seen the movie, and I would like to, but I don't see how they can get across the amazing detail the book describes with sentences like, "Outside, the night lay coiled in the street, cobra-cold and scaled with stars." Unless there is some narrator just so there is not the loss of the greatest part of the book. The metaphors, the similes... It is hard not to go through the book and pick them out and type them here for you.

When the unicorn is caged for 16 hours of her life, the bars whisper evilly, and the lock laughs at her demise. During her hardships, she can feel time raking at her body for the first time in her life, she can feel herself dying though she is immortal. She thinks things no other unicorns have had the need to think of, and she loves when no other unicorn has ever loved. She forgets that she is a unicorn. She feels pain. It is not perfect, therefore is it perfect.

The story itself is very original, it takes elements from fairy tales, and characters talk about how to reach the happy ending. They talk about heroes, and what each of them are looking for. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone, hoping that each who reads this book can see it for what it is: simply amazing.