That's right! I've succombed to the Hufflepuffs! I'm still a diehard Ravenclaw, but one Hufflepuff in particular has caught my attention: Susan Bones.
I have no clue why I love Susan. Maybe it's because her aunt works for the Ministry, or because she's a Hufflepuff, or because she's a ginger.
Susan is sort of a shy character throughout the books, and we don't hear a lot from her. In fact, the films have no speaking parts whatsoever for Susan, but they do kind of stress that she was friends with Hermione.
For instance, in Lockhart's D.A.D.A. class in Potter's 2nd year at Hogwarts, Susan and Hermione sit together. Again that year, Susan and Hermione are seen together in the greenhouses with the mandrakes, "or...mandragora."
Susan proves herself loyal to the trio, and attends the Dumbledore's Army meetings in the Room of Requirement and the Dueling Club.
Just wanted to say...I don't know.
I like Susan Bones?
YES!!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Hermione Granger is an Atheist
Sorry, Hermione/Jesus shippers...if there...are any, but Hermione, in my mind, at least, is ATHEIST! In an interview with Melissa Anelli, webmistress of The Leaky Cauldron, Jo says that all six of the main Potter protagonists, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Ginny, and Neville, could hear the voices behind the veil. Ron was too afraid and doubtful to believe that he was hearing voices, and Hermione had no logic to back it up. Luna is a more spiritual character than the others, Harry has seen death and understands it, Neville has witnessed death and understands it, and Ginny has the same intellectual curiosity as Harry. They are the four that admit that they can hear the voices.
Throughout the series, Hermione always has to back things up with logic. Sure, she's brave and all that, and proves herself to be a worthy Gryffindor, but Hermione also could have been a Ravenclaw. The theories that come with God cannot be backed up with Hermione's ideas of logic. Hermione must have a passage from a book to confirm that God was ever, or will ever be, real.
However, in Deathly Hallows, Hermione recognizes the Bible verse on the graves at Godric's Hollow. Hey, the Bible's a book, and if it's print, Hermione's read it. She probably read the Bible for pleasure, but also to see if there was any plausible information backing up the formation of Earth.
I am sure there's some wizarding myth that regards how Earth was created that has nothing to do with God, but I don't think Hermione would agree with that, either. Hermione is probably on the side of the scientists, and ideas of the Big Bang and such.
We also know that Hermione absolutely detests Divination, a very religious and spiritual class that involves dedication and belief. Harry and Ron are ignorant of this class, but Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown seem to love it, and they need no logic.
As we know, Hermione has loosened up, focusing a bit more on SPEW and working for the Ministry, and she may have opened up to religion. But, as Jo has pointed out, Hermione and her creator(no, not the dentists! I meant J.K., herself!)are a lot alike, and Jo is very skeptical about religion.
Thanks for tuning in for this blog post. I should be doing another rather soon...about Susan Bones.
Goodnight.
Throughout the series, Hermione always has to back things up with logic. Sure, she's brave and all that, and proves herself to be a worthy Gryffindor, but Hermione also could have been a Ravenclaw. The theories that come with God cannot be backed up with Hermione's ideas of logic. Hermione must have a passage from a book to confirm that God was ever, or will ever be, real.
However, in Deathly Hallows, Hermione recognizes the Bible verse on the graves at Godric's Hollow. Hey, the Bible's a book, and if it's print, Hermione's read it. She probably read the Bible for pleasure, but also to see if there was any plausible information backing up the formation of Earth.
I am sure there's some wizarding myth that regards how Earth was created that has nothing to do with God, but I don't think Hermione would agree with that, either. Hermione is probably on the side of the scientists, and ideas of the Big Bang and such.
We also know that Hermione absolutely detests Divination, a very religious and spiritual class that involves dedication and belief. Harry and Ron are ignorant of this class, but Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown seem to love it, and they need no logic.
As we know, Hermione has loosened up, focusing a bit more on SPEW and working for the Ministry, and she may have opened up to religion. But, as Jo has pointed out, Hermione and her creator(no, not the dentists! I meant J.K., herself!)are a lot alike, and Jo is very skeptical about religion.
Thanks for tuning in for this blog post. I should be doing another rather soon...about Susan Bones.
Goodnight.
Friday, February 11, 2011
'Across the Universe' Book Review
Across the Universe
Beth Revis
5 of 5 Stars
396 pg., U.S. Hardcover
Penguin
One Star for Character Development
One Star for Plot
One Star for Conflict and Resolution
One Star for Flow
One Star for Ending
Congrats, Beth Revis, for the best ending of a book I've read in a while!
I loved this book. It's about Amy Martin, living in our time, who decides to become cryogenically frozen so that she can wake up on the Godspeed Ship and land on a new, better Earth. But when her chamber is opened 50 years early, Amy must decide who opened it: who tried to kill her.
The book switches perspective from Amy to Elder, the second-in-command on Godspeed. Elder discovers Amy, still frozen, and is the first to befriend her on the ship.
The characters were well developed, especially since it switched point-of-view, and we got memories and thoughts.
The conflict/resolution and ending correspond. We find out in the end that Elder opened Amy's chamber, not planning to kill her, but out of curiosity.
The flow worked really well, because moments we leave off with Amy begin again with Elder.
ATU is apart of a trilogy, the next two are untitled.
Beth Revis
5 of 5 Stars
396 pg., U.S. Hardcover
Penguin
One Star for Character Development
One Star for Plot
One Star for Conflict and Resolution
One Star for Flow
One Star for Ending
Congrats, Beth Revis, for the best ending of a book I've read in a while!
I loved this book. It's about Amy Martin, living in our time, who decides to become cryogenically frozen so that she can wake up on the Godspeed Ship and land on a new, better Earth. But when her chamber is opened 50 years early, Amy must decide who opened it: who tried to kill her.
The book switches perspective from Amy to Elder, the second-in-command on Godspeed. Elder discovers Amy, still frozen, and is the first to befriend her on the ship.
The characters were well developed, especially since it switched point-of-view, and we got memories and thoughts.
The conflict/resolution and ending correspond. We find out in the end that Elder opened Amy's chamber, not planning to kill her, but out of curiosity.
The flow worked really well, because moments we leave off with Amy begin again with Elder.
ATU is apart of a trilogy, the next two are untitled.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
'Nightshade' Book Review
Nightshade
4 of 5 Stars
Andrea Cremer
Philomel
454 pg., U.S. Hardcover
One Star for Character Development
One Star for Conflict and Resolution
One Star for Plot
One Star for Ending
The book is about Calla Tor, the Alpha Guardian of the werewold pack, the Nightshades. On the night that we call Halloween, she is to be wed to Renier Laroche, the Alpha Guardian of the Wolfsbane pack. One day, Calla saves a Mortal boy from a bear in the woods, which is against the rules of her kind. Now Calla is in a heap of trouble.
I really liked the werewolves in this book, and they were such a relief from the stupid werewolves from Twilight*fan girl shriek, vomit*
The characters were well developed, but there are a lot to keep track of. Calla, Ren, Bryn, Ansel, Mason, Dax, Fey, Sabine, Colette, Neville, Lumine, Shay, Efron, and more. AND you have to keep track of which pack they belong to, which gets easier throughout the book, but for the most part...I forgot entirely about Mason and Fey. Sorry.
The main conflict is that Calla doesn't want to really marry Ren anymore, not that she ever really had. She wants to be free of the traditions of the clan, and not form a new pack: Haldis.
The sequel to this book, Wolfsbane, is released July 26, 2011, and the third book, Bloodrose, is released Spring 2012.
So maybe...you could buy Bloodrose, go see The Hunger Games, and then listen to the movie review of THG AND the book review for Bloodrose.
That sounds like a plan to me.
4 of 5 Stars
Andrea Cremer
Philomel
454 pg., U.S. Hardcover
One Star for Character Development
One Star for Conflict and Resolution
One Star for Plot
One Star for Ending
The book is about Calla Tor, the Alpha Guardian of the werewold pack, the Nightshades. On the night that we call Halloween, she is to be wed to Renier Laroche, the Alpha Guardian of the Wolfsbane pack. One day, Calla saves a Mortal boy from a bear in the woods, which is against the rules of her kind. Now Calla is in a heap of trouble.
I really liked the werewolves in this book, and they were such a relief from the stupid werewolves from Twilight*fan girl shriek, vomit*
The characters were well developed, but there are a lot to keep track of. Calla, Ren, Bryn, Ansel, Mason, Dax, Fey, Sabine, Colette, Neville, Lumine, Shay, Efron, and more. AND you have to keep track of which pack they belong to, which gets easier throughout the book, but for the most part...I forgot entirely about Mason and Fey. Sorry.
The main conflict is that Calla doesn't want to really marry Ren anymore, not that she ever really had. She wants to be free of the traditions of the clan, and not form a new pack: Haldis.
The sequel to this book, Wolfsbane, is released July 26, 2011, and the third book, Bloodrose, is released Spring 2012.
So maybe...you could buy Bloodrose, go see The Hunger Games, and then listen to the movie review of THG AND the book review for Bloodrose.
That sounds like a plan to me.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
'Unearthly' Sequel Title Revealed
Cynthia Hand, author of Unearthly(see review here), recently revealed the title of the sequel to the book, which will be called Hallowed.
I personally think this is an amazing title, and expect the cover to be orange with black letters.
Get it?
I personally think this is an amazing title, and expect the cover to be orange with black letters.
Get it?
'The Kingdom Keepers' Book Review
The Kingdom Keepers
Ridley Pearson
5/5 Stars
Disney-Hyperion
One Star for Character Development
One Star for Plot
One Star for Conflict and Resolution
One Star for Flow
One Star for Ending
The book is about Finn, Maybeck, Philby, Willa, and Charlene are the hosts of the next interactive Walt Disney World program including holograms.
Every night the hosts are sucked into Magic Kingdom and are introduced to the prospect of the Stonecutter's Quill, which is a powerful weapon wanted by the Overtakers, evil Disney villains.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and read it in two days, but I DO recommend it to Children's Books rathen than YA.
It does have YA themes, though: evil, witchcraft, romance, and violence. The main antagonist is Maleficent, the evil fairy who possess the character Amanda's sister, Jessica, and turns her into Jezebel, who is an evil character from the Bible.
The plot flow very well and involves a lot of twists and turns and mystery which you don't have to pay too much attention to.
The ending was a huge cliffhanger, in which the hosts press a mysterious button, leading us into the second book, Disney At Dawn, which is out now.
Ridley Pearson
5/5 Stars
Disney-Hyperion
One Star for Character Development
One Star for Plot
One Star for Conflict and Resolution
One Star for Flow
One Star for Ending
The book is about Finn, Maybeck, Philby, Willa, and Charlene are the hosts of the next interactive Walt Disney World program including holograms.
Every night the hosts are sucked into Magic Kingdom and are introduced to the prospect of the Stonecutter's Quill, which is a powerful weapon wanted by the Overtakers, evil Disney villains.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and read it in two days, but I DO recommend it to Children's Books rathen than YA.
It does have YA themes, though: evil, witchcraft, romance, and violence. The main antagonist is Maleficent, the evil fairy who possess the character Amanda's sister, Jessica, and turns her into Jezebel, who is an evil character from the Bible.
The plot flow very well and involves a lot of twists and turns and mystery which you don't have to pay too much attention to.
The ending was a huge cliffhanger, in which the hosts press a mysterious button, leading us into the second book, Disney At Dawn, which is out now.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
'The Iron Queen' Book Review
The Iron Queen
Julie Kagawa
4 of 5 Stars
HarlequinTeen
*SERIES FINALE
One Star for Character Development
One Star for Conflict and Resolution
One Star for Ending
One Star for Flow
This book is basically Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows all over again. Meghan starts out in the mortal world, is moved back into magic, camps, finds magic objects, battles in a war, sacrifices herself, goes into limbo becomes a royal figure in her world.
I gave the first two books a 5 Star rating, and I wish I could have done the same for this. I just couldn't the plot is slower and much more boring than King and Daughter. I just had a lot of expectations and had a lot of loose ends that I wanted to be tied, that were left untied.
I did like the sacrifice, even though it was way too similar to the chapters 'The Forest Again' and 'King's Cross' from DH. After Meghan sacrifices herself to defeat the false Iron King, she goes into a sort of limbo where she meets Machina again, then she wakes up and becomes the Iron Queen. I must have misunderstood the whole Iron Fey aspect of the series, because I had believed that they were evil...but they redeemed themselves, I suppose.
Overall, the book was good, just not as fantastic as I expected it to be. But I think a lot will be given in The Iron Knight, a subsequent novel to the series, to be released soon.
Julie Kagawa
4 of 5 Stars
HarlequinTeen
*SERIES FINALE
One Star for Character Development
One Star for Conflict and Resolution
One Star for Ending
One Star for Flow
This book is basically Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows all over again. Meghan starts out in the mortal world, is moved back into magic, camps, finds magic objects, battles in a war, sacrifices herself, goes into limbo becomes a royal figure in her world.
I gave the first two books a 5 Star rating, and I wish I could have done the same for this. I just couldn't the plot is slower and much more boring than King and Daughter. I just had a lot of expectations and had a lot of loose ends that I wanted to be tied, that were left untied.
I did like the sacrifice, even though it was way too similar to the chapters 'The Forest Again' and 'King's Cross' from DH. After Meghan sacrifices herself to defeat the false Iron King, she goes into a sort of limbo where she meets Machina again, then she wakes up and becomes the Iron Queen. I must have misunderstood the whole Iron Fey aspect of the series, because I had believed that they were evil...but they redeemed themselves, I suppose.
Overall, the book was good, just not as fantastic as I expected it to be. But I think a lot will be given in The Iron Knight, a subsequent novel to the series, to be released soon.
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