Paper Girls, Vol. 1

Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Such a great first book! I love the art and colors, and the story so far is twisty and intriguing. It appears to be time-travel related, but I still have so many questions!

I'm curious what the "Grand Father" means by generational conflict. There appear to be two sides, an older more established group (with flying monsters and machines that make you relive your life) and a teenage scavenger renegade group.

I'm still not sure what happened in the girls' town that caused the old-timers to zap up all the inhabitants and put them in stasis pods. Also, what is this "Calamity" the boys spoke of?

I liked the explanation of time travel, but I wonder what happened with the exploding space ship - how did it happen to send the girls (just 3 of them?) to a different time? And what does that mean? What does it mean that future Erin is there?

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Bitch Planet, Vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine

Bitch Planet, Vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine by Kelly Sue DeConnick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS!!!

Definitely a book for our times. Yes, this is an extreme view of our possible future, but when our supposed president degrades and abuses women with no consequences, and women rise in reaction to those abuses, it's not hard to see it getting to this point.

I'm ending this book being just very sad. I can't believe Meiko is dead. There was a tiny glimmer of hope, and it just feels so unfair that these smart, courageous women keep getting slapped down and taken out, though I can't believe I am still shocked by that at this point. Nothing is fair in this world.

Obviously Kam's main goal is finding her sister. That seems to be her main motivation on going to BP. But what is she willing to put up with in order to reach that goal? What more is she willing to risk? I can imagine that Meiko's death will be devastating to her - will she continue to push on with her Megaton team? At what cost?

I loved getting to know more about Penny Rolle. Despite her rough childhood, she great into an amazingly confident woman. I loved the part where they showed her an image of her ideal self, and she wasn't changed at all. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. And I ain't broke." If only we could all be so confident in ourselves!

The most frustrating people in this society are the women who just go along with their own marginalization. The teacher at Penny's school who continually punished her and insisted on calling her grandmother Mrs. Chester Alexander. The girls in Penny's shop who eat 15 calories at a time and measure their defecation. The young new wife in issue 1 who doesn't care that her predecessor was murdered to make room for her. And worst of all, Miss Whitney. Who actively instigates and organizes the death and humiliation of thousands of women. I truly don't understand her motivation.

Looking to the future, I'm also afraid to hope. I want Kam to keep fighting back, but who is going to be killed next? I'm curious to know who the Fathers are and how they got so much power (and why do they keep it). Will Kam find her sister? What will Meiko's father think when he arrives? Will they tell him about her death? So many questions.

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Juliet

Juliet by Anne Fortier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

A fascinating premise - what if Juliet and Romeo were real people, and those real families involved in the tragedy were truly cursed. And what if the only way to break that curse was for a Juliet and a Romeo in our time to fall in love and fulfill theirs and their ancestors destinies?

I really enjoyed how this book was written, jumping back and forth between the past and present. As I followed along with Guilietta's research, it felt like I was there with her, learning the true story, and falling in love. You can also tell that this book was well-researched, and it made me want to learn more about Siena and it's history. I also loved the author's note at the end when she mentioned all her mom's research. So sweet!

So was there anything I didn't like? This is where we enter the spoiler zone. Probably my least favorite part of this story was the mafia element. I get that there needs to be a villain element to explain the twins' parents' deaths, but we spent so long thinking Luciano was the villain that it seemed like an odd switch at the end to see he had been threatened and coerced all along. It would have been nice if they had at least mentioned the real bad guy (whose name I don't even remember) at some point before he appeared. As is was, I was left with a, "wait what??" when they suddenly showed up at the house.

Also, I couldn't figure out Luciano. Did he really die? Or escape with the jewels? You'd think he'd want to be with his girls, but I guess he was still a wanted man. Plus, did he just really not like Janice? Even though she seemed horrendous at the beginning, she kind of grew on me at the end, and I'm sure she was disappointed when she learned who her real father was, considering how he treated her all her life. Probably my least favorite part of this story was the mafia element. I get that there needs to be a villain element to explain the twins' parents' deaths, but we spent so long thinking Luciano was the villain that it seemed like an odd switch at the end to see he had been threatened and coerced all along. It would have been nice if they had at least mentioned the real bad guy (whose name I don't even remember) at some point before he appeared. As is was, I was left with a, "wait what??" when they suddenly showed up at the house. Also, I couldn't figure out Luciano. Did he really die? Or escape with the jewels? You'd think he'd want to be with his girls, but I guess he was still a wanted man. Plus, did he just really not like Janice? Even though she seemed horrendous at the beginning, she kind of grew on me at the end, and I'm sure she was disappointed when she learned who her real father was, considering how he treated her all her life.

The other issue I had was, did there really have to be so much secrecy? I mean, I get that it makes for a more exciting book, when you don't know who is out to harm you, but if the Alessandro and Eva Marie had been honest with Guillietta when she first showed up, even if it was after they did the DNA test and realized she was telling the truth, she's such a trusting person that she would have helped them and saved everyone a world of trouble.

The other issue I had was, did there really have to be so much secrecy? I mean, I get that it makes for a more exciting book, when you don't know who is out to harm you, but if the Alessandro and Eva Marie had been honest with Guillietta when she first showed up, even if it was after they did the DNA test and realized she was telling the truth, she's such a trusting person that she would have helped them and saved everyone a world of trouble.

Overall, I'm happy to have read this, and am already researching a trip to Siena. :)

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The Game of Love and Death

The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A lovely book about love and how it shapes both our life and death. It's true that death is inevitable, but if you open yourself up to truly loving, despite the odds and the consequences, then you have no cause for regret, no matter the outcome.

It was a little hard at first to wrap my mind around the characters of Love and Death. How and why do they and the Game exist in our reality? As much as this was a story about Henry and Flora, it was also a story about Love and Death, and their relationship throughout the centuries with one another.

One of my favorite parts of this book was its setting - I love Seattle, my hometown, and hearing it described, both in atmosphere and in location, is always a joy. I was not shocked to read the author was born and raised here, as I could truly feel her love for this city.

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Sense & Sensibility

Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been wanting to read this book for a while. As a rather large fan of the original sense and sensibility, I had to work extra hard to disengage the "I know this story" part of my brain, to separate the Elinor and Marianne of my memory from this new version of Ellie and M. To be honest, I think my difficulty in doing just that is proof of how well Joanna Trollope was able to update these characters into modern times and have them keep their same essential heart and soul. There is even a small part of me that wishes this was my first exposure to this story, because I am positive I would have been delighted and rushing to give this one 5 stars.

Maybe their situation could have been modernized a bit - when reading the first several pages, I wasn't even sure it was a modern adaptation, until Margaret pulled out her iPod. Lots of the main themes were translated well, though I still wonder how relevant the whole marry-for-family storyline remains. That might just be my middle-class American point of view talking, though.

(Ps, I'm suddenly curious about how this story would translate into a Korean viewpoint, as according to the dramas I watch, all this marrying for money & family is still very much relevant there.)

I love Elinor so very much, and this Elinor was no different. My heart was gripped every time her sisters or mother would talk about how little emotion she had - I wanted to yell at them, "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HER!" These moments especially had me flashing back to the wonderful acting of Emma Thompson in my favorite film adaptation - she is such an emotionally expressive actor.

One of the main differences in character is that Lucy had never felt particularly vindictive and evil to me in the original, but in this one, it felt like every word and action was specifically done to cause Elinor the most pain possible. Was she trying to establish her "ownership" of Edward and warn Elinor off? If she was merely ambitious, she could have accomplished the same things without even getting Elinor involved. I realize as I type this that Lucy did exactly the same things to Elinor in the original, but for some reason, it just FEELS different.

The one character I always wish was slightly more developed is Margaret. Because she's younger, she's the tag-a-long sister, and we get very little of her emotions throughout.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this adaptation, and I look forward to picking up one of Joanna Trollope's original novels to see how I enjoy them with no prior knowledge or bias.

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Armada

Armada by Ernest Cline
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SPOILERS AHEAD! PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!

I love the idea of this novel - what if all the fighting video games out there were really training simulators, teaching generations of kids (and adults) how to fight, how to fly, how to control remote drones and battle aliens? What if all the sci-fi movies and books from the last 40 years were created to indoctrinate the general public to the idea that alien life is out there, and we might have to fight it somehow?

That's exactly what happens in this book. Zack goes from being an angry, angsty teenager that happens to be really, really good at a particular video game to a key part of earth's defense against the attacks against the aliens he had unknowingly been training to fight in his video games.

I appreciated that Zack noted how weird it was that the "real" aliens behaved exactly like the video game aliens, and that both he and his father fought to discover the truth and stop the invasion before it got out of hand. What I didn't like so much was the way Zack's dad was recruited - did they really have to fake their deaths? Couldn't they have said they were joining the CIA or some other covert agency, and could only check in via phone? It felt like Xavier was made to disappear because he had to for Zack to develop into the hero the book needed. Also, it makes me angry that Xavier has to die in the end, and that the admiral pretty much just says, "Whoops! My bad! Thanks for saving us and sorry I killed your dad to try and stop you." I feel like there should have been bigger repercussions for that whole situation."

I enjoyed reading this one, and it seems like there could potentially be a sequel, which could be interesting. There's lots we haven't learned about those aliens, including everything about them. If you're looking for more books like this, I would recommend Cline's first book, Ready Player One (which I happen to prefer over this one), or Redshirts by John Scalzi, which has similar themes of "why am I always the center of the story and miraculously survive all the time?" Very meta and funny.

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The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

BEWARE OF SPOILERS! PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

I love this style of narration, and the switching of narrators. It almost felt like we were reading someone's diary, and when we got thrown into an entirely different diary, it changed our perspective. Throughout the book, we aren't sure whose version of events was true and whose was false. In the end, though, I suppose no one is unbiased towards any story, especially their own. I was very sympathetic towards Rachel (and not just because we share a name), and as the book went on, I grew quite defensive of her, especially for those short segments when we lived in Anna's perspective.

All 3 women in this story have a lot in common once everything plays out, as much as Anna refuses to admit it. Rachel and Megan in particular have many similarities. They both desire love and closeness, and are searching for something to fill the void in their hearts. Losing someone so young (for Megan, her brother; for Rachel, her father) puts you in a vulnerable position that can end in heartbreak if you choose the wrong person to be your support and lifeline.

Some people in the book were terrible, but no one was perfect. Really the best person in this book was Rachel's flatmate, Cathy. Not only did did she give a depressed alcoholic divorcee a place to stay for more than 2 years, despite the fact they were never that close, it sounds like Cathy put up with a lot from Rachel, and only asked her to leave once things got truly unacceptable. And even that request she eventually took back. Cathy was immensely supportive of Rachel's sobriety and tried to help her along that path in any way she could, and even helped find her a job once she finally learned she'd been fired. It's hard to ask for a better friend, actually.

Here's hoping Rachel can stick with the good people in the future and ignore the ones with bad intentions.

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