Book Review: Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce

Author: Tamora Pierce
Title: Wild Magic (The Immortals book 1)
Genre: Fantasy, YA, Adventure, & Sci-Fi
Pages: ebook
First Published: December 1st, 1992
Where I Got It: On my shelf (Online freebie)

"Young Daine's knack with horses gets her a job helping the royal horse-mistress drive a herd of ponies to Tortall. Soon it becomes clear that Daine's talent, as much as she struggles to hide it, is downright magical. Horses and other animals not only obey, but listen to her words. Daine, though, will have to learn to trust humans before she can come to terms with her powers, her past, and herself."




Another book from the book club I'm in. For this review, I shall divide and conquer:

The Good
- Some of the characters were very dimensional and I liked them.
- The author did a great job with the battle scenes.
- The author also did a great job making the world come to life.
- I loved how it took so long for Daine to master her wild magic; she wasn't perfect and still isn't and has a lot to learn still.
- It was a cute YA and I wish I had read this in my youth.
- It's great to see a strong female protagonist.
- THERE'S A DRAGON! I was so excited when it came around.
- The ending was a touch sad, but I liked it. 
- No real cliff-hanger, so I don't HAVE to read the next book in the series.

The Bad and the Ugly
-  Some of the characters were very "perfect"...like the Queen and King. It was annoying.
- A couple times it seemed that it was dragging. 
- There was sad part I didn't like at all. It made me furious and upset.
- How everyone LOVED Daine, besides for the baddie and the Queen of the Stormcrow. 
- I liked Cloud...but it seemed to have waaaay too much personality and human-like qualities for a horse.

Conclusion
It was a cute YA and I wish I had known about this in my youth. I know I would have been all over it, but alas, you can't change the past. The author seems to have some talent in writing; the battle scenes were great (not too gory and not too vague), the world came to life, the characters came to life, and many kuddos for adding a dragon (and it wasn't a baddie, yipee!). Even though some of the character were annoyingly perfect (like the King and Queen) I enjoyed them. I especially enjoyed Daine's character development; it seemed natural and not rushed. Honestly, I wish this wasn't a YA...I think it would have been absolutely awesome if it was written for an older crowd. 

This was certainly a journey. I'm not sure if I'd read the second one or not; maybe someday. We shall see. I would recommend this to those who like YA mixed with magic. Out of five stars I grant this 3 stars. 

Favorite Character(s): Daine, Numair, the dragon, and Onua
Not-so Favorite Character(s): The King, Queen, and the Sprinels (whatever they are called - they are half spider, half human....UGH!!!!!!!!!)

1.2 Favorite Character (Free-style Poetry)

***By the way I am super proud of this after I finished. The idea behind these prompts is that you do free-style writing for a couple minutes. No editing, no going back and making changes. Just write until you are done. I decided to make this into a poem.***

Prompt - Describe your favorite character from a book, movie, or TV show. Be sure not to use the character's name or the name of where he/she comes from.

Dilly dally,

Dance around the clock.

Never to age, never to die

Except by a strike

Of his waved blade,

That drips blood of pain.

Once a man,

who lost it all.

Who would try to gain,

But would still fall.

Two things would lead to 

His doom:

One he gained when lost and

One as pretty as a bell.

Once alone and scared.

Once alone and scarred. 

For all magic comes with a price,

Even with all the gold

And power to mold

The futures of all.

Little he knows

That one or two do

Love him so.

Even his scaly skin

And corrupted heart

Won't stop their hearts

That love him so.

Forever is he doomed

If he can not break free

Of his cursed soul.

Once he can become a man

And not a beast.

Not a coward.

Not scared.

Not evil.

Not the Dark One,

But simply be Rumpelstiltskin. 

Book Review: Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran

Author: Michelle Moran
Title: Madame Tussaud
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, War
Pages: 446
First Published: February 15th, 2011
Where I Got It: On my shelf (won in giveaway)

"Smart and ambitious, Marie Tussaud has learned the secrets of wax sculpting by working alongside her uncle in their celebrated wax museum, the Salon de Cire. From her popular model of the American ambassador, Thomas Jefferson, to her tableau of the royal family at dinner, Marie’s museum provides Parisians with the very latest news on fashion, gossip, and even politics. Her customers hail from every walk of life, yet her greatest dream is to attract the attention of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI; their stamp of approval on her work could catapult her and her museum to the fame and riches she desires. After months of anticipation, Marie learns that the royal family is willing to come and see their likenesses. When they finally arrive, the king’s sister is so impressed that she requests Marie’s presence at Versailles as a royal tutor in wax sculpting. It is a request Marie knows she cannot refuse—even if it means time away
from her beloved Salon and her increasingly dear friend, Henri Charles.
 
As Marie gets to know her pupil, Princesse Élisabeth, she also becomes acquainted with the king and queen, who introduce her to the glamorous life at court. From lavish parties with more delicacies than she’s ever seen to rooms filled with candles lit only once before being discarded, Marie steps into a world entirely different from her home on the Boulevard du Temple, where people are selling their teeth in order to put food on the table.
 
Meanwhile, many resent the vast separation between rich and poor. In salons and cafés across Paris, people like Camille Desmoulins, Jean-Paul Marat, and Maximilien Robespierre are lashing out against the monarchy. Soon, there’s whispered talk of revolution. . . . Will Marie be able to hold on to both the love of her life and her friendship with the royal family as France approaches civil war? And more important, will she be able to fulfill the demands of powerful revolutionaries who ask that she make the death masks of beheaded aristocrats, some of whom she knows?
 
Spanning five years, from the budding revolution to the Reign of Terror,Madame Tussaud brings us into the world of an incredible heroine whose talent for wax modeling saved her life and preserved the faces of a vanished kingdom."

This book has been sitting on my shelf for WAY too long. I am ashamed to say this. However, I have finally dusted this off and sat down with it. 

From page one I was absolutely in love. Rarely does one come across a book during this time period that really brings the Reign of Terror alive. Generally, the author will briefly skip over it or you only catch glimpses from Marie Antoinette's eyes or whoever. Marie seen all. She was not rich or an aristocratic who hide. To survive she went to all the beheadings and even had to mold someone the famous heads. She truly lived through it and even went to jail at one point, because she refused to mold anymore heads. I felt so bad for her. She truly was in the center of both worlds; she was from the streets of the lower class (due to the salon of wax she was able to be higher up) and she was discovered by the royal family and made to be Princess Elisabeth's art tutor. It was a fine line she walked, but she managed and lived. This is not a spoiler, because her wax salons are world wide and she known throughout the world!

I guess one would cal me a royalist, but I truly was rooting for the royal family. I know....it is pointless, because we all know how this tale ends, but ooooh I do wish it could have been different. It's so sad, because the King and Queen were naive. None told them the true truth of what was going on with the peasants. They had no real idea about how bad it was. The King believed in the good of his people. The Queen tried to appease everyone, but in the end she failed. She tried to be the most fashionable for the court, but then the poor ridiculed her and blamed her for the economy. When she tried to economize and wear no jewelry, the court ridiculed her and the poor didn't care. It's truly tragic. Especially what happens to little Louis-Charles. :(

Truly, I could ramble about this book all day. I honestly should make my book club read this when my turn to pick comes. hehehehe. 

In the end, I loved this book. It was dark, but hope was there. Perhaps not for the royal family, but it was there for Marie and her family and the salon. Michelle Moran did an amazing job and I look forward to read more of her novels! I recommend this for those that love history or even just a good book! I can see this transforming people into historical fiction nuts like me. Well, out of five stars I grant this 5 stars. ^.^

Favorite Character(s): Marie, Henri (d'awwwwe), Marie Antoinette, Princess Elisabeth, Camille (even though he was on the other side), and Wolfgang.
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Robespierre (a snake and evil. I would spit on him), Marat, Edmund, and Francois.

Book Review: The Stranger by Albert Camus

Author: Albert Camus
Title: The Stranger
Genre: Classic, Fiction
Pages: 123
First Published: 1942
Where I Got It: Borrowed from library

"Through the story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on an Algerian beach, Camus explored what he termed 'the nakedness of man faced with the absurd.'"







Randomly stumbled upon this while at the library and I thought I'd give it a go. Had no idea this was a "popular classic".

Well....I'm not sure where to begin or what to really say....ummm....

Well, this was interesting and random. I'm honestly surprised in my college experience so far I haven't read this yet or even heard of it. It's supposedly a "fine" example of existentialism. NEW LITERARY TERM I LEARNED! Head of the English department would be proud of me. haha. After doing some research on this theory and thought process, I can agree. Albert Camus' novel does embody it. The main character, Mersault, especially is a model of this.

Oooooooooooooh Mersault. You silly, silly man. I think he has something wrong with him. He has no feelings. What do I mean by that? He doesn't care about anything. Even when he ends up in jail he shows nothing and feels nothing until he snaps at a priest. That was the most he ever displayed or felt. Throughout the whole book he just didn't care. The only things he cared about was eating, sleeping, having fun with his pals, and sleeping with his girlfriend. I get the message and that it doesn't matter ultimately in the end. Everyone is to die and there is nothing one can do. Fate has already dealt out your hand without your consent. The government and law and other people have complete control over you ultimately. That is why Mersault doesn't really care. 

Also, the book makes one question what makes one human or makes one part of society. There are certain things one must feel/display to be considered human. There are certain norms of humanity. Mersault does not follow the majority of these norms and thus is used against him and labels him "inhuman" and a "monster" and should be punished. Even though him killing the Arab was an accident, he doesn't feel regret one would normally feel. It's not that he's a cold-blooded killer, he just doesn't have the ability to feel "regret" or "remorse". Hell, he didn't feel anything when his mother died. He just felt tired and wanted a cup of coffee with a cigarette. Yet, again, the last point I made comes to play here. He could have stood up and defended himself until his throat was raw, but he saw no point. In the end, he's going to die someday. 

I could defiantly see this book being discussed in a literature class. 

It is a simple and quick read. The author wrote this in Mersault's POV, so it was simple and not over flowing with fancy words or anything. I'm glad he picked this way, because it made one understand the character better. I do, however, wish I had read this in the original language. It's in French and I'm a little rusty, so I decided to continue this in English. Usually in translation something is lost, so someday I think I may find this in the original language and read it. 

In the end, this was an interesting read. It was a small book and I got it done within 24 hours. This is not by any means the book of the century, but it is something someone should read if they like the classics. It truly does make one look at the world differently and makes one think. I shall stamp this with...ummm....4 stars? More like 3.5 but I don't give decimals. 

Favorite Character(s): No one
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Raymond and the Magistrate