Squeaky Books: November 2007

Extras-- Scott Westerfeld

Tuesday, November 27, 2007 5:56 PM Posted by Enna Isilee , 10 Comments
Labels: Book Review

“To everyone who wrote me to reveal the secret definition of the word ‘trilogy’.” ~Scott Westerfeld.

The Uglies “trilogy” is back, with the stunning fourth book Extras. Extras follows the story of Aya Fuse and her quest to become famous. Taking place about three years after the end of Specials this book does not disappoint. Or at least, it didn’t disappoint me.

In this time everyone is given a “feed,” much like blogs of today, where they can post anything they want. If people read their stuff and talk about it, the person’s “face rank” goes up. The highest being 1 and the lowest being 1,000,000. Aya is in the lower spectrum. A total extra. But she’s got a plan. She’s going to kick a story so huge everyone will have to notice her. But at what price?

I was frustrated at first. I loved Aya but I wanted to know what happened to Tally! I buzzed through the first pages wondering, will she come now? How about now? I eventually got so wrapped up in the story (even without Tally) that I soon lost this hasty approach. Aya is a delightful character and it’s great to get to know her and her feelings. The idea of having an economy based on popularity is a great idea (for a story, I’m not quite sure about real life).

This book is a wonderful rainy day read. If you’ve got nothing to do, sit down with Extras. If you have something to do I wouldn’t recommend this book (I read it in one sitting. One sitting that lasted about 4 hours). A wonderful story that captures you and won’t let go.

Mr. Westerfeld you’ve done it again. Now please allow me to inform you of the secret definition of sequels…

~Enna Isilee

Coming soon! A review on The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld

The Sorcerer King-- Frewin Jones

Sunday, November 25, 2007 12:45 PM Posted by Enna Isilee , 9 Comments
Labels: Book Review

“Tania is the lost princess of Faerie. When she returns to Faerie from the mortal world, she finds only devastation. The Sorcerer King of Lyonesse—ancient enemy of the Faerie Court—has been released. As the wicked Sorcerer regains his power, King Oberon, Tania’s father, is imprisoned, and the Faerie Court is being destroyed. Tania must prepare to fight a war that she may not survive.”

The Sorcerer King is the third in the series; which, as I have not read the other two, makes it a very interesting book. I have before started a series with a book other than the first, just to see if it works as a standalone, a challenge to the author, if you will. The Sorcerer King didn’t do so well.

The story began like a chapter, not a book. I can only imagine the frustration of people who read the second Faerie Path book. If the ending of the second flowed smoothly with the beginning of the third, it must have been some cliffhanger. It frustrated me, and made the whole book read like a TV episode.

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The plot itself was good, if a bit too forced. I found myself getting confused and things that were important flashed before my eyes in a second. Causing me to go back and try and figure out what exactly happened. I was never exactly sure who was where and what was happening. And every single thing, even normal things, had a made-up name. The author was trying to hard to make a typical story original.

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Also, a good book in a series should tell you what happened before, but leave you wanting more detail, therefore getting you to read the other books. The Sorcerer King did the opposite. It gave me just little snippets of things, not enough to let me know what they’re talking about unless I have read the other books. This did not make me happy. And left me lost and behind as the story unfolded.

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Perhaps I was just too old for this book. I have always been of the mind that books are for all ages, but sometimes books just aren’t meant for older readers. Someone attempted to make this book really detailed and in the end just made it really complex, so that the intended audience wouldn’t understand.

I want to make it clear that I really liked the actual story. I just think that the author’s diction and syntax was not chosen well.

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And that's all I have to say about that.

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~Enna Isilee

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Coming tomorrow, a review on Extras by Scott Westerfeld.

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[Please ignore the periods between paragraphs. Blogger is freaking out on me.]

I'M DONE!

Sunday, November 18, 2007 8:34 AM Posted by Enna Isilee , 14 Comments
Labels: Other

I finished Pride and Prejudice so I'm back baby! I'm reading The Sorcerer King and I can't wait to be an active blogger again. Woot!

(I'm curious to see how many of you I've lost now. Tee.)