Starlie's Legacy from Tragedy to Triumph

I am trying to figure out how to review this book.

Spoiler review

The title of this book is Starlie's Legacy from Tragedy to Triumph.

It starts with a beautiful introduction about Starlie, who she was, and a brief history of her impact on her loved ones' lives. We get a powerful foreword, and I like her instantly, reminding me about many influential people I look up to in my life.

The introduction ends with: Some of the stories in this book may seem unrelated to her, but none of these stories would have been possible if it hadn't been for the most courageous actions taken by Starlie when she was a mere child. 

This is her story and legacy.

The story starts with a very captivating first chapter. None of the characters or event mention Starlie, but when I continued to the powerful second chapter, everything became clearer, and I was mesmerized. It has a solid connection to the first chapter. I like the way it intertwines and introduces the book; it's perfect. Together with the subsequent four chapters, they create a poignant story that connects me to the characters, makes me feel for them, and captivates me to no end.

And then comes chapter 6 and the rest. I read through them with great interest thinking about how and what powerful connections they have to Starlie. I read through stories about new and different characters, learned dozens of new names, and as the chapters came and went, I only found some little mentions about Starlie in a few sentences.

Let me be clear here. In the book titled Starlie's Legacy, there are a total of 5 chapters about Starlie, direct and indirect, but they clearly set a strong story about Starlie.

The stories are about everybody else in the whopping subsequent 13 chapters (there are 18 chapters in the book). As mentioned, besides a few sentences thrown here and there, they are not about Starlie anymore.

- There are five chapters of the new characters' love story and Hurricane Katrina, and until now, I am still determining the connection, if any, except the setting. I wonder why these people are taking up the same number of chapters as the titular character. I learned nothing about any possible influence of wisdom connected to Starlie.

- There is one chapter about another character dealing with war PTSD. The author, the son of Starlie, knows this character personally, but that is all.

- Six chapters about the author's family life and people who are close to them but not Starlie. Although there are glitters of Starlie's wisdom, there is only one chapter that explores it (The Help) in deeper meaning about her impact, while the other five chapters are about the author's life that are weirdly put together: a brief vacation story, a concert story, a cruise story, English teacher story, and one chapter about some ghostly experience that doesn't seem to mean anything.

- The last chapter, one maddening chapter about the Romanian Rebel (?). I was suddenly thrown into a political essay about more things than I remember. East and West, the United States and the Soviet Union, Berlin Wall. There is a plethora of names and societies, people that the author met, and their stories are mixed together in this chapter.

A quote: ...because we are celebrating thirty years since the Romanian Revolution of December 1989 these days, considering the fact that the historical truth must be spread, acknowledged, and above all, respected, I will recount the things I lived, and, particularly, felt those days... and afterward.

But why here, in this book?

This 'I' refers to a character who is not the author, telling pages and pages about this historical truth from the first person point of view and, at many points, mentioning this character's mother.

And... the book ends here!

Entering the second hour I write this review, trying as hard as I can to preserve the wonderful feeling I had at the start of this book. I must be honest that the last chapter is my peak of frustration. I would never ever prepare to read about some political and historical essay from a character that has nothing to do with Starlie, what the book is supposed to be about (I think), in the first point of view, and numerously mention 'my mother' but not Starlie. And all this because the author knows this character. I fail to see the significance of this inclusion to this book. I don't have doubt that this other character and his mother are wonderful people, but what I want to read is the wonderful mother to which the book is dedicated.

IMO, it has nothing to do with the essence of the book, am I the only one who don't look forward to reading something politically heavy when I pick up something that is supposed to be a biography, especially when it has nothing to do with the said person? There is a disclaimer upfront, but I think that there should be at least some stronger correlation to Starlie. Imo, it's even a stretch if this book is written as the author's biography because an enormous chunk of it is about other people. The stories are also disconnected from each other.

- I would rate the first five chapters as 5 stars. It touches me the most. It's hard to read because of its sensitive and traumatizing nature, and I am sure it's even harder to recall and write. It is a very powerful and inspiring story, there are many gems of wisdom, and I think it's impactful.

- Middle chapters about other people. Why are they here? What are their connections? The story won't be possible if not for Starlie being as wide as possible, as anyone's account would not be possible from (insert some major world/local event/ancestor existence). The stories are decent and captivating enough. They could and should be stand-alone. 

- Middle to end chapters about the author. This would work better if this book is about the author although they are jumpy and feel disconnected at times without an apparent red thread connecting the story to make it smoother. The first five chapters would work great, even if this book is about the author.

- Last chapter. It doesn't belong in this book, because of the vastly different kind of content.

It's hard for me to rate this. Dedicating almost three hours to write this review, I want to ensure everyone reading this that I am trying to be as fair as possible, and this review is based only on my own opinion. 

I probably had the wrong expectation, thinking that it's one story (instead of compilation) about the titular character or the family that is closely connected to her.

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DARKWITCH - DRYWOLF #02 (Kat Kinney)

While this second book regales me with the conclusion of the whole story, I don't enjoy it as much as the first one. 

Possibly spoiler

Personally, I think it doesn't hold the same magic and has become quite predictable. The Chosen One trope is too foreseeable, and it has double dose. I have lost count of how many times the main character wanders into the woods or roams around, gets into life-threatening situations, makes it back/recovered/rescued, and repeats as the main plot points for the story to move forward. It's repetitive and becomes apparent when you binge the book. It's also a bit tiresome that the character is thinking and whining about the same thing repeatedly, sometimes being overly dramatic about things that shouldn't have that much foundation to be upset with based on the personality of the character I read from book one.

Unlike the first book, which introduces us more to the world, cultures, and little things that matter, this one relies more on actions that build up the whole book with a reward of a predictable payout while leaving some critical plot points behind. Monkshood is well underplayed and shoved aside after all the importance in the first book. It almost seems like it's too deadly/powerful that the story chooses to ignore it.

Having written all that off my chest, there are still some gems. I enjoy the Gunnar character; although he is the only one who shines in this book, compared to many in the previous. I like that, as in real life, there is something after happily ever after in the first ending, that things are far from rosy, although I don't think it's explored to its potential. The final battle feels like it's coming out of nowhere, not built enough, and some questions are not really answered, especially tallying from how it has evolved from the first book's ending and events/skills/strategy/strength of each side throughout the two books.

Although it's not as strong, or perhaps I compare it too much to the previous book, it's still an entertaining read and provides the story's closure so that I will round the stars up.

3.5 cats tangled in 5 strands of arrogant Nils' hair

Another thing that I like is that despite the book being in YA Paranormal Werewolf, it touches and handles mature subjects well, and there is no point where I think this is mushy and I'm too old to read it. The problems told are relatable to the real world, and there are many respectable and rootable characters.

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Lord of the Flies (William Golding)

 

I had wanted to read this book for a long time, and I wanted to like it. But I don't. It was such a task to read; I think I hate it.

Warning: possibly spoiler

Let me sum it up:

- I have the conch

- You are the hunter

- We need the fire 

- The beast

- Two characters fighting over the chief position

Repeat as necessary.

I get what the book is trying to convey, but I find it hard to root for almost all one-dimensional characters. I don't know them except for a tiny glimpse of their backgrounds. Tiny is not an exaggeration but a generous remark based on a couple of sentences.

But that is not the point, the point is survival.

Yeah? Survival from the everlasting fruit trees and easily hunted pigs. Minimal shelters for what I assume is tropical weather with ocean water being warmer than the air (is it near a volcano?). What kind of fruit trees provide that kind of nourishment for that many kids continuously? I could be wrong, but as far as I know, tropical fruit trees like papaya, coconut, or banana need months or more to bear fruit. Some roots and tubers are faster, but they are not trees and still need months. See how they fare from a swarm of hungry kids who don't know how to replant them.

I joined several survival expeditions when I was younger; we had nothing but had to make use of what nature gave us. There was a lake and forest in the area. For a week or more, we had almost nothing to eat despite roaming a great area. The delicious banana we have in the stores are clones, genetically modified bananas. What we found in the wild—after happily imagining roasted or fresh bananas—were full of seeds. There was barely any flesh on them, and they were almost inedible. We could probably munch on ferns or leaves (mentioned in the book but not as food sources), but most of those we tried were bitter. We tried to fish and only yielded a pitiful tiny one. We dug for roots, but most that were sufficient for food sources were planted, not wildly grown, and mostly near human settlements. Snakes and small animals prefer to stay away from us, and medium-sized animals watched from far and decided we were not tasty. Have you tried to corner your dog to get something from it? Imagine trying to corner a wild pig in an open space. Maybe we suck, but we were a small group of young adults with some survival knowledge. Maybe we were at the wrong place, but the point is survival in the wild is damn hard, and the natural elements are no joke. And is there any mention of freshwater sources in the book? That should be the number one thing to worry about.

But the survival detail is not the main point; it is what they become.

Yeah, it's fun when they FINALLY stop bickering and do something (or not, they actually never stop bickering). No, I don't at all condone the animalistic behavior that finally takes place, but at this point, it was almost too late for me. Do something FFS I don't care. Heads should roll for my amusement at this point. I had almost stopped reading and had fallen asleep way too many nights. Yeah, this should show a chilling fact about human nature, and that would be good. But do we see the development of the characters that lead to that? Nope, not internally, besides war paint and bickerings. Cult-like? It was never consistent. On and off, and suddenly, it was a full-blown cult. Is there something supernatural? Hallucination? Probably. But I'm not aware of any hint about it until the titular character shows up in a paragraph, and for the life of me, I'm not even sure what it was. Then it was never mentioned again. GAH. Maybe I'm not sophisticated enough to understand, but I want something more than a pig head with flies that may or may not talk.

And the collective chants and conversations drive me nuts the longer it is in the book. Double name calling, repeat after the others. I get that it's difficult to involve that many characters, but they shouldn't just be a group of talking robots who imitate everything the named characters say.

And the big picture. Nothing? The plane crash is implied, a dead body is finally found, but what?? Why are the boys scattered all over the island without any serious injuries? Where is the wreckage, the adult, whatever hints of memory and recollection? No!

Just repeat after me

- I have the conch

- You are the hunter

- We need the fire 

- The beast

- Two characters fighting over the chief position

I thought of 3 stars, but only because it's a classic.

Then, I wrote this, and I hate it again.

2 talking pig heads out of 5 magical fruit trees.

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DRYWOLF (Kat Kinney)

First of all, I was nervous picking up this book. I knew nothing, literary nothing about werewolves except the eighties TV series, which I only watched for a few minutes. I remember the hideous effect that made it scarier, imprinted in my core memory with running away from a carnival where they pretended to unleash a werewolf. I swear everyone else ran too.

Well, I guess it'd be fair to say that no one actually knows anything about werewolves, but there are at least common ideas about them, right? 

So, it's not my cup of tea in the first place, so are Fantasy/Paranormal/Young Adult/Romance/genres. There are a lot of odds against me liking the book.

When I started, I didn't initially warm up to it and was wary about many torturous nights ahead. It was confusing to me, at first, with many names thrown around with their unfamiliar terms and settings. I didn't know what Proving, Alder, or Dyr are, and a ridiculous image of a wolf carrying a spear in its paw sent a knobby knot on my forehead.

Besides those and the initial alarming sign of what I thought would be a mushy teenager romance-erotica, I persevered through; it was not hard because I found many things that I enjoyed going on reading.

The pace is good. At times it goes very fast, but unless I was dead tired of too many other useless things in my life, I wanted to continue. One of the things that floats my boat is that, even though this is a fantasy, it doesn't use flowery-mundane language or unreasonable names for its genre. I loved the creative descriptions of everything: the scenes, settings, foods, senses, and expressions without overdoing them.

The characters are rootable and believable, I started investing in them around one-third of the book, and besides the initial alarm, the connections of the main protags are earned. There are distinctive enough personalities of important supporting characters, especially the father, which I learned a lot about without having many actual scenes with him in it. I felt Lea's pain, hope, and disappointment. I liked her thinking; it's not always right or good, but it shouldn't have to be.

Several funny moments made me chuckle. I enjoyed how everything unfolds, layer by layer, and thankful that the story and characters are deeper and more realistic. I wish Astrid is revealed more but the little scenes she has are impactful. Too many characters clean under their nails with the point of their knives, but I can't expect them to scratch their backsides while trying to act cool.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It's a 4.5 round-up because again, it has the recipe with all ingredients that I don't like but turns me around just for this, for now. This teaches me that there is no reason to shy away from any genre, as again, paranormal young adult fantasy is not something I normally touch with a loooong pole, but I am glad I did. I appreciate the storytelling, the message the story tries to convey using rootable characters. I can almost smell and see the world. I can relate it to problematic human nature through an unusual way to tell it. Maybe not to others, but uncommon for me, a virgin in this genre.

4.5 overgrown dandelion out of 5 furry white rugs

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The Zombie Room (R.D.Ronald)

Three messed-up characters out of five lumps of goo.

Reading this book is like watching Transformer.

Picked based on Goodreads recommendations from my previous reads.

I want to read something different, something more recent, maybe not lighter but less <i>literary</i>. Well, this is not exactly it.

Spoiler review

The book starts off by introducing the four main characters and their backgrounds. I like this part but the changes between characters and scenes feel jumpy because there are barely any transitions (ebook). Each part is brief, maybe to keep readers curious but personally, I prefer it longer, so that I care a bit more for the characters before it switches.

The building of the characters seems promising, with each of them given their own personalities and histories. The book builds them up well enough that I want to know more about them but unfortunately, things go down from there.

When the three characters meet, everything sort of mashed together, especially after they are released from prison and form a ‘working" team. It’s almost like the book forgets each personality’s uniqueness and just lumps them together. 

From there on, one remains quite consistent, quite, but he is obviously nothing more than a plot device. The other two suddenly have the capabilities to do things that are not at all implied previously and make out-of-character decisions. One lousy-low-level con who can’t prevent himself from being locked up because he screws up a simple scam turns into a criminal mastermind with a lot of underground contacts. One sleazy ex-playboy who was locked up because of a rookie mistake turns into a professional persistent hero. 

Their motivations are either weak, no longer there, or questionable, yet they are willing to sacrifice everything. Everything. There are good and great people/characters, but I don’t buy it here.

Hang on. The review is still going down a slippery slope.

From half the book, it turns into Transformer. I use Transformer a lot to explain something that starts off quite intriguing into a mind-numbing attempt of actions with me not caring whatever is going on and whose body is flying now.

When the characters are facing the consequences after going out of prison, there are barely a few paragraphs describing them, and bam. Action. Action. Disbelief? Suspend it!

There is some potential to make a good story by picking one, just one of those sensitive story elements but no, they want it all. However, it feels like being bitten by a mosquito on the sole of my foot. When I scratch it, there is zero satisfaction. It itches more because I am scratching all the surfaces but nothing is getting in.

And don’t get me started with the ending. Sigh. It’s starting. I don’t need a cliche or predictable or complete ending. I am all for ‘we can’t solve everything here.’ But when you do all that character build-ups at the beginning, ignoring and throwing away most of them in the middle to gear up for action, then setting up a conclusive ending through mind-numbing suspension of belief sequence of events, then there should be something. I don’t mind the ending if that is the focus of the story, but it’s not. It’s not!

There are glaring plot holes and mistakes as well. Dummy 101 to magical disguise but addressing a character with his real well-known name, how to impress the final boss in two simple steps, how to make everything seems smart and tricky with confusing sequences and betrayals but it’s a lump of goo, how to put wrong character names and forget unsolved actions because the characters are teleported. In their defense, all of those are not very obvious for those who solely like actions (I am not). And not in their defense: it’s not obvious because the story has turned into a mashed potato that no one notices the inaccurate details.

Okay, one more before I justify my rating. There are at least two notable lengthy explanations between urgent actions. It’s distracting and out of place but I can’t really blame this as writing is very subjective. Some readers prefer that everything is explained, while others prefer to read between the lines.

I lied. One more, the timing is way too linear it misses some opportunities to make the story more interesting. But the main point, IMHO, it botches the characters too much.

I give this a round-up of three stars because while there are many things that tickle me; I appreciate two things.One, there are some rich and imaginative descriptions of settings and actions. Two, although the theme revolves around criminals, sex, and violence, the book stays away from unnecessary scenes and doesn’t let them go further than they should.

It’s not my cup of tea, but some readers might appreciate it.

Three messed-up characters out of five lumps of goo

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REVIEW: Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)

This book is terrifying, because it’s realistic. (more on this on the spoiler)

The author chose unique timeline of telling the story and partial epistolary; we are reading it from two povs, Nick and Amy. Amy’s is a flashback to some time before the current, while Nick’s starts from the current. At one point of the story, the timeline meets and we get to read both povs at the same time.

(There is a good example of concurrent point of view in A Storm of Sword, third book from the series A Song of Ice and Fire, where we read Catelyn and Arya`’s povs back and forth. No spoiler about which event. )

To me, I categorize them into three: Nick, Amy’s Diary, Amy. We are first introduced to Amy through her diary’s entries.

I can’t stand writing a review without spoiling it, because all the good stuff is in there. Personally, I have never read reviews before the book anyway.

Rating: 4 Treasure Hunts out of 5 Anniversaries

So, spoiler ahead.

I live under the rock, but I can't avoid the news sometimes, in fact, I became curious and followed the trial of the century that had just concluded (I hope!) (June 2022). What made me interested is the level of terrifying shenanigans going on and I can't help but comparing it with this book.

Fortunately, I guess, there are few similar perpetrators in real life who have the level of cunning and intelligence like Amy, who always thinks her moves a couple of steps ahead and plans everything to terrifying meticulous details. She is despicable, there is no doubt in it, but it is interesting to read a fabricated point of view and see how she twists reality to fit into her story.

Nick himself, the husband, is someone full of flaws, always making questionable and bad decisions. He is no match for Amy, but to put myself into a character, it's normal not to suspect someone you love to be a batshit psycho. He finally does, but at a terrifying cost and again, making another bad decision.

Although I am not a fan of the ending because personally, I don't think there is something I hate more than manipulation and surrender; IT IS a good ending. And actually, I like the prospect of a sequel more, I'm not sure if it is intended by the author, but there are a lot of things that are weird in this book that would make good sense for the sequel.

• Desi's mom. Her description is, well, quite disturbing, weird! The way she smells ‘vaginal’. What?? It is mentioned on more than one occasion too, and from the screen time that she has, it has to be something, right? Because imo, it is too weird to be a throwaway and designed to raise questions. She seems menacing, intimidating, and potentially a good and promising counter character, but then, nothing in this book. She is reduced to an emotionally crazy woman.

• I want to see how Amy ties the loose ends. By the way she holds grudges, I don't think she would forget Greta and Jeff who wronged her.

• Now that Nick knows who she actually is, regardless of both being the fakes of the fakest, I want to see how they play against each other with their own limitations, now that they know the other better.

• More past t0 surface. Do her parents really that clueless, or do they know but pretend that they don't?

  No one can wear mask all the time, and since I don't care or root for any of the characters, I want to see shit hitting the fan in turbo speed.

  
  

Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro)

 

To me, this book is interesting, it is easy to follow as we dive into the head of the main character.

From the start, there is something odd about it. The way everyone has initials as their last names, the terms used, and the flashbacks.

The story is predictable, there are no spectacular revelations or twists. You can follow around the narration, make your guesses, and peel the story like layers of an onion. It explains everything as if the narrator is speaking with you and try to make you understand from her point of view at particular times. I think far before the end, everything is out in the open. It doesn’t go in the direction that most books feel like they need to go; I think there is a unique charm to it.

It’s thought-provoking, with a flow that makes you want to continue reading.

I give this one 4 Babies out of 5 Norfolks.

Now to spoiler territory. (And spoiler for The Island movie too)

There is a 2005 movie that I like, but it is considered a low-rated movie because the director kind of screwing and focusing on different strengths of the story. It is called The Island. Imo, the main idea itself is very strong, and it creates an intriguing world that is probably close to reality in our future. I would like to add another movie here, The Passenger, in which the same thing happens. They both should be great movies, but Hollywood felt the need to make them bombastic, bang bang, and in the end, they couldn’t conclude them properly. Fortunately, some things remain, and they make me think long after I have watched it. A lot. The ideas themselves leave a lot of impressions.

Since very early in the book, it reminds me of The Island; I know almost instantly that it’s about clones (I checked the year and believe in the early 2000s there were a lot of hypes and shows about cloning).

So it tells the story about Hailsham, some type of Academy where children are reared to become donors. That is their destiny, when they are ready, they give donations until they perish.

I like the book gives it a lot of soul, to make us see it subtly but doesn’t try to mislead the readers. If you expect actions, solutions, or reactions, you will be disappointed. I think that is the charm of this book, instead of turning it into predictable actions or forced conclusions. However, there is a tiny dissatisfaction about it as well, but I can live with that.

So the kids in Hailsham are considered the lucky ones, they get to experience childhoods and lives, before finally becoming carers and donors. Donors to everyone in need (who can afford it I suppose), donors to the actual human. It’s terrifying, really. To put it simply, they are harvested until their death. Some survive two donations, some fours, but most of them need to go to the grueling last stage of their life when they are basically harvested like vegetables. These are implied in the book, and not in so many details, but the writing on the wall is clear. I guess the first donation is something ‘light’ like blood, bone marrow or a kidney, or probably half a liver. The second and above should be something critical and fatal. And the last stage is when you are just alive enough to be harvested until they ‘shut you down’.

It explores the same issue with The Island, but this book offers no solution or way out, which is something I find a tiny bit frustrating, and I wish there are some explanations to help me understand that. I have unanswered questions and curiosity, for example, what is the early life like? Where do they start? Why are they so submissive? They have the knowledge, resources, and enough awareness. Where is flight or fight?

Having said that, I am fine that the book ends the way it is. And if I read deeper, the answer could be implied as well, there could be some tinkering to make them that way, physically or emotionally, like the way they are unable to reproduce. Although many of them have a lot of traits and ideologies, it’s questionable why there are zero attempts, even in thoughts.

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