Memorable Moments… (1)

There are many moments that one can consider memorable. Those moments can happen any time in real life or in the fictional world. I thought it would be fun to feature and talk about them! In order to keep the list a bit shorter, I’m only going to be focusing on the fictional moments that are memorable Whether those moments were memorable because they were sad, happy, funny, action-packed, intense, or bittersweet does not matter. Whether the moment was in a book, short story, manga, or graphic novel does not matter either. I am not sure on how frequently I will be doing this feature… It really only depends on the feedback

The two moments that I am going to talk about on this feature’s debut are from one of my favorite books and one of my favorite manga: Liesl & Po and Pandora Hearts. (Yeah, I just mentioned Pandora Hearts AGAIN! Deal with it!) Oh, and if there are spoilers, I will always put out a warning.

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Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver
Pg. 249-250

“‘And you were going to rescue me?” Liesl asked.

“Yes,” Will mumbled. “Or try to, at least.” His face was burning hot. He had never been so embarrassed in his life; he saw now how stupid the idea was. And obviously she didn’t need rescuing–she had gotten out all on her own, The alchemist had, perhaps, been right all along. He was useless.

Suddenly Liesl threw her arms around him with such force that he stumbled backward. Will had never been hugged in all his life, and he did not know what to do. Liesl’s hair tickled his cheek, and he could feel her little heart, beating hard through layers of cloth and clothing. He stood perfectly still, praying that she would let him go, feeling even more embarrassed than he had been just a moment earlier.

“Thank you,” she said. “I think you are very brave.”

“You do?”

“Yes. And clever.”

“Oh.” When Liesl released him at last, Will found that his head felt strange and fuzzy, as though he had just been spinning in a circle. He repeated, “Oh.”

Isn’t that just the sweetest and heartwarming thing? A little boy who has never been hugged and has always been called useless suddenly being hugged by a girl he had only really met a few days ago and called brave and clever. Friendship is a theme that plays a huge role in this book and I feel that this scene perfectly shows that. The hug between the two friends is sweet, meaningful, and made my heart melt. I always find myself rereading it. Liesl & Po is one of my favorite books because of all the little moments like this Lauren Oliver took the time and attention to include.

Pandora Hearts Vol.14 by Jun Mochizuki
Spoiler Alert!
Pg. 138-140

Remember to read the pages, panels, and text bubbles from right to left! It should be easy enough to get the hang of. Oh, and click to enlarge

Aw, our little Oz is becoming a yandere! What made this scene so surprising is how chaotic Oz himself was. Sure, he completely snaps many times before this certain moment, but in those times, the reader could always just assume that Oz’s mind had crumbled from all the blood, death, and strange things happening around him, Jack’s influence, or the B-Rabbit’s influence. But in this moment, Oz’s actions and feelings of hatred toward Isla Yura for what he has done to Alice and many other people are what fuel his desire to destroy the villain. I was left wondering if that cheerful, quirky Oz that was our protagonist was gone. And also, I am in love with all the detail Jun puts in the panel with Oz declaring that he is going to kill Isla Yura. You can really see the insanity in his eyes and smile, and the B-Rabbit’s silhouette is in the background. (Isla Yura’s face is really distracting, though.)

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So yeah, those are the two memorable moments that I am featuring in this post. I actually really like this feature since I can fangirl/vent/d’aww as much as I want But I also want to hear your opinion on this! And be sure to tell me some moments you think are memorable in the comments section!

 

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare: review

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Series: The Infernal Devices #1
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal, Romance, Historical Fiction, Steampunk
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Margaret K. McElderry
Release Date: August 31st 2010
Synopsis: Orphan Tessa Gray, sixteen, crosses the ocean from New York to find her brother Nate in Victorian London, her only possession a clockwork angel necklace from her mother. She is ignorant of her power to transform; the Dark sisters are not. They kidnap her for the Magister, who wants to marry Tessa and claim her power.

Shadowhunters, warriors of angel blood, battle demons and keep the peace in the Downworld of vampires, warlocks and other supernaturals. Orphan teen Shadowhunters Jem, Will, and Jess rescue Tessa and agree to help save Nate. Vengeful vampire Lady Camille Belcourt and her current lover, warlock Magnus Bane provide entrée to the Magister’s secret Pandemonium Club.

My Thoughts:

Reading a nearly perfect or absolutely perfect book is always something that makes me catch my breath. And Clockwork Angel is no exception with its near perfection. Really, Cassandra Clare has written an absolutely beautiful book that only comes with a little flaw. I might as well just give this book a place in the imaginary world I call Bookish Heaven

Just walking through Bookish Heaven. Yup.

Clockwork Angel‘s story is intriguing. How could it not be when it has the mysterious Magister, automatons, supernatural, and action? And then add a curious mystery with an unexpected twist and you got a must read! The pacing is slow but it was well-suited to this kind of story and characters–they needed time to completely sink in.

The worldbuilding in Clockwork Angel is extremely air-tight. Cassandra Clare beautifully paints a world where the location of Victorian London and regular mundanes and Shadowhunters and Downworlders merge. She payed extra attention to the connections and conflicts that hold her world together and thoroughly explains them when needed. And let us not forget the little doses of steampunk that are sprinkled throughout the book!

The prose is highly engaging, giving the reader detailed descriptions that lets one get the feel of the scene, but never crossing into the annoying, flowery purple prose region. I especially loved the passages that were dedicated to describing the automatons. I have a liking for gears, sparks, and machinery

Tessa isn’t the best heroine to have in a story like this, a story where I tend to lean toward quirky, unique, and vibrant characters. She is a kind and sympathethic character that tries to be strong even though her power is greatly overshadowed by the Shadowhunters, but she doesn’t really shine among the rest of the characters. There were also times when I thought of her as a bit of a shallow character.

The two male leads of the book, Jem and Will, were great. I couldn’t help but be completely endeared by them. I was, and still am, fascinated by their pasts and how they became the people they are now: the calm, collected, kind Jem that is my favorite character and the hurtful, mysterious, conflicted Will who has such of an odd sense of humor.. Also, the friendship between them both is really heartwarming and only makes me more interested in reading the next installments.

A lovely quality that Clockwork Angel contains is the love of literature Tessa, Will, and Jem have. There are quotes scattered throughout the passages and dialogue. The obvious love for novels and poetry that the characters and the author herself has is a pleasant presence to have.

I am so, so happy that I decided to jump into this bandwagon. Clockwork Angel is an unforgettable start of a series that I believe will become a favorite of mine! I give thanks to my blogger friends who have convinced me to read this book <3

Happy Father’s Day- Mine Was Rainy

Oh, Father’s Day… These days are always really great, for my family. We have a delicious feast, give gifts (this year I gave my dad a little wolf plushie!), celebrate my dad’s awesomeness, and just do something fun. For the do something fun part, we went to see a movie. We meant to go see the new Star Trek but since the movie theater’s website gave us the wrong time, we ended up seeing After Earth instead. Even though we didn’t have the chance to watch the movie we wanted to see, we still had a lot of fun.

And, of course, right when the movie ended, the weather went from being warm and sunny to very, very rainy. The family and I got absolutely soaked on our adventure through the parking lot. Then we had to drive through rain that made the windshield almost unusable and traffic lights that wouldn’t work because of a power outage. The gigantic water puddles were pretty fun, though

This kind of thing always happens whenever we go to that theater. Last time it was deathly cold and our car was lost in the sea of other cars. Yup. My family has the best of luck.

So anyway, I just wanted to dedicate this post to my father and all the other good fathers out there in the world. Seriously, without the love and direction my father gave me, I wouldn’t be the happy, not-wrecked person I am now. He believes in me and doesn’t ever let me give up. Lots of love to you, dad! I forget to say ‘I love you’ as much as I should but I do. I really do <3

Our Happy Hours by Gong Ji-young, Sahara Mizu: review

Our Happy Hours by Gong Ji-young, Sahara Mizu (art)
Stand Alone
My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Age Group: Adult/Mature Young Adult
Genre: Josei, Seinen, Romance
Release Date: First Pub. 2007
Synopsis: “I have something I don’t want to lose—
So much so that these terrible feelings have grown.”

A pianist who attempted suicide 3 times, Juri, is taken to help her aunt at a prison where murderers who killed indiscriminately are sentenced to death. There, she meets a man named Yuu who took the lives of 3 people. A mother’s antagonism–a brother’s death… Together they embrace the violent rebellion in their hearts caused by the large, deep scars they carry. However, before long, they both embrace an earnest hope in their hearts. “I want to live”…

An adaptation of a novel by South Korea’s most popular female novelist, Gong Ji-Young.

My Thoughts:

Our Happy Hours. I don’t think that there could be any other name more fitting. From the very beginning I knew deep inside how the story was going to end. All I had to hold on to were the fulfilling, happy hours that Juri, a former pianist that has attempted suicide three times, and Yuu, a man on death row who killed three people, spend together. And when it all ended, I was just left remembering the moments they had together.

I do admit that the premise can cause eyebrows to be raised. A story about a depressed woman spending time with a murderer every Thursday is not a story that many people would call sweet, romantic, or, in fact, normal. But in reality, this story is sweet, in its own tender way, and romantic, in its own hopeful way, and, for some odd reason, the story does feel a bit normal when one actually reads it. And to top it all off, there is a very apparent sense of standing in the rain-like sadness and melancholy lingering in the atmosphere of Our Happy Hours that one can not just shake off. It isn’t the in-your-face kind of sadness as you can put up a little umbrella made out of the happy hours…

It’s just that sometimes I don’t like an umbrella being in the way!

Juri and Yuu are both characters that are hard to write and pull off. Juri mainly because of her depression, which is a condition that takes research and understanding to effectively write. Yuu because, well, he had killed people before. And even though he regrets it enough to actually long for death, his actions are still almost impossible to forgive. But even so, Gong Ji-young writes these characters in a masterfully skillful and sensitive way.

Gong Ji-young really shows how fragile and vulnerable these two characters are. I had this extreme wanting to protect Juri and Yuu, though I knew that it was impossible since I am kind of in a different world than them. Their development, growth, and healing are painful and inspiring at the same time. Seriously, the two leads’ characterization is simply breathtaking.

The flow of the story isn’t slow yet it isn’t fast. It takes its time presenting the characters, their emotions, conflicts, and wants before letting everything take off. I actually wish that the pacing was slower so it would have taken less time to get to the ending.

Let me explain. The ending is painfully sad. The kind of sad that might make you cry, your tears streaming down your face and ruining your makeup. I knew all along that it was coming but it still hit me hard and devastating me. I didn’t even have a tissue box available! It was a perfect ending with notes from the piano and love , but still painful.

Christianity does have a role in Our Happy Hours. Juri’s aunt is part of the clergy and Yuu does study to get his Christian name. I don’t think that this caused the manga to be preachy in at all. In fact, the manga shows the flaws of the people in the clergy (without making an offensive portrayal, of course) and there were some underlying messages that a person, Christian or not, could listen to and learn from.

The art, awhile not the most fantastic thing about Our Happy Hours, flawlessly fits into the mood of the story as a whole. The delicate character designs and carefully drawn backgrounds make the art something really pleasant on the eyes to look at.

Our Happy Hours is an absolutely lovely manga that deserves to have its large audience. It is rare to encounter such a beautifully bittersweet story. I will be cherishing Our Happy Hours for years to come.

Note: I have recently learned that Our Happy Hours is an adaption of a novel by Gong Ji-Young, an author who is considered one of the most popular female novelist in South Korea. Admittedly, I haven’t read the book, and am not sure if I ever will be able to, but I believe that the manga is a fantastic manga in its own right.

The Sunday Post(10)

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

You might have noticed that I haven’t posted the reviews that I promised to post, haven’t been responding to comments, and have been a bit absent from the reading/blogging community. Awhile I do feel bad about that, I have a totally legit excuse: summer school.

When I first signed up for summer school, I had no idea of how hard it was going to be to stay committed to it. Lab reports, essays, and experiments are replacing my free time that I usually spend on summer activities, reading, and blogging. The only fun thing about summer school is trying to decide whether or not my teacher is some kind of pyromaniac. So yeah, that’s my explanation for my little disappearance.

But even with summer school, I was able to make it to a friend’s birthday party. I had a blast. Who knew that a sprinkler and a trampoline could lead to so much fun?

Reviews Posted This Week:

 

Other Post:

• The Woes of Writing Reviews
• Waiting on Wednesday
• The Very Inspiring Blog Award

Lovely Links:

• Rara @ Rarasaur receives the Badass Blogger Award and writes a lovely piece about her love for blogging, her differences, and how she found out her blog could be categorized as a lifestyle blog.
• Kelley @ Another Novel Read talks about why she hates Game of Thrones and, more specifically, her hatred of how women portrayed. She also got a couple of awards
• Asti @ A Bookish Heart tells about the history behind her blog’s name and her thoughts on ‘gendered’ covers.
• Annie @ Sweet Reads writes about her excitement for the summer.
• Purnima @ Purnimodo talks about tiny strawberries and her memories with them.
• Erika @ Living for the Books posts about receiving the Very Inspiring Blogger award–given by me

 

Obtained:

Through the Lens- Bought
A Little Girl In My Room & Other Stories- Bought and then deleted (the cover kept freaking me out).

 

The Woes Of Writing Reviews*

*I’m not even sure that I am using the word woe right…

Okay, before I even begin talking about the woes of writing reviews, I need to say that I sadly don’t own that typewriter. Although I would kill to be able to write on that thing!

I have a massive love for reviewing books. Sharing my opinions, thoughts, rants, fangirling. It’s one of my favorite hobbies. But there are those moments when I start noticing the troubles that I got through as a person who owns a blog dedicated to books and shares her thoughts on them. There are three woes to be exact:

1. Writer’s block.

2. Comparing my reviews to other people’s.

3. Knowing that I am not going to be able to read and review every book that I am interested in.

Number one is pretty self explanatory. I finish a book, filled with thoughts and feelings, sit myself down at my computer, and… can’t think of anything. I will admit that awhile this happens often, it doesn’t last that long. But there are those moments when I just can’t think of any words to describe my feelings about a book. One of my most recent cases of this was with How to Lead a Life of Crime. I was practically bursting with love for that book, but, woe as me, I couldn’t get my fingers to type words out on the keyboard!

Of course, I do have ways to remedy writer’s block. I listen to music– some songs, like  just inspire me– and, um, watch AMVs. (Don’t look at me weird! There are some very good ones that are totally in english!) Plus, I always look for quotes if I am in an especially severe case of writer’s block.

Number two is a bit tricky… I’m all about embracing one’s own good qualities and leaving the bad ones in the dust. Though, there are those times when I get really, really envious. And being envious of the way someone writes their reviews is one of the things that happen to me. I wonder why I can’t write gorgeously written reviews. I wonder why my reviews are all rambly when other people’s are quick and to the point.

And again, I remedy this jealousy by turning my brain off and listening to music or reading another book. Then I write up my review with no bad feelings or any darkness in my heart (yeah, totally not exaggerating here ) But seriously, it’s really hard to get rid of the jealousy. Jealousy is just an emotion that all us humans get.

Number three is one of those problems that I think every book reviewer has. There are tons of books out there and I am just one person. There is no way I am going to be able to read all the books I want to read. My TBR list grows larger everyday and is probably never going to grow smaller. So yeah, there is no way to remedy this problem. WHICH IS SO SAAAAD!

Just leave me in my bookish misery…

But really, even though there are some troubles that come with being a book reviewer, there aren’t many, and the good things that come with being a book reviewer are so much more in quantity than the bad. I have made so many new friends, found out about so many new books, found an outlet for my thoughts, and really feel like I am contributing a little bit in the book blogging community. I have absolutely no regrets!

Be sure to tell me your thoughts in the comments section

Waiting On Wednesday(15)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

I’ve been noticing a lot of unusual books that are coming out this year. Which makes me think that 2013 is going to be a good, good year

I Am Waiting On..

Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn
Expected Release Date: June 11th 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Synopsis: The spine-tingling horror of Stephen King meets an eerie mystery worthy of Sara Shepard’s Pretty Little Liars series in Kate Karyus Quinn’s haunting debut.

On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.

A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn’t know who she is. She doesn’t know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.

Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese’s fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.

Why I Need It: This book practically promises a creepy, intriguing story. I love creepy, intriguing stories!

Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn
Expected Release Date: June 11th 2013
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Synopsis: When you’ve been kept caged in the dark, it’s impossible to see the forest for the trees. It’s impossible to see anything, really. Not without bars . . . 

Andrew Winston Winters is at war with himself.

He’s part Win, the lonely teenager exiled to a remote Vermont boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy. The guy who shuts all his classmates out, no matter the cost.

He’s part Drew, the angry young boy with violent impulses that control him. The boy who spent a fateful, long-ago summer with his brother and teenage cousins, only to endure a secret so monstrous it led three children to do the unthinkable.

Over the course of one night, while stuck at a party deep in the New England woods, Andrew battles both the pain of his past and the isolation of his present.

Before the sun rises, he’ll either surrender his sanity to the wild darkness inside his mind or make peace with the most elemental of truths—that choosing to live can mean so much more than not dying.

Why I Need It: That synopsis is just–wow. It reminds me a bit of The Yellow Wallpaper for some reason… Perhaps it is because of the ‘surrender his sanity’ part?

Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy: review

Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy
Stand Alone
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Age Group: Young Adult/New Adult
Genre: Realistic, Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: May 7th 2013
Synopsis: A searing and gripping read that explores the depths of desperation true love can inspire, from the author of Being Friends with Boys.

Nikki’s life is far from perfect, but at least she has Dee. Her friends tell her that Dee is no good, but Nikki can’t imagine herself without him. He’s hot, he’s dangerous, he has her initials tattooed over his heart, and she loves him more than anything. There’s nothing Nikki wouldn’t do for Dee. Absolutely nothing.

So when Dee pulls Nikki into a crime—a crime that ends in murder—Nikki tells herself that it’s all for true love. Nothing can break them apart. Not the police. Not the arrest that lands Nikki in jail. Not even the investigators who want her to testify against him.

But what if Dee had motives that Nikki knew nothing about? Nikki’s love for Dee is supposed to be unconditional…but even true love has a limit. And Nikki just might have reached hers.

My Thoughts:

I believe that there are different ways to love someone. After reading so many books, watching so many movies and T.V. shows, I think that I have found out about many of those ways. But Criminal is the first novel that I have read that features such a dark, startling honest story about the consequences of being utterly blinded by love. But awhile this is a strong and solid story, I did have a few quibbles here and there.

The Things That I Liked–

– Criminal is super addictive. The story is tough to read through at times, but there is just something so compulsively addictive. Perhaps it is the yearning of knowing the characters’ fates. Perhaps it is the massive want of finally seeing the bright light at the end of the tunnel. Whatever it was, it kept me reading.

– I also have to say that Criminal packs quite a punch. There were times that I felt like it was hopeless. There were times when I celebrated. And then there were times when I just felt angry. McVoy did an excellent job at pulling just the right emotions out of me.

– The writing, although it is very minimalistic at times, is very good. McVoy’s prose matches the mood of the story perfectly, enhancing the dark, cold feel that I already felt all too well.

–Nikki is the type of character who needs to be written with a careful hand. She is very, very rough around the edges. She is desperate, blinded by love. But it is that terrible flaw that makes her transition from a girl who can’t see to a girl who can is incredible. Nikki’s growth as a person is a reason alone to read this novel.

– The side characters were given a fair amount of attention and written well. Bird, Priscilla, and the rest of the group were created with finesse. Awhile some like Cherry can be categorized easily, most of them can’t.

The Things That I Didn’t Like

– I feel massively disappointed by Dee’s character. As the reader, all I could feel towards him was hatred and disgust. I could feel nothing else. Nothing else at all. You see, I like antagonist who are fleshed out. I like feeling sympathy, even if just a fragment of it, toward them. The reader doesn’t learn anything about Dee, which is, to be blunt, disappointing.

– Open endings are not normally my thing. And the ending of this book is no exception. The end of Criminal would have been much more satisfying if it had an epilogue devoted to Nikki’s future.

The Verdict

– Criminal is a dark story with solid writing and a good group of characters that knows what story it is trying to tell– and is completely honest about it. Which is absolutely refreshing. I would certainly recommend this novel to people who are aching for a story that doesn’t hold back anything.