Review or Critique, Which is it?

Budroe over at Writing.com has written a really wonderful article about the difference between reviewing a book and critiquing it.

I think this is something EVERY book blogger should check out.

GO TO THE ARTICLE

Budroe goes in depth on the difference between the Review, in which one looks at the qualities of a book from a reader's standpoint, vs. the Critique, in which one examines a book from the viewpoint and expertise of a writer.

Obviously I write reviews.

I am in no way qualified to give any writer an in depth critique of their work... nor would I want to. Everything I write and rate on my blog is based purely on my own opinion as a reader, and each review is a description of what I took away from the book (as well as usually a list of characters and who they were, just for my own sake of having one somewhere... you have no idea how hard it is to find comprehensive lists of characters -_-)

When I write a review, unless there is something technically jarring (and it's got to be pretty darn jarring for me to notice it), I usually won't mention it. I sometimes talk about how well the prose flow, but for me, that's part of the reading experience. I'll also sometimes mention something technical, writing-wise, that pulls me out of a story, but again, it was part of the reading experience for me, so I mention it.

I do this for fun, and I do this for myself... to have a journal of what I've read with more detail jotted down than I likely would have remembered just from recall a few years later.

I don't network my blog to get my stuff seen, I do it because being connected to all of these other readers and authors offers me a wider perspective on what is being released, and what is going on in the literary world. I've learned about dozens and dozens of books that I'm pretty sure I never would have heard of or looked at, and it's all because of book blogging.

I am eternally grateful to the blogging community for helping me stay connected, for keeping up on the trends, and for keeping up on news that I just don't have the time to always seek out myself.

Also, just as a side note, I found this article because it was linked to a manga review in which someone left a comment slamming the reviewer, saying:
Was this written by a preteen? There’s no critical view, no actual structure or argument or thesis, just “i like this” and “then this happened, then this happened, ooh those characters look naughty.” It’s posts like this which make it difficult to take HU seriously, especially the slew of scornful posts on Eddie Campbell’s critical abilities. Not that I agree with Campbell but how is HU any different in being fanboying dressed up as criticism? Certianly not with insipid posts like this.

Now, for me, when I read reviews, I want to hear the "I like this" and the fanboy/girling... for me, that's what reviews are about, public opinions... and that's why I think Budroe's article on review vs. critique is so good... it really points it all out in a very concise way.

I think it is up to us as readers and bloggers to get to know the people who are writing these blog reviews, so that we can better judge how well their opinions mesh with our own.

Scent of Magic by Maria V. Snyder

Scent of Magic

Book 2 in the Healer Series

by Maria V. Snyder

I'm confessing right now, these books (as in, ANY Maria V. Snyder book) are my guilty pleasures. Are they the best stories in the world? No. Are the main characters terrible Mary Sues? Yes. But are they fun and fast reads anyways? Hell yes. If you're looking for the most beautiful, amazing fantasy you've ever read, this isn't it. If you're looking for a fun, fast read in which you can sit back and just enjoy a goofy story... this is for you. I would absolutely send these books along and share them with people I know would enjoy them. Are they the people who read things like Tolkien or George R. R. Martin? Abercrombie or Cook? No. Are they the kind of people who enjoy authors like Condie, Meyers and Evonavitch? Yes, and that is not a criticism.

If you have not read TOUCH OF POWER (BOOK 1)

do not read this review, there are spoilers.

Amazon Synopsis:
As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomaniacal King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confidant, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon's opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon's most horrible creations yet: an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.
War is coming and Avry is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible…again.

 Characters:
 Avry: Main character, and as the last line of the the synopsis implies... a bit of a Mary Sue. I have to admit, so far I enjoy Avry... despite Snyder repeatedly writing dreadful Mary Sue girls, they are usually likeable, which is their saving grace. I feel like Avry is a bit more toned down than some of Snyder's other heroines... but then, this is only book 2.

Kerrick: The leading man, Prince of his own realm, mage of the forest and all around smouldering love interest. He's off having adventures of his own this time, and I appreciated the split chapters.
Noelle: Avry's sister, introduced in book 1 as blaming Avry for abandoning her... a big part of Avry's mission in this book is winning back her sister's love.

Tohon: Still a dick.

Ryne: The prince that Avry risked her life for in the last book spends his time earning it this book. Ryne is still a bit of a vague character, but he is likeable.

Belen: Ol' Papa Bear returns and you find yourself enjoying his company once again.

The Monkeys: Now assigned to guard Prince Ryne, the Monkeys really haven't changed... at all.

Ursin: Leader of "The Jumping Jacks", one of Estrid's troup of soldiers, he is the first one that Avry really deals with as she tries to be covert, but he's got a secret of his own that doesn't help her stealthiness at all.

Estrid: Leader of the main army opposing Tohon. She seems fair and intellegent, even if she's got a bit of over the top religious fervor.

Cellina: Tohon's lackey

Noak: Son of the leader of the people from the Wilderness. He takes Kerrick and Danny prisoner. He also has a strange "Winter Magic" that he uses against Kerrick.

Danny: Young boy rescued by Avry in the last book, has healing potential because he survived the Death Lily Toxin. Sneaks along with Kerrick, thus getting Kerrick in a lot of trouble, but proves useful as a non-magical healer, because he wants to follow in Avry's footsteps.

Rakel: Noak's sister, has mysterious "Summer Magic"

Story:
Yet another fun, quick romp through one of Snyder's worlds... this book is a fast read and for the most part, enjoyable.
The book starts out with Avry and Kerrick parting ways. At the end of the first book, we saw Avry survive the "unsurvivable" and learn that the Lilies had more of a part to play than anyone realized. Kerrick is going to reunite with Ryne and get the army moving while Avry is going to find her sister and go undercover in the world, since it's now believed she's dead.
Kerrick ends up in the North, facing an invasion from the Wildmen, and finding out that what he thought to be true might not be.
Avry, on the other hand, takes up her mother's name and becomes a Sergeant in Estrid's army, where she's quickly outed as having magic and being a healer. As is the way with most of Snyder's leading ladies, subtle isn't really her thing.
This story spends a lot of time without a lot of action. There are extensive training sequences, and a lot of "putting the pieces in place", but other than that, not much really happens until the very end. There is a constant referring to the fact that Tohon has *got* to have spies in camp, but no real effort to figure out who they might be. People who were pretty evil in the last book seem a bit distracted in this one, and in general everyone is pretty forgiving of Avry, since they're mainly just glad she's alive (whether because they were her friend, or because she is the last known healer EVER). 
More strange things occur with the lilies, some of which I'm not entirely clear on myself... and then there is "the death". The author kills off a character and I'm going to be honest... I don't understand why. Unless there's going to be some magical resurrection, which I don't think there is. It was just such a pointless death... and I have to wonder, IS there a plan, or did the author just get sick of writing that angle of the plot? It seemed unfinished. Based on reading Snyder's other stories, I could make a comment here... because this is a "death" that she seems to fall back on a lot, to try to really make the reader feel for the main character... but this time I just didn't buy it. It was too ill-placed in the story, too abrupt and really, it made the whole earlier story and anything referencing the relationship just seem like a real waste of my time. In other words, it pissed me off, but not in an "invested, emotional reader" way. More like in a "Wow, what a waste of time" way... and that's never good.
There were also some really, really, really awful cheesy lines. One that comes to mind, "My man has eyes that change colors with the seasons"... or something equally vomit-worthy. This happens a couple of times in the books, and I couldnt' help but thing, "Ew... would Avry really say that? And people didn't laugh at her?" I don't know... it's just over-the-top stuff like that where I really think Snyder is missing the mark on being a great author vs. a guilty pleasure read.

All in all, though, it's still a fun fast read, and I'll be picking up the next one on April 1st. The stories are cute, and the time investment is small, so yeah, despite my grumblings... Snyder is going to win my hard earned dollars in the end, because it's still a fun, fast romp through girlie fantasy fiction. 

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

Welcome to another edition of "It's Monday, What Are You Reading?"

Click the image above to join in the linky fun!

Well, seeing as how I just picked this book up this morning, and it's one I've been

saying for quite some time, "I'm going to read!"

This week I'm reading:

39 Clues

Book 1:

The Maze of Bones

by Rick Riordan

Amazon Synopsis:

Minutes before she died Grace Cahill changed her will, leaving her decendants an impossible decision: "You have a choice - one million dollars or a clue."

Grace is the last matriarch of the Cahills, the world's most powerful family. Everyone from Napoleon to Houdini is related to the Cahills, yet the source of the family power is lost. 39 clues hidden around the world will reveal the family's secret, but no one has been able to assemble them. Now the clues race is on, and young Amy and Dan must decide what's important: hunting clues or uncovering what REALLY happened to their parents. 

I've been curious about this series for a while, and *really* wanted to start reading it when I learned that Rick Riordan wrote the first one... so, here goes nothing!

What did I finish last week?

Scent of Magic

Book 2 in the Healer series

by Maria V. Snyder

Amazon Synopsis:
As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomaniacal King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confidant, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon's opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon's most horrible creations yet: an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.
War is coming and Avry is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible…again.

Read my review HERE.

A Weird Girl Reading List: 10 of the Best Outsider Books for Teenagers from Flavorwire

Check out this interesting article from Flavorwire that offers 10 alternatives to mainstream YA novels:

http://flavorwire.com/377524/a-weird-girl-reading-list-10-of-the-best-outsider-books-for-teenagers

And just for the sake of being concise, here's a list of the books they're recommending... click on the article link to find out more about each one:

1. The Orange Eats Creeps, Grace Krilanovich
2. Weetzie Bat, Francesca Lia Block
3. Rose of No Man’s Land, Michelle Tea
4. No One Belongs Here More Than You, Miranda July
5. The Vanishers, Heidi Julavits
6. Geek Love, Katherine Dunn
7. Vida, Patricia Engel
8. Magic for Beginners, Kelly Link
9. Out, Natsuo Kirino
10. Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self, Danielle Evans

Of this list, I have only read Out by Natsuo Kirino, but it was definitely an interesting, strange book that I would recommend. 

Natsume's Book of Friends Volume 1

Natsume's Book of Friends

Volume 1

Art and Story by Yuki Midorikawa

I give this one 4 Squeed, because while I enjoyed the story, and would probably share it around to the right reader... the artwork isn't spectacular so there isn't anything to draw me back to stare at the pages. I have a feeling my enjoyment of this series will really depend on where it goes in later volumes, and how much it deviates from other anime/manga of this type.
So far it's cute, but not totally unique or exquisite.

Amazon Synopsis:

With friends like these, enemies are overkill. R to L (Japanese Style). Takashi Natsume can see the spirits and demons that hide from the rest of humanity. He has always been set apart from other people because of his gift, drifting from relative to relative, never fitting in. Now he is a troubled high school student who has come to live in the small town where his grandmother grew up. And there he discovers that he has inherited more than just the Sight from the mysterious Reiko. Takashi Natsume can see the spirits and demons that hide from the rest of humanity. He has always been set apart from other people because of his gift, drifting from relative to relative, never fitting in. Now he is a troubled high school student who has come to live in the small town where his grandmother grew up. And there he discovers that he has inherited more than just the Sight from the mysterious Reiko.

Characters:

Natsume Main character, Grandson of Reiko. Has the ability to see Yokai and is in possession of the Book of Friends, a book containing the names of the Yokai that seek him out. He is a bit of a loner and standoffish, but still incredibly likeable, although his agreement with Nyanko is a bit dubious.

Reiko Natsume's Grandmother, the creator of the book of friends, and the cause of all of Natsume's problems. From the gist of it, she didn't seem all that nice, using the Yokai to alleviate her own boredom.

Nyanko Fat little Kitty Yokai, he's been sort of physically combines with the "Good Luck" statue he inhabited for years. He's made a deal to take the book of friends from Natsume when Natsume dies... and until then Nyanko is acting as his guide in returning the names of the Yokai in the book.

Yokai The spirits and demons that seek Natsume out, thinking he's Reiko, as they look to get their names, and their freedom back. Mostly they just all seem really lonely.

Story:

So far, I have to admit, I'm not quite sure what Nyanko is doing. It seems to me that under the deal he made, it would be better for him, power-wise, to knock Nastume off earlier rather than later... but that doesn't appear to be his motivation. Nastume, on the other hand, I totally understand. His Grandmother seems like a real piece of work, and he's left cleaning up the mess for no other reason than he was cursed with the same gift she was, and with her worldly possessions after she passed. Thanks, Grandma. :P Being without parents, Natsume is just trying to fly under the radar and not be "weird"... something that he often is since he can see Yokai everywhere. So far, I'm rooting for him and his good intentions.

Artwork:

The artwork in Natsume's Book of Friends isn't the most solid I've seen. It's a looser style... but the expressions are often fun and dynamic, and the poses the little Yokai are often found in are pretty amusing. This isn't a series I would have ever picked up on artwork alone, but the story is strong and enjoyable, and the artwork is cute.

Beyond The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Nixies Song

Beyond The Spiderwick Chronicles

The Nixie's Song

By Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black

A fun little romp back into the world of Spiderwick, I think the concept of this book is just the kind of thing that gets kids using their imagination. The cameo of the authors is pretty funny. Absolutely a book I would read again, and share, and most importantly, read TO children, and encourage them to read themselves.

Amazon Synopsis:

The Spiderwick Chronicles leave the old-fashioned charm of New England far behind and head south for some fiendish faerie fun in the hot Florida sun. Eleven-year-old Nicholas Vargas only thinks his life has been turned upside down after his developer father remarries and moves his new wife and daughter into the soon-to-be completed Mangrove Hollow.

But an "expedition" to a nearby lake turns up a little nixie with a giant problem - the huge, lumbering, fire-breathing variety - and it's up to Nick; his stepsister, Laurie; and his big brother, Julian (plus a familiar face from the original Spiderwick Chronicles) to figure out the best way to stop a host of rampaging giants before all of Florida goes up in smoke.

Characters:
Nick Varcas ~ The main character, Nick narrates the story. He's just found himself with a new mother and stepsister (Laurie). Nick is an honest kid with a realistic outlook on his own place in the social pecking order. He's pissed off about having to give up his room for Laurie, and all in all, he's taking the barrage of new sister and new mother pretty well, in my opinion, especially when he's given the task of spending his time getting Laurie acclimated.
Laurie Varcas ~ The new stepsister in the Varcas house, Laurie seems kind of like a nerd, she's gangly and believes in faeries and magic. Don't be fooled though, Laurie isn't quite as square as she seems... and when reality hits, it hits her hard. She finds out quickly that fairytales aren't all cute and cuddly endings.
Julian Varcas ~ Nick's older brother, hasn't really come into play much other than giving them a lift to a bookstore. More of a jock type.
Taloa ~ The Nixie who enlists Nick and Laurie to help her find her kin.
Mr. Varcas ~ Nick and Julian's Dad, Laurie's stepdad, he's building a neighborhood in the area where all this is taking place, and he seems unreasonably harsh on Nick a few times, considering what a good kid Nick is supposed to be.
Charlene Varcas ~ Nick and Julian's new stepmom, Laurie's mom... she really hasn't come into the story too much yet.
Others ~ There were of course other characters, but I think they're better left undescribed, as they are fun little surprises in the book.

Story:
Being a middle grade book, this is a quick, adorable read. I was thrilled to see characters come back from the original series, as well as the introduction of new characters. There is also the addition of having the authors as characters in the book... unhelpful ones at that, which is great. For me, this addition of the real world (as well as the plugging of their Field Guide) really just adds to the fun and magic of the series. Brilliant marketing campaign? Well, yeah... but when you're a kid, you don't look at things that way, you look at this story, about faeries, and then you see all this supporting text, and you see the results of what happens when you try to find people who know something about it... and you know this magic is real, and you're just on your own. It's really pretty brilliant. I am all for keeping the magic in the world for kids as long as possible, and I think The Spiderwick Chronicles does an amazing job at this.
The story itself is pretty simple, but like the original Spiderwick Chronicles, has room to layer and layer and layer other stories around it. You can already tell that Laurie and Nick are in deeper than they even know, and the shocking ending of this first book really points out the facts that faeries aren't cute.
This is a great book to encourage kids to read on their own, or to read to them. There is opportunity to really get into the voicing and have fun with it.

20 Obsolete English words that should make a comeback

Seeing as how we're all lovers of words around here, I thought some of you might enjoy this article from Matador Network:

20 Obsolete English Words That Should Make A Comeback

Photo © Liz West

http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/20-obsolete-english-words-that-should-make-a-comeback/#IPZ1A88MhSJcbQDp.99