#7-11 write-ups
Jun. 1st, 2009 03:07 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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50books_poc7. Delicious by Sherry Thomas – Er, it’s been a while since I read this and as I no longer have the book in my hands, I’m just going to make my comments based on what I remembered from it. I don’t have much experience in the romance genre and I was rather cynical about how this book was going to turn out. However, Sherry Thomas had me by the first page by saying that it was a Cinderella story. Okay, I will admit it now: I have a deep, deep weakness for fairy tale retellings. And while this isn’t exactly a retelling, persay, it still evoked the whole Cinderella one true love romance, except set in the late 19th century England without the magic and more cooking and fine cuisine, and I’m just a deep sucker for this kind of stuff, okay? So yeah, I guess what I’m trying to say is that while in any other situation I would have probably thought the employer/employee romance was skeevy, put in Cinderella analogies and I’m all over it. ^^;;; It was cute, the romance was cute (even though the whole bit about how Stuart would not see her was rather frustrating, but I forgave it all at the end), and it had a very nice happily-ever-after ending and I finished the book very content.
Though, I remembered that two things bothered me. I’m not sure if I’m remembering this correctly, but Verity, the protagonist, kept on referring to… Pride and Prejudice, I believe? I dunno, I mean, I figured if you’re going to talk about a book that much couldn’t you at least refer to other books as well? It’s so weird because Verity never really gives an indication that she likes to read but she keeps making P&P references… Also, the whole homosexuality thing from the secondary couple. It was just kinda… There, used as blackmail, without addressing it whatsoever.
But still, I enjoyed the book anyhow. Also, if you like to read about food and cooking there is plenty of that in this novel. =D And Cinderella references!! =D It was a fun read for me overall. =D
8. Mountain Girl River Girl by Ting-Xing Ye – Two girls friendship story! And Ye does the whole 1st person multiple perspective thing! It’s a really nice, fast-paced YA novel, and although I had a few qualms with some aspects of the book, like how rape was handled more like a shock factor thing IMO, and that never really sits well with me And I still like Throwaday Daughter better than MGRG. But all in all, I did quite like MGRG, and found myself thinking about Pan-pan and Shui-lian long after I was done reading the novel. =D
9. Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam – Theoretically I should have loved this short story collection because it does the whole interconnected stories thing, but… I don’t know. Maybe I’m spoiled, because… See, there was this couple introduced in the first bit and… THEY DON’T END UP TOGETHER!!! *cries* Yes yes, I know it’s more realistic that way and the guy or girl you meet at school is probably not going to be the one you end up marrying but… WAHHHHHHHHHHHH. However, after I was done the collection, I was unconsolable. I found myself throwing the book down and going like “That’s IT!? I WANT MORE STORY. GIMME MORE MING. MORE FITZ!!!” And gibbered the names of the whole cast all night long. (That television adaptation BETTER HAPPEN, YOU GUYS.) The fact that I got so attached to the characters by the end of the anthology probably says more than anything else I could have said… So yeah.
10. Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata – homg I love this novel. My absolute favourite from the five novels I’m posting on today. The language is so deceptively simple, and yet Kadohata will write these moments that have me by the heartstrings. I love how the whole intersectionality thing was handled with the Japanese internment camps and the Indian reserves, and can Sumiko x Frank be ANY CUTER~?! <333 By the end of the novel, I wanted Sumiko x Frank fanfic, for srly. (Someone write me fic? Feel the love w/ meeeeee~~~) HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
11. Mismatch by Lensey Namioka – By all rights I should have hated this novel. It does the whole unrealistic dialogue where the Character of Colour has his or her spew over their identity crisis on their ethnicity or whatever, except DOUBLE the usual crisis thing because it’s being told from a Chinese girl and a Japanese boy with their own set of issues. (Double the identity angst for the price of one!!! otz|||||||) But… a realization dawned on me as I hit the second page. This novel? Is like a shoujo manga realized in novel form!!!!!! Seriously, I was expecting the sparkles and roses blooming in the background to pop out of the pages as I was reading it. They even had the moment where the guy defends the girl from a bunch of yakuza like ppl by grabbing hold of their arms!! The requisite love triangle!! The aaaaaaaaaaaangst~ …I think I enjoyed this book way more than I should have, but the immense joy I derived out of visualizing every single event in manga form cannot be paralleled. I loved it. And now I will go and hide under a rock in my shame.
Though, I remembered that two things bothered me. I’m not sure if I’m remembering this correctly, but Verity, the protagonist, kept on referring to… Pride and Prejudice, I believe? I dunno, I mean, I figured if you’re going to talk about a book that much couldn’t you at least refer to other books as well? It’s so weird because Verity never really gives an indication that she likes to read but she keeps making P&P references… Also, the whole homosexuality thing from the secondary couple. It was just kinda… There, used as blackmail, without addressing it whatsoever.
But still, I enjoyed the book anyhow. Also, if you like to read about food and cooking there is plenty of that in this novel. =D And Cinderella references!! =D It was a fun read for me overall. =D
8. Mountain Girl River Girl by Ting-Xing Ye – Two girls friendship story! And Ye does the whole 1st person multiple perspective thing! It’s a really nice, fast-paced YA novel, and although I had a few qualms with some aspects of the book, like how rape was handled more like a shock factor thing IMO, and that never really sits well with me And I still like Throwaday Daughter better than MGRG. But all in all, I did quite like MGRG, and found myself thinking about Pan-pan and Shui-lian long after I was done reading the novel. =D
9. Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam – Theoretically I should have loved this short story collection because it does the whole interconnected stories thing, but… I don’t know. Maybe I’m spoiled, because… See, there was this couple introduced in the first bit and… THEY DON’T END UP TOGETHER!!! *cries* Yes yes, I know it’s more realistic that way and the guy or girl you meet at school is probably not going to be the one you end up marrying but… WAHHHHHHHHHHHH. However, after I was done the collection, I was unconsolable. I found myself throwing the book down and going like “That’s IT!? I WANT MORE STORY. GIMME MORE MING. MORE FITZ!!!” And gibbered the names of the whole cast all night long. (That television adaptation BETTER HAPPEN, YOU GUYS.) The fact that I got so attached to the characters by the end of the anthology probably says more than anything else I could have said… So yeah.
10. Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata – homg I love this novel. My absolute favourite from the five novels I’m posting on today. The language is so deceptively simple, and yet Kadohata will write these moments that have me by the heartstrings. I love how the whole intersectionality thing was handled with the Japanese internment camps and the Indian reserves, and can Sumiko x Frank be ANY CUTER~?! <333 By the end of the novel, I wanted Sumiko x Frank fanfic, for srly. (Someone write me fic? Feel the love w/ meeeeee~~~) HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
11. Mismatch by Lensey Namioka – By all rights I should have hated this novel. It does the whole unrealistic dialogue where the Character of Colour has his or her spew over their identity crisis on their ethnicity or whatever, except DOUBLE the usual crisis thing because it’s being told from a Chinese girl and a Japanese boy with their own set of issues. (Double the identity angst for the price of one!!! otz|||||||) But… a realization dawned on me as I hit the second page. This novel? Is like a shoujo manga realized in novel form!!!!!! Seriously, I was expecting the sparkles and roses blooming in the background to pop out of the pages as I was reading it. They even had the moment where the guy defends the girl from a bunch of yakuza like ppl by grabbing hold of their arms!! The requisite love triangle!! The aaaaaaaaaaaangst~ …I think I enjoyed this book way more than I should have, but the immense joy I derived out of visualizing every single event in manga form cannot be paralleled. I loved it. And now I will go and hide under a rock in my shame.
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Date: 2009-06-01 11:44 pm (UTC)I bet you think I'm joking. :) I'm so totally not.
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Date: 2009-06-01 11:52 pm (UTC)I'm kind of appalled. And amused at the same time... Really?
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Date: 2009-06-02 12:08 am (UTC)It's still sorta true. It's like how the people who are allergic to the cute kitten and dislike it must be the villain.
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Date: 2009-06-02 04:03 am (UTC)Except something I read lately, the heroine was reading Gothics and didnt' like Austen at all. I wonder if that's the next step - not just romance-reading heroines, but trash-embracing ones.
I wonder if the shift came because the old-style editors, like the one Florence King dealt with while she was writing The Barbarian Princess, finally gave way to younger editors who actually might read romance about then. It coincides with the author's revolt against rape scenes.
RE: Vincent Lam
Date: 2009-09-16 02:34 am (UTC)I was FACEPLAMING AUGH WHY DR. CHEN, WHY NOT THE OTHER GUY WHYYYYY??? I also wanted to smack Ming!