Showing posts with label Book review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book review. Show all posts

The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner

Monday, July 26, 2010 by Audrey
Riding on the coattails of "Eclipse", it would seem that publishers are wanting to cash in on Stephenie Meyer's success by getting her to publish yet another book in the Twilight series...still, Stephenie is kind enough to donate $1 for every book sold to the American Red Cross. From what I last saw, there are about 1 million books sold already...that's how big the Twilight series have been! o.O"

To be fair, it's noted here that this book is actually a novella (kind of like a short story if you may) and apparently Stephenie Meyer wanted to release it in the official guide for the Twilight series. The story turned out to be too long after typing, so publishers made it into a separate book...all the more reason for Twilight fans to get it for their collection, no?

"The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner" (TSSL) is self-explanatory, I guess...Bree is one of the small characters in "Eclipse"; essentially, she is the newborn who surrenders to the Cullen family, but ultimately met her demise when the Volturi stepped in. Seems not much to go on because "Eclipse" focused so much on Bella (well, she IS the narrator in the books) but TSSL brings a grittier approach to the other side of the battlefield. Here, the narrator is Bree and we take a look into the newborns' side of the story: how she was made, how she survives within a band of always hungry, always angry group of vampires and how Victoria manipulates the army through her sidekick Riley. 

Bree is definitely no Bella...in the Twilight series, we see everything through Bella's eyes; often times, it's so focused on Edward and his perfection (not that I'm complaining!) it's quite hard to see past the other things surrounding her in the books. With Bree, she is one hard-pressed girl...everything is nasty and she is always on her toes to stay alive. It definitely paints a different picture compared to the 'perfect' world of the Twilight vampires...it seems darker and more morbid in Bree's eyes, and it gets more interesting when the Volturi also is mentioned here. Still, one does identify with her as she finds out the true meaning behind the creation of the army and tries to get away from it all. Even though her ending is not a happy one, I think it gives a good perspective on both sides of the story.

If you can, read TSSL (sort of) side-by-side with "Eclipse"...it's a clever piece of work by Stephenie Meyer, who weaves the storylines together quite effortlessly and paints a bigger picture of how the big battle between Victoria & the Cullens came about. =) But then, I guess only Twi-hards will appreciate the story...what wouldn't we give for more on the Twilight Saga, right? Yet, for a 'short story', the book is almost 200 pages long! o.O" Go figure. LOL! Now, I'm still waiting for Stephenie to dig out "Midnight Sun" again...heh!
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Diary Of A Wimpy Kid

Monday, April 12, 2010 by Audrey
Oh man, it's been so long since I've updated. Here goes my first attempt at a book review. *grins*

The "Diary Of A Wimpy Kid" series actually consists about 4-5 books if I'm not mistaken. I have only read the 3 pictured here thanks to my 7-year-old niece. (I still find it hard to grasp that kids nowadays progress so darn fast! At 7, I think my reading capability was only relegated to maybe nursery rhymes or the "Peter & Jane" books. How times have changed, no?)

Yes, in essence it is kind of a kid's book since it talks about a boy in middle school (which if I remember correctly would be the age around 11 - 14??). Heck, even the writings and illustrations reflect that. But what's great about the books is the humour injected into them. Written in a diary style, we go through the book in the eyes of Greg, who is kind of just a normal kid with the usual stuff that kids get (big brother issues, bullied by other kids, etc etc), only he's kind of a smart aleck too, coming up with 'weird' ideas and smart-but-will-get-you-in-trouble answers. Oh, and let's not forget his big ego when it comes to comparing himself with other kids his age....it's hillarious, especially looking at the way he compares himself to his best friend & sidekick Rowley (my idea of a bumbling but adorable character played to a T! Too cute!)

Accompanying the entries are all these illustrations (also done by the author) that just bring the jokes more humour. Simple as they are, they are effective and summarizes Greg's experiences very well. Somehow, the illustrations remind me a little of Calvin and Hobbes, but this time the main character is 12 and his sidekick is not a stuffed tiger, but a 6-year-old kid stuck in a 12-year-old kid's body. *grins*

One example of the hillarious illustrations in the books

All in all, one cool book that I'm not ashamed to say I've read even though it's a children's book (in a way). And who would have thought kids' books can be so entertaining? I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series...hopefully I'll find more time to do that! The first book is being made into a movie, and tentative release date is in May! Looking at the trailer, it looks about as funny as it was in the books, so I'm hoping it doesn't disappoint!
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