A Bone to Pick

A Bone to Pick is the sequel to another Charlaine Harris book I've read and reviewed, Real Murders. Since the events of Real Murders, most of the members of the club [a club where members would meet to discuss famous murders in history] have lost touch but when one of the  members, Jane Engle, has left almost everything to Aurora "Roe" Teagarden, Roe begins to wonder if Jane'd had pure intentions when she'd written her will. After finding a human skull hidden in the old woman's house, Roe realizes that Jane wasn't the sweet old lady she had once thought her to be and that it was very likely that she had been murdered.

Although Charlaine Harris is known for her Sookie Stackhouse novels, she got her start in murder mysteries--without the super hot vampires and werewolves.  A Bone to Pick was an incredibly easy read--I already had this connection with Aurora from the first book and it was easy to get settled into that small-town, southern feel again. Her love life is a little all over the place but Aurora is someone that any single girl can sympathize with--in fact I would argue that her personal life is a bit more interesting than the actual murder mystery, which for most of the book seemed unfocused. Aurora didn't do a ton of investigating work--other than casually interview her neighbors and searching the house for clues--and it felt like most of the clues [and even the identity of the murderer] fell into her lap by pure chance. I understand that Aurora isn't supposed to be a trained detective but she was sleeping with a cop for how many months? She must have learned something!

Also, when the big reveal happened at the end it was very anti-climatic. The murderer confessed and the confession wasn't even that compelling. I thought the story was well-written but the murder-mystery part of the plot was all-in-all rather lackluster. With Real Murders I wanted more romance, so Harris gave Aurora more lovey-dovey drama--hopefully in the next book she can get the perfect mix of murder and love.

In comparison to her other work, I find that this novel is somewhere in the middle. Her Sookie Stackhouse novels are such a guilty pleasure and every time I can't wait to get my hands on the new book, while her Lily Bard mysteries are bit too short and shallow for my taste. A Bone to Pick is a good summer read--something to pass the time and nothing too incredibly complicated. It isn't a must-read but if you get the chance, I would say go for it.

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Snow White and the Huntsman

This is a story that on the surface everyone knows. As a young girl, Snow White (Kristen Stewart) lost her mother and her father, the King, was devastated. Shortly after her mother's death, the King met a beautiful and alluring damsel in distress. This damsel, Ravenna (Charlize Theron), proved to be more cunning than anyone expected when she murdered the King on their wedding night. Snow is sentenced to a life in the dungeon and Ravenna rules the kingdom with an iron fist. Snow White escapes and the queen sends a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth)  into the dark woods to retrieve the young girl.

From the looks of the trailer, Snow White and the Huntsman was sure to a fantastical, action-packed modern-interpretation of a well loved fairy tale. And as is often the case with these things, the trailer promised a lot more than the movie could deliver. It is titled Snow White and the Huntsman but a more apt title might have been The Evil Queen feat. Snow White. Charlize Theron is deliciously evil in this dark fairy tale. She radiates power in every frame and it doesn't hurt that she looks absolutely stunning at the same time. In the story, she may have had to worry that Snow White was the fairest in the land but everyone watching is wondering why. Theron--even as an old crone--possessed a quality of elegance that Stewart never seems to come close to matching.
 

The pacing of this movie felt slow and discontented. A lot of time was allotted to development of the evil queen's character--her rise to power and her struggle to kill Snow White--but Snow White and the Huntsman received surprisingly less screen time than one would assume in a movie named after the pair. The second half of the film was rushed--Snow White's revival, an epic battle, and Snow White's coronation in half an hour to make up for the slow pacing earlier in the film. This film also suffered from overcrowding. The Queen was given a brother, the prince a father, there were eight dwarves instead of seven, and a whole slew of other characters were thrown in for good measure. It's confusing and with every character vying for screen time it is hard to create a connection with anyone--much less remember their names. The dwarves were all played by brilliant British actors--it's a shame that none of them got to show off what they could do.

Visually, the film was fantastic. The special effects were breathtaking and impressive. But expensive special effects and Charlize Theron's performance can't overcome a poorly paced, poorly written film with inconsistent actors. Kristen Stewart tries her best--even giving us a British accent that was some what believable--but she doesn't wear damsel in distress very well. She doesn't really wear lovestruck teenager living in Forks, Washington very well but what do I know? I'm not a casting director.

This film takes a few twists from the traditional Snow White story that we all know and love. But other than the expansion of the roles of the Huntsman and the Evil Queen, many of these changes hurt the film rather than help it. I must admit that I watched this for the first time after the Kristen Stewart and Rupert Sanders cheating scandal erupted. I tried not to let that influence my opinion [to be honest I've never been a big fan of Kristen Stewart's work] but at least I don't feel guilty for enjoying the film that broke up Robsten.

I gave this movie two stars becausein my humble opinion there were only two stars in this film--Ms. Theron and the special effects team. I'll be the first one to admit that it's hard to recreate a classic and make it better. The screenwriters and director were a bit too ambitious--there was too much story to be told in two hours.

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Atonement

During the summer of 1935, Briony Tallis is standing on the brink of adulthood. She is beginning to notice the world around her but she doesn't quite understand it. She is frustrated by her cousin's unwillingness to listen to her and she is confused by the flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie, the son of a servant. In a moment of naive youth and misunderstanding, Briony accuses Robbie of an act he did not commit. But her lies, malicious or not, have repercussions that no one could have predicted.

The overall plot of Atonement is, in actuality, very simple. But McEwan takes this simple plot and infuses it with heart. Briony, Cecilia, and Robbie start the novel as entirely fleshed out people. They seem so real, their emotions and motivations so clear, that it is almost as if they could walk off the page. As the novel drags on, Cecilia's voice is lost when McEwan decides to no longer narrate from her perspective. That may be one of the reasons that Part One is the most striking section of the book. It is beautifully written--taking the time to really explore the ideas of misunderstanding, intentions, and transformations. McEwan does not take the easy route in this novel, instead he creates an honest and real story. He does not simply paint Briony as this villainous, self-centered monster nor does he portray Robbie and Cecilia as wounded victims.

The second and third parts seem to loose focus--McEwan takes a lot of time and many pages to recount monotonous details about military and nursing life during World War II. The story of Cecilia and Robbie becomes a bit lost. In the end of Part Three and in Part Four, the story refocuses its lens away from war and death to the main trio. The ending speaks to our desire for happy endings in a world filled with tragedy. Briony needs Robbie and Cecilia to be together. She needs their love to be stronger than the pain of war and the consequences of her actions. She needs to atone for her actions. We like to think that we abandon the need for fairy-tale endings when we grow up.

Atonement is a difficult read. I tried it once before. I even remember reading it while I waited in line to get my driver's license. It's only been three years but I read the book completely differently. It's probably because I matured a bit--because I know for a fact that it's pretty much stayed the same. It is a hard book to tackle but in the end it is so rewarding. It challenges readers to think about the things we take for granted--like the moment when our unconscious thought becomes action--and to think complexly about the world around us.

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The Choice

Gabby moves to a new town to be closer with her boyfriend of four years, Kevin. Just her luck she happens to move in next door to a very attractive, very single, very charismatic man. But she isn't interested in him. No. She has a boyfriend. Then why did she find herself spending so much time with him? And thinking about him...a lot? As she gets to know Travis, she begins to realize that she has to make a choice. But that is nothing compared to the one Travis is forced to make. A choice that can't be undone and will change their lives forever. 

Normally, I find Nicholas Sparks novels slightly pretentious and forced. It is one of the reasons I haven't finished one in years. It is the same routine over and over again. Two people fall in love. Someone dies. Whether it's the dog, or the friend, or the woman, or the man. To be fair Sparks tries to push himself by adding different woeful tricks to his novel--a cancer patient here, an autistic son there--but a lot of the time, it can seem like just that--a trick. Sparks is searching for another tragic twist that will leave his readers bawling but by now he is grasping at straws. This can cause his writing to appear mechanical, stiff, and coerced. On the surface, The Choice wasn't significantly different than the other NS novels I've started and then quickly abandoned in the past. But this time it works--well, sort of. Probably because the true "tragedy" of the novel didn't become evident until I had already become invested in the story. 

The story of Gabby and Travis is cute. It seems like something that could happen to a friend or a sister. It is a sweet story about a boy and girl who fall in love. It is predictable and sappy. But when you pick up a Sparks novel, you are in the mood for sappy. But a little sap goes a long way. That is something Sparks seems to forget. The Choice cute summer read. It tries a little too hard in places but we can forgive--and try to forget--because the central couple is so adorable. And as a reader, I couldn't help but root for them. Don't we all wish we could find a good boy who likes to travel the world, scuba dives, likes children and wants a family, owns a lot of land, has an amazing body, and brings in a vet salary? Oh, Nicholas Sparks. You really know how to get a woman's heart pattering. 

The Choice is an enjoyable book to pass the time. It isn't life-altering and it is quite forgettable but there is no denying that it is cute. It isn't quite the tear-jerker that Sparks is known for but it is sweet and easy to read. 

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Never Let Me Go

Kathy H. is a student at Hailsham. She is a clone who, at the right age, will donate her organs to save the lives of the humans she was created to save. Kathy and her fellow students never question this. It is the way it is supposed to be. The guardians at Hailsham are quick to remind the students how special they are but as Kathy and her friends Ruth and Tommy get older they begin to hope for a different future.  

  

Since the real plot of the story is only hinted at for the first half of the novel, this novel is very character driven. Thankfully, they are, in most cases, extremely well-fleshed-out motivated by commonplace desires and fears. Ruth is a horrid character but her desire to be included and her fear of loneliness makes it clear that she is not a the bad guy to Kathy's good guy. They are both imperfect creatures but it is easy to side with Kathy because as readers we are inside her mind. Kathy seems so human in her narrative, it is often easy to forget that she is in fact a clone. Her tangents are a large part of that--even if the overall effect is to make the book more dull. It is like when your friend is telling a funny story about their cat and they feel the need to describe the color of shirt they were wearing when it happened. Ishiguro also does a brilliant job of inserting little moments that are so innately human that they are easy to overlook.

  

In the strictest sense Never Let Me Go is a science-fiction novel that presents an reimagined image of our past where clones were created to serve as organ donors. But it is so removed from any science-fiction that I've ever read that it is hard to lump this book into that category. It is not an easy read. It is a book that very much requires the correct mindset. It is not a happy book, to say the least. But it is a powerful one. The scene that sticks out especially in my mind was the one with Kathy dancing with the pillow when she was a young girl. I can see it so vividly in my mind, from Madame's point of view and from Kathy's. It is such a simple scene but a truly beautiful one.

  

Never Let Me Go is not an obviously good book. It doesn't fascinate and ensnare readers at first glance. In actuality, it is a terribly hard and boring book to read at times. The prose can feel long, overly descriptive, and a bit monotonous in parts. It is not until moments after the last page has been read and the book lays closed on your bedside table that the beautiful haunting spirit of the novel finally hits. The story of Kathy and Tommy and Ruth. The tragedy and the pain of letting go to our dreams and the people we love. The experience is heighten even more with the movie adaptation's soundtrack playing in the back of your mind--particularly this little gem, Reprise.

  

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I Got to Meet Julie Andrews

It's so surreal that I'm writing this post. I mean, it's Julie Andrews. This past weekend [I wrote this right after it happened but never got around to publishing it. This happened sometime in early June.] at the Univeristy Bookstore held a signing event celebrating the release of The Very Fairy Princess: Here Comes the Bride written by Julie Andrews and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton and illustrated by Christine Davenier. My roommate actually heard about this event first but I knew that I had to go as soon as I heard about it. I was thrilled. I called up my parents to see if they wanted to come as well and it evolved into a family event.
 

We got there a couple hours early and spent most of the time rotating--a couple people would stand in line while the others would browse. Other than the book mentioned above [buying the book was compulsory to get a ticket to the signing] I only picked up one another thing. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan.
 

The one thing that was rather disappointing about the book signing was the strict no photo/video policy. When I went to the local John Green booksigning, they had a policy of no posed photos [time constraints] but I could take as many photos as possible. But we were told that Julie Andrews has been in the spotlight so long that she really, really didn't want to be photographed. I understand but I was a little disappointed. They even hid her signing table behind a large sheet contraption. Very top secret. I honestly didn't get to see her until five minutes before she signed our books.

 

In our group of five, I was the first person. Books were signed in groups and so at first all five of us were just standing there starring at her [probably quite creepily] in awe. But she was so gracious and open and kind. She thanked us for coming the event and for purchasing her books. She asked us if we were doing anything after the event. She recommended a warm cup of tea--very British of her. But we had a lovely--if short--conversation about going dress shopping for my little sister's prom. It was so surreal.

 

But the highlight of the day was when my dad asked if he could shake Julie Andrew's hand. The woman who was helping her sign looked as if she was about to have a heart attack. How dare this commoner ask to shake her hand. That's Julie Andrews. You could tell by the look in her eye that she was horrified that my dad would ask. She was going to say no but Julie Andrews, being the gracious woman that she was, said that it was okay and reached out her hand. I had already moved to leave and I didn't get to sign her hand because I felt that it would have been awkward to go back. But my mom got to shake her hand too. That's okay. I'll shake her hand next time.

 

It was a fantastic day! I would do it again in a heart beat. Also, just in case you were wondering, we DID find a dress for my sister. It is a lovely cobalt-blue dress. While I don't have a picture with Julie Andrews to prove that I actually met her--you will just have to take my word for it. I wouldn't lie to you, would I? Just kidding. Or am I? But I do have a picture of her signature. Does that count?

Tron: Legacy

Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) disappeared one day, leaving behind a son and an uber successful business, ENCOM. Twenty years later, Flynn's son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) is unsure what to do with his life and with his power within his father's company. One evening Alan Bradley ( Bruce Boxleitner), Flynn's business partner, receives a page from Flynn's office sending Sam into the digital world his father created.

Let me begin this review with a tiny disclaimer. I have never actually seen Tron, the original film. But I thought that I was going to be okay because I figured most of the people who watched Tron: Legacy had never seen the first film. I was impressed and unimpressed at the same time. There some aspects of this film that were truly impressive--visual effects, music, and Jeff Bridges--of course. But the plot and many of the character's undeveloped parts kept the film from being better.

The plot was the main component holding the film back. It was basic and all-together very predictable. This is just another instance proving that movie producers and production companies truly believe that if enough explosions and special effects are attached to a film project that audiences won't be able to recognize the sub-par writing. I hope this will not always be the case.

But while studios may believe that all the special effects distract audiences from the bland writing, it actually makes it more apparent. The special effects--while no Avatar--are really, really fantastic. The suits and the light cycles were stunning. Not to mention Jeff Bridge's and Bruce Boxleitner's transformation to play CLU and Tron. While the digital makeup wasn't one hundred percent convincing, it is amazing to see how far technology has come and to imagine where it will take us in the future.

Tron: Legacy was exciting at times and visual stunning at most but overall it was a bit of a disappointment. There was a certain..lacking in the film as a whole. There were parts that were a bit confusing even for a fantasy/action/sci-fi lover like myself. It was an okay movie but I probably won't be watching again.

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The Kids Are All Right

Nic (Annette Benning) and Jules (Julianne Moore) wanted to start a family and sought out a sperm donor to make their dream a reality. Eighteen years later their two children (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson) seek out their sperm donor (Mark Ruffalo) and chaos ensues.

Don't be put off because this movie is about a lesbian couple. I know that a lot of people will never watch this movie because of the content but don't let that happen to you. It's a really sweet film. And it deals with topics much larger than just the struggles of being in a homosexual relationship. Topics that anyone could relate to--kids going off to college, appreciation in a marriage, infidelity.

I was extremely impressed by the young talent in this film. Wasikowska, known mostly for her role in the block buster Alice in Wonderland, was utterly delightful in this role. After such a huge successful debut, it is impressive to see her picking roles with more depth. Hutcherson was also a joy to watch. He is very talented and if he continues to pick roles like these, there is no question that he will effortlessly make the transition from child star to well respected actor.

The ending was my favorite part. I won't give anything away, I promise. But it was...perfect. The middle section of the film lost me a bit because I wasn't quite sure where it was going. But the last scene is my favorite. Hutcherson's last line is perfection. This film, while it deals with dramatic topics, manages to look at it in a slightly humorous way. I understand why this film was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

But I must say that I was a little taken back by how much sex there was in this movie. And all sorts too. There was no discrimination in this film. More than anything, this is a story about love and marriage. It just happens to be told through a lesbian couple, their children, and their sperm donor. Life isn't perfect but that doesn't mean it can't be magical.

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