The Best and Worst of January

So where did January go?  It was all a blur for me, even though I broke my October record (December was a complete write-off) in monthly stats.  I went from 5,421 views in November to 5,616 in January.  Not a huge increase, but at least it’s an increase.

I say that at least it’s an increase because although the month started out strong, traffic has petered off to less than 150 views per day in the past two weeks.  Whether that is from the fact that a lot of schools are having exams right now or the fact that I haven’t been posting as many reviews remains to be seen.  Or maybe it’s because I haven’t had a good rant in a while.  Time will tell, I suppose.

Now let’s look at the most popular articles, shall we?

1. The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome

2. Ascend by Amanda Hocking

3. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

4. Matilda by Roald Dahl

5. The Giver by Lois Lowry

Those of you that have been sort of following my “The Best and Worst of” series will recognize numbers 1 and 3-5, but are probably going “Huh?” at #2.  So am I.  In the span of one night, with all of the referrals coming from very few unique visitors from Yahoo Images, I received 294 views on Ascend by Amanda Hocking.  Could it be spam?  I have absolutely no idea.  But I’m certainly not complaining, so let’s look at the first worst of January:

1. Painted Blind by Michelle Hansen

2. Three Great Reasons to Read as a Teenager

3. Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

4. Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

5.  My Interview with Andrew Levkoff

None of the ‘worst’ articles are really that surprising, except that we have a first: a guest poster’s post is on the list.  Now why Caleb’s lovely article about reading as a teenager is on this list, I’ll never know.  But the rest of the articles?  They aren’t exactly popular books or the kind of things that people stumble upon using popular search terms.  Oh well.

So how was your January (stats-wise or life-wise)?

Spotlight: Prophecy of the Most Beautiful by Diantha Jones

Spotlight is my new regular Saturday feature in which I highlight a book I really enjoyed or am eagerly waiting for.  This week it’s a book I really enjoyed: Prophecy of the Most Beautiful by Diantha Jones.  (Link leads to my full review.)

Prophecy of the Most Beautiful by Diantha Jones

She has a destiny so great that even the gods fear her.

Constant hallucinations and the frequent conversations with the voices in her head, have earned eighteen-year-old Chloe Clever the not-so-coveted title of “Whack Job” in her home town of Adel, Georgia. With the onslaught of prescription medications and therapists threatening to push her over the edge, she wishes for a life far away from the one she has, a life where she is destined to be more than the butt of everyone’s jokes and mockery.

Be careful what you wish for has never rung more true.

That’s not the full blurb (it’s actually quite long), but you get the idea: girl who’s special is an outcast in a small town that thinks she’s crazy until something attacks her and she’s saved to be introduced into a completely different world.  This all happens to Chloe, but that’s definitely where the clichés end because Diantha Jones has put her own unique twist on a typical YA premise.  And oh boy, what a twist!

Prophecy of the Most Beautiful is very well written and Diantha Jones has done such a good job with the plot that she keeps you guessing until the end.  If you’re looking for some unique fantasy to brighten your day, you’ll love this book.  But be warned!  Upon finishing it you will have no choice but to buy the second book not only because the first one was so good, but because there’s one heck of a cliffhanger at the end.

“Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens” by Brandon Sanderson

Alcatraz Smedry, the boy with the incredible Talent for breaking things, has a lot to prove and little time in which to do it. In this final adventure, Alcatraz faces an army of librarians–and their giant robots–as they battle to win the kingdom of Mokia. If the librarians win the war, everything that Alcatraz has fought so hard for could end in disaster. Alcatraz must face the robots, the evil librarians, and even his own manipulative mother! But will he be able to save the kingdom of Mokia and the Free Kingdoms from the wrath of the librarians before everything comes crashing down?

shattered-lensI’ve been enjoying these middle grade books by Brandon Sanderson quite a bit over the past few weeks and I’m glad I finally made it to the last installment (at least to this point). In Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens the Librarian invasion comes to its climax as Alcatraz, Bastille, and their various cohorts try one last time to thwart their efforts.

The relationship between Alcatraz and Bastille takes a long-awaited, very exciting turn when they finally have a moment where they break down and honestly admit their interest in each other. Bastille makes it perfectly clear that the reason she is so hard on Alcatraz is because of her interest in him and Alcatraz takes this news as the motivation to reciprocate to a certain extent, but more importantly as a motivation for actions that will turn him into a true leader in this conflict.

Even more shocking and mystifying is the sharp turn in the relationship between Alcatraz and his mother. There are some reveals near the end of the book that turn everything Alcatraz thought about his parents on its head, toss it through a blender, and spit it back out a million times sideways. I wasn’t expecting it, I don’t think very many who read the book will be expecting it. As one would expect, this revelation has a very significant impact on Alcatraz emotionally. It causes a lot of conflict in his mind as well as his heart.

Brandon Sanderson has said before that this series has always been intended to be five books in length. This is book four. According to the most recent statements that I’ve personally seen, the final book is “indefinitely postponed” for reasons that haven’t been revealed to the general public as of yet. My guess is that it has something to do with publishing rights, interest by Scholastic, or some other such red tape silliness.

Regardless, it is clear Sanderson knew that the fifth book might be a long time coming, if it came at all, and he set up the conclusion of Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens in a way that satisfies the reader, but leaves himself open to completing the series as he originally intended at some point if he is able.

Length: 304 pages
Grade: B

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Lady of Palenque: Flower of Bacal by Anna Kirwan

Lady of Palenque by Anna Kirwan(Cover picture courtesy of Examiner.com.)

9.15.18.2.11 9 Chuen 14 Mol (July 7)

Lakamha, Bacal Highland

I thought, now that I leave Lakamha, I may never return.  I may never see my family again.  Well, perhaps I will see some of them.  But I will be like the water that comes down from a spring deep in the heart of a mountain cavern.  It can flow and seep and pool and cascade all the way down to the water lily fields, all the way down to the big river, all the way to the marshes and the great salt sea….

But it can never flow back uphill to its home.

I will never forget Lakamha, even if Lakamha forgets me.

All I really have to say is meh.  Lady of Palenque was a book that had so much potential that was unrealized; I should have loved it.  I have visited 3 different Mayan cities, two of which are mentioned in the book and was fascinated by even the little bit of history I learned while there.  So when I saw that Lady of Palenque was written in the point of view of a Mayan princess, I practically jumped with joy.  Here was a great opportunity to learn more about the Classical Mayan Period and their culture!

Um, not really.  Sure, I learned a few things, but Anna Kirwan didn’t really seem to know how to explain all of the exotic customs and items from daily life to readers.  It seems like she just assumed readers would know about these things.  Well, no.  Despite the Mayan Doomsday scare of 2012 perpetuated by an idiotic media, not much is actually known about the Mayan culture in the mainstream.  Even someone like me who has visited multiple Mayan sites really has next to no background in their history in the relative scheme of things.  So I didn’t really learn as much as I did from other books in The Royal Diaries.

Part of the problem was the names.  Oh my word, the names!  When the main character introduces herself as ShahnaK’in Yaxchel Pacal, Princess Green Jay on the Wall, you know things are going to be complicated.  And that really isn’t the Lady of Palenque’s name because Anna Kirwan had to make up her personal name.  Her real name was “Chac Nik Ye, Yax Ahau Xoc”.  Now, I’m a huge advocate for being as realistic as possible in historical fiction, but with all of the insanely long, complicated names (to a Westerner with a frankly pathetic background in language) I had a hard time following the story itself.  As far as I can tell, it mostly features the thirteen-year-old Lady travelling to her husband-to-be in Xukpi.

There has to be a better way to keep the names straight without completely dumbing down the book, right?  Right?!

I give this book 2/5 stars.

Amazon*     Barnes and Noble*

*Only available as a used book.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline(Cover picture courtesy of Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review.)

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place.  The only time teenager Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS.  Wade’s devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world’s digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator’s obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.

But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize.  The race is on, and if Wade’s going to survive, he’ll have to win—and confront the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.

I’ll put it bluntly: I really, really enjoyed Ready Player One.  Yes, it seems to have the plot of almost every movie where the key to solving a puzzle and winning a huge prize is being nerdy, but that’s the point of Ernest Cline’s debut novel.  It’s supposed to be dorky and slightly cliché but is so well written and actually does have quite a few plot twists that you’ll love it anyway.

If you love 80’s pop culture (or even late 90’s), you’ll love Ready Player One.  You’ll love it if you like sci-fi, video games, old movies or music.  Basically, it’s a hard book not to like.  Wade is an awesome character, especially near the end when he matures up a bit and you’d be hard-pressed not to like any of the other important characters like Art3mis, Aech, Shoto or Daito.

Even if you don’t like any of them, the world-building Ernest Cline did is incredible.  OASIS is absolutely amazing and a lot of the elements that he put into it (the threat of being charged a user fee, advertisements, using it as an escape) will speak to pretty much all internet users today.  Even if you’re not big into the technology scene, if you’ve been paying attention to pop culture at any point in time these past three decades or so, you’ll get at least some of the references.  Hey guys, remember Atari?

I give this book 4.5/5 stars.

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