It's Our Choices More Than Our Abilities - Review of "Divergent"

After seeing Divergent yesterday, it took all my willpower not to march straight back to the box office and purchase a ticket for the next screening (well that, and I was with a friend and we were also both ready to go home). In fact, I'm sitting here thinking "Why isn't this out on DVD yet so I can watch it over and over??" It's just so good!

I hadn't read any reviews for Divergent before seeing it, but now I'm noticing a lot of negative stuff from the High And Mighty Critics (which, just transpose my thoughts on the people who determine Oscar nominees to the Elite Literati Movie Critic class and I think we can all agree on what my feelings on what they think are). To which I reply - bullshit. And I'm going to give my ten minute rebuttal.

Yes, we've all seen that Divergent is being compared to The Hunger Games. But the similarities between the two go as follows:

1 - They're both young adult dystopian novels.
2 - They both have female lead protagonists.

And... that's about it for similarities. Which, I guess doesn't make for compelling print media for the low-information crowd, but whatever. In reality, these two stories are vastly different. And here is where I'm going to enter spoiler territory for both the book and the movie, so if you have neither read the book nor seen the movie, now is the time to turn away (and get yourself to the library or bookstore or movie theater and correct this problem - for it is indeed a problem and lacking on your part).

The story starts out brilliantly with Beatrice Prior (played by Shailene Woodley) narrating the opening while we see images of a futuristic Chicago - which has either severely gone the way of Detroit, or was incredibly made-up in CGI to look like a complete ruin. Beatrice explains that, in her society, people are divided into five factions: Abnegation for people who value selflessness, Amity for people who value kindness, Candor for people who value honesty, Dauntless for people who value bravery, and Erudite for people who value intelligence. And when I say these factions value these traits - I mean that those traits are they're entire lives! Anyone who doesn't live up to the faction ideals is a weirdo at best, Factionless at worst. Beatrice is from Abnegation, but she and her brother Caleb, are old enough to be part of the Choosing Ceremony, where children from the different factions can decide to stay in the factions they were born into, or they can transfer to a faction that they feel they are most suited for. But before Ceremony takes place, they are subjected to a mental test that will tell them where their innate tendencies lie and that's supposed to help them make their decisions.

What I love about the opening narration is that it's not just a straight info-dump - it's also a vehicle to show how Beatrice doesn't know what she should choose. She's never felt totally selfless, but she knows it would hurt her parents if she left Abnegation. She admires Dauntless most of all, but, again, Dauntless and Abnegation are such opposites. Turns out, when she takes her test, she discovers she's Divergent - which is someone who doesn't fit in any one faction. And Divergence is a threat to the society - if anyone discovered she was Divergent, she would be killed.

Nothing like a hefty dose of "You're So Different You Might Die" to usher you into adulthood, right?

At the Choosing Ceremony, Beatrice chooses Dauntless - the brave faction. Although "bravery" most of the time manifests itself more like "stupidity" (they don't get on the train like normal, sane people. To prove they have no fear, they run and jump on the damn thing while it's running at high speeds!)

(We all know which faction I would NOT be joining, right?)

But Beatrice - now styling herself as Tris (because Beatrice is a dopey Abnegation name) - proves herself continually through the eyes of her trainers. Including Four (played by Theo James) - who is the best Dauntless has to offer, and also the most mysterious and the hottest.

What sold me on the book when I read it is also what sells me on this movie - the story and the characters. Not just Tris (although her storyline with her family is compelling as hell), but also Four's background. I don't want to give it away, even though I gave the spoiler alert (some things you have to discover on your own). But I will say that I love how he isn't all broody and emo, like what often happens in popular YA novels nowadays. Even though we're meant to think he's the dark, hot, and grim love interest, there are so many levels to his character - as Tris discovers when Four takes her into his own fear landscape to practice the mental component of Dauntless training.

I have to take about the main leads. Because even though Tris is the main protagonist, Divergent is just as much Four's story as it is Tris's - and as their relationship grows and blossoms into something amazing, it becomes a story of two halves. First of all, I LOVE that their relationship is given time to grow organically, which makes the characters seem even more believable. And I'll be honest, when the trailers and the promo images started coming out, I wasn't sure how I felt about Shailene Woodley and Theo James in the lead roles. But the pair of them totally blew me away! (we're going to blame the marketing department on the low expectations here). Even from the first scene where Tris jumps into the underground Dauntless compound from a five(ish) story building and Four is there to greet her, the whole theater crackled with their chemistry (sorry for the cliche there, but I couldn't think of what else to call it). In their strange little Dauntless way, it was like they were friends right at the offset and then their friendship became something more - especially when Four discovers that Tris is Divergent - but he doesn't report her, even though he's in leadership. In fact it comes out that Four is Divergent as well (this revelation slowly builds up until the climax where the Dauntless are forced to become mind-numbed zombie soldiers thanks to a control serum that doesn't work on Divergents, but they both have to pretend that they are under mind-control in order not to get killed).

The leads are awesome. No doubt about that. But what about the supporting cast?

Well - Ashley Judd is in this movie *sigh*. I'm not a fan of Ashley Judd just because I just find her to be a contemptible person in general. But she plays Tris's mother and I knew she's not in it much and that she dies at the end, so I felt I could overlook her character (but can I just say - I had the hardest time believing that she really had any feeling toward Tris. And when they're running for their lives under gunfire and they're firing back, I was just "Ashley, have you EVER held a gun in you entire life??")

Happily, we have Kate Winslet as the antagonist, Jeanine Matthews. And similar to how Woodley and James worked so well together, Winslet is just as good on her own as the villain. It's evident from the beginning that her character is not to be trusted, but the way she plays it - you want to like her, you want Tris to like her. But at the same time, you know she's bad news. The ending confrontation only shines because of that. So, second only to the relationship between Tris and Four, I adored Kate Winslet in this movie.

The rest of the cast is pretty good. If I had one complaint about the book, it's that there were so many characters and so many names to keep track of. Veronica Roth does an excellent job of keeping track of so many plotlines and personalities, but I had a hard time keeping up in places. Luckily, the movie streamlined a lot of these characters into a core group - and I really only remembered one name - Christina, played by Zoe Kravitz. Mostly because the character made herself memorable and it's a particularly hard name for me to forget :) Christina is a Dauntless transfer from Candor and she and Tris become fast friends. I think she had a love interest of her own in the book, but it was cut from the movie, which I think was a good thing. She had plenty to do as Tris's sidekick (of sorts) and she was the unofficial ringleader of the other Dauntless intiates. And that's all they really needed there - other than that one douchey guy that tried to kill Tris, but he was quickly forgotten (at least, for me).

Basically, Divergent captured the spirit and the tone of the book and gave us all a great look into this world. The set design is amazing and the CGI effects are stellar (my favorite part is the scene with Tris on the zip-line flying through buildings and seeing the city in a way she's never done before - that's where you really feel like she's learning to be part of her faction and you're happy for her). The way they treated Divergent gives me hope for the next movie - which, I find Insurgent to be a weaker story, simply because it gets padded out waaaaaay too much narratively (I think you could cut out 100 pages of that thing). But I'm hoping the movie will pare it down to the essential story elements and that it might be better than the book (which, believe you me, is not something I say very often).

Anyway - Divergent is awesome, just like the book on which it's based (so I guess we can add a third similarity between this and The Hunger Games). If you loved the book, you'll love the movie. If you've never read the book, you'll still love the movie. If you hated the book... well, we need to talk about your life choices.

(More Tris and Four, please!)

Hey Disney! The World Needs Frozen 2!

Let me start with this: I adored Frozen. The story, the characters, the music - it was utterly perfect in every way that it could be perfect. I was pulling for it to win Best Animated Picture and Best Original Song at the Oscars (I usually stay out of Oscar season, mostly because I find it to be just a bunch of egotistical jackasses in the middle of a tedious circle jerk over boring movies that are made solely for the Elitist Artsy Snob crowd that John and Jane Q. Public suddenly have to pretend to care about simply because that simpering nitwit anchor on Good Morning America was losing her head over it. Besides, nothing I like ever wins).

Ahem - anyway - Frozen. Loved it to pieces. I bought the soundtrack right after I came home from the movie theater and I've been playing it WILLINGLY nearly nonstop and I have all the lyrics memorized (and I don't even have kids to blame this on).

Having said that - Frozen needs a sequel. Hell, The Incredibles and Cars are both getting sequels (I never saw Cars 2. I thought the original Cars was great and the sequel was completely unnecessary, so in my headcanon, it doesn't exist) - the idea was floated during the Oscars during the acceptance speech for Best Original Song - it's one of the most successful (if not THE most successful) movies Disney has had in a long time - bring back the original cast and animators and make a decent go at it and they could totally take home another Best Animated Picture award! (at least give the public another earworm).

(Before I go on - the following discussion WILL SPOIL Frozen. If you have not seen Frozen - first of all, WHAT??? Get thee to a movie theater or Disney download [I hear that's a thing now] and watch this movie!)

Honestly, with Frozen, we only got half a story. This movie, for all it being based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen and Elsa being the eponymous queen, is Anna's story. Anna is the lonely girl who has to be shut inside the palace in Arendelle because they can't risk Elsa's power becoming public knowledge. Nevermind that Elsa's the one shut up in her room and slowly losing control of her powers with nobody and nothing to help her - Anna is the one we are meant to feel sorry for. It's the perky, happy, cheerful, outgoing sister that takes center stage and saves the brooding, depressed, introverted sister from herself  (I would be lying if this didn't irk me just a tiny bit).

As much as I love this movie, I feel like there is more to the story. How did Elsa come by her powers? Are there others like her out there? Is there more she can learn? Is this something her children will inherit? How will she help them understand this ability?

Now that the setting and characters and backstory of Frozen have been established, I want to see an adventure with Elsa. Anna got her happy ending - let's tell Elsa's story of self-discovery. Because I don't think that she got a whole lot of that ("Let It Go" notwithstanding. Actually, that sequence doesn't even solve her problems. If anything, it made them worse) and she is due for some answers.

I don't proclaim to be the first one to have put forward a possible scenario for Frozen 2 (in fact, if Disney was smart, they already have people on this). But this is what I'd like to see: open with Elsa being Queen of Arendelle, being all queenly and awesome. Anna and Kristoff are perfectly happy with... whatever they're doing. The reindeer and the dopey snowman can be there too doing - reindeer and snowman things. But someone comes to Arendelle with rumors of another Snow Queen in a distant-yet-nearby land. Elsa is intrigued - while she's achieved mastery over her powers, she still doesn't know where they came from in the first place (and her parents never could or would tell her). If there are others like her, shouldn't she help them learn to control their powers? No one should be locked up simply in fear of what they can do. Elsa is determined to seek out this new person and find out what they can learn from each other. Anna and Kristoff are more than capable of taking care of Arendelle in her absence (and if you want a sinister B-Plot to go there, well, go ahead and do it).

Elsa takes off on her adventure (bring along the dopey snowman if you must - but leave those stupid rock trolls behind) with a suitably awesome musical number to accompany the anticipation of meeting someone just like her. Along the way, she meets up with Hans, the disgraced prince who mucked things up royally in the first movie (no pun intended).

Okay - I HATED what they did to Hans. Because here is this immensely likable character that I (at least) fell in love with and he turns out to be the villain. FOR NO GOOD REASON! (if you needed an antagonist, why not that old and crusty mustache dude? Wasn't there enough antagonism from the blizzard and the circumstances of the eternal winter?) But in the sequel - Hans is penitent and seeking forgiveness for his actions. His brothers gave him so much grief over what he did before and have basically kicked him out of their kingdom. The only way he can return is with the power of the new Snow Queen. Elsa initially mistrusts him and he hardly blames her. But through a series of events that writers more clever than I can work out, they end up traveling together (where they're going is pretty dangerous and they both conclude that it'd be safer to do so - even if Elsa refuses to trust Hans for a long time).

When they get to where they're going, they discover a kingdom much like Arendelle (just colder). They are refused entrance into the kingdom for reasons that no one can explain (sound familiar?) Hans, being the youngest of so many brothers and having been picked on a good portion of his life - which included being locked out of the castle - finds a way inside the palace of this new kingdom (as an aside, Elsa is impressed with his secret-passage-finding skills). Guards catch them and they're thrown into prison and they discover a child who has snow powers and has been hidden away by her parents. Only, much worse than Elsa ever was. Where Elsa was at least kept in her bedroom, this child is a prisoner and treated very poorly (as poorly as you can get away with in a Disney movie, that is). Elsa promises to get the child out and teach him/her (no reason it couldn't be a boy with these powers. Again, writers more clever than I could take it from here) to control these powers. Hans has been picking the lock throughout this touching interlude and finally breaks them out. Only to find out that this child's mother is the Original Snow Queen - that is, the Snow Queen that Elsa's curse came from. There's some contrived reason that this Snow Queen took out her anger on Elsa's parents - curse the firstborn child, and all that - but this Snow Queen is impressed by Elsa's mastery of her powers. The Queen tries to tempt Elsa to turn to the dark side - citing that people will never understand her powers and she needs to be around people like her (HOORAY for conflict of character!), but dear sweet Hans steps in with the whole "Being a Villain Isn't All It's Cracked Up To Be" speech (which could very well be directed at the writers of the first movie, in a meta sort of way) and Elsa finds the resolve to refuse the Snow Queen's offer. The Snow Queen is pissed and vows revenge on Arendelle and zips out there to do her thing (it's magic, dammit!) Now, the mission is to get to Arendelle before she destroys everything - and that could coincide with the sinister B-Plot that Anna and Kristoff are dealing with. Elsa and Hans and company go tearing off after the Snow Queen with not a whole lot of ideas of how to stop her, only that it must be done. They get to Arendelle, Big Ass Showdown between Elsa and the Snow Queen, the Snow Queen is defeated, Elsa and Hans kiss (oh come on - you had to know that was coming), Elsa teaches the Snow Queen's little prisoner how to be utterly awesome with his/her powers, and Elsa is the Queen of Arendelle and the Queen of Winter and pretty much just rules up and down the land.

Yeah, it's kind of rough, but it's a start. It opens up doors for Elsa's character to be explored and gives her room to grow and become more than the shy, depressed, introvert that Anna was tasked with saving in the first movie. Bonus points for redeeming Hans from a fate that was totally unnecessary and totally unwarranted. And no annoying rock trolls.

If nothing else, this gives me something to work into fan fiction.

The Preemptive Critic - The Giver

This book tops my Greatest Books Written in All Of Our Lifetimes and Beyond list (that I made up). While not necessarily the granddaddy of all dystopian fiction - it's more like a beloved aunt. Certainly it's an intro to dystopian novels for younger readers (I first read it in fourth grade and LOVED IT). The book is much more homespun and personal - a moral tale about the power of memory and remembering the bad things as well as the good and having the ability to make your own choices and taking responsibility for those choices - leaving the great and the grand world-building for future franchises to tackle.

This book was one of the first books that I CHOSE to read for myself (other books I read in elementary school, while fantastic and lovable and enjoyable, were actually given to me by my parents or teachers). I read my first copy of it to pieces - literally! It completely fell apart and I had to get a new one - which is about the same time I found out that there were sequels (while not as compelling as the original, were still very good). I hold The Giver in such high esteem in not only my bookworm career, by my entire life! So, when I heard that a movie of The Giver was going to be made, my very first thought was "Please for the love of all that is good and holy do NOT screw this up!"

Well... having only seen the trailer, I'm not saying that they did screw it up. But I'm not not saying it either (hovercraft? motorcycles? daily injections? WTF???)

I preemptively do not like this movie. But I'll probably still see it in the faint hopes that they did not just totally crap all over my childhood.

(In a completely unrelated subject, io9 has an article about terrible movie trailers for movies that are awesome).

ATTENTION TOWNSPEOPLE!!

THE NEW SAILOR MOON ANIME HAS A TITLE AND ARTWORK AND A (tentative) RELEASE DATE! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!

omg squeeeeeee!! (English translation here)

Just to give you all an idea of why this is such a huge deal - nearly everything to do with Sailor Moon went out of print around 2003 (or thereabouts) and there was absolutely no new content. Anywhere. No repeats of anime, no reprints of manga, no toys being made - NOTHING. Sure, the live-action series came out in 2004 (which I have not seen 'cause... I have this thing about the bits I've seen. Like... it's going to be weird watching it. Maybe I should just suck it up and try it for real) - but that was it. To borrow a phrase - Moonies were kind of experiencing Wilderness Years of their own.

Then the 20th Anniversary happened in 2012, and The Powers That Be opened the floodgates. Manga reprints, new toys and T-shirts, a new stage musical, and HOLY CRAP A REBOOTED ANIME! SLATED TO BE RELEASED SUMMER 2013! IS THIS THE REAL LIFE??

Except Summer 2013 came... and it went... And there was zero news about the anime. No casting or artwork or ANYTHING! The fans would go ape over the latest lipstick line - but I was all "Yeah, yeah, shiny pretty stuff - oooh, that Sailor Mercury Figuart looks awesome (my birthday's in a few months, FYI) - BUT WHERE THE CRAP IS THE ANIME???"

Friends, Romans, Countrymen - we wait no longer. Today, the official Sailor Moon website put up a countdown in the animation section of the site (which, I suppose they're going to go through with because... why the hell not?) and then the above image and text was leaked by someone in the Toei Animation offices and the internet went wild (MoonKitty has the full rundown of everything we know - which looks so much less anemic than it did yesterday).

I am super-stoked about this. Sailor Moon was my gateway into anime when I was thirteen (I have a younger sister to thank for that - much to my parents' chagrin) and even though I went through a period of time where I kind of distanced myself from it (to my great shame) - I've come back in recent years and I cannot WAIT for this! It's influenced me creatively in so many ways and it represents a bright spot in my junior high and high school years (which generally just suck for everybody all the way around. Show me someone who loved middle school and I will show you a flaming hot liar). For a lot of us in the 90s, the Sailor Scouts (shut up, I'm a dub baby) were our first foray with female superheroes and that means a great deal (a team of interplanetary princesses who double as superheroes and kick ass in high heels and have their own unique personalities and are the bestest of best friends and there's a super-awesome love story thrown in for good measure - what's not to love?)

I'm still not totally sold on July being the final release date because it's been pushed back so much since the initial announcement and I'm pretty skeptical still, but even so - there's only one thing for it. WE DANCE!

(What did y'all think we were going to dance to?)

EDIT: Interestingly enough, all this comes the day after I changed my laptop's wallpaper scheme to Sailor Mercury. Serendipity, indeed.

Also - there will be reviews. Look forward to it! :)

The Preemptive Critic - Mr. Peabody and Sherman

When I was a kid, The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show was a staple of my "Old School" cartoon viewing (along with Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny, of course). One of the cartoon segments within Rocky and Bullwinkle was Peabody's Improbable History all about a genius dog, Mr. Peabody, who teaches his young charge, Sherman, about history by the use of the WABAC machine to time travel to those historical time periods (gee - where have I seen that premise before?) I adored Mr. Peabody's adventures and it came to the point where I only watched Rocky and Bullwinkle reruns just for those short cartoons. When I learned there was going to be a Mr. Peabody movie, I just about leaped out of my theater seat with glee.

Simply by way of nostalgia, I preemptively love this movie.

(But I will go postal if they screw it up).

Throwback Thursday - Kissing the Dead: A Cautionary Tale

*Originally posted on cj's bookshelf on July 1, 2011*

Title: I Kissed a Zombie, and I Liked It
Author: Adam Selzer
Publisher: Delacourt Press
Publication Date: January 2010
Reading Level: 16 and up

Synopsis (from Goodreads) -
Algonquin “Alley” Rhodes, the high school newspaper’s music critic, meets an intriguing singer, Doug, while reviewing a gig. He’s a weird-looking guy—goth, but he seems sincere about it, like maybe he was into it back before it was cool. She introduces herself after the set, asking if he lives in Cornersville, and he replies, in his slow, quiet murmur, “Well, I don’t really live there, exactly. . . .”

When Alley and Doug start dating, Alley is falling so hard she doesn't notice a few odd signs: he never changes clothes, his head is a funny shape, and he says practically nothing out loud. Finally Marie, the school paper’s fashion editor, points out the obvious: Doug isn't just a really sincere goth. He’s a zombie. Horrified that her feelings could have allowed her to overlook such a flaw, Alley breaks up with Doug, but learns that zombies are awfully hard to get rid of—at the same time she learns that vampires, a group as tightly-knit as the mafia, don’t think much of music critics who make fun of vampires in reviews. . . .

My Review:
First and foremost - "I Kissed a Zombie" is a parody of "Twilight." Now, I've made no secret that I severely dislike the "Twilight" books (for many reasons, not the least of which it offers up a perverted version of one of my - and the author's - core religious beliefs and that didn't sit well with me at all. Again, another rant for another day), so this sounded intriguing. Anything that pokes fun at "Twilight," I like to give it a shot. I actually met Adam Selzer briefly when he was on a teen author panel at the Utah Library Association Conference back in May [2011]. I didn't get to speak with him for very long, but it was long enough that I wanted to fork out $8 for his book and read it.

Alley Rhodes is no Bella Swan (or any other main female character from a paranormal romance novel, for that matter). Alley is witty, sarcastic and she constantly makes fun of all the girls in her high school who are dating vampires. Did I mention that, in this world, all the vampires have come out and made themselves a regular part of society? Which means, of course there are going to be tons of high school girls falling over themselves to get a piece of that undead action. [SARCASM WARNING!] Because, as we all know, high school girls are entirely that stupid. That's the kind of sarcasm Alley and her friends, the Vicious Circle (who also run the school newspaper), employ on a constant basis. And I have to admit, it's actually quite funny.

Then Alley becomes enamored with Doug, a guest singer for a band Alley is reviewing for her column in the school paper. He sings all her favorite songs and actually sings them well (Alley has a thing for dead gay singers from the 1930s) and she thinks that he's actually sincere about being a goth - not just these pseudo-goths that are just goth because it's suddenly cool on account of all the smokin' hot vampires around.

Another thing I found hilarious was, after Alley discovers Doug is a zombie, her debate with herself whether or not to become a zombie. She contemplates things like the fact that she'd have to drink embalming fluid every four hours (she decides that she could acquire a taste for it) and how long she and Doug could last as zombies before crumbling into dust (well, if they're careful, there are billions of years before the sun expands and the earth explodes. Then, they'll just be zombies floating around in space).

It helps when you read a book to know that it's a parody. If that had not been in the forefront of my mind as I read this, I would have hated it. But as it is a commentary on some of the more absurd premises in paranormal teen romance, it makes a lot of sense. It was a quick little read and one you might enjoy if you're looking for a fluffy piece of beach reading this summer.

The World's Cutest Whovian!

I just found this today and since I couldn't make it to Gallifrey One this year, I thought I'd post it. I adore Lindalee and her Doctor Who videos! If you can contain your SQUEE long enough to click "Play," enjoy!



(I would love to meet this little lady - she's going to go far in life!)

May It Be A Light in Dark Places

Title: Shadow and Bone
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: June 5, 2012

Synopsis (from Goodreads) -
The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfill her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

Glorious. Epic. Irresistible. Romance.

My Review:
Oh, Shadow and Bone... what can I say about you?

Well, for starters -

(I suppose I ought to elaborate)

I initially read this back in 2012 when I was on the reading committee for CLAU when the short list for the Beehive Awards was being compiled for the 2013-14 season (which is being voted on right now). And my vote was YES! YES! A THOUSAND TIMES YES!!! I even harbor a slight hope that it will win this year, even up against the likes of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (side note: I read that one. I don’t see what the big deal is about it. For reasons I put in my Goodreads review. But I realize I am in the vast minority on that opinion. You may now proceed to take away my bookworm cred).

Anyway - Shadow and Bone. You know that quote about writing that goes something like "If the book you want to read doesn't exist, you must write that book"? In this case, I'm going to have to turn that statement around a bit and say that this is the book I have wanted to write for years, but I just haven't been able to make it work (I'm still gonna try, though - in my own way). But I was thrilled beyond words to discover this book the first time around and I have no idea why I never wrote a proper review of it before now.  But I re-read this recently and I got up the gumption to write about it, so here we go -

Alina Starkov is an orphan girl with one friend who has been there for her and that is Mal Oretsev. They end up in the army for the kingdom of Ravka when Alina discovers that she has the power of the legendary Sun Summoner.  The Sun Summoner has been looked for over the centuries by the Grisha, a powerful order of mages who are only beneath the king in terms of power in Ravka. The Grisha are both beautiful and terrifying to the ordinary people, being an order separate and apart from the rest of the country, but they are necessary in combating the volcra, which are creatures that live in the Unsea which divides Ravka and threatens to consume the entire country. And then, you have the usual political enemies and antagonistic neighboring countries making war with Ravka all the time - so someone like the Sun Summoner would be pretty great to have around.

Alina, however, doesn't want to be the Sun Summoner. She doesn't fit in Grisha culture (it's much like the Jedi Order, where young children are identified and taken from their families and trained in the Jedi Temple and that's the only culture they know for a long time) and it's hard for her to adhere to traditions.  She befriends Genya, a Grisha girl who is a servant of the queen (and when you find out why, you kind of want to punch something), which is truly remarkable to the other Grisha.  And the leader of the Grisha, the Darkling, basically puts himself in Alina's back pocket for reasons that I don't want to spoil because that's part of the FEELS. But really, all Alina wants to do is go back to being Mal's best friend and back to being an ordinary girl.

What makes this story work so well rests within Alina and Mal's relationship - and this is a HUGE reason why I adore this book so much.  From the start, it is established that Alina and Mal are all each other really has in this world. They grew up in the orphanage and they left the orphanage together. Alina's power is discovered when Mal's life is threatened.  In terms of love stories in YA fiction, this is honestly one of the best ones there is anywhere.  It feels real and sincere and like it could happen to anyone.  Even as Alina learns about her powers and finds out a lot of really marvelous things about herself - Mal is always that central touchstone in her life.  And it goes both ways, which is absolutely fantastic. In fact, the only reason that there is any conflict between them at all is because Alina’s powers as the Sun Summoner come out into the open and the Grisha pull them apart because that’s just how things are done with the Grisha.  You don't tell the Grisha "No." You just don't.

That kind of dovetails into my next subject - but I also love how Alina has been thrown into this new culture and she doesn’t feel like she fits in. Not because the people are bad or mean to her, necessarily. But because the Grisha are typically found as very young children and they don’t have time to learn any other way to live. In fact, the Grisha characters - particularly Genya - are so multi-faceted and multidimensional. It could have been easy to write all Grisha as narrow-minded and villainous - but they aren’t. They all have distinct personalities, even if they aren’t “on-screen” (as it were) for very long (my favorite of these minor characters is David - read the book and find out).

I also have to talk about the Darkling. Oh my holy crap, the Darkling. I’m not sure how much I want to spoil, since I want my reviews to encourage people to read these books if they haven’t already... oh, what the hell... it’s kind of obvious if you look hard enough. I love how ambiguous his character is at the beginning, though the hints are there that is is just bad news. And his interactions with Alina are so well-paced and so well-written that you do find yourself wanting them to end up together and you’re almost disgusted with yourself afterward (which makes it easy to sympathize with Alina when what happens happens). If heroes are only as good as their villains - then Alina is shaping up to be an incredible hero.

The world-building in this story is absolutely incredible. It’s more or less based around Russian culture which, between watching the Olympics in Sochi and reading a book I found on NetGalley about the Romanov sisters, has become a bit of an interest for me recently. It’s one of those hidden gems in history that gets overlooked - mostly because so much of Russian history was suppressed until comparatively recently (at least, within the course of my own lifetime - I was six when the Soviet Union fell). Western European culture becomes a template for so many fantasy novels - mostly because that’s kind of a literary touchstone for our own culture and that’s what we know the best. But it’s really cool to see other cultures being mined for ideas for fantastical settings (another excellent example is Avatar: The Last Airbender with its Asian and Inuit influences). And not just being mined for ideas, but being mined well.  In the case of Shadow and Bone, there are points where it's hard to tell where the Russian influence ends and the made-up stuff begins because it's just so seamless within the narrative.  And I appreciate that in the world building.  I like that I can say - "Okay, that part's from Russia, that part's made up, that part... um... I'm not sure..."  Then again, I like to get lost in a book's culture and background, so I like that I can just say "This is all Ravka" and be totally okay with it.

(Also, I can totally pinpoint the moment I realized why the book was called Shadow and Bone. I won't give it away, but I was quite pleased with myself when I figured it out. I'll give a hint: it was the same point I understood the cover art).

In conclusion - Shadow and Bone. Go read it NOW! And then go find the second one, Siege and Storm. And then go preorder Ruin and Rising because the ending promises to be one hell of a finale.  And then go cry because this story is so great we still have a few more months to wait.

Throwback Thursday - Yes Virginia, You Can Have Character Focus in Dystopian Fiction

*Originally posted on cj's bookshelf on June 24, 2011*

Title: The Roar
Author: Emma Clayton
Publisher: The Chicken House
Publication Date: April 1, 2009
Reading Level: Age 12 and up

Synopsis: (from Goodreads) - 
Mika and Ellie live in a future behind a wall: Solid concrete topped with high-voltage razor wire and guarded by a battalion of Ghengis Borgs, it was built to keep out the animals, because animals carry the plague. At least that's what Ellie, who was kidnapped as a child, has always been taught.

But when she comes to suspect the truth behind her captivity, she's ready to risk exposure to the elements and answer the call of the wild. Listen. Can you hear it? She's strapping on her headset, jumpstarting her Pod Fighter, and--with her capuchin monkey at her back--she's breaking out!

My Review: 
I have long since learned not to trust book summaries.  Either they will make a good story sound boring or an awful story sound intriguing.  Such is the case with "The Roar" - I would not have picked this one up had my supervisor not suggested it.

Also - speaking of unreliable summaries - this book is not about Ellie.  It's about her twin brother, Mika, who refuses to believe that Ellie is dead even though his parents, teachers and counselors tell him she is.  But Ellie comes up enough that this is not a deal-breaker for me.

(Suggestion to publishers - WRITE BETTER SUMMARIES!)

The world Emma Clayton has created for her characters is both fascinating and terrifying.  It is a world where everyone has to take what the government says at face value because there simply isn't any other source.  They are told that they must stay behind The Wall surrounding the country because of a devastating Animal Plague that nearly wiped out all of humanity.  The poor people are packed into tiny fold-out apartments and are given glorified mold to eat.  The children are given "Fit Mix," which they are told will give them the necessary nutrition, but it actually turns out to be something more sinister.  Mika's the only one who questions anything this government tells him, to his detriment, but he also succeeds at the beating the government at its own game (and I'm not talking about the arcade game that gets the whole plot in motion).  The moment when Mika discovers the government's BIG SECRET is so satisfying that I didn't care that I had pretty much called it at the start of the book.

This is one book I actually don't want to spoil too much, though it isn't hard to guess where it's going to end up. That doesn't necessarily make it an inferior story.  Far from it, actually.  "The Roar" is a fast-paced, in-the-moment, intriguing and enjoyable read.  The main thing about this was that it was so focused on the characters and how they responded to their situation and didn't focus so much on the situation came to be (which is how dystopian fiction ought to be - I'm lookin' at you "Uglies").

Throwback Thursday: The Bad Things Don't Always Spoil the Good - Review of "The Book Thief"

Throwback Thursday makes a triumphant return after a (unintentional) five-month hiatus! For those who missed it (probably a lot of you), I used to have a blog I used solely for reviewing books. But then I started doing more with this blog and decided to consolidate them both. I didn't want to lose all the work I'd done on cj's bookshelf, so I'm slowly migrating them over here. I started last year, but got distracted and kept forgetting to do it. But it's back for your enjoyment!

**Originally posted on cj's bookshelf on June 17, 2011**

Title: The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: December 2005
Reading Level: Age 14 and up

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

My Review:

Oh, "The Book Thief" - you wonderful, wonderful piece of writing you.

This book first came to my attention through the Mark Reads blog.  All I knew was that it was set in Nazi Germany and there was a girl who stole books.  How the two connected, I hadn't the foggiest idea.  But the themes connected in one of the most beautiful ways I have ever seen.

So many of the stories about the Holocaust and World War II and Nazi Germany focus on the horrible things human beings are capable of doing to other human beings and "The Book Thief" is no exception.  But what this book does so magnificently is telling the story of Germans who - surprise! - didn't actually buy into the Nazi propaganda.  In fact, there were plenty of Germans who were just trying to take care of their families and follow the rules and do what they thought was right.

The best thing about this story is Liesel Meminger, the titular book thief who finds joy and solace in the books she "steals" from various places (though one of those places is the mayor's wife's library - and the mayor's wife purposely leaves the door open for Liesel).  She is just a little girl who plays with her friends and gets into mischief - just like any other kid in any other time period, but her experiences are set up against the backdrop of Nazi Germany.  Her childhood is peppered with flashbacks of her foster father's experience in World War I, scenes of Death (the narrator) picking up souls killed in the war and scenes of the people in Liesel's neighborhood taking cover in a basement during bombings.

My favorite chapter is when Max Vandenburg - a Jewish man Liesel's family is hiding - illustrates a story as a gift to Liesel to thank her for her kindness.  I don't want to go into details about Max's story because it is so lovely and wonderful, but the whole chapter was a brilliant depiction of the story as a whole.

This entire story is an exceptional tale of the very worst of humanity sitting right next to the best of humanity.  It takes all the black and white morality in storytelling and sits it on the bench and lets the grays of real people shine through.  Nothing is ever straightforward, as much as we try to make things good and right.  But that doesn't mean you stop trying to live a good and moral life the best way you know how.

Reading Only Ever Gave Me Hope

Title:The World's Strongest Librarian
Author: Josh Hanagarne
Publisher: Gotham Books
Publication Date: May 2013

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Josh Hanagarne couldn't be invisible if he tried. Although he wouldn't officially be diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome until his freshman year of high school, Josh was six years old and onstage in a school Thanksgiving play when he first began exhibiting symptoms. By the time he was twenty, the young Mormon had reached his towering adult height of 6'7" when — while serving on a mission for the Church of Latter Day Saints — his Tourette's tics escalated to nightmarish levels.

Determined to conquer his affliction, Josh underwent everything from quack remedies to lethargy-inducing drug regimes to Botox injections that paralyzed his vocal cords and left him voiceless for three years. Undeterred, Josh persevered to marry and earn a degree in Library Science. At last, an eccentric, autistic strongman — and former Air Force Tech Sergeant and guard at an Iraqi prison — taught Josh how to "throttle" his tics into submission through strength-training.

Today, Josh is a librarian in the main branch of Salt Lake City's public library and founder of a popular blog about books and weight lifting—and the proud father of four-year-old Max, who has already started to show his own symptoms of Tourette's.

The World's Strongest Librarian illuminates the mysteries of this little-understood disorder, as well as the very different worlds of strongman training and modern libraries. With humor and candor, this unlikely hero traces his journey to overcome his disability — and navigate his wavering Mormon faith — to find love and create a life worth living.

My Review:
I've talked before about Salt Lake County Library's Reader's Choice program - how twice a year the system sets out twenty (or so) books from varying genres that they think will be worth their patrons' time and asks people to read and vote on which of the batch are the best (each library branch does fun things like drawings or games to encourage people to read these books - some patrons are even ambitious enough to read them all).  The last couple of groups of Reader's Choice books have been a little... well... lacking. As least, as far as I'm concerned. I'm certain that someone else found something they liked.

Anyway - I'd heard about The World's Strongest Librarian from an article in the paper last year highlighting Josh Hanagarne when the book was released. I thought it was neat that a guy from Salt Lake City was getting a book published and he worked for the Salt Lake City Library, but I didn't think too much of it at the time.  But then the book came up on Reader's Choice and I decided to give it a shot.

First off - I'm not a non-fiction type of gal. Memoirs especially kind of mess me up emotionally. It's either too sad that I can't finish or it's too happy that it makes me feel bad about my own failings and misfortunes (and then I feel bad for feeling bad because there are starving children in Africa and how dare I think I have it so rough!) I'd rather stick to my world of made-up stories and let the real world get on with the business of continually screwing things up. But this book... actually made me feel like maybe there are other people who have similar doubts about the future.

It helped that Josh's background was a lot like mine - living in small close-knit communities in Utah and Nevada, being the freakishly tall bookworm that's mildly skilled in sports (Josh got better at athletic pursuits - let's be fair here), growing up in the LDS (Mormon) faith. But that's about where the similarities ended. Because I have absolutely no idea what it's like to deal with Tourette's Syndrome. Oh, I've heard people talk about it and I've glanced at articles by medical professionals - but it's never touched my life at all. But reading about Josh's experiences and just how real he made it (especially writing for an audience who may or may not understand) helped put things into perspective.  I also loved the humor he displayed - almost made it feel like I was listening to a dear friend talk about his life (even though I've never met Josh - though I know people who have).

I think this is probably the most candid and real memoir I've ever read.  He doesn't gloss over the really tough stuff - but he also gives so much credit to others where some memoirs probably would make it sound terrible.  I especially loved how he talked about his parents - how they weren't sure how to help their son with Tourettes when they first thought there might have been a problem, but over time they turned to experts (and some not-so-experts) and worked hard to help Josh wherever they could.

Another thing I want to mention is how Josh talks about his faith. Like I said earlier, I'm Mormon and I've grown up in the church and I'm still active in my faith.  Sometimes when Mormons write memoirs meant for a secular crowd, they either go too far into "over-sharing" things that are meant to be sacred or they treat their faith like it's something to be ashamed of or even apologize for it.  But here, Josh actually struck a perfect balance between the two - he treats sacred things with the respect they deserve, while also not being afraid to poke fun at some of the LDS culture's more, shall we say, unique characteristics (being a single LDS female, I particularly appreciated his description of the LDS dating scene. Nothing ever changes).  It was refreshing to see that balance in a book like this (also - his description of the Missionary Training Center and the life of an LDS missionary is bang-on).

Ugh - I feel like I'm not really giving this book a good enough review. Can I just say that I read it in a four-and-a-half hour sitting? (minus the couple of times I got up to switch out the laundry) It was a compelling, interesting, enlightening book and it made me think about some things in my own life and my own challenges. I mean, I'm probably not going to run out and start lifting weights (I have zero upper body strength and I have since I was a kid in gymnastics class) - but I can certainly understand the act of looking for ways to overcome adversity and the acknowledgement in the end that the battle is never really over and moments of clarity come when you least expect them and leave just as quickly as they came.  I really want people to read this book - either just because you enjoy memoirs or because you need a realistic-yet-positive look at what this life is like and that things will be okay in the end. In the end, this book left me feeling positive and hopeful. I can't ask much more of a book, now can I?

In short: Run, don't walk, to your nearest library or bookstore and get this book. You won't be sorry.

They Come Runnin' Just As Fast as They Can

I really should have had something to say about this on Monday when the news hit.  But better late than never.  Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls - the Twelfth Doctor has a costume!

Fangirls - please remember to breathe!

What's more - the Doctor has been spotted out in the wild in his new digs!

(That's all I dare post without getting too spoilery. I was accidentally spoiled on a few things in my Tumblr activity this week, but I can't actually say that I'm sorry about it).

The comparisons to Pertwee have been all over the place, and I admit that was the first thing I thought of when I saw it.  But there's also an element of the Ninth Doctor to the outfit as well - probably with the shoes. Though, I confess, the only people I knew who wore Doc Martens when I was growing up were the super-snotty mean girls, so the association with the whole "rebel rock star" thing is lost on me. But if Twelve can erase those bad memories and give me fun new ones of a "Rebel Time Lord," then I will happily take it. Nevertheless, I think Capaldi looks pretty darn good in the outfit and I am quite pleased with it and I can't wait to fully see him in action! (and I'm anxiously awaiting what the cosplayers do with this one - I expect many pictures from Gally attendees!*)

Beyond Peter Capaldi looking quite dashing in the black suit (with the super-cool red lining, can't forget that!) - this means that filming has officially begun on Series 8! (yes, yes, I know it had started already, but seeing it like this makes it even more real - TARDIS and everything else going on). We're that much closer to new Doctor Who, folks!  Honestly, I thought I'd been burned out from the constant stream of Who-related stuff last year, but it's only the end of January 2014 and I'm actually missing it and I'm ready for some new stuff.  So, yeah - bring on Capaldi! September (or whenever) can't come fast enough!

I guess there's not much else to do except play the song.  You know which one I'm talking about...



*I am sad to report that I am not able to attend Gallifrey One this year. Car trouble and limited funds prevent me from making the trip this year. So, no Gally reports will be coming from this blog :(

Fighting Fire With Fun

So many apologies up front! In my defense, January is always a hellacious month and this year was no different.  But I'm back for more Airbending antics in...

And I feel even worse that I left this so long because when the show originally premiered, the first two episodes were aired as a one-hour special. So, I probably should have reviewed the first two episodes together (heh heh - oops).  But here we are, so let's get started!

From the very first moment of this episode, we see just how grim everything really is. The first episode showed how happy and light-hearted this show could be - but then we get a taste of the dark depths that it can go. Not too dark, mind (this is still early-days for a kids' show) - but this is a world at war. Sokka gets angry that Aang and Katara set off that signal to the Fire Navy - and Gran Gran (Sokka and Katara's grandmother) agrees that Aang needs to go. Katara, to her everlasting credit, nearly packs up and leaves with Aang, but Aang tells her that he doesn't want her to abandon her family just because they might have a chance at finding her a Waterbending teacher.

As the show goes on, I often have cause to wonder why the Southern Water Tribe let Waterbending become nearly extinct in their culture. I can't remember if it's explained later (and I do know that the Fire Nation attack plays a role in it), but it becomes clear just how important the Elements are to these civilizations. Even if most of the people aren't benders, the legends and ceremonies that have formed around the Elements (and especially the Avatars from the past) are so vital to cultural identity and balance in the world. Of course, the Southern Water Tribe is so very small - the men have left to fight in the war, leaving behind women, children, and the elderly to keep things going at home - so it could be that everything is just a matter of survival at this point. And it's really sad - especially considering how hard Katara tries to develop her Waterbending skills, but she desperately needs a teacher. It is suggested at one point that Aang could teach her - but Airbending and Waterbending are both so very different (the creators purposely did that - each Elements' benders techniques are patterned after real-world martial arts moves. They even brought in experts from various disciplines to consult during the animation process, which gives these abilities a much larger scope than "Wave your arms wildly and hope that something happens!" There's a definite feel of this being something that you develop, rather than you're just born with it and it suddenly works).

So, Aang leaves the village with Appa, despite Katara's insistence that finding Aang was a good thing - that the world may be a war, but it doesn't mean that everything has to be terrible and they can have fun and find things to be happy about.  Still, Sokka isn't buying it and Aang takes off.  But he doesn't get too far before seeing a Fire Nation ship coming in hot and fast toward the village. Meanwhile, Sokka, being the oldest boy in the village and a sort-of self-appointed tribal chief while the men are away, prepares the village for potential invasion - which more or less entails him standing on top of the wall around the village by himself (battle-ready, yes, but still by himself).

Battle-ready, yes, but still by himself. Have I mentioned how much I love this guy?

The Fire Nation ship breaks down the wall and the soldiers disembark - Sokka tears after them on a one-man collision course. Zuko basically side-steps Sokka's attack and demands to know where the Avatar is.

Except Sokka still isn't done. It's laughable how out-matched Sokka is against the military might of the Fire Nation. Even just against Prince Zuko - Sokka gets his butt handed to him (though not without landing a blow from his trusty boomerang - yeah, we all learn to love that thing).

Oh, Zuko - your pain is my hilarity (for the first season, at least).

In the course of all this, Aang comes penguin sledding out of freaking nowhere and distracts Zuko. At which point, Zuko drops the bomb that we the viewers kind of figured, but the characters hadn't quite pieced together - Aang is the Avatar!

But Zuko assumed that he'd be looking for an old man who'd had a century to train and perfect his skills. And, if you've ever watched any kind of anime that revolves around training and preparing for battle - whether it's Dragon Ball Z or Pokemon or even Yu-Gi-Oh (which is about a freaking trading card game, you guys), you know how seriously they take their training. It's flat-out hilarious how seriously these characters can be about their chosen skill set. And Avatar is kind of in that same vein. But there is one line that sets Avatar apart from those others, at least in tone. Zuko gives the requisite "I've been training for years for this encounter" schpiel, at the end he says "You're just a child!" And where those other kinds of shows would have seen the younger opponent get all huffy and put-out about being called a child, Aang instead stops, looks at Zuko and says "Well, you're just a teenager."

Friends, Avatar: The Last Airbender may look like an anime, but it definitely NOT an anime. And that deadpan acknowledgement that Aang and Zuko really aren't that far apart in maturity level, no matter what kind of deadly skills they employ in battle. They're both still kids with so much to learn about life and being people - not just about learning to fight with their elements.

So, Aang and Zuko trade blows for a bit and Aang realizes that he's endangering the Water Tribe villagers. He gives himself up on condition that they Fire Nation soldiers leave the people alone, which is another great bit of character about Aang. The Air Nomads were a selfless and peaceful people (their culture is based on Tibetan Buddhist monks) and Aang, as the last remnant of that culture, is no different.

But Katara and Sokka aren't taking this lying down. With the encouragement of Gran Gran - who admits that the reappearance of the Avatar is the first time she's had any hope for the world in a long time - Katara and Sokka set off in search of Aang (with added help from Appa, who got left behind).

Aang isn't doing too bad for himself, though. And we start to get a good idea of everything that Airbenders are capable of - the kid basically takes on the whole crew of Zuko's ship (except for Uncle Iroh, who's taking a nap), all of whom are Firebenders. And he almost escapes, except Zuko corners him.

RiffTrax makes fun of the movie version of this scene - just to show you can't compete with the original.

You know - you've just gotta watch the whole sequence. The animation and the attention to detail is just so stinking good. Like I said before, there's a rhyme and reason to how this all works - the bender techniques are based on real-world disciplines, which add realism and beauty to the animation. And it only gets better. During the course of their fight, Zuko pushes Aang off the side of the ship (just as Katara and Sokka have caught up).

How To Tell When Shit's Going Down in the Avatar-verse

Instead of drowning, Aang's eyes and Airbender tattoos start glowing and he pretty much unleashes a giant typhoon of Waterbending on the Fire Nation ship. Katara and Sokka land Appa and rescue Aang (not before Katara freezes some of the Fire Nation soldiers with her Waterbending). Zuko and Iroh (he's up from his nap by now) try to shoot down Appa, but Aang deflects their attack, which creates an avalanche that traps their ship for the foreseeable future.

You tried, boys. You really tried.

The episode ends with Team Avatar (for that is what I'm calling them from here on out) flying away. Katara gushing endlessly at how amazing Aang's Waterbending is, though he isn't that enthused about the fact that he did it. And you start to get the sense that being the Avatar isn't all its cracked up to be. Aang doesn't want to be the Avatar and he almost hates that he Waterbended (Waterbent? Not sure on that) his way out of there. There are reasons why he's not that excited about being the Avatar (which are explored later and we'll get there), but for now, we just know that he's a very lonely little boy who's just been given the responsibility of saving the world and… you know… he doesn't really like it.

You mean being the last best hope of the entire world isn't TEH GREATEST THING EVAH?

I love that the episode gives Aang the space to express that idea and not just rush off and insist that is OMG GONNA BE THE KOOLEST THANG EVAH! (it's Nickelodeon - that's what they usually do). In fact, the only thing that seems to cheer him up is the idea that Katara wants to go to the Northern Water Tribe to find a Waterbending teacher and that they could learn together. In this instance, at least, Aang doesn't have to be singled out or treated differently. He has a friend to do this with, which is the best thing you could have given this kid right now.

(And Sokka just wants to knock some Firebender heads along the way. Given the way the Fire Nation's treated Team Avatar so far, that's actually okay).

We can't leave without Aang's travel plans for the trip - rather than this being a hardcore strategy for fighting the Fire Nation, Aang wants to stop over at various locations to ride the hopping llamas and ride the giant koi fish and catch wild hog monkeys because... reasons.  Hey, this is the kid who wanted to go penguin sledding the first minute he broke out of an iceberg after 100 years - just go with it and love him for it.

After all - we need a little fun in this world.

***
Next Time -
Episode 1.03 - Stop Making Aang Sad, Guys!!

Previously -
Episode 1.01 - Penguin Sledding for Beginners

Penguin Sledding for Beginners

Hey, look - it's the first blogging project of 2014!

Marvel at my MS Paint skills!

Some years ago when I was in college, I noticed a new animated show on Nickelodeon. Now, I’d had a pretty rocky relationship with a once-favored TV network from my childhood at that point. They’d scrapped worthy shows like Doug, Clarissa Explains It All, and Legends of the Hidden Temple from their lineup in favor of crap like Spongebob Squarepants (it kills me that there is an entire generation of children who do not know life without that obnoxious little bastard). But this Avatar: The Last Airbender seemed pretty promising. It was interesting, at the very least. Sadly, school took up much of my time and the scheduling people at Nick were too braindead to give the show a consistent time slot and I couldn't find time to commit to it. Fast forward some years later when I’m out of grad school (Rejoice!) and have a somewhat regular day-job (Again I say - Reeeeee-jooooooiiiiiice!), I decided to give Avatar another go. Not only did I enjoy it, I mainlined that sucker like there was no tomorrow! I could not wait to get to the next episode (which, it was a good thing it’s on Netflix. At least, I think it’s still on Netflix. I haven’t had a Netflix account for some time). I found compelling stories, engaging characters, beautiful artwork and worldbuilding, and a mythology that so many fantasy novels would give their back covers for! I couldn't believe that a gem like this show had found a home on Nickelodeon, which has become arguably the most crass and idiotic network for children in recent years (given that it’s owned by the same parent company as MTV, I shouldn't be surprised).

Last September, I decided I wanted to watch Avatar from the beginning and review each episode in their turn. But since I was neck-deep in Librarian in the TARDIS, I decided to shelve the project until the new year. Well, New Years has come and gone and work is somewhat scarce (it always happens in January) and the snow just won’t quit (also always happens in January), now is a good time to begin. Yes, I know I am not the first to undertake such an endeavor and I'm certain I won't be the last, but I've read enough similar blogs to know that I think I have something new to bring to Avatar fandom, otherwise I wouldn't even bother trying.  Even if no one else says a word about it and it's just for my own entertainment and edification, at least it's out there.

A few things before I start: every review will be Spoiler-riffic, so if you’ve never seen the show and want to stay unspoiled, I’d advise you watch the episodes before reading my thoughts. Also, if you’re the type to think “Oh, gee - I don’t have the time to commit to three seasons of 20 half-hour episodes each, I’ll just watch the movie,” I would strongly advise you - NOOOOOOOOOOO! Not just because the movie is a slap in the face to the original material and not because fans of the show cringe at the very mention of it, but because it is such a horrible, terrible, awful, craptacular, mess of a movie. I would almost go so far as to say that it makes Batman and Robin look like Shakespeare. Terrorists could use it in their torture chambers, it is that bad. I would rather you give the whole franchise a pass than have to sit through that garbage. But the TV show is fantastic. I promise, if you make the time for it, you will be paid hundreds of times over in entertainment, enjoyment, and even personal enrichment (though I do understand that life gets busy and other things take precedence).

Also - a word to parents. I know that many parents have concerns over what their kids watch and if something is too crude or too violent or too annoying. If you have kids and you’re about ready to shoot that little turd from the pineapple and you’re aching to see your kiddos get hooked on something that wasn't squeezed from the same rectal cavity as Ren and Stimpy, I think Avatar will be a great choice (given the fact that I'm doing this blogging project, that probably comes as not-that-big-of-a-shock). It continually treats its intended audience (kids around ages 8-12) like intelligent people who can handle tough subjects, but without overburdening them with a lot of emotional intensity. It’s also very appealing to adults (Hello! 28-year-old single chick with a life and career here!), which makes it a great family show, or even a show that fans of good storytelling can enjoy. It has made a considerable cultural impact and it continues to be a hit - as evidenced by its sequel series, The Legend of Korra, which I may get to reviewing here at some point. But this is where it all starts -

All right then - let’s begin.

The show’s opening credits are a huge clue that this is not going to be your run-of-the-mill slapstick that you put on to keep the kids from killing each other while you make dinner. There is effort and care put into each frame of animation. Even the rich backstory is told in a way that shows the writers really wanted to tell a quality story in a way that kids and adults could connect to. Granted, the opening monologue in this first episode is a bit different from how things are handled later on, after key characters and plot points are introduced, but in style and tone, you pretty much know what you’re going to get from here on out.

The first characters we are introduced to in the show proper are Katara and Sokka, a sister and brother from the Inuit-inspired Southern Water Tribe out hunting for their village. Their mother has died and their father is off fighting the Fire Nation (the main antagonists in the show). They both seem to lead a pretty ho-hum existence, but we are quickly introduced to the concept of Waterbending (mentioned in the open credits, along with Firebending, Earthbending, and Airbending).  Katara is a Waterbender, meaning she can manipulate water to do what she wants it to do, but her skills are underdeveloped (it's not just "magic water," as Sokka dismisses it). We later learn that there is no one in her tribe to teach her how to properly Waterbend and there’s no way she can leave to find someone to instruct her. So, she’s pretty much left to her own devices.

Sokka is - well, Sokka is amazing. He starts out kind of as the comic relief, which you need in a kids’ show, but as the episode progressed, you see that he takes his duty as a warrior seriously. He’s a young kid (I don’t remember if it’s ever said, but I think he’s about 15), but he’s taken on an enormous responsibility to keep his sister and his tribe safe, a sense of responsibility that he tries to pass on to the younger generation (with rather amusing results). I admit, I didn't quite appreciate his unique blend of humor and seriousness at first, kind of thinking he was just a cynical pain in the ass, but over time he quickly became my absolute favorite character (along with another that we’ll meet later this season).

Katara and Sokka bicker as many siblings do, but this particular little tiff results in Katara Waterbending a gigantic iceberg out of the ocean.  They see a person with glowing eyes in the iceberg, which prompts Katara to break the iceberg open (as you do). When the ice breaks, a bright light shoots out into the sky, signaling to everyone around that Something Big is happening. A young boy falls out of the remains of the iceberg, accompanied by Appa, his Sky Bison that looks like it fell out of a Studio Ghibli production (which is NOT a criticism, believe me!).

So, big glowing light, strange boy surviving in an iceberg for x-number of years - you think this is pretty important?  Well, not as important as this boy's first words after being broken out of the ice -

“Will you go penguin sledding with me?”

Everyone, meet Aang. The eponymous last Airbender (and he doesn't tell you he's an Airbender, he sneezes and flies ten feet in the air - that's how you know). Also, the Avatar (though he pretends that he doesn't know what happened to the Avatar, but the show kind of makes it obvious that he's it). A 12-year-old (plus-or-minus a hundred years) kid who just wants to go penguin sledding and asks the first person he sees to go with him. My friends, you just witnessed the creation of one of the best animated characters in recent memory. I mean, it’s no spoiler to say that this boy has the weight of the world on his shoulders - whether or not he knows it at this point (here's a spoiler: he does). But he’s still a lovable, carefree, funny little kid with a great sense of humor and you just can’t help but adore him. Of course you see the gravity of his responsibilities and you realize that he’s often thought about the weight he must carry and that is a huge part of his character - but for now...

ZOMG - PENGUIN SLEDDING!!!

(Sorry - I can’t get over it).

Okay - so the Avatar is a pretty big deal (even bigger than that stupid Dances With Smurf-Gully movie that James Cameron plastered all over our faces whenever that was). In this world, the Avatar is the one person that can master all four Elements and must use these powers to restore/keep balance in the world. A hundred years previous to the beginning of this episode, the Avatar had completely disappeared and no one knew where he had gone. Ever since that time, the world has been engulfed in war - even the oldest inhabitants of this world do not remember a time when there was no conflict or fear from invasion. So, discovering an Airbender who may or may not know what happened to the Avatar is pretty damn huge!

Hot on the trail (sorry, bad pun) of the Avatar is the prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko. From the word "go!" you can tell Zuko has piles and piles of backstory.  He's not just some spoiled brat prince who gets to be the teenage antagonist of the show - though he kind of starts out that way.  His main mission (at least for now) is to find the Avatar for the glory of the Fire Nation.  There's more to it than that, but that's the basics of it and all you need to know for these first few episodes. Right behind Zuko is another favorite character, Uncle Iroh.  Iroh and Zuko's first scene together paints a beautiful picture of their relationship - they clearly have an interest in seeing the Fire Nation succeed at ruling the world, but have very different methods of achieving that goal. Zuko yells and barks orders at the world, Iroh wants to serve the world calming jasmine tea (you'll quickly find that Iroh loves his tea). With Iroh, at least, we get a sympathetic character from the Fire Nation and you start to get the idea that not all the Fire Nation people are so bad - though most of them are at this point.

Like many season openers in the Avatar-verse, "The Boy in the Iceberg" is actually the first of a two-part premiere.  After setting up the sweet, curious boy that makes friends with everybody, Aang and Katara go exploring other parts of the Water Tribe land and they find an abandoned Fire Nation ship.  Aang convinces Katara to go with him to explore, though Katara is reticent about it, seeing as it was an attack from the Fire Nation that killed her mother.  Aang hasn't quite got the hang of the idea that the world is at war, since he'd never heard of any war before he left home (quite a feat, seeing as the war has been going on for a hundred years and Aang is only 12).  Katara, using actual logic to solve a question that most live-action shows for grown-ups would take entire half-seasons to dink around with and then give a half-assed answer to (I'm looking at you, Once Upon a Time!), deduces that Aang must have been trapped in the iceberg for over 100 years. Understandably, Aang is shocked by this revelation, though Katara reassures him that they'll figure out what to do.

Except that has to wait.  Because moments later, they accidentally set off an old flare from the Fire Nation ship that, unbeknownst to Our Heroes, Prince Zuko sees in the distance.  Zuko sets a course for the Water Tribe village and we have ourselves a cliffhanger!

This first episode, while keeping things bright and light-hearted, serves as a beautiful introduction to a more complex world that the viewer is about to experience.  There is so much that I want to say about this show, but I'll save it for later reviews when it comes up.  Suffice it to say that I have never been more impressed by a show meant for kids than I have with Avatar.  And I hope that my reviews and analysis in the days and weeks to come will help others understand what is so remarkable about this story. Stay tuned!

***
Next Time -
Episode 1.02 - In which Stuff Gets Real from here on out (and never, ever stops).

You Can Blame Tumblr For This

Doing some late night Tumblr browsing and this classic little earworm came up on my dash. Naturally, it is now stuck in my head, so I'm sharing the insanity with you all - 

And if that wasn't enough, YouTube suggests this one as a related video (as if the internet couldn't get more perfect) -

The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway

I just came from seeing Frozen and I really liked it - though I wished there could have been more from Elsa’s POV (beyond the fantastic song “Let It Go.” And I know this was more Anna’s story, but Elsa just fascinates me. Besides - she’s the eponymous Snow Queen, so why not?) So, here’s a short little fanfic that I just barely whipped up that takes place in the years before Elsa’s coronation (it’s pretty rough, but enjoy anyway) -

Elsa sat on the edge of her bed reading. She’d promised her parents to keep up with her studies. Ice powers or not, she would be queen someday and she had to know how to rule.

Her sister, Anna, sat outside her bedroom door again, always asking for Elsa to come out and play. But Elsa would never, could never do that again. Not after the accident. The accident that Anna didn't remember.

There were days when Elsa wanted to come out. To play with her sister, building snowmen and ice skate in the middle of summer. Just like they used to - turn the whole ballroom into a giant skating rink. But the streak of white in her sisters hair constantly reminded Elsa why that was a bad idea.

So, she read. And painted. And did needlework. And learned the names of nobles from neighboring kingdoms. It soothed her, kept her mind off other, darker thoughts. Over the years, she’d learned to take comfort in the quiet chill of her room. It’s what got her through her parents’ deaths. Certainly, people wanted to pay their respects and express how sorry they were - but the mere presence of people… people she could hurt or worse - people who could find out her secret and ruin everything with it.

She couldn't allow anyone to get too close. Not ever her sister - especially not her sister.

The clock chimed and Elsa set her history book aside. Time for something more entertaining. A fairy tale by some new author. A tale about a mermaid who had to kill the one she loved, but instead sacrificed her own life so he could be happy. Elsa tended to enjoy this one more than other fairy tales - the ones about “Happily Ever After.” She’d never have one of those. She couldn't. Anna would, though. Sweet, bubbly Anna would have suitors falling over themselves to court her, if Elsa ever got up the courage to open the gates to Arendelle. Maybe when she was finally queen, Elsa would open up the kingdom and let her sister have a chance at a happy ending. It was the least she could ever do for her.

A chill shivered through Elsa’s hand. She clenched her grip against the book she was reading and willed the sensation to go away. "Control, control," she muttered to herself. She could never, ever lose control - not for a second. She was a good girl - she kept herself in control. The chills would return, certainly. She was used to it by now. She would keep her sister and her kingdom safe from herself.

She would never let it go.

Happy Who Year!

Found this while I was waiting for Sherlock to air yesterday. Babelcolour updated his "Every Doctor Who Story" video to reflect the 50th Anniversary (and even expanded the In-Character Spinoff portion!) As awesome as the original is, this is even better! Enjoy!



(By the way - after watching "The Empty Hearse," I think I'm a fully-fledged Sherlock fangirl! Go me!)