Books - Bernadette
Maybe I'll start doing themed days on the blog, would that be weird? Wednesday I could talk about books I'm reading? Yay/nay? Well you're going to get it today anyway, because I need to talk about Bernadette. And I'm not good at reviewing books, I just write my honest-to-goodness thoughts, so don't expect anything super deep, logical, or moving.
*spoilers ahead*
Okay, people. What the HECK was with that ending? I understand it's a satire about technology and Microsoft and that type of thing, plus it's in Seattle so you get the typical Seattle weirdo vibe, but I guess satire isn't really my thing. Maybe I'm not smart enough for it? I'm just a sucker for good stories. Where Bernadette went meh for me was around the last little bit, where they go to Antarctica to find her. I loved how she escaped from the intervention with Aubrey, that was unexpected, just what I like to read. But the rest of it, and especially how it all comes down to an unsent letter, that just... ugh. Like, that's it? That's the cause of all this drama? I felt like I'd been cheated out of an amazing ending, one fitting for how good this book was the rest of the time.
On the good side, I enjoyed seeing Bernadette unfold as a person, learning about what made her the way she is, and what motivates her to do what she was, that was fascinating. I enjoyed Elgie, and how smart, but how utterly incompetent he is at other things. I loved and felt such a connection Bee. While she turned into a little teenage brat towards the end, I liked her reconnection with Elgie and Bernadette. She felt real for me. It was also fun to have a book written mostly in emails, memos, notes, newsletters, etc. I usually get bored of those, but this one had enough dialogue in between that I didn't mind having to search through mostly useless words on the page to get to the few that were important. I found myself caring about what happened to Aubrey, Soo-Lin, Kyle, and all the little kindergartners that got stuck in the mudslide.
So in the end, I wanted to keep reading it, but only to finish it, instead of enjoying it. Once I found out where Bernadette was and why she was there, I was like lady, you need some help. Get yourself together. You've got a freaking pre-teen daughter that needs you, and off you are gallivanting in the Antarctic and "finding yourself". Whatever.
Anyway, after seeing the BYU production of Princess Academy (which was excellent, by the way) I'm trying the book out. I'm about five pages in so I have no judgments this far. But can I just say how much I love the word Miri? Cute, no? And young adult fiction is my favorite, so I'm excited for this one.
I'm also working on Rules of Civility at the moment, but that one's at a bit of a stand-still. It's set in 1938 New York, following a young socialite named Katey (also, Katey? Really? It's like a total Utah spelling of a regular name.) It starts with Katey, her best friend Eve, and their combined newfound crush for a man named Tinker, and follows their lives through the next five years or so (so far. I'm only about halfway though.) It's been entertaining, but I absolutely love this time period (sans Great Gatsby, I really didn't like that one. Think more... Bright Young Things. I absolutely love that series. They're very basic, YA bubblegum lit, but I love them.) I love the feel of the book, you really get a good look into Katey's mind and her life, probably typical of many at that time.
I absolutely loved the prologue, set in an art exhibition 25 years in the future. Katey is there with her husband, looking at the exhibition, which is a collection of photographs taken on subways in New York during the late '30s. They see one of Tinker, wearing a nice suit and smiling, and then see another of him in the collection. The smile is gone, the nice suit is gone, and he's clearly seen better days. Her husband remarks that it's a rags-to-riches story and how great that is, but Katey knows that it's more a rich man fallen on hard times. And now I get to read the rest of the book to find out what happens to poor Tinker to make him so destitute. Sounds a little depressing when you write it like that, but this is the type of stuff I like - vague mysteries, cloaked in realistic fiction. This has the makings of being a favorite book, maybe. We'll see how it ends.
TL;DR
Bernadette: Three stars. Kind of meh for me. Maybe I'm just uncultured on the art of satire.
Princess Academy: Too early to judge.
Rules of Civility: feeling optimistic about this one.
-K
*spoilers ahead*
Okay, people. What the HECK was with that ending? I understand it's a satire about technology and Microsoft and that type of thing, plus it's in Seattle so you get the typical Seattle weirdo vibe, but I guess satire isn't really my thing. Maybe I'm not smart enough for it? I'm just a sucker for good stories. Where Bernadette went meh for me was around the last little bit, where they go to Antarctica to find her. I loved how she escaped from the intervention with Aubrey, that was unexpected, just what I like to read. But the rest of it, and especially how it all comes down to an unsent letter, that just... ugh. Like, that's it? That's the cause of all this drama? I felt like I'd been cheated out of an amazing ending, one fitting for how good this book was the rest of the time.
On the good side, I enjoyed seeing Bernadette unfold as a person, learning about what made her the way she is, and what motivates her to do what she was, that was fascinating. I enjoyed Elgie, and how smart, but how utterly incompetent he is at other things. I loved and felt such a connection Bee. While she turned into a little teenage brat towards the end, I liked her reconnection with Elgie and Bernadette. She felt real for me. It was also fun to have a book written mostly in emails, memos, notes, newsletters, etc. I usually get bored of those, but this one had enough dialogue in between that I didn't mind having to search through mostly useless words on the page to get to the few that were important. I found myself caring about what happened to Aubrey, Soo-Lin, Kyle, and all the little kindergartners that got stuck in the mudslide.
So in the end, I wanted to keep reading it, but only to finish it, instead of enjoying it. Once I found out where Bernadette was and why she was there, I was like lady, you need some help. Get yourself together. You've got a freaking pre-teen daughter that needs you, and off you are gallivanting in the Antarctic and "finding yourself". Whatever.
Anyway, after seeing the BYU production of Princess Academy (which was excellent, by the way) I'm trying the book out. I'm about five pages in so I have no judgments this far. But can I just say how much I love the word Miri? Cute, no? And young adult fiction is my favorite, so I'm excited for this one.
I'm also working on Rules of Civility at the moment, but that one's at a bit of a stand-still. It's set in 1938 New York, following a young socialite named Katey (also, Katey? Really? It's like a total Utah spelling of a regular name.) It starts with Katey, her best friend Eve, and their combined newfound crush for a man named Tinker, and follows their lives through the next five years or so (so far. I'm only about halfway though.) It's been entertaining, but I absolutely love this time period (sans Great Gatsby, I really didn't like that one. Think more... Bright Young Things. I absolutely love that series. They're very basic, YA bubblegum lit, but I love them.) I love the feel of the book, you really get a good look into Katey's mind and her life, probably typical of many at that time.
I absolutely loved the prologue, set in an art exhibition 25 years in the future. Katey is there with her husband, looking at the exhibition, which is a collection of photographs taken on subways in New York during the late '30s. They see one of Tinker, wearing a nice suit and smiling, and then see another of him in the collection. The smile is gone, the nice suit is gone, and he's clearly seen better days. Her husband remarks that it's a rags-to-riches story and how great that is, but Katey knows that it's more a rich man fallen on hard times. And now I get to read the rest of the book to find out what happens to poor Tinker to make him so destitute. Sounds a little depressing when you write it like that, but this is the type of stuff I like - vague mysteries, cloaked in realistic fiction. This has the makings of being a favorite book, maybe. We'll see how it ends.
TL;DR
Bernadette: Three stars. Kind of meh for me. Maybe I'm just uncultured on the art of satire.
Princess Academy: Too early to judge.
Rules of Civility: feeling optimistic about this one.
-K
Comments
Post a Comment