Book Review: "Gorgeous" by Paul Rudnick

I've read a few books since the one I last reviewed, but this one is worth mentioning. The synopsis is simple: after the death of her mother, plain-looking Becky is summoned by the world's top fashion designer, who promises to create three dresses that will make her the most beautiful woman who ever lived.

For the first half of the book, the story unfolds as you would expect; Becky becomes "Rebecca", gains instant fame throughout the world, works as an actress, and stuns everyone in her path with her unworldly beauty. Curiously, when Becky is alone, she can only see what she really looks like; this isn't really worked with in the plot, but it's a concept I definitely wish had been. Tom Kelly, the fashion designer, also mentions another tiny detail: that Becky had to fall in love and get married within a year in order to keep her beauty, and if she didn't, she would lose it.

In the second half that plot twist because way more important, because right at her most critical moment, Tom made Rebecca turn back into Becky, which resulted in her running away. Things eventually get weird after that, when it's discovered that someone in the story actually died a number of years ago, but somehow stayed "alive" to finish what they needed to do. This isn't really explained, so it makes it seem discordant and the story feeling as though it lacks something.

The ending is relatively good, though not something you really expect to happen at that point, and actually makes the beyond-the-grave plot device even more out there. Overall, it was an interesting storyline and I enjoyed the characterization, but the randomly inserted ghost part just doesn't feel like it belongs.

Reflections and Windowpanes

Seeing myself in the glass, I wonder what existence qualifies as. My double doesn't speak, think, or act, but I do, and it is me. Thus it does and does not exist. Do I really exist, then, if this transparent version of myself does? Do you really exist if you think you do, or do you only exist because you think you do? Do I really exist, or am I the reflection in the windowpane?

Review: "Scarlet" by Marissa Meyer

The sequel to Cinder, a spin-off of the classic Cinderella tail, this book tells not only of Cinder's adventures that continue from the first book, it also tells Scarlet's story of her grandmother's disappearance and the boy in the Wolf gang.

Now, I know what you're thinking: "Classic stories rewritten? Cliche!" But not so! In Cinder, we find out that she's a cyborg, living in a future with hovercars and a hierarchy government. When you first read it, and Scarlet, you don't actually realize that it's a retelling of a childhood favorite. I read Scarlet and didn't make the connection, initially, that this red-headed and temperamental girl was the Little Red Riding Hood of my bedtime stories, and I was duly surprised by the mixing of the two fairytales.

Unfortunately, while I did enjoy the book, it's fate is that of many other sequels: it's not as good as the first. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad book, it's just not on the same level as it's predecessor. Something about the two very different points of view, goals, and attitudes of the main characters comes off as discordant and distracting from the story. If you can get over that, the novel is quite good, with completely separate types of thought in each character, something that is hard to achieve in writing; it's hard to have a certain writing style and give differing non-dialogue characterization.

All in all, I enjoyed this book for it's plot, creativity, and writing style, along with the execution of certain plot twists (which will remain unnamed), but I did find it underwhelming as a sequel.

Review: "Alex" by Pierre Lemaitre

I finished this novel about two days ago, and my thoughts on it linger. The book, originally written in French, is a thriller unlike anything I've ever read; the plot is not what you think it is, and the characters aren't who they say they are. Since I hate when others spoil books for me, this review will be as devoid of spoilers as I can make it, sticking to what you can read about in the synopsis.

The book alternates between the third-person perspective of our main character Alex and the police force led by Commandent Camille looking into her kidnapping--and, later, the fog of mystery and murder that swirls around her. Said third-person point of view is interesting, but in the police chapters it does make it hard to follow what's going on at times. Disregarding that, the descriptions and detail put into the writing, even with the English translation, are enthralling and result in incredibly visceral emotions in the reader.

What I liked most about this particular book is that, simply, the victim is not exactly the victim.Without spoiling anything, I can't say much more, other than Alex is not who she seems in the beginning. If you think it's just a novel about a woman being kidnapped, you are in for quite a treat. In the end, you're questioning your ideas of what is and isn't morally right.

A final warning: if you don't like crime fiction, gore, or detailed descriptions of gruesome acts, this probably isn't the book for you. However, much like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, it's a novel that many people think they wouldn't like, but end up loving. If you think you'd like to give it a shot, go for it.

Going In For Round Two

Next on the course schedule for English, as far as big projects go, are the Response and Analysis essays. As for the response, I don't think I'll have too big of an issue coming up with a topic. The analysis essay, on the other hand, I think will be more difficult. I have an idea, but it's about a subject I feel strongly about and may end up showing my bias (and not in the way I'm supposed to when I'm writing). Then again, since I do feel strongly about it, I'll most likely be able to get things out of it that other people may not. We'll see how this goes, as I'll be starting one of them later this week.

One Down, Four To Go

My first essay is posted, at last! I personally feel like it's just awful, but I had two English-minded friends of mine proofread it. Nicole, who is my age, corrected quite a few things, mostly sentence awkwardness that comes from not writing for a while, but said it was good overall. Her mother, Natalie, told me it was great as is and that if I had messed with it any more, I could have ruined it. Her husband Nathan also read it, and while he's more of the read-instruction-manuals type of guy, he commented that once I get a good grade on it that I should sell it to someone. I took all three as compliments, but of course a writer is their own biggest critic. I'm anxious to see how my score turns out.

Drumroll Please: The First Assignment

It is currently 12:04am and today I start the first writing assignment of my college career, the literary narrative. Frankly, after today's fiasco with the simple task of writing some dialogue (that I completely over thought), I don't think this will be a good paper. I'm following the Norton Field Guide's advice, though, and will go through the steps of considering the rhetorical situation, using a method to generate ideas (I'm leaning towards 'looping'), doing this-and-that while drafting, fixing that-and-this while revising, and making sure to set deadlines for myself. I'm setting off for bed now, but be prepared, because I'll be posting my narrative this Monday. The topic? Who I thank for my love of reading, and why (despite our problems) we will always have books to keep us close. Good night!