Reading Log for Week of 4/27/12-5/3/12

Saturday 4/28/12 2 hours Pages: 128-266












                                                                                                                                                                     

From Kat's perspective, she did nothing wrong when she went away for a couple of months to school to pursue education and take a break from thievery.

From Hale's perspective, Kat left her father and himself to try and handle jobs on their own, not having enough people and knowing they would need Kat to pull it off.

From Kat's father's perspective, Kat left him when he needed her most to betray the family and go against what her kin does.

From Gabrielle's perspective, Kat acted flaky and silly to suddenly decide to give up the way of life of her family for centuries and decide to "play it safe".

                                                                                                                                                                     

" 'You were gone, Kat.' Hale wasn't teasing anymore. 'I know.' 'You were at Colgan.' 'I was only there three months.' 'That's a long time, Kat. In our world, that's a long time.'... 'Your dad and Uncle Eddie weren't the only people you left when you went away, you know.' Kat heard the words fly toward her across the tarmac...He looked away then back again. 'Either we're a team or we aren't. Either you trust me or you don't' (Carter 58)."

                                                                                                                                                                     

In this quote, Hale is really confessing him and Kat's father's perspective that Kat abandoned them and betrayed their trust.

My Princess on the Brink by Meg Cabot Book Review on Goodreads

Princess on the Brink by Meg Cabot
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well, I made the mistake of reading all the reviews for this book before I read the book. The only reason I regret doing that is that my opinions that I formed on this book were probably already prebiased as a result.

Well, they were all right. I can't help loving and hating this book. WARNING: DO NOT READ WHEN BUSY!!!!!! Not as enthralling as you might think, but still kind of hard to put down. Kind of.

For one thing, Mia was way too immature in this book. And stupid. And then I started hating Michael. And I hate Lily now. And now I just want Mia to be with J.P. The part that I liked best was where Mia asked her dad if her mom's neck smelled good to him. And that was how Mia knew that if she lost Michael she would end up like her dad, having lost her one and only true love.

Mia started really getting on my nerves and there were parts where I just wanted to kill her. That was the hating part. And there's not really much more I can say on that.

And yet I loved this book because it was still Mia. As much as she annoyed me, she was still Mia writing religiously in that little diary of hers.

Another small reason I hated this book might not even make sense because it contradicts what I just sad. You know in Harry Potter at the end books where you're really sad that Hogwarts will never be the same again? No more Dumbledore. Evil Death Eaters instead. Well, this book was like that except Princess Diaries version. Because the issues Mia dealt with were no longer just the high school girl crazy twists and turns. They were deeper. And there was no turning back. Which made you kind of mad because you lost all that made you love them in the first place. Now this ties back to what I just said. Now you have developed a love for Mia, so you're still tied on. And it's strange how she managed to shift the series without losing you entirely. Though she almost did.

Wow. I just downgraded my rating from 4 stars to 3 stars. But wait, that says that I liked it. Did I? Well, there was that neck thing with the Dad. But for the most part it was just OK, the qualification for 2 stars. Oh well, I can't bring myself to rate it lower anyway.

I don't know and I don't even really care anymore. Read the book if you insist. Do what you would like. I sure don't care.

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My Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter Book Review on Goodreads

Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As usual, I have no way to describe this book. Maybe (like usual) I'll sum up a super long review. Maybe. Somehow, I'm not all that sure.

WARNING: DO NOT READ UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES IF YOU ARE BUSY. WILL BE ABLE TO DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE!!!!!

I think all I can say is that this book is the number one to read before you die. So read it right now. You never know when that car accident's going to happen.

You better read it. The only thing I really remember was feeling numb, and I felt like Cammie did. Pretty smart of Ally to ellicit emotions that the character feels. All I ever felt was numb. So numb.

This book was so wonderful and terrible because you know that nothing can ever be the same again.

Ever.



Words that have no meaning to you right now but ellicit chills down my spine:
It's true.
Jump.
Circus.
The least we can do is take her to her father.

I don't know what to say and the easiest way to do this is just to say nothing at all (well not much).


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My Sweet Sixteen Princess (The Princess Diaries, #7.5) by Meg Cabot Book Review on Goodreads

Sweet Sixteen Princess by Meg Cabot

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This review will be short because this is a half volume of the series.

Okay, well this book was semi-dissapointing. In most of the other half volumes, Meg was able to develop the plot AND wrap up the conflict effectively. I felt like the opposite was true in this book. I think that the book was promising until the resolution, which I didn't really particularly like.

Mia is turning sixteen and all her friends want her to have a party. Mia just wants to have a dinner with her boyfriend, Michael. Will she ever get her wish? Soon, her Grandmere (grandmother) plans an elaborate party that involves taking a hundred people to Genovia for a crazy celebration that will be featured on MTV. Mia is so frustrated, and furthermore she thinks that it was her best friend Lily's idea to tell Grandmere about this.

Now this is where problems start ooccuring. Suddenly, her Grandmere calls off the party after Mia's dad commands her to. Now in any normal book, this would make sense. But not in The Princess Diaries. In every book, commands and pleas from others have never stopped Grandmere. So why now? This just really confused me. I mean, it was complete character inconsistency. Another problem I found was that after this, Mia got a surprise sweet sixteen party that she liked from her boyfriend that included everyone she knew(except for Grandmere, who was sulking).

First of all, Grandmere would never sulk and not come, because that's admitting defeat. No, she would have pretended it was all her idea to avoid shame. Also, the whole party idea was really unexpected and rushed and then it made the whole Grandmere backing down from her party idea look like a ploy to make this ending happen. It just wasn't like the other endings. Then, Mia kind of acted super uncharacteristic when she was sort of blackmailing Lily. That is something only reserved for Grandmere! And every time she does it, Mia stays strong in not stooping to such lows. But Mia was just so different . I don't know it was kind of a weird book.

Overall, I'll love any Princess Diaries book I come across, so that's why I rated it 2 stars (it was ok). It was okay in the sense that it was still the same hilarious Mia I knew and loved (at least until the climax), just the plot nhad major misgivings. Do read if you've just finished the seventh and are planning to go on to the eighth because it rveals some things Lily starting to go out with J.P. that are nice to know before beginning the eigth book.





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Reading Log for Week of 3/9/12-3/15/12

                 Sunday 3/11/12 2 hours Pgs: 1-162            






* This is the newest edition and style for the books. I actually read from the older, original edition that you can see here .
* Here's the link to a 2 minute recap of all 9 books that was filmed right before the final (10th) book came out. It was made by Meg Cabot, the author, and goes past the book that I read, as this one Party Princess is the seventh. PRINCESS DIARIES SERIES 2 MIN RECAP
                                                                                                                                                                     
A pattern I've noticed in the past few books is that Mia discovers something about herself and her misgivings and faults in each book, but seems to forget about that by the time the next book starts. I mean she remembers it, but not as clearly and passionately as before.
                                                                                                                                                                    
" 'I'm really sorry, Michael,' I said. 'I hope things will work out for your parents. And, um, seriously...about what happened at your party...None of it will ever happen again'...'The truth is, Mia, I don't want a party girl. All I've ever wanted is you' (Cabot 276)."
                                                                                                                                                                      
This is one of the times when Mia finally realized that she was wrong to just assume and worry about what people expected of her, instead of telling them how she felt about what they were making her do. I am already predicting that she will have dismissed most of the lessons she learned (a bit of Changes Over Time) by the beginning of the next book, Princess on the Brink . This pattern is not fun at all and often pretty annoying because you want Mia to grow and mature, but she is limiting that by forgetting the importance of her life lessons.
                                                                                                                                                                      

From Grandmere's perspective, Mia's student council money problems and fear of Amber Cheeseman is the perfect combo to manipulate her into starring in the play that will win Grandmere her own island, the Genovian olive growers money, and (just maybe) a better future grandson! From Lily's persective, J.P. is a pretty interesting individual. Also, Fat Louie's Pink Butthole, her new magazine, is the perfect way to ensure that J.P. will end up with her. From Mia's perspective, the play is a blackmailing scheme of Grandmere's that just might work (at her expense of course). Also, Michael is expecting too much of her. From Michael's perspective, Mia has been acting super immature and he is having second thoughts about if she is right for him.
                                                                                                                                                                      
" ' And you were hoping John-Paul Reynolds Abernathy the Fourth (J.P.) would turn out to be my prince,' I said. 'Because, unlike Michael, his dad is rich...and also happened to be bidding against you for the faux island of Genovia.' 'The thought did cross my mind,' Grandmere said vaguely' (Cabot 281)."
                                                                                                                                                                     
In this quote, Mia is (for the first time) actually confronting Grandmere about her latest blackmailing scheme and forcing her to admit that it was, indeed, blackmail. She is goading Grandmere to admit the perspective that Mia suspected she had that she could find a better guy for Mia AND win her island. This quote is proof of Grandmere's perspective.