[review] Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (2013)

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asia, asian culture, book, book review, eighties, pop culture, romance, young adult, young adult fiction

Eleanor and Park (2013)
by Rainbow Rowell
Hardcover Edition
Publication Date: February 26th, 2013
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Buy a copy via Amazon.
Synopsis from Goodreads.

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under

My Thoughts:
I very much enjoyed Eleanor And Park. It was a warm and charming love story that started on a school bus. I loved watching their story unfold through comic books and music. Although at times the love story felt a bit too angsty and saccharine at parts, it also felt realistic. It felt like teenage love, where you everything seems infinitely more important. And it was okay to be unsure of yourself. I am usually not one for romances filled with endless love proclamations, but Eleanor and Park is so much more than that. Although I had gripes with character development, I still wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this novel. Definitely one of the best I’ve read so far this year.

Misfits? Who?
The blurb calls Eleanor and Park, “two star-crossed misfits.” But I have to disagree with that. I didn’t feel either of them were “misfits,” other than their physical appearances. They were not exactly misfits because everyone shunned them, but because they were so enamored with each other, everyone else was an annoyance to them. Or they never try to make friends in the first place, especially Eleanor. And then she blames it on her appearance. All of the “friend” characters had to approach them. Eleanor and Park were supposed to be these funny, “cool” people–but I didn’t want to be their friend.

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[review] Shards & Ashes, Short Story Collection Editted by Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr (2013)

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android, apocalypse, apocalyptic, asia, asian culture, book, book review, china, dystopian, romance, sci-fi, technology, young adult, young adult fiction

Shards and Ashes (2013)
by Melissa Marr (Editor), Kelley Armstrong (Editor), Veronica Roth, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, Rachel Caine, Nancy Holder, Beth Revis, Carrie Ryan
Paperback ARC
Publication Date: February 19th, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Buy a copy via Amazon.
Synopsis from Goodreads.

The world is gone, destroyed by human, ecological, or supernatural causes. Survivors dodge chemical warfare and cruel gods; they travel the reaches of space and inhabit underground caverns. Their enemies are disease, corrupt corporations, and one another; their resources are few, and their courage is tested.

Powerful original dystopian tales from nine bestselling authors offer bleak insight, prophetic visions, and precious glimmers of light among the shards and ashes of a ruined world.

My Thoughts:
I’m obsessed with dystopians, so coming across Shard and Ashes was like Christmas for me (despite the weird cover that made me think it was a paranormal anthology instead.) But I find that short stories can be hit or miss for me. On one hand they allow me to explore many different worlds, but on another hand sixty pages is sometimes not enough to develop a world or to make me invested in the characters (which explains why it took me a week to finish this one.) There were also moments were I felt some of these short stories were just leftover scraps, as if they were not fully fleshed out ideas. This made evident in the abrupt way some of these stories ended, as if the author had a host of great ideas, but ran out of steam halfway through. Of course, not ALL of the stories in this collection were like that. And despite the my disappointment in plot, all these different dystopian imaginings kept me turning pages.

[review] Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer (2013)

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android, asia, asian culture, book, book review, china, cinderella, cyborg, droids, fairytale, fairytales, france, japan, prince, princess, re-telling, red riding hood, romance, salior moon, sci-fi, technology, travel, young adult, young adult fiction

Scarlet (2013)
by Marissa Meyer
Hardcover Edition
Publication Date: February 5th, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Buy a copy via Amazon.
Synopsis from Goodreads.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

My Thoughts:
This book has NO “negative” reviews! Now I have to be the weirdo. This review will have spoilers about Cinder, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know.
I hoped Scarlet would redeem the series for me since I was one of the few people who wasn’t a fan of Cinder. While I know why Marissa Meyer set Cinder in China (because the tale of Cinderella originated there,) the way she handled the culture was a complete mess, and greatly hindered my enjoyment throughout the novel. Thank goodness, I only had to bear Meyer’s misuse of Chinese honorifics in one scene in Scarlet. Scarlet, on the other hand, is largely set in France–a country I have no experience/associations with and therefore would not notice if there were cultural discrepancies. I was right, Scarlet annoyed me a lot less than Cinder did, but still a book I would hesitate to wholeheartedly recommend.

[review] Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer (2012)

Tags

android, asia, asian culture, book, book review, china, cinderella, cyborg, droids, japan, prince, princess, re-telling, romance, salior moon, sci-fi, technology, young adult, young adult fiction

Cinder (2012)
by Marissa Meyer
Hardcover Edition
Publication Date: January 3rd 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Buy a copy via Amazon.
Synopsis from Goodreads.

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

My Thoughts:
I love sci-fi and fairytale re-telling. With all the praise surrounding Cinder, I was certain this would be my book. It wasn’t. I enjoyed Meyer’s futuristic interpretation of Cinderella, she had an interesting concept–unfortunately the execution was lacking, especially the clumsy world building. Perhaps I’m Chinese that I am particularly critical of how my culture is being portrayed, and Cinder irritated me on that front. It was also on the predictable side, where we all knew the plot-twist before page 100–yet I was still eager to keep exploring Cinder’s eccentric characters.