Tuesday, March 26, 2013

"The Presence" Book Review 3/23/2013

March 23, 2013




Title: The Presence
Author: Eve Bunting
Genre: Supernatural
Date Published: 2003



Heeeeeeey. So. The Presence. Boy oh boy. Where to start? Well I suppose with a condensed version of a long-winded tale comprised of me reminiscing about my days as a middle-school student. Seventh grade was the year for English class. I had this mad awesome English teacher (besides the fact that she was a die-hard Twilight fan) who had the guts to audition for American Idol dressed as a MONSTER. Not that that's out of the ordinary for American Idol contestants but... ya catch my drift.



ANYWAYS...
Here's the list of units of study that I can recall from 6th grade to the present year of 10th grade English classes:
6th Grade--Um. Lots of ELA review... we wrote book reports and I wrote mine on The Secret Garden.
8th Grade--Meh. We did a unit on Science Fiction... and read this horrible atrocity of a novel, The Giver by Lois Lowry. We also studied Historical Fiction (OH YEAH OH YEAH) and I wrote a book report on Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne. We also studied the play, "Twelve Angry Men" by... zzzzzzzzzzzzz..... sorry I fell asleep in the middle of typing about that one. It's by Reginald Rose.
9th Grade--AKA the "Gag Me with a Spoon" year. There was the I-couldn't-care-less-about-this-ancient-gobbledygook mythology unit; the watching-paint-dry-would-be-more-intriguing-than-reading-these-books John Steinbeck unit; and the no-comment-at-this-time-because-I-am-busy-preparing-my-much-anticipated-grave Romeo and Juliet unit.

LOL y'all need to watch this if you haven't seen it before:


BUT. Caps lock on that 'but'... we DID read "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson for like, one whole class period, and it like, became my favorite short story ever. So HA to you 9th Grade English curriculum, you did not succeed in slowly and painfully killing me after all!
10th Grade--So far, ehhh. We had to read A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines which I found completely overrated. Then came Victor Hugo's Les Miserables that made me cry at the end... tears of joy because it was finally over of course!


Followed by the deeply moving Night by Elie Wiesel. And now, it's Lord of the Flies by William Golding... all I can say is, "Piggy!".
7th Grade--DA HORROR UNIT YO. Okay, so we had to read some works by Poe, and yeah, I really wasn't all that impressed by them. The raven squawked "nevermore". Gotcha. BUT we did read a rather chilling tale by Neal Shusterman called "Black Box" that was well-written and an excellent example of dramatic irony. And the reason I'm tying in this whole 7th grade English thing is because during the horror unit, one of my friends was reading this book with a creepyish cover. Guess what the slim volume was? THAT'S RIGHT. My old friend The Presence by none other than Eve Bunting.  And it looked quite interesting, and I mentally added it to my to-read list where it remained 'til the day I cracked it open a week or so ago, ladies and gentlemen.


IT ALL MAKES SENSE TO ME NOW.
...
Bet you weren't expecting that twist ending to my story, eh?


...I sincerely apologize for going on that little tangent folks.  I figured this post would be kinda bland if I didn't spice it up with tidbits of my past...

'KAY.

So back to le review...
The Presence involved seventeen-year-old Catherine who goes to stay with her grandmother in California while her parents are away on holiday in Europe for Christmas. Now... this girl is terribly depressed. She is responsible for the death of her Scottish pen-pal aka BFF for life, who was visiting the U.S. for the summer.  Catherine's grandma works in a church that is haunted by a "presence"--actually the ghost of a teenage boy named Noah. Noah falls in love with mortal girls, all with dark hair and some kind of psychological or emotional problem, for reasons that still remain unknown to me. He lured them into his Basement of Secrets where he strangles them...mwahaha... at least I think so. The writing style was so cruddy, most of the time I didn't know what the heck was going on.  So of course Noah falls for Catherine. Meanwhile, Catherine is also being pursued by the reverend's son, Collin, who is described as a "hunk"... what is this, a bad sitcom from the 90's?



But like, it's so contradictory because a few pages prior to this claim, Bunting describes Collin as tall and awkward, and having abnormally long, skinny legs. NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT. So basically, nothing happens the entire book besides Catherine moping around and crying over nothing; Noah daydreaming about Catherine; Collin inviting himself over for dinner at the grandma's house every night; and the poor grandmother trying to cheer up Catherine and spend time with her. The only part at which the story gained a little momentum was when Catherine encounters a Miss Lottie Lovelace (sounds like a brand that makes doilies) who warns her about the notorious Noah that once was after her, but she escaped. Then, Catherine confronts Noah, and the two have this epic battle with light sabers and then Harry Potter comes with the Elder Wand and smokes them all... I WISH. Nope, instead what I got was poo: Catherine sets Noah (a GHOST mind you...a flippin' dead-as-a-door-nail-GHOST) on fire and he "dies". It is never explained how she succeeded in doing so, did it ever mention her carrying a lighter or some other fire-starting implement. It was all a blur pretty much. Just when I was all giddy that the stupid thing was over, Catherine goes back home to Chicago and starts school again and everyone thinks she's a wackadoo and I don't blame them. This sad excuse for a story concludes with Collin, now an apparently charming Romeo, comes a-knocking at Catherine's door! I would ponder how he managed to magically teleport himself all the way to Chicago but who even gives a rat's behind at this point! 

One last thing before I end this conflict... I knew The Presence was going to be a dud when I read the opening line: The church my grandmother goes to is immense. 
*groan*

Stay in school, be a Potterhead, respect the nature, and above all... be your magickal self!
Blessed be~
The Black Rose Librarian
AKA Sam ^.^




Friday, March 22, 2013

"A Night to Remember" Book Review




March 21, 2013


Title: "A Night to Remember"
Author: Walter Lord
Genre: Nonfiction 
Date Published: 1955


Howdy y'all! So last night, I finished up "A Night to Remember". I am giving this nonfiction novel... drum roll please... A WHOPPIN' 5 STARS. Daaaaaang! Yes folks, that's right. If you know me personally, then you are aware of the fact that I am a GINORMOUS Titanic fan!!! I am obsessed with James Cameron's film adaptation of the tragedy and the historical event! So you can imagine how darn excited I become when I get my wee paws on Titanic-themed books... it's like I hunger for this stuff!



...yep... and "A Night to Remember" sure was delicious! The account was written by Walter Lord in 1955, who interviewed numerous Titanic survivors to collect info concerning the ship's final hours.  The story begins on April 14, 1912 at about 11:40 when lookout Frederick Fleet spots a looming shape while on watch in the crow's nest.  This shape would turn out to be the iceberg that caused the magnificent Titanic to founder and the loss of 1,502 lives.  Walter Lord then proceeds to give insight into the experiences of a diverse multitude of passengers from first, second, and third class as well as crew-members from the time the collision occurred to the arrival of the Carpathia in New York carrying about 706 Titanic survivors.  A few people in particular described in the book stood out to me.  My "favorite" Titanic passengers are the Astors: John Jacob Astor IV; his seventeen-year-old pregnant wife, Madeleine; and their doggy named Kitty.




Mr. Astor has always fascinated me because he was the wealthiest  man aboard and yet, he refused to get into a lifeboat before other women and children were saved.  His last words to Madeleine, as she tentatively boarded Lifeboat 4 were, "The ladies have to go first... get in the lifeboat to please me. Goodbye dearie. I'll see you later." SPOILER ALERT! Mr. Astor never got a chance to see his wife again, or his unborn child, because he perished that night. I really admire Mr. Astor's character. He was an immensely brave man... unlike J. Bruce Ismay *grits teeth* GRRRRR. Okay, I won't express my feelings about Ismay at the present time because I may mutilate my keyboard to death if I have to type out my fury. 

ANYWAYS.
Back to le review...

Just as there are passengers I esteem, there are ones that really put me in a huff. Like, Lady Duff Gordon for instance.


There she is. Lady Duff Stinky.  So basically, she was married to this uber rich dude named Cosmo, and they got to flee the sinking ship on Lifeboat 1... with it only half-filled... with mostly crewmen... and her secretaries.  There's been talk that the crew- member in charge of Lifeboat 1 was paid off by the Gordon's, so they they didn't have to share their lifeboat with other passengers.  'Cause that's just how they roll.




To be quite frank, I did already know a lot of the information contained in the book, being the Titanic junkie that I am.  However, there were several interesting tales/facts that I learned from this account.  I LOVED the list of passengers included at the end.  It really gives you a better idea of the magnitude of the sinking tragedy.  I'm aware that there is a film adaptation of "A Night to Remember" and it's in black and white...  *fangirl attack*.



I will be sure to view the film in the near future and post yet another enlightening review... once I get to that much-anticipated "The Exorcist" movie review.  

And now, 'tis time to end this conflict!  

Thank you to all who took the time to read this post.  I hope I convinced you to read "A Night to Remember"!

Stay in school, be a Potterhead, respect the nature, and above all... be your magickal self! 

Blessed be!
~The Black Rose Librarian 
aka Sam :D 

























Thursday, March 14, 2013

"The Exorcist" Review 3/13/2013


3/13/2013

Review of "The Exorcist" by William Peter Blatty

Hey everybody!!  I am feeling pretty darn great at the moment (mostly because "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is on ABC Family right now) because last night I finished what has been labelled the "scariest novel ever written"; William Peter Blatty's "The Exorcist".  



You probably recognize this rather gruesome image either from the film adaption of the novel or, if you're under the age of twelve, from the Scary Maze Game. (http://www.maniacworld.com/maze_game.htm)



What mother couldn't love a face like this?! 
Anyways...
It took me about a week to get through "The Exorcist" which is pretty decently fast for me because I don't have as much time as I would like to set aside for pleasure reading because of all the studying/homework that comes with sophomore year of high school... to be totally honest, I find Chemistry a lot more terrifying than a possessed Regan.
So, back to the review...
Chris MacNeil is a famous film actress that has recently rented a house in Washington D.C. that she moves into with her twelve-year-old daughter Regan, and two Swiss housekeepers; Karl and Willie; to shoot a movie. Chris has recently divorced her husband, who hardly keeps in touch with his daughter following the split. After Regan plays with a Ouija board she finds in the basement, she starts acting different.  She spits out obscenities left and right, and her body convulses unpredictably. Countless doctors/psychiatrists visits later, and still the specialists are clueless as to what is wrong with her daughter, Chris MacNeil (a proud atheist) believes Regan to be possessed by some demon based on a book on witchcraft she read... especially after that whole head-turns-around-360-degrees thing... and who could forget that rather unpleasant act that Regan performs with a crucifix...



Some other chilling events are occurring as well, including the homicide of Chris' director and the vandalism of the local church.  Who could possibly be responsible for these crimes?!  Well Detective Kinderman has some ideas, and Chris panics and seeks out an exorcist, and ends up with Damien Karras--a priest/psychology professor from Georgetown University that is haunted by rather awful problems in his own life, including the recent death of his mother--



--and Father Merrin, an elderly man that has encountered the particular demon (Pazuzu) possessing Regan before. The exorcism scene was well... nail-biting worthy! And that's saying something because I find that to be a rather repulsive habit.  The book definitely ended with a creative twist.  Overall Rating= 5 stars.

What I Liked:
1. The character development.  William P. Blatty gave interesting insight into every character's life, from Chris MacNeil to Damien Karras to even the housekeepers. Each chapter changed P.O.V. which kept me intrigued. 
2. The twists and turns! I recently read the horror novel "Rosemary's Baby" by Ira Levin, which was excellent of course, but lacked those shocking OMG moments when you have to reread a single passage multiple times to wrap your brain around the magnitude of what just happened, and it kind of ended with a thud. "The Exorcist" however, kept me guessing until the very end, which was explosive and evoked about a dozen OMG's.
3. Use of vocabulary.  Oh my.  My oh my oh my.  The demon Pazuzu has quite a mouth on him, and provided some comic relief to the story.  Obviously the swear words weren't meant to be funny, but I'm not really used to seeing such words in a book (unless it's Stephen King, but his humor's about as dull as dishwater) and provided many "oh-no-he-didn't!" moments.  
4. Writing style. It wasn't the complicated, headache-inflicted style of J.R.R. Tolkien, or the simplistic, pitiful writing styles of some authors that shall renamed unnamed... it was perfectly in the middle! 
5. The passages at the beginning of my copy of the book that William Peter Blatty included--an account of atrocities committed by the Communists; a taped conversation of two real-life murderers; and a couple references to the Nazi concentration camps.  Gives you something to think about, and wonder where evil really does come from.

What I Didn't Like:
1. Burke Dennings, Chris' director.  Man was he an irritating character.  Rude and obnoxious... in my personal opinion there was a tad too much with him, but his murder made up for it and it made sense that he was popped up so often in the beginning.

And now, as my A.P. World History teacher says, "time to end this conflict".

Thanks for reading my blog!
Stay in school, be a Potterhead, respect the nature, and above all; be your magical self.

P.S. I plan on watching the film adaption in full tomorrow so I'll be posting a review of the movie as well!