Reading The Riot Act

Thursday 25 August 2016

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne

Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

Based on an original new story by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a new play by Jack Thorne, is the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. It will receive its world premiere in London's West End on 30th July 2016.

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes darkness comes from unexpected places.

Where to begin? Where tooooo begin?

I am not sure where to begin or end with this.

I think I will begin by saying that I do not think a book, no matter what franchise it is a continuation is off, gets a free pass. A bad story is a bad story and the affiliation with J K Rowling and Harry Potter in no way validates the fact that this book should have been published. That is my opinion - they should have left well enough alone. There are moments I enjoyed but if you want a quick summary this play is a waste of time and money. It is a well written fanfiction that in no way belongs within this universe. You can disagree but that is how I feel. So if you don't want spoilers leave now, if not - lets crack on. I am going to review this book in two parts - Acts 1-3 and Act 4, mostly because I feel like I have different things to say about Act 4.

Acts 1 - 3

I find the description of this play as "well written fan-fiction" to be rather apt. Acts 1 through 3 are a total mess, I just do not care about anything that is happening and I keep reading and reading but it's more of the same. First off I have trouble believing that Harry is a terrible father, he has always been very accepting and very seeing of people, he has never been blind to other people or their feelings and yet there is apparently been this huge character change over the past nineteen years with no explanation. Harry also appears to be terrible at his job, we see his office and it is a state, Hermione basically says he is terrible at his job and his lack of a relationship with Ginny is all too much. I know people change as they get older and life changes and things change but you do not become a completely different person. I also don't believe for a second Harry is someone who lives in his stories, I can't imagine him telling people his stories over and over like that creepy Daniel Radcliffe SNL sketch.

Albus and Scorpius really make this play, they are the best characters and maybe that's because they are the only ones who I don't actually know. Was I the only one who got a vibe from the two of them, kind of a Magneto/Professor X secret love for one another vibe. Well, I did and I totally ship them. That was quite odd in the writing that there were these very intimate moments and then suddenly Scorpius is all over Rose, it was strange.

Hermione and Ron were disastrous, Ron was squeezed in a the mockable comic relief, no longer even funny from his own wit and humour - just as a cheap laughing stock with his fat gut and balding head. That was a disappointment and so was the display of Ron and Hermione's relationship, it felt forced and wrong and then we had this plot of alternate worlds where they don't get together and I am not choked up about it at all. It felt forced, it felt as though this was written by someone who doesn't know them enough and it showed, it so showed.

Finally, I will get to the plot. Once again fan-fiction destroys stories we love. A secret time-turner to go back and save Cedric. That was bad. Voldemort and Bellatrix having a secret baby that she popped out just before running to the battle of Hogwarts. First off, we saw Bellatrix just before the battle of Hogwarts and she weren't 9 months preggo fellas! Secondly, what would possess him to have sex or a child in the first place? He has never shown to be filed with sexual desire or affection so what the hell Rowling? You approved this story? Really! How could you.

OK. I'm calm.

Now, if this is getting to negative for you, proceed to Act 4. Things change up. I swear.

ACT 4!!! Thank the universe for ACT 4!

Act 4 had a lot of the issues of the previous acts, yet there were these absolutely beautiful moments. We go back to Godric's Hollow and there things take a change. Notably the moment with Delphi when she is caught and Albus wants her dead, that moment where Harry realises she is this lost child, hidden away and unloved and that essentially she is a victim of her destiny. That moment was lovely, but the one that topped that, that literally made all of the terrible 300 pages worth it. Harry and the gang watch as Voldemort kills Lily and James, knowing they cannot save them without chaning the world. Harry is flinching against the green light and Albus reaches out and takes his hand. It was this wonderful moment of solidarity, of such emotional resonance and strength that is familiar within Harry Potter. The strength Harry showed there was exactly what I expected from him and his son and it was honestly one of the best moments in the entire series.

Yes.

In this terrible book there was the most wonderful scene in all the series.

Then we have another, a close second in which Harry opens up to a portrait of Dumbledore. He lets out everything he was feeling his entire life. Admits that he saw him as a father figure and he never let him know he loved him, instead he raised him as a lamb to slaughter and I thought that was a stunning moment too. Moments that were anchored in the story and the feel of the original books.

This is a very hard book for me to review because no, I did not like it. I will not be considering it a part of the Harry Potter Universe - but there are moments I can truly appreciate. Mostly I just feel disappointed and a little angry. The story (which was Rowling, apparently) was lacklustre and lazy and makes me very angry.

I'm not sure.

I really don't know.

It makes me feel very lost.
I can only give it 2 Stars, and because of that - my heart is breaking.

Maybe you made better sense of it, if you did, feel free to comment down below and help a girl out. Fingers crossed it's better for you.
Happy Reading.

Monday 15 August 2016

The Girl of Ink & Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Louise Wilkes 01:59:00 0

Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

Waterstones Children's Book of the Month and The Times Children's Book of the Week.

Forbidden to leave her island, Isabella Riosse dreams of the faraway lands her father once mapped.

When her closest friend disappears into the island’s Forgotten Territories, she volunteers to guide the search. As a cartographer’s daughter, she’s equipped with elaborate ink maps and knowledge of the stars, and is eager to navigate the island’s forgotten heart.

But the world beyond the walls is a monster-filled wasteland – and beneath the dry rivers and smoking mountains, a legendary fire demon is stirring from its sleep. Soon, following her map, her heart and an ancient myth, Isabella discovers the true end of her journey: to save the island itself.

Image from mrripleysenchantedbooks

I am really not sure how to start this review, mostly because I don't know how I feel about this book. Isn't that always an odd one? You finish and you enjoyed it but not sure what to make of it afterwards. Very odd - but I'll give this my best shot.

This book was not what I thought it was going to be. I'm not sure what I was expecting but a floating island, kids adventure death mystery was not one of them. This is not a bad thing by any means, in fact it was refreshingly original. I'm not sure this book is for my audience - I tend to tell through the protagonist who was very young, far younger than myself and it was odd to read from a child's point of view. First of all the length, it was only 200 pages and the narrative arc was not as complex as I would expect so it is difficult for me to love it.

I can appreciate a well-written book with diverse and smart characters. The story is predictable but still cute and it was perfectly enjoyable. I think if I had a child who was just getting into the world of YA this is the perfect transition book. It has all the pieces and expectations only in a smaller package. It's like a gateway drug to young adult fiction, only without the downward spiral afterwards.

I think my issue is that the book is lovely and the characters are lovely but I didn't feel emotionally connected to them. Maybe in only 200 pages that can be difficult for a wisen-old reader like myself - maybe my own expectations let me down, but mostly I was just a little bored. I enjoyed it but with a none active reading boredom. It was very linear, very we are here and I know where we're going - there wasn't space for that time in between, the time when they are just walking and you learn them. It was very fast paced and the ending was rushed.

I also had an issue with the maturity of these characters, 11 year olds are lining up to sacrifice there lives nobly for the island but are also stupid enough to walk into dangerous territories because someone called them a bad name. In some cases they acted older, like teenagers, then like 5 year olds and then like adults - there is a lot of inconsistency there for me. It is understandable, I could never write the inner monologue of an 11 year old, I don't remember what it was like to be 11 - to me it always felt like now.

In the grand scheme of the story these things are minor and mostly just annoyances. For me it stopped me really connecting with this book, but that doesn't mean other won't. There was excitement, drama, mythology, a strange setting. It would be a great read for someone less picky I imagine - after all if I don't think a book has merits I stop reading and I finished this one. So that really says all you need to know.

Let me know what you think.
Happy Reading!

Sunday 7 August 2016

One by Sarah Crossan

Louise Wilkes 04:04:00 0

Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

Grace and Tippi. Tippi and Grace. Two sisters. Two hearts. Two dreams. Two lives. But one body.

Grace and Tippi are conjoined twins, joined at the waist, defying the odds of survival for sixteen years. They share everything, and they are everything to each other. They would never imagine being apart. For them, that would be the real tragedy.

But something is happening to them. Something they hoped would never happen. And Grace doesn’t want to admit it. Not even to Tippi.

How long can they hide from the truth—how long before they must face the most impossible choice of their lives.

Image from Girl Reading

Sarah Crossan outdoes herself with yet another book written in verse. Through the eclectic use of poetry we follow the inner working of Grace, one half of a conjoined twin. Grace and Tippi have been connected since birth and now, for the first time ever - have to go to a real school. This is shudder-inducing even without being a conjoined twin.

Tippi is louder, she is often the conversation starter and she is also the rock that Grace leans on. It becomes hard to imagine Grace without Tippi. There is this really striking moment when a classmate says that being a conjoined twin has to be the worst thing ever! and then we have this stunning poem about all the things that are worse, that having someone with you all the time, who knows you better than anyone else is not the worst thing ever and that really struck me. This book becomes more focused on the fact that these girls are people, just girls. They discuss other famous conjoined twins and note how after a lifetime of doing things, on their gravestone it still read conjoined twins - as if this is all they could ever be.

This story is full of these beautiful observations, I think because the form allows it. Grace's words flow in a way that resonates solely with her emotions, that partly the action doesn't even matter because between the lines she is saying something far better. Some of these poems you could frame they are so beautiful, just as a freestanding work.

Soon due to health complications with Grace's heart, being surgically separated is no longer just an option for an easier life. Now it is life or death. The lovely thing about this book, is that the separation is a small part of the story - the little 50 pages at the end, because it isn't what this book is about. The book is about Grace becoming more than just Tippi's sidekick. She becomes louder, braver even daring to fall in love when Tippi tells her outright this isn't something they can have. She stops worrying about the idea that when one of them dies they both die and starts enjoying her life, making friends, going away on trips and finding a way to provide for their crumbling family. She really is this thoughtful, quiet heroine who's battle against evil is fought within herself.

Grace and Tippi are surrounded by a broken supporting cast, each of them as tragically flawed as the next. Their sister has an eating disorder, their father is an alcoholic and there best friend has HIV. Everyone has there damage, every character has there issues but they are fortunate enough to not show it physically. There are points when you forget all the broken cast, when you forget Grace and Tippi are conjoined, when you forget Dragon is starving herself in the name of ballet beauty - you forget that these people are broken and then it hits you, hard - because not one of these characters gets away without any baggage, and that's kind of beautiful.

If you want something unputdownable, or want a book that will give you something thoughtful and lovely to think about and make you grateful that you live in a world where books like this exist - then this is the book for you. You'll forget it's written in verse and the words will just flow. It really is as good as that. I'm always giving Crossan 5 Stars, and today is no different!

Happy Reading.

Friday 5 August 2016

me before you

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Louise Wilkes 03:46:00 0

Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

Image from booksweheart

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Published December 31st 2012 by Pamela Dorman Books/Viking
Hardcover, 481 pages

Me Before You is set in the English countryside, Yorkshire I assume. I'm from Cumbria so this is like

next door to me and that makes me really happy. Moyes got the setting built really well as I live and have

been to these types of villages many times. That and the fact the protagonist is named Lou (I'm a Lou)

pulled me in immediately. What a shame I didn't like Lou that much - but I'll get to that.

Immediately Lou loses her job. She lives with her family who are a bit hard done for, so the loss of money is
a definite blow. She tries working at a few jobs that are gruesome or terrible until finally, she falls into being
a caregiver for Will. Will has Quadriplegia meaning he is mostly paralysed from the chest down, with a little
bit of movement in his arm. There relationship is pretty rocky to say the least until a mutual attraction forms.
They fall in love it's gushy and romantic and cute - but then we have this underlying issue. Will wants to die.
Will promised his parents 6 months to change his mind and if not he would be going to Dignitas to end his life.

Naturally this is a huge aspect of the book and has caused a lot of controversy. People seem to be concerned that
what Moyes is saying is that Will's life is meaningless now, that he is disabled so he wants to die because he thinks
his life is never going to be good enough. I disagree, personally I never got that reading of it. What I understood
from the book was that Will is a rich boy, he has probably never had to want for anything in his life and I imagine
when that's the case and to want for something so simple that you can never have -that has to be so hard. I don't think
Will as a person, from the way he was raised or whatever, is not equipped to look on the bright side.

I won't touch on euthanasia much but for me, the story was not saying all disabled people want to die. For me it
was about Will as a person rather than a man with quadriplegia. I think Will does not accept second best, even if
that second best is a happy life with Lou, and that is ultimately the tragedy of this book. When she lays it all out on the
beach, telling her she loves him and she can make him happy and he still says no. That was hard to read, it felt so final.

Lou at first really bugged me. I found her very childish, rather annoying and it was a struggle to push through until we
met Will - who was hilarious, charming and complicated. It's just every two seconds I wanted to shake her around and
give her a kick up the arse. She was so hard to get through too, but once Will did she became this whole new person.
Confident and actually honest with herself because I knew very early on that Patrick was awful, they were terrible together,
they barely got on and when she moved in with him it was just so awkward. She spent most of the book going through the
motions of what she thinks she should be doing and it was great to see Will knock some sense in to her.

The romance really was not as big of a part of this novel as it was advertised but that is fine by me. It was steady and real
and slow and I liked that. Moyes did not create insta-love or have her checking him out as he wheeled into the room -she let
the characters do it, almost to the point where you barely notice the change- it was some stunning writing.

That final scene in Dignitas, when they know it's about to happen and she rushes there to see him - BEAUTIFUL. I almost
couldn't believe it was happening it was so awful but it was also just so great. I would have to say this book got better as it
went along. The more we learned about both these characters, the more they reached out of the page and slapped me with
emotion. I think it is a damn fine book, but if I have to read Patrick running one more time - I will throw it at the wall.

I hope this helps, let me know what you thought of the book (or the movie).
Happy Reading.

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