He cut through the 21st Century gallery, past the big statue of Pluto and Mickey, animal-headed gods of lost America. He ran across the main hall and down galleries full of things that had somehow survived through all the millennia since the Ancients destroyed themselves in that terrible flurry of orbit-to-earth atomics and tailored-virus bombs called the Sixty Minute War.Philip Reeve, Mortal Engines, p. 7
She paused for breath. She wanted to stop, but she was riding a wave of memory and it was carrying her backwards to that night, that room, and the blood that had spattered her mother’s star-charts like the map of a new constellation.Philip Reeve, Mortal Engines, p. 44
From Circle Park and all the observation platforms came the sound of wordless voices, and she thought at first that they were crying out in horror, the way she wanted to - but no; they were cheering, cheering, cheering.Philip Reeve, Mortal Engines, p.187
Let It Snow
One afternoon when I was sick and it was stormy outside, I rummaged through my To Be Read pile and grabbed this book. I’d read (and liked) John Green before, so I expected at least a third of LET IT SNOW to be good. Curled up on my bed, I read the first half in one sitting, then read the rest that evening. This is very good, for me, since I read fast but also have a short attention span when tempted by many books.
Curiously, my initial expectation of Green’s third being my favorite part of the book didn’t turn out right. Green’s “A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle” came in second to Maureen Johnson’s “Jubilee Express,” while Lauren’s Myracle’s “The Patron Saint of Pigs” came in a distant third. In more detail, here’s my lineup:
#1 Johnson wrote my favorite third of the book, carried off by the delightful narrator, Jubilee, named after one of the buildings in a fictional line of Christmas collectibles. These same collectibles, by the way, lead to a shopping riot that lands Jubilee’s parents in jail and sends Jubilee on a train-ride into a blizzard… but I won’t spoil what happens next in this quirky, charming story. Lots of little details make this story seem feel both real and amusingly ridiculous. The romance, especially, was sweet and fun.
#2 Green’s strengths seem to consistently be dialogue and character, though his characters do seem rather familiar at times. His story felt a lot like his other books that I’ve read—LOOKING FOR ALASKA and AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES—with a group of clever (sometimes a little too clever, if you ask me), crazy friends examined through the eyes of a more normal guy who has a crush on a smart, eclectic, mysterious girl. That’s fine with me, I guess, since I liked his other books, though I would like to see him try writing from the viewpoint of a girl for a change. Though I suppose he balances out the other authors, who write through the eyes of female characters.
#3 Myracle’s third would have to be my least favorite. It felt like the book lost some of its spark when she took over, and the ending dragged a little while the beginning and middle flew past. I’m not sure why, though I have my theories: perhaps Johnson and Green wrote their thirds first, and then Myracle had to work with the characters and material they came up with rather than introducing too many of her own ideas. Granted, Johnson and Green are tough acts to follow. Or maybe this is just Myracle’s style, which I happen not to like as much as those of the other authors. Disclaimer: I won’t go as far as to say Myracle’s writing ruined the book, because at this point I was already intrigued by the interlocking stories and how the characters rubbed shoulders.
Overall, LET IT SNOW wasn’t an epic or deep book, by any means. Rather, it was a banana-bread kind of book: tasty, not too complicated, and when you’ve finished enjoying it, you don’t feel too guilty. (As opposed to fluffier, junkier books.) I would recommend it to anyone who likes sweet romances and quirky teen characters.
Ich las das Buch vor einem Vierteljahr und habe dieser Rezension absolut nichts hinzuzufügen.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Vor einer Weile habe ich Ransom Riggs’ Roman Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children gelesen. Weil ich ungefähr so gut Rezensionen schreiben kann wie Apple Geräte mit geringauflösenden Bildschirmen vorstellen kann, nutzte ich das Internet dafür:
Not being a big novel reader it’s hard to find a book that captures my short attention span to the point where simply putting the book down becomes a challenge, and Riggs’ novel clearly is one of these books. He has built an entire novel on a collection of unusual Victorian photographs of “peculiar” children: a levitating little girl, a boy with bees in his chest. He transforms these artifacts of fakery into a rollicking modern adventure story about a teenage boy, Jacob, who seeks to discover the truth about an old orphanage on a mysterious island in Wales where his late grandfather was sheltered during World War II. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children who once lived here—one of whom was his own grandfather—were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a desolate island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.
Auf YouTube gibt es einen wunderbaren Trailer für das Buch, ein Sequel erscheint demnächst und Tim Burton wird den Roman verfilmen. Nicht schlecht für ein Erstlingswerk.
I have access to the exact same text that you do. I do not have access to any information outside of that text, because then it would just be me speculating about what might happen, and my speculations are no more valuable or authoritative than anyone else’s. Books belong to their readers! Own it! Make it yours!John Green, Autor
Awwwwwwww…esome!
Inspired, in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, “Morris Lessmore” is a story of people who devote their lives to books and books who return the favor.
(via Nerdcore)
