The writing is decent but the imagination lacks a certain truthful endeavour to it. This is not a history of Father Christmas that should be put aboutThe writing is decent but the imagination lacks a certain truthful endeavour to it. This is not a history of Father Christmas that should be put about....more
Christmas isn't Christmas without a bit o' Dickens and a Smoking Bishop.Christmas isn't Christmas without a bit o' Dickens and a Smoking Bishop....more
First and foremost, the story itself isn't anything particularly grand. It has a moral and I can view how, at the time of it being written, it was a wFirst and foremost, the story itself isn't anything particularly grand. It has a moral and I can view how, at the time of it being written, it was a wonderful and perhaps innovative. There's an imagination here that you don't always get in stories (even those that are deemed successful or popular). Having said that, there's really nothing splendid about the story and any kind of magic that one may expect from a Christmas story just seeps away after the first few words.
However, I will include praise for the beautiful geometric illustrations that adorned my personal copy of this book. They capture the essence of the story in a very unique way and give you a glimpse at what the story is trying to do (but failing).
Translations are, as a rule, pretty bad. I feel like this translation did not do the original story justice at all and a lot of the magic had seeped tTranslations are, as a rule, pretty bad. I feel like this translation did not do the original story justice at all and a lot of the magic had seeped through the cracks as a result.
The story itself has dark layers to it that the ballet does not possess. It has a rather disjointed flow to it and altogether it is a fairly obvious story of a time long ago (when attractiveness was the most important quality in any thing). However, the most important thing about this story is that it was the inspiration for the ballet, and that makes it expressly priceless and worthy of more than five measly golden stars.
The difference of the ballet to the story is utterly necessary, and makes the original story even more dear. Differences are what make adaptations, not their strict adherence to their founders. You can clearly follow the magical path, clearly feel the Christmas spirit and clearly find joy in the book, but from a personal point of view, only if you've seen the marvellous spectacle that is The Nutcracker ballet.
[First read: 9th December, 2016. 3 stars. Second read: 19th December, 2017. 3 stars, 5 stars for the illustrated edition.]...more
Two things: I hate Christmas. I'm not that in to poetry.
This was nice, I suppose. I felt the flow of the line jarred slightly, but I don't know if thaTwo things: I hate Christmas. I'm not that in to poetry.
This was nice, I suppose. I felt the flow of the line jarred slightly, but I don't know if that's just because Britney Spears was on the radio whilst I read it.
The illustrations were so lovely, though. The black and white with dashes of gold sat alongside the verses very well.
It was simple, tiny, quick. Kind of regurgitating many other books that have a "if you don't believe you won't ever find it" notion about them, which is grand if you're not tired of that.
Having said that, this was my first book (can you call it a book?) read since the Olympics-since August-and I did enjoy it purely as reading material.
I probably shouldn't write a review for this, but I'm gonna anyway.
Three things: can't spell, uses smiley faces and actually typed "lol".
I suppose thiI probably shouldn't write a review for this, but I'm gonna anyway.
Three things: can't spell, uses smiley faces and actually typed "lol".
I suppose this incredible short "book" could help someone, somewhere. Someone who has never been on the internet before. Possibly. Good for you. But if you are serious about setting up any kind of business and want some online marketing tips you'd be better off fucking a tree.
A fairly conceited man gets embroiled in a rather far-fetched murder-cum-political-conspiracy that can only be described as Man Walks Through A Lot Of Heather. Mercifully short, this book could have been even shorter if we didn't have to follow Mr Hannay the length and breadth of Scotland, only to hear about his aching feet.
Fairly regular stuff, adventurous without too much danger to quicken your pace-maker. The only thing that was really missing was a James Bond-style Woman-For-Looking-At-And-Not-Much-Else-(Oh-Yes-Sleeping-With-Too). Not an awful lot of depth even if it was purposefully written that way, though that's hardly an excuse. It was also lacking in any kind of depth in terms of plot (there's a conspiracy, but what it is no-one really knows an awful lot about it: handy).
Short, not that sweet, but a vaguely interesting run-of-the-mill wee read for if you miss the train and don't have Bradshaw to hand. Or the Trainline app. Or Fruit Ninja. Whichever.
Much better than some of her others, but I'm still not sure on her writing style. It is simple, but I think it might be too simple. The voices of the protagonists/narrators don't feel or sound genuine most of the time.
This was much better. Probably because it is "for older readers" but more on why that's a load of bollocks later. Darker, and not at all twee, so definitely better all round. Full review to follow.
Children's books deal with death all the time, so this is no different. What is different is the way the characters deal with the grief brought on by death. It's written extremely simply and at times the protagonists' narrative was utterly annoying and devoid of anything particularly... enlightening (though what does one expect from a teenager, really) but it does offer up a different approach that I think, at the time the book was published, was not readily available.
Less so now, but children aren't much involved in deaths. There are many stories of children growing up on the 60s through to the 80s and even the 90s where they aren't even told someone is dead-particularly a parent-and aren't taken to the funeral. And then they aren't told "properly" and they aren't really involved in any kind of conversation. Thankfully these days we aren't so afraid of conversation as we once were, and this book was probably a pre-cursor to that shift in dealing with death and children.
I'd hate to think that any adult gave this book to a kid of they suffered a loss, though.
Whilst this book does deal with the harsh issue of bullying, it seems a bit counter productive. Are bullies really likely to read this? I get the feeling most bullies aren't likely to reach for a Jacqueline Wilson book about bullying.
I suppose it's grand for showing that quite a lot of teenaged girls are bullied, though I'm not sure if that's helpful or makes anyone feel good about themselves: "hey, it's not just me!". I also thought there was a slight twee edge to the story throughout and the ending was rather exceptionally get-out-of-jail.
This book is set out with short stories acting as "episodes", as in a TV series. It is an interesting premise but since everything wonderful and magicThis book is set out with short stories acting as "episodes", as in a TV series. It is an interesting premise but since everything wonderful and magical about TV series are impossible to recreate in a novel-and vice versa-all you get is a too-quick, too blandly described short piece of work that has little substance and too many fantasy story clichés.
It isn't badly written, it just isn't written well, either. The action is jumpy and there is no description of the outer world at all, except anything that is in direct contact with the characters. Even then, it is told and not shown and altogether we have a story that is in the simplest form imaginable.
Of course, the point is probably to be short, quick and simple, yet still the execution does not do justice to the quite adventurous and original idea that, sadly, was doomed to fail from the start. Whilst not all books should conform to general book styles, if you're going to do it differently then at least do it well.
The basic rules of writing are fairly simple yet somehow are often ignored completely. One of the main ones is "show don't tell" and I'm afraid this bThe basic rules of writing are fairly simple yet somehow are often ignored completely. One of the main ones is "show don't tell" and I'm afraid this book is all tell and very little show.
Shaky dialogue and far too heavily influenced by Tolkien that there were almost direct quotations. Using words that are different just to be different. Put the thesaurus down. The attempted humour is exceedingly cringe worthy and the characters all speak like those kind of people who laugh at their own jokes.
"And then, and then and then": this kind of storytelling gives no flow to the narrative, making it feel almost bulleted to you, hitting you with no grace whatsoever. Too much telling you everything through dialogue or bracketed prose. The actual storyline didn't seem to raise its head until very late into the book, and even then it was a vague and uninteresting plot that was being carried on in something that felt very World of Warcraft-like fanfic.
Characters felt pretty much like what you usually get without much development beyond, without much being given away. Whole thing feels a little childish, from the words and expressions used ("adventuring") to the dialogue and it often felt unsure of itself.
The only thing missing from the heavily influenced by gaming video is a big booming voice every now and then. "You have levelled up!"
Just wonderful. At times sickening, but also heartening and exactly what one needs in this era, for good and bad. Moreso brilliant for what it stands for rather than how it is written or the plot, but even so the plot is worthy in its own right. Full review to follow.
It reads as if the author read a few facts about Greek Mythology and then decided to write a half-baked, very clichéd novel. From the beginning we areIt reads as if the author read a few facts about Greek Mythology and then decided to write a half-baked, very clichéd novel. From the beginning we are told, no less than seven times in about as many pages, that the protagonist's over-bearing "boyfriend" has blue eyes, which immediately make him irresistible to any dumb girl. Not to mention his irresistible super powers that make him irresistible.
The writing style was terribly ineffective. There were words showing up in the middle of sentences that shouldn't have been anywhere near and often missing where they should. Everything screamed cliché, everything screamed obvious. There was little originality and not a lot of imagination. Dialogue is pitiful: very strained and robotic and doesn't read genuine at all. Characters clichés wrapped up in cotton wool, making them impervious to anything except their own thoughts and feelings.
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