Weekend Read: Cinder

Ok, so I may be a little late jumping on to this band wagon, but hey(!), better late than never. So...the first time I picked up Cinder I put it straight back down again. What the heck? I was thinking. Why rewrite Cinderella? Now don't get me wrong I love retellings. "Retelling" is one of my favorite genres, if you can call retellings a genre. What I was thinking was why rewrite a story that doesn't really have all that much to work with. But now my views and opinions have completely changed.

Anyone hesitating to pick this book up, don't. I regret putting off diving into this world since I finished the book a couple of days ago. And this advice goes with all books. Of course if you do fins yourself struggling to read a book and you aren't enjoying it at all. Put the book down. We have a limited amount of time on this planet. Spend it reading books that you won't regret picking up. And Cinder is one of those books...if you love, sci-fi, futuristic fantasy retellings with a slight dystopian feel. It took me a couple of chapters to real get into this book but after that I finished the book in less than two days.

Cinder is a retelling of Cinderella for of you who didn't catch on to that (pssst the title and the cover). Now Cinder isn't a regular human being. She is a cyborg, part human part "robot". She lives in the classical Cinderella scenario, with the evil stepmother and stepsister. Notice that I wrote sister not sisterS. She in fact gets along quite well with the younger stepsister. Now this world that Cinder lives in is plagued by, you guessed it, a plague. There is also a secondary race that is introduced into this version that come from a planet called Luna. I mustn't forget to mention that there is also a very interesting love interest.

And will end my Weekend Read suggestion with that.

Throwback Thursday: Kate DiCamillo

When I think Throwback Thursday in book terms I remember one of my favorite childhood authors, Kate DiCamillo. I remember reading The Tale of Despereaux during the evenings while I was still getting the hang of reading larger children's novels and wondering how Edward felt in The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and what I would do if I had my own very special dog like Winn-Dixie.

I do hope that you have read Kate DiCamillo's work. If you are ever looking for an easy read, with capturing illustrations and a very odd plot, check her out. I personally found The Tale of Despereaux, Winn-Dixie and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.

For those of you who haven't read these books, here is a very short summary.

The Tale of Despereaux is partially about a mouse who is exiled, Despereaux, and about a princess who does not truly understand the King's hate towards the Rats, and about a young, abused girl called Miggery Sow. Despereaux lives in the castle. The same castle where the Princess lives and Miggery Sow works as a maid. Through a complicated series of events all three meet and face their own battles.

Although this novel has a quite a series of twist and turns, the story is amazing and much loved.

Winn-Dixie is a story about a girl who finds a stray in a grocery store called Winn-Dixie. The book revolves around how India Opal, the main character, dreams about having a dog and how she finds Winn-Dixie, the dog. Of course it isn't as simple as 1 2 3 voilà you are now the proud owner of a very special dog. No, India Opal has to go through the whole process of convincing her parents.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane follows the travels of a rabbit. Now this is not any ordinary rabbit but a doll that looks like a rabbit. Now if I remember correctly Edward was lost at sea one year and his dream was to find his way home. And of course that is his miraculous journey. His journey home.

Enjoy

Women Crush Wednesday: Sabrina Grimm

I don't think many people know about the middle grade, fantasy series The Sisters Grimm: Fairy-Tale Detectives. This is not a review about the series but a tribute to the voice and one of the series main characters. Sabrina Grimm is the twelve-year-old protagonist with more willpower than other adult characters I have stumbled upon. Although she is hot headed, reckless and doesn't realize that some of her actions hurt those around her until it is too late, she is still a very complicated character. And throughout the series we see substantial character growth, which is great. Certain characters in other series do not have the same amount, or any, character growth, which is an essential part of a story. Some books, characters, have better growth and development and others have less, more disappointing, development and growth. I was not disappointed.