Ot itibaren Asnet, Madhya Pradesh, Indija
Does anyone remember this book now? I loved it, and still get a good laugh out of memories of particular passages (example: in an impassioned argument about whether Ladies Can Fart, the boy who claims they can is challenged to "Prove it!"). Plus I assigned a hefty excerpt to my students, and they ALSO overwhelmingly loved it, making this one of maybe three pieces of fiction that both they and I loved. Really, this book is hard not to love -- and it's more than just a good laugh. Its depiction of childhood confusions and anxieties is so accurate its painful. It doesn't just show you the aspects of childhood you remember so you can read and say Yup, that's how it was; it surprises you with all the stuff you *didn't* remember, so that you're constantly going Oh my god, that *was* how it was!
Years ago, following the discovery of corporate spies who were stealing his secrets while working in his chocolate factory, Willy Wonka fired all of his workers and closed the gates of his factory to the public. Since then, no one has been allowed in, and no one knows what goes on inside—until now. A letter appears in the newspaper, written by Mr. Wonka, telling readers that he will be allowing five children and their guardians to visit his factory and see how he makes his chocolate; moreover, each of these children will receive from Mr. Wonka’s factory a lifetime supply of chocolate. But to be among these five children, one must find one of the five golden tickets, each of which has been packaged in one or another of Mr. Wonka’s delicious products. While every child in the world (and probably many of the adults as well) would like to have a chance to visit the famous factory and meet its mysterious owner, one child for whom such an experience would be particularly exciting is Charlie Bucket. Charlie and his family are poor, so Charlie only gets chocolate once a year; moreover, he and his parents eat boiled cabbage at most of their meals because it is all they can afford. To make things worse, Charlie has to walk past Mr. Wonka’s factory every day, and as he passes, he smells the smells coming from there and they make him think of the chocolate he enjoys so much, but has so seldom. Unlike some of the other children in the story, Charlie is patient and polite (and perhaps the alliterative possibilities are intended to suggest that these personal qualities are related to Charlie’s poverty—the other children, significantly, are rich, rapacious and rebellious), and it seems to be because of his strong impulse control and his ability to delay gratification that Charlie avoids making some of the mistakes made by the other children. But Dahl’s book is not all serious moralizing. The exaggerated representation of poverty, the caricatured characters, the fantastic interior of the chocolate factory, and the unreal volubility of the factory owner himself, suggest that in this narrative Dahl is more interested in humor and fun than in communicating standards of good behaviour to children. A satiric work, and just the thing for a still-developing sense of schadenfreude.
Considering that I haven't read any of the Vampire Academy Series yet, I absolutely LOVED Bloodlines. I cannot wait to go back and read the entire VA Series and also the upcoming release of The Golden Lily (May 2012). For someone like me who hadn't previously read the VA Series, Richelle Mead gives enough background story to comfortably fill you in on certain characters, past relationships and events. I absoutley fell in love with her storytelling and the characters - human, dhampir, Moroi and Strigoi. I found it interesting that there were two types of vampire, a human/vampire hybrid and humans that all have major roles in the plot. I've known of dhampirs before and alchemists, but never two versions of vampires, so I found this part fascinating. I think Sydney needs to give herself a lot more credit for the things she does and who she is. She fights hard for the things that matter, like not wanting her sister to go on an Alchemist mission yet because she was too young. Even though she upset her sister, she did the right thing in keeping her from this life of craziness. She also has the ability to accept a lot more than others - considering the Alchemists aversion to magic and vampires in general and Sydney has been exposed to both and deals with it creatively. Sometimes I think Sydney is too smart for her own good and very naive at times. And now we come to Adrian! He is the kind of guy that you crush over big time, yet can find annoying at the same time. He's smoking hot (I'm sure being Moroi is part of it) and he has that laid back kind of attitude that you wish you could have too, but know that it frustrates you because it's like he can't take anything serious. It's a love/hate kinda thing with Adrian. All of the characters work so well together and I don't think they story would be nearly as good if any one of them were missing: Jill trying to find some semblance of normal while being holed up away from friends and family, Sydney trying to prove she can handle the job while trying solve some crazy mysteries, Eddie who has this fierce need to prove he can protect Jill with his life no matter what it takes, and Adrian who seems to be the comedic relief most of the time and the dark broding hunk the rest of the time. I loved the fact that there more going on than intially thought - yes they were on a mission to protect Moroi Princess Jill, but so many twists and turns happen that you get pulled right into the craziness. It a thrilling ride and one you don't want to miss out on. Did I mention it all takes place in a boarding school? Not only do they have issues with rogue Moroi wanting to kill Jill, but we also have all the trials and tribulations of attending high school. So much drama in such a short amount of time. I wonder what kind of scenarios the group will find themselves involved with in The Golden Lily? If you loved the Vampire Academy or you are just looking for a great new read involving vampires and magic, then I strongly suggest you pick this book up. I know I will be going back to read the pervious series soon, because I need to know more of the backstory and more about the other characters mentioned like Rose and Lissa.
Funny and sexy! I love these guys! I really hope there will be more. :)