Samira and Samir- Abandoned!

What started out as a fantastic book, Samira and Samir by Siba Shakib gradually grew dull and monotonous. I think it was just the idea of the plot that intrigued me. The idea of a young girl (named Samira) in Afghanistan forced to grow up as a boy (called Samir), so not to ruin her father’s honor was something I had never heard of. The beginning was mostly about Samira’s parents, and the focus slowly turned to Samir’s relationship with her male friend, Bashir. At first, their peculiar interactions were exciting, but then they seem to stand still in age—nothing much happens developmentally, and the author begins to ramble. I couldn’t read more than 10 or so pages at night, for there was nothing to keep me going and the book is quite grim. Tragic tale after tragic tale was told and stories of rape were repeated. It wasn’t that I couldn’t keep track of what was happening, but I just lost interest in knowing. Unfortunately, I have decided to abandon this book, 201 pages into the 280 page book. Perhaps I will later return to finish up the last bit, but for now I will move onto a book with a lighter topic and more of a grab. However, I cannot credit this book for nothing. The topic still interests me, and is something I’d be willing to possibly read more about. In fact, the New York Times just wrote an article on how common females disguised as males so to avoid oppression are in Afghanistan.

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin offers a theory about what happens after one dies. Zevin describes an afterlife in which all age backwards until the dead reach infancy again. At infancy, the dead are shipped back down a river to be reborn on earth. Initially, I saw this theory as quite optimistic, but I was soon proved wrong. While this would be a wonderfully satisfying afterlife for one who already lived a long life on earth, it is only full of missed opportunities for a dead teenager such as the main character, Liz. Dead at 15, Liz never has the chance to get her driver’s license, go to prom or to her best friend’s wedding. She becomes addicted to looking through lenses at the observation deck, where she can see into the lives of her loved ones who are still alive, destroying her mental and social health. Although Zevin describes the after world (often called “elsewhere”) with great detail, she neglects to give Liz much of a personality. Liz has few distinct features. I can’t help but wonder whether this was intentional, rather than lazy writing. Possibly Zevin meant to make Liz’s life and afterlife applicable to every teenage girl, without turning her into a complete stereo-type or cliché. Zevin illustrates her ideas of life after death through a generic girl, putting a twist on the idea of heaven.

Naughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Naughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman explores an interesting concept of roll reversal of skin colors. In the novel, people with light skin tones (nicknamed the Naughts) were second class citizens to those with darker skin tones (nicknamed the Crosses). Despite the advances that have been made in civil rights and in the mindset of the citizens, there are numerous ideas pertaining to skin color that many have never given much thought to. For example, the traditional color of a band-aid is tan, to blend with a white person’s skin tone. Blackman described a Naught applying a brown band-aid, which stuck out on his pale skin. Why is it that with all of the ethnic variety in America, no one has put other color skin tone band-aids on the market? The book made the reader question other products and ideas that he or she has just always accepted. It became clear throughout the novel that it was irrelevant who was being forced to live a second class life; all should live equally, although that is an unrealistically optimistic ideal.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Oder of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling is a book of many layers, each one revealed each time one reads it. My favorite aspect of this Harry Potter novel in particular is the way the reader gets a better feel for the true personalities of the characters. When reading the book the second time, I could focus on the little things about the characters rather than the plot. Specifically, Hermione’s goody two-shoes nature seems only to be from the comparison to Harry and Ron. Ron also branches out of his “side-kick” archetype, and begins playing Quidditch when Harry gets kicked off the team. Harry, on the other hand, is sinking further into his “hero” archetype, which is even used by his enemy, Voldemort, as his weakness. Voldemort intelligently uses this one weakness, and thereby magnifying the weakness to the readers. Harry’s fame-seeking side and desires to “save the day” are his krypotonite in this book, making his character not so lovable to the readers.

Gods behaving badly

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips is a peculiar book, much different than I expected and most certainly followed the hero cycle. The book described several of the Olympian gods who become entangled with two young mortals’ (Alice and Neil) lives. The book is full of witty banter and cute sub-plots until Zeus murders one of the mortals, under Appolo’s command because she would not love him. Then, Appolo (god of the sun) falls into a coma, bringing the world into a life with no sun. The rest of the book contains Neil and Artemis (Goddes of hunting)’s journey to the underworld to bring Alice back, and to reason with a river (yes, a river) to return the sun. The book ends in an extremely cheesy gathering of Alice’s friends and family, representing the “Resurection” part of the hero cycle, for they quite litterally are resurrecting Alice. For the “Return with the Elixir”, Alice discovers that it is the lack of belief in the Gods that is diminishing their power. Overall, Gods Behaving Badly was unexpectedly an adventure tale, following the hero cycle precisely.

Nightlight

Nightlight, a parody of Twilight written by the Harvard Lampoon, is a hysterical book and added much-needed insight to Stephanie Meyer’s overly popular series. The short book gave a detailed summary of the vampire love story, while adding a twist on the plot, making the reader aware of just how silly certain parts of Twilight are. The writers not only revealed Twilight for what it really is, but revealed the true nature of the book’s zany characters. For example, Belle Goose (based off of Bella Swan) was given an exaggeration version of her qualities, like her neediness, whininess, and vanity. The distorted version of Twilight provided a much needed wake-up call to those die-hard twitards.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein is a unique look at life through a dog's perspective. Although I expected the typical dog book, expressing the narrator's need to chase squirrels and such, this book took a look at the lives of those around the dog, Enzo. What makes the story truly different is Enzo's desire to become a man, for he is discontent with his inability to have a larger impact on his master's life. Enzo told a fairly unbiased description of the dramatic events that Denny, his master, faces. However, the one abstract element of the book was Enzo's conflict with a stuffed zebra that belongs to Denny's daughter, Zoe. The zebra taunts him; it causes him to act like a dog, and not like a human. The zebra is essentially Enzo's id, his animal instincts which he tries so hard to overcome. When Enzo tears the toy up, he is scolded--he cannot deny the dog inside of him, despite his efforts, and when he does, there are consequences. The book was mostly a "Voyage and Return" story, although it had bits of both comedy, tragedy and rebirth in it. I found this book to be an interesting read, for it included many plot lines, that just happened to be told by a dog.