Month: May 2019

The Dead House: Prologue(?)

mmcgui12sbookblogLeave a comment
  • Three kids died and one went missing during a fire at the school. That’s fun.
  • One thing I’m confused about: The book description on the back of the book (and maybe some flash-forward points in the book itself?) says it’s been twenty years since the fire. The main action of the book takes place during the school year that lasted from 2004 to 2005, and the book itself was released in 2015. That’s only one decade, not two?
  • So, anyway… this school that burned down is a historic building in England. I’m American, so even though it’s a high school, I’m kinda confused about the whole English school system and what qualifies as a high school there. I only know that it’s way different than it is here.
  • The police suspect Kaitlyn Johnson is the one who burnt the school down. Who’s Kaitlyn, and why her?
  • Wait… Kaitlyn might not exist?
  • This Carly girl is the one who put the misquote on the wall, but it’s supposed to be in Kaitlyn’s writing?
  • The school is set for demolition because of a legal thing, even though only one part of the building (campus?) was burned down.
  • OK, yeah, even the end of this notice about the school’s impending demolition says it’s been twenty years, but… again, the whole thing takes place from 2004 to 2005? and was published in 2015?

Here, There Be Dragons: The Tick-Tock Parliament

mmcgui12sbookblogLeave a comment
  • Can everyone but Charles and Bug please stop hating on John for not knowing how to be in charge of the Caretakers because Professor Sigurdsson died before giving him enough info on how to do his job? Especially Jack and Aven? And even John? Because right now I really want to step into the book and slap them senseless.
    • You know, that would be a fun job, jumping into fictional universes to punch characters for being idiots. I’d really like that job now… especially if I can get paid for it…
  • John’s outburst at Jack… Is this… is this an accurate portrayal of PTSD symptoms? Because that’s a rare thing in fiction.
  • “Maybe the Council’s gonna appoint a new king!” This is another one of those “Oh, you have no idea, Bug…” moments.
  • “Paralon was big, but then again, they were barely in the Archipelago.” Yeah, OK.
  • I’m dying… Camelot wanted to be Paralon when it grew up.
  • The best thing Paralon’s got going isn’t the military, it’s… food? That’s actually reassuring…
  • So, Jack’s over here crushing on Aven, Bug’s over here Chekhov-ing it up, and Charles is… going to help Tummeler with what looks to be a car.
  • Also, TUMMELER!
  • Wait, Tummeler mentioned Pryderi from Welsh legends went to Oxford? OK… Literally all I know about the guy is the condensed version of his part of the Mabinogion this Welsh game dev team loosely worked into the plot of Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches. (It’s a fun game, by the way. Except for the Ogham rune stone puzzle on day two.) And… I forgot where I was going with this.
  • Ah, yes… Who can forget Tummeler’s, um, interesting grammar. Then again, he is a Badger, so is badger his first language, or is it English?
  • So, his steampunk car is actually a principle called the Curious Diversity. And principles… basically work on the driver’s willpower?
    • Also, how did Tummeler come up with that name in particular?
  • So, animals can’t explain how principles work well enough in English because of translation issues, maybe Tummeler’s first language is badger?
  • If the city of Paralon is made out of white stone, does that mean it’s supposed to look something like Minas Tirith?
  • These Troll Kings… Arawn’s name has to be a reference to the villain from the Prydain books. And is his father Sarum’s name somehow related to Saruman from LOTR?
  • Five great races in the Archipelago: Trolls, Goblins, Elves, Dwarves, and Men. Yeah, that doesn’t sound familiar or suspiciously like massive foreshadowing at all…
  • The Winter King couldn’t take over because he’d have to paint everything black. Yeah, OK…
  • Ah, yes… the whole elves and dwarves rivalry… Nice trope you’ve set up there, Tolkien…
  • Talking mice can captain ships… Nice.
  • Something’s really off about the Parliament when they show up. This is about to be fun.
  • “Guess what! We’ve got a new bloodright claim to the throne!” Told you this was gonna be fun.
  • OK, yeah, something’s really up if, when Bert’s just like, “bitch, where?,” the Parliament doesn’t recognize him as a Caretaker when they’re supposed to.
  • Also, on the one hand, of course the Winter King’s the one who’s making the claim. On the other hand, how?
  • And now the members of the Parliament are glitching out. OK…
  • So, the whole thing with the Parliament malfunctioning is supposed to be Alice in Wonderland-level ridiculousness until it gets terrifying. But when I think of glitchy clockwork people malfunctioning, I think of the clockwork people from the Doctor Who episode “The Girl in the Fireplace” (and I’d honestly love for the Parliament to look and act more like that if and when the CotIG adaptations work out).the-girl-in-the-fireplace

Shutter Island: Prologue

mmcgui12sbookblogLeave a comment
  • So, Dr. Sheehan’s got bad memories from Shutter Island and Ashecliffe Hospital.
  • Also, he’s getting old, and his doctor’s telling him that he should get one last vacation in. Apparently he’s getting Alzheimer’s or something?
  • OK. Creepy mental hospital with lots of history on an island in the middle of Boston Harbor. Gotcha.
  • So, the patients are “criminally insane.” OK, that’s kinda serious.
  • Who’s Teddy? Probably important.

Bloomability: First Life

mmcgui12sbookblogLeave a comment
  • Crick and Stella… Those are some interesting names.
  • Moving around constantly’s rough.
  • I get accidentally losing things in moves, but for a kid involved in those constant moves, getting rid of more and more each time on purpose gives them a little less stability in having a few things with them for some sort of consistency and comfort.
  • I’m guessing Grandma Fiorelli is one of those strict, traditional types.
  • So, Crick’s like the southern drawl creek. It’s… odd, but not as bad as some celebrity kid names. Dinnie’s short for Domenica, so she and Stella have very Italian names.
  • OK, Crick falling into bad crowds a couple times for a few moves can be simple mistakes. Repeatedly doing it every move looks more like not such a mistake…
  • And then Stella snuck out, got married, and became a teen mom. That’s fun.

The Landry News: New Kid Gets Old Teacher

mmcgui12sbookblogLeave a comment
  • Starting the book off with the First Amendment to the US Constitution must mean that freedom of speech (in particular) is going to be a Big Thing.
  • OK, the dad’s apparently out of the picture, and Cara and her mom just moved. I’m guessing messy divorce?
  • What’s the deal with this teacher Mr. Larson?
  • OK, his “open classroom” thing sounds interesting, but how far does the no structure to the teaching have to go before it just turns into the kids just not doing anything?
  • No, but those huge mounds of newspaper clippings all over to the wall sound like a fire hazard. And they’re already a falling hazard. Not to mention the piles of books everywhere (which technically I’m guilty of doing in my bedroom)…
  • Cara is starting her own newspaper… This should be interesting…
  • And suddenly I’m remembering this vaguely inspiring me to suggest the class newspaper for my fifth grade class with the teacher I had the last three years of elementary school, after reading the book the summer before fifth grade.