Dead Ever After: The Final Sookie Stackhouse Novel by Charlaine Harris

I rate this Adult Fiction piece 4.5 out of 5

Thirteen books later and I must admit, I am definitely still a fan. I had always been a bit worried about this series. Though interesting, a series so long can many times jump the shark before it finally comes to an end. By this I mean that the writing becomes less immaculate and the characters are forced to do more and more unrealistic and ridiculous things in worn out plot devices simply because the author is grabbing at straws to keep it going. Bad writing, going against characterization, and the inevitable loss of readership is the usual outcomes of such a fate. However, I am happy to report that this last installment of this long supernatural mystery series, is still just about as fresh, fun and intense as the last twelve.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and finished it in only a few days, I am happy the series came to an end. Amazing writing or no, even the best story world and plot devices can become worn out. I believe Sookie got a good final ending and it should stay that way. For any more crazy happenings to occur for her, it might take on the ‘been there, done that’ feel. As it is, what with running through every enemy, both in every variety of supe, vamp, fairy and human, Sookie might have to outrage some aliens next to mix up the story line (I am kidding…please don’t do this Charlaine!).

All in all it was a really great read and I recommend any fans to devour this last book posthaste.

Note on the end – Spoilers to follow –

I am so very happy that Sookie ending up with Sam came to a natural conclusion. As a reader the believability of the situation was really great. It didn’t feel forced or as if the author was making the characters do something they didn’t want to. It came at a natural progression and worked very well.

I also very much appreciated the final note from Sookie, being that she will always strive forward and live her life, man or no man. Sure it is really nice that she probably will end up with her best bud Sam. However, Sookie’s life isn’t hinged on that working out. She has always been presented as a strong independent woman throughout the many dangerous adventures and misadventures she gets into during the novels. Though she takes her fair share of lovers throughout the book, it was never about Sookie needing to be with a man. It was more like the flowery decoration of the novel: a nice steamy scene here and there to break up the violence and intrigue. The idea at the end however is less of romance, but more of good reliable friendship as well as the permanence of Sookie’s presence in her home that has belonged to the Stackhouse’s since her grandparents. It gave the novel a nicely open ending that was not only pleasing but also realistic.

By Alissa Tsaparikos

A Stolen Life: A Memoir by Jaycee Dugard

This review is a little different from my usual pieces because I rarely read non-fiction. However this gripping book was too good to put down or pass up.

I rate this memoir 4.5 out of 5.

A Stolen Life details Jacyee Dugard’s harrowing experience as a kidnap victim who is forced to live in the backyard of her abductor for the next eighteen years of her life, suffering horrible neglect and sexual and mental abuse.  In those years she bears two daughters to her rapist, and grows from an eleven year old child into an adult, always striving to look for hope and a future for herself and then her children. Years of her life are taken away, but this is a novel about a woman who refuses to give up.

Written in first person present tense the narration is bare and revealing. Little to nothing is left out in the revelations of what she goes through.  Besides the passages detailing her imprisonment there are frequent reflections done in the point of view of the present day woman. In these moments she talks about the experience with some critical distance and goes on to explain parts of the story that might not be immediately presented by her younger self. Part of the novel also includes diary entries that she made as a young woman, a heartbreaking collection of entries that show a beautiful soul becoming more and more desperate with each new day.

This novel is not for the faint of heart or easily upset. The descriptions of her sexual abuse as a child are graphic, pornographic, and unapologetic. Jaycee is sharing her life with the world if the people are willing to read, but she had to live through such distress and she refuses to hide or protect the man and woman who stole her childhood and so much more.  It is a life story that is deeply sad and disturbing with a surprising amount of healing in the resolution. The bravery it took to write of such an experience with such openness and then go on to live a life after, well it is something to be admired.  

As a reader I have to admit I was greatly disturbed by what I read, but I couldn’t stop reading. I finished the book in a few days and almost felt bad about reading something such as this so avidly. But it wasn’t the abuse that grips you tight and keeps you glued to the page. It is Jaycee. It is her amazing mind and her endless hopes and dreams. Through the whole thing I was rooting for her, feeling for her, and waiting for her to be saved.

Almost everyone has heard about her story when she was saved and her face and life were plastered all over the news for weeks. Even now a google search will come up with so many hits on her name and story. However, to really see things, to know what she went through and to fully understand the unflagging perseverance of the human spirit, one must read her book.

Jacyee Lee Dugard, you are an inspiration to us all.

By, Alissa Tsaparikos

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones – Book to Movie Review

I am going to start this up front with a disclaimer. There has been a lot of hate floating around, and a lot of fans becoming very defensive of the movie and books because of this hate. I am a huge fan of the books, and I did not dislike the movie. I am not here to hate or crush people’s happiness. I am simply going to explain what I liked and disliked about the movie,  as a fan of the book series and book world, as a reader, as a movie lover, and as a writer myself. These are my opinions, and may be very different from other peoples. Anyone and everyone can feel free not to like them. I am certainly not going to be the one to say that I am the queen of all and know more than anyone else about films and books. Please feel free to disagree, though I elect to ignore senseless hate. However I will again iterate, what is to follow is not hate. I do not hate the movie. I am merely going to explain likes and dislikes. I usually don’t have to explain this kind of thing up front, but with trolls rampant and fans getting more than a little upset, I wanted the record to be straight.

As a book to movie interpretation I give this one a 4 out of 5. Granted, there are a lot of things changed, especially in how the movie handled the end of the story. However, as a reader I cannot say they messed anything up. There was a lot of the same amazing wit from the book, something I loved about the writing.  Many lines were given verbatim, and that is just something great to see when analyzing book adaptations. It really brings the story to life. Also, the things they did change helped move the story along in the film version. There is no way to make an exact replica of a book’s story when transitioning it to film, but the story was, I have to say, very intact. The ending, though different in the setting and the way it was approached (including with some minor changes in scene and happening) stuck with the original story, and there wasn’t really anything important that was left out, torn apart, messed up, deluded, or any of the other numerous horrors that book fans fear when their beloved reads hit theaters. Lovers of the books breathe a sigh of relief, the story was intact!

Also, another sigh of relief, the characterization was spot on and amazing. In my opinion, just about all the characters hit me in just the right way. I was very happy to see that the actors and actresses were their characters. The only character I was massively disappointed in was Magnus. Now, I will say Godfrey Gao looked the part perfectly and he was not a bad actor, especially considering English is his second language. However, I was not sold on his performance of the infamously snarky and flamboyant warlock that the Mortal Instruments readers have come to know and love. There was just something in his lines that lacked that emotion and personality that is Magnus. I hated to say it, but the moments with him felt, to me, very wooden and rehearsed. I do hope that it has something to do with how little screen time he had in this film, and I am hoping it will become better with more in the future films. If I had not read these books, he would have been a pretty forgettable character to me, and Magnus written is anything but forgettable.

On a lesser note, Valentine was another character that I didn’t quite expect to come across as he did. He certainly was the perfect psychopath. However, I’d always seen his character as a cool and collected socio-path, ready to screw maliciously with your mind until you want to die. His truly crazy snap doesn’t really come out until much later story plot in the books, and not until the very last moment. I’m willing to blame this on the actual actor’s diva like performance, than the writing of the script.

And now further into the film:

For this second part I wanted to give a little input on the film itself and how it came across as a narrative. I personally give it a 3.5 out of 5 simply as a film. It was not a bad movie, nor was it amazing. I felt in the middle about it, though I did come away pretty happy.

One of the issues I had with it was that many of the scenes came off as so dramatic, almost to a degree that was unneeded. The fact that I wasn’t a big fan of the music selections for said dramatic parts might not have helped. On the other hand, the Mortal Instruments middle name is drama, and perhaps coming to film emphasized that in a way I noticed much more than when I read the books.

Another major issue that I noticed even more was the “convenience” of exposition and happenings. Exposition is such a hard thing to work out in this kind of situation. It can be the biggest challenge of a book to movie adaptation to give the exposition so that non- readers and newbies to the story world can keep up, but without becoming bored. This film did a pretty good job of explaining things (a fact I can back-up after speaking with a non-reader of the books after he saw the movie). There is enough that the watcher can keep up with the story-line of this film, understand what is going on, and be engaged. However, my problem was less with the content of the exposition and more with delivering of it. The way it came out just didn’t seem natural to some of the characters who were giving it, and even seemed to answer the questions before the “mundane” characters of the story even thought to ask further. I do understand what with a strict time setting and other film concerns, characters have a limited amount of time to deliver story in-between the action, especially in this film. I don’t think this film did a bad job per say. I just walked away feeling that it felt convenient the way it came across, and couldn’t get it out of my head. This especially came across for me in the scene where Isabelle is speaking with Simon, and again when Clary is with Magnus. Neither Isabelle nor Magnus would have naturally given up so much information, Isabelle not to a strange Mundane, and Magnus at least not without being coy, tight lipped, and slightly irritated at the Shadowhunter intrusion.

These nitpicks and critiques are just on the whims I felt personally as I watched the film. Overall I was pleased and I definitely urge fans to see the movie. Certainly it had some critique, but I still liked it, found it immensely entertaining, and was able to be emotionally attached to the film characters. I am also glad I can very safely say, they didn’t mess it up!

-Special love to all the Mortal Instruments fans.

By: Alissa Tsaparikos