Takeaways from the Why YA Seminar-Workshop of Women Writing

 

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Ms. Zee Recommends: Books to Keep You Reading the Whole Year Through

 

3 x 3 Christmas Movies Review: YA Christmas Romance on Netflix

Our family would usually watch the Metro Manila Film Festival at Christmas time. But with the pandemic, we are sticking on what we have as our source of entertainment this season spending less due to the challenges of the times. Other than the Kdramas we watch on streaming channels, we watch out for movies and mini-series on Netflix.

There are two young adult books that have been converted into a film version on Netflix that have caught our attention namely, Let it Snow (Dylan Clark productions, 2019) and Dash & Lily (21 Laps Entertainment, 2020). Here is my 3x3 review of these YA Christmas Romcom.

Let it Snow (Dylan Clark productions, 2019)

Young people traverse the cold and wintry landscapes of their personal lives at Christmas time. The external setting complements the internal turmoil and battles that eight young adults experience going through transitions and breakthroughs of growing up. The lone adult character in the movie portrayed by Joan Cusack as the mysterious Tin Foil Lady is the voice of reason and hope for both the characters in the movie as well as the viewers.

Dash & Lily (21 Laps Entertainment, 2020)

What a cast! Austin Abrams and Midori Francis breathes life to the opposites attract trope with a comfortable feel and this pairing is even made more exciting and interesting by the presence of peers and family that surrounds them. They play a game of dares around Manhattan and its neighboring boroughs showcasing their complicated and conflicting personalities and also, making New York a complex character on its own.

Our ratings:

Let it Snow (Dylan Clark productions, 2019) - 3/5 stars

Dash & Lily (21 Laps Entertainment, 2020) - 4/5 stars

Photo Sources:

https://tvline.com/2020/11/15/dash-lily-recap-season-1-episode-8-finale-ending-explained/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_It_Snow_(2019_film)

Christmas Reading Passport 2018

In December 2018, I launched the library's annual Christmas Reading Passport.There were four students who availed of the passport. Three came back completely filled out. Hurrah!

Book Review: Bone Talk

Bone Talk
Candy Gourlay
Anvil, 2018

Bone Talk is the story of Samkad, a young Bontoc boy at the cusp of manhood. His journey towards becoming one is a thrilling and heart breaking adventure since the setting of the novel happened at a time of conflict and change. It is 1899 and the Philippines has entered a war with the United States of America. His village in the Cordilleras is not spared of the cruelty of invaders. Though, the opportunity to learn from a friendly stranger presents itself. This coming of age story has a lot to tell, and teach, about identity, honor, subversion, obedience to customs and traditions and the gray areas in between. 

Candy Gourlay once again dazzled me with her humor, wit and storytelling. I literally laughed out loud at one point when she started a chapter with this line, ...no talk of my manhood, after a series of action filled narratives. This is Samkad speaking and there I find the typical teenager. Irrational. Emotional. Impulsive. Self centered. I remember myself at twelve years old during the height of the People Power Revolution. I worried about my grade school graduation. Never mind if tanks and soldiers were moving and marching on EDSA. I need to graduate by March!

And then, there is Luki. Irrepressible and persistent, she is Samkad's best friend. It is through her that social class and the roles of Bontoc women are presented. How she defies and disobeys them not because she is a bad girl. Luki is smart and perceptive, protective of her family and friends. She knows who she is and where she belongs. These are all evident in the dialogues she has with Samkad implying that, even girls or women, can fight for the people and the place they love.

This is why I love reading Candy Gourlay. She is capable, with great effect, to show her characters as they are: strong yet flawed, willful but yielding, good and bad. She does so in situations that test these characters. She makes use of images, symbols and metaphors. A music box and a book as gifts from Mister William. A gun and camera as tokens from Colonel Quinlan. This literary technique opens up discussions of a larger scale.

For one, these colonisers' intent and interests can be further fleshed out through a comparison of the objects they gave the Bontocs. What do music and books represent? What are guns for? How powerful are photographs? By bringing these objects in the novel and planting them at well selected spots or parts in the entire narrative, I thought about the ways we were subjugated. They differ in function but were used to colonize just the same.

Ms. Gourlay claims that Bone Talk is not history. True, but fiction can lead readers to a broader understanding of other disciplines and life lessons embedded in the material either intentionally or otherwise. In the end, I realized, that while Samkad earned his rightful place in the village, it is his father who learned a great lesson as well. This for me is the most beautiful part of the novel.

So, go and read the book. Find a copy. Buy or borrow! Do not miss out the wonderful discoveries and insights you can take away from the novel.

Rating: 5 Bookmarks
Recommended: Grade 5 and up

Book Review: Scythe (Arc of a Scythe)

Scythe by Neal Shusterman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My review of Scythe

Definetly a series that I will watch out for till the last book. One of my best reads of 2017.

Philosophical. Funny. Utterly human!

What worked

As a first book in the series, its duty is to build a believable utopian world and characters to inhabit that universe. In this age and time where death and disease have all been eradicated, I find myself looking for grounding so I could suspend my disbelief. Shusterman succeeds to some extent by pulling up the sci-fi card.

Thanks to science and technoligy, immortality has been achieved. The fountain of youth is no longer the stuff of legend and the elixir of life can be accessed and availed in a revival center. The world is controlled, managed and sustained by the Thunderhead, an AI that supplanted the Cloud as well as corruptible man made institutions. Gone are the imperfect political systems of the world except for the Scythedom composed of Scythes, gleaners of the human race. They are the grim reapers and people who populate Shusterman’s world regard them as honorable and frightful beings licensed to take lives and to bring an end to one’s immortality.

And there lies the conflict. Scythes are humans too and they are fallible. While many of them live up to the morals of gleaning, and its agonies, many abuse this power.

It is here in this world and in this problem where teenagers Citra and Rowan found themselves in. Both became scythes at the end of Book 1. The former was ordained by the Scythedom but the later became a vigilante. It is their story arcs that had me hook, line and sinker.

What did not work

One of my favorite characters in the book faked his death and it was not explained how. There are more loop holes and gaps in the plot. I had to put them aside to join in Citra’s and Rowan’s journey.

Definitely, I am expecting an answer to my questions in Book 2!


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Book Review: A Torch Against the Night

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The murder, the mayhem and the magic continue in book 2 of the series. As Elias and Laia set forth to save Darrin from his prison cell in Kauf, new characters are introduced and old ones resurface. The plot turns in varied directions eliciting surprises and WOAH moments. I can't wait for book 3!

What worked

The very obvious chemistry between Elias and Laia thickens even more adding a romantic flair to the entire series so far. However, two things come between them: Keenan, who will be a great surprise at the end of book 2; and that greater mission to save the world. I love the women characters as they all can kick ass and then some. Even Laia, despite her poor judgement of her emotions, is turning out to be a mature character in the series. Dear me. So I hope Ms. Tahir keeps this development of the lead character.

I love the Kehanni, Mamie Rila. She knows the power of storytelling and how stories can influence and move peoples. Her meeting with Elias was touching. By the time she was done telling her story, I was in tears for she was not only telling stories to save the world, she was telling the story of her son to save his life. What sacrifice!

Afya Ay-Nur lived up to my expectations. I was sad see to Izzy go. And it looks like Shaeva, being a female jinn has more to reveal in the future installments. Keris is consistently ruthless and Cook is proving to know more than she lets on. Ms. Tahis has, indeed, some more tricks up her sleeve.

In this array of amazing women characters, it is Helene Aquila who turned up to be more than what I expected her to be. Yes, I fell for the mistake of underestimating her. The Blood Shrike's journey and growth as a key character was not easy at all. Thus, becoming the Empire's inner strength is a position well deserved. It would be exciting to see how she interacts with Marcus and Keris. And Harper too! Haha. I am hoping for another pairing here.

While the women got their share of the limelight, Elias completely transformed into the hero he is becoming to be. A master of light and dark, a conqueror of death and a protector of life. He is Elias Veturius. He who walks among the living and the dead. Messiahnic archetype? I am so stoked to find out.

What did not work

The violence. There is so much.

But I suppose, this is essential to a novel, a series that is trying to show the best of humanity in a time of chaos, darkness and conflict.

As a reader, I am staying on for the ride.

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12 Days of Christmas Book Review: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


You don't mess around with the Herdmans. They are the town bullies and their goal in life is to wreck havoc on everyone they cross paths with. So, just imagine the horror of the community of this little American town when they all volunteered to portray Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus in the annual Christmas Pageant. What follows is a humorous narrative that turns out to be sweet and tender.

Told in the point of view of a secondary character, it was easy for me to look at the Herdmans from a more objective lens. The voice of the narrator is consistent in telling the story as it is, as it happens, with no judgement or prejudice. The narrator is an observer. She reveals the Herdmans' notoriety from experiences of family and friends. It is through these descriptions where the rising conflict was established. Will the Herdman's ruin the almost perfect Christmas Pageant of the community? Or will there be a saving grace somewhere.

Because this is a Christmas story, there is grace -- everywhere!

No, it wasn't the perfect Christmas Pageant. It was the best! Despite the mishaps and mayhem that the Herdman siblings brought upon the pageant, they appeared perfect for the roles they played. Why and how? Well, that is something I want you to find out for yourself! So, read the book!



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Book Review: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Carry On
Rainbow Rowell
St. Martin's Press, 2015

Rainbow Rowell is back with Carry On, a fascinating but sad depiction of magic and man's obsession with power. What struck me was Rowell's narrative on how one's choice of loving can lead to destruction or redemption. So this novel on magic and mayhem is, for me, in its many layers, a love story.

The story of Simon Snow, the Chosen One, and nemesis Basilton Grimm Pitch is tailored after the fantasy canons of old. There is a classical feel to this relationship. Think about the opposites and the good-evil characters of literature, old and new. Add a girl in the mix, Penelope Bunce, and there goes the triumvirate - Harry Potter once more. But, it isn't. It is a stand alone novel despite shades of Potter and Lev Grossman's The Magicians. Is it a combination of both? Rowell's take on the magical and fantasy troupes of this age?

As a fan, I felt Rowell was having fun writing the novel. I'm not saying or assuming that writing this novel had been easy for her. For who am I to say so? But I can tell from the way the characters speak to each other and the way the plot unraveled the secret of Simon Snow that this novel was not easy to tuck away in another novel as a technique to further enrich the story. It has to come out! And out it did! It hit me with a bang right through the heart. Because, apart from being a story of magic and power, of friendship, of desires big and small, it is a story of a mother's love and a father's duty to protect his child.

Carry On is another feather on Rowell's cap. A classic tale of creating something new out of a tried and tested canon. Adorable!

Rating: Four Bookmarks

Goodreads Review: We Were Liars

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


If not for the metaphor and allegory, it would have been a boring read at the start. It peaks up toward the middle and takes your breath away by the time it reaches the end. Rarely does a book leave me sad, disturbed and utterly awed all at the same time. A classic young adult read because, as a whole, the book epitomizes its intended reader: powerful; foolish; wise; sensitive and frail.

Youth is indeed wasted in young. The remaining years are all that is left to rectify things.



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