I’ve seen no mention of ST and and that Cumberbatch boy!!!

Hee! I try to keep my Cumberbatch love in check most of the time, in polite society, so’s not to seem obsessed or anything *whistles innocently* But yes, I did see Star Trek, and he was splendid, though they really could have explained his backstory better. The way they did explain it felt a bit rushed, and incomplete. Obviously it would’ve made more sense to someone who’s watched the Original Series, so there’s that…

Oh yeah, and the other characters were awesome, too, like that Kirk fella, and Spock, and Uhura…

Did you see it?

Wow, I LOVE the design of the Lake Geneva Library!

And I was a huge fan of the Sweet Valley books as a kid, too!

It’s a very cool building, definitely, both inside and out. And fellow-SV-fan-high-five!

the stories did get eerier as they went, didn’t they? I can understand your question about Glynis’s Mom, shouldn’t she have figured out what her daughter was capable of? Sure, she should have, but she didn’t. Teens are professionals at keeping things from their parents, and I don’t think Glynis’s Mom knew her very well.

thanks for the Emoticon primer, apparently I’ve been flirting with people when I’ve meant to just be smiling? eeeek! Twitter needs to come with an emoticon dictionary pop-up or something!

I read the collection as a PDF, and I don’t remember running into many typos. Maybe one or two, but nothing excessive.

Very thorough. Nicely done.

Heh, I don’t think winky-faces ( ) are always considered flirty, so you’re probably fine.

It’s true about teens being able to hide things from their parents — and Glynis was definitely skilled at deception, with the hacking and all. But I still wondered why [SPOILER ALERT for anyone who hasn't read "Hatchling"] Olivia hadn’t ever seen Glynis doing said hacking, considering the project involved checking up on Glynis every so often with those spy cameras all over the house.

My copy of the collection was also in PDF form, and the number of typos varied from story to story. Stories like “Her Destiny” and “All-Of-Me” had fewer instances.

Thanks!

This is a good, well reasoned review. I haven’t finished the last two stories yet so I’m looking forward to them now!
Thanks
Lynn

You’re welcome! And thank you!

[...] book tour continues! The YA review blog Postcards from La-La Land reviewed The Emoticon [...]

Very thorough post. Thanks for all the links.

I enjoyed this book and didn’t really notice any gender bias in the collection as a whole. Glynis in Hatchling was the most human to me – main female who is intelligent and driven. While her mother was also intelligent and driven, but also questionable on the moral front. When I started to read Freedom is Only a Step Away, I thought perhaps there would be some gender bias there – the first few scenes show the mom taking care of the kids, but later we see dad sharing those duties.

I enjoyed the humor of the emoticon story….and I need to get an emoticon dictionary. I thought people were sticking their tongue out at me this entire time, but it really meant they were laughing and joking.

Thanks! I agree about Glynis…

[SPOILERS ahead]

It’s ironic that the reason Olivia fails at her experiment with the original Glynis — i.e. fails to give her the “perfect” upbringing, and to keep her from finding out the truth — is that she doesn’t see Glynis as human. She is so intent on learning more about human psychology, and yet she has so little understanding of it…she has no idea what it means to give a child the “perfect” life because she doesn’t see Glynis is an actual human child.

I’m so glad you read this, and you loved it. I was so swept up in the spell of his writing. I can’t wait to see what he does next!

Me too! Beautiful Girls and Famous Men sounds fun. In a related note, I used to have a Jennifer Love Hewitt music tape that I ordered from one of those old ads/catalogs you used to see in teen magazines (“Get 6 cassettes free* with your first month free* trial subscription!” or whatnot).

* insert much fine print that 12-year-old Nerija didn’t bother reading until Mom said, “Hey, you know I actually had to pay that company for a month’s subscription (or something) before they’d let me cancel?” Well, at least I did get those 6 cassettes.

Nerija! You make your lithuanian ancestors proud! (Oh…and me too! )

Aww, thanks!

I read the first book in the Alice in Wonderland duo, and decided to stop with that. I couldnt much appreciated the dream-like quality of the story, but I DID enjoy Carroll’s word play. The conversation with the mock turtle and the walrus had me in splits! I re-read it so many times, and I’ll re-read it many times again.

As for the other two books, they really aren’t my cup of tea, although I read The Wizard of Oz when I was very very young, and watched the movie.

They definitely don’t read like a typical contemporary Juv/YA novel (the Alice books) — if I hadn’t already known pretty much what to expect, I don’t know how I’d have felt about the structure myself. There really don’t seem to be any serious stakes or conflict; it’s more of a make-it-up-as-you-go story.

As for the Wizard of Oz, I liked it pretty well until about Chapter 18. Then it seemed like Baum was just rushing to get the witch out of the way, but then instead of actually ending where you’d expect, he keeps going with a bunch more scenes.

Still, the characters and settings were fun and whimsical, and I may read more of the Oz books sometime.

ok…Happy Hiatus….even the Creative Spirit needs a rest sometimes…

Thanks, Lily

Hey Nerija! I’m droppin’ by to look at your blog – nice! I noticed that you wrote a review for Kai Meyer’s The Water Mirror. I have to say that he’s one of my favorite authors and I LOVE that series. The mermaids, lions, and mummies were stunningly exciting to me and I love Merle, Junipa, and Serafin.

The ending of the last book is heart-wrenching, but against all odds, I still hold it as one of my favorite series (and I hope that one day, he’ll write a sequel so I can find out what happens, haha!).

Hi Kim. Thanks for stopping by!
I did love the book’s concept of mermaids and mirror worlds, even if other aspects didn’t quite work for me. One day I might continue reading the series, and would be curious to see other works by Meyer.

Wow….quite a list!!!! I am looking to read several I have missed including just started Suiite Francais, will reread my favorite Ethan Frome and this next year Pride & Prejudice

http://austenprose.com/2012/12/24/preview-of-celebrating-pride-and-prejudice-200-years-of-jane-austens-masterpiece-by-susannah-fullerton-giveaway/

Lily

Ooh, thanks for the link! I can’t believe it’s almost the 200th anniversary already!
How is Suite Francaise so far? Is it the one by Irene Nemirovsky?

Oh Hobbit my Hobbit!!! Enjoyed the video. I must get to one of these Lithuanian shindings some day…I love tuna salad too!!!

I just wish they’d sung a few more of the “Misty Mountains” verses…because I’m a nerd like that. And because I love how it sounded in the movie.

And yes, you’ll have to see one of our awesome shindigs

Hmmm, I guess May wasn’t exactly explained, was she? I think you’ll appreciate her more once you find out her backstory.

I do not care for the first few books (but you already know that), but I hope that you enjoy them.

As I understand it, she’s the Toby who “died” before Amandine changed her blood? At one point Toby mentions that one of the night-haunts used to have May’s face.

Kiiiiiind of? I don’t want to spoil a bunch of stuff for you, so I won’t say more unless you ask.

Heh heh, fair enough Did I get anything wrong re: May and Jazz’s relationship?

Nice….what a lovely book!!!!

Thanks! It really is a sweet story

Omgosh, how cute are you?! (so cute, that’s how)

Aww, thanks ^_^

yes, what a great outfit!!!!

Voldemort realizes it’s time to confess he has had a secret – he has written a tell-all book about he and his friends.

The book reveals most of their darkest secrets (including photos from last year’s Mordor Christmas Party) as well as some of Voldy’s favorite cauldron cake recipes and inspirational quotes from Salazar Slytherin.

The bartender glances up and without even so much as a blink or double-take turns to the glassware shelves.

The three look around and find a table near a window overlooking the yard.

With a heavy sigh, Voldemort says, “My friends, I have a problem and need some advice”.

Sauron and Frankenstein’s monster just roll their eyes… they have been here before with Voldemort. They all freeze just as the waiter brings their drinks – Guinness,Guinness and a Guinness.

LOL, I like where this story is going so far

P.S. I’ll take both sentences, but remember — each turn should be just one sentence each.

As they raise their drinks the door to the bar opens and they are covered by the shadow of the person standing in the doorway bathed in light from the outside.

Wow, this post is PACKED FULL of Potter love! It’s amazing, and thank you for sharing.
I had to skip a few of your reviews since there are books I haven’t read yet (Harry, A History, The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter, and The Magic Ice Cream), but I enjoyed reading the other reviews.

The main thing I want to comment on is Kreacher making Harry a sandwich. I haven’t re-read Deathly Hallows in a long time, and it’s coming up soon in my Harry Potter class, but we got into a long discussion about house elves yesterday, mainly because of SPEW. While we all agreed that it’s cruel to have slaves, we wondered about the reality that some house elves would want to stick with their masters because it’s better than trying to find work elsewhere and struggling. We compared it to after slavery was abolished and how many freed slaves stayed with their masters for pay because it was better than suffering without work elsewhere. It took up a big chunk of out class, so I won’t ramble too long, but there’s definitely a lot to think about in regards to house elves and slavery. The main thing we wondered was if Harry and Ron were so unkind about the house elves in Goblet of Fire because they are teenagers, and that’s kind of how teenagers act. Does it make it right? No. That being said, I almost want Harry to have someone make him a sandwich after all the torment he endured over the years with the Dursley family, not to mention everything with Voldemort. Boy deserves a sandwich, haha!

Boy deserves a sandwich, haha!
LOL, he definitely does, after all that! And I do understand the point about him being a teenager, and that affecting his worldview. And he does feel very differently about Kreacher than about Dobby or other house elves, considering Kreacher’s loyalty to the Malfoys and his part in Sirius’ death.
Still, it was good to hear Hermione and Dumbledore’s views — i.e. that Kreacher is the way he is because of who’s treated him well vs. who’s neglected him. Even Sirius made the point about a person’s character showing in how he treats those he considers “inferior” (which, ironically, came back to haunt him in terms of his treatment of Kreacher).

Thanks for visiting!

What an incredible post! Thanks so much for sharing! It’s truly a great way to pay tribute to some of my favorite books!

Thank you! This was definitely one of my favorite posts to write…I’m very nostalgic in general, and it was just a matter of time before I had a Potter-related review

Thanks for re blogging and sharing it!

Lovely poem! I liked ‘the winds reclaim the world’ ….one can feel persephone’s despair….poor thing.

Oh yes, and it feels so appropriate on cold, windy days like today. I also like that bit of hope – “Oh surely, surely I will come again!” – that gives her the courage to walk into the winter world.

Yes! That’s true…like she is reassuring herself. Poor woman….she does despise her husband!