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The Ultimate revenge.
Really enjoyed learning Andre's controversial and remarkable tennis story
Really interesting read. I really enjoyed this book, but I can't quite figure out why.
First off, this book is a blatant rip-off of the Harry Potter series, and is obviously targeting that population. Here's a sample of the similarities: Main hero is young son of magical lineage, destined by prophecy to one of two possible destroyers of the evil Lord because of his birthday (think Harry Potter and Longbottom). Impetuous and brave, but often lacking skill, he gets in fixes and needs his friends to pull him out. He attends a summer training school for magical persons like himself. During the offseason, he mingles with regular people like you and me = Harry Potter. Wise, ancient leader of magical training school takes a special interest in young hero, but often does not disclose all he knows about his future to protect him. Gets kicked out during the second book by leaders of the magical world for falsely being accused. Consequently the camp is run by magical tyrant until his name is cleared. = Dumbledore. Magical friend of main hero knows a lot more about the magical world and always knows what to do to get out of scrapes = Hermione Big giant-like oaf with kind heart and special attachment to main hero, has a special attachment to magical animals = Hagrid Dark Lord once defeated by main hero tries to regain his human-like form again so he can "rise again" and take charge of army of monsters to fight against magical kingdom. Oh yeah, he communicates with and taunts main hero in his dreams. = Voldemort. One house of magical children in the training school hates main hero. Always have, clear back to the leader of their house, and always will. = Slytherin. Upon entering the training school, hero doesn't know what house he belongs to until he is "claimed" by magic = sorting into houses. Training school is where heroes learn to channel and use their powers. It is protected by magical boundaries so the bad guys can't get in and the children are safe as long as they don't stray beyond boundaries = Hogwarts Anyway, you see what I mean. It's so obvious, I'm surprised there hasn't been more accusations by Potter fans about this. However, to be fair, most fantasy books really boil down to about the same kinds of characters and plots, so it's a rehashing of what we are all familiar with. That being said, I really enjoyed this book (the first of the series that I have read) and am enjoying the third one right now. It is not quite as good as Harry Potter, but if you liked Harry Potter, I think you'll definitely enjoy this series. The main creativity being shown here--I must give props for this--is the retelling of the ancient Greek myths in modern-day New York City. It was fun to see how creatively the author could convert the myths to fit modern times. He's clever this way, and many funny nuances will go unappreciated unless you are familiar with the myths, so I would recommend looking the characters up on Wikipedia as you read the book. However, as I've been rereading the myths, I've been reminded how bloody and lustful they are, so you might want to skim. Because of how it retells the Greek myths, particularly in a more PG way, I think it's a good way to help kids read and understand Greek mythology, which is often important to understanding many other kinds of literature. However, it could be scary for younger kids, and even in Riordan's less graphic translations, some of the myths and characters still raise awkward questions for children---such as why all these demigods are the products of one-night stands, and why the gods seem to have so little interest in their children. Enjoy!
A really great story that gives a good lesson to anyone.
Dear God, I love James Franco. Hot damn, what a face on that one. Besides his uncontrollable hunkiness, I'm a great admirer of his acting work, particularly on Freaks and Geeks, Milk and 127 Hours. I also respect him for not only enrolling in an MFA program, but also GRADUATING, unlike many other celebrities who go to Harvard for one semester, then drop out because they remember that they could be making millions of dollars and having hot tub orgies in Malibu. Despite my Francophilia, I will admit that this is not the best book, and it would not have been published if he hadn't been the author. I wouldn't say that it's BAD, but it is clearly the work of a young writer who is still refining his voice and struggling with the development of complex themes. I have no problem with the subject matter of debaucherous teens struggling with issues of identity-- it's a topic with a lot of creative possibilities. Plus, I was a high school teacher for several years, and the portrayal of some teens as reckless and offensive is pretty accurate, like it or not. However, in a book of short stories about a bunch of teens, I would think that there would be a little more dimension. The characters all sort of blurred together, but not in a "I see the connection!" way-- it was more of a "This character is exactly like the last ten characters" way. But I think the book shows he has potential, and I wouldn't be surprised if his future work was of higher quality.
I wasn't sure exactly what to expect from this book, but I really liked it. Obviously, the subject matter is disturbing, but the prose is delectable, intriguing, and fun. It really draws you into Humbert's twisted world. Now I want to read more by Nabokov!