Score: 95/100 (9.5 out of 10)
Wow! Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Well, in this case, hell hath no fury like a little German peasant girl abused and scorned. This dark, Gothic retelling of Cinderella is written in the dark, gory, violent, yet infinitely compelling style of the Brothers Grimm. If you're not familiar with the Grimm fairy tales as originally written, they often involve severe retribution, torture, mutilation, amputation, death, and destruction. You'll find all of that in Mice! So, parents of young children be warned. If you're expecting a Disney-like retelling of the tale, look elsewhere. This is definitely for adults and those looking for something a bit darker and more violent. It's actually a perfect little novel for the Halloween season! Something we loved and appreciated about this book is that it's not just a hollow retelling or retreading of the same ole' story. It actually expands the story and adds a few fascinating twists. This book adds so much depth and layers to the “Cinderella” (or Aschenputtel) character. This is a character who has pretty much remained the same throughout dozens of retellings: an innocent victim who gets her just rewards. Well, while this book respects and follows some of this idea, “innocent victim” and “just rewards” get flipped on their heads. In this book, the Cinderella character goes from being an innocent victim to a homicidal, vengeful maniac. “Just rewards” becomes ravenous, relentless revenge. Incredibly, this book almost achieves something that very few works of literature have succeeded at: a double-turn. This is when the hero becomes the villain while the villain(s) become the heroes (or, at least, the ones who we get behind). This book ALMOST achieves this, becoming a fallen-from-grace type of tale, something we really enjoyed! Fallen from grace stories are almost always compelling. They challenge our notions of right and wrong, good and evil, showing us the grayness of human nature and the power of perspectives. This book follows Aschenputtel, a young German peasant girl who is brought in as a lowly servant by a despicable woman named Edna Dusseau and her two spoiled twin daughters, Geraldine and Josephine. As you might expect, Edna takes the role of the evil stepmother while Geraldine and Josephine adopt the roles of the evil stepsisters. However, what adds some intrigue is that we get a surprising amount of time with these characters. We read about how they mistreat and abuse Aschenputtel day after day after day. One of the key moments that stood out to us was when Aschenputtel was placed in solitary confinement and basically fed like a pet or an animal. In fact, she's even referred to as an “animal” and as “Ash Girl” (due to her being dirty from all the hard labor the Desseaus make her do). We also hear about her being “beaten” for the slightest of perceived offenses. Something else that stands out about Aschenputtel in this book is how drastically and dramatically her personality changes from beginning to end. For about 3/4ths of this book, she is one of the absolutely sweetest and most sympathetic characters we've ever read about. She is kind, polite, and caring. This especially stands out when she feels for animals who are starving. She often says things like, “you poor thing.” She is also scared, submissive, and deferential. We are constantly reminded how afraid she is at different times. Her body language also shows this. In the beginning, she is very closed off and guarded. She folds her arms and often buries her face in her hands or elbows. She shields her face. She has a “cloak of protection.” She hides away. It's amazing that the writer is skillful enough to portray emotions and feelings just through describing these actions. She also charms us (and Prince Louis) with her knowledge of and ability to garden. She has so many qualities that are endearing and lovable. It's incredible how that gets flipped on its head! 3/4ths into this book, she transforms (both literally and figuratively) into a different person—a monster. Scarecrow-Aschenputtel is one of the most terrifying and tragic characters we've ever read about. Her retribution is beyond severe. In the original Grimm fairy tale, the evil stepmother and stepsisters lost their eyes, toes, and parts of their feet. Yeah, that was bad enough. Well, it's even worse in this book, if you can even believe that! We expected this book to become dark and violent, well it surpassed that! Scarecrow-Aschenputtel laughs at the suffering of others (except for maybe her animals), relishes in pain, and embraces her deepest, darkest feelings like fury, rage, and anger. She refers to someone burning as a “barbecue” and even partakes in cannibalistic activities. Yes, that's how depraved this character becomes. Speaking of barbecue, the defining moment for this darker, more violent version of Aschenputtel is when she accepts the burning flames of a human carcass into herself. The flame essentially becomes her “heart.” It supplants her old, kind heart, in a sense. Scarecrow-Aschenputtel is the antithesis to her former self—sadistic, brutal, ruthless, uncaring, violent, forceful, and—you could argue—evil. However, like a character such as Vegeta (Dragon Ball) or Regina (Once Upon a Time), you understand some of why she is the way she is. So, even after she has committed such horrific acts, some readers may still find themselves cheering for her or to escape retribution from others like the dwarf. Aschenputtel goes from being the “dirt of the world” (according to the Desseaus) to being the “princess of the fields”--a being with terrifying and terrific magical powers including being able to control elements (like fire) and the animals. Well, actually, Aschenputtel had some of these abilities before her transformation. In particular, she possessed the ability to communicate with animals like the titular mice and crows. She could understand their squeaks, chirps, and caws like a Disney princess. Her powers and transformation originate from a great tree that holds the power to grant a magical blessing similar to a fairy godmother. Aschenputtel, however, is not content with a mere blessing. The book tells us that she is “consumed by the evil power.” Despite her transformation and change in her personality, there are still glimpses of the old Aschenputtel in her. She still has the ability to emit a cheerful laugh. She is still described as a “beautiful scarecrow” who still folds her hands and protects her mice. She kinda reminds us of Maleficent or what Elsa from Frozen could have have been like. In fact, she is a lot like Kaneda from Akira. They're almost identical in their arc, although Aschenputtel is given far more time to develop and gain our sympathy than Kaneda did. It's the benefit of having a book to work with as opposed to an animated movie. This book has a somewhat non-linear narrative that takes place at different times, and we get the perspectives of the different mice. We were also surprised that this book features a lot of fantasy combat. There's a Chronicles of Narnia-like battle sequence in here. We also loved most of the writing. We loved lines like “squeaks of testimony.” There may have been a few shaky spots here and there, but this was overall an interesting reading experience. Check it out on Amazon!
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Score: 92/100 (9.2 out of 10)
Please Grow Away is a heartwarming children's book written and illustrated by Amy Gerardi! It is co-written by Brenda Umbrianna. Please Grow Away surprised us with the weight and substance of its message. Speaking of that message, the book focuses on the subject of putting aside differences and giving people a chance, even when you may not agree on things or get along initially. The book also emphasizes kindness—unconditional kindness. The book tells us that we should be kind to and understanding of others even when they're unkind to us. A lot of unkindness and hatred really comes from ignorance. It can also come from an improper or unfair displacement of anger and negative feelings on other people We see that the lemons in this book are ignorant and unaccepting of the grapes simply because the grapes are different. In a sense, the lemons in this book are also displacing a lot of their own insecurities and ill feelings on the grapes. The lemons have a lot to be unhappy about. They're bigger, their skins of inedible, and they aren't normally eaten alone the same as the grapes are. So, there might be a bit of jealousy in play here. This has applications for humans as well. We have a lot of the same feelings and insecurities. For example, someone may resent someone else because they perceive them as leaner or more attractive. It's easy to ignore the fact that just being leaner or more attractive doesn't necessarily make a person “better” or even “happier.” Sometimes, the opposite can be true. It's not fair to judge someone just because of the way they look. It's not fair to judge someone without giving them a chance and getting to know them. That seems to be at the heart and center of this book. Acceptance, tolerance, and kindness are powerful lessons for children to learn. In that sense, this book really, really shines! The illustrations were a source of contention among the judges with regards to this book. The illustrator employed a very clever and unique tactic of subtly increasing the amount of color of the book as it goes along. It's similar to COLORWORLD by Anthony Richichi in that sense. Also, the illustrator uses color (and a lack of color) selectively, to emphasize certain things. Usually, the color follows the action between the key characters, the lemons and the grapes. There were times when we thought that the less colorful parts of the book might not appeal to children so much, appearing a bit unfinished. Another thing that was a bit troublesome about the illustrations was that it can be a little strange to see anthropomorphic fruits like this, especially with the lemons often making angry, unsettling, or upsetting faces. Now, with that said, you could argue that Veggie Tales found a way to make that work. Something about the faces of the lemons really bothered us. There were times when they were a bit too human. We wondered if it might be an uncanny valley sort of problem. Still, the illustrations were still quite impressive, especially since they're also from the lead writer. There's a squirrel in this book that actually looks professionally drawn! So, Amy Gerardi clearly has some artistic skills. The writing is also a big plus in this book. The writing is extremely simple and easy for kids, parents, and teachers to follow. It's rhythmic, and it accomplishes what it needs to. Check it out here! Score: 75/100 (7.5 out of 10)
Viila and the Doomsday Affair is an absurdist comedic erotic fantasy by Roger Danchik that follows a very horny rabbi (Rabbi Benjamin), his very horny son (Milton), a very horny vampiress with weaponized breasts (Viili), a very horny cat (Queen Pharaoh), and a disembodied Teraphim head with a conveniently long tongue... for when other characters are very horny. This book was definitely not our cup of tea. That's not to say that it can't be your cup of tea or that it doesn't have some entertainment value. There are parts of this that are somewhat humorous, and there is a melodramatic plot in the background of this. Of course, there are a lot of erotic elements of this. So, if you're into absurdist erotic novels in which the characters want to screw everything on two legs (or sometimes four), this might appeal to you. Fiction isn't a one-size-fits-all thing. Not everyone is going to like everything. Likewise, there are a lot of different approaches to comedy that appeal to different kinds of people. There's Eddie Murphy humor. There's Robin Williams humor. Then, there's Adam Sandler humor and Seth Rogen humor. This book lies more on the spectrum between Adam Sandler humor and Seth Rogen humor. It is extremely vulgar and sexual, often needlessly so. There's also a much higher emphasis on shock value—saying and doing the most grotesque, disgusting, and unthinkable thing(s) possible to get a rise out of the audience. This includes things like polyamory, hebephilia/pedophelia, and even bestiality. This book pushes the envelope, and it often feels it does it purely for the shock value, sometimes at the expense of telling a better story or developing better characters. This book is also immeasurably sacrilegious. If you practice or respect an Abrahamic religion—or any organized religion—in any way, this is likely to upset and offend you in some way. The main religion that comes under scrutiny in this book, unfortunately, is Judaism. Do you really want to do that? Do you really even want to play with that idea, especially considering the numerous examples of antisemitism in our history and the antisemitism that continues to exist in the world? We're not saying that this book is antisemitic because it isn't, but it seems to paint a negative picture of Judaism, showing Rabbi Benjamin and his son as being sex-crazed people with questionable morals and ethics who supposedly have to learn over 3,700 sex positions in order to advance in the rabbinical order. Rabbi Kef, who is often quoted like some sort of Pope-level guru and representative for all Jewish rabbis, always presents the crudest, lewdest, most needlessly disgusting discussions of sexuality possible including bestiality with camels and oral sex with Teraphim. What Jewish person seriously sits around thinking about things like that? What percentage of people in general is actually thinking, hmmm... maybe I shouldn't rape my pet camel today. Which of my 3,720 sex positions am I going to use today? C'mon, most of us have like two or three go-to sex positions. It also paints some of the patriarchs (and the God) of Abrahamic religions in a very negative and questionable light. Adam is described as being a reprehensibly sex-crazed being, driven to bestiality—having literal and frequent sex with all of the animals in the Garden of Eden. God himself is identified as some sort of sexual deviant, which is blasphemous in itself. Viili, the vampiress with the weaponized breasts, sleeps with many of the patriarchs. Foreskins are passed down from generation to generation, and many sweaty balls are needlessly squeezed. The tablets containing the Ten Commandments that Moses brought down from Mount Sinai are treated like Dragon Balls or magic lamps. That's just not how they work or were intended to work at all. At the very, very least, this book has a plot. That's more than we can say about some books. There are very clear villains who are after the tablets, namely the Master of Death and the leader of the cult of nose-smashers/nose-bleeders (probably meant to represent the absurdity of organized religion in general). Yes, there is a literal cult in this book in which the leader advocates for breaking noses and making them bleed while also aspiring to becomes gods, this is the level of absurdity and ridiculousness that we're dealing with. Rabbi Benjamin is, at the very least, somewhat chivalrous in that he stands up for and protects Viili when she is being taken advantage of or vulnerable. Viili herself is a character with a ton of potential: an immortal vampire who has seen and experienced it all throughout the centuries. If only we hadn't just read like three other books that featured an immortal vampire who'd had like 30,000 sexual partners. It seems to be its own vampire sub-genre. Maybe this could be your cup of tea. You can check it out on Amazon. Score: 93+/100 (9.3+ out of 10)
Pedro Penguin: Let's Go to the Beach is a fun, lighthearted, and positive children's book by Pedro Samuel Saquic & Annie Saquic! This mother-son duo brings to life a couple of colorful, compelling animal characters as they meet at the beach, come to a common understanding, and become the best of friends! This book champions such values as sharing, kindness, compassion, gratitude, thankfulness, appreciation, and friendship. This is best illustrated through the characters of Pedro Penguin and Shannon Shark, who form a beautiful bond that crosses boundaries. We were kinda hoping that this book was longer so that we could see their friendship develop! The book ends a bit abruptly, but it is still satisfying. There is the hope for more books in this series to continue the story and adventures with these lovable characters. Now, your kids will definitely pick up the ironies of a penguin encountering and befriending a shark. Indeed, the book plays on that idea with Shannon Shark expressing that she is hungry and is considering eating Pedro. This is presented in a funny and unserious manner, but it still gets the point home that Shannon has needs like all animals have. The poor thing is just hungry! Thankfully, Pedro has come prepared with a big bowl of fruit salad including slices of pineapple, apples, mandarins, pears, strawberries, watermelon, bananas, and kiwis. Pedro comes up with the idea of sharing his fruit salad with Shannon Shark so that she isn't hungry anymore. He doesn't just do it for self-preservation (so he doesn't get eaten), he seems to do it because he sympathizes with Shannon Shark and because it's the right thing to do. So, you could make the argument that doing the right thing and being unselfish are other lessons that this little book teaches. Shannon Shark is a very compelling character. She is brightly and colorfully illustrated with a purple and yellow color-scheme. Her eye-lashes are long. She wears the top half of swimsuit, which children might find very funny (in a good way). She says she is a grumpy shark, and we look forward to her becoming happier and more cheerful as the book goes along. One of the most beautiful scenes in this entire book is when Pedro and Shannon give each other hugs and emphasize how important it is to be thankful and to have “grateful hearts.” This cute, cuddly book also doubles as a bilingual book, seamlessly incorporating a Spanish version of the text on the right side of each page. As the number of bilingual and multinational children grows, these types of books can be incredibly helpful. Children have a superpower that adults begin to lose with age: the ability to easily learn new languages simply through exposure. This book (and books like it) presents the opportunity for English-speaking children to learn some Spanish and for Spanish-speaking children to learn some English. Now, we noticed some minor issues with the writing and grammar (in English). There were many sentence fragments that could have been avoided with additional proofreading. There were times when periods and commas were misused. There were times when they shouldn't have been used at all. For example, there shouldn't be a period after “Not a moment too soon” on page 16. There were also times when quotation marks (“”) were overused such as when Shannon Shark is speaking, usually on the second line following the initial line of dialogue. You don't have to use a new set of quotation marks unless another character is speaking. For example, you could fix a section like: “Don't do that!” “I know just what to do.” “I love to share my food with you.” And turn that into: “Don't do that! I know just what to do. I love to share my food with you.” Notice that only one set of quotation marks is used because the same person is speaking. The illustrations by Safiro Mariely Velez are bright and colorful, and they are certainly adequate. They have a very cartoonish, appealing appearance. This is a children's book that clearly has a lot of heart. Check it out on Amazon! Score: 91/100 (9.1 out of 10)
Nurse Florence, What is Asthma? is another eye-opening and highly educational book for children by Michael Dow. While the illustrations leave a little to be desired, the content and overall experience of reading this book are both superior to Nurse Florence, How Do We Grow? (which we read earlier this year). This book simply flows better and is generally easier to follow. Something that helps this book flow so well is that Jean's motivations for seeking Nurse Florence's help and information are actually very good. Jean (the character) is interested in learning more about asthma because she has first-hand and recent experience with it. In comparison, the characters in the previous book seemed to seek out information from Nurse Florence (about growing and growth hormone) for no clear reason other than a spur-of-the-moment curiosity. Jean having a motivation as a character is a huge plus in this book's favor. It's much easier to understand, get behind, and feel for Jean because we see the impact that asthma has on her. Jean was doing something admirable: she was trying to do her best in a class (physical education) and trying to get a good workout while keeping up with her friends/classmates. You can really tell that Jean is passionate about certain types of exercise. This is something that many of us can relate to. Unfortunately, Jean begins to suffer from symptoms of fatigue followed by symptoms of asthma. In particular, she begins to wheeze and have trouble breathing. Anyone with asthma or who knows someone with asthma knows how terrifying and troubling these things can be. For young children who are new to the condition, it can be outright traumatizing. Part of the terror and trauma of a condition like asthma is simply the fear of not knowing. It's the fear of not knowing what the condition is or why these negative things are happening. Thankfully, that's where this book shines. It perfectly and clearly explains what asthma is and—perhaps more importantly to the sufferers—why it occurs. We were actually surprised by how much we learned, especially about what causes asthma. There are actually numerous causes of asthma, according to this book. Asthma can have more obvious causes like smoking, pollution, or exposure to fumes. However, it can also have other, less-acknowledged causes like cold weather, overexertion, medicines, foods/diet, excess body-weight, and even exposure to animal dander or fur. Many of these were causes that even we weren't aware of, so we were impressed by how much we learned. As we expressed in the beginning, the illustrations do leave a bit to be desired. They're definitely not as sharp as the ones in Nurse Florence, How Do We Grow? The books are actually illustrated by two separate people, and you can tell. One thing that really stands out in this book is that the arms of characters are disproportionate. Sometimes they are too big, sometimes they are too small (in relation to their heads or bodies). This is more of a problem when characters are presented further away. They look fine when up close. Another thing that stood out to us is that Nurse Florence (as portrayed in this book) looks much different from the Nurse Florence in the previous book. The Nurse Florence in How Do We Grow? was clearly portrayed as being a Muslim or of Arab ancestry, even wearing a hijab. She doesn't wear a hijab in this book, and her hair, clothes, eyes, lips, skin tone, and general appearance are quite different. However, that's not necessarily a big deal, it's just something we noticed as an inconsistency. Nurse Florence is still very knowledgeable, intelligent, and helpful like she was in the previous book. She is a very pleasant and solid character. Likewise, Jean is a surprisingly compelling character. Not only is she motivated and sympathetic like we mentioned before, but she's also a very gracious, appreciative, and respectful person. You gather that from her dialogue with Nurse Florence. Check it out on Amazon! Score: 93/100 (9.3 out of 10)
How I Lost My Kidney in China is an eye-opening memoir by Randall Flores. The year is 1987. We join a hopeful, starry-eyed, yet naive American named Randall (usually called “Thunder” or “Mr. Thunder”) as he faces a new life as a business associate in China. What a culture shock it is! Randall is a fish out of water, adapting to a new culture, new (and often exotic) foods, and a seeming widespread obsession with alcoholic drinks. This book has a lot of bright and interesting spots, particularly the points above. Some of the new experiences, foods, and drinks that Randall tries are the most compelling parts of the book. As an example, here are some of the new, exotic, and/or bizarre foods he encounters in China or the East Asian region: bull penis, monkey, dog, hairy crabs, sea cucumbers, eels, live and drunk shrimp, sandworm/sandworm jelly, and more. This is often shocking but, like a car crash, you can't help but watch and be fascinated to some extent. Now, comes a point (around 300 or so pages in) when we found ourselves a little bored by the monotonous repetition of certain things. For example, Randall constantly finds himself in a bar or in a restaurant drinking, especially an alcoholic drink called “baijiu.” He drinks to be sociable. He drinks for business purposes. He drinks for pleasure. He drinks because there's nothing better to do but drink. He drinks because the water goes bad (becoming infested with cockroaches in the pipe) or is turned off. He always has a good or bad excuse to drink. Sometimes he has no excuse at all and it just happens out of habit or obligation. It becomes routine, occurring in a cycle. Now, Randall isn't the only one who drinks. In fact, drinking is a socially-accepted and even celebrated activity throughout China in the late-80s/early-90s. Even the youth drink! People freely drink and drive on a daily basis! Now, when we first saw the title of this book, we immediately jumped to a conclusion that this was going to be a book about the reported Chinese organ harvesting, which is often highlighted by practitioners of Falon Gong or by the Taiwanese. Indeed, Randall does have experience in Taiwan and with the Taiwanese. Indeed, the threat of organ harvesting does loom over this entire book, but that's far from the story that we expected to read. There are a few red herrings to explain why Randall would eventually lose his kidney. First, there's his alcoholism. Second, there are the exotic and questionable foods he eats. Third, there are sanitary issues like with the aforementioned cockroach water. Fourth, there's the threat of Chinese organ harvesting. Fifth, there are the constant outbreaks and epidemics that break out in China including SARS, avian (bird) flu, and swine flu. Sixth, he is constantly susceptible to getting into a car accident due to his drunkedness and that of others. There's also the fact that Randall shows signs and symptoms of possibly having cancer. So, we're constantly on edge and on our toes, wondering what might cost Randall his organ. This book actually takes us into the 2000s. 9/11 happens and is briefly brought up on a TV broadcast. The swine and avian viruses take their toll as well. Perhaps most notably is the fading away of Communist China into embracing more capitalist ideals, promoting more free business including the ones that Randall takes part in. So, this almost becomes a book about the transition between old and new China in the 20th century. Adding some humor to this book, Randall informs us of some of the “Rules” of surviving in China. Some of these can be applicable to any American or western traveler. They are things like “Don't buy groceries after drinking” and “Look out for forgeries.” There's more humor to be found such as when Randall ponders the idea that some people are still referred to as “Little” (like “Little Thunder”) even when they're 40+ years old because of being the youngest of their siblings. He also notices that the Chinese love to get into loud arguments, but don't get into physical fights. He also comes across “naked zombies”--people who are so high on drugs that they wander the street mindlessly. Hilariously, they are ignored by the townsfolk who instead turn their attention to Randall, the strange white foreigner. Check it out on Amazon! |
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