Thursday, May 28, 2015

Fifty Shades of Grey: Trilogy

I recently tore through these three very popular books, I went in thinking that I was going to be dripping with excitement within the first few pages. Boy, was I disappointed. Firstly, yes they may have alluded to some "kinky" things in the books but nothing too over the top happens. I was firmly led to believe that these books would sexually satisfy me. In reality, I fell as if the author took a personal journey we can all see.
She starts writing in a style more consistent with a fan fiction website than a well-published book; but by the time you wrap up the trilogy you realize that she learned a lot from herself and how to write and that gives me hope that maybe if she tried to do it again the results would be better. Her lack of vocabulary skills seems evident throughout all of the books though by the half-hazardly thrown in wording.
I am not going to even touch the feminist side of how these books promote rape. I think rape is a horrible problem in society but I don't personally see any "rapey" things going on.
All in all I think the books are less for the smut than they are for the interesting character struggle and development I see in Christian Grey. That is what kept me reading to the end. The struggle of a man who was shown the darkest of lives and, through love, sees change into the light.


P.S. I think I will come back and elaborate and extend this post but for now this will do. And yes I realize all of my grammatical mistakes. I am really tired and just don't feel very motivated towards semi colons right now.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Crank/Glass Series by Ellen Hopkins

The Crank/Glass series
Ellen Hopkins
Published: 2004 & 2007 respectfully
9.5/10



This is a powerful series. I can, without embarassment, say that I cried while reading these books. They moved me in such a way that describing them with words just won't work. These books are written in a poetic form, they don't always ryme but sometimes there will be another sentance written in a "secretive" way. For example, the first letter in each line could spell out another word, but not all the time. Her quirky way of writing can take some getting used to, but it will be worth it in the end. She gets into the mind of the girls that she is writing about and it almost seems that she has been through this herself. Her writing is invigorating and powerful, but it is something that I would never let a teenager under 16 let read, the content is pretty controvercial, but amazing never the less. She is definitly an amazing writer.

The Cirque du Freak series, by Darren Shan

The whole series
By Darren Shan
Published: 2000- present
7/10

This series is written in a way that is very easy to read; almost like a children's book. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It can be a little misleading to some people because some of the content is meant more for a teen audience. Each of the books is simply another step that is the journy of Darran Shan, the half-vampire. I have only read up until the Lake of Souls, so that is all that I am reviewing. My final thoughts are that, the style is direct which is a good thing, but it can make the book feel like there could have been more in there, possibly. I would definitly tell my friends to read this series.