shidoburrito's reviews
1533 reviews

Ugh, OK, we get it already. Should she listen to her dragon side and pick Riley (no, he's stupid), or her human side and pick Garrett (yes, and when he dies, just go be with Riley, problem solved). Also, once I realized how often the author used a simile (like, once per paragraph), I started to go a little nuts. They weren't even GOOD similes. So a drastic drop in my rating of this series. The novelty of dragons being able to turn into humans has worn off and all I'm left with is incredibly dull teen angst with a Twilight complex. Blech.

Much better than the first volume! Pretty much concludes the series like the movie, but Callaghan's daughter is much younger.

A nice guide for girls starting to identify as a geek, nerd, or otaku. I've been some of those terms for a while now, and working on others, so most of it wasn't new to me. But it has some great interviews with women in the nerd culture, and a great section about feminism in the nerd world.

I appreciated the chapter on fanfiction and that no matter what you write, no matter what the rating, if you write it for yourself and not others, you are doing it right. Makes me happy!

I can tell when a book is scaring me when I have a restless nights of weird dreams and foreboding feelings. This book did that. The atmosphere just gets steadily darker and darker as the characters slowly decline into madness and begin to doubt themselves. It really gets to you!

BUT, my major complaint is the author's portrayal of the female characters. Yes, this book is getting up there in years, having been published in the 1970's. And while all the characters were never lovable, especially as their deepest secrets and fears were brought to light, the female characters in particular were portrayed rather poorly. No one was able to stand up for themselves. All of their hauntings and fears were sexual. Edith's only reason for being there was because she simply couldn't LIVE without her husband for a week without breaking down and had to stay by his side. And her greatest fear was discovering she was in fact a lesbian? Oh horrors! She also mentions how she and her husband rarely, if ever, have sex: he because of crippling polio, her because of a sexually abusive father. Remind me again why you can't live without your husband?

Anyway, despite the book actually being scary, and a great page turner, the sexism brought my rating down a bit. So if you don't mind a good, classic, whiny, dependent female character, but want something spoopy, then this book is for you!

I started this one during Halloween week, but another, scarier book, gained my full attention. From what I read, it's a juvenile fiction book that's a pretty easy read, as the writing is simple. Perhaps tweens ages 9+ would enjoy it's spooky-ness!

Okay, so imagine you've heard so much about Harry Potter, there's tons of stuff out there, and you decide to start reading the series by starting with Order of the Phoenix. You get a couple confusing recaps of previous happenings, some flashbacks, but you're not quite sure who everyone is. Also, all the characters seem super angsty and angry all the time.

That's how this book starts off, and I'll admit I started out kind of disappointed. I'm also still confused as to whether this is supposed to be the actual Simon Snow series that is present in the Fangirl universe, or is it supposed to be the fanfiction written by Cath and Wren? Or is it something else entirely?

Either way, that whole bit doesn't matter. Just stick with the book, gloss over the wizard angst, and I assure you that you will soon be sucked into a great story with interesting magic use, awful teachers, and fanfiction-esque, angsty, wizard, boy love.

Enjoy!

Wow! This book was surprisingly very good! I'm not one for politics, and while this book is all about the dark dealings that happen behind the scenes of our capital's most powerful men, it doesn't require you to know much about politics. So whether you're an adult like me, or a teen, no matter how much knowledge you have in politics, this book is well written and very suspenseful!

Seriously folks, if you haven't started this series yet, do yourself a favor and read The Screaming Staircase RIGHT NOW! This series is great! And the characters keep growing, and developing, learning more about themselves as they learn more about their colleagues. Again, some pretty deep stuff going on, and it feels like Lockwood and Lucy are being forced to grow up and confront their feelings for each other. Each book is more exciting and wonderful than the last, and this one certainly leaves you waiting for the next one!

Alas, I didn't have time to finish this book. Other books were finding favor over this one. It's pretty basic, possibly a good choice for a teen who plays D&D or wants a Potter-esque novel of an orphan being accepted into a magic school with demons and being the best of the best.