Fury

Although I like to think of young adult fiction as the best storytelling out there, as with any other genre, there are sometimes pieces that are pure wastes of time. How dare I say such a thing about art, but at least for me, I find this to be true. If a work of fiction does not leave me happy, satisfied, entertained, or even one of those, I don't see the point. If I want real, dirty life, I don't need to pick up a novel to see it.

Fury, by Elizabeth Miles, was such a waste of time. I thought it might get better, have redeeming value...okay, you've heard that from me before, but I really do try to give every story a fighting chance. It's just really hard to enjoy a book if you hate the characters, if they are so bad or so wrong you can't remotely identify. Maybe some people can identify with stealing a best friend's boyfriend only to find out he's a jerk, using your best friend and you. I sure don't.

Fury is about two teenagers in a little town in Maine, Em and Chase, who have each made their own separate mistakes. They don't know about furies, the witches who arbitrarily choose who deserves to be punished, but the furies know about them and are here to make them pay, eye for eye.

Besides being about people I couldn't summon enough camaraderie with to like, the odd thing about this book is that it's really two stories that barely ever join together. Em and Chase are acquaintances at the same school, connected only by the odious Zach. They briefly befriend each other, though in the end (do I even have to say SPOILERS here?), one of them pays more dearly than the other, but basically, both of them lose out. Yep, it's a disappointer up to the very end. I suppose the author thought there might be room for a sequel, I really don't know. Sounds like I care, too, doesn't it?

Oh, and don't even get me started on the morality of this book. Let's just say there's a lot of teenage nudity, not graphic but just there, standing stupidly, perhaps trying to raise the reader's dwindling interest? There's no sex, but there might as well have been. Why go that far and not all the way? (If you've never read my blogs before this one, please, please note the sarcasm and that this is not a statement to be taken at face value.)

Don't be seduced by the beautiful cover with the lovely redhead staring out at you hauntingly, begging you to pick her up. Don't mess with the furies. Great cover; it does just what a fury would: lures you in to wreak havoc, mess with your mind, and leave you feeling very badly...or very bad, take your pick.

True Grit on DVD

Normally, I like Westerns okay, and True Grit is very Western, but it was just a little too strange for me. The characters were fascinating but perhaps overdone. The whole premise of the movie was kind of dark, although from a certain standpoint, it was lawful and right. Fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross hires a marshal, and gets a Texas ranger in the bargain too, to hunt down the man who killed her father. Her stipulation: she goes along to make sure justice is served. Her obsession borders on revenge but seems to mostly be about justice when it comes right down to it.

Why is it that every Western is in shades of brown? I guess that's how the far American West is, even today, but it's such an iconic image: a horse and rider traveling over a vast, treeless expanse of brown grass. Of course, True Grit takes place near the beginning of winter, I believe, so that affects the scenery.

The ending of this movie could have turned my viewpoint toward it slightly had it been different, but I found it rather sad and not entirely satisfactory. The title of the movie, however, says it all. There couldn't be harder people in this story than these.

The movie stars Jeff Bridges as the marshal and Matt Damon as the Texas ranger. I didn't really recognize either of them, although I wondered, briefly, if Damon's character was a famous actor. His face was different enough that I couldn't pinpoint him. Hailee Steinfeld is the 14-year-old actress who plays Mattie, and she does an excellent job.

True Grit is a remake of a 1969 John Wayne film and is based on a 1968 novel by Charles Portis. It's rated PG-13 for Western violence, including hangings, shootings, and stabbings.

Thor in theaters 2011

Thor was great! Who'd have thought? Not me. I don't think I ever saw a preview, and I've never read the comic. I knew nothing, but I'd heard good recommendations. So, as a belated Mother's Day outing (not Nick's fault; we just delayed until the timing was better), we ate at Casa's and then saw Thor in the theater, and it was a perfect evening.

I didn't think I'd ever be able to see another movie with Natalie Portman in it because of Black Swan, but she proved once again that she is actually a good actress, in a completely different and likeable role. Chris Hemsworth, whom I've never heard of, plays a very tall, ripped, dashing and appropriately godly Thor. Anthony Hopkins, whom I barely recognized, and then only by his eyes, plays Thor's father, Odin.

I'd been told that some of the settings for this movie were beautiful, and it was true. Asgard, the home of the gods, is a fantastic computer-generated landscape of golden, non-linear skyscrapers. It is an interesting contrast to the desert of New Mexico, the Earthly setting of the movie.

We saw Thor in 2D, and I don't think we missed a thing by skipping the 3D. Honestly, I don't understand the fascination with 3D. The movies I've seen in the new 3D haven't been improved with it (The Last Airbender, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides). I think it's just a gimmick to make more money. I hear Avatar (with the blue aliens) was great in 3D in the theater, and that makes sense. A lot of it is computer-generated with beautiful colors and settings. Maybe Asgard would have been cool in 3D, but I doubt cool enough to make it a must-see.

Basic premise of Thor: Thor's about to be made king, but he's arrogant, and a threat from an evil race of ice giants interrupts his ascension. He nearly causes war and is banished to Earth, powerless, to learn the error of his ways. There he meets a young, attractive scientist (Portman) who is fascinated by him and the storm that sent him to Earth. Meanwhile, there's trouble in Asgard, and King Odin is dying, leaving Thor's embittered brother to take control.

I know, it sounds a bit hokey, but it's well-done and, therefore, an enjoyable and satisfying movie. If you liked Iron Man and are at all interested in The Avengers or Captain America, this movie is a tie-in you won't want to miss.

A Long, Long Sleep

Almost missed this gem in the long and lovely stack of books my sister-in-law brought back from the book expo in New York City. The cover was pretty enough with thorny roses, but not captivating. The title didn't intrigue me much. Who wants to read about sleep? But, for the sake of giving each book a fair chance, I read the back cover copy. It was somewhat interesting, but what made me actually take the book home ended up being a misconception. The heroine is not an actual princess, as I had supposed, but the heir to a financial empire, spanning worlds. If I had realized that, I probably wouldn't have picked up the book. But, happily, I started reading and gave the book a thorough chance to entice me, and it did.

A Long, Long Sleep, a debut young adult novel by Anna Sheehan, could be described as a futuristic adaptation of the fairytale Sleeping Beauty. Yet it's anything but a fairytale. I would call it a post-post-apocalyptic story, if such a term exists. Post-apocalyptic usually involves a world still in turmoil after world-wide devastation. This story occurs even later, after the world has rebuilt itself and the technology is even more advanced than we know now.

Rose awakes from stasis after a 62-year-sleep, the longest ever known, sleeping through the Dark Times of her world's destruction through epidemic. Lost in a sub-basement, her reappearance is huge because she's the heir to UniCorp, a business empire that basically runs this world and others. Everyone assumes she was put in stasis to protect her from the Dark Times, but all Rose knows is that everyone she loves is dead and she is alone, 16-years-old, born one hundred years earlier. Only Rose knows that she was put into stasis many times before the one that stole 62 years of her world away.

Rose is stricken by the loss of her parents who guided her every step, but she is haunted by the loss of her boyfriend, her only friend. The boy who woke her up from stasis attracts her, but the past won't let her go enough to pursue a relationship with anyone. The executives at UniCorp are reeling from her discovery and what it might mean to their precious positions, and a very old terror has awakened to find and eliminate her. Not to mention she's suffering from stasis fatigue and can't even control her own body without the help of nanos in her brain. Rose is up against more than she can handle.

Once past my cover prejudices, this story captivated me beginning to end and had me in tears for at least the last 50 pages, though there was humor to be found as well. It's definitely one of those, but it has a good ending, if not a completely satisfactory love story. The love story is more about Rose's old love, revealed in memories, than any new loves. Nonetheless, you don't want to miss it just for that. It's a complex story, different from any I've read recently. Definitely not the same-old, same-old vampire, werewolf, angel, or even post-apocalyptic young adult fiction. This is one to pay attention to.

Four and a half stars. Comes out in August.

Forbidden

This is the first time I've ever had the pleasure of reviewing a Ted Dekker book that wasn't yet released. I normally have to read my Ted Dekkers in hardcover because I can't wait, but this time, my sister-in-law brought back an advance reader's copy of a book I've been excited about for some time. It comes out in September and is co-written with Tosca Lee, author of Demon: A Memoir, reviewed here. I heard Dekker and Lee speak about a year ago. At that time, I had no idea who she was, but Dekker was excited to be working with her and praised her books highly. If you don't remember me mentioning this before, Ted Dekker is one of my favorite authors for the way in which he pushes the boundaries of faith in fiction. I hesitate to call his works Christian fiction, not because he isn't Christian but because they are so different than Christian fiction, so much more in-depth and real and meaningful...while also being excellent thrillers.

Forbidden is the first in The Books of Mortals Trilogy, one book being released each year, starting this September. It reveals a world 500 years in the future from ours, a world in which emotion has been eradicated, except for fear, allowing there to be Order and peace worldwide. No one feels anger, so there is no war and there are no weapons. Everyone lives in obedience for fear that they won't receive Bliss when they die. There is no passionate love, only a sense of duty and loyalty to family members.

But there is a vial of blood that has the power to return some of these emotions to whomever drinks it, five portions for five people. Rom is thrust unwillingly into a position to protect the vial, and curious about its importance, unknowing of its power, he drinks a portion and seems to wake from the dead. When it becomes clear that there is more to fear than losing Bliss, that there are guards who will kill people with weapons that aren't supposed to exist for even knowing about the vial of blood, Rom runs, but in order to convince his friends that he's not crazy, they must drink too. Thus, five people wake from the dead and become embroiled in a plot to keep the throne of the world from another man who's been woken by other means, a man who feels anger, passion, ambition...but no love.

As usual, Dekker hasn't written just another thriller. With Lee, he has explored in new ways one of the deep truths of Christianity: Love and what it would mean to the world to live without it. In this case, his interpretation is that we'd all be walking dead. Forbidden is a love story, a thriller, and a statement of faith without once using the names God or Jesus. I'm sure it would rub some Christians the wrong way, but I love that about Ted Dekker. No other author I know tries to shake up and wake up the Church like he does. His novels aren't always even written for the believers. They're meant to bring everyone to an understanding of who God is, stripped of all we call religion.

Faith aside, on a purely fictional level, this is not my favorite book of Dekker's. He's been known to give surprise endings and twists or to take his characters to the lowest places of depravity, creeping the reader out with grotesque images of sin. This book is still plenty dark, don't get me wrong. I'll just have to see what I feel about the series when it is over. It's certainly a worthy addition to his collection, and Tosca Lee seems to be a great partner. Best Dekker or not, I highly recommend it to all readers.

Mao's Last Dancer on DVD (with notes on Gulliver and Jack Sparrow)

I've seen several movies recently, but two of them hardly seemed worth reviewing. I will mention them here, although my main purpose for this post will be to write of the third.

Gulliver's Travels
First, Gulliver's Travels just came out on DVD. It's rated PG, but the Lutheran school my husband teaches writing at didn't think it was appropriate for sixth graders. Although there's nothing huge wrong with it, I agree with that assessment, having seen it myself. Some of the humor is crude (straight out of the book, from what my husband tells me), and it's just not quite the thing a church school should be showing to young, impressionable sixth grade minds. Now, if it's something these kids see at home with their parents, or something you might show your kids, that's another matter. But here's my suggestion: don't bother with it. It's not that funny, despite being Jack Black. It's actually kind of boring. Maybe you just have to be with the right crowd, watching at a semi-late hour of the evening, I don't know. I didn't get it. Maybe you have to have read the book.


Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Second, I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in the theater the other day. If you like the Pirates movies and you like Captain Jack Sparrow, which I do, it's enjoyable enough. But again, I couldn't muster up enough enthusiasm to review it on its own. People seem to disagree with me here, but I miss Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan. I appreciated the characters of the missionary and the mermaid in this fourth Pirates movie to provide the missing balance, but at the end, I was disappointed even in that. It seemed to me that the missionary traded in his faith in God for faith in love, a very Hollywood-like idea but, obviously, disappointing to a true believer in God. Nick saw it a little differently, that the missionary's faith was renewed by love, but even he admits that perhaps that was wishful thinking. Good popcorn movie, but don't expect to be wowed.


Mao's Last Dancer
Finally, tonight I saw a movie I wanted to review. You've probably never heard of Mao's Last Dancer. I hadn't, but frankly, a preview of this movie on the disc for Black Swan was the one good thing I got out of that waste of time. Mao's Last Dancer is rated PG and is clean, linked only to Black Swan by the ballet, I guess. If you enjoy true dramas and beautiful, heartfelt dancing, you should definitely see this fascinating movie that passed under the radar just last year.

Li grows up in communist China under Chairman Mao's rule, the sixth son of a peasant, selected out of his small village school to train as a ballet dancer for China. He overcomes his small build and weakness to prove himself good enough to represent China in the United States. But the United States is not the picture he was painted in China, and he will have to make choices and sacrifices to pursue what he loves.

I suspected that this true story, based on Li's own autobiography, would be sad, and parts were, but it was amazingly, beautifully happy at its end. Though I know real life isn't always so neatly packaged (and perhaps some artistic license was taken to make this movie so), I am so much more satisfied and happy with a good ending, especially if a character struggled to get there. If this sort of story interests you at all, don't pass up the opportunity to see Mao's Last Dancer. It's a decent family movie, if you like to expose your children to other cultures and if they can sit through drama. The B-word and S-word are used briefly, and there is a short discussion on sex when two characters are kissing. It comes off as humorous since the Chinese boy doesn't understand the girl, but for those who are very selective in movie watching, you would want to at least be careful of which children see it.

Of those three, Mao's Last Dancer is the one to see, and it's the cultured, elegant pick, if you ask me.

Nick and Tim's Podcast: Young Adult Episode

There is an interesting discussion on young adult trends and my opinions on the latest, best young adult fiction on my husband's podcast with his friend Tim Deal. They asked me to be a guest and speak on what I know best, so if you are interested, here's the link to the young adult podcast on their Derailed Trains of Thought website. Enjoy!