School Books: Romantic Comedies (First Impressions)

I have decided to review the first couple of school readings together: dramatic romantic comedies. For my 16th Century Drama class, we are reading John Lyly's "Gallathea" and William Shakespeare's "As You Like It." I am going to call these "first impressions" because this is the first time I have read the two of them. (I will be rereading them for this class at least once more).

I found "Gallathea" extremely strange. It was rather hard to follow, with scenes and characters seeming to come randomly. The main plot, of Gallathea and Phillida having to disguise themselves as boys to avoid being sacrificed and falling in love with one another was rather funny. But I didn't like the happenings of the Dryads and Cupid. It seemed unnecessary filler. And the brothers who were looking to find someone to apprentice them, that also seemed like unnecessary filler.

On the other hand, I thought "As You Like It" was great! The play was well written (of course! It's Shakespeare!) and the plot was extremely entertaining. Everything seemed to have a purpose - nothing came across as unnecessary filler. The whole story came together beautifully in the end.

That was what I thought of the two romantic comedies. If the professor gives me any neat tidbits, I will post about them later on here. I will also be watching a few film versions of "As You Like It" by the professor's suggestion. I will probably be reviewing them on Shauna's World once I do.

The Boy from the Sun

I absolutely love this book! I think it is an extremely fun, rather trippy book that is about the power and fun of the imagination. I recommend it to everyone who has children, or takes care of children. It is simple, but it is fun.

It has also won the Governor General's Award, as well as a second award where children were the jury (I am blanking on the name). That means that both adults and children loved the book!

I first heard about the book last year in my second year Children's Lit class (I am now in the 3rd year class). Our professor read it to us one day when we were covering picture books. I fell in love with the book then! So I was extremely excited to find it on this year's course list - it meant I would be able to own a copy! :)

Duncan Weller came to my Children's Lit class today to talk about all three of his published books ("Night Wall" and "Space Snake" as well as "The Boy From the Sun"). He was a lot of fun listening to. He's worked incredibly hard on all of his books, and I really wish him all the best with his future endevors! (I'm also hoping to pick up copies of his other work when I can!)

Check out his website here!

Gypsy Morph pg 285

Alright, after asking around a little bit, it appears that all of the copies of The Gypsy Morph cut out randomly on page 285. Brooks' official website says that the chapter was planned that way - the character doesn't make it, and ends mid thought. I'm of the opinion that it should have ended with a dash then, to signify that the thought was cut off. But if that was the way it was planned, then so be it! (I just think the way it is it looks like the printers made a mistake or something!)

School Books

As I mentioned in my Library Breaks post, I am going to be reviewing everything that I read on this blog. As school is starting up again, I think it is only fair to include School Books, especially since I am taking english classes and many of the books I will be reading will not be text books in the traditional sense. I may not review everything, but I will definitely be posting on some of my favourites (stay tuned for Duncan Weller's The Boy from the Sun!)

The List Update

And with the conclusion of The Gypsy Morph, that brings the List total down to 89 books!!!! I've really read a lot of books over the summer, and even with the library books that I have read, I've managed to make a bit of a dent in the List so I am happy! :) I won't be able to read as many List books over the next few months due to school, but I may be able to knock off an anthology or two.

The Gypsy Morph

This one took me a little longer to read; I've been extremely busy all week, and wasn't able to read the way I did last weekend.

The Gypsy Morph picks up at the end of The Elves of Cintra. Angel Perez has helped the elves Kirisin and Simralin find the Loden Elfstone. Yet Angel was badly wounded, so in it up to Logan Tom to help the Elves save their city and the Ellcrys.

Meanwhile, the Gypsy Morph is getting as many people together as possible so that he can lead them to a place of safety against the coming destruction. He knows with certainty that everything that has happened to date will pale in comparison to the coming storm. He knows what he has to do, but he is operating almost solely on instinct, which is making people question him. But he is the world's only hope for a future.

The demons and their army of once-men lie in wait for the activation of the Loden, and also ready to chase Kirisin wherever he may go. Logan Tom has to help everyone, and hopes that the Word's promise of revenge will be fulfilled. And Angel Perez, now healed with the help of an elf, helps lead the children and protect the Gypsy Morph. The final book of Terry Brooks' Genesis of Shannara series brings everyone together, sometimes in very surprising ways! I enjoyed reading it, but overall I think my favourite of this series was The Elves of Cintra.

Oh, as an afterword, my copy of The Gypsy Morph has chapter 25 ending abruptly. The last sentence ends in the middle of a word! I'm not entirely sure if this was a printing error or what, but I have asked around on the internet for what page 285 is supposed to say. When I find out, I will let you know!

The Elves of Cintra

Yes, I know. I read this book in just over 24 hours. I started reading The Elves of Cintra almost right after I finished Armageddon's Children at just before midnight last night. And I finished it about two minutes ago.

The Elves of Cintra picks up right where Armageddon's Children left off. Logan Tom has found the Gypsy Morph, but almost immediately lost him. Yet there is no time to worry about it right now; an army of demons and once men have appeared and are attacking the city. Logan has to fight his way free and help the Morph's family get away as well.

But as the title of the book suggests, most of its story is more concerned with Angel Perez, charged with helping the Elves save the Ellcrys. She has joined forces with a couple of Elves while the rest of the Elven nation tries to thwart their efforts by order of their King. With no one to turn to for help, and hunted by demons, they set out on their own to find the mysterious talisman that will save the Elven nation from destruction by the demons.

The Elves of Cintra continues the masterfully told blending of two of Terry Brooks' epic series. I cannot wait to see how everything ends with The Gypsy Morph!