A Blast from the Past: Stravaganza

One of my favorite books growing up was called Strazaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman. Mary Hoffman is a well known in Britain, having written over 90 books, but for most people in the United States she is relatively unknown. City of Masks is the first book in the Stravaganza series which was originally a trilogy (City of Masks, City of Stars, and City of Flowers) but has grown to include three more books (City of Secrets, City of Ships, and City of Swords). All six books were published by Bloombsbury, City of Masks was first published in 2002.

The books follow a teenager living in London (or thereabouts) in present time as they are transported to Talia (an alternate universe of Renaissance Italy). Lucien is the main character in City of Masks. The talisman that transports Lucien to Talia is a notebook given to him by his father because he is sick. In Talia Lucien meets Arianna who tells him about the custom in which young women must wear mask beginning at the age of 16, as decreed by the Duchess, Sylvia Bellini. The three main characters are different, yet share a common determination that appeals to both girls and boys. While it does not have the same type of overly dramatic action as Harry Potter it does have a good deal of action and the life-or-death feeling (especially for Lucien who could be trapped in Talia if he loses the journal) is clear. It is also interesting to see the story of the di Chimici family play out and how Hoffman is able to incorporate the di Medici lore into the book. I strongly recommend this series to anyone who has not read it. For more information visit the Stravaganza site.

The Harry Potter Generation

So for the second review/commentary (in 2 days no less!) I thought I would go with a series that has pretty much defined my generation. And no, I am not talking about Twilight, I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter. In seven books J.K. Rowling managed to encapsulate the entire growing-up process, create characters I could fall in love with, and determine what I wanted to do with my life. Well that last part took a little time, but I'd say now I'm pretty dang determined to make it in the publishing industry one way or another.

But anywho.... on to the books themselves.
My favorite book is probably either the the second one (it introduces us to Dobby) or the last one (it seemed fitting that I was applying to college just as the Harry Potter chapter in my life was closing). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (or Philosopher's Stone for my UK friends) will always hold a special place in my heart as the book that started it all. It is kind of funny looking back on it after nearly 15 years how much my view has changed on it. I hated Hermione for much of the first book (which is odd because I pretty much am her) and loved Ron, but as the books progress their roles kind of switched. I still love both characters, Ron just seemed to get more annoying, or maybe I was projecting about the boys around me, I don't know. The second book introduces my favorite creature from the world of Harry Potter: Dobby. He is the most infuriating little thing but I immediately grew attached to him. I think for some reason he reminds me of ET (one of my favorite movies of all time). It does make me sad that he is entirely CGI and not a puppet that I can go see at Harry Potter world or something....

Book 3. This was really the big "fan" beginning for me. I remember being really excited that the book came out. It is kind of middle-of-the-pack for me, though. Though I really wanted a time turner! It was nice to see that the supporting characters like Hargrid have a bigger role I felt like J.K. Rowling had a better idea of the Harry-Voldemort mythology than she explained which ended up being a little confusing. Harry Potter mania was definitely in full swing by the time the fourth book came out. I actually got the pre-order in my stocking as a Christmas present and was beyond thrilled. I was really excited to see the special effects in this book translated onto a movie screen and the storyline is great because we get to see the wider world outside Hogwarts, a theme Rowling continued for the next few books, but some of the characters seemed a bit flat.

Book 5. As a fan I hate to admit that the fist two times I read the book I just couldn't remember what was happening. It definitely isn't a favorite. I think it is all the mythology again. I didn't mind it so much after the seventh book when a lot of the things that happen make more sense, but still isn't the first Harry Potter book I'd be tempted to pick up. Book 6 was a big improvement for me over book 5 and marked the passing of a character that I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle. The ending had been spoiled by the time I had finished it a week after it came out, but Dumbledore is such a father figure for Harry that it crushed me to see him mourn.

Book 7. It was the end of an era. I actually really like book 7. It captures teenage-angst very well. The deaths nearly broke me though. The works was definitely Tonks and Lupin's because it was like history repeating itself with Teddy and Harry. Dobby's death and Fred's death are awful though too. It is like loosing a big brother and a pet/invisible friend all at the same time.

Well maybe I'll do more indepth thoughts on a book-by-book basis later because otherwise this will be a 23 page long blog post...

She Walked Away

I'm not a particularly religious person at all, but I absolutely love this song by BarlowGirl. It is one of my favorites. It is vaguely religious (it does ask him for help) but it doesn't necessarily have to be taken that way.
Saturday was an interesting day. I got to see my mom and dad for the first time since I've been back at school (and they got to skype with C, which was good). We went to the JA Scholars Brunch. It (luckily) wasn't nearly embarrassing as I thought it would be. I don't know how some people can just have the confidence to stand up and speak to a room full of people like that. Not me. I got a pretty little key chain too. The nice thing was that my parents got to meet S, A, & J who I talk about ALL the time. Which was nice. Put a name to a face and all. We walked around campus for a while, skyped with C and made a Boscovs run. I got pretty new rain boots that are pink & green plaid which is good since it is supposed to rain again. And a blanket because my roommate loves to keep the air on at night... and I don't.

After my parents left I went up to S's to watch Harry Potter. Not that we actually WATCHED Harry Potter. We discussed Harry Potter, did our nails, looked at wedding dresses, went on Pottermore and basically did everything but watch the freaking movie. And I loved it :-)