Book Review: Diagnosing Jefferson by Norm Ledgin

My rating: N/A

From Amazon: "Historians have long remarked on Thomas Jefferson's "peculiarities." But it took author Norm Ledgin, whose son has Asperger's Syndrome, to see what others did not. In this intriguing book, Ledgin carefully constructs a convincing case for the likelihood that Thomas Jefferson had Asperger's Syndrome. He matches Jefferson's behaviors with five diagnostic criteria for Asperger's: social impairment, preoccupation with "special interests," impairment in nonverbal communication, lack of emotional reciprocity, and inflexible adherence to nonfunctional routines. He also addresses other well-known signs of Asperger's, such as failure to recognize social cues, need for calming pressure, and indifference to peer pressure. A fascinating read!"

I expected this book to be an historical, factual treatise on the behavior of Thomas Jefferson and why the author believed Jefferson had Asperger's; but judging by the introduction and first chapter, it was not. (I only got that far, hence the N/A rating.)  The author instead repeatedly states that the only possibility is that Jefferson had Asperger's, and that everyone who thinks otherwise is wrong, without giving any explanation as to why they were wrong.  If you're right in your assertions, you don't have to repeatedly tell us that you're right; you have to show us.  Judging by others' reviews, this doesn't change later in the book, and I couldn't bring myself to finish it.  If anyone has read it though and would like to convince me to re-check it out from the library, please feel free. :)

Book Review: Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

My rating: 3.75/5

From Amazon: "Kendra and her brother, Seth, have no idea that their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws keep relative order among the greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. But when the rules get broken, powerful forces are unleashed, and Kendra and her brother face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save their family, Fablehaven, and maybe even the world, Kendra and Seth must find the courage to do what they fear most..."

This book reminded me of ones that I liked to read in elementary school (probably about 3rd-6th grades), so even just for that reason it gets a good review. I'm sure I would have loved it at that age, and even now I appreciated all the big vocabulary words the author used (cacophony, ethereal, cupola, etc.).  As an adult reading it though, the book doesn't quite span the young-adult/adult audience; I had a hard time keeping disbelief suspended.  The adult part of me was annoyed when Seth made (a multitude of) mistakes and when adults wouldn't explain important things, and I wanted the characters to be more believable.

As a kids book though, I think it all works very well. It kept a good pace, the kids (of course) save the day, it's an interesting world, and it has a basically happy ending with the promise of future adventures (this is book 1 of 5).  At 351 pages, it might be a little long for some, but I bet it's right up the alley of a voracious-reader kid. 

Book Review: Road to Perdition 2 by Max Allan Collins

My rating: 4/5

Road to Perdition 2: On the Road is not a sequel, but instead three small books in one that describe additional events from the time Michael Sr. and Michael Jr. were on the road (and on the lam) in Road to Perdition.

I enjoyed this one more than I did the first, though both are very good. In the beginning of this book, the author explains (on top of the fact that he liked the movie's interpretation of Mr. Looney/Rooney better than his, which I agree with) that he had intended to include all of this in one book, but was basically rushed to finish and couldn't include everything. And in this book's style of fuller story-telling, occasional humor, and better drawing to distinguish one character from another, I think it shows that he (and the artists) had more time.

I'm excited to read the rest of this series. The first two were both quick, enjoyable reads, and I just love the fact that one of my favorite movies was based on such a good book series. It isn't often you find both done right.

Book Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 2.5/5

From Amazon: "Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District 12."

Short of maybe two sections of the book that really sucked me in, I had a hard time completing this final book of The Hunger Games series (hence the more-than-two-month gap between this review and the last).  The premise is still great, but I feel like the author was maybe rushed to write both this and Catching Fire. The plot meandered and didn't quite make sense (everyone really things it's okay for Katness to keep going into these dangerous situations, and then she's constantly in distress?), and characters didn't feel as fleshed-out as they did in the first two books, including Katniss.

The love triangle didn't bother me in book 1, didn't bother me too much in book 2, and finally managed to bother me in book 3. Until near the very end, I really didn't care who Katniss ended up with and came very close to skimming sections devoted entirely to the Peeta/Gale conflict. And then... the explanation for whom she chooses (or rather why she didn't choose the other) was forced and really made no sense. Did Collins really have no plan whatsoever for how this would turn out? And if not, why did she spend so much time on it?

Also, the violence. Man, the violence. I obviously expect a war to be violent but the tone of the writing in this book (and the previous two) did not prepare me for the level of violence I ended up reading. Decapitations, burned-off flesh. It started to remind me of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children in that way, which wasn't good.

The world is still very interesting, and Collins' writing style is enjoyable. I just wish she'd had more time to really plan out the plot and to edit. It could've been so much better.

TV Show Review: The Dresden Files

My review: 4/5.

Though it was on the hokey side, "The Dresden Files" television series (based on the book series of the same name by Jim Butcher) was really entertaining and unfortunately short-lived. The abrupt summary from IMDB: "A Chicago-based wizard works as a private investigator." It may run as re-runs on the Sci-Fi channel (SyFy now, right?), but since we don't have cable, all I know is that at one point it was available on Netflix's instant queue.

Harry in this show is everything a viewer could ask for in a good-guy supernatural protagonist: he's sarcastic (but not too sarcastic), angsty (but not too angsty), smart and powerful but with plenty of screw-ups and weaknesses both past and present (see: angst), and an adult with a boyish sense of humor along with a healthy dose of maturity.  All of the other characters (Karin with the Chicago Police Department, Bob the ghost/mentor stuck in his long-dead skull, etc.) also exceeded my expectations after having read the first few books of the series; to the point that, if I may say so, the TV series outdid the books. Where the books try to make Dresden out to be Superman with the angst of a clique of teenagers (and is super sexist in most of what he notices about women, how he treats women, and in what he thinks about women, but all the women want him...?), Dresden in the TV series just IS powerful, and just HAS angst, without it being hammered into your consciousness every five minutes. And he isn't the pinnacle of fashion, but he isn't the sloppy bum the books describe him as either.  And he's shy in his occasional romantic moments and seems much more gentlemanly.

Anyway. tl;dr - I miss this show, and I wish the books were more like it.

Movie Review: The Woman in Black

My rating: 4/5

Based on the book of the same name by Susan Hill (which I have not read), this movie is good-scary. Creepy-scary. The kind of scary I like and can't often find. It's not gory, and it only has a couple of cheap-ish, jump-out-of-your-seat scares.  And it's a really good story to which I hope they make a sequel.  (UPDATE: They're making a sequel for 2014!)

My husband and I rented this expecting it to be bad, to be quite honest. We hadn't heard much about it and figured it was because Daniel Radcliffe hadn't been able to pull out of Harry Potter-mode. In the very beginning, he actually is very Harry-ish when interacting with his character's son, and I almost wrote the movie off right then. But after that, he made me forget that he was Potter and I was glued to the TV.  The atmosphere is great (anything with possessed Victorian wind-up dolls creeps me right out), the acting is great (after those first few bumps), and it made for a believably scary story that entertained my socks off (which is a feat, considering how much I love wearing socks.)  Radcliffe made me believe his mourning and desperation without going over the top, and I absolutely loved the ending. I am super excited and can't wait for The Woman in Black: Angels of Death.

Book Review: Road to Perdition by Max Allan Collins

My rating: 3.75/5

From Amazon: "Depression-era Chicago: a city riding a tide of liquor and blood, ruled by guns, graft, and gangsters. At the top of the heap is Al Capone... and Capone's most feared hitman is Michael O'Sullivan, known to friends and enemies alike as the "Angel of Death". But when Sullivan's eight-year-old son witnesses a gangland execution, father and son find themselves facing off against the most merciless gangster of all time."

This is the graphic novel on which the movie of the same name (which is awesome) is based.  I didn't even know until recently that the movie was based on a book, so, it being one of my favorites, I decided to read the original story.

This is one of the best graphic novels I've read, though I'm not big into them (so, small pool from which to compare).  But, and maybe if I hadn't seen the movie first I wouldn't feel this way, the book makes for a more realistic plot, while the movie makes for a better story.  The ending isn't as good (though I'm still looking forward to reading the sequels), and some key plot points are, in my opinion, done better in the movie. And even though there's no way I'd ever be able to draw as well as Richard Piers Rayner, I had a hard time following along sometimes because some characters were drawn too similarly, or some frames of the same character were not drawn similarly enough.

Still a good, quick read, and I'd recommend it to fans of the movie.