Coraline by Neil Gaiman

I've been waiting with bated breath for Coraline to be shown and it will be on the big screen next month. I'm a bit excited because I absolutely adore this book!

Coraline written by Neil Gaiman, is a story that is so weird that it's hard not to love it. I know everyone is pretty familiar with this story due to trailers of the upcoming movie but I'm going to say it again. It's about a girl who finds a door in her house, enters the door, and is taken to a parallel world similar to the world she just left. It is just like Alice in Wonderland but in a weird and scary way.

This book is pretty short but is jam-packed with a lot of hair-raising parts that you forget how short it is. It is not, in any way, too short, but IMHO, it felt longer. I also love the simplicity and straightforwardness of the story. The one thing that really scared me though were the black buttons that stood for the eyes! It was enough to send me to check under my bed for monsters! hehehehe

Another part that really scared me was the "return" of the other mother's right hand. It was scuttling about like Thing in The Addam's Family and was after the key. I could picture this hand doing something sinister to Coraline...and that was my imagination running away with me.
The books that I read had illustrations by Dave McKean and I thought it added to the feel of the book. This also added to how I imagined Coraline's world to be.

Seriously, I couldn't put this book down and I finished it in less than three hours. I highly recommend this book to those who love to get a good scare.

I give this book five stars. A must read.

Author Website: neilgaiman.com

Genre: Young Adult - Science Fiction/ Fantasy/ Horror

HarperCollins Publishers

Cross-post from Traipsey Turvey

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Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

I'd like to apologize for ditching Eragon for Twilight because I was just so excited to get my hands on it and understand Edward. I wasn't disappointed.

About three things I was absolutely positive.

First, Edward was a vampire.

Second, there was a part of him - and I didn't know how dominant that part might be - that thirsted for my blood.

And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.
~Isabella Swan

If you haven't read the book yet, I advice you to skip reading so as not to spoil your fun.

Plot [Taken from Book Sleeve]

I'D NEVER GIVEN MUCH THOUGHT TO HOW I WOULD DIE - I'd had reason enough in the last few months - but even if I had, I would not have imagine it like this...Surely it was a good way to die, in the place is something else, someone I loved. Noble, even. This ought to count for something.

When Isabella Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edward Cullen, her life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Wit his porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edward is both irresistible and impenetrable. Up until now, he has managed to keep his true identify hidden, but Bella is determined to uncover his dark secret.

What Bella doesn't realize is the closer she gets to him, the more she is putting herself and those around her at risk. And, it might be late to turn back...

My View
I admit that I was curious when I heard about the book Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer and because I am not one to rely on what others say, I decided to go ahead and read the book.

As I've said, if you have been reading my posts, I read New Moon and Eclipse first before reading Twilight. Some of you may view it as utterly weird and that I ruined the whole story because I didn't read the book as it should have been read and my views of the book may be affected by this slight mistake.

I would beg to differ. My thoughts of the matter haven't changed much, only that I have fallen under Edward's spell in Twilight. In my review for New Moon and Eclipse, I have stated that I was a fan of Jacob and I still am, in those books because I found it callous for Edward to treat Bella that way.

Now, back to the topic at hand, Twilight opens with Bella arriving at Forks and hating the gloominess of the small town. In school, she would meet the family, the Cullen Family, that would change her life forever.

Bella cannot begin to understand why she is drawn to someone as beautiful and perfect as Edward and she is also astounded, if not puzzled, with Edward's first reaction to her. Because this book is a one-sided account of Bella's view, I couldn't quite understand what Edward was feeling but I had a clue. This was also cemented when I read Midnight Sun, Edward's version of the story.

This time, I liked how Bella and Edward's romance developed. It was not full of the lovey-dovey stuff that you would expect a young adult romance book to be like. No, it was full of a insight and angst that one would expect from a Romeo-and-Juliet kind of love sans feuding families.

The story unfolds as Edward keeps on saving Bella's life resulting in Bella suspecting that Edward and his family is inhuman. It is Bella's insight and keen observation that ruins Edward's facade to be normal. I loved how Bella started to realize that Edward was a vampire and went on the Internet to do some research about it (go figure). What fascinated me was the Meyer's inclusion of Danag a Filipino vampire. I must admit that I haven't heard about that one before. When confronted by Edward about her realization, Bella handled it very well and was not repulsed by the knowledge.

The climax of the story was building up when Bella was introduced to Edward's family. The family consisted of seven vampires; Carlisle (Edward's father and his sire), Esme (Edward's mother and Carlisle's mate), Rosalie Hale (Edward's sister) and Emmet Cullen (Edward's brother, Rosalie's mate), Alice Cullen (Edward's sister) and Jasper Hale (Edward's brother, Alice's mate). Complicated, isn't it?

I definitely didn't love the part when James, a tracker, was challenged and was out for Bella's blood. It was quite disappointing really to find out that the actual fight wasn't written in the story and only short summaries were given by Edward as an explanation. I know this was so because it was written in Bella's point of view and when the attacks started, she had already all but lost consciousness. It would have been written in Midnight Sun however, someone already leaked the draft on the Internet so I am not expecting that book to be finished.

All in all, I loved this book better than the other three (yes, I'm done reading Breaking Dawn) and I'm giving it 4 stars. This time, Bella is not the weak creature that we where led to believe she is in New Moon and Eclipse but someone with so much strength in her and I wonder why Meyer went one-eighty on her character in the succeeding books in the Twilight series.

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Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

I finished the third book, Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer, after a few days of reading it. This time I thought this book had promise. It's basically a continuation of New Moon and is packed with a little bit of action.

If you haven't read the book yet, I advice you to skip reading so as not to spoil your fun.

Plot
The Twilight series is basically about star-crossed lovers; Romeo and Juliet, if you will. The twist is that the male protagonist, Edward Cullen, is a vampire while the female protagonist, Bella Swan, is human. That explains why both of them can't be together. This time, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. This book is more about choices and another love interest is introduced in the book.

Synopsis
It is almost graduation and Bella Swan had already asked the Cullen family to vote for her being a vampire. The family already decided to turn Bella into a vampire after graduation although no exact date had been set even though Edward wasn't too keen on this idea.

Bella already decided to be transformed into a vampire because she knew that if she would not become one, the Volturi would be after her. Sure enough, there was a crime spree in Seattle that had the Cullen family worried. They had already decided that the crimes were due to newborns (recently transformed vampires) where being made because of an impending war. Alice, Edward's sister who can see the future (sort of), had already foreseen that the new coven would attack them.

Because the coven had already assembled an army of 18 newborns, the Cullen's had no choice but to ask for help from the werewolves in La Push. At first, they thought that the Volturi where after Bella but Bella realized that it was Victoria who was the mastermind of the whole attack. The werewolves and the vampires formed a truce and decided to work together to eliminate the army while keeping Bella safe. The werewolf pack had already increased adding two new wolves to the pack, making them 10.

They had devised a way to trap the newborns and split them in two, while Edward and Seth, one of the new wolves, where to guard Bella in a place where they thought she would be safe. The battle ensued but Victoria and her accomplice caught Bella's scent and attacked. A fight ensued and her accomplice was killed by Seth while Edward eliminated Victoria.

My View
This time, I enjoyed the book. It wasn't the best, mind you but it was pretty good, especially when the fight ensued. I enjoyed the graphic description of the fight and could easily picture it in my mind.

I loved the part where Bella finally realized that she loved Jacob and was torn between him and Edward. Although she had chosen Edward over Jacob, I could see now that there is really love between them. I still thought that Bella was a tad weak, though. I guess it's just her personality but I just hate that she closed her mind to other possibilities.

It was insightful actually, when Jacob kissed Bella and she reacted passionately. It was, as Jacob put it, her first kiss. Even if she had kissed Edward, they couldn't explore their passion because he [Edward] was afraid of hurting Bella if he would lose control.

The epilogue of the book was all about Jacob. He had already given up his fight for Bella and received a wedding invitation between Edward and Bella. I found the epilogue interesting because it explored Jacob's feelings for Bella. As my previous post indicated, I am all for a Jacob and Bella relationship because I can still see that Jacob "loved her more."

I know I love vampires but the werewolf Jacob had an irresistible appeal to me. I know, I love bad boys!

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