Posts

Showing posts from March, 2017

My Top Literary Picks of 2016

Obviously, I wasn't able to read every book published last year, but I did read a large [two-digit] number of them. Below are listed my top 6 releases of 201 6 . Enjoy, and happy reading! 1. Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare (5 stars) 2. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows (5 stars) 3. Stars Above by Marissa Meyer (5 stars) 4.  Salt to the Sea  by Ruta Sepetys (4 stars) 5.  Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter (4 stars) 6.  Crooked Kingdom  by Leigh Bardugo (4 stars) My rating criteria includes, among other things, plot, characters, maturity of writing style...and, of course, how much I never wanted to put the book down. *find me on Goodreads @ goodreads.com/hattiejean*

Review: The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma

**contains spoilers**   4 stars. This book, for me, was hard to rate. I absolutely loved the first chapter; I was hooked right from the beginning. The writing style was absolutely fabulous. It was super twisty. The way the author would repeat words or use a carefully placed metaphor painted a beautiful picture of the plot.   I also was really intrigued by the setting of the girls' prison. It was so sad that, even though (most of) the girls there had done terrible things, they were treated so terribly. It was heartbreaking to hear the thoughts and know the feelings of some of the "inmates." I was surprised to find in this book ghosts and people who could see the future. I picked up this book because the blurb said one of the characters was a ballet dancer. However, the paranormal-ness fit right in and I loved that almost spooky aspect of the novel. Unfortunately, about halfway through, I became somewhat disenchanted with the book.   Vee at first was, to me, a v...

Hot Chocolate and Hot Cocoa: There IS a Difference.

                 Few people besides foodies understand the consequential differences which separate hot cocoa from the class of hot chocolate. This widespread ignorance only serves to hurt the consumers themselves and damage the reputation of hot chocolate everywhere, resulting in mislabeling wintertime drinks and an absence of the true joy which could be felt in wisdom.             Contrary to popular belief, hot chocolate and hot cocoa are not synonymous titles. Hot chocolate has a long and noble past, one of hard work and effort leading to the creation of the drink of kings and princes, while hot cocoa is a watery substitute for the poorer masses of society, a con’s tool, one used to dupe the unaware into accepting less than they could have if they only knew better.             The fundamental difference: hot chocolate is a wo...

The "F" Word

Feminism is a dirty word. Kicking men like puppies, belittling mothers who have chosen the family path, burning bras—feminists the world over have become a symbol for man-hatred and aggression. But this is not and need not be the case. Feminism: a word symbolizing unity, a word embodying peace and equality, an idea of possibilities for strength and harmony. Feminism should mean women and men standing together, working together for equality—not women working together against men, standing together to belittle the opposite gender. Feminism—equal pay, equal representation, equal standards. Equal opportunity. The first feminists did not fight for the right to shun the domestic sphere; rather, they fought for the right to choose the domestic sphere. Mary Wollstonecraft, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton—these women were not anti-family, anti-marriage, or anti-man, only anti-injustice. The traditionalism they opposed boxed them into one corner—cleaning, cooking, caring for c...