Double Book Review: Never the Sinner and Thrill Me

Since watching Swoon I've been very interested in the Leopold-Loeb case, especially the controlling, disturbed relationship between the two, where they made a pact that if Leopold helped Loeb with his criminal activities, Loeb would love him in return. Never the Sinner by John Logan and Thrill Me: the Leopold and Loeb Story by Stephen Dolginoff go into detail about the pact the two boys made, and speculate as to what their relationship was like behind closed walls. I felt somewhat like a fly on the wall reading the scenes, which is always a good feeling with cases where not very much is revealed!

The characters were not as loathsome as I anticipated (except for perhaps Richard Loeb, though I did feel a bit sorry for him in the song "Afraid", when he realised he wasn't the master criminal or Übermensch that he fervently believed he was, and became afraid to be executed), and I actually really liked the portrayals of Nathan in these two plays/musicals. Nathan is easily my favourite character out of the two, though I do think that what they did to poor Bobby Franks was despicable.

Both of them were intriguing plays and really made my inner thespian self want to see them on stage; however, both of them were very short for books that cost ten pounds, and it left me wanting more. My favourite out of the two was Thrill Me, as the twist at the end had me on the edge of my seat, suddenly feeling not-so-sorry for Nathan Leopold, whom I'd always sympathised with for feeling like he had to do dirty work to get his relationship with Richard to work, and slightly disturbed over the lengths he'd go to to keep Loeb to himself. The songs were also very catchy and I could hear them naturally being sung, even though I haven't heard the audio tracks for the musical before. Also, the fact that there were only two characters made the obsession between the two boys more obvious and prominent through the way they only had each other to talk to, to rely on.

Son of a Witch - Gregory Maguire

Son of a Witch was just as good as Wicked, but this time there were dragons, which marked it slightly higher in my books! It was also slightly gorier than the first novel in the series, which I liked if I'm going to be honest. It wasn't quite horror, but it was edging upon it, talking about the mysterious 'scrapings' and bloodshed.
 

In Son of a Witch, Liir questions his parenthood - is Elphaba his mother or not? - tries to find Nor again, and gets attacked by dragons, leaving him in a coma. From then he meets Candle and Trism, forming a love triangle that gets rather complex at times owing to his confused feelings for them both. The ending was ambiguous, and I need answers! Does Liir ever find Nor? What happened to Candle and Trism, where did they go? Who does he choose between the two? Is peace ever restored to Oz? I'm very intrigued, and am currently reading A Lion Among Men.

I really liked the character Liir, as he's developed a lot since Wicked, from a small chubby boy to a brave soldier and deserter, trying to find his way in the world. His relationship with Candle and Trism interested me, as I never knew which one he loved more. On one hand he slept with Trism twice of his own free will, and it seemed he had quite a loving relationship with him, but on the other hand he had a daughter with Candle and feels responsible for that... To be honest I prefer him with Trism, as with Candle, he was raped by her and guilt-tripped into looking after their baby; he didn't really have a choice with her, whereas he could have balked out of his relationship with Trism - which could have got him in a lot of trouble - but stood by his side the whole time.
If any fans of the Wicked Years are reading this, what did you think of the relationship between Candle and Liir? It said that he loved her, but I always saw it as a bit forced and abrupt, seeing as she was the one that rescued him from a coma. I'm undecided whether I like Candle or not.

I'm looking forward to finding out the answers in the next two books, but then again I'll be sad about finishing them!

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Recently I have fallen under the wicked spell of Gregory Maguire's Wicked: Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, to the point where I was feeling lost when I'd finished the book. It was so lucid and imaginative that I literally felt like I was there in the strange land of Oz by Elphaba's side!

Whilst I couldn't even begin to describe the synopsis (so much happens, and in places it is completely different from the musical), I can just say that it follows the life of Elphaba as she grows up, goes to Shiz academy, meets Glinda and all her other friends, and leaves school because of political troubles in Oz. She tries hard to get social justice for Animals after the death of Professor Dillamond, and becomes something of a terrorist as she grows up and rebels against the all-powerful Wizard. Elphaba seems to not have a place she can call home in Oz, and wanders from place to place, even becoming like a nun at one point, until her unfortunate death from the sweet, clueless, and rather dumb Dorothy. These are just the bare outlines, as there are so many characters that we get to learn about and love, and so many lands and provinces of Oz that are lushly described, that it is hard for me to pinpoint and describe my love for just one of them! All I can say is that the genre is fantasy for adults, and it completely warps the story of the Wizard of Oz, perhaps for the better.

I liked the way all aspects of relationships were considered in Wicked, rather than just straight-forward, straight relationships. I was pleasantly surprised that there were rather a lot of gay, lesbian and bisexual characters, as most of the books I have read mostly overlook LGBT people, whereas Wicked had all sorts of relationships - as they say, it takes all sorts to make a world (especially a world as fantastic and strange as Oz)! The relationship between Frex, Melena and Turtle Heart was especially interesting, and I also liked to believe that there was a hint of something between Elphaba and Glinda, even if Fiyero was the love of Elphaba's life.
The mentions of fashions in this book was glorious, especially Glinda in her bright frills and bustles. I'd quite like to make some costume designs based on some of the descriptions in this story. 
Another thing I admired was how complex the world of religion and politics was in Oz. My head was spinning, it was so complicated, though I do mean this in the best way possible.

I loved the character of Elphaba even more than I did in the musical, and perhaps liked Glinda a little less than I did in the musical - funny how these things change. Elphaba is snarky and ultra confident despite her unusual skin colour, and I just love her wit and courage, as well as the fact that she was also capable of love for family and friends - usually characters of her description are seen as cold and unfeeling, yet I got quite a lot of vibes of passion and warmth from her, even towards people that she sees as annoying or inferior.
Glinda is snobby and mean at first towards her roommate Elphaba, but they soon become great friends. She is seen as kind and gentle, but rather superficial and selfish, especially towards the end of the novel. This made me like her a little less, though she still remains one of my favourites.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and can hardly wait to read the rest of the series at some point! My New Year's resolution is to read more this year.

Kamikaze Girls - A Second Glance

For some reason, when I go to France I take Kamikaze Girls with me, or end up wanting to write some Kamikaze Girls fanfiction. Some kind of weird, self-inflicted tradition, perhaps? Who knows, but I have had a lot of fun reading it for the second time, and I even finished it over a couple of days. Whilst reading I picked up on more things that I didn't notice the first time around, and got to squeal over the final line of the book - so cute and fluffy!

The pace of the book and the way Momoko relates the events in her and Ichigo's life sometimes seems to be abrupt and almost lifeless at first, making it occasionally a bit of a dull read - though at a second glance, it appears that the way it is written embodies her indifferent personality, and almost a lack of emotions in some cases. I haven't read any of Novala Takemoto's other books yet (though I really want to see what the Kamikaze Girls sequel and Emily are like), so it would be interesting to see if that tone is conveyed in all these books, or just this character or English translation. No offense is intended if it just happens to be the author's style - I just found it rather different to other books I've read, where emotion is the main focus.

I've also noticed that there is a slight romantic tension between Ichigo and Momoko, even though the girls are sometimes unsure whether they're friends or mere acquaintances. Maybe I just have my femslash goggles on, but there sometimes appears to be flirtatious sparring between the duo. "Hey, Momoko, what am I to you?" made me wonder, as did the way both are wary around men, find them disgusting and crude, etc, and obviously the last line of the book where Momoko laid her head down on Ichigo's back, "like a lover". There are also parallels to the 'butch and femme' stereotypes/examples of real and fictional relationships, as well as many other examples that I've forgotten to include here.
Obviously Ichigo is not a lesbian, as she falls in love with Mr Slick and is heartbroken when it turns out he's Akimi's boyfriend and fiance, but at the same time she had a lot of dogmatic admiration and respect for Akimi, that borders on love almost...
As for Momoko, she admits right out that she may have a mild case of being fearful of men and boys, and calls them a variety of things along the lines of 'ew, gross'.
It may not be the case, but I ship them anyway like the annoying fangirl I am! 

The book was also a lot courser in language than I remembered, and Ichigo reminded me a LOT of my character Cherry from When the Summer Ends, that I'm writing! I think subconsciously I based a lot of my novel on Kamikaze Girls, though I've never intended it to be a direct copy. I was alarmed at how many similarities there are!

The sweet bits are very, very sweet, and the sour bits are very, very sour. Even though Momoko's tone is the way it is, there's no escaping the extremes of the novel; i.e. shopping at Baby the Stars Shine Bright, meeting Sir Isobe and being invited to design for the brand is sweet, and all the violence and gang wars where Ichigo is almost killed is a very tense moment. As is the black and white opposites of dress and personality, happiness and sadness, and their individual philosophies, especially on the subjects of loneliness and friendship.
There is actually a lot of thought in this work, despite the initial tone and outwards appearance of being a teenyboppers' novel. I really enjoyed it and it made me want to visit Baby again, though I know it's not happening anytime soon.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Agatha Christie

This is my first Agatha Christie book read since I was eleven, so I was very excited to get started. Thus, I started it on the train to London and finished it within a couple of evenings. Mainly it was to gain inspiration for a future Jeeves and Wooster fanfiction with a darker, murder-mystery theme (scandalous considering P.G. Wodehouse writes some of the cheeriest books around, right?), but also because I was craving more of that late 1910s-1920s thrill. Did it satisfy my current fascination? Yes, it did! From the first couple of chapters I was hooked, already inwardly blaming literally everyone for the death of Mrs Inglethorpe!

I wanted a story specifically with poison in it, which my Mother (being a avid Agatha Christie fan) helped me to find from her collection. Sadly she got rid of quite a lot of books, donating them to charity some time ago, so I couldn't find the first ever Agatha Christie book I read. Coincidentally, however, I think this was the first novel that Christie had published, so it was quite fitting.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is set from Arthur Hasting's point of view, where we learn his inner thoughts about the murder case, who he suspects (namely the dark, mysterious Mr Inglethorpe that everyone loathes for some reason), and Poirot. Whilst Hastings was a bit of a disappointing, very predictable character to me - too much like a lot of young men in books during that era, falling in love quickly and proposing that instant, reminding me of Bingo Little! - I really, really like Poirot.

Poirot is the quick-witted, secretive (and somewhat cute for some odd reason - just read how Christie describes him!), slightly eccentric Belgian detective that never fails to unravel a mystery. He is a refugee of WW1 staying in an English cottage on Mrs Inglethorpe's property. I love his pedantic manners, the way he teases Hastings by not revealing his thoughts and methods, and how one tiny little thing doesn't escape his notice.
Another character I liked was Miss Howard. Her personality and mannerisms seemed very robust to me, and I like the way she communicated in short "telegram-like" sentences. 

After much twisting and turning, making me suspect almost everyone of the murder, it is solved by Poirot after some divine inspiration, and everyone gets their happy ending - except for poor Mrs Inglethorpe who died, the murderers, and Mr Hastings who was rejected by the girl he just met...
I'll be sure to read another Agatha Christie book sometime soon, as I loved it!

The String of Pearls - Thomas Preskett Prest

This is the best book I've read for quite a long time, I have to say. I picked it up years ago when I was first getting interested in Victorian literature, but at the time it was very complex and hard-going for me, and even though I lasted the duration of the penny dreadful, I only understood about half of it. But this time I loved it! I also realised that it was set in the Georgian period - oops! - although I still continued to imagine the world pretty much the same as in the Tim Burton horror film.
I'll bet that many people are familiar with the story of Sweeney Todd, perhaps from the aforementioned film. It is very popular in Gothic and Steampunk themes on the internet, and has even inspired musicals! (Really, The String of Pearls is the last book I'd expect to see made into a musical, but Tim Burton did it fabulously, and there you go).
Many know that he is a barber on Fleet Street, serial killer of his customers, and then allows Mrs Lovett to dispose of the bodies into meat for pies. But in the original story I saw more angles to the characters, such as Sweeney Todd's greed and lust for money, as well as his despicable, callous nature, and hideous appearance and mannerisms. Some of that was lost in the film, from what I can remember, and I'd say that any fans of the Sweeney Todd world should invest in a reading of the Preskett Prest novel for a deeper understanding.
Speaking of character development, I found that Mrs Lovett wasn't as well-rendered, understandable, or developed as she is in the Tim Burton musical. We only see a meeting between Mrs Lovett and Mr Todd near the very end of the novel, and none of what is exchanged suggests any emotion besides a cool business-like relationship. In a way, this makes me like her less (as in the musical and portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter she was my favourite) as she seems even more psychopathic and inhumane, but at the same time it suggests a lot about her - such as that she cannot feel love or emotion for fellow human beings, as opposed to her love for Todd and Tobias in the musical.
As for Tobias, I loved him a lot in this story edition. I could feel his sadness and desperation to escape from the madhouse, and I was rooting for him through the whole ordeal! Again, there are new dimensions that are not touched upon in the musical.
More characters are introduced and explained that the reader could sympathize and relate to, such as Johanna Oakley, who longed to be reunited with her lover who went missing, leading her to believe that he was killed by Sweeney Todd. She was really brave throughout, and her family situation gave me plenty of shocks and laughs!

The story twists and turns so that the reader hardly feels that some little bits and pieces are unnecessary, but in the end I realised that everything is related to each other in some kind of richly-woven tapestry in Preskett Prest's plot. I felt that the plot was extremely intriguing, so much that I didn't want to put it down, but certain things - such as Sweeney Todd's incredibly suspicious behaviour and speech - made a lot of things so glaringly obvious. Even so, the climax and ending (my absolute favourite part especially where the pie shop is concerned) is absolutely, shockingly terrifying  and optimistic at the same time.
I'll definitely be giving this book a re-read sometime.

René and Me - Gorden Kaye

Right now I've gotten a taste for autobiographies after reading the amazing Malala Yousafzai book I got for Christmas! I recently bought this book and finished it really quickly, as it kept me engaged all the way through, despite it being an autobiography.

It was written in 1989 and basically out of print, so I ordered it from a second hand bookstore through Amazon. Surprisingly, the book itself only cost a measly penny (which is bad for poor Gorden, the author, but good for buyers), yet the shipping was 2 pound 80, which is still really reasonable for an old book. 

I wasn't expecting much, to be honest. But when I opened the front cover... it was SIGNED by Gorden Kaye!

I'm really excited, as he is the main character from one of my favourite comedies, Allo Allo! Not only that, but through reading this it seems that he's also really lovely, modest and down-to-earth, regardless of being a well-known, talented actor.

In Allo Allo he plays René, who being a lady-magnet-type heterosexual man, comes across as slightly homophobic when the adorable Lieutenant Gruber flirts with him. I bought this because as well as being a big fan of Allo Allo, I heard that Gorden Kaye was actually a closeted homosexual until partway through the show, when his secret was revealed and he felt his world was about to come crashing down, which interested me considering the character he was playing. Me being a lesbian, I would absolutely refuse to take on even slightly prejudiced roles - and perhaps even straight roles, if I'm to be completely truthful - if I were an actress. That aside, I can sympathise with Mr Kaye completely on the tough time he went through, as "coming out" is a very scary situation, especially when you've been forced by another to do so.

I found it really intriguing to know the background of one of my favourite actors, and what I got from this story was very uplifting; if a painfully shy, working-class boy can get through the sadness of life and achieve such success, then everybody should strive to do the same.

Apparitions: Ghosts of Old Edo by Miyuki Miyabe

Apparitions: Ghosts of Old Edo by Miyuki Miyabe is described by goodreads as:

"In old Edo, the past was never forgotten. It lived alongside the present, in dark corners, and in the shadows. In these tales, award-winning author Miyuki Miyabe explores the ghosts of Japan, and the spaces of the living world they inhabit. Written with a journalistic eye and a fantasist’s heart Apparitions bring the restless dead, and those who encounter them, to life."

As the blurb can most likely tell you, the book is full of intrigue and suspense, so much that I couldn't put it down for a minute! It ranges from mildly creepy ghost stories to extreme horror, yet all of the stories are captivating, making you want to read more and more. All of the scenes are elaborately described in an eloquent style, enabling the reader to get a clear picture of old Japanese life, even if they know hardly anything of the history or culture back then. It even taught me an awful lot about the belief in ghosts and superstition in those times (my guess is that it's extremely well-researched), such as the 49 day wait for the spirit of a departed one to leave the earth.

A lot of the stories were written about the masters and mistresses of the shops, as well as their working class workers that lead fairly miserable lives. The stories reek of death and despair, and touches heavily upon the themes of domestic servitude, apprenticeship and squalor. 

My favourite short story was called "A Woman's Head" as it was the most intense story of all, in my opinion. There were many more that I loved, but this one stood out to me as it was from a young boy's point of view, as opposed to an adult's.

Claudia's Story by Ashley Marie Witter / Anne Rice

For my birthday I received this stunning comic adaption of Interview with the Vampire from my grandparents. Can I just say now, that this is the most beautiful graphic novel or manga that I've ever read! Everything about it was so wonderfully executed, and the artist's style is absolutely gorgeous!

From the illustrations, to the (of course, as it was written by Anne Rice) brilliant story, and even the presentation of the book itself was excellent; a sleek, hardback book with a blood red dust jacket.

The drawings are done on a pale sepia background that is textured, almost although aged with time, in monotone shades with the frequent splattering of red blood. Naturally, there are many chrysanthemums included throughout the pages - one of the symbols fans associate with Claudia. The endless reams of delicate, intricate clothes and bonnets and jewellery are a pleasure to look at, and honestly, I think I may have drooled once or twice... In literally every couple of pages, Claudia has a change of wardrobe, and every time I am left amazed and incredibly envious of both the artist's talent, and Claudia's own wardrobe!

I have no holes to pick whatsoever in this adaption of the story, as it was just flawless, giving details about Claudia's innermost feelings that the book did not reveal, as it was all from Louis' point of view. The language was dead on, and everything about it - including the eloquent tone - was just perfect.

This book would make a beautiful edition to any Vampire Chronicles lover's bookshelves. I just love it; 10/10! 

Leave it to Psmith by P.G. Wodehouse

Here is another really funny, brilliant Blandings novel by P.G. Wodehouse! I have to admit, this series is growing on me really fast, especially the character of Lord Emsworth! In this particular book we can expect more dark plots - this time to steal a necklace from Lord Emsworth's sister, Lady Constance - many strangers and imposters on the grounds of Blandings Castle, and doubtlessly, plenty of silliness.

Another character was introduced in this book, Psmith - with a silent 'P'. He seems very confident (except for when the dreaded topic of fish is introduced) and amiable, even going so far as to put an add in the papers for any kind of job, hence the title of the book. At first I found him very agreeable and funny, especially the way he goes off on a tangent about every single subject, so people have to tell him to shut up most of the time - but after a while, his chattiness can seem a little bit irritating, especially where Eve Halliday is concerned.
He is completely in love with her, but because of his rather large ego - in my opinion - seems to go a bit far, just like Freddie Threepwood, in proposing to her. They make a nice couple when Eve finally gives in to all his proposals, probably like most girls in the early 20th century, and I think he would be a lovely husband, I just think that some aspects of their relationship was a tad forced; especially where Psmith impersonates a guest of the castle just so he could chase after her and see her more often, as he knew she was working there... Plus, at one point Eve breaks in to his house because she suspects he stole the diamond necklace (which she was actually trying to steal for the same reason as Psmith; to help the same friend!) and completely tears the whole cottage apart looking for the thing, as well as coming across as very hostile towards him. And when he finds her there... which was a very scary moment for a usually light-hearted P.G. Wodehouse novel... he points a revolver at her, terrifying her half to death, as well as poor love-struck Freddie hiding up in the attic!

Lady Constance Keeble was also introduced in this novel, and I didn't think she was so bad until I watched the Blandings TV series with Jennifer Saunders as an actress; she is very scary then! I do feel sorry for her that her necklace was stolen from her, even though it was to raise money for her family member to own a farm with her husband, as Constance previously refused to support her because of said husband. Also, through this novel, I find that my opinion of Baxter was quite justified; he is annoying in this novel, also, to the point where Lord Emsworth and Psmith thought he had gone mad.

Overall, I thought the second book in the Blandings series was fun and entertaining, even with some suspense in places, but next time I would like to see a more different plot line, as in the previous book something was stolen also...

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Although I absolutely adore the Victorian period of English history and own many books about the Victorians, usually I find it hard to read books written during that time, as the language is sometimes difficult to understand as it's very different to what writing styles are like nowadays... Surprisingly, this was not the case, and I absolutely adored this novel by Charles Dickens! The language was straightforward enough for me to read without getting a headache, and the story was a lot more interesting than I had been expecting. In fact, it has made its way into my list of favourite books!

We were studying the novel for English Literature in my school, so that's where I was told to read it, as there's no reason why I would read a "Christmas" novel in the middle of November. Still, it was most enjoyable, and more of a morality tale, and even a ghost story, really. Dickens was renowned for writing books about the awful conditions the poor people suffered as a result of the rich Capitalists, as he himself had suffered a terrible childhood full of poverty. So we got to learn about the background of the story, as well as looking into the staves in great detail, analysing every little detail about how Scrooge is changing over the course of the book. 

Scrooge is a miserable, selfish old man who lives alone and keeps every penny to himself; he hates Christmas and detests the poor, saying that if they were going to die, then let them do it and "decrease the surplus population"... He was a terrible man that had no compassion at all, and was often described as having hard, cold features, but after terrifying, enlightening visits from four spirits, he changes his attitude for the better and becomes a truly wonderful, happy, caring man.

Some parts are really frightening, some are terribly sad - namely where Scrooge becomes aware of all the mistakes he made and breaks down crying - but at the end of the book I am left feeling very touched, as well as a lot more knowledgeable about just how hard it was being a Victorian person living in poverty. I had watched the Jim Carey version of the film when it first came out in the cinema, which was brilliant, but I think you should really read the book, too, to get a feel for Victorian literature.

I know Scrooge was at first perhaps the most contemptible character ever written about (except for Voldemort, maybe...) but I find him incredibly fascinating. He must be one of my favourite characters too, as he is so deep and complex, which contributed to the awful personality he gained over all those years. However, it gives me a LOT to analyse - which I like to do - so I found him very interesting. His past is very intriguing, and so is his completely wrong view of live, in my opinion. Even through his bitterness, even when he was feeling complete terror, in a way he was rather amusing, with a lot of character. "There's more a gravy than a grave about you," made me laugh, as he was in denial about Jacob Marley's apparition. And when he gradually changes through the course of the book, I'm so happy that he finds happiness and joy, as well as a love for Christmas and compassion towards all the poor, especially the Cratchits. He is truly wonderful when he changed, almost as jovial as Father Christmas himself!

 
My favourite scene was where Scrooge had just gotten home from work and was about to settle down for the evening, when he gets a warning from his old friend and partner, Marley. Scrooge can't believe that the ghost is real, so he has a conversation with the ghost about not believing in him. The part where Marley drags himself, wrapped in heavy chains, throughout Scrooge's dark, empty house created an incredible tension for the reader, and my heart actually started beating faster when I read it! Also, in Stave 1, I enjoyed the part where Marley flies back out into the night through Scrooge's window, where Scrooge suddenly becomes aware of all the spirits in the world and how they're all tied down by chains. It was a really spooky moment, especially as I was listening to Sonata no. 2 in b. flat minor, OP. 35, Grave "Funeral March" by Chopin at the same time!

Something Fresh by P.G. Wodehouse

Indeed, this book was something fresh for me! Books like these from P.G. Wodehouse make a nice change from the horror stories I usually read. I bought a whole series of these back in the summer, and I'm so glad I did, because I'm hooked on the series now!

 The story is a part of the Blandings Castle series and follows Lord Emsworth, a fluffy-brained, forgetful, dreamy man, and his large family. Lord Emsworth is very eccentric, with an obsession for collecting things for his museum. His son - whom he isn't particularly fond of - Frederick, is engaged to a rich American man's daughter, Aline. He is asked to visit their town house one afternoon, and being so forgetful, he goes home with the equally-strange Mr Peter's prize jewel, the Cheops of the 4th Dynasty, in his pocket! Needless to say, trouble soon ensues, including two imposters at Blandings, both with the same mission in mind. 

I find this story irresistibly hilarious, and I had a smile on my face the whole time! My favourite character, naturally, was Lord Emsworth, who forgets literally everything, which leads to so many misunderstandings on his part! He's like Bertie Wooster going senile - which is actually really sad when you think about it - but it is played in a really lighthearted manner in Something Fresh. His favourite activities included pottering about the garden with his flowers and messing around in his museum, plus, his pig. There's obviously nothing dark or mysterious going on in his world, one of the many reasons why I think he's adorable.

Ashe Marson and Joan Valentine were my other favourites, and make a really great couple, too! It was interesting to see things from their point of view, as they're not exactly well off like most of the characters in Wodehouse's books; so we get to see how things work downstairs at Blandings.

As for my least favourite characters, I can't really say I like the Efficient Baxter (or "Nosy Parker" as the staff at Blandings call him). He seems really alert and on-the-ball, but irritating and overly-suspicious most of the time. That's just my opinion though. But I suppose it mainly stems from the way he was trying to thwart my favourite characters' plans.

Grimm's Fairytales

I couldn't resist buying the collector's edition of this book whilst holidaying in Boston, it was just so beautiful! I've heard a lot of good things about these stories, so it was well worth buying.

These stories were absolutely terrifying, and well, grim... What I often thought was, "how on earth was this made into a Disney film?!" Honestly, they're disturbing, especially seeing as Disney is so sweet and fluffy.

1. Cinderella
This follows the plot of the Disney cartoon obviously, but its much more morbid. Cinderella's step-sisters are absolutely vile, and not 'ugly' as the cartoon states. For most of the tale, Cinderella spent most of her time crying at her mother's graveside, and often sang to her bird friends when she wasn't slaving in the home. One thing that really sickened me was the fact that her father just gave up on her once his wife died, and only cared for his new family, including the step-daughters. He went out of town and asked his daughters what they'd like him to bring back as a present; one answered beautiful dresses, and the other asked for pearls. And what did Cinderella ask for? A tree branch... She planted this branch and it magically grew into a massive tree over a period of a few days, and whatever she asked the birds for, they would throw it down from the treetop, including three gorgeous ball gowns of gold and silver. She goes to the ball after crying some more, and the prince falls in love with her beauty and wouldn't let anyone else dance with her, saying "she is mine", which was rather ironic seeing as he didn't even know her name. After going to the balls a couple of times, he decides that he wants to marry her, so goes about people's houses, asking girls to try on the gold slipper that Cinderella left behind. As the Step-mother expected one of her daughters to marry the prince, she went as far as to convince one to cut off their big toe, and the other to chop off part of their heel, all in order for the slipper to fit! The prince almost fell for it, if it weren't for the birds telling him to look at the pools of blood inside the shoe, which I thought was really stupid; surely he would have known what Cinderella looked like if he really loved her! So, he finally finds Cinderella and the slipper fit, so they got married. Hoping to gain benefit from the Royal wedding, the step sisters attended her wedding, where the birds aforementioned swooped down out of the sky and pecked both their eye balls out, so they lived a crippled life of blindness... Nice!

2. Snow-White and Rose-Red
This story wasn't anywhere near as revolting, but just plain weird. These two sisters lived with their elderly mother, and one winter's day this talking bear knocked on their door and asked to be warmed by their fire! If this wasn't weird enough, it turned out that he was actually a prince (like everybody else in this book) that was turned into a bear by this really rude goblin/gnome creature. When he was transformed back into a human by killing the goblin, he married one of the sisters, and his brother married the other sister... And all this while, I was convinced that the two girls were aged 7-10 and the man/bear was about thirty or so...

3. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Okay, this story really took the biscuit... Well obviously the evil queen tries to kill Snow-white because of jealousy over her being "the fairest of all", so Snow White joins the Seven Dwarfs and they agree to hide her - just as long as she does all the housework, cooking, cleaning, sewing, mending, etc. I thought this was really harsh, especially seeing as she was seven years old. The dwarfs tell her not to let anybody inside the cottage whilst they were working in the mines, but of course, she does. The evil queen is in disguised as various cold callers - including a woman who tightened her corset! - and almost kills her twice, but somehow she was always resuscitated. On the third death attempt by a poisonous apple, everyone thinks she's dead. So they bury her in a glass coffin so that they could see her body from all angles! And if you didn't think that was disturbing enough, one of the many princes in Grimm's world happens to be riding past when he falls in love with the corpse and asks if he could keep her for his collection! Collection of what exactly?! The dwarfs let him have her because of how pathetic he was being, and whilst transferring the corpse to his castle, the coffin was dropped, which caused the apple to come out of Snow White's throat. So, needless to say, they get married.

I read a lot more than this, but these were the ones that I found particularly weird...

The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice

 I think it's very obvious by now that Anne Rice is definitely one of my favourite writers. I just love the way she combines her Vampire Chronicles with lots of world history, such as the Georgian/Rococo period and the Ancient Egyptians, and erotica between characters, that sometimes verges on a homosexual theme. The historical parts even inspired me to do my own research into the Ancient Egyptians, as I used to do a lot when I was younger. Honestly, I think she is the best vampire writer out there, even trumping Bram Stoker and Le Fanu themselves.

As for Lestat, I just adore him and all his devilishness! Just as Marius said, "You are the darnedest creature!" In the Vampire Lestat I find it entertaining and thrilling that he is a famous rock star in the 80s! His band sounds very gothic and sometimes metal-y to me, which is so sweet and fitting for somebody like him, a vampire who seemingly goes out of his way to defy absolutely everyone.

The second novel of the Vampire Chronicles follows Lestat from his boyhood in the 18th Century to his immortality in the late 20th Century, which is absolutely refreshing in my opinion. Throughout, he gets into a lot of trouble with both mortals and immortals, as like I said before, he never follows the rules.

There are a lot of new characters in The Vampire Lestat, including; Nicolas, Gabrielle, Magnus, Marius, Akasha, Enkil and Armand (actually I think he was already in the series, but here he is shown in more light).

This is actually how I imagined him to look.

My favourite character early on was Nicki, as his mortal friendship with Lestat was very intense and promising, but it all fell to pieces when Lestat became immortal and must keep secrets, through no fault of his own, I must add. After that I kind of disliked him despite knowing why he would rage over somebody that he was close to going missing for ten years, and then coming back again although nothing had happened. It made me sad that they fell out so awfully, and then that Nicki was killed by Armand, as they just seemed so good together!


Also, I loved Gabrielle. She was Lestat's mother who was about to die of consumption, but as she was the only person (besides the aforementioned Nicolas) that the human Lestat loved, he made her into a vampire as she was passing away. There was something about this character that I really admired, the way that she was free when she became immortal and wanted to try everything all over again, after a lifetime of being trapped in a drafty castle in the French mountains. Again, it was terribly depressing when she left Lestat.

Throughout I was feeling very depressed for Lestat, as everybody he loved either left him or died, but in the end he meets up again with Louis and Gabrielle before his first live concert, which I was really really hoping would happen, as it seemed that these two were the people that he loved the most! *also, I think I may be shipping Louis and Lestat together*


Aaand finally, I couldn't resist these anti-Twilight images, they just made me laugh so much!

For some reason, this is how I imagined Louis to look...

Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice

The un-awakened gothic Lolita within me has always been curious about the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, though through bad vampire experiences in the past (Twilight, I'm looking at you) have always been too paranoid to look into it. I should have known it would be amazing, as I really liked that Malice Mizer short film based on Dracula, have read Carmilla by Joseph Le Fanu, and love everything to do with Dracula (the stage show, book and films included)! And really, I have discovered that this book is so amazing and beautiful, that I was absolutely stupid to have been put off reading modern vampire books, all because of sparkling vampires in teen romance books... Seriously, I loved everything about it!
The story follows the vampire Louis as he tells his tale to a boy that is interviewing him. His story stretched for practically the whole book, with a few opportunities for the boy to ask him questions. We learn nearly nothing about the boy, or why he's interviewing him, but I liked that as it added a bit of mystery and left things to the imagination.
First of all, the characters are so well-formed and unique from each other. My absolute favourite character has to be Claudia, the five year old girl who Louis and Lestat made a vampire. She's really cute - or so everybody thinks - until she seduces you and kills you for blood! Claudia has a lot of frustration later on in the book because she's a woman trapped in the body of a small girl, so can't find any love or romance as everybody thinks she's so young. The way Anne Rice wrote about it conveyed Claudia's frustration so well that I could almost feel it myself! Also, I really love the outfits of Claudia; it must be great to have all that fancy, Lolita-esque finery. She has lovely dresses - commonly in black, white, or pastel colours in luxurious fabrics - bonnets, delicate shoes and lace gloves with beautiful golden hair, 'liquid' blue eyes and a doll-like face. Someday I would like to buy or sew some of the clothes I can imagine her wearing, and I'm definitely going to draw her sometime soon!
As well as Claudia, I also really liked Lestat. I know he was portrayed by Louis as rather hateful, extravagant and wildly reckless, I really adored his flamboyancy and attitude in the beginning of the story. His confidence was really interesting, and so was the way he killed humans without remorse or a second thought. He was like a polar opposite to Louis, an aspect that I find really enthralling in fiction!
 Louis was also a really good character, and although he was the protagonist, I didn't find him as interesting as Claudia and Lestat... He is really practical and has a conscience of right and wrong, and sticks to it. Also, his backstory was really interesting, what with the way he came from Revolutionary France and came to live in Louisiana in the United States, and then his relationship with his family; especially his younger brother! I was always wanting to know more, especially as it was set around one of my favourite eras of history!
I won't go too deep into the plot because I don't want to spoil it, and also because there was a lot, and my memory is awful. However, I'll say that I really enjoyed it, and hope to get the rest of Anne Rice's books soon.

The Jeeves Omnibus 2 by P.G. Wodehouse

This will be a very brief review because I'm exhausted from yesterday... ^^

I have literally to finish two more episodes of Jeeves & Wooster, and then the whole TV series is finished for me... I'm actually really sad about that, even though the TV series took up hours and hours of my days and entertained me these past few months. On the bright side, I've still got a LOT of the Jeeves omnibus to read, and then after I've finished all those (if I ever finish them - P.G. Wodehouse wrote the amazing series over a span of 59 years!) I still have the rest of the author's books to read; and he wrote a lot!

I've just finished the second omnibus, containing the stories; 'Right Ho, Jeeves', 'Joy in the Morning', 'Carry on Jeeves' and a selection of short stories at the end.

My favourite part was in the short stories, where Bertie had to give a speech at a girl's school, because Jeeves is trying to put him off from wanting to adopt a daughter; and the only way to do that was to lie to the head teacher of the school and say that Bertie wanted to give advice for the future!  It was really cute (in a sadistic kind of way) to see Bertie struggle for words in front of all those staring school girls that were just trying to be vindictive! The way Wodehouse talked about the all-girls school really reminded me of my own school, as the girls there are exactly like the ones at my school... Also, this story was set from Jeeves's point of view, which was quite an interesting change.

Another thing I liked was where Bertie was forced to kidnap this baby he saw on the beach - and honestly, it sounds more sinister than it actually was - because he thought it belonged to the girl who he wanted to get back together with his friend. From that point, I actually thought it was going to turn into a big mess (I mean, how do you get out of kidnapping a poor baby?!), but as usual, Jeeves manages to think of something. It was such a cute, slightly odd, moment where Bertie had to train the baby to say "Kiss Fweddie" in time for the lady to meet Freddie on the balcony!

Some other parts of the novel were set in New York, as we often see in the TV series. However, in my opinion, I prefer it when it's set in London, to be honest. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think it may be because I'm more familiar with places in England, than in America.

Some people say that the plot of the Jeeves series gets old after a while, but I'm still laughing after reading the second omnibus, and I plan on getting the rest of the volumes. The Jeeves series makes very entertaining, very pleasant reads, and certainly is a change from the horror books I usually read.

Hanjuku Joshi by Akiko Morishima

It's about time I picked up a new manga! I haven't read comics for a long while, except Black Butler of course, and I thought it was time I tried something new... As I like some shounen-ai/soft yaoi (the words "soft" and "some" are key) I thought I'd try some shoujo-ai for a change. And actually, I really, really enjoyed it!

Rambling aside, one of the things that interested me was that I had quite a lot in common with one of the characters! Usually I find it hard to connect with people in real life, so I look for similarities between myself and fictional characters, and when I find a character I can connect with, I'm always really happy. I feel I have some similarities with Yae Sakura.

Yae Sakura always wished she could have been born a boy, and is really frustrated because of how feminine she is; she has cute, fluffy hair, a short-stature, rounded-face, large breasts, and an interest in sewing. She meets Chitose Hayami at her first year of an all girl school, and it seems they are made for each other, and fall in love at once, no questions asked. Chitose is actually really boyish and energetic, and doesn't really see herself as a girl.

Because Yae really detests how girly she is, all that changes when she meets Chitose, who makes her love herself for who she is.

This couple is really sweet together and it's obvious that they really love each other. We see their first year of school together, bits of their past and previous loves, and several dates together. There is also another sub-story with a student-teacher relationship between Mari Hanashima (who seems very gyaru-styled to me) and Ran Edogawa, but I was mainly interested in Yae and Chitose.

I absolutely love the ending as it was so sweet! I loved that Yae learned to accept herself at the end, as it was a really cute moment! Another thing I loved was Yae's design - her hair is just so cute and fluffy, and the uniform they both wear is just so adorable! It's been a while since I read a book set in Japan, so it was also very nice to see the cultural things like uniforms, for example. The art was really beautiful, the characters were lovely, and the ending was very satisfying! Basically, I'm happy that this was the first shoujo-ai manga I read, just like I was happy that Challengers was the first shounen-ai manga I read.

Black Butler Chapter 93

First of all, I've realised that this arc of Black Butler seems very promising for glimpses into Ciel's past. I've always wanted to know why his parents were killed and his house burned down, and why he was kidnapped, so hopefully we'll have some more knowledge on this soon. This particular arc is very interesting (but also very heart-wrenching at the same time!). 

The chapter starts with Ciel still in a traumatised frame of mind (poor boy) and he is still rejecting Sebastian and all adults. Tanaka has to stop Sebastian from "shocking" Ciel at the beginning, but I misunderstood what exactly was happening at this part.

The scene then moves back to England to see the queen and her butlers. Sebastian had sent her some kind of plant for her butlers to examine, and there was this really strange scene where her butler has a finger puppet of Albert, her deceased husband, to calm her down! The Double Charles team examine the plant samples and are really shocked at what they find, however what exactly they found has not yet been revealed. I think the finger puppet part was a much-needed bit of comic relief, as recently the manga has been really depressing. The Queen then sends a message, but it's not revealed what the letter says.

Then, we return to Ciel. It was really interesting to see his thoughts, as they were split into two versions of Ciel; a confident, calm Ciel, and a frightened, child-like, innocent version of Ciel. They had a conversation, and it seems Ciel can't make up his mind as to what he wants. I won't reveal too much about this scene, but I'll say that it was rather surreal.  I just love the way Yana Toboso drew this part, it looks really dream-like with the huge chess board, star-shaped lights, and huge pairs of stage curtains. The design was amazing, and the artwork was simply gorgeous!

After that, I'm really starting to wonder whether Sieglinde is a good character or a bad character... I mean, she seems nice, friendly, and willing to help Ciel, but I can't help but feel there is more to her than what meets the eye. We see her being carried off by Wolfram, and the look in her face is just really sad, like she's really going to miss everyone. She gets scolded by the women in her village, and in the end she gives up and tells them all that she will get rid of Ciel and his servants from the forest.
Sebastian  goes back into the basement of that place that Wolfram tried so hard to keep secret, (the place where the werewolves were last time) and I really, really want to know what he found.

In the end, the letter is delivered by hand to Sebastian by the Queen's butler. Still, I have no idea what it says... Next chapter, I hope we'll have more answers!

Aspergirls by Rudy Simone

I was reluctant to read this book, because I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to relate to the author or the ladies she interviewed at all. Then what? Did I really have Asperger's, or was I just confused and slightly on the disturbed side? Within the past year or so, doctors have tried to diagnose me with all kinds of things; schizophrenia, OCD, conversion disorder, PANDAS, but when they mentioned Autism Spectrum Disorder I knew that was it. So when I read this book, I was really happy to know I relate to literally all the sections in the book, and I wasn't schizophrenic or whatever other thing doctors have suggested was what made me sick. In fact, it was strange how much I could relate to a lot of the experiences in this book. It was although someone had written a book about me! XD

Despite being a neurological disorder, Aspergers and Autism has a lot of stigma. In fact, just the other day I overheard a group of girls in my form giggling about it; the word 'special' was mentioned, and I just felt so angry. I kept calm and ignored them, when what I really wanted to do was explain to them what autism really is, and how it effects people. It is very complex and differs in every person. Some are high-functioning (like myself) and can sometimes carry out conversation, but find it very dull and tiring, as well as other things, and some people are unable to speak at all. One thing I think we all have is sensory issues. I have a lot of those. I'm very sensitive to light, smell (I can't wear or go near anybody who sprays perfume), touch, and most of all, sound. Most people with ASD are very intelligent and fastidious when it comes to school and work. So really, I don't know what all the neurotypicals (as the author in Aspergirls calls people without ASD) fuss about.

My favourite section of Aspergirls was the part about careers and future. It made me feel like the future isn't going to be so scary after all, and that I can do anything as long as I set my mind to it.

Also, it made me realise my dreams for when I leave school. I want to go to a local college to study Art and Design, Creative Writing, and maybe French and German. And when I leave college, I would like to become a writer and a costume designer for film sets.

Basically, I really enjoyed reading this book! It gave me a boost of confidence, as well as the realisation that I'm not crazy, and I'm not a freak. I would recommend this to anybody with ASD, or their family - it really explains things well, and will come in useful in times of stress.

Black Butler Chapter 92

First of all, the chapter starts from Finny's point of view, which I always find interesting as I love the Phantomive servants. He is in captivity as a medical experiment (as we saw in the Murder Mystery arc) and escaped covered in blood to find Ciel and Sebastian waiting for him. These few pages were particularly disturbing, as we saw his two friends shot and killed by the 'doctor'; at this point, I'm wondering if I should stop reading the really gory chapters, as they're actually quite upsetting, especially where it concerns children being kidnapped and tortured... I won't stop reading Black Butler - and I know it isn't meant to be light and fluffy - but I just feel upset seeing children being so cruelly abused, even though it is just a comic.

Anyway, it soon goes back to the castle in the forest, where Finny tells Ciel that if it weren't for him, he wouldn't be alive and there today. Sieglinde accompanied with Sebastian goes to visit Ciel and see how he's doing, then change his bandages. He seems to be healing well, but is obviously still emotionally unstable, as Sieglinde comments later on. The loss of vision is apparently psychological (which again, I'm surprised, as I know all about that myself as I had conversion disorder!) and his eyes will heal soon along with his stress.
Outside, Sieglinde asks Sebastian if he and Ciel are devil worshippers. It was actually quite amusing, as she called Sebastian an amateur that will be cursed by a demon if he isn't careful, not knowing that Sebastian is actually a demon himself!
There is a secret passage way that Sebastian and Snake find together, and Wolfram becomes furious when he finds them there. Later it is revealed that the passage way is where the werewolves are kept.
Back in Ciel's bedroom, Finny is trying to persuade Ciel to eat more food, when he sees the werewolf looming over him in the window. Much to my surprise and horror, the werewolf shattered through the window and attacked Finny whilst trying to get to Ciel, as the servant threw himself in front of Ciel to protect him. The way that Finny emotionlessly told the werewolf "That hurt." was kind of creepy, I had to admit! The werewolf jumps back out the window as the others arrive to see what all the fuss is about, and Bard threatens to go after the werewolf to protect the others. He is persuaded not to, as he would be cursed also. Sieglinde tells Wolfram to prepare the Green Witch "service", and together they go down to the passage way where Sebastian and Snake were accosted. Surprisingly, we find that down in the passageway, there are many werewolves gathered there, and Sieglinde addresses them as "beasts that protect the forest". At this point, I'm really curious about Sieglinde. What is she doing with the werewolves in her castle?
Ciel is more frightened than ever, and is screaming (understandably so) that he wants to go home. Everyone is bewildered by the change in the young master, after all, he used to be cold, calculating, and extremely emotionless, and to turn into the terrified person he is now - well, anybody would be alarmed.
Personally, I hope that they go home for Ciel's sake. I know that he has a mission to complete there in Germany, but I'm hoping that they'll all put Ciel's wellbeing first. He's suffered enough already.