Weetzie Bat book 1...Lanky Lizards!

Rosa Folgar's review Nov 11, 11

Read from November 10 to 11, 2011

The writting style is very unique and reads quickly, more like poetry than a novel. You either like it or hate it. I think it's different and I liked it. No, I wouldn't want ALL my books written like this, but it's the authors own distinctive flavor and it helps juxtapose some of the real topics with the ridiculous fairy tale she throws in. I come from LA and I love the familiar and nostalgic about the settings and location. I go to Rage (at least once or twice a month) and I walk down Hollywood Boulevard. I know the marketplace on Fairfax and the Kaiser on Sunset. Also I have my own Dirk, and we are still looking for our own ducks. The parallels are enough that reading this story never fails to confuse me and give me hope at the same time. Some things are a little too magical and nonsensical. Like the genie, the baby with 3 dads idea, the Lanka, and the language, but it all kind of fits with the gauzy old Hollywood world Block creates.

Under 200 pages. Very quick read, you probably spend more time processing and understanding what you read than actually reading it, but I will definitely recommend and read it again.
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Frankenstein or Modern Day Promethius

Rosa Folgar's review Nov 10, 11 · edit

Read in November, 2011

Having never seen any Frankenstein movie and never read the book before, I wasn't sure what to expect except the stereotypical bolts in neck monster with a square head and silly speech that gets created by a mad scientist in a creepy castle and I was sure in the end there was going to be angry villagers with torches...oh and an Igor. Boy was I WRONG!! This story was not horror in the scare you creepy tale we think, but it was deplorable and sad how utterly SELFISH Victor Frankenstein is. That was the horrific part. How can people (him specifically) treat a creature, any creature, but most especially a creature HE created with his own two hands with so much contempt? He makes this Being and then blames him for evils and abominations. Ummmm..hello? You created him.

Sorry, really made me upset. I blame Disney. It anthropamorphizes every inanimate object, so of course I would feel more keenly for a sentient being. The creature is rational and leans (all self taught) and speaks more eloquently than any other character in the book. All he ever wanted was a connection. He gets rejected by society, rejected by his creator and denied a mate, eventually he finds the connection thru making his creator his nemesis. And even loses that. His whole life is one big tragic tale. I'm glad I read it. It was an interesting story, even if it did boil my blood and incite violence from time to time. It did not endear me to the romantics, but I did enjoy it. I was bored when Shelly goes on about the beauty of this mountain or that lake (mostly because it was Victor showing more passion for scenery than his creation, but I can't help it). I think everyone should read this book. It teaches more about our own inhumanity in being humans and to me Victor was a hundred times more a monster than ever his creation was.
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The Strange Case of Finley Jayne

This is a quick read novella, less than 10 chapters long, and i feel it does it's job of introducing us to Finley, how she is different from other girls her age, and her world. As this is a prequel to the authors soon to be released book, it is expected that you finish it having more questions than answers. I definitely do want to read the proceeding book.

Finely is stronger than most girls, she can lift weights many times heavier than herself and has a dark part of her that is cold, calculating, and has a propensity for violence. This dark other self comes in handy when a very rich madam of the upper eschalons of society hires her to be her daughters companion after hearing she punched out a governess. Finely accepts because she needs the job and money, but soon after meeting the daughter and her new fiancé, she finds there is an alternate reason she was chosen as a companion.

Good female protagonist. Going to read the next book.

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Death Blows...a throwback to good female protagonists

Rosa Folgar's review Nov 04, 11 · edit

Read from February 07 to November 04, 2011

I love the premise of this series. Jace reminds me of a young Anita Blake (Laurel K Hamilton) only before she became a total slutty harem holder....back to young kick ass Anita vampire hunter, who was someone a girl could look up to. That's Jace. She is sarcastic and independent and can handle herself around werewolves, vampires, golems, and psychos.

In this book, she pauses her hunt for Bram Stoker when murders hit those close to her. Namely, Gretchen's baby-daddy who gets found in a Flash costume, on a treadmill, struck by lightning and a green skeleton. From there, the murders get curiouser and curiouser. While she is trying to tie all the crazy murders together and solve them, she is learning more about the universe she is stuck in and defining her life in it and her relationships with its inhabitants (Charlie, Cassius, Pete...)

I would have given this book a 5, except I kept getting lost with all the comic book talk. In fact, I still don't really understand some of what happened and it's my second time reading it....i just vaguely get to the outcome. I looked up the author and found out he is a comic book nut so it's to be expected and in a couple of ways, It's kind of refreshing. As someone who reads a lot of urban fantasy/preternatural romance, it sometimes seems like we are recycling the same plots and characters over and over again. This was a welcome, if confusing, change (I dont read, follow or like comics).

I both loved and hated the twist at the end with Dr Pete/Tair. It actually made me tear up....But I can't wait to see where he goes w it. The other thing was the shock at finding out the author was male. Not that I care either way, but kudos on getting so convincingly inside a woman's head. Not just anyone can do that as well as this author. Definitely going to read the third book. Have to follow Jace in her adventures (hopefully I understand them more) and find out if she ever makes it back to our universe...or if at the end she even wants to. And I'm rooting for Dr Pete.
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