Coraline and Inkheart

I recently read Stardust by Neil Gaiman, who apparently is a fairly famous fellow. I haven't seen the movie of this book--mostly because I have an aversion to book to film projects--but I rather enjoy it. I heard that another one of his books was becoming a film and decided to read that as well. Here's the jacket copy:

"When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous.

But there's another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.

Coraline will have to fight with all her wits and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life."

I rather liked this book. The writing is rather frank and plain, but I think that's a part of his style, and the work does not need the extra language. The characters were all lovely and entertaining, and I got a sense that the writer know more than he shared (a very good thing). I'm sort of attracted to that dark, occult-themed work so the mood of the entire work was rather pleasing to me. I'm a tad bit if-y about the end. I'm glad that author was able to tie up all the loose ends, but I'm not quite sure it was needed. Hmph, perhaps if he had not included it, I would have been complaining of the loose ends. : ) A good book, if your kids are not scared too easily, and the movie is directed by the same fellow who did James and the Giant Peach and The Nightmare Before Christmas so the movie is looking pretty good too.

My next book is Inkspell by Cornelia Funke. I enjoyed the first book in the series, Inkheart, except for... the terrible plot structure, so I'm looking forward to this book. Perhaps she fixed the plot, and Inkspell will show what a great writer can do.

Through Violet Eyes by Stephen Woodworth (Edit)

I recently went to the public library, and as usual, I picked up several books. Typically, I pick some from the young adult section, a few from the juvenile fiction, and some from the adult fiction bookshelves. One of my adult books was Through Violet Eyes by Stephen Woodworth. It's his debut novel, so I suppose he needs a bit of leeway, but having read the first chapters of book, I cannot say that I'm all that impressed. The characters are incredibly flat and unoriginal. And, the writing is clunky and loaded with 'I'm such a clever writer' character development, which makes the bibliophile in me wince. Trite, I suppose, would be the word to sum it up. I like the idea of the Violets, people who can channel the dead, but I cannot claim to like any of the characters. What a shame sense the cover was so nice. Maybe the characters will get deeper as I get further in the story... I can only hope.

Ha, I actually wasn't lucky enough to find Brisingr in the library, so you all will have to wait for a real rant. Then again, Paolini may have happened upon a less derivative plot and more believable characters, and I will have nothing to report. But, for some reason, I find that unlikely.

UPDATE: Well, I've finished it. Guess what? The entire book was a bad as the first chapters. The characters were all shallow. I've read books where I love certain characters; I've had books where I hate certain characters; but, I've never had a book where I didn't care about any of the characters. 'Til now. On the cover, Iris Johansen is quoted, saying, "A stunning thriller." Funny, I didn't think this was stunning or thrilling, and if I am to go by the credibility of this review, I am in doubt of the use of "A."

The books most rewarding qualities are its ending. It's unexpected and not as clean cut as the rest of the book. The last... 30 or so pages are the fastest paced and best. It's a pity you have to suffer through the first 300 pages to get to them.

Now, onto reading Coraline : )