Book Review: Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

I was so excited the morning I woke up and found that Patrick Ness had won the Carnegie for his young adult book Monsters of Men.  It was the final book in his Chaos Walking series.  The coolest thing (at least to me) is that all three of the books, including the middle book The Ask and the Answer, in this series has been nominated and made the short list for the Carnegie.  It was almost like a Peter-Jackson-Lord-of-the-Rings-at-the-Oscars kind of moment.  Because of his win, I felt it necessary to read the trilogy again and so started with the first book Knife of Never Letter Go. 

In this first book, Ness introduces us to a new world along with his two main characters, although the book is told in first person by Todd Hewitt.  Todd and his dog, Manchee, are out for a stroll in the swamps to collect apples when they come across a void in the Noise.  Noise is the thoughts of all living creatures, except for female humans.  Every animal and male human can hear the thoughts of every other animal and male human.  It is a huge cacophony that is surely maddening. 

Todd is the last boy of his town.  His town has no women, no girls and now no other children.  He is just a few weeks shy of becoming a man and he is counting the days down when he will be Mr. Hewitt and not just Todd.  He's excited, but finding this silence has caused Todd a problem.  There shouldn't be a silence in the swamp or anywhere.  Suddenly Todd is having his bags packed by his surrogate parents and thrust out the door with the instructions to read his mother's diary and get to the next settlement.  Armed with just a hunting knife, Todd sets out to find something he didn't even know existed.  As he travels he realizes that so many things he had been told are lies and that becoming a man means joining in on those lies. 

And then he meets Viola, who can't possibly exist and the lies start unravelling to expose the truths behind them.  And now Todd and Manchee have Viola join their escape. Together the three face horrors that neither could imagine existed.  Todd learns what it means to love someone and at the same time becomes a man in his own fashion, facing the realities that have plagued his childhood village and understand the corruption that can come when selfishness and greed are the building blocks of your society.

The only thing that bothered me in this book was the spelling and grammar.  Because this books is narrated by Todd and he has been given limited education, his grammar and spelling reflect that.  Words are spelled phonetically and in dialect.  This normally drives me up the wall and makes me want to scream, "What happens to grammar and spelling in post-apocalyptic societies?" For some reason this book didn't cause this immediate knee-jerk reaction.  (I had to quit reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy due to lack of sentence structure.)  I actually found the grammar more endearing than annoying.  It is well worth the read and I encourage everyone to read this fabulous young adult book written from a young man's perspective in a language that both male and female readers can comprehend.

Currently Reading:  The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Ten on Tuesday: Beach Songs

Let me preface this by saying that, despite living in a beach town, I don't go to the beach often.  And very rarely in the summer.  I love the beach.  It is fascinating to me.  I've always lived within an hour's drive of a large body of water and I have yet to meet a beach I didn't love.  Whether it was the tan sands of Southern California, the rocky coast of Oregon or Japan, or the gorgeous sugar-white sands of Pensacola, I have found a connection with each beach I have visited.  But I loathe summers at the beach.  The beach is crowded and smelly and hot and even with SPF 937+ sunscreen I burn like a wayward potato chip.  So here is my 10 on Tuesday, the beach song edition (in no particular order):

1. Under the Boardwalk (The Drifters, although I like Bette Midler's version as well)
2. Have I Told You Lately that I Love You (preferably the Van Morrison version, although Rod isn't bad - don't ask me why I think this is a beach song, but it is for me ever since I was a teen)
3. Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay (Otis Redding only!)
4. My Girl (The Temptations)
5. Margaritaville (Jimmie Buffet)
6. Fun, Fun, Fun (Beachboys version)
7. Sailing (Kris Kristofferson)
8. Anything by Meshugga Beach Party
9. Shout!
10. Summer Nights from the Grease soundtrack

A weekend of wonderful movies

This weekend was the opening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2.  It was "the end" of an epic story.  It was fabulous and I cried and laughed and smiled and cheered and then cried some more.  I loved it and will be going to see it again on Tuesday.  Competing against this summer block buster (that broke tons of weekend opening records) was a quaint little film called Winnie the Pooh.  My children asked to go.  I obliged.  I was not disappointed.  I cheered, I laughed, I smiled, and I even got a bit weepy a time or two.  It was fabulous and reminded me of the Pooh that I had grown up, even with John Cleese doing the narration.  I felt like I was eight years old again sitting in my pajamas watching Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Pot.  Christopher Robin was perfect, Pooh (still voiced by Jim Cummings who has done the voice since Sterling Halloway passed away in 1992 and in all honestly I can't tell the difference).  Eeyore was lovable and Tigger was bounceable as always. 

But the big movie this weekend was Harry Potter.  I can't believe how blown away I was by the movie.  I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and I felt complete at the end.  I didn't feel that there was anything left out that was very important.  I cried when they crowd at Hogwarts realized that Harry wasn't dead and George turned to his now absent twin to tell him.  I cheered when Molly defended her daughter.  I whooped when Neville beheaded Nagini!  But most of the time I was gripping my middle child's hand as she grasped mine and neither of us daring to breathe.  Both of us glancing at each other as we feared what we knew was coming.

The night was hot, but it didn't stop people from dressing up and being jubilant in line.  Even I dressed as Professor Sprout (that's my hat to the left).  I was accompanied by a Hufflepuff student and Gilderoy Lockhart.  It was fun and festive and I'll miss getting to do it again next year.  It still hasn't set in that there aren't any more movies coming out.  But for the past nine and a half years we have enjoyed seeing the movies and getting to be part of the Harry Potter world.  I look forward to Pottermore and can't wait to see what all that will hold for us.

Until then we will just have to go see other movies.  On my agenda for this fall are the following:  Hugo (based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret), Sherlock Holmes (yay!), Captain America, Cowboys versus Aliens, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Three Musketeers (I'm a sucker for period pieces), The Muppets (come on, it's the Muppets!), Coriolanus (Ralph Fienes and Shakespeare; do I need to say more), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (without subtitles this time!), and War Horse.  So let's go to the movies!

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Wonderful Wizarding World

I told you this was going to be a week of Harry Potter.  I can't  possibly review all seven books (in any reasonable amount of time).  I can't even pick one book that I can say is my favorite.  I love them all for one reason or another.  I love Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone because it introduces us to Harry and this wonderful world that J.K. Rowling created in her mind.  Chamber of Secrets is probably the least of my favorites, but only because I find Gilderoy Lockhart so annoyingly vain, but we are introduced to the Horcruxes even though we don't really know it yet and the lovable Dobby.  Prisoner of Azkaban brings us the affectionate characters of Remus J. Lupin and Sirius Black (oh and  of course Buckbeak).  Goblet of Fire, broadens the wizarding world by bringing in more countries and gets us back on track with the reality of Voldemort.  Order of the Phoenix shows us the young characters truly growing up with Harry realizing that he can be a leader.  Half Blood Prince finally shows us the Horcruxes and how important they are.  It sets us up for the challenge that is ahead in Deathly Hallows. 

J.K. Rowling has written this fantastical children's series that is loved by people of all ages.  I know people in their eighties who adore these books.  My two younger children were listening to them when they weren't quite old enough to read them for themselves, fascinated by the imagery.  As they grew old enough to not freak out, they came to the movies.  As I mentioned yesterday, these books are timeless and will be loved by children (and adults) for generations.  I wonder if she knew, as she wrote these books, who all would fall in love with this world and be sobbing on July 15, 2011 as they sit in the audience to watch the final movie.  I can't imagine that she did. 

These books can bring about such emotion.  I have laughed and cried and sighed and had my heart swoon as I read these books.  I smiled with delight and became angry for various characters that I felt were wronged.  I mourned death and celebrated new life.  I even threw Deathly Hallows across the room in anger when I thought Jo had killed off my favorite character.  It took my family nearly an hour to get me to pick the book back up and turn the page to know that Hagrid wasn't truly dead.  I have loved every minute that I have spent reading these books and not once have I been bored.  I don't know that I can say that about any other book I've ever read.  There have been times that I sort of skimmed through sections of books, but not with any of the Harry Potter books.  I didn't dare.  Rowling had a wonderful ability to be able to make everything interesting and important.

You may be thinking that I have found no faults at all in these books.  I have, but they have been so minor that I can ignore them.  There are things I wish I had seen more of, places I wish I could have just explored, characters that I want more back story.  But those are personal grievances and not necessary to the plot.  They may be in little notes scattered on Rowling's desk or locked up in her mind. 

There have been no other books that have made me want to be a part of that world as much as Harry Potter.  The only other fictional place I would want to truly live rather than Ottery St. Catchpole (because I would be friends with the Weasleys and the Lovegoods) is The Shire from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit books.  I want to go to Diagon Alley and go shopping.  I want to have a pint of butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks.  I wanted to attend Hogwarts, damn it!  My children each cried the autumns of their eleventh birthdays because they didn't get their letters. 

I am sad today because this is kind of the end of everything for Harry Potter.  There will be no more midnight book or movie releases.  No more known opportunities to dress up as Professor Sprout (or Molly Weasley) and go into public.  It's over.  It's the end.  It's final as of midnight tonight.  But I have hope.  I have hope that somehow Harry Potter will still be an important part of our lives.  I'm excited for PotterMore.  I've submitted  my e-mail in case I am one of those lucky few who get in before the October official opening.  But today is sad.  And I blame J.K. Rowling for creating such fantastic books that have wrought this emotion on this day.

The Knitting in Harry Potter

(Yes, to answer your question, Harry Potter is probably going to appear in every post this week, so get over it, thank you very much.)  If someone had asked me who my absolutely favorite character is in the Harry Potter series, they might be surprised by me answering with Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of keys and game keeper at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  What?  Not Molly?  Not Severus (especially when played by Alan Rickman)?  Not Dobby?  Not Lupin?  Not Hermione?  Nope.  It's Hagrid. 

Let me explain.  Yes, I am very much like Molly.  I have a bunch of kids (not as many as Molly, but more than the average American household).  I am married to a geek (and let's face it, Arthur is a wizard geek).  I knit and do other domestic things.  I am fiercely loyal to my family and somewhat doting and we both knit.  But as much as I love Molly.  As sexy and endearing as I find Professor Snape.  As adorable and courageous as I find Dobby.  As caring and understanding as I find Remus.  As smart and confidant as I find Hermione, it is Hagrid that takes top spot. 

It began when Hagrid pulled out a large bit of knitting that somewhat resembled a circus tent and began knitting on the train with Harry on their way to Diagon Alley.  Here was this huge half-giant with large hands and fat fingers (at least in my mind) sitting with a pair of 4.5mm needles (at least in my mind) knitting a ... and that's when the mind goes blank.  I've toyed with everything from a jumper to a hut cozy to a thestral blanket.  But he was knitting.  He was the first character we encounter with mention of knitting.

Lots of character knit, though.  Molly (duh) and most likely Ginny (and I even can see Bill knowing how for some reason).  Hermione knits.  Later we find that Dobby has learned the craft (or perhaps he knit for the Malfoys).  Dumbledore even knits (he loves knitting patterns).  I can see him sitting up at night when he has been pondering where the next Horcrus might be or worrying about a meeting with the Board of Directors and pulling out a pair of thick woolen socks to knit a while gently prodding his thoughts in the pensieve. 

There is no huge display about knitting in the Harry Potter series.  But there is knitting.  It's all around and it seems so ordinary and normal.  But then that's how it is in my house.  There are four knitters in this family, so the fact that there is knitting in Harry Potter just makes it that much more special to me.  And tomorrow as my children gather around the television (beginning at 3am) to watch all seven movies prior to going to the midnight premiere, there most likely will be knitting involved.  And maybe someone will have a good idea what Hagrid was knitting.

This week's 10 on Tuesday is to list your ten favorite things about Harry Potter whether it is the books or the movies. I'm doing a mix of the two as I love them both. This list will contain spoilers, so if you haven't read the books and don't want to read spoilers, quit now and come back after you've seen the movies or read all seven books.
1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was J.K. Rowling's break out novel. That such genius could come out of her first book was a miracle. To follow it up with six more books that became even better with each book is pure talent.

2. Neville Longbottom. Neville is one of my favorite characters. I loved him when he was a bumbling chubby eleven-year old in the first book. I loved him when he was the last boy home from the Yule ball. I loved him when he was at the Ministry of Magic facing his own fears. I loved him when he was an "of age" wizard at Hogwart's protecting his fellow students in the Room of Requirement. I cheered when Neville killed Nagini with the Sword of Gryffindor!

3. I watched my children grow up with Harry Potter and our entire family had something to talk about at the dinner table, even if it was arguing which Weasley twin was the best (and why).

4. Molly Weasley. I understand and love Molly. She wants to care for people and love people. She's a Scorpio (according to the Harry Potter Lexicon) and fierce when backed in a corner. I like to think (as a knitter) that her wand is a Brittany Birch crochet hook that she uses to pick up stitches (it could never be a knitting needle because she'd need two and would probably have something on the needles in a time of need whereas a crochet hook can much more easily be accessed in an emergency. (See? Don't they look like they could be wands?)

5. That millions of children (and adults) have been brought to reading because of these wonderful stories and they didn't quit reading after the seventh book was over. They came back to the bookstores to read more.

6. The movies. I have always considered the movies as a visual representation for the book readers. I've heard so many people who never read the books remark how they were confused in the movie. Of course you were because the movies weren't for you. They were for the readers. We understand what is going on. We aren't lost. We get eye candy for all the hours we have delightedly toiled (can you toil delightfully?) over the books. We get to see Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, Hagrid's hut, The Burrough, and Gringott's. We get to see Quidditch! We get to see the magic we've read about.

7. Words. Yes; there are words in the Harry Potter books, but they are used so delightfully. I love Rowling's use of Greek and Latin. I love how she has named her characters with so much thought. Each word seems carefully chiseled from many resources in order to create a perfect sentence. My favorite use of this kind of word play? Umbridge. From Umbrage: 1. Shade or shadow; 2. shady branches; 3. an indistinct indication or reason for doubt; 4. a feeling of pique or resentment at some often fancied slight or insult. Whenever I run across a name or word that intrigues me, I have to go look it up. Xenophilius is another fantastic name.

8. The world of Harry Potter is timeless. It could be set in modern times (even though Rowling has said that it is set in the late 80's and early 90's). My grandchildren can (and will) read these books and be able to relate to them. This is so rare in today's juvenile literature. The last person who did this so flawlessly was Madeliene L'engle.

9. Magic. Magic just intrigues me. I love the idea of lighting a room with a single word. How thrilling it would be to have knitting aided by magic. I would love to ride on a broom or travel by Floo powder. I would adore going to school to learn magic to turn a whistle into a pocket watch and have it sing you the time. I would faithfully go to each class and do my homework just so I could do magic. It would be so awesome to go to Ollivander's to have my wand choose me. I would love to receive an owl post (or send one for that matter).

10. The "I love magic" scene in the movies. There's one in each movie. It's that moment that Harry realizes or remembers that he is a wizard and how wonderful that is. The look on his face the first time he sees Diagon Alley probably mirrored my own. I love when he walked into the tent in Goblet of Fire to find that it wasn't a drab old ten foot by ten foot box but a multi-room house with rugs and carpets and a kitchen. It's OK, Harry. Because I love magic, too!

Writing Workshop?

Today starts the writing workshop that I was supposed to attend in June. (There were two sessions and the first one didn't have enough attendees so I decided to go to the one this month.)  I'm supposed to go with a writing idea, manuscript, or outline, pen and paper to take notes and a dictionary.  I've got my dictionary.  My Webster's New Pocket Dictionary.  (I wasn't about to drag along the unabridged, although I was tempted to take the Dictionary of American Idioms or my M-W Compact Visual Dictionary.) I also have my dictionary app on my phone (very handy).  I have my notebook and paper.  That was probably the easiest thing to come up with.  But then I got to the part where I needed to bring "an idea, manuscript or outline."  Oh I have ideas.  I've got about a hundred floating around inside my brain.  I've even got a few manuscripts (should I take my laptop - I'm thinking maybe).  I even have a printed manuscript (my proof from my NaNoWriMo book).  I have my current Camp NaNoWriMo manuscript that I could work on (but I'd probably blush every time I had any "naughty bits" to read).  Why does it have to be this confusing? 

So I've decided to take my laptop, my proof, and my memory stick.  I'll have pen and paper and probably a nervous stomach because I don't know what I'm walking into.  Wish me luck.  And I'll report back on Monday how the weekend goes.