Tag / daphnee mcmaster

by daphodilly

The Red Queen Series: Glass Sword Rant

If anyone has read the Red Queen series and fell in love with Mare, Cal, Maven, and the lot I do not intend this post for you. This post is for those of us who wanted to fall in love but simply couldn’t because an editor somewhere in some god forsaken place didn’t know how to say “enough is enough!”

glass sword

To clear the air. I purchased the Red Queen in hopes that I’d fall in love with a new fantasy series and boy was I sadly mistaken. Red Queen had some hiccups but nothing that didn’t make me want to read further. For those that do not know, the first book in the series is about a young girl named Mare who by sheer happenstance makes a powerful friend in the most unlikely place. Her life gets turned upside down at the discovery of her hidden talents and the tale continues on with love and betrayal as most YA Fantasy does.

But that wasn’t the part where I became dissatisfied. I actually think the first book of the series was pretty well done. It had character development, believably authentic, and someone to root for in the face of adversity. No, my problem with this series entered around book two called Glass Sword.

Reading Glass Sword feels like someone literally had to hold Aveyard’s hand and force her to write the book. Mare is nothing more than a whiny and full of herself character (keep in mind I’m only on chapter 4 so if I actually finish struggle reading this mess I’ll let y’all know my plot thoughts) hell bent on her delusions of grandeur. Oh, y’all don’t know how I’m hoping this book is Mare in a dream state and the writing is so poor because Mare isn’t really awake. (HOPES IN BIGLY)

Let’s pull out a lil gem shall we?

“Ash and concrete dust choke our vision…” (p. 16)

Now sis. Who let you get away with this terrible cliche? metaphor? idiom? OMG what is this!? Anyway, I soldiered on past that but the plane inevitably crashed. Mare goes from a fragile little nothing to “I’m the lightening girl” to be read as “I’m the lightening (I’ll kick anyone’s ass who tries to step to me although all my past battles have been won because other people jumped in and saved me but I’m going to pretend like I did it on my own) girl.”

Y’all do not write your characters so lazily arrogant that your reader doesn’t even want to hear them. But wait, someone is reading this series. It’s literally a well selling series. But so was 50 Shades. So, that’s all I’ll say about that.

Til I finish this book these are my thoughts so far. Clinch y’all buttcheeks this story takes a turn for the best. Otherwise…

bye

Update 4/19/18: I couldn’t finish it.

by daphodilly

My Reflections: Donald Haase

Once again, I must greatly express my deepest gratitude to Lehigh University and the English Department for allowing me to meet and speak with yet another author. Mr. Donald Haase, a man with a dry sense of humor and a knack for elaborate analysis of the art of storytelling, came to speak at Lehigh about his study of the Grimm Brothers’ Fairytale stories and how they impact the roles of society and children’s perception.

Mr. Haase spoke of many different roles the Grimm Brothers have played in the way society and morality have been shaped. He made references to Red Riding Hood’s original tale of a girl who disobeys her mother and suffers the consequences. He expounds on the idea that the Grimm Brothers’ original work addressed the need for morality in society. Much of the Grimm Brothers’ work has been transformed to fit the roles of a particular society in which the text is read. I recall the first time I read author Stephen King’s essay titled, “Now You Take “Bambi” or “Snow White”- That’s Scary!” and I immediately correlated the ideas Haase spoke about. It explains the purpose of transforming the Grimms’ writings. Many readers of the Grimm brothers’ work believed children should not have been learning that Rapunzel’s prince only climbs the castle walls, using her locks, for a late night rendez-vous. Haase speaks with intention when he explains the multiple roles the brothers have in mainstream media and fictional works today.

Much of Haase’s presentation focused on the ways the Grimm brothers’ lives have been romanticized through media outlets. He conveys a message that was present in the Grimm brothers’ lifetime and is still prevalent today: the romanticism of real issues to convey a more socially acceptable idea. I’m sure many people who work as artist of all mediums can relate to the ideas of being told what is socially acceptable to display and what is not. In following what society believes as correct or morally justifiable, artists are able to make money and sell their work to the masses. The Grimm brothers’ focused their original works on adult audiences, as Haase told us, but were willing to adjust their works because it would allow the tales to transcend all audiences and create an aura of fame for them. The collective work of the Grimm brothers, and I hope Haase would agree with me when I say this, has shaped the way many scholars, artists, and people view the society they dwell within. It has taught them to cope or understand barriers created against them in a constructed normalcy.