bookphilia

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi is a science-fiction or steampunk novel following the story of Anderson Lake, a "Calorie Man." The planet is in a state of disarray, where food we take for granted today, have gone extinct. This is a result of genetically engineered diseases, which mutate faster than vaccinations are created, infecting crops (and people). The value of calories are equivalent to currency and corporations have a hand in mostly genetics (reminds me of Repo! The Genetic Opera), especially to manipulate them into a food capable of resisting diseases. Lake is a genetic engineer who works for one of these Midwestern calorie companies, and his research has landed him in Thailand, which seems even more chaotic than the rest of the planet due to the staggering caste system and dissatisfaction with society.

The windups are a lower-level caste group, because they are genetically engineered with superior traits to humans (hearing, eyesight, beauty, etc.)—basically treated like trash. Lake is intrigued by Emiko, a windup from Japan who is rather resistant to authority and smart-mouthed, despite her precarious situation (sex slave). And their adventure takes off from there.

This story is great because it manages to take different points of view and shape the story with ease. The build up is intense and full of action, easily keeping the reader at the edge of their seat. The story itself seems incredible and yet so familiar and possible, especially with a near wipe-out of an entire species of banana (see Panama disease and Gros Michel). The idea of a planet torn by science is also not a new idea, but definitely one people like to read and talk about. It's also a very easy world to picture, especially because of the effortless way Bacigalupi sets the scene.

Unfortunately, while this story is fascinating, it is also lacking. There was a lot of build up and potential, but things were never properly fleshed out, such as the fate of the New People, and a proper idea of the Green Headbands (he mentions really enticing tidbits and then cuts himself off). And honestly, the story doesn't quite pick up steam until almost halfway through, and even then the ending is a little deflated (unless this will have a sequel).


The Windup Girl is on its way to predicting the future of agricultural profit and genetic manipulation/biotech today (see Monsanto monocultures and patent rights).

This was a pretty good casual read. :)

3.5

While, I was definitely emotionally attached to both Matt and Celeste, Julie was a little harder to sympathize with. a) For being clever, it took her excruciatingly long to reach "what the deal is" with the Watkins family, and b) Julie is obsessed with things being normal.

This was cleverly written, with an easy-to-read air, even if the narrator was a little obnoxious at times. I thought the little Facebook updates and emails were quirky and cute, if not too cheesy. FF was definitely unique, and the foundation for a plethora of inside jokes and awkward situations.

But, let's get down to business (to defeat the Huns!), the whole mystery part was fine and predictable and everything, but Julie and Matt deserved a chance to know each other better. I mean sure Matt knew everything about Julie, but what does Julie know about Matt (other than he is almost as messed up as Celeste with his made-up Finn, and he can outnerd most students). This was a story about a dysfunctional family and a dysfunctional love, based on false pretenses about identity. To be honest, it's kind of maddening that Julie didn't stop trying to change Matt, for one second, to take a look and enjoy his company (until much, much later). More time without the Finn situation...

I really liked this story, especially when we FINALLY got to Julie's and Matt's romantic development, outside of the Finn and Julie bubble. Not sure if I appreciated that after a highly emotionally charged night...

I did like the entire family story, and Celeste's quirkiness and everything. Definitely an easy travel-read. It doesn't make you gush about the romantic interests though. And it's emotionally charged-ness is sparse. The best bits were the drunken call, random banter, Celeste's commentary, and Flat Finn metaphor.

Regarding typos and editorial overlooks...now that I'm on the other side of the fence, I see that some things cannot be helped and a timeline is a timeline. I accept this.

Now for a short note, unrelated to the book (please stop reading if you do not care):

Despite the author's abysmal attitude towards bad reviews (and the reviewers behind them), this was decent chick-lit. And I'm REALLY not into chick-lit. I think it should also be noted that I always read outside of my comfort zone, whether it's romance, a reference book that is not based in sciences or history, or even a mystery book (waaaay out of my comfort zone), but that does not mean I am incapable of giving it a review that is helpful and informative. Nor will I tolerate being told what I am allowed to read or not allowed to read.

Sounds like Morganville. Guilty pleasure? Check.

Definitely the book I anticipate MOST for 2013 (so far). :|

Ahhhh! This one was hard to push through, but it picked up a little too fast, and was over before I could mutter "Dr. Henri Moreau's menagerie of fantastical and horrific creations." I will fully review this later. *sigh* it should also be noted that this rating is based solely on the last quarter of the book. Without it I would've only given it a solid 3.

As soon as I finished this book, I stood up and did a little dance and then spun. Yeah, it was pretty sad.

I really tried investing into this book, but all I got out of it was a lousy explanation (as well as a lousy "dark past") and more questions than answers. But seriously, I had no idea what was going on. I don't know if all that unspoken shit was hacker speak...or maybe it was godspeak, I don't know. But whatever I just read was real goddamn weird. Like a dream about trying to get to heaven but it takes seven levels, and in your dream it's like a freaking seven-level parking structure. And each of these levels take an entire book journey to figure out. Yes, no sense at all.

I also found it hard to like any characters. They all seems to have ulterior motives. Even poor Autumn—I couldn't pity her because of her initial "dibs" call and self-serving denial about everything. Julian was...well, controlling and an ass. Neil had this weird "I-could-be-a-closet-serial-killer" vibe going for him whenever he surprised you with anger. Felicia was apparently the subject of everyone's desires and jealousy.

I liked Beckah. She seemed cool, until she died...again.

I'm definitely not continuing this series. There's too much preaching and Christian-y stuff I don't know about, and not enough deliverance and relatability.

There's not much I'll say about this book, because I think it's something you want to experience. It ended on an odd note, but goddamn I loved it at the same time. And yes, it was worth the pain.

Oddly, I've seen something similar to this idea before. Except these were not people before. Just the same person waking up in his/her own bed as a different body.

Watch The Beauty Inside here.

Why do all the crazy rampant immortals resemble the vampires from Buffy? Also this Viking lord thing got old in the Charlaine Harris series. The historical bits were fun, but overall disappointing. I'm more interested in Miss Edna's...and how that could be so intricately involved in Incy's life since apparently Nasty and he had only been to Boston once before. In any case, this master guy sounds fascinatingly dark. Maybe it's her dad, which would follow the whole Luke Skywalker-Vader trope (and also the Sweep series).

I am so infuriated right now I need time to think about why.

I thought this looked lame until I checked out the website. :O WHAAAAAAAAAAT.

Note: This may seem like a long book where nothing happens, but it’s totally worth all the nothing you get from it (and that little bit of something). Definitely classifying as a junk-supernatural YA read.

I’ve got major spoilers on the mind. Expect.

Keywords: Prison, rights, government, YA, teen, non-dystopia, love, friendship, disease, cure, society, powers, colours, betrayal, science, experimentation, tribes, Lord of the Flies.

Rating:

Flesch-Kincaid Grading: Grade 10-12 (although one of my three tests came out as grade 5).

Sentence: I sentence Alexandra Bracken to guesting for Never Mind the Buzzcocks. I feel like she’d be brilliant there…and hopefully funny.



Review: I was extremely skeptical about this book when I first heard about it. It felt like another sad attempt at an X-men-like trope. I mean, come on, it’s exactly what it sounds like…young kid accidentally uses powers, which either convinces parents to send them away purposefully or because they cannot help it (in this case it’s a combination of both). Bracken does a great job of revealing Ruby’s power(s) right away, but without exposing the events leading her to Thurmond (a “rehab” camp). You can immediately cross this off as being a psychological thriller, where the narrator might be unreliable (oh yeah, did I mention it’s in first person—ugh!), because every child who has not died is pretty much sent to these camps.

Anyway, Bracken cuts through bullshit of the years at Thurmond and directs us right to the chase. Ruby is not a green, she’s an orange; one of the few oranges who managed to escape death. Oh yeah, Bracken is most definitely into this colour business. We’ve got their colour codes and Ruby and even President Gray (it gets confusing when you’re tired).



So basically, Ruby is sought after for her rarity by both the Children’s League (which are like a guerrilla/terrorist army), the government (probably want her dead), and another group/person (which she doesn't know about).

Of course, Ruby joins a small group (looking for sanctuary, as they always are) she finds during her “escape”, and ends up being accepted by them, and falls in love with the leader of said company (yeah, bet you saw that coming). All of this is really standard, except that Ruby is extremely insecure and a fucking coward (I shan't forgive her for Sam, I've decided, though I’m kinda glad she’s not some macho badass Rogue-type yet).

Here, reader, you must drudge through a long journey to find the Slip Kid (I still wanna know why they call him that). Overall, for the greater plot, not much happens until the end, but goddamn it are you kept on the edge of your seat. There is no rest for these poor kids, with trackers and bounty hunters hot on their trail. Despite this, and the limited narration, you find yourself kind of in love with the characters despite all their flaws.

Liam is that guy. The one who fits in no matter where you go. He is charismatic, lovable, responsibly kind (you’ll get what I mean when you read more of him), overly hopeful (even at the worst of times), and has utter faith in things just…working out. If I met Lee for real, I must admit, I’d probably crush him, under my foot, in a heartbeat for all his smiles and cheeriness, but then regret it instantly for the same reason.

Ruby is apparently a gorgeous hermit, who blames herself for everything going wrong (her and Liam have this in common). Fortunately, for her survival, she is a bit fickle in her guilt. There must be some part of her thinking she is not entirely responsible, especially if she’s willing to stick it out with this group that took her in.

Zu is like Rogue, only younger and mute (as of now). She wears gloves, but to prevent the electric surge of whatever. Hers is a physical display of power, which makes people think she’s more powerful than she is. Big power, little body? I think I’ve heard of that one before.

Chubs…is more like me. I suspect I’m not as intensely academic as he, or as smart, but he has the same shrewd, calculating and overly cautious frame of mind, which I can appreciate. He’s an argumentative ass with major trust issues, and some raging impatience. But, unlike me, he’s a bit of a wimp. And apparently cannot handle heavy labour (I suppose all the better to go with his prissy name—Charles Carrington Meriweather IV).

And Clancy Gray…well, to be honest, I’m already judging him for having the same initials as Christian Grey (not to mention a similarly arrogant personality, and blaming his issues on his goddamn parentage). I actually despise him and pity him at the same time, but for some reason I was a little pleased when he left that note on his laptop, which read “I lied before. I would have run.” On the one hand, creepy; and on the other, it confirms he might actually have human emotion left in that hollow shell of his.

The Darkest Minds will remind readers of Unwind (Shusterman), the Gone series(Grant), and a little bit of X-Men. I’d "like" to think it has some twisted Fifty Shades dominance bit at the end. Real disturbing…sort of.



It’s important to note that while I categorized this as “dystopian”, it really isn’t. This is almost mock dystopian, during present times. It has all the right economic shit set up too. I do not know much about economics and I probably wouldn’t care unless this goddess was telling me.



But I do know it sounds less ridiculous with the crisis at hand. Also, typical. Though, I didn’t particularly like the idea of “walls” being built in Mexico and Canada to prevent American crossover…are these metaphorical walls or are we talkin’ some Monsters bullshit?



In any case, that thing you’re expecting, but not sure when it’ll hit you…hard? That thing with her memory erasing abilities? Yeah, that thing that Liam joked about and you had a heart attack right along with Ruby? Just…yeah. Some will say that it’s the worst ending ever, but I kind of feel like it’s the best and most appropriate. It kills me, yes, and I’ll probably go crazy wondering, but there was something so annoyingly necessary about it.

Here are things I predict: somehow Lee will get his memory back or realize something is wrong/Ruby will be able to restore people’s memories as well; Lee will be pissed she did it; Clancy will be making a move; Ruby will likely meet Cole and understand Lee’s family better; Ruby will somehow destroy or escape the CL/make Rob forget Cate (revenge!); Ruby will be less cowardly; Sam will be reintroduced to Ruby; the voicemail intro is the same as when Ruby was taken six years ago, and her parents are no longer at that house.

Also, here’s a helpful summary of powers/colours:

Red—unknown, probably physically harmful as they were recruited in CG’s private army.

Orange—mind control, induced psychological trauma.

Yellow—electrokinesis, electric manipulation.

Green—unknown.

Blue—telekinesis (weaker in some).

This title seems to be contrary to what I'm expecting.

I will read this, and probably rant about how much I dislike it. You may ask why I would read something I know I will dislike, but what few people know is that I'm an optimist. Surprise me, unbeloved author. You've surprised me before, after all, but not exactly in the most pleasing of ways.


You may wonder why I haven't given other books the same chance. Well, those authors knew how to keep their foot out of their mouths. There are also two other things I really love: redemption and vengeance. If I can't have one, I will have the other.

Yes, I spent my New Year's eve at work reading this. :D