Jaimiesam

Avid Reader and Film Viewer :D I write reviews of lots of books and movies, along with allergy friendly recipes as I love to bake

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Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland | Ballet Review

The Royal Ballet's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is based on Lewis Carroll's original story and was created and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, with music by Joby Talbot and designs by Bob Crowley. The ballet follows Alice (Lauren Cuthbertson) through her whimsical journey into Wonderland as she meets an eccentric cast of characters along the way. On the surface, this ballet shines with imagination and wonder, and brings the audience into a mad new world. Its use of technology and projections often helps create unique sets for Alice to interact with in new ways. This was particularly effective when she shrinks and grows in act one. Her world seems to grow and shrink seamlessly as the audience feels her growing panic in this situation that she cannot control. However sometimes the projections felt like a replacement for an immersive set and I found the stage empty in contrast. When you look closer, the ballet focuses on Alice and her growth. She begins as a very innocent, bubbly, and energetic character who clashes with the stiff and formal attitude of her mother. The Queen of Hearts (Zenaida Yanowsky) clearly encompasses all the traits Alice finds negative in her mother. Cuthbertson portrays Alice beautifully, dancing with a playful charm. By the end of the ballet Alice dances a couple of pas de deuxs with Jack (or in Wonderland, the Knave of Hearts). These were more mature moments for Alice, and Cuthbertson managed to show the growing relationship between the two young characters through the choreography that was, in contrast, slower and more tender. I think a third pas de deux would have been a welcome addition to further the lovely connection between Alice and the Knave. The shining star of this ballet is the fiery Queen of Hearts. The choreography highlights the Queen's need for attention and off the rails anger. She is utterly unhinged and brings a great amount of humour to the ballet, such as when she shows off her dancing skills with technique, but little grace. Yanowsky's face was so emotive and created a larger than life character. I often found myself laughing at even her smallest moments on stage. Bringing the whole ballet together is Joby Talbot's score. It feels cinematic and helps the ballet flow from scene to scene. I particularly enjoyed the more mysterious tone the music took on with both the Chesire Cat and the Caterpillar. Both characters were so interesting to watch on stage and both felt as if they existed in their own space in the ballet and the music helped slow time around these distinct moments. Alice's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a ballet brimming with wonder, energy, and mystery and is easy to digest for any first-time ballet viewers. It is a joy to watch, and despite being on the long side, there are few dull moments during the duration of the show.

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Selective Mutism Awareness Month - What It Is & My Experience | 2017

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13th Doctor Discussion - Doctor Who | 2017

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Everything Everything Movie Rant | 2017

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In my new video, I list all of my favourite movies! (via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJmkEHs-cYg) 

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwXMjt0ejMg) Check out my new video! These are all the books I read in March, and all the books I’m planning on reading this month. Enjoy :D 

[jaimiesam]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hnrlBTBcM4)

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Everything, Everything Movie Adaptation

I wanted to touch on the subject of the new movie coming out, based on the YA novel Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. I suppose this is more of a post about the story, not the movie specifically. However, if you have not read the book before, it’s about a girl who is essentially allergic to everything (she has a disease called Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, or SCID), and is thus confined to her house. She lives with her mother and nurse, and has never (since she was a baby) set foot outside the safety and purified air of her home. She’s lived rather contently most of her life, until of course, a boy (Olly) moves in next door, who she rapidly begins to fall for. Also, this protagonist is racially diverse, and while this is a good thing, she is also part of a minority due to her disability, but this minority isn't treated with the respect that her race is given. Unfortunately, I had many problems with this book. I’m going to be discussing them, and they will spoil the plot, so keep reading if you’ve read the book or don’t particularly care. But otherwise, turn away now! 

SPOILERS WILL FOLLOW 

Alright. 

Now that I’ve had my preamble, I’ll get into my opinions on the book/movie. 

This book was popular. Lots of people liked or loved it. I’m not going to deny that. And I can see why, if I look at it through a different lens. It’s cute, got a nice romantic story, a diverse protagonist, and has a happy enough ending. Then it got buzz through a movie deal, drawing even more people to it. But do all of these factors hold enough weight to give this book the substance it needed? In my eyes, no, not at all. 

Let’s start at the end. 

I had a very big issue with the conclusion of this novel. 

If you don’t remember, despite Maddy believing that the only way to be safe is to stay in her bubble, in the end Maddy decides she has had enough of confinement (understandable enough), leaves the house only to fly off with Olly to Hawaii (… bit drastic…). After some health incidents, hospital visits and chats with doctors (nothing like a second, unbiased opinion when your only doctor is your mother), she discovers she actually does not have the disease, and simply has a low immune system from being confined all her life. As it happens, Maddy’s brother and father were killed in a car crash, leaving Maddy’s mother unstable and paranoid. Despite knowing what happened to her brother and father, Maddy clearly didn’t understand just how much her mother was affected by the incident. The mother doesn’t want to lose Maddy, and concocts a story (that she too believes) of Maddy’s illness. 

First of all, I find this ending so lazy. But above that, it actually infuriates me. The author is spreading the idea that the protagonist will not be able to live her life to the fullest with her disability, so she confines her and confines her whole life so the only way to have a happy ending would be for her to make the disability disappear. The protagonist has these passions, such as reading and architecture, and while she does write short book reviews and takes architecture classes, she doesn’t seem to think of anyway of pursuing these passions. She even thinks at one point, “If I were going to be something when I grew up, an architect is what I would be.” (58) To me this seems almost hopeless, as if she would like to be an architect, but because of her disability, she can’t see a way of making this happen. She doesn’t say “I want to be an architect” but rather says it as if it’s something she doesn’t believe could actually happen. 

I personally am anaphylactic to 25+ things, most of them being food, with some environmental, medical or animal ones as well. While this may not be as drastic as Maddy’s disease, it is still a lot to deal with, and it affects my everyday life. Sometimes I deal with it just as the routine it has become for me, and sometimes (mainly in new situations) I struggle and yet still deal must find a way to deal with it. It’s a constant learning curve of what works and what doesn’t, and what makes me the least anxious and most comfortable. I would never say I wish I had grown up without my allergies, because I’ve learned so much from having them. Of course it’s been difficult, but what’s life without challenge and obstacles? I definitely would not have been the person I am today without them, and to be honest, I like that person. 

I think it’s such a dangerous message to be sending, because I now can’t help but worry about all the young kids with any range of disabilities picking up this book. At first they may connect to the protagonist and the struggles she has to go through, but then what if they learn that it’s alright if they throw caution to the wind? Or if they finish the book and suddenly start to worry that they won’t be able to live fully because they have to deal with something different and difficult? They should be reading about a protagonist who embraces their challenges, accepts that they can’t live life normally, and figure out a (healthy and safe) way to deal with that. 

Even the fact that Maddy grows up in isolation is an issue. If there was a way for her to be tutored (online), and for her nurse to stay with her safely, surely her nurse (who was the closest friend Maddy had) must have at some point considered trying to safely find a way for Maddy to make friends? She sees how lonely Maddy is, and even at some points suspects the mother but never does anything about it. However, Maddy eventually figures out a way to see other people with Olly, but prior to him moving in next door, there was no real mention of her having any other friends. But by isolating her completely, it removes the possibility of her having so many experiences that they could have found a way to accommodate for her. 

Furthermore, the tagline on this book is “the greatest risk is not taking one.” When actually in many cases this is really not true. In my case, I’m anaphylactic to milk. If one day I was fed up with being restricted in my food choices (which yes, I do feel a lot), and decided, “you know what, I’m just gonna take a chance. I just want to try it this once.” What would happen? Well, I’d need my Epinephrine, followed by an ambulance, and a very fun hospital visit. Depending on the severity of the particular reaction and the time I take to respond, I could be in very serious danger as it is potentially fatal. It could range from being monitored for several hours (due to the possibility of a biphasic reaction - when it comes back later, only more severe), or being in the hospital overnight… I would never take that risk. I would rather find ways around it. For instance, I love to bake, but I’m really restricted in the ingredients I can use, so I change the recipes to suit me. And they often turn out very well. 

Someone with a disability should never feel as if they can’t live the life they want to live, or like they would be better off if they didn’t have their disability. If Maddy wanted to be an architect, perhaps the author should have allowed Maddy to have spent some of the book finding a way to realize that dream. Unfortunately, in my eyes this book promotes those ideas, and I can’t enjoy the book because of this. I watched the trailer for the movie, and looking at it without this lens, it looks like a relatively cute movie, with very faithful casting. The trailer did literally give away the whole story, minus the very last twist, but it looked like it followed the plot fairly well. If you enjoyed the book, I’m assuming you’ll enjoy the movie, and I hope you do. But I also suggest looking at it in a different way, and considering this possibility of the ending not being ok. I’m sure the movie will do well, as most YA adaptations tend to do, but I also hope people will look critically at the story and resist the habit of reading passively. 

I found a couple of other interesting blog posts on the subject, so if you are interested, click here, here, and here. 

[jaimiesam]

2016 Reading Wrap-Up

Better late than never with this post I suppose :D

This past year, I read quite a few books. It felt like a slow year, and I jumped around a lot, from genre to genre and series to series. I don’t think I finished any series. Although I actually did get through many books, it didn’t feel like a lot at the time. I really delved into some long books this year, which was both frustrating and rewarding. Those books that took me the longest to read were also some of the ones I enjoyed the most :)

Without further ado, here is the list of books I read this year! I hope you can get some ideas if you didn’t know what to read next! After the list I’ll also go into specifics about some of my favourites, and some of the ones I really didn’t get along with… (Also, just a side note, they’re not organized in anyway other than the order that I read them in!)

The Cuckoo’s Calling - Robert Galbraith

Truthwitch - Susan Dennard

Nimona - Noelle Stevenson

Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

11/22/63 - Stephen King

A Study in Charlotte - Brittany Cavallero

Dream On - Kerstin Gier

Ms. Marvel: No Normal - Wilson & Alphona

Young Avengers: Style > Substance - Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Mike Norton

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone - J. K. Rowling

Saga Vol 5 - Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

The Crown - Kiera Cass

The Hidden Oracle - Rick Riordan

Kindred Spirits- Rainbow Rowell

Dragonfly in Amber - Diana Gabaldon

Out of Sight, Out of Time - Ally Carter

The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy - Sam Maggs

The Blackthorn Key - Kevin Sands

Lola and the Boy Next Door - Stephanie Perkins

Saga Vol 6 - Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

A Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin

Everything, Everything - Nicola Yoon

Isla and the Happily Ever After - Stephanie Perkins

Jessica Jones: Alias Vol 1 - Brian Michael Bendis & Michael Gaydos

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, John Tiffany

Jessica Jones: Alias - Rebecca Come Home Vol 2 - Brian Michael Bendis & Michael Gaydos

Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins

Ant-Man Vol. 1, Second Chance Man - Nick Spencer, Ramon Rosanos

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1, Cosmic Avengers - Brian Michael Bendis, Steve McNiven

A Clash of Kings - George R. R. Martin

A Court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J. Maas

White Noise - Don DeLillo

Beloved - Toni Morrison

Angels in America - Tony Kushner

Happily Ever After - Kiera Cass

Magnus Chase: The Hammer of Thor - Rick Riordan

Interpreter of Maladies - Jhumpa Lahiri

The Sleeper and the Spindle - Neil Gaiman & Chris Riddell

Voyager - Diana Gabaldon

Romeo and What’s Her Name - Shani Petroff

My Favourites

Dragonfly in Amber

Voyager

A Game of Thrones

A Clash of Kings

A Court of Mist and Fury

I continued the Outlander series this year with books 2 and 3, and they blew me away. Sequels are so hard to get right, but Dragonfly in Amber was a breathtaking story, followed by the thrilling journey of Voyager (read my last post for my full thoughts on Voyager!).

And I started the A Song of Ice and Fire series! I’m really really loving it, and I’ve just started the third book. I must say, I did fly through A Clash of Kings much faster than A Game of Thrones, devouring the majority of it in about a week.

And finally, ACOMAF. I love the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, but her A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series cannot be beat. While I really enjoyed the ACOTAR, ACOMAF was just amazing. I loved where she took the series and the characters (both new and old), and genuinely missed my bus home one day because I was so immersed in reading it.

Honourable Mentions

Nimona

11/22/63

A Study in Charlotte

Jessica Jones Graphic Novels

Stephanie Perkins Novels

White Noise

Now these are books that I greatly enjoyed, but wouldn’t hold to the same level as those on my favourites list. For graphic novels, Nimona was a whimsical, hilarious story that was just extremely enjoyable, and the Jessica Jones: Alias series I found just dark enough, with a more likeable, human Jessica than the TV Show.

I read my first Steven King novel this year! And 11/22/63 was the perfect place to start for me, as I’m not a fan of horror, so I was immediately drawn in by this historical fiction time-travel story, about the assassination of JFK and one man’s attempt to stop it.

As for my favourite contemporary books of the year, I’d immediately go for Stephanie Perkins’ novels. I read Anna back in 2015, so this year got around to reading the last 2 in the trilogy. They were just so easy to read, and such a nice, light break from some of the much heavier books I was reading. I don’t think I spent more than two days reading any of the books, they were just lovely to read.

A Study in Charlotte was a YA Sherlock Holmes inspired novel, where Charlotte Holmes was the inquisitive, intelligent, and quick-witted descendent of Holmes himself, who befriends Jamie Watson (similarly related to John Watson). Although not the most shocking or revolutionary of mysteries, I really enjoyed the dialogue between Holmes’ and Watson, and some of the more serious issues discussed in the text and how they were handled.

And finally, White Noise, a book I read for my English course. This book was one I enjoyed simply because it was the one that frustrated me the most. I absolutely loved how much frustration this book evoked from me. The main character proves to be extremely arrogant, self-centred and misguided as the book progresses, and yet the book makes such intelligent observations of everyday life, it’s really quite interesting to read.

Books I Didn’t Enjoy

Dream On

Everything, Everything

Romeo and What’s Her Name

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child

*sigh* and now for the books that disappointed me… Kerstin Gier penned the Ruby Red Trilogy, another time-travel series that I enjoyed a fair bit, and after reading Dream a Little Dream, I was really anticipating the release of the sequel, Dream On. Unfortunately, it just felt like a filler book, and a lot of it felt unnecessary. I got quite bored with it, and it just didn’t do it for me.

Everything, Everything. Now this book frustrates me. And not in a good way, as with White Noise. It frustrates me in a “why did you go in this direction? It feels like such a lazy ending” sort of way. I was skeptical going into this book, as it deals with a girl who is allergic to everything, and as I have multiple allergies, I am quite picky about how it’s represented in books. I didn’t like the main character, I thought she was rash and made some stupid, reckless, unjustified decisions. And I was extremely annoyed at the ending, it just felt like such an easy out for the author, as she didn’t have to spend the time allowing this character to grow and learn, but rather erase her issues entirely. Overall, I just didn’t get along with this book very well, and yet I do know a lot of people did enjoy it. *shrug* at least the design and format was enjoyable.

Now, this next book comes out Feb. 7, 2017 (I received an arc for review), but unfortunately it wasn’t my favourite. In Romeo and What’s Her Name, the story felt rushed, and the protagonist felt quite childish and cringey at times. I mean, it was cute enough, but there wasn’t enough going on to properly capture my attention.

And finally, dare I say it, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child. I can’t in my right mind categorize it as a legitimate Harry Potter novel. It wasn’t written by J. K. Rowling. That’s enough for me. It was so lacking in her signature style and voice, and there was an absence of magic in it, that was so necessary to the story and the continuation of these beloved characters. I am such a huge fan of Harry Potter, so I really don’t say this lightly, but I just didn’t enjoy it. I found the plot contradictory to the rules set out in the original HP novels (*cough cough* Prisoner of Azkaban), and there were many things that certain characters did that I did not think would ever be in their nature to do. Specifically a certain line said by Harry. I just did not see it as something he would ever say to his son. I’m sure the stage production was an entirely different experience, and I’d actually be extremely curious to see it, as I have heard amazing things about it. But just from reading it, I didn’t like the story. And the biggest issue for me, once again, was that it just did not feel like a Harry Potter story.

Well, if you’ve made it to the end of this very long post, I applaud you. I do hope you enjoyed it, and got some good book recommendations. I’d love to know your thoughts on any of these books, did you like them? Hate them? Or if you have any book recommendations of your own, I’d love to hear them :D Thanks for reading!  

[jaimiesam]

Voyager Review

           I started reading the Outlander series just last year, and within the first 50 pages of Outlander, I fell in love with the series, the characters, the story, but most of all, the writing. Having just finished the third installment, Voyager, I can say that Diana Gabaldon has consistently created an epic tale in each book thus far. Each subsequent book has been a delight to read, and with each book I have found myself fully immersed and captivated by the stories she weaves.

           Gabaldon has created such a clear and distinct voice in the protagonist, Claire, which has carried over flawlessly from book to book. However at the same time, each book feels unique and the story inside is told in a slightly different way. And yet the books still feel very much connected, mainly due to the strength of Claire’s voice and narration.

           Voyager started out very differently from the first two books, as much of the first half was told in third person and jumped from different character’s point of views. This then shifted to primarily Claire’s first person narration in the second half, and caused the story to feel as if it was split into two distinct books. However as Voyager opened with Claire having returned to her time in the 1900’s and separated from Jamie with no clear way back for the first time since they met in Outlander, I found the third person created a feeling of disconnect that really amplified the feeling of Claire and Jamie being trapped in their respective time periods and have no way back to each other. Only when Claire returns to Scotland and the past does the first person narrative return and the story feels much more natural to read through.

           The downside to this though, was that I found the first half much slower to get through. Gabaldon did however have to fill the reader in on what Claire and Jamie had been up to for twenty years, so it’s understandable, but I do prefer the story when Jamie and Claire are together (as I find any interaction between them either heartfelt, or absolutely amusing) and I adore Claire’s point of view. She is absolutely one of my favourite characters, as she is kind, smart, resourceful, sharp, and very strong-willed.

           Voyager reintroduced many old characters and introduced new characters, but in many cases it felt as if you were meeting everyone for the first time, because Claire was in fact seeing her friends and family in the 1700’s for the first time in twenty years. Even her relationship with Jamie felt new, as they had to rebuild their trust with each other, and come to realize that both of them had lived their own lives and changed over the years spent apart.

           Jamie had lived in hiding for many years, and spent further time in prison and then made a living for himself in Edinburgh as a printer – with some smuggling on the side. Claire went back to her time and brought up their daughter, Brianna, and went back to school to become a doctor. After they are reunited, circumstances lead them to sail to Jamaica and to new worlds. This voyage is filled with excitement and danger and the book ends fantastically and yet too soon. I am more than willing to dive headfirst into the fourth book, but will rather unfortunately take a break before continuing the series, as each book is a huge (but worthwhile) time investment.

           The series is full of such vivid and real characters that jump off the page and come alive, and has writing that is structured so precisely yet flows beautifully that you’ll be swept into the world and never want to leave.

[jaimiesam]

An introduction to me

For those of you who have never visited my other blog, Jaimiesam (link will be added when it’s back up and running), I’m Jaimie :) I’m in university, studying English and Film, and I blog mainly about books and movies (there seems to be a correlation...)

Anyways, I love anything fantasy, fiction, sci-fi, time-travel, historical fiction, contemporary (depending on my mood) and more. I am a voracious reader, constantly found with a book in my hands, and usually a stack found next to my bed. I’m currently reading A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin, so I’m fairly behind on the whole Game of Thrones thing (I’m reading a book, then watching the corresponding season), but I do love the series so far. I’m also reading The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall which is a fun YA mystery novel, and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz. I’m reading that for my english course, but it’s a really interesting book.

I also adore films. I think there’s something magic about a good book or film that can transport you to a different world, and allow you to live a different life for 400 pages, or 2 hours. I watch a lot of the same genres as I read. I’ve just seen La La Land by Damien Chazelle, and it was so fantastic. I’ll probably write a review in the coming weeks for it. It’s definitely now up there with my favourite films.

My favourite favourite favourite is of course Harry Potter. I can’t remember a time of my life that didn’t involve Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I’m a proud Ravenclaw (with some Slytherin tendencies, I must admit) and my knowledge of the series knows no bounds.

I also love to cook and bake, despite a long list of allergies. I don’t let them get in the way though, and simply enjoy adjusting recipes to suit my diet. I love fashion and makeup, and experimenting with different outfits and looks (I’m not too adventurous, but I step out of my comfort zone every now and then) - but I don’t tend to blog about that really...

Anyways, I hope you’ve enjoyed this quick intro, and learned a bit more about me. I’ll hopefully be posting soon, including a review of Voyager (the third book in the Outlander series) that I’ll be putting up next. Hope you visit my blog again soon!

[jaimiesam]

Welcome!

Hey, and welcome to my blog! I have a separate blog that I’ve been running for awhile now, but due to some technical issues I haven’t been able to post in months :’( I’ve had so many ideas for posts that have gone unwritten and unshared, so I decided to properly set up this blog so I can post stuff in the interim, while waiting for my blog to go back up.  I’ll definitely continue to post stuff on here after my blog is back up, but I’ll also post the link to it when it’s fixed. I’ve got some posts lined up for the next few days, so keep an eye out, and I hope you enjoy!