Mis top libros favoritos

Desde ahora se los digo: la lista está larguita. Logré limitarme a 20, pero originalmente iban a ser como 40. No es chiste. Yo leo bastante, así que me es difícil hablar de cuáles han sido mis libros favoritos de todos. Pero aquí en este post de hoy hice mi mejor intento. 

La lista que les presentaré va del 20 al 1, siendo el número 1 mi favorito por encima de todos. No significa que para mí los otros libros sean malos, o estén peor escritos. Aquí tomé en consideración mi experiencia leyéndolos, lo que aprendí de ellos, su impacto en mí, y sus sistemas mágicos (en caso de que sean de fantasía). En la mayoría de los casos, hablo sobre series en vez de novelas solas, para así no tener que dividir series de hasta 20 libros en uno por uno. 

Sin más preámbulos, comencemos. 

#20 "Dorothy Must Die"

Por Danielle Paige 

Creo que ya he hablado de esta serie anteriormente. Pero básicamente, se trata de esta chica de Kansas llamada Amy, quien es trasladada en su casa tráiler por un tornado al mundo de Oz. Aquí se encuentra con un Oz mayormente destruido, gobernado por la original Dorothy, quien ha sido corrompida al lado oscuro- junto a Glinda la bruja como su mano derecha, y a sus amigos (el León, el Espantapájaros, y el Hombre de Hojalata) como sus crueles sirvientes. Amy se une a quienes fueron conocidas como las brujas malas de Oz, para matar a Dorothy y a su grupo, y devolver al trono a la reina hada Ozma. 

#19 "Scott Pilgrim"

Por Bryan Lee O'Malley 

La película estuvo genial, pero los comics están a otro nivel. Fueron los primeros comics que leí, y los amé muchísimo. La historia nos presenta a Scott, un joven canadiense a principio de sus 20, sin trabajo y tocando en una banda. Él se enamora de Ramona Flowers, la chica nueva, quien se enamora de él también. Sin embargo, para estar juntos, él debe derrotar a los 7 exes malvados de Ramona. Es una serie con magia, ciencia ficción, y elementos súper raros, pero ha sido de las mejores historias de amor que he leído. 

#18 "Big Little Lies"

Por Liane Moriarty 

Esta es la historia de tres mujeres en Australia, llamadas Celeste, Jane y Madeline. Jane es la nueva en el pueblo, junto con su pequeño hijo, quien comenzará el kinder junto a los hijos de Madeline y Celeste. En el primer día de escuela surge un incidente, el cual desencadena una serie de eventos para las tres mujeres y sus respectivos secretos. La hija mayor de Madeline se vuelve cada vez más rebelde, y prefiere a su papá y madrastra antes que a ella. Jane tuvo a su hijo como resultado de una violación. Y la perfecta Celeste no es tan perfecta como se ve, ya que su matrimonio oculta un oscuro secreto. 

#17 "The Handmaid's Tale"

Por Margaret Atwood 

No creo que este libro necesite mucha introducción. Es un futuro distópico donde, a raíz de un problema de infertilidad, un gobierno cristiano ha tomado el control de los Estados Unidos. Le han quitado todos los derechos a las mujeres, incluyendo el derecho a trabajar y a leer. Las mujeres fértiles que fueron "malas" son obligadas a ser las infames criadas vestidas de rojo, quienes son enviadas a familias con mujeres infértiles para ser embarazadas. Todos los horrores cometidos contra las mujeres en este libro han pasado en la vida real en momentos dados de la historia, siendo el perfecto libro de advertencia contra lo que no debemos permitir que suceda. 

#16 "Valley of the Dolls"

Por Jacqueline Susan

Tres amigas de nombre Anne, Neely y Jennifer llegan a New York en los años 40, buscando fama en el mundo del espectáculo. A través de dos décadas, las mujeres caen en el mundo tóxico de Hollywood, teniendo tormentosos romances, luchando contra los estudios de grabación que las explotan, y eventualmente usando pastillas de todo tipo. Estas pastillas son las llamadas "dolls" o "muñecas" del título del libro, más también hace referencia a cómo las tres son vistas como muñecas en vez de seres humanos. Un libro que todavía hoy en día presenta una fuerte crítica contra los peligros de la fama. 

#15 "Interview with the Vampire"

Por Anne Rice 

El primer libro en mostrar la historia desde la perspectiva del monstruo. La novela trata de Louis, un vampiro que fue transformado en los 1700 por el vampiro Lestat. Ambos comienzan un tormentoso romance, el cual los lleva a eventualmente cometer el peor error de todos: convertir a una niña de 5 años en vampira. La novela es contada desde el punto de vista de Louis, quien no solo narra su historia, sino que cuestiona la moralidad de su existencia, la inmortalidad de su alma, y el verdadero peso de la eternidad. Hermosa novela en mi opinión, aparte de que fue la primera novela que leí con protagonistas homosexuales. 

#14 "Fahrenheit 451"

Por Ray Bradbury 

Un futuro donde leer es ilegal, y los bomberos trabajan quemando libros, las casas que los alberguen, y las personas que los tengan. La historia sigue a uno de estos bomberos, quien descubre la realidad detrás de esta "normalidad", y el cómo su sociedad es manipulada por el gobierno y la televisión. Cualquier parecido con la realidad moderna NO es pura coincidencia. Como dato interesante, Fahrenheit 451 es la temperatura con la cual los libros se queman. 

#13 "The Shadowhunter Chronicles"

Por Cassandra Clare 

Esta serie ya va como por 20 libros y todavía no acaba. ¿Me molesta? Obviamente no. ¡Por mí que siga! En resumen, es la historia de los shadowhunters, guerreros mitad humanos y mitad ángeles, quienes dedican sus vidas a cazar demonios. También mantienen el orden entre vampiros, brujas, hadas y hombres lobo de nuestro mundo. El verdadero encanto de la serie está en que la historia se desarrolla desde la época victoriana inglesa, hasta nuestros tiempos modernos. Una serie bien hermosa, y con diversidad racial y LGBT bien representada. 

#12 "Memoirs of a Geisha"

Por Arthur Golden 

Inspirada parcialmente en hechos reales, la novela cuenta la historia de Sayuri, una joven que fue vendida de niña por su padre para ser convertida en geisha. Sayuri nos narra su historia, desde el momento en que fue vendida junto a su hermana Satsu, y cómo se abrió paso para convertirse en una de las geishas más exitosas del país. Es una maravillosa historia llena de belleza y majestuosidad, mostrando a su vez la fortaleza del espíritu humano. 

#11 "Practical Magic"

Por Alice Hoffman

Aquí hablaré de la serie como tal. La historia es sobre la familia Owens, quienes poseen el don de la magia. Todas las mujeres y hombres Owens nacen siendo brujas con maravillosos poderes. Sin embargo, la familia tiene una maldición: cada persona que se enamore de un Owens, morirá. La serie nos lleva desde la fundación de la familia durante la cacería de brujas en Salem, hasta los tiempos modernos, y cómo las brujas de esta familia aprenden a sanar sus corazones rotos, buscan romper la maldición, y encuentran la mayor fuente de magia en el amor. 

#10 "School for Good and Evil"

Por Soman Chainani 

Las mejores amigas Sophie y Agatha, son secuestradas y llevadas a una escuela mágica, la cual se divide en dos: la escuela del Bien y la escuela del Mal. Cada persona se gradúa de aquí para participar en un cuento de hadas; entiéndase que personajes como Peter Pan, la Reina Malvada, y Cenicienta se graduaron de aquí. Sophie y Agatha son divididas, una para cada escuela, poniendo su amistad a prueba, y colocándolas en el medio de una conspiración mágica que lleva años fabricándose. 

#9 "The Kane Chronicles"

Por Rick Riordan 

Del mismo mundo de Percy Jackson, Riordan nos da la historia de los hermanos Carter y Sadie, quienes fueron separados tras la muerte de su madre; Carter vive con su papá, y Sadie con sus abuelos maternos. En la visita anual navideña a Sadie, los hermanos son llevados por su padre a un museo con una exhibición egipcia, donde él libera de su prisión a los dioses egipcios. Con esto, Carter y Sadie descubren que, no solo son descendientes de los faraones, sino que están albergando en su interior a los dioses Horus e Isis. Ambos deben entrenarse en magia egipcia, si quieren salvar a su padre, y al mundo entero de la destrucción que le espera. 

#8 "The Hunger Games"

Por Suzanne Collins 

Esta es una serie que definitivamente no necesita introducción. Si ya han visto las películas, dense la oportunidad de leer los libros. Créanme, son mil veces mejores. Todavía no les perdono que hayan vuelto blanca a Katniss en las películas- sorry not sorry. Pero es una serie muy importante para mí, tanto así que me tatué el "mockingjay" de la portada. 

#7 "A Court of Thorns and Roses"

Por la inigualable Sarah J. Maas 

Feyre es una joven humana de 19 años que caza para sobrevivir, y mantener a su familia. En una noche de cacería, mata accidentalmente a un hada, quien es vengada por su amigo, el lord Tamlyn de la Corte de la Primavera (también hada). Él se lleva a Feyre a su castillo, donde eventualmente se inicia una relación amorosa tóxica entre los dos. Gracias a los dioses, Feyre sale de ese malandro en el segundo libro y se va con papasito Rhysand, quien es el lord de la Corte de la Noche. En esta corte, Feyre hace verdaderos amigos, y se convierte en una heroína. Hay hadas y muchos monstruos en esta serie, y escenas candentes bien explícitas. Así mismo hay un fuerte mensaje sobre la violencia entre pareja, el aprender a vivir luego de pasar dolorosos traumas, y la importancia del amor propio. 

#6 "Harry Potter"

Por J. K. Rowling 

Poniendo mis pensamientos sobre Rowling al lado, estoy haciendo mi paz con Harry Potter. Ya voy por el tercer libro, que sigue siendo mi favorito en la serie. Harry Potter tiene un sistema mágico débil, pero eso no significa que sea malo, solo que es bien sencillo, y creo que esto es parte de su encanto. Soy fan tanto del sistema mágico fuerte como del débil, y Harry Potter ha mantenido la maravilla dentro de su sistema mágico por décadas. Espero pronto seguir con el cuarto libro, aunque ya los leí hace años. 

#5 "Crescent City"

Por la perfecta Sarah J. Maas

Un mundo bien parecido al nuestro en cuestión de tecnología, ropa, y modernidad. Aquí las criaturas mágicas caminan entre los humanos libre y abiertamente, y la mayoría viven por cientos (sino miles) de años). La historia se centra en Bryce, mitad hada y mitad humana, quien trabaja para una poderosa bruja dueña de una tienda de artefactos mágicos. La mejor amiga de Bryce es asesinada brutalmente, y Bryce es asignada con la dolorosa (y peligrosa) tarea de descubrir quién cometió el crimen y por qué. Junto a ella trabajará el arcángel Hunt, quien oculta al igual que ella mucho dolor por eventos pasados. Hunt y Bryce pasan de ser enemigos a ser pareja, uno de mis tramas favoritos, y desenmascaran una conspiración que puede causar el fin del mundo como lo conocen. Y sí, al ser libros de Sarah J. Maas, también hay escenas cachondas. Y sí, la serie aún está progreso. 

#4 "Laila Winter"

Por Bárbara G. Rivero

Creo que nunca he hablado de esta serie antes; es española y es sumamente hermosa. Laila es una joven de 16 años que vive con su papá en Gran Bretaña, y descubre en su cumpleaños que es mitad hada. Gracias a un libro mágico, es transportada al mundo de las hadas, donde se vuelve amiga de las princesas Nimphia, Aurige y Cyinder. Las cuatro juntas viven muchísimas aventuras, y descubren los poderes dormidos de Laila. Pero la diversión les dura poco. El mundo de las hadas está dividido en varios reinos, y el reino de las sombras amenaza con conquistar el resto. Laila y sus amigas deben enfrentarse a los enemigos de la oscuridad, mientras lidian con problemas del mundo mortal y mágico a la vez, intrigas políticas, muertes inesperadas, y el regreso de la poderosa y temida madre de Laila. 

#3 "Percy Jackson and the Olympians"

Por Rick Riordan 

Cuento largo corto- Percy es un joven de 12 años que descubre que los dioses griegos existen. y que él mismo es hijo del antiguo dios Poseidón. Percy es llevado al campamento destinado para los semi dioses, donde entrenará junto a su mejor amigo, el sátiro Grover, y junto a su interés romántico Annabeth, hija de Atenea. Los tres se enfrentan a monstruos y dioses por igual, luchando al final contra el peligro mayor: los titanes. Quienes me conocen saben que amo esta serie con mi vida entera, y espero que la nueva serie que harán de ella en Disney+ no la dañe; ya tuve suficiente con la película. 

#2 "His Dark Materials"

Por Philip Pullman

En un mundo donde nuestras almas caminan a nuestro lado en forma de animales llamados daemonios, donde los osos polares tienen su propio reino en el norte, donde las brujas dominan los aires, y donde la iglesia es el mayor enemigo, se encuentra Lyra. Ella es una joven de unos 11-12 años, a quien le es obsequiada la Brújula Dorada, capaz de revelar la verdad. Lyra se une a un ejército de valientes humanos, brujas y osos, quienes se enfrentan a la crueldad de la iglesia. Ésta última está secuestrando niños para separarlos de sus daemonios, dejando a los niños destruidos en mente, cuerpo y espíritu, y tienen como objetivo principal a Lyra. Se cree que es ella la reencarnación de Eva, y será la responsable de volver a traer el pecado al mundo y, por lo tanto, el libre pensamiento y albedrío.

#1 "Throne of Glass"

Por la diosa Sarah J. Maas 

La foto no es mía (ojalá). Todos los créditos son para la persona. 

En un mundo donde se extinguió la magia (o eso creen) la asesina Celaena Sardothien es liberada de su esclavitud para participar de una competencia creada por el cruel rey: ella luchará en una serie de eventos junto a otros asesinos y ladrones; quien gane tendrá su libertad y se volverá el guardaespaldas personal del rey. De aquí la trama se extiende y complica mucho más. Ha sido la serie de fantasía que más me ha enamorado, y al día de hoy, sigue siendo la mejor serie que he leído en mi vida. Hadas, brujas, dioses, demonios, fantasmas, monstruos, piratas, intriga política, romance, viajes a través de mundos, arañas gigantes (no pregunten), y mucho más. Pienso leerla nuevamente pronto. 

Eso es todo por hoy bellezas. Espero que les haya gustado, y les interese leer por lo menos uno de los libros mencionados aquí. Un abrazo a todos.

P.S. Quiero un gatito esfinge. 

😍

Halloween Creatures Book Tag!

It's been a while since I've done a book tag, and I thought: why not do it now? 

I found this tag searching online for Halloween tags and I loved it! It's fun, creative and it gives you the chance to find out about books you might have not known before. It was created by Anthony @ Keep Reading Forward so make sure to check his page as well. 

For this tag, there will be a quick list of 13 questions based on a creature typically associated with Halloween. Each of the questions is either answered with a book or book character, but the answers are not necessarily associated with Halloween; as long as they're answering the questions, then they're fine. 

Let's get started! 

1- Witch: A magical character or book. 

This book is so magical, so beautiful and enchanting. It's full of witches in every corner, and a magic system that is so beautiful to read about. The descriptions are enchanting and breathtaking, and I will praise Danielle Paige for the rest of my days for her unique touch to the land of Oz. It's still one of my favorite books, and I reread it every now and then. The rest of the series is also full of magic and witchy fun, except for Glinda- she's a heinous monster.  

2- Werewolf: The perfect book to read at night. 

This book and its sequels are just perfect for night reading. They're creepy, very creepy. There are monsters in every corner, fun mysteries and cool, magical abilities. The vintage pictures included in the books makes them even better and creepier. The movie adaptation sucked, but the book is one hell of a marvelous ride. I haven't read past the third book yet, but I'm planning on doing so very soon. 

3- Frankenstein: A book that truly shocked you. 

Three triplets born in a magical island, with one of them meant to rule and the others to die. The tradition establishes that they must be separated from each other at a young age, only to be reunited at 16 to kill each other for the throne. The level of darkness and violence in this book shocked me to the core, and I never imagined that someone could create such a dark (but amazing) tale. It was a very twisted story- believe me, I enjoyed every second of it. 

4- The Devil: A dark or evil character. 

This lady is Marisa Coulter from Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials". She's not the devil, she actually works for the church- and that's precisely what makes her so dangerous. She kidnaps children to cut their daemons from them; I remind you that in this world, daemons are people's souls that walk beside them in the shape of animals, which shape/species reflect their personalities. Cutting away a child's daemon means sure death for most of them. The ones who survive remain as mere shells of the people they used to be, completely subjected to the will of the church, without feelings such as desire, love or true happiness, or most important of all: free thinking. 

Mrs. Coulter is a very complicated character, to the point where even her villain status is dubious at times. She changes sides as she pleases or finds convenient; she's a good mother for a moment, and an abusive monster the next; a feme fatale who uses her seduction abilities to gain power and manipulate men; at the end, a self-abusive woman with a thirst for power, and no morals. 

5- Grim Reaper: A character that never should have died. 

Lord Eddard Stark... goddammit. I still cry with his death. It just wasn't fair, period. He was a loving husband, an amazing father, and an honest man through and through. He was a pure person, with only goodness inside of him. I miss him a lot, and I don't care if he's fictional. 

6- Zombie: A book that made you hungry for more. 

This entire trilogy DESTROYED me! It was amazing, and I want and NEED MORE! It's about this world where superheroes do exist, and they have created this whole society system that seems awesome at first, but pretty soon you can see the cracks on it. I usually don't like reading about superheroes, but this trilogy is so perfect; I even created a playlist for it on my iTunes account. 

7- Gargoyle: A character that you would protect at all costs. 

Credits of the fan art are for Ida V. You can find her on 
Instagram. 

This girl right here is Bryce Quinlan from Sarah J. Maas' "Crescent City". I love Bryce with my life, and I think I would be friends with her if I was a fictional character in her world. Bryce struggles a lot with her mental health, which is something I can relate to completely. She loves with her life and more, but she feels underserving of love. Bryce would give her life for her friends, which is something I would do as well. She's fun, independent, confident in her body and full of passion. I will protect her at all costs, so help me Jesus. 

8- Vampire: A book that sucked the life out of you. 

This is the fourth book in the "Red Queen" series by Victoria Aveyard. This book sucked the life out of me and I almost died. Not because it was bad; it was actually quite the contrary! I adored this book! It was so intense, and I loved every scene. Every quote, every action moment, every epic event was divine. Also, the character development present in this book was beyond beautiful. I almost died several times reading it, and I'm thankful for it. 

9- Ghost: A book that still hunts you. 

This story messed me up so badly man. Especially Claudia's story, which was tremendously tragic and sad for me. I don't think I'll ever be over this book, but I don't mind. It's one of the most beautifully written stories I've ever read, and Anne Rice is one marvelous author; she's a genius with words. Lestat, Louis and Claudia will always be with me no matter where I go. 

10- Demon: A book that really scared you. 

I know "The Lord of the Rings" is not exactly a horror book; it's actually high fantasy. Nevertheless, this book gave me a bad juju from the start. All this mess with the Ring and the Dark Lord Sauron, mixed with the Nazgul, Gollum, the cave troll, the orcs and Saruman made me afraid of the dark as an adult. I am not joking. And the chapters dealing with that goddamn cave...HELL TO THE NO. Those chapters were incredibly descriptive, and I admit I was scared reading them. Besides, there was a demon-like creature in this book, so yeah. 

11- Skeleton: A character you have a bone to pick with. 

Hawley Griffin, also known as the Invisible Man, was part of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. His permanent invisible status made him a very valuable asset to the team. The problem? He was a rapist. The League actually caught him in the act of raping a young girl; he, of course, used his ability to do this horrible act. In the second volume of the series, he ended up betraying the League to the invading aliens. In other words, he was a major asshole. 

12- Mummy: A book you would preserve throughout time. 

Not only are "The Hunger Games" very entertaining, but they teach several important lessons which I think we would be stupid to forget. For me, "The Hunger Games" is a cautionary tale: this could happen if we as a society are not careful with the paths we take. I'm terrified of a future where things like the ones in these books could happen. Besides all of this, the books present important survival skills in hostile environments, which I will need when the zombie apocalypse arrives.

13- Creepy Doll: A cover too scary to look at. 

For me, any cover version of this book is scary, creepy, and bound to be burned. It gives me a serious case of bad juju, leaving me thinking only of the clown's teeth. Like I said in last week's post: f*** you Pennywise. If the cover is scary, you really don't want to experience that's waiting on the inside. 

THE MONSTER MASH: For this part, I was supposed to tag my friends. but my friends don't have blog accounts. Therefore, if my friends are reading this post, I invite you to reflect upon these questions and come up with your own answers- even if you don't share them. 

Now, that's all for today! I hope you guys enjoyed. I was planning on writing a more complex post today, longer actually. But I'm currently divided between doing my house chores and preparing my classes for this week, so I had to go for something simple. Hopefully next week I'll be able to do better. As always, thank you for reading me and I'll see you guys next Sunday. 

P.S. I can't wait for Halloween. 

"The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" Spoiler Free Review

Oh dear lord... this book. 

Welcome back readers. For today's post, we will be discussing the new "Hunger Games" book by Suzanne Collins called "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes". It is a prequel to the original trilogy, taking place 64 years before Katniss Everdeen entered the games. 

I really like the cover. 

Before we get into the book, I want to look quickly at the symbolism on the cover. As with the other books, this has target circles on the mockingjay, which again will be an important part of the story. Look at the circle on which the mockingjay appears- it's not a solid circle as with the other books, but made up by branches instead. This means, in my opinion, that these Games are just beginning and the story is barely starting. As with the animals, the serpent mostly represents Coriolanus Snow and the mockingjay Lucy Gray (I'll write more about them later on). 

As I said, this book takes place 64 years before Katniss. Therefore, these are the 10th Hunger Games. The story is told from a third-person narrative, focusing on Coriolanus Snow, whom we know will become the greatest villain of this world as Panem's president. He is around 17 to 18 years old, studying at the Academy in the Capitol. For these Games, the game maker Dr. Gaul has proposed something different: that each tribute will have an Academy senior student as their mentor. Coriolanus is then assigned to Lucy Gray, the female tribute from District 12 (Katniss' future home). 

As the story progresses, Snow and Lucy fall in love. Lucy tries to survive the Games, while Snow tries to save the goodness in his heart and the girl he loves, while slowly descending into the evil being we know and loathe. 

The story deals with similar themes to the original trilogy. It's gory at parts, heartbreaking, infuriating, and overall one hell of a ride. Of course, not everything is perfect, and I found myself putting down the book too many times. It was hard to get through at some points, and several parts dragged on a little. To better organize my ideas, I divided them between pros and cons. 

Pros: 

I really enjoyed Lucy Gray's character. She's wildly different from Katniss in terms of personality, and how she carries herself in the Games. She loves color (she mostly wears a rainbow dress), singing and flirting. Lucy is a free spirit with a deep connection with music and mockingjays- hence her representation in the book cover and title. She is not really from District 12, as she is part of a traveling music band that got stuck in 12 after the War. 

Lucy Gray Baird 
Credits to Shrakdraws! 

Another thing I enjoyed was Dr. Gaul. She is the game maker, responsible for designing the Games and bringing new and "entertaining" dangers to the tributes. Think of her as Dolores Umbridge in the Games, with tremendous science knowledge, but with the same sadistic pleasure for torturing. Even though she's a monster through and through, it was fun to read about her. She's not an entirely solid villain, but she was good. Dr. Gaul is the one responsible for most of Snow's corruption. 

Think of this bastard and there you have
Dr. Gaul, but in Capitol fashion. 

The third thing I liked in this book was reading from the Capitol's perspective. You get to see how the rebellion affected them; how some of them fell into things such as cannibalism just to survive during the worst parts of the War; and the way they react to the Games. Their reactions and decisions are seen as inhuman by us readers, and by the Districts too, but the Capitol citizens see them as normal; they were raised with that way of thinking. You also get to see how they justify the Games and all its cruelty, and the way they look at District people. 

This is Panem. 

This leads me to how things used to be, which was very fun to read. The Games are INCREDIBLY DIFFERENT from the ones we are used to. From the arena, to the way the tributes were treated, what happened to the victor, the bets, the mentors relationship with the tributes and so much more. You get to see how these Games started and how they evolved through the decades. 

Last but not least, something I loved were the connections this book made with the original trilogy. The katniss plants make an appearance more than once in District 12. You get to learn and understand why Snow hates the mockingjay so much. The Hanging Tree song is born, and Suzanne Collins does a terrific job explaining not only its meaning, but also its connection to both Snow and Lucy's story. And of course you can see how Snow's vision and ideas change the Games, bringing forth the monstrosity we've come to know. 

There's also a fan theory that Katniss' paternal grandmother appears in this book, as a character from District 12 that Snow gets to meet later in the story. Further into Katniss' character, at one point in the book, Lucy goes to collect the katniss plant, to which Snow replies that the plants were not ready yet; Lucy answers by saying that "two weeks can make a lot of difference." Two weeks was the time that Katniss spent in her first Hunger Games.  

Cons: 

I really didn't like Snow's point of view. Not because the author did a bad job; on the contrary, I think she did it quite well. But Coriolanus Snow is a character very hard to empathize with, you know? Even though he starts "mostly good", he tries to justify all of his horrible deeds, and that is sickening. The way he sees his friends as people to use, and how he looks at Lucy as his possession was very difficult to read. Even though he had multiple chances to change and see the world from the Districts' perspective, he refused to listen and change. He was a monster, period. 

A snake through and through. 
Credits to the artist who drew Snow's young version. 

Another character I didn't like was Sejanus Plinth. He is Snow's friend, and he moved with his family from District 2 to the Capitol. Snow befriends him only because of the many benefits that friendship could bring him. As for Sejanus... lord. He was always supporting the rebels and the Districts despite living in the Capitol, which was something I appreciated. But I hated how he constantly he threw himself in danger without thinking of the consequences for him and his whole family. Even though I liked how he faced Dr. Gaul and the Capitol's ways, he mostly came off as whiny when he talked about Panem's problems. Yes, he did try to do the right thing most of the time. But it's his recklessness that made me mad with frustration, as he was always jumping towards the first little rebellious act he saw. He was annoying for me. 

My mood with Sejanus Plinth. 

As for the romance in this book, I hated it. It came off as forced, full of cringe, possessive and ultimately abusive. I never for a second believed that Coriolanus and Lucy fell in love. For me it was just infatuation, and it was destroyed in a matter of minutes anyways. Even though the romance in the original trilogy is not the best either, believe me: Katniss and Peeta are way better than these two. I ended up appreciating Peeta more. 

I couldn't find the artist, but all credits 
go to them. 

Now, for my personal taste, Lucy Gray's fate was left too open. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against an open ending for a story or for a specific character. It's not my favorite type of ending, but I can live with it. But I think Lucy Gray's fate needed closure. I understand why it wasn't done this way, but still. It was frustrating. 

The last thing I didn't like was the book's pacing. It was very slow, especially in the beginning. Since the story is all from a Capitol's perspective, you don't really go into the Games as we did with Katniss. You are an outsider, watching the Games but not becoming a part of them. That made the story slow in many parts. Also, several moments used to drag on and on with Snow's reflections. Again, I don't have anything against this particular thing, but for me it's unnecessary to spend so much time in someone's reflections. They are important and good, as long as they don't make the plot slow down too much. 

I can't even. 

_____________________________________________________________

In conclusion, "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" is a good book. Not brilliant, but overall very entertaining and engaging once the plot picks up. The characters are not perfect, most are not fleshed out entirely, but they are fun to read about. I enjoyed reading how Snow fell into darkness and became succumbed by it, even if I didn't like his point of view that much. If you would like to explore how Panem was before Katniss, then this book is for you. Overall, I give this book: 

3/5 stars.

I hope you guys enjoyed this review. I will continue doing so with other books. See you next Sunday! 

P.S. I'd like to read another book from Panem. Maybe the story of Alma Coin, who knows? 

 

I Want to See the World Burn

Hi people. Thank you for visiting my blog again. I haven't written in some days, which I don't like; my original plan was to write one post per week. But work kept me really busy this week, plus some personal problems I was having. Nevertheless, here we are again.

For this post, I wish to talk about some of my unpopular opinions (most of them about books). I will provide a brief explanation for each, while hoping you don't come at me with pitchforks and torches... although I'd secretly love that, it would be fun. Please don't be offended for the things I will write; you are entitled to your own opinion, just like me. I'm not looking to offend you, this isn't a personal attack. Without further due, let's burn this world to the ground.

1- I've read better fantasy books than Harry Potter: I don't hate Potter, really I don't. I was in second grade when I read the first book, so it was my introduction to literature for which I will be eternally grateful. It's a very good series, with lots of imagination and wonder. But I do get annoyed when people want to shove it down my throat. Yes, it is amazing; no one can say the contrary. But it is not the only fantasy series in the world, and it's not the best. Of course this is a matter of opinion, but I've personally enjoyed other fantasy works more than Potter (and I'm not talking about "Lord of the Rings").

2- Captain Marvel doesn't deserve all that hate: When a man is cocky, confident, sarcastic and with a hero complex, he is praised as a great character. For example Tony Stark, better known as Iron Man. Now, when a woman shows these same characteristics, she's called a bitch. The best example for me is Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel. Basically what you're saying is that girls should be confident, but not too confident; that if girls show they don't need a man, they are seen as having a superiority complex. Male superheroes don't smile all the time, are often serious, and no one bats an eye. But Carol should smile more because she's a woman. If a woman appears as a sidekick (yet again), she's a badass. But if she takes the leading role, she's full of herself. Carol deserves better.

3- Katniss and Gale would have been horrible together: One thing that strikes me the most about Katniss is that despite all the things she must do, she respects life above all else. Gale has no such respect. He once told her that basically she should hunt down her competitors in the Hunger Games, to which she stated that she only hunts animals; he replied "What's the difference?". That always left a bad taste in my mouth. Gale seems to me the person who believes that the end justifies the means, regardless of who must die; he doesn't show the compassion that Katniss needs to find in such a cruel world. You might not like Peeta, but he was certainly more human than Gale; I don't care how cute he was.

4- You're not better than others just because you don't like popular things: So you don't have any interest in "Game of Thrones"? Do you hate superhero movies? You think Star Wars is stupid? You believe only indie movies are good? I couldn't care less. You are entitled to have your own opinions and tastes, I don't mind. But please stop believing you're better than everyone else just for not liking these things. You've never seen Star Wars? If so, why should I care? Do you want a medal for that?

5- I really can't stand John Green's books: I've read a couple of books by this man, and... it's just not for me. I found the plots to be recycled! White teenagers who fall in love, but for some reason can't be together, they have weird and random tastes, most of them don't feel like real teenagers, and the plots get to be too predictable. It's like reading a Nicholas Sparks book: same white straight people, falling in love and full of annoying angst.

6- Narnia is an awful book: I will soon make a full post about this, because I have some serious issues with Narnia. Put briefly, I despise everything regarding this work. I find it racist, misogynist, full of religious propaganda, hypocritical, incongruous, and even boring; I'm sorry but the writing style was not for me. Not only do most of the children in this book sound the same (which proves to me that the author wasn't very good at writing characters) but the girls are treated specially awful. I will never forgive C. S. Lewis for what he did to Susan Pevensie, and how he destroyed her character just for discovering sex.

7- The "Umbrella Academy" comics are way better than the Netflix adaptation: Don't get me wrong, the TV series is pretty good. But it doesn't compare to the comics. Not only the story is more complex, but the characters are much better in the source material. They are more powerful than their TV counterparts, their adventures are more superhero-like, and they are not very good people, which I love because I deeply enjoy flawed and complicated characters. The source material is also darker than the TV series, which is something I adore.

This is the end of my unpopular opinions. If you guys would want to read more about this, just let me know in the comments below. I hope we'll read each other soon.

P.S. Zulmarie thank you for ranting about J. K. Rowling with me, we do love a good rant. Yamaris thank you for discussing Harry Potter with me, it's extremely fun. And Dianaryz, thank you for having the patience and the good laughs for both topics. Love you girls!