A-STYLE | MEDIA MATTERS
  • News & Updates
  • For Patrons!
  • Editorials
  • Reviews
    • My Grading Scale
    • Top Lists
  • Behind the Scenes
    • About
    • FAQ
  • Fan-Works

Nightfall (Keepers #6) - Shannon Messenger

7/14/2021

0 Comments

 
Date Read: June 16th, 2021
Picture
Final Score: 8 / 10 !

​          This was yet another LOVELY installment in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series! This was a dramatic improvement on the 5th book, mainly for how the installment actually matters on its own rather than simply as a stepping stone towards the Endgame.
           The increasing complexity of how the adults in this series relate to each other is really becoming an amazing display of awareness that is a GREAT means of helping young readers learn to understand grown-ups as people rather than as magical-all-knowing entities who have achieved a state of 'completion'. Grown-ups make mistakes, and they have emotions that cloud their judgement, and they act in ways that seem irrational because you don't fully understand where they're coming from... It's something that takes kids a long time to understand and something that is explicitly commented on in this novel, discussed in great detail at varied intervals that allow for kids to legitimately begin absorbing the lesson alongside their middle-grade protagonists.
          The plot twists developed in this novel are fantastic. It takes on several necessary new-turn developments without becoming predictable and still works in a good few deeply unexpected twists! I LOVE the new characters we get introduced to, and I ADORE the new characterizations of familiar faces we'd thought we knew.
             The story has developed complexity to the point of requiring multiple threads of storyline ongoing all at once, and it times out perfectly with the plot-device of teaching the protagonists the nuanced lesson of needing to delegate tasks to keep their heads above water. We're just at the edge of how complicated a book can before it gets too confusing, but perfectly well managed to help young audiences keep all the details straight. It's becoming a REALLY good transition into Young Adult and I absolutely love it!

             I will DEFINITELY be picking up the next installment ASAP!
0 Comments

the Other Side of the Sky - Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

6/2/2021

0 Comments

 
Date Read: May 20th, 2021
Picture
Final Score: 8 / 10 !

​           I have come to realize that I simply adore Amie Kaufman. I still think it's a little weird that she writes almost nothing on her own. but she seems to pick her co-authors very well and I absolutely love everything I've read with her name on it.
           This one is no exception, in fact I might like it best of all I've read thus far! 
           First of all, it's a gorgeous world, richly imagined and deeply developed with intricate nuance and a vibrant liveliness that makes both cultures feel very real.
           I did wonder about the rest of the world, because surely 2 tribes of humans cannot be the only cultures left on the planet, but at the same time, the limited tech of the one and the utter indifference of the other does very well to explain away the seeming smallness of the world.
           ​I deeply enjoyed the conflation of magic vs technology and religion vs science here, it was laid out very well how similar the two sets of concepts are and why preaching science at someone is just a aggressive an impolite overstep as preaching religion at someone. While respect for science and for academia in general needs to be cultivated in the modern world we live in, accepting the working of science does not make you a better person on any account than someone who does not (and you telling them that they are ridiculous, backwards, and idiotic doesn't help the problem). 
            It's also only a respect for science in the barest terms if you cannot articulate WHY science ought to be accepted and followed in a manner that DOES delineate it from religion. (After all, if you can't explain how an airplane stays in the sky, how is believing that it will any different from someone believing in magic carpets or dragons?)Because the problem with religious dogma and psuedo-religious science is not that one is right and one is wrong, it's that one can demonstrably prove its concepts and can be wholly and fully understood by anyone given the time and genuine effort to do so. The reason people doubt science is largely because the people who accept it cannot explain it any better than a preist or imam or rabbi can explain the Divine. It's not only a problem of ignorance on the side of those who don't accept science, it's also a problem on the side of those who only accept science as a replacement for religion and understand it no better.
               The PROBLEM, therefore, is an over all lack in nuanced education.

            I LOVE when topically simply love stories get at concepts like that. And this one looks at it explicitly and discusses it repeatedly.
            Sadly, it doesn't go into the fact that the solution is a total rehaul on the entire world's educational system, but still, even making the first statement is unexpectedly deep for a YA romance story. ^_~
            And the romance is fun, too! It's well crafted, adorable, and believable in every way... Even if the insta-attraction is still a little over the top and the connection the characters forge comes a little overly quick, there are environmental pressures and cultural reasonings that make such romantic alacrity reasonable.
            I saw the big betrayal coming from a mile off, and while I think it could've been handled slightly differently to make it hit a little harder, I really enjoyed the way that every character fully believed that the all things they did, even the very worst of them, were done for the right reasons.
            I am eager for the the next book in the series, particularly as the last chapter ended with an unreliable narrator dropping a hint that may or may not be a game-changing truth and I am CONCERNED. ^_~
But, I have to wait until January... *sigh*.
            Still, GREAT book, I highly recommend it!

            Fully appropriate for the younger YA crowd and as a transitional for the particularly eager Middle Grade kiddo!
0 Comments

Lodestar (Keepers #5) - Shannon Messenger (Book Review)

5/27/2021

0 Comments

 
Date Read: April 7, 2021
Picture
Final Score: 6 / 10 !

Yep, it's another installment in the Young Reader Epic Series Keeper of the Lost Cities and it's yet another example of why this series is AWESOME!

The best part about this one is that you can feel the characters growing up in it. Their eagerness to dive into a slipshod plan isn't haste and petulance anymore so much as it is a legitimate evaluation of desperate times calling for desperate measures. They still make young and inexperienced choices, but they're not just leaping to conclusions any more. And beyond that you can see how the grown ups are just people, too, scared and worried and not always perfect in how they make decisions.

It's very well done.

Also, the plot is getting more and more gripping without becoming too overly convoluted. There is definitely getting to be a few too many conspiracies to keep track of, but that fact is commented on and it's laid out that everyone has their own agenda, even within supposedly cohesive organizations, so I'm finding the added layers of complication fully excusable.
(Whether or not that stays true depends on how this latest twist plays out in the next couple of books, and whether or not an overload of yet more complications gets added).

This installment is a solid addition to the series, but on its own, there was nothing particularly notable about it. I didn't like or dislike anything outside of how we can feel the kids beginning to truly mature. Even watching Keefe playing darkside was neat, but not particularly gripping as the plot unfolded. It really did feel a little bit more like filler than not.

Still it was interesting filler and a very pleasant read. 
I'm definitely looking forward to picking up Book 6! ^_~
0 Comments
    If you have Questions about my Terminology, Bias Bands, or any other FAQ click HERE.

    Categories

    All
    100%
    1 The K (Loen Ent)
    2ne1
    2pm
    4 Minute
    9muses
    A6P
    AA (Double A)
    Academic
    A Ent Korea
    After School
    Ailee
    A-Jax
    Alice Nine
    AlphaBAT
    Amber
    Amie Kaufman
    AMUSE Inc
    Ann Pachett
    AoA (Ace Of Angels)
    AOMG
    Apink
    Art History
    * Artist Review *
    A-Sketch Ent
    Attack
    Audience: Adult
    Audience: New Adult
    Audience: Young Adult
    Audience: Young Reader
    B1a4
    B2m Ent
    Bangtan Boys
    B.A.P
    Bastarz
    Beast
    Believe Records
    Ben
    Benedict Carey
    Bestie
    B.I.G
    Big Bang
    Big Hit Ent
    Bigstar
    Block B
    BoA
    * Book Review *
    Boyfriend
    Boys Republic
    Brandnewmusic Korea
    Bravesound
    Brown Eyed Girls
    BTL (Beyond The Limit)
    Bugs! Korea
    Bumkey
    C2k Ent
    Can Ent
    C Clown
    C-Clown
    Chrome Ent
    CJ E&M
    CJes
    C-Jes Ent
    Cl
    CLC
    Collabodadi
    Core Contents Media
    *Cover Review*
    Crayon Pop
    CT Ent
    Cube Ent
    Cultural Studies
    Danal Ent
    Debut
    Diaura
    Donghae
    DS Ent
    Dsp Ent
    Dynamic Duo
    Equal Rep: LGBTQ+
    Equal Rep: Varied Gender Presentations
    ESNa
    Eunhyuk
    EXID
    Exo
    F.cuz
    Fiestar
    Fluxus Music
    Flying Dog Ent
    Fnc Ent
    Ft Island
    F(x)
    GaIn
    Galaxy Inc
    G Dragon
    G-Dragon
    General
    Genre: Cultural Studies
    Genre: Dark Fantasy
    Genre: Dystopia
    Genre: Epic Fantasy
    Genre: Fantasy
    Genre: Historical Fiction
    Genre: Literary Fiction
    Genre: Mythology
    Genre: Physics
    Genre: Plain Fiction
    Genre: Realistic Fiction
    Genre: Revisionary History
    Genre: Romance
    Genre: Science
    Genre: SciFi
    Genre: Space Opera
    Genre: Speculative Fiction
    GH Entertainment
    Giriboy
    Girls Day
    Girls Generation (SNSD)
    G.NA
    Gng Productions
    * Graphic Novel / Manga Review *
    Grisha Verse
    H2 Ent
    Happy Tribe Ent
    Henry
    Heo Youngsaeng
    High4
    History
    Hotshot
    House & Home Goods
    Imagine Dragons
    Infinite
    Information
    Instant Records
    Iu
    James Kakalios
    Jang HyunSeung
    Jay Park
    Jellyfish Ent
    Jennifer Armentrout
    Jimin N J.Don
    JinYoung Park (JYP)
    JMS Ent
    Js Ent
    JTM Ent
    J Tune Camp
    Jun HyoSung
    Jyj
    Jyp Ent
    Kahi
    Kang Seungyoon
    Kara
    Key East Ent
    Kim Hyungjun
    Kim Hyunjoong
    Kim Jaejoong
    KO Sound
    Kota
    KT Music
    K.Will
    Lc9
    Led Apple
    Lee Junghyun
    Leigh Bardugo
    Lim Kim
    Lindsey Stirling
    Lion Mascot (สิงโต นำโชค)
    Lunafly
    Madtown
    Mamamoo
    Marie Lu
    Marie Rutkoski
    Mblaq
    Meagan Spooner
    M.I.B
    Minah
    Miss A
    MMO Ent
    Mnet
    Monsta X
    Moonshine
    * Movie / Drama / TV Show Review *
    M.Pire
    Mr. Mr.
    Music K Ent
    * Music Review *
    My First Story
    Myname
    Mystic89 Music
    Nano
    Naomi Novik
    N.A.P Ent
    Neal Stephenson
    Nega Network
    N.Flying
    Nh Media
    Nine Muses
    Non Fiction
    Non-Fiction
    N-Sonic
    NS Yoon G
    NS Yoon-G
    NU'EST
    Odd Eye
    Oh Yeri
    Okdal
    One OK Rock
    Park BoRam
    Pentatonix
    Personal
    Phantom
    Pledis Ent
    Pocket Girls
    Pony Canyon Ent
    Prepix
    * Product Review *
    Psc Ent
    Queen B'z
    Rainbow
    Red Velvet
    Rex. D
    Rise Records
    Romeo
    ~Rookie Debut~
    Sabaa Tahir
    San-E
    Sarah J Maas
    Sean Carroll
    Secret
    Seo InGuk
    Series: Keeper Of The Lost Cities
    Series: Science Comics
    Seungri
    Seven Seasons Ent
    Seventeen
    Shannon Messenger
    Shinee
    SidusHQ
    Simtong Ent
    Sistar
    Skarf
    Sleeping With Sirens
    Sm Ent
    Sony Music & Ent
    Soulights
    Speed
    Spica
    S-Plus Ent
    Ss501
    Stardom Ent
    Star Empire Ent
    Starkim Ent
    Starship Ent
    Star Wars
    Stellar
    Sugarbowl
    SuJu D&E
    Sunmi
    Sunny Hill
    Super Junior
    Swings
    Taeyang
    Tahiti
    T-ARA
    Tasty
    The Ark
    *Theater & Stage Drama Review*
    The Benjamin Ent
    The British Royal Family
    The VIBE Ent
    Timothy Zahn
    Tiny G
    Tnc Ent
    Togeworl
    Top Class Ent
    Top Media
    Topp Dogg
    Toxic
    Ts Ent
    Tvn
    Tvxq
    U-Kiss
    Ulala Session
    UNIQ
    Universal Music
    UP10TION
    Urban Zakapa
    Various Artists
    Vibe: Aeronauts & Punk Diaspora
    * Video Review *
    Vixx
    WA Ent
    Warner Ent
    Wonder Boyz
    Wonder Girls
    Woolim Ent
    Xiah / Junsu
    Xiran Jay Zhao
    Year End Review
    Yedang Ent
    Yg Ent
    Ymc Ent
    YNB Ent.
    YNM Company
    Yuehua Ent
    ZE:A[제국의아이들]
    Z.Hera
    Zico

    Email Me!

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    July 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    May 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

    My Tumblr

    RSS Feed

    The name, layout, opinions, analysis, and original media displayed on the Music Matters® website belongs to A-style® and are the intellectual property of Alexandra Swords. 2013©
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.