The Last Final Girl: A Book Break-Up story

I would like to strongly preface this review by saying that the issues that I have had with this book are completely my own, and that they do not, in any way reflect my opinions of the author's works in general. That said, I have to regretfully break up with this book. It is making my left eye twitch.

I started reading The Last Final Girl for my October horror marathon. I tracked down Stephen Graham Jones on Goodreads while trying to find horror writers who are not old white dudes. I looked through his list of works, and fell in love with his bibliography. Dude totally gives good Title! And the author photo is quite dishy. (Hello Book FanGrRLs!)

I was immediately drawn to this book's concept! For those of you unaware of what a Final Girl is, it has to do with the incredibly formulaic nature of B-Horror movies, specifically slashers. The Final Girl is so called because she is the only one standing at the end.

Sidney Prescott, Nancy Thompson, Ellen Ripley. These are Final Girls. For me it will always be Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode.

I wanted to love this book, I really did! And for the most part, it was very book crush worthy! The concept is awesome. The plot's great. In the opening pages, Jones's Final Girl (seemingly) defeats a killer by using her D cup bikini top as a slingshot. The characters are appropriately campy. (A slasher villain named Billie Jean because he wears a Michael Jackson mask) I even loved the dialogue!

Completely badass!

My problem was very specifically the Point of View of the book. It is written as an amalgamation of a prose narrative and a screenplay. It's written in first person present tense, and it is actually a pretty nifty idea. I loved the concept when I read about it in the book blurb. The Goodreads reviews bear out its unique nature of writing style. The book is basically told in present tense stage direction with dialogue peppered-in. The paragraphs transition between scenes in a whip-pan style like a camera would, which is very cool.

Do I have 'but'face?

My problem (and I emphasize the 'my' here) is my meandering career path. My Bachelor's degree is in Telecommunications and Film Making, so I was trained to read and write stage direction in a specific style. Shot description: Shot Action. My Library School training taught me to analyze prose in a narrative sense. All of this sounds, and is perhaps, a bit pretentious.

Basically, in reading this book, my brain is unable to follow the narrative of the prose, for the whip-pan style of paragraph transition. I tried to power through, but the transitions became painful. I gave it twenty pages before I finally had to call it quits.

I read an article recently on Book Riot about when it's time to break up with a book. For me it was the eye twitch. This book just wasn't for me. But I still recommend The Last Final Girl as a book date for all you horror junkies out there. You may well be able to weather the transitions better than I. Your brain may not be as stringent about the writing style. And if you do, please please, tell me how it ends? I'd be ever so grateful!

I have not given up on Stephen Graham Jones, though! Upon returning The Last Final Girl to my InterLibrary Loan clerk, I put Mongrels on hold. Cause mama lurvs her some werewolves!  So we'll see how that goes. In the meantime, rock on Billie Jean!

Book-to-Movie Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

SPOILER ALERT! If you have not seen the movie and/or read Ransom Riggs's awesome book series, turn back now 'for the path you will take will lead to certain destruction'! You've been warned!

Okay just so you guys know, I am a total Miss Peregrine's fangirl! I went as Emma Bloom for Halloween two years ago, before the movie was announced. I say that with more of a geek "come to the dark side, we've got cookies' slant than a hipster "I did it before it was cool' slant. But still...

If you are unfamiliar with the plot of Miss Peregrine's, the title tells you most of the plot of the first book. After the death of his eccentric, possibly demented, definitely badass grandfather, young Jacob Portman seeks out the children's home that his Grandpa grew up in. The problem is, Jake is convinced the crazy stories that Gramps used to tell him about the children living in the home, and especially its headmistress, are the insane ramblings of an old man. Turns out...not so much.

The original novel, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was written by Ransom Riggs and published by Quirk Books in 2011. The name of the publisher says it all. If you enjoy off-beat books and have not checked out their catalog of titles, do so now. Seriously, go. You won't be sorry. These are the same people who brought us the William Shakespeare's Star Wars books.

Also their book trailers are EPIC!

Anyhoo, Riggs followed up Miss Peregrine's with Hollow City. This book sees Jake and the children racing against time to save their headmistress and all of Peculiardom from the evil plot of the Wights and Hollowgasts.

I'm not gonna lie, the plot in the middle of Hollow City felt a little like the plot of Lord of the Rings for a while; epic journey, battles, lots of walking. It got a bit cumbersome. But it had its moments. Like when Hugh goes from Jubilee to Storm level X-Men powers to save his crew. The peculiar animals were a fun touch. Shame about the menagerie. The ending certainly picked up. Jake nearly went from Jean Grey to Dark Phoenix. Cause guys, he can see the monsters, but there's more!

Finally, we got Library of Souls, which I purchased if nothing less, for the title. Librarian, hello!

I have mixed feelings about Library of Souls. Let me put it to you this way, if Miss Peregrine's is being directed by Tim Burton, Library of Souls would best be directed by Stanley Kubrick. You know, if he weren't dead. Or considering the punishment loops, perhaps even if he remained dead.

The book is dark, surreal, and at times darkly comedic. But I was never really sure if I was supposed to laugh at the funny bits. However, I am now and have always been a sucker for a good Ellen Ripley moment, and the ending of Library of Souls delivered in spades!

That brings me to the movie.

I was able to make the matinee on opening day, and considering recent book-to-movie adaptations, I was left chanting "please don't suck" at the screen as the lights went down. And I will say this, it did not suck!

Eva Green was perfectly cast as Miss Peregrine! She was able to pull off Miss P.'s warm strictness to a T. And queen is fierce!

Asa Butterfield gave a great performance as Jake. 

He was vulnerable, and he was able to portray the character arc of a wallflower being forced to take charge without becoming whiny or overwrought. Samuel L. Jackson as Barron was, well Samuel L. Jackson. I honestly think the man is incapable of not kicking ass. 

The other standout performances for me, were little Pixie Davies as Bronwyn, and Chris O'Dowd as Franklin Portman. O'Dowd played the ineffectual father figure with a John Hughes level of parental impotence, which is exactly how Franklin Portman read on the page.

The rest of the children are, for the most part, very good representations of their characters from the book. The twins mix characters from the first and second books. Horace is properly snazzy. Millard could've used more screen time, but what can you do in a short timespan with an invisible boy? Fiona can talk, but that's a small change. Excellent performances all around!

Okay now I have to address the elephant in the room. She's blonde, wears a blue dress and fricking floats! Ella Purnell gives a lovely performance as Emma Bloom, don't get me wrong! She's subtle, romantic, and a wonderful guiding force for Jake and the other children. But here's the thing, that's not Emma Bloom! Emma is the fighter, the life hardened, overly suspicious watchdog of the group. Also, she's the Firestarter.

I love Tim Burton, I do! I grew up with Batman and Batman Returns. Edward Scissorhands was a favorite at Halloween and Christmas at my house. And I will have selections from A Nightmare Before Christmas running through my head until the day I shuffle off this mortal coil. But I don't think I can ever forgive him for what he did to Emma Bloom!

Burton released initial cast photos last spring and we were warned in advance that he had switched Emma and Olive's powers. Fans were assured by Ransom Riggs that it was for a good reason and that he had faith in Burton's vision for the character. But I don't think he had a good reason! I think he did it for the sole reason of redeeming Enoch O'Connor.

Now, here is where the majority of my Spoilers come into play. Remember I warned you! 

Burton switched Emma's firestarter powers with Olive's power of being lighter than air. To his credit, Burton expanded the air powers to include some pretty cool stuff. Now she has endless breath which she uses to raise a sunken ship, fight Barron, and a number of other cool scenes that allow for some decent (though largely unnecessary) CGI. Again, Ella Purnell portrays this new Emma beautifully.

Olive Elephanta, for the movie, is transformed from a passive somewhat petulant eight year old into Lauren McCrostie's lovelorn teenager. Olive is lovelorn because she is holding a torch for Enoch, the creepy Necromancer, who has been jealously in love with Emma for years. On it's surface, this isn't really a problem. There are a lot of unrequited love themes in the novels, and we are talking about teenagers. The problem is, I feel, that Olive is made overly passive both in her physical abilities and in her personality to try and make Enoch more palatable.

If Burton was going to switch Olive and Emma's powers, he could have at least preserved the spicy personality and reckless overuse of pyrokinesis! Firestarters in fiction are by their nature tormented, strong personalities. The most badass thing that Olive does with her powers is set fire to a part of The Priest Hole during Jacob's rescue. In the book, Emma burns the place to the ground, complete with Molotov cocktails! Olive can't even melt herself when she gets encased in ice. She needs Enoch's kiss for that! 

The relationship between Enoch and Olive is simpering and dysfunctional and nowhere near as interesting as it could have been. And I feel that it is largely unnecessary. Enoch is an asshole. That is pretty much his charm! He's the everlasting dissenter of the group, and he is meant to be that. The boy puts the hearts of dead things into grotesque simulacrum in order to bring them to life! Enoch is not meant to be a contender for The Bachelor. He is meant to keep Jacob on his toes and honest. Enoch is the Severus Snape of this story. 

The only guess I can hazard for Burton's treatment of Olive/Emma/Enoch was that he wanted another love interest. Maybe the studio pushed for more love triangles, or maybe the producers thought that a twelve year old (Enoch in the books) lusting after a sixteen year old (Emma) was just a bit too creepy for the silver screen. And well...yeah.

So I guess what I'm taking an inordinately long time to say is this... The movie did not suck! It was not as good as the books, and I have some serious issues with the character changes. But Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was entertaining, and it will probably make an appearance on my DVD shelf when it is released. Just not as high on the DVD shelf as it is on my bookshelf. However, I do have a special features request for Mr. Burton. If only in the Blooper Reel, show me Olive like this....

Banned Books Week

It is that time of year again! The American Library Association's Banned Books Week runs this week from Sunday, September 25th to Saturday, October 1st 2016. I have squeed out over this bookish of all bookish holidays in the past.

But since it is the first time I am writing about it for The Cardigan Catalog, I will review briefly. Banned Books Week is one week every year that the ALA uses to promote Intellectual Freedom by publicizing a Top Ten List of most frequently challenged books for the prior year.

A challenge is described by the ALA as follows.

"Challenges are documented requests to remove materials from schools or libraries, thus restricting access to them by others. In some cases OIF may get numerous details about who challenged a book, why they are complaining about the book, what happened during the challenge, and the current status of the book. In other cases, few details are supplied beyond the fact of the challenge and the reasons for the challenge."

So, basically, the mission of Banned Books Week is to bring awareness of books on which attempts have been made to limit their availability to a population. Most challenges are made in school libraries, but a fair amount are still made in public libraries.

To wit, my response to those challenges is...

So, you bet your booky buttocks I'm gonna promote the hell outta some Banned Books! Here are:

ALA's TOP TEN MOST CHALLENGED BOOKS OF 2015

1. Looking for Alaska, by John Green         Reasons:Offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.
   
2. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James     Reasons:Sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and other (“poorly written,” “concerns that a group of teenagers will want to try it”)
   
3. I Am Jazz, by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings       Reasons:Inaccurate, homosexuality, sex education, religious viewpoint, and unsuited for age group
   
4. Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, by Susan Kuklin   Reasons:Anti-family, offensive language, homosexuality, sex education, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“wants to remove from collection to ward off complaints”)
   
5. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon   Reasons:Offensive language, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“profanity and atheism”)
   
6. The Holy Bible   Reasons:Religious viewpoint
   
7. Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel   Reasons:Violence and other (“graphic images”)
   
8. Habibi, by Craig Thompson   Reasons: Nudity, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group
   
9. Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan, by Jeanette Winter   Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group, and violence
   
10. Two Boys Kissing, by David Levithan   Reasons:Homosexuality and other (“condones public displays of affection”
    

My take away on Banned Books Week has always been the same as my thoughts on the V Chip. (Yes, I am that frickin old!)

If you are an adult and you object to a book or TV program or video game, then don't read/watch/play that thing! If you are a parent, and you don't want your child to read/watch/play the thing, then talk to your child about not reading/watching/playing the thing. If you are a child, and you are being required to read something that you object to for school, discuss it with your parents or teacher. Perhaps they can work out a substitute.

Don't try to spoil things for the rest of the world by attempting to restrict what content is available! You might not like Hot Chocolate, but that doesn't mean the rest of shouldn't get any.

To those of you unopposed to the notions of Intellectual Freedom and soul warming beverages I say:

Hot Chocolate and Banned Books for everyone!

Reading Widely for the Scare

As I mentioned in my last post, now is the time of year when I get my freak on, booky style. I consume all things horror. The Good, The Bad, and the Really Really Really Bad. I have in years past, stuck to my staples; Clive Barker, Stephen King, Bram Stoker. All are fantastic wordsmiths of horror! All are old white dudes.

I occasionally dabble in Paranormal Romance, with a re-reading of Frankenstein thrown in, but I run into the same problem. Mary Shelley, Patricia Briggs, and J.R. Ward are all fantastic writers, but they are all white women. And there is nothing wrong with that! I myself am an older Millenial white librarian. I can relate to those stories. They're like comfort food. Hot chocolate for my soul. 

That is not to say that a white writer cannot write a non-white character, and do it well. Perish the thought! I love Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson. She's like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harry Dresden had a half-Native American coyote shifter love child!

But I realized that there is a whole world of horror and paranormal fiction out there, that my fingers don't readily dance to on the bookshelf (That's literal BTW. I'm weird that way). I realized this year that I need to expand my repertoire. 

It all started with Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older.

You guys, Sierra Santiago is ALL THE THINGS! She's a strong, flawed, vulnerable, black latina painter from Brooklyn, who finds strength within herself to embrace a destiny, that is concealed from her by EVERYONE SHE HAS EVER MET! 

Yes, I was shouty with the run-on sentence. But feels!

This is not exactly horror, more paranormal mystery. But there are zombies! The full-on Haitian Voodoo kind, not the viral outbreak kind. There are also ghosts, spectral possessions, and the greatest terror of all, malevolent cultural appropriation! Way to get political with your villain Mr. Older! I tip my hat.

I found Shadowshaper on a YA booklist from Book Riot written by Kelly Jensen. She's one of my favorite book reviewers. So I gave it a shot. If you enjoy paranormal themes, well written characters, and language put to the page like a painting, you should give it a shot too.

After reading Shadowshaper, I really got into the idea of reading horror from perspectives that differ from my own; reading more widely, in other words. The simplest thing I could think of was to start with writers of different backgrounds and races from my own. Turned out to not be so simple. According to my research, only something like 11% of novels published in the US each year are written by people of color. Break that down into genre fiction, and the number gets smaller.

There is, of course Octavia Butler, who was and is a goddess in the field of horror. (She passed away in 2006) But I couldn't think of anyone else! So I started researching 'horror writers of color' and found these lists.

• YOUR 25 FAVORITE AUTHORS OF COLOR
• Black Women Horror Writers
• Speculative fiction by writers of color
• I GOT YOUR WEIRD RIGHT HERE: 100 MUST-READ STRANGE AND UNUSUAL NOVELS (this is not solely a POC list, but it has some great entries)

My first port of call was Nalo Hopkinson's Sister Mine.

Hopkinson's Makeda is now one of my favorite protagonists ever! She spends her whole life in the shadow of her twin sister Abby. This is challenging, because her family is peopled with gods, and she's the only one without magic. Makeda struggles to pull away from her sister's influence, and create a genuine human life for herself.

The 'haint' that follows Makeda is one of the most layered monsters I've ever read about. It's grotesque and tortured and heavily tragic. There are so many shades of Frankenstein going on in this story! The narrative is like hot chocolate with a hint of chili pepper. Yum!

My scary reading season will still feature old standards. I re-read Cabal, Carrie, and Dracula almost every year. But this year I'm going to throw in some different perspectives. Here's my TBR POC Writers Reading List.

Ring by Koji Suzuki- I admit, I saw the movie first. But I have read the first chapter of Ring, and I am hooked already.

Fledgling by Octavia Butler- A vampire story by the aforementioned goddess of horror.

Voodoo Dreams: A Novel of Marie Laveau- I'm not gonna lie. After Shadowshaper, I now have a thirst for Voodoo zombies in my horror reading. This got 3.8 stars on Goodreads, so I'm willing to give it a shot.

Salsa Nocturna: Stories by Daniel José Older- I'm a big fan of anthologies and Mr. Older already has me hooked. I'm looking forward to getting this hold in from the library.

The Last Final Girl by Stephen Graham Jones- I can't get enough of meta-horror. The description of this book references Cabin in the Woods and Tarantino. What's not to love?

And maybe just one more to round out the year...

Loups-Garous by Natsuhiko Kyogoku- I'm all about werewolves right now. I blame Patricia Briggs, Sarah McCarty, and Teen Wolf for bringing back this obsession. I'm really hoping that there are actual werewolves in this story, and that it scares the pants off me! If the cover is any indication, I won't be disappointed.

Side Note:If you're into werewolves, I highly recommend a little known millenium era TV series called Wolf Lake. Pre-Vampire Diaries Paul Wesley as a teenage alpha-male werewolf, and Sherman Blackstone are everything!