Gilmore Girls 3×3: Application Anxiety

Application Anxiety originally aired October 8, 2002. This episode was written by Daniel Palladino and was directed by Gail Mancuso.

We open this episode with Lorelei and Rory watching one of the Brady Bunch variety shows. Rory’s application to Harvard comes in the mail, and Rory can’t believe she was watching the Brady Bunch Variety Hour when her application came.

Rory has a lot of application anxiety, and she and Lorelei spend some looking over her application and talking about it, while Lane is working on a drummer-seeks-band ad. On the interests section, Rory has to decided to circle everything except sports and is going to do her essay on Hilary Clinton. Paris organizes a seminar and the two people invited to speak talk about how circling everything in the interests section shows the student is trying too hard because one can’t be interested in everything. One of the panelists is a college admissions person, and talks about how he can’t read another essay on Hilary Clinton. They have all of these do’s and don’ts, and they pretty much describe Rory.

We also have a Friday night dinner, where we learn Emily has been collecting college-issues of magazines for Rory, and Emily’s stories are stressing out Lorelei. Lorelei and Rory have a few moments of insanity in Richard’s study before calming down enough to be near Emily for the night.

Lorelei talks to Headmaster Charleston, who suggested a meeting with someone who went to Harvard. Lunch gets set up, and we meet Darrin and his family. They’re big on meal-time quizzes, and at one point, Rory excuses herself to go to the bathroom. She meets Darrin’s third child, who isn’t on the Ivy League conveyor belt. Her parents made it seem like she was on drugs or something, instead of not going to an Ivy League school. When Lorelei finally comes looking for Rory because she needs to get a question right, Rory thanks her for not putting her on the conveyor belt. Darrin calls a couple days later, and leaves a message saying that Rory is made for Harvard.

Lane also finds a band and Taylor brings up the idea of a soda shop, which the town agrees to.

Thoughts:

I thought this episode was really interesting, and it’s pretty much because of Rory’s application anxiety. Rory’s reaction during the college application seminar was interesting, because they really were describing Rory so well. I get why Rory was upset or whatever, because she was doing everything they were talking about. But, Rory really is the type of student to do what people want to hear. And with so many people applying to Harvard, and the conversation about how they all have the same classes so they have the same GPA’s and they all have same extracurricular activities, so they all kind of blend together…like…I know Rory wants to go to Harvard, and she’ll do what she thinks will get her in, but at the same time, I don’t see Rory doing something interesting to separate herself from all of the other people who are also applying.

I do think that the lunch with Darrin and being able to ask him questions and talk to him helped (even though we never see it). I do like that Lorelei is happy with whatever Rory wants to do, and that she actually talked to Headmaster Charleston to figure something out. It’s Chilton, so you’d think a private, expensive, and fancy prep school would have more stuff in the way of college applications but we never see it.

Favorite Lines Or Scenes:

Nothing jumped out at me in this episode

Pop Culture:

All of the Brady Bunch Variety Shows, Sylvia Plath’s suicide, Charlie Rose, the Beetles, the Brat Pack, Ted Williams being frozen, the discussions the Kennedy’s had during meals, Urkel, Wu Tang Clan

Episode Rating:

I liked this episode, and Rory’s college application anxiety is very her, but I’m glad she was able to work through it. This episode gets 3 mugs of coffee.

22Sep2013

Mini Book Review: Broken Beauty

Posted in Books by wingedcreature

Novella: Broken Beauty by Lizzie Ford (as Chloe Adams)

Expected Publication is September 22, 2013 by Indie Inked|Expected Number Of Pages: 78

Series: Broken Beauty Novellas #1

Genre: New Adult Contemporary

You can find Broken Beauty on Goodreads and Lizzie Ford on Facebook and Twitter

Broken Beauty is an e-ARC from netgalley.com, which hasn’t influenced my review in any way. Promise!

Goodreads Summary: **Contains graphic content and the sensitive topic of rape and its aftermath. Not intended for teens under the age of 18.**

Sometimes bad things happen to beautiful people.

When socialite party girl Mia Abbott-Renou wakes up in a garden she has little recall of the previous night — except that she is naked…hurt…terrified. Not only has she been raped, but she knows one of her assailants: the son of a wealthy politician who happens to be her own father’s political ally.

Mia wants and needs justice. Except this privileged boy has an alibi and her father forbids her from going to the police. It’s a critical election year, one that his party might lose if his image as a doting father is soured due to Mia being labeled a lush or worse, promiscuous.

Devastated at not having the support of her family, Mia finds herself in a tug-of-war with her conscience over what to do, especially since she can’t remember exactly what happened that night. Worse, the men who attacked her have hurt several other girls, and Mia may be the key to stopping them.

Mia tries to forget, until the unthinkable happens, and she’s left reeling once again, faced with a new challenge that will force her to take more control of her life.

Broken Beauty is so heartbreaking and beautiful, all at the same time. I couldn’t help for feel for Mia, who has been through a lot in this novella.

Her father (and several other people) were really irritating- and I think they were supposed to be. Her father, who is against birth control and abortion, believes that women who are raped can’t get pregnant, so he won’t give his consent for Mia to have the morning-after pill. Clearly, Mia’s experience won’t change his mind. And imagine Mia’s confusion and anger when she gets pregnant, after believing that it’s not possible. Also irritating was the “spin” that was put on her rape. It’s pretty much being used as a way to make her dad look good with certain segments of the voting population, and that really made me irritated with him. it’s pretty infuriating. It also seems like he favors her step-siblings (especially her step-sister) and you have to wonder what his reaction would be if it happened to his other daughter.

Mia’s experience felt very real, and you’re with her every step of the way. Almost like you’re right there with Mia- and I think it’s because of Adams’ own experience. It made it hard to read at times, because it’s very haunting, and very, very believable. It makes you wonder how much of Mia’s story mirrors Adams.

The one thing I didn’t like about Broken Beauty is that I read it expecting a complete story. I wasn’t expecting it to be the first of 6 installments that will be released over the next year, so it ended pretty abruptly.

And I know this is sort of nit-picky, but I found that the “arrangements” for Mia volunteering at Saint Mary’s Women’s Shelter to be irritating. I know appearances can be everything, particularly in an election, but to me, it seemed like it was implied that a woman’s shelter would turn Mia away as a volunteer because she’s Baptist. It’s possible that I’m reading too much into it but that’s the impression I got from that scene.

Final Thoughts:

Broken Beauty is heartbreaking and infuriating and beautiful, all at the same time. I was so irritated with some of the people surrounding Mia, and I couldn’t help but feel for her and I found myself wishing that it had never happened to her. Unfortunately, I wasn’t expecting Broken Beauty to be the first of six installments, and I found that it was hard to give Broken Beauty the higher rating it deserves because of that. Broken Beauty gets 4 stars.

20Sep2013

Book Review: Sky Jumpers

Posted in Books by wingedcreature

Book: Sky Jumpers by Peggy Eddelman

Expected Publication is September 24, 2013 by Random House Books For Young Readers|Expected Number Of Pages: 176

Series: Sky Jumpers #1

Genre: Middle Grade Post-Apocalyptic

Sky Jumpers is an e-ARC from netgalley.com, which has not influenced my review in any way

Goodreads|You can find Peggy Eddelman on Twitter and Facebook

Goodreads Summary: 12 year old Hope lives in White Rock, a town struggling to recover from the green bombs of World War III. The bombs destroyed almost everything that came before, so the skill that matters most in White Rock—sometimes it feels like the only thing that matters—is the ability to invent so that the world can regain some of what it’s lost.

But Hope is terrible at inventing and would much rather sneak off to cliff dive into the Bomb’s Breath— the deadly band of air that covers the crater the town lives in— than fail at yet another invention.

When bandits discover that White Rock has invented priceless antibiotics, they invade. The town must choose whether to hand over the medicine and die from disease in the coming months or to die fighting the bandits now. Hope and her friends, Aaren and Brock, might be the only ones who can escape through the Bomb’s Breath and make the dangerous trek over the snow-covered mountain to get help. For once, inventing isn’t the answer, but the daring and risk-taking that usually gets Hope into trouble might just save them all.

One really cool thing about Sky Jumpers is that it’s a middle grade post-apocalyptic story! I don’t read a lot of middle grade, and this is the first post-apocalyptic one I’ve come across, so I knew I would have to read it!

The whole of green bombs and Bomb’s Breath was really interesting, and it’s definitely different. I also liked seeing how inventing is really important to White Rock, and how Browning, a nearby town, has a completely different focus.

I really liked Hope and how adventurous she was. She was also willing to take a risk that no one else wanted or could take. I felt for her, because she felt like a failure for not being good at inventing like everyone else in town. But the one thing I LOVED about Sky Jumpers was how it took Hope going to a neighboring town for help for them (and more importantly, Hope) to realize that while inventing is important, people have other, great qualities, and that there are many ways to contribute.

Sky Jumpers is definitely world that is totally possible, even if it is a slightly scary future. The idea that inventing is so important because a lot of technology has failed since World War III is a really cool idea, and I think it’s something that could draw in some kids. Also: Bomb’s Breath changing the properties of the antiobiotics…I liked that it was discovered on accident, and it’s another really cool/interesting idea.

The book, which is the first in the series, is a pretty complete story, and could work so very well as a stand-alone. At the same time, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Hope and her friends.

Final Thoughts:

I really liked Sky Jumpers! It’s a great middle grade book, and you can’t help but get pulled into this world and root for Hope and her friends. Sky Jumpers gets 4 stars.

19Sep2013

Book Review: Where The Stars Still Shine

Posted in Books by wingedcreature

Book: Where The Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller

Expected Publication is September 24, 2013 by Bloomsbury USA Children’s|Expected Number Of Pages: 352

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

Where The Stars Still Shine is an e-ARC from netgalley.com, which has not influenced my review in any way

Goodreads|You can find Trish Doller on Twitter and Facebook

Goodreads Summary: Stolen as a child from her large and loving family, and on the run with her mom for more than ten years, Callie has only the barest idea of what normal life might be like. She’s never had a home, never gone to school, and has gotten most of her meals from laundromat vending machines. Her dreams are haunted by memories she’d like to forget completely. But when Callie’s mom is finally arrested for kidnapping her, and Callie’s real dad whisks her back to what would have been her life, in a small town in Florida, Callie must find a way to leave the past behind. She must learn to be part of a family. And she must believe that love–even with someone who seems an improbable choice–is more than just a possibility.

I think my thoughts on Where The Stars Still Shine are some of the weirdest thoughts I’ve ever had about a book, but in a totally good way. I really like Where The Stars Still Shine, but I also have mixed feelings about it, and I’m not completely sure what to think. I have no clue if that makes sense, but that’s where my thoughts are.

I liked seeing Callie go from living with a mother who didn’t seem to take her into consideration to living with a father who wanted a daughter that Callie wasn’t able to be. She definitely struggled with feeling like she belonged and having people who get worried when she decides to wander off in the middle of the night. I totally understand that her mom wasn’t around a lot, and Callie spent a lot of time on her own, and had to fend for herself. And so I can totally understand that it would be hard to adjust to living with someone who is there, and actually worries when she keeps wandering around town and not telling anyone where she’s going.

Her loyalty to her mom was frustrating, especially with what happens after Callie goes back to Florida to live with her dad. Her mom is not a likable person, and she wasn’t supposed to be likable, but it did get frustrating because her mom totally didn’t deserve it, in my opinion. I understand why her mom acted the way she did (to some degree) and I can understand not wanting to take meds but Callie also deserved better. I suppose I can relate to Callie’s loyalty, because it is the only thing she’s ever known, but that didn’t make it less frustrating to read.

I also liked seeing Callie re-connect with her family after being gone for so long. Also interesting was her relationship with her step-mom and half-brothers.

Here’s the thing that I have really mixed feelings about: her relationship with Alex. I just didn’t care for their relationship and it was hard to stay interested in them as a couple when she get ditching her family for him. She made an effort to do things with him, but not her family, and that got a little old after a while. I also wasn’t expecting it to be such a big part of the novel.

I was reminded of If You Find Me, which has a pretty similar plot and deals with similar issues as Where The Stars Still Shine. I didn’t pay too much attention to Callie’s education, but she only finished kindergarten, because moving around all the time would definitely make it hard to stay in school. I’m kind of surprised her dad didn’t push the issue, but at the same time, she only has a kindergarten education, so Callie would have a lot of catching up to do.

I do feel bad for her dad, because his daughter came back as a complete stranger that he’s not sure how to parent. He’s doing the best he can, and Callie certainly didn’t make things easy for him. I do think he clung to his memories of Callie as a small child and had ideas of who she was and what she was like, and I’m sure his image of her didn’t match up with who she really was.

Final Thoughts:

My mixed feelings seem to be focused on Alex and Callie, but other than that, I really enjoyed Where The Stars Still Shine. I liked seeing Callie struggle with her place in the world. Where The Stars Still Shine gets 4 stars.

15Sep2013

Book Review: Fire Study

Posted in Audiobooks, Books by wingedcreature

Book: Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder|Narrated by Gabra Zackman

Published February 2008 by Harlequin Enterprises, Ltd.|Run Time: 11 hours, 20 minutes

Where I Got It: audible.com

Series: Study #3

Genre: YA Fantasy

Goodreads|You can find Maria V. Snyder on Facebook

Goodreads Summary: The apprenticeship is over—now the real test has begun.

When word that Yelena is a Soulfinder—able to capture and release souls—spreads like wildfire, people grow uneasy. Already Yelena’s unusual abilities and past have set her apart. As the Council debates Yelena’s fate, she receives a disturbing message: a plot is rising against her homeland, led by a murderous sorcerer she has defeated before….

Honor sets Yelena on a path that will test the limits of her skills, and the hope of reuniting with her beloved spurs her onward. Her journey is fraught with allies, enemies, lovers and would-be assassins, each of questionable loyalty. Yelena will have but one chance to prove herself—and save the land she holds dear.

Fire Study is a great end to the Study series! I loved seeing a little of the history of magic, and that people are not what they seem. I really don’t want to give anything away, but I can’t say I’m surprised by certain…revelations about certain characters. One in particular would be much more correct, but at the same time, I brushed it off because I thought it would be too obvious.

I liked that Yelena finally figured out her true path as a Soulfinder and learned more about it. Also: I think it was this book where we saw Opal make her glass animals, but I started listening to Fire Study, like, right after finishing Magic Study, so there’s a good chance I may talk about things that happened in Magic Study. Although, Magic Study and Fire Study are pretty similar, and Fire Study felt like a continuation of Magic Study, so…I don’t think it’ll matter too much.

The thing with the Fire Warper…goodness! I’m glad Yelena found a way to defeat him, and trap the souls of those who did seem really horrible things to Sitia. I do have to say that there are some things in Snyder’s Glass series that make so much more sense now that I’ve listened to Fire Study. They made sense before reading this series, but knowing the full story makes so much more sense!

As for characters…I loved Kiki and Moon Man. They are such great characters, and I think they’re great for Yelena. Speaking of Yelena, I actually don’t have a lot of thoughts about her. I liked her journey to figuring out this whole Soulfinder thing, and how she is capable enough to be a Master Magician, but she turned it down to focus on being a Soulfinder and liaison between Ixia and Sitia.

Things were wrapped up really well, but it also felt like there’s more to the story. Almost like Snyder wanted to leave things just open enough that she could revisit Yelena’s story if she wanted to. I have no clue if Snyder had her Glass series in mind when she was working on Fire Study, but that could be one possibility for why the ending of Fire Study felt pretty open.

As for the other characters, I don’t have a whole lot of thoughts on them. I will say that Zackman did a great job with the different voices, and did a great job narrating.

Final Thoughts:

I felt like I haven’t really talked a lot about Fire Study! I think part of it is because Magic Study and Fire Study are running together, but there’s a lot of action in Fire Study that kept things interesting, and I did like Yelena make quite a bit of progress with her Soulfinder abilities. Fire Study gets 4 stars.

13Sep2013

Book Review: Dead Girls Don’t Lie

Posted in Books by wingedcreature

Book: Dead Girls Don’t Lie by Jennifer Shaw Wolf

Expected Publication is September 17, 2013 by Walker Children’s|Expected Number Of Pages: 346

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

Goodreads|You Can Find Jennifer Shaw Wolf on twitter and facebook!

Dead Girls Don’t Lie is an e-ARC from netgalley.com, which has not influenced my review in any way

Goodreads Summary: Rachel died at two a.m . . . Three hours after Skyler kissed me for the first time. Forty-five minutes after she sent me her last text.

Jaycee and Rachel were best friends. But that was before. . .before that terrible night at the old house. Before Rachel shut Jaycee out. Before Jaycee chose Skyler over Rachel. Then Rachel is found dead. The police blame a growing gang problem in their small town, but Jaycee is sure it has to do with that night at the old house. Rachel’s text is the first clue—starting Jaycee on a search that leads to a shocking secret. Rachel’s death was no random crime, and Jaycee must figure out who to trust before she can expose the truth.

I so wanted to like Dead Girls Don’t Lie, but it turned out to be okay for me.

I think part of why I didn’t like Dead Girls Don’t Lie was the fact that I was reminded a little too much of Shaw’s first book. The mysterious death of Rachel and Jaycee trying to figure out what really happened the night Rachel was murdered reminded me a little too much of Breaking Beautiful, when Allie tried to remember what happened the next of the car accident that killed her boyfriend.

There are all of these clues that Jaycee has to put together, but the mystery surrounding Rachel’s death wasn’t enough to keep me interested. It was just hard to care about what it was like for Jaycee to lose someone she used to be best friends with.

One really interesting thing about Dead Girls Don’t Lie is the divide between the migrant workers and the rest of the town. Since Rachel’s death appears to be gang-related, everyone believes that there is nothing more to the case, but I found the divide between the two different parts of the community got a little repetitive after a while. I also felt like Rachel’s death being blamed on a gang to be the teensiest bit shallow, and I felt like it could have been explored a little more. At the same time, though, I also understand them being blamed and all of the distrust over one part of the community.

As for who really killed Rachel, I can’t believe I didn’t figure it out until the end. I felt like I totally should have been able to pick up on it, since the clues really did seem to be there. I found Jaycee’s innocence to be pretty refreshing, since she could have been the complete of that. She did make some pretty stupid decisions because of it, and it is interesting to see Jaycee’s innocence in comparison to how Rachel was acting the last few months before her death.

It did feel like something was missing from the book- there were times when I felt like I was missing a paragraph or two, and I had to re-read some parts of several times to try to figure out what was going on.

Final Thoughts:

Dead Girls Don’t Lie was just okay for me. I just felt like something was missing, and it was hard to care and stay interested in the mystery Jaycee was trying to solve. Dead Girls Don’t Lie gets 2 stars.

12Sep2013

Book Review: Magic Study

Posted in Audiobooks, Books by wingedcreature

Book: Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder|Narrated by Gabra Zackman

Published September 2006 by Harlequin Enterprises, Ltd|Run Time: 11 hours, 35 minutes

Where I Got It: Audiobook via audible.com

Series: Study #2

Genre: YA Fantasy

Goodreads|You can find Maria V. Snyder on Facebook

Goodreads.com Summary: With her greatest enemy dead, and on her way to be reunited with the family she’d been stolen from long ago, Yelena should be pleased. But though she has gained her freedom, she can’t help feeling isolated in Sitia. Her Ixian background has changed her in many ways—and her new-found friends and relatives don’t think it’s for the better.

Despite the turmoil, she’s eager to start her magic training—especially as she’s been given one year to harness her power or be put to death. But her plans take a radical turn when she becomes involved with a plot to reclaim Ixia’s throne for a lost prince—and gets entangled in powerful rivalries with her fellow magicians.

If that wasn’t bad enough, it appears her brother would love to see her dead. Luckily, Yelena has some old friends to help her with all her new enemies.

I really liked Magic Study. So, Yelena certainly has a lot to deal with in Magic Study. Like her older brother, who’s all hostile, because he thinks she’s a spy for Ixia. And she doesn’t remember anything about her time in Sitia, which seems to disappoint her family, but eventually, she does get those memories back.

So, I totally love Kiki, Yelena’s horse! I couldn’t help but smile every single time Kiki came up. I also have a soft spot for Valek, Ari, and Janco, who, thankfully, make an appearance in the book. I found Valek much more likeable and swoon-worthy in Magic Study. I liked them together in Poison Study, but I think the separation between them in Magic Study made me like him a lot more.

I also liked Moon Man, and thought his addition to the book was a great one, especially with Yelena’s relationship with her brother. They definitely have an interesting but complicated relationship, and I really look forward to seeing their relationship develop.

In Magic Study, we meet Opal from Snyder’s Glass series! I knew that series was a spin-off of this one, so it was nice to see some of the things mentioned in that series. Granted, they happen a little differently than I was expecting, but we meet her sister Tulla, and it was nice to see her before some of the craziness takes over. Although it could have been due to the fact that you’re seeing it from a different perspective.

I liked seeing Sitia! It’s such a different place than Ixia, and I liked seeing Yelena adjust to a completely different world where many people are not trusting of her because of where she grew up. I also liked Yelena’s magical training and how she had different offers to help guide and train her. I also liked how she discovered different abilities and how she discovered she had them.

Magic Study is really engrossing and I just couldn’t stop listening because I needed to know what was going to happen! I also liked Gabra Zackman as the narrator, and I thought she did really well with the different voices…especially Kiki’s!

Final Thoughts:

I really enjoyed Magic Study. It didn’t have the same charm to it that Poison Study did, and I didn’t like it as much as Poison Study, but it was still a fun listen. Magic Study gets 4 stars.

9Sep2013

Gilmore Girls 3×2: Haunted Leg

Posted in Season Three, The Gilmore Girls Project by wingedcreature

Haunted Leg originally aired October 1, 2002. This episode was written by Amy Sherman-Palladino and was directed by Chris Long.

This episode opens with Friday night dinner, where things are still weird between Emily and Lorelei. Rory tries to get a conversation going between all three of them, but it doesn’t work until Lorelei looks at the paper and sees that someone she knew killed her husband after she found him cheating on her.

In this episode, it’s back to school for Rory, who is busy with student council. Francie, the senior class president, wants the skirts to be raised an inch-and-a-half, and Paris will “consider” it. Which doesn’t go over well with Francie, because she pulls Rory into the bathroom, and tells her that she can make Paris ineffective as student body president, because Francie has more power than Paris, and Rory needs to make sure that Paris does what Francie wants. And naturally, Francie has her own spin on what happened in the bathroom. Rory convinces Paris to give in on the hemline issue, because no one is going to remember it by the end of the year.

Kirk asks Lorelei on a date, and she turns him down. She also has lunch at Emily’s, where we learn that Emily called Chris, and that Chris still wants to be with Lorelei. Emily wasn’t going to sit by and watch things happen, because Chris and Lorelei belong together, and Sherry is just a complication. Lorelei wants Emily to stay out of it, because Sherry is more than a complication. Lorelei leaves the diner.

We have another Friday night dinner, in which Chris shows up to talk to Lorelei. She hasn’t returned his calls, and him showing up at Emily’s is the only way for him to talk to her. He never thought he would keep Rory from him, because he was always able to talk to her no matter what was going on between him and Lorelei. This is when Rory comes in and tells him that Lorelei didn’t push her into this this, and they he promised at Sookie’s wedding that it would work, and he betrayed that. She doesn’t need him because she has Lorelei and he can go be someone else’s dad.

Chris wants something different, but since Sherry is still pregnant, and Chris is still with her and planning on marrying Sherry, so things will have to stay as they currently are. Emily asks Chris to leave, and he does. Lorelei and Rory go back to Stars Hollow and decide to have a junk-food filled night at home. Rory doesn’t want to go to Chris’ wedding but Lorelei tells her that she might want to reconsider because she might regret it one day.

Rory runs into Jess, who doesn’t seem to like that Rory is put out by him and Shane because she never wrote him letters or called him, and she was still with Dean. He also wasn’t going to wait around for her like Dean would have. The episode ends with Rory and Lorelei going home.