Life as she knows it changes for Scar when her mom can't handle any more of Scar's nonsense, and grounds her on a Saturday. The other half of her punishment is that she has to clean out the dreaded attic. This tale involves talking cats, time travel, close friends, betrayal, a tragedy during a sixteenth birthday party, and, overall, the moral that, when it comes down to it, all the power and courage one needs can be found within ones' self.
That was one of the things I didn't particularly like about the book; what I saw as the moral. "True power comes from within (210)". Because, as I've found in my own life, and through watching others, when it comes down to it, you just cant do it on your own. Especially something as monumental as saving the world; past, present, and future. Another thing thing that made the story hard to read was that there were several typos that jolted me out of the story, reminded me that it was only a book in my hand. There was also this strange new-age-y undercurrent that made me a little uncomfortable. Also, unfortunately, there was quite a bit of swearing and misusing God's name. And, while noting the good in people, the book failed to also reference the evil that is in all people, as a part of human nature. This is rather hard to do in a novel, I know, but it’s a truth that was neglected.
And there were some phenomenal things that I loved. At one point, Scar is having some trouble with forgiveness, and she wants revenge. She is advised against taking this other person's life because it is not her job- her job is to protect the innocent, and right the wrongs she can right, but not to punish those who are evil. That job falls to someone else. Another plus was that, although it took some time for me to get into the story and care about the characters, after some time I did- I could hardly put the book down. I also liked the few creatures the author created for the story, I really wanted to see one in real life, not just in my imagination! One of the final things that I will mention that I liked about the book was Scar's imagination. Sometimes she would go on tiny rabbit trails of imaginings, only to be brought back to reality by something. I loved that.
3 comments:
I have read the Novel "The moon in Habock's Mirror" also. I have to disagree with Marie's moral objections. The point of Scarlet being punished to clean the attic is because she sneaks out, meets friends and boys, misses dinner, comes home late, etc. The underlying tone is that Scarlet is a rebel and needs to look at her life before it can never be changed for the better. As for swearing, for God's sake or Oh my God, is about the extent of it. Marie's view is definitely from a religious background. I get the bit you can't save yourself she is inferring God saves. That is more than fine but to condemn the book for swearing and immoral teenage undertones is ridiculous. Scarlet isn't trying to save the world,she is trying to save herself and her family
I do agree with Marie that the book is hard to put down sometimes but I don't recall all the typos she mentions. I found this to be a really fun book for young teens to adults.
sorry I was mistaken. I said I disagreed with Marie's comments on the book. I disagreed with the Monday July 11 post. Sorry Marie :)
Anonymous, thank you for your comments. I think I understand what you are saying, but let me back my claims.
Purpose of Punishment. On page 13, Scar's mom tells her she has to clean the attic. This is right after a page long discussion between the two about her mom being tired of Scar coming home late, and being distracted by boys.
Swearing. No, profanities were not leaking out of the character's mouths, but several times a few characters swore. For example, on page 15, the mother says 'I don't give a damn'. In my book, that’s a swear. I don't want to go reread the whole book to find all the swears for you, but there are others. Nothing much worse than 'damn', but a swear is a swear.
Yes, my review is from a religious background. A person's views tend to leak out in what they write, say, and how they act. So, I don't think it is that big of a deal that my Christian views leak out into my book reviews.
We are allowed to have different views on books. I don't think that 'swearing and immoral teenage undertones' are necessary in a book, and it hurts my opinion of the book when they are present. Always does. That doesn't mean that everyone else needs to share my view, but I'm putting that information out there for others who like to know that kind of thing before they read a book or get it for someone else.
Yes, Scarlet is trying to save the world. She has to save herself and her family to do that, but she is trying to save the world. The mirror walkers and the Leader are trying to get the mirrors so they can go back into history and into the future and change it. Make it work for them, put it under their control. Maybe the world isn't going to end, per say, but if Scar doesn't act, the world as she knows it will end, and will be overridden with evil. She has to act to save the world from the atrocities of the Leader and her minions.
Typoes. Like I said earlier, I don't want to go through and reread the whole book to find all of them. They weren't major things, but there were missing periods and quotation marks, things of that sort. Nothing major, but like I said, they distracted me. It won't distract every reader.
I, too, found this to be a fun book. Maybe more for teens than young adults, but still good.
Post a Comment