24.11.04

Catch a Killer by George Woods

I am reading, “Catch a Killer” as well as “The Subtle Knife”. I am choosing to write about “Catch a Killer”; because I think it will be more interesting for you to read about a new book.

Catch a Killer starts off very, very well and instantly tugs you into the book. It begins by telling two storylines, in different chapters. The beginning of the first storyline explains about a boy named Andrew. His mom has a very hard time raising Andrew, more so lately. I think that she can’t really relate to him, as what often happens with parents and their kids, so Andrew starts to rebel. This makes the job ever so much harder for his mom, which sets off the line of dominoes. Early on in the book, Andrew runs away, but I don’t want to give any more away.

The beginning of the second storyline follows a five-year-old boy named Craig Corso. He is playing with his best friend, Tommy Tuite, when Craig accidentally throws dirt into Tommy’s eyes. This sets him off, and Tommy punches Craig in the face. Both are in disbelief of what just happened, with blood gushing from Craig’s nose, and Tommy crying for what he had done. Tommy runs away, trying to forget what he just did. The book then quickly speeds through Craig’s life until graduation, basically saying that over the years he got a reputation for not fighting back. This is like cheese and crackers to the bullies, who make Craig a living hell.

That’s all the summaries for now. Right now where I am reading, it is dealing with Andrew’s life. A murder has happened, and the book is currently dealing with that. In my opinion, the author, George Woods spends too much time explaining about people’s thoughts, when they aren’t all that interesting. There is too much boringness in between the action. Because I am only half way done, I suspect that the book will get much better. I predict that Andrew and Craig will somehow meet up, and become very good friends.

I really hope that this book gets better soon, and that the “thrilling” starts happening, because I’m just bored with reading it, and the feeling you get from the rural town where Andrew lives sickens me. They do, because although rural towns have a nice and relaxed feel to them, they are kind of boring, because the people there are very typically very conservative, and there are a lot of seniors. Not that this is bad; it’s just that I have an unneeded bias against rural towns.

I am now going to say how I identify with the more interesting person in this book, Craig. He believes in not fighting back, which is what I usually do. He gets bullied a lot, and I used to get bullied earlier, in elementary a bit. Not anymore though, because I am in a better school I think, and I probably have changed.

Overall, I sort of like this book, I think that it will get better, because they can’t just leave Craig out of the book, obviously. So far, I would rate it a 7 out of 10.

13.11.04

The Subtle Knife part 2 by Philip Pullman

Since last time, a lot has happened in the book. It has gotten a MEGA-TON better. I completely understand everything that is happening now, which shows how good of a writer Pullman is. He can pull people that are falling a-stray back into the book as he did with me. This is a sign of a good writer.

This book has gotten to the point where I can’t put it down, because it’s so good. Here’s the brief summary.

Will and Lyra have gotten quite a bit further. They are spending more and more time in the world, which I called eerie. It is really awesome, because I have gotten to the point where Will and Lyra are finding people who are from they’re old world. As I mentioned before, it is really neat to see the books linking up like this. They met a scholar (a person that knows about dust), and she told Lyra about this stuff called dust. The whole trilogy kind of relates around dust you see. That’s enough summaries for now.

Now for a little bit on the author, Phillip Pullman. I read an interview with Phillip Pullman, and it mentions how he writes with his pen in his shed, in the backyard. He even looks how a scholar would in real life (in my mind). He looks like a mad scientist kind of, which are sort of what scholars are, and is what some of the content in the books revolve around. Maybe Phillip Pullman was trying to draw a bit of himself into the book with the scholars.

I really like how the new character to the series; Will is portrayed in the book. He is very serious, in how he kills a robber in the beginning, and threatens to kill Lyra if she accidentally reveals Will to the police. He treats everything with caution, but when Lyra befriends him, he softens up, and that shows that he is portrayed well. What I mean is that he progresses as he warms up to Lyra, showing good character development, which is a part of what makes The Golden Compass, and The Subtle Knife so great.

So far, I would rate this book a 10 out of 10. It contains the perfect mix of everything, especially suspense and mystery.

6.11.04

The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

The Subtle Knife is the sequel to the Golden Compass. So far, I think it is a really good book, although not on par with the Golden Compass yet. It is very interesting to see how the story from the Golden Compass progresses into this one. Although the beginning is a bit confusing, I got into it. Here is a brief summary.

You are thrust into mystery once you start the Subtle Knife. The book starts off with a boy named Will and his mother. Will’s mother is troubled, and ill for reasons that I do not know. Will pushes his mother into Will’s grandmother’s care for unknown reasons, other than 12-year old Will can’t take care of her. Shortly afterwards, Will goes back home and two robbers break in! Will knows what they’re after, a Green book containing all of the letters that Will’s dad’s (who went missing on a mysterious arctic expedition) letters. These letters, as you find out later, (and would probably guess even before you found out from this) contain something very important.

There are two worlds that I know of within this book. The second world that Will finds out is very strange. It has a very eerie sense about it, because it is almost completely deserted. It really sets the mood for the book, since you find this world very early on.

I am now going to explain what factors make this book and trilogy (so far) extravagant. As what often happens in a trilogy (or any series), the books link very well together. The author is so descriptive, and uses very good words to describe everything. Even though you may not get the word, in context it makes perfect sense. The Subtle Knife has a perfect mix of action, and lots of mystery. The mystery always keeps you on you’re toes, ready for the next big thing, and then the action pushes you along if the story gets slow.

So far, I am thinking that this book is a 7 out of 10. It is a bit slower in this point then it was in the end of Golden Compass. I am sure that it will get better.