Despair(aux)!
I have realized that writing a book review is much harder than I ever thought possible (especially in this 'period of drought' my brain seems to be going through (Where, oh where are the muses now?) ). A friend who's on the English section of the school newspaper (the thinnest part, sadly) asked me if I could write a book review for every issue and I gladly accepted, my mind already brewing with the beginning of the first review. Evidently, my procrastinating habits made me leave the actual writing for later and by then, my ocean of stories supply had been cut for lack of payment again (sorry, just finished reading Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Ignore lame joke/comparison/thing) and I had to rack my brains to come up with something. So far, I feel as if I were writing some sort of analysis for the book. Um... will post what I have so far, even though I'm pretty sure I have no readers, lol... It's about The Tale of Despereaux.
[Edit: I actually finished the review, so now what follows is the finished version. I hope I made it in time for it to be published though...]
The Tail of a Mouse
by *insert my name and group here :D;; *
Today I will be talking about a book most unusual and a hero most unlikely. Today, dear reader, I will tell you about Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who fell in love with a princess.
Our story starts with the birth of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is too small and whose ears are too big and whose eyes were open since he was born and that’s just not right. Despereaux is different from the other mice in the castle; he enjoys reading instead of eating books, he likes music and humans (oh the horror). Evidently he is not liked, even by his own family, for he is a disgrace to mice. One day, the day Despereaux discovers the sweet sound of music, he falls in love with princess Pea, and so starts the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread.
Okay, raise your hand if you still enjoy children’s books. Am I the only one with my arm up? You might consider those books below your level by now. I mean, if the cover (or wherever) says the book if for ages 9-12, would you honestly still pick it up? I could earnestly say at this point “Do not judge a book by its cover” even though I hate proverbs. There is actually more to (some) children’s books than meets the eye, and The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo is a good example of this.
Then what exactly is so great about this particular novel? First and foremost, the characters are charming. They are well developed and their behavior and overall personality is enhanced with the use of contrasts, something seen throughout the book almost as a sort of theme. Light and darkness, good and evil, love and hate, mice and rats, etc, all present within the characters themselves. Unlike what one might expect from a story told to children, this book does not split the world into two identifiable halves, but rather makes everything more real, somehow more human. Then there’s the smooth narration, which is so simple it allows the story to flow, dare I say it, more fluently. This is an easy read, but still very entertaining.
Evidently, you will need to see for yourself just how charming this tale is. No matter how much a person tells you how good soup is, you won’t know until you taste it yourself. So now, dear reader, I recommend you to make your way to the library, curl up on a nice chair, and take a sip of this tale, the story of Despereaux Tilling, the mouse who fell in love with a princess, and the trouble than ensued afterwards. Who knows? Maybe you’ll enjoy it.
Also, if it’ll help encourage you pick it up, this book won the Newberry Award!
And that's the oh so very grand *ehem* book review for The Tale of Despereaux. Would you read the book after reading this review? <<;; I just most certainly hope I shall get better at this as I make more. Next time, I'm thinking about either Good Omens or Big Fish. Hmmm what to pick?
See ya
[Edit: I actually finished the review, so now what follows is the finished version. I hope I made it in time for it to be published though...]
The Tail of a Mouse
by *insert my name and group here :D;; *
Today I will be talking about a book most unusual and a hero most unlikely. Today, dear reader, I will tell you about Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who fell in love with a princess.
Our story starts with the birth of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is too small and whose ears are too big and whose eyes were open since he was born and that’s just not right. Despereaux is different from the other mice in the castle; he enjoys reading instead of eating books, he likes music and humans (oh the horror). Evidently he is not liked, even by his own family, for he is a disgrace to mice. One day, the day Despereaux discovers the sweet sound of music, he falls in love with princess Pea, and so starts the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread.
Okay, raise your hand if you still enjoy children’s books. Am I the only one with my arm up? You might consider those books below your level by now. I mean, if the cover (or wherever) says the book if for ages 9-12, would you honestly still pick it up? I could earnestly say at this point “Do not judge a book by its cover” even though I hate proverbs. There is actually more to (some) children’s books than meets the eye, and The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo is a good example of this.
Then what exactly is so great about this particular novel? First and foremost, the characters are charming. They are well developed and their behavior and overall personality is enhanced with the use of contrasts, something seen throughout the book almost as a sort of theme. Light and darkness, good and evil, love and hate, mice and rats, etc, all present within the characters themselves. Unlike what one might expect from a story told to children, this book does not split the world into two identifiable halves, but rather makes everything more real, somehow more human. Then there’s the smooth narration, which is so simple it allows the story to flow, dare I say it, more fluently. This is an easy read, but still very entertaining.
Evidently, you will need to see for yourself just how charming this tale is. No matter how much a person tells you how good soup is, you won’t know until you taste it yourself. So now, dear reader, I recommend you to make your way to the library, curl up on a nice chair, and take a sip of this tale, the story of Despereaux Tilling, the mouse who fell in love with a princess, and the trouble than ensued afterwards. Who knows? Maybe you’ll enjoy it.
Also, if it’ll help encourage you pick it up, this book won the Newberry Award!
And that's the oh so very grand *ehem* book review for The Tale of Despereaux. Would you read the book after reading this review? <<;; I just most certainly hope I shall get better at this as I make more. Next time, I'm thinking about either Good Omens or Big Fish. Hmmm what to pick?
See ya