Opinião: Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fénix (J.K. Rowling)

Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fénix de J.K. Rowling

Editora: Editorial Presença (2003)

Formato: Capa Mole | 750 páginas
Géneros: Lit. Juvenil, Fantasia, Fantasia Urbana

Descrição da Edição Portuguesa (GR): "Harry Potter está prestes a começar o seu quinto ano na Escola de Magia e Feitiçaria de Hogwarts. É, aliás, com ansiedade que aguarda o regresso às aulas para rever os seus amigos Ron e Hermione que, estranhamente, deram muito poucas notícias durante o Verão. Contudo, o que Harry vai descobrir neste novo ano em Hogwarts vai transformar radicalmente todo o seu mundo e a sua vida...Esta é mais uma apaixonante aventura de Harry Potter cheia de suspense, segredos e, claro, muita magia, escrita pela incomparável J. K. Rowling!"

(Livro lido em inglês.)

Em Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fénix voltamos a Hogwarts com Harry, Ron e Hermione para mais um ano cheio de aventuras e magia. Mas não é apenas na famosa escola que os problemas perseguem Harry; eles começam logo nas férias de verão quando é atacado por dois Dementors nos subúrbios de Londres!! Além disso Ron e Hermione parecem estar a manter alguns segredos.

Ao chegar à escola, Harry percebe, com surpresa, que se tornou um pária! Ninguém acredita nele e o próprio Ministério da Magia assegura a comunidade mágica de que tudo está bem: Voldemort não voltou e Harry e Dumbledore apenas procuram destabilizar a paz.

Enquanto Harry e os amigos navegam por entre colegas incrédulos, funcionários ministeriais e estranhos rumores, Voldemort age com impunidade procurando algo que o tornará ainda mais poderoso.

Este quinto livro prima pela complexidade do enredo e pelo magistral desenvolvimento das personagens. Harry, Ron e Hermione estão a crescer e isso é notório mais neste livro do que em todos os outros. Harry, especialmente, passa por uma fase bastante difícil que testa o seu carisma enquanto personagem principal. Como bom adolescente de 15 anos que é, Harry torna-se mais volúvel e parece explodir com facilidade. Isto, claro, tem uma explicação mágica que vai para além do facto do nosso protagonista estar na fase mais complicada da adolescência.

A história do livro foca-se nas reacções do mundo dos feiticeiros à notícia de que Voldemort está de novo activo. Como seria de esperar, a maioria das pessoas não quer acreditar na possibilidade de um novo conflito. Rowling explora com mestria este posicionamento e as crenças a associadas. A resposta do Ministério da Magia às afirmações de Dumbledore, a subtil (pelo menos de início) mudança de regime, as implicações políticas. Tudo isto contribui para um enredo mais elaborado, mais sério e mais adulto. É claro que Harry e os seus companheiros irão ter bastantes aventuras e aprender magia.

Mas é neste volume que se explora a fundo o mundo dos feiticeiros.

A Ordem da Fénix traz também algumas revelações importantes para a história da saga.

No geral, mais uma óptima leitura e uma excelente continuação do volume anterior.

View all my reviews

Relido para a Leitura Conjunta Harry Potter

Review: Possess (Gretchen McNeil)

Possess by Gretchen McNeil
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (2011)
Format: Hardcover | 379 pages
Genre(s): Young Adult, Urban Fantasy

Description (GR): "Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.

Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king."

WARNING: Contains minor SPOILERS!

You know those books that are so beautiful you just have to have them? Yep, "Possess" by Gretchen McNeil is one of those. The cover is gorgeous, with its shimmering blue color, the graphic work on the model's face, the simple but elegant lettering. I am a sucker for a pretty cover (lol). And since the story itself seemed quite gripping - not to mention the fact that lots of people seem to have loved the book - I thought I should give it a try. So I bought this.

It was a decent first effort, I'll recognize as much. And bonus points to the author for not falling into the usual romantic clichés: the insta-love and the love triangle. Plus, the idea was interesting enough, I suppose.

But (yes, there are a few buts)... it wasn't as good as it could have been. As I was reading, the word "disjointed" kept flashing in my mind. It's a good word to describe this book I think. There are too many random things happening in the book, situations seem to happen out of order or for no discernable reason and the characters are developed weirdly, in a way that makes them seem like completely different people in the end. No, I don't mean that they grow and develop, I mean they do things that are almost... out of character.

The plot was pretty predictable (the villain? Yeah, I knew who he was early on), even if the reader basically 'crashes' into the middle of the story and is treated to a few flashbacks that explain certain things that happened before. Basically, Bridget Liu has some strange 'powers' and is being coached on how to use them by a priest. Of course, as the book opens Bridget already dealt with all these issues so she's a ready-made heroine that jumps into the action five pages in. This did not work for me. It would have worked better if the book started with Bridget discovering her powers or if Bridget had known about them all along.

The way we're introduced to McNeil's (or Bridget's) world is too abrupt. The relationships and dynamics between all the important characters are already established (except for Father Santos) in a way that just didn't sit well with me. Alright, so it didn't bother me very much when I was reading about Hector's and Bridget's friendship because after all, all teenagers have friends. It did bother me in the case of Bridget and Matt's relationship or Bridget and Monsignor Renault. These should have been explored differently.

Another aspect that kind of ruined the book for me: the romance. Okay, I said there was no insta-love, yes, but it was still a very 'out of the blue' kind of thing... Bridget goes from thinking her love interest is slightly annoying to loving him (yes, love).

Overall: "Possess" was by no means a bad read, but I was expecting more. It was, as I mentioned before, a little disjointed and even a bit hard to get into. Some scenes seemed random, the story was predictable and the supernatural aspects could have been better explored. The characters' behaviour was a bit odd at times, they almost seemed OOC if that makes sense. The romance was not very well developed. An average read that will nonetheless appeal to fans of paranormal young adult novels.

View all my reviews

In my Mailbox (31)

Ora aqui está mais uma edição da única rubrica... consistente deste blogue: a Mailbox. Esta semana estive em suspense até hoje, quando o carteiro me depositou uma encomenda inteira à porta. Por isso tenho cinco livros para mostrar mais o "Blood Rights" que veio na semana passada mas que me esqueci de incluir na pilha... e para quem tem o "Name of the Star", as letras são mesmo assim, parece que lhes passaram um pano em cima e lhes tiraram metade da cobertura prateada? O-o

Blood Rights - Kristen Painter 

Sweep, vol. II - Cate Tiernan 

The Name of the Star - Maureen Johnson 

Witch Eyes - Scott Tracey 

If I Die - Rachel Vincent 

A Need so Beautiful - Suzanne Young

E vocês o que receberam na vossa Caixa de Correio (What did you get in your mailbox this week?)?

"In my Mailbox" is hosted by The Story Siren.

Review: Epic Fail (Claire LaZebnik)

Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

Publisher: HarperTeen (2011)
Format: Paperback | 295 pages
Genre(s): Young Adult, Romance

Description (GR): "Will Elise’s love life be an epic win or an epic fail? At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:
As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.
As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.
When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long."

Average. I've read my share of Pride and Prejudice retellings, adaptations and sequels and "Epic Fail" was just... average. Not exactly good but not bad either. A nice read, but not particularly engaging.

Elise and Juliana Benton start at a new school, Coral Tree Prep, where her mother just happens to be the principal. They're surrounded by rich kids and celebrities but even there one stands above all: Derek Edwards, son of two Hollywood stars. He is gorgeous, he is popular and he's... an idiot.

Or that is what Elise thinks anyway. While she recognizes he is hot, she also sees what no-one else seems to: that Derek is a horrible snob and thinks he's all that. People may be fooled by his fortune and status but Elise is too level-headed for that... she sees things as they really are. Or does she?

Claire LaZebnik's main goal, as made clear by the tone of this book, was to write a retelling of "Pride and Prejudice" the famous and beloved classic by British 19th century author Jane Austen. LaZebnik changed the time, place and some of the situations to fit the era, but the way I see it she seemed to intend for her characters to have the same basic personality and strengths of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.

That is where, and pardon my pun (is this a pun, even?), the author failed epically. I think she did a relatively good job at constructing her world and adapting the story to fit modern settings; but her characters Elise and Derek lacked the spark and energy of the ones they were modeled after. The romance lacked the chemistry and tension of the original work.

Being "Pride and Prejudice" mostly a character-driven novel that made all the difference. LaZebnik's attempt falls short, very short. It's simply not captivating and the characters don't have the wit and the charm they should have for the book to actually work.

Overall, I thought "Epic Fail" succeeded in being a fluffy, cute teen romance novel but the characters are weak and not very charismatic. That made the entire book much less interesting than it should have been. The story needs strong protagonists and the author wasn't able to write them, I think. But if you're looking for a light YA romance this book will certainly appeal to you. Still I'd advise reading the original (can you tell I'm a big Pride and Prejudice fangirl?).

View all my reviews

Review: Graveminder (Melissa Marr)

Graveminder by Melissa Marr

Publisher: HarperCollins (2011)

Format: Paperback | 324 pages

Genre(s): Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Description (GR): "The New York Times bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series delivers her first novel for adults, a story about the living, the dead, and a curse that binds them.

Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the tender attention her grandmother, Maylene, bestowed upon the dead of Claysville, the town where Bek spent her adolescence. There wasn’t a funeral that Maylene didn’t attend, and at each Rebekkah watched as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual: three sips from a small silver flask followed by the words “Sleep well, and stay where I put you.”

Now Maylene is dead and Bek must go back to the place—and the man—she left a decade ago. But what she soon discovers is that Maylene was murdered and that there was good reason for her odd traditions. It turns out that in placid Claysville, the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected. Beneath the town lies a shadowy, lawless land ruled by the enigmatic Charles, aka Mr. D—a place from which the dead will return if their graves are not properly minded. Only the Graveminder, a Barrow woman, and the current Undertaker, Byron, can set things to right once the dead begin to walk."

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS!

I'm not sure if I'm just not in the mood to write reviews or whether there is something about this book that makes it difficult to write about it. A bit of both, maybe. The bottom line is that I can't seem to put my thoughts in order and write something about this book.

I liked it well enough, I suppose. It was an easy enough read; Melissa Marr can definitely entice a reader through her writing, yes and also with her ideas and concepts. Because I simply loved the concept of this book. It's not that it's completely original - actually I was reminded of Anna Dressed in Blood as I read this - but the entire setting is intriguing. That is what made me buy this book in the first place.

But... I didn't like how Marr explored her idea. I thought she just wanted to put too much into the book: troubled pasts, mysterious rites, failed loves, tragic happenings, a murder/ mystery plot and a great secret; not to mention several characters that required a lot of development (such as Charles). The overall concept required a lot of layering and world-building and I don't feel like the author achieved this. I thought the world-building was shallow (in part because of the fact that so much was crammed into the book) and the story was way too character-driven, when it shouldn't be.

So I finished the book and felt... unsatisfied. There was so much I was looking forward to know that was never answered.
The mystery was not very well explored and the romantic subplot took way too much spotlight when there were so many other interesting things happening. The fact that the male protagonist lacked character and the female heroine was annoying most of the time only made it worse: not even the romance was interesting because I didn't particularly like the characters and because I wanted to read about the other stuff like the Graveminders' powers and why were all the ghosts under the city (much like in Ghost Whisperer, actually); who was Charles really and what was the 'Underworld' presented in the book. Why could Abigail do what she did? These were the things that really interested me... not Rebekkah and her romantic woes.

Overall: Yet again, we have one of those "great concept but poor execution" kind of books (I should probably create a shelf for those, they are 'piling up', so to speak). It read like the author's YA books, the only difference being that it had a little more nudity. But like hers (and most) YA series it focuses on the romance rather than the supernatural plot, which wasn't especially thrilling for me because she didn't even do it right... Rebekkah and Byron spent most of the book whining about how they loved each other but couldn't be together. Very dramatic and... well, annoying.

If you liked Melissa Marr's "Wicked Lovely" series, you'll like this. However, if you read the synopsis and thought the idea interesting I would thread carefully; this is more paranormal romance than urban fantasy. A somewhat disappointing read.

View all my reviews

Waiting on Wednesday (1)

"Esperando Por", "Waiting on Wednesday"... no fundo sempre foi a mesma coisa. Por isso é que decidi aderir ao "Waiting on Wednesday", o 'meme' oficial, criado pela autora do blogue Breaking the Spine. A única diferença é que em vez de postar à segunda (quando me lembrar) posto à quarta. Mas o "Waiting on Wednesday" continuará a ser, tal como o "Esperando por", uma rubrica onde apresento livros que estou ansiosa por ler.

O livro desta semana deverá ser eventualmente traduzido para português (penso eu), uma vez que é o segundo de uma série que já começou a ser editada pela Saída de Emergência. Como gostei bastante de Celestial - podem ler o quanto a obra me surpreendeu aqui - estou ansiosa por ler a continuação. Espero, no entanto, que a SdE adopte as capas originais que são bem bonitas.

Hallowed (Unearthly, #2) - Cynthia Hand

Editora:  HarperCollins

Data de Publicação: Janeiro de 2012

Páginas: 320

Idioma: Inglês

Descrição (GR): "For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

Described by Richelle Mead as “utterly captivating,” Unearthly received outstanding reviews, garnered accolades from New York Times bestselling authors, and was named an Indie Next Pick. In this heart-wrenching sequel, Cynthia Hand expertly captures the all-consuming joy of first love—and the agony of loss."

E vocês? De que livros é que estão à espera?

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine.

Opinião: O Círculo Secreto (L.J. Smith)

The Secret Circle de L.J. Smith

Editora: Hodder Childrens (2010)

Formato: Capa Mole | 621 páginas (2 vols.)

Géneros: Lit. Juvenil, Fantasia Urbana, Romance

Descrição (1º volume, GR): "Forced to move from sunny California to gloomy New England, Cassie is homesick - until she forms a bond with a group of teenagers at her school. This clique rules the school - no one dare cross them - but Cassie feels a strange kinship with them, and when she is initiated into their 'secret circle' she is both terrified and thrilled to be part of a coven of witches that have controlled New Salem for hundreds of years...But then Cassie falls in love. Now she has a tough decision to make: does she walk away, or does she step over to the dark side?"

A autora americana L.J. Smith é actualmente bastante conhecida, especialmente por causa d'Os Diários do Vampiro, a sua série top de vendas (que foi já transformada numa série de TV) sobre dois irmãos vampiros e... uma rapariga. Foi por esta razão que decidi escrever esta opinião em português, apesar dos livros não estarem ainda traduzidos para a nossa língua. No entanto, com a estreia da série de TV e a relativa popularidade da autora em Portugal, penso que é apenas uma questão de tempo até esta trilogia, The Secret Circle, estar disponível nas nossas livrarias. E se não for este o caso, bem, pelo menos saberão o que penso da escrita da autora.

"The Secret Circle", cujos livros foram publicados pela primeira vez no início dos anos 90 (e nota-se: menções a "walkmans" e vídeos são comuns) conta a história de Cassandra (Cassie) Blake, uma adolescente vulgar que vê a sua vida mudar drasticamente quando a sua mãe lhe diz que têm de se mudar da Califórnia para a Nova Inglaterra para cuidar da avó que está doente. Cassie sente-se traída por ser obrigada a mudar de casa e principalmente de escola; num drama bem conhecido, a maior preocupação de Cassie é o facto de ir ter de "começar tudo de novo" numa nova escola.

Mas quando chega a New Salem, a cidade onde vive a avó, Cassie percebe que algo de estranho se está a passar. A escola secundária parece estar dominada por um grupo de juvens (o infame e misterioso "Clube") que assustam não apenas os alunos mas mesmo os professores. E Faye, a bela e maldosa líder não gosta nada de Cassie...

O meu maior problema com esta trilogia foi... exactamente o facto de ser uma trilogia. Depois de terminar a leitura, senti que estes três livros podiam muito facilmente ter sido transformados apenas num. Na verdade o enredo é tão simplista ao longo dos livros que penso que só há realmente história suficiente para um livro.

A autora podia ter feito muito mais com a história... mas não fez. O enredo está bastante mal desenvolvido e foca-se, a meu ver, demasiado em dramas adolescentes 'normais' em vez de no aspecto que deveria ser o mais importante: o facto de Cassie e os membros do "clube" serem bruxas. Apesar de ser, aparentemente, este o fio condutor da história, está mal explorado. Oh, a história está construída em volta deste facto, sim, mas Smith perde-se um pouco com questões como os amores de Cassie e as relações de Cassie com rapazes e coisas do género. Sim, percebo que este tipo de coisas são importantes na vida de uma adolescente; mas isso não desculpa a pouca atenção dispensada ao enredo principal.

As personagens são bastante típicas deste tipo de livro: Cassie é tímida e modesta, mas poderosa. Adam e Nick são ambos atraentes e formam a base do triângulo amoroso. Faye é a típica rapariga mazinha e todos os outros representam um qualquer tipo de estereotipo: a rapariga sabichona (a la Hermione), a rapariga popular e bela e boazinha, o rapaz medricas, os rapazes rebeldes, etc, etc.

No geral? Esta série não me impressionou. Nunca tinha lido nada da autora e não tinha qualquer tipo de expectativas, mas achei que o enredo era muito fraquito e que a autora podia ter explorado muito melhor os elementos sobrenaturais da história. Falado um bocado mais de Salém, das bruxas e do seu "sistema de magia" por assim dizer. É que as personagens, apesar de serem bruxas não fazem grandes feitiços ou magia. 

Achei também que tanto a história como as personagens eram muito estereotipados: temos o triângulo amoroso, as personagens mal desenvolvidas e o "amor ardente à primeira vista", mas considerando a época em que os livros foram escritos - muito antes da explosão de popularidade do género da fantasia contemporânea/ urbana - penso que é compreensível. Provavelmente não era assim tão cliché como é actualmente.

Pelo que já vi da série de TV, penso que há potencial na história... mas os livros precisariam de um maior desenvolvimento em termos de enredo e personagens para serem realmente interessantes. Mesmo assim foram leituras leves e divertidas.