Kat's K-Dramas: Goong Review

I debated with myself about whether I would write reviews about older dramas (and by older I mean wasn't made in the last few years). But I decided that there are some great classics out there (and by classics I mean from like 2006, haha). Anyway, this is my review of Goong (or Princess Hours) one of the most beloved Cinderella retellings in K-drama (and that's saying something, there are a lot of Cinderella retellings in K-drama).

Goong 궁 (宮)

AKA Princess Hours

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Episodes: 24

Aired: 2006-Jan-11 to 2006-Mar-30

Network: MBC

Starring: Yoon Eun Hye, Joo Ji Hoon, Kim Jung Hoon, Song Ji Hyo

Watch it on: Dramafever, Viki

Goong is a story about young love in face of tradition, politics, and intrigue. In this imaginary world, modern-day Korea is a constitutional monarchy and the Royal Family lives in a grand Palace, the Goong. The sudden death of the reigning the King throws the Royal Family in the public eye. Faced with the decreasing popularity among the public for the Royalty, a grand wedding for the Crown Prince, Lee Shin, is decided to be the best publicity move and at the same time prepare Shin for immediate succession. The intended bride? The headstrong, awkward, and sweet spirited Shin Chae Kyung that just happens to go to the same exclusive art school. Chae Kyung was betrothed to become the next Crown Princess by her grandfather and Shin's grandfather.
After 14 years of living in England with his mom, Shin's cousin, Lee Yul, appears back in Korea. Yul was the original Crown Prince before his father died when he was a child. Chae Kyung's optimistic spirit wins the heart of internally lonely, Yul. And as the Crown Prince Shin and simple-minded Chae Kyung appear to start developing deeper feelings, a series of scandals are exposed to the public right after the pair are officially announced married. Will love conquer all in a world of political pressures and marital hardships? Or will being in the spotlight of the public be too much for the young newlyweds to endure?

Main Character: Shin Chae Kyung (Yoon Eun Hye)- Sassy and adorable, she is a bit clumsy and not stylish or graceful at all. So, she is the anti-princess. However, she was promised to Lee Shin as his princess so she is forced into that life. I love that she does not want to be a princess at all. Most girls would have killed for that chance, but not Chae Kyung. It makes her a great heroine in my mind. She does have a lot of faults, like she makes a lot of problems for the royal family when she could just slow down and think about what she's saying or doing first. However, all of her flaws are harmless and mostly adorable. So I can forgive those.

Love Interest: Crown Prince Lee Shin (Joo Ji Hoon) - He is attractive, loved (by the country and girls), and cocky. So he's like the quintessential arrogant chaebol prince. It is pretty obvious that he's like this because he's young and there's a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. He wasn't originally supposed to be the crowned prince. It should have been Yul and Shin was thrust into the limelight after Yul's father died. So it's not Shin's fault that he wasn't always prepared to be the future king. However, in the beginning Shin is a bit of an a** in ways where it's hard to forgive him (obviously I did, but he goes over the top a bit in how mean he is to Chae Kyung).

Secondary Love Interest: There is a secondary love interest for both main characters. Lee Yul (Kim Jung Hoon) is the secondary love interest for Shin Chae Kyung and Min Hyo Rin (Song Ji Hyo) is the secondary love interest for Lee Shin.

Yul starts out sweet and kind. He knows that his mother is a bit scheming, but really he's just happy to be back with his family and his cousin. Then he falls in love with Chae Kyung and s*** hits the fan. Since she is supposed to marry the prince, and he used to be the prince, but now Shin is the prince. So Yul thinks to himself, "Wait a minute, she should be my princess. AND I love her and Shin obvi doesn't! So this is super not fair!"

Hyo Rin is less relatable as a character. She's just a perfect rich girl who thought she could have it her way with Shin. But when she makes the mistake of not wanting to get engaged at the age of like 17 (which is understandable) she loses him. She thinks "WTF, I just wanted to live my dream of being a ballerina AND becoming the future queen, but on my own time." Wah wah, rich girl problems #AmIRight?

It's kind of a tradition in most romantic comedies and melodramas in K-Dramas to have a secondary love interest. And while I am kind of sick of love triangles in YA books, I kind of love them in my K-Dramas. Maybe because the second male lead is usually so sweet to the main girl. Or maybe because they super duper love the girl character so much that they even encourage her to be with the main male lead because they just want her to be happy (that's what love really is!). BTW, this is not what happens in the this show (sorry 'bout it!). Yul is not a fan of Shin. I mean, he loves him kind of like a brother, but he gets jealous right quick and most of it is because he loves Chae Kyung and Chae Kyung love Shin. Oy vey, so much angst.

Anyway, on the flip side, the secondary female lead is usually a jealous and manipulative character. And I kind of hate that. There are some exceptions, but usually when the love triangle in K-Dramas involve two girls and a guy it comes out to sneaky manipulation and lots of drama! (Don't like this, but it does add to the drama part of K-dramas). This is definitely how it plays out in Goong. I personally love Song Ji Hyo, so the fact that her character stinks really upset me. But I won't hold it against anyone because with royalty comes drama and with teen romance comes drama, so really she never had a chance in this story.

Allies and Enemies:

Kim Hye Ja as the Queen Mother Park
Yoon Yoo Sun as Queen Min
Park Chan Hwan as Emperor Lee Hyun
Lee Yoon Ji as Princess Hye Myung (Shin's sister)
Shim Hye Jin as [Hye Jung Goong] Lady Seo Hwa Young (Yul's mother)
Lee Ho Jae as the Head butler Gong
Jun Soo Yeon as Escort Choi
Won Mi Won as Attendant Suh (Lee Yul's former nanny)

Chae Kyung's family
Im Ye Jin as Chae Kyung's mother
Kang Nam Gil as Chae Kyung's father
Kim Suk as Shin Chae Joon (Chae Kyung's younger brother)

Setting: An alternate reality Korea where the emperor still exists and runs as a constitutional monarchy (they liken it to England a lot)

Random Thoughts: I like alternate reality shows, I like that there are still recognizable elements of the world we live in, but it's just slightly different. Like when you ask the question "what would it be like if there was still an emperor in Korea?" I love shows that answer those random questions. It was based on a Manwha (similar to a Japanese Manga) of the same name so it has a lot of those comic elements. 

This show was adorable. It was a bit slow in the middle, and it did that thing that dramas (and animes) do where it repeats the same kind of conflict over and over again from episode to episode. However, there were some nice reveals and the character development of the two mains was great. They really grew as people and it happened in a good and organic way for me.

I like the Chae Kyung was in no way perfect in the beginning. Sometimes there are dramas where there is the bratty and conceited chaebol heir/prince and he is shown how to really feel/love by a sweet and sassy girl (cough Heirs cough). But the girl doesn't grow as vastly as the boy does. This isn't actually the case in Goong. Chae Kyung is fumbling, clumsy, and has no aspirations or etiquette. She grows up a lot in the course of the show. So by the end she is a more complete person. 

I didn't love the "bad guys" in the show. Lady Seo Hwa Young is a little too manipulative and conniving. I mean, she lived a perfectly happy, comfortable life with her son in Europe. And if she hadn't been so selfish in wanting the throne then Yul would have kept being perfectly happy too. I think that Yul deserved to be back in Korea with his family, but the way it happened obviously wasn't for his happiness. And even though Lady Seo Hwa Young presented it like she was doing it all for him, she totally was doing it for herself. (This is often a recurring theme in K-Dramas when parents push their kids to live out their "dreams" for them). 

In the end the show was a fun teen romance with some royal intrigue and alternate reality yumminess. There was family, friendship, love and coming of age all in a great drama. There were also some wonderful cultural references that spoke about traditions that have been in Korea since the Joseon period, which I loved.

Side note: This drama is apparently how G-Dragon and Seungri truly became friends, and I love anything Big Bang. So that's a glowing endorsement for Goong. Hahaha

Throwback Thursday Review: The Babysitters Club

The Baby-Sitters Club

By: Ann Martin

Genre: Contemporary MG/YA

First Published: 1986

Publisher: Scholastic (can't you tell by that sweet block lettering?)
Books in the Series: 131 (plus 15 super specials)
POV: First Person - Each book is a different Narrator

Rating: 4 out of 5

Description:

Follows the adventures of Kristy and the other members of the Baby-Sitters Club as they deal with crank calls, uncontrollable two-year-olds, wild pets, and parents who do not always tell the truth.

Main Character: There are five main characters. Each book is told from a different POV:

Kristy - President - She's a tomboy, a planner, and the idea woman. She has a lot of ideas and a big mouth that she boss people around with. That sounds mean, but that's kind of how she's described as. It's not a bad thing within the series since the other characters all love her.

Mary-Anne - Secretary - She's Kristy's best friend, and she's very organized. She's the shiest of the bunch, but she also happens to be the only character with a more permanent love-interest. (Perhaps because I hear Ann Martin based Mary-Anne on herself.) She and Dawn become step-sisters when their parents get married.

Claudia - Vice President - Japanese-American and an artist. The best random detail about Claudia is that she has a phone in her room and therefore, she can take calls "after hours," having a phone in your room was a big deal back then (so 90s). She does not fit in with her book-smart Japanese family, and only her grandmother, Mimi, seems to get her.

Stacey - Treasurer - She's a little bit of the outsider in the beginning. She just moved to Stoneybrook from New York City. So she's more urban and funky. She becomes bffs with Claudia because they both love fashion. She has diabetes, which I don't think has a huge stigma attached to it (at least now), but for part of the series she tries to keep this fact a secret. Which makes me wonder, did people really care so much about each other's eating habits/diets in the 90s?!

Dawn - Alternate officer - The other outsider of the group, but from the other side of the country. Dawn is from California. So, she loves health food and the environment (sometimes I realize this series is a little cliche/stereotypical, but it means well, so I'll forgive it).

Setting: Stonybrook, CT.

Review: So my sister was the one who first read The Baby-Sitters Club, and because our family did things right, I first read Baby-Sitters Club Little Sister books before I graduated to the actual Baby-Sitters Club. The funny thing is that there's nothing really inappropriate about the Baby-Sitters Club books that younger kids couldn't read, so I don't really know why the Little Sister books were necessary (But I may be looking back in hindsight during a time when kids are reading the Hunger Games where kids are actually killing each other.)

Anyway, this series was fun. That's the best way I can describe it. There was a great television series made about it and a pretty decent movie as well starring a young Larisa Oleynik and Rachael Leigh Cook, ah the 90s. (I preferred the TV show, maybe because I liked the casting of Kristy and Claudia better).

The teen problems of the 90s (at least in fiction) were such innocent things. Stuff like the boy you like not liking you back. Or Claudia having to pass a math test even though she's obviously more of a creative soul. Don't get me wrong, there are also real teen issues as well. Like the fact that Mallory has a kajillion siblings. Or Kristy's big mixed family that includes a stepfather, stepsiblings, and an adopted sister. Or when Dawn and Mary-Anne's parents get married and they are suddenly siblings. 

At the end of the day, the series is about friendship. No matter what the girls (and some guys) are going through they always have each other. There are whole books that kind of drive that message home really hard (like when Stacey quits the club for a hot second and gets all new friends and then realizes that she misses the Baby-Sitters Club when her new friends are mean to her). To be honest, no individual book in this series really stood out to me. But I always enjoyed spending time with the characters. And the series was so 90s that it makes me both laugh and sigh with nostalgia. 

Recommendations: Sweet Valley Twins by Francine Pascal

Throwback Thursday Review: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Outsiders

By: S.E. Hinton

Original Publication: 1967

Publisher: Speak

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

According to Ponyboy, there are two kinds of people in the world: greasers and socs. A soc (short for "social") has money, can get away with just about anything, and has an attitude longer than a limousine. A greaser, on the other hand, always lives on the outside and needs to watch his back. Ponyboy is a greaser, and he's always been proud of it, even willing to rumble against a gang of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers--until one terrible night when his friend Johnny kills a soc. The murder gets under Ponyboy's skin, causing his bifurcated world to crumble and teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser.

Main Character: Ponyboy Curtis - a greaser (from the wrong side of the tracks). His parents are dead so his two older brothers raise him. He's kind of the runt of the litter in the sense that he's the youngest and his older brothers and their friends are faster, stronger, and more popular than Ponyboy in school. But he's smart and his brothers keep telling him that this is what will get him out of this place. (I think it's hard for Ponyboy because this puts a lot of pressure on him to be better and to be different from the brothers he loves and admires.)

Allies and Enemies: Johnny - even though Johnny is older than Ponyboy he's kind of the sad puppy of the group. Everyone takes care of him since he's a little bit frayed around the edges, he doesn't have a good home life and he was jumped by some rich jerk kids and beaten half to death once.

Sodapop - Ponyboy's funny, cute, popular older brother. Even though he has a lot going for him, Sodapop kind of doesn't have aspirations to ever leave the neighborhood, but he thinks that Ponyboy should. Ponyboy really looks up to Sodapop and I love that their brother relationship is so tight. They comfort each other when times are tough and Sodapop really looks out for Ponyboy even though he's so cool/popular and could just ignore him.

Darry - Ponyboy's oldest brother who takes care of the family. He was a star athlete in high school and could probably have done something with that but since their parents died he stays home and takes care of the family. (He makes me sad because he had to give up so much, but he did it for his family and that's so sweet and sad at the same time).

Dallas - He's the ultimate thug, he's a greaser who's a little older and a little more jaded. He's not just a neighborhood hooligan, he could probably kill a guy if he had to, but he's also very close to the Curtis brothers and their group of friends.

Setting: A small American town in the middle of the twentieth century. A town where there are definite social classes and a wrong side of the tracks kind of situation.

Quote:

“Sixteen years on the streets and you can learn a lot. But all the wrong things, not the things you want to learn. Sixteen years on the streets and you see a lot. But all the wrong sights, not the things you want to see.” 

“It seemed funny that the sunset she saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two worlds we lived in weren’t so different. We saw the same sunset.”

Review: This book really solidified a love of reading in me. And it was a school assigned book, so it helped me realize the school assigned books aren't all bad. It has a lot of "lesson" type stuff (social class, being true to yourself, not letting the world get you down, rising above your situation). However, it didn't feel like that on a first read-through. It was just a great story about a group of boys who are trying to get by. It has a definite YA feeling (even though it was published before the phrase YA existed). It's because it's about boys who are thrust into a world on their own and have to deal with all the bad stuff that comes with it.

It also has an awesome ensemble cast (the movie had a decent one to mirror this: Rob Lowe, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane). I love ensemble casts that really mesh well (see every Joss Whedon show). And it had bromance! Which I love and which really showed that these boys were just boys deep down, despite all the violence and drinking and b.s. that they had to deal with.

Be careful, this book is a tear jerker, I actually cried when reading it in class, so beware of the sad scenes because there are a good number of them.

And finally, I have to talk about the fact that S.E. Hinton was sixteen when she wrote it! WTF? Talk about YAs writing YA. You go girl.

Throwback Thursday Review: Thoroughbred by Joanna Campbell

Thoroughbred

By: Joanna Campbell

Genre: Chapter Book

First Published: 1991

Publisher: Harper Entertainment

POV: Third Person

Kat's Rating: 4 out of 5

Description:

Ashleigh Griffen swore she'd never give her heart to another horse - not after a terrible disease wiped out her family's breeding farm, along with Ashleigh's favorite mare, Stardust.

Main Character: Ashleigh (this is how I found out that there was more than one way to spell Ashley). She starts out as an eleven-year-old girl who is recovering from the loss of her family's farm. They had to move to a big racing farm, Townsend Acres, as the new head of the breeding operation. However, going from owning your own place to working for someone else (i.e. all of the horses belong to them) is very hard for Ashleigh. And she also is still devastated from losing her favorite horse. However, she gains her confidence again when she becomes determined to save a sickly foal who everyone else has given up on (hint: the foal obvi lives and becomes a champion).

Love Connection: Mike, he doesn't show up until later (when Ashleigh is more teenaged). He comes from the horse world too so they mesh very well. Also, he's a sweet first love for Ashleigh.

Allies and Enemies: Charlie, the grizzled old trainer who is kind of underappreciated. However, he takes Ashleigh and Wonder under his wing.

Brad Townsend. He is the ultimate snobby, nose-in-the-air, antagonist jerk. He is the son of the owner of Townsend Acres so he thinks he owns/knows everything. But he doesn't! He's the worst and he often gets in Ashleigh and Charlie's way, trying to push Wonder down.

Setting: Kentucky (horse racing country)

Review: These are books that are catered towards any little girl who loved horses (so all of us). It has family, friendship, the regular pre- and teen angst that all good MG/YA has, AND horses. Lots of horses. So yea, this series was one of my all-time favorites ever. (When I wrote my first book it was an "adult" version of these books. Except mine involved murder because I was a dark and twisted child). It follows Ashleigh from being 11 to being all grown-up and having a child of her own (the later books follow Christina, Ashleigh's daughter, since the audience was obvi still teen girls).

These books were great though,you got to see how your characters grew up and changed and went through all of the normal milestones in their adolescent lives. It gave you a heroine to root for. Ashleigh was loyal and strong and she knew what was right and didn't let anyone tell her that it couldn't be done. The beginning of the series was the ultimate underdog story and then it evolved into just a great life story about the people who live on this farm.

Recommendations: The Saddle Club by Bonnie Bryant

Throwback Thursday Review: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

By: Douglas Adams

Genre: Sci-Fi/Humorous

First Published: 1995

Publisher: Del Ray
POV: Third Person - Multiple Narrators

Kat's Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Description:

Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.
Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.

Main Character: Arthur Dent is an average Englishman who is saved right before the destruction of Earth. So he is one of the two last existing humans in the whole galaxy. He's a little bumbling, a lot confused, and he has that persistent blustering disbelief that only an Englishman can have and while still just avoiding the label of "super annoying."

Love Connection: Trillian (Tricia McMillan) the second of the two last existing humans in the whole galaxy. She's a little hippie-dippie, but she does love adventure, so I can respect that. Also, she did give Arthur a chance when he met her at that Earth party, he just kind of dropped the ball there.

Allies and Enemies:  Ford Prefect - Arthur's best friend who turns out to be not-so-human. He works for The Hitchhiker's guide and he's on Earth doing some research. 

President Zaphod Beeblebrox - a two-headed, forgetful hippie with half his brain and a lot of self-importance. In other words, every guy in mid-town manhattan (zing!)

Marvin - a paranoid depressed robot who is supposed to be kind of the R2D2 of the ship, but just mostly mopes around.

Towel - a Hitchhiker's best friend in space.

Setting: Space-ace-ace-ace!

Quote:

For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons.

Review: Fact: This book is hilarious.

Fact: If you didn't like this book, then you don't like laughter, space, and you're not my friend.
(You know what, that wasn't cool. I'm sorry. I just got a little passionate and I took it out on you. No hard feelings right?)

I imagine Douglas Adams thought to himself, "what's all the weirdest stuff I've had random thoughts and dreams about? Now I'm going to put it all in a book."

The book is full of funny satirical observations on life. It's also filled with hilarious strange characters that are not so different from humans if you think about it.

I realized on a recent re-reading that this humor is probably pretty British, it's very tongue-in-cheek and dry. It reads very easily and I finished the book in less than two days when I first read it. Douglas Adams is pretty spot on with a lot of the delivery in this book and I would recommend it to readers of any age. Even if you don't like Sci-Fi you should really give this book a try.

Recommendations: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion, Sex Drugs and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman

Throwback Thursday Review: Animorphs by K.A. Applegate

Animorphs

By: K.A. Applegate

Genre: Chapter Book Sci-Fi

First Published: 1997

Publisher: Hippo Books
Books in the Series: 54 (plus special volumes)
POV: First Person - Each book is a different Narrator

Kat's Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Description:

Animorphs is an exciting series for young adult readers about five teens who are given the power to "morph" into any animal they touch and then to absorb its DNA. This power is granted them by a dying Andalite alien named Elfangor, who also warns the teens that Earth is being threatened secretly by a group of aliens called Yeerks.

First book description:

The Animorphs #1: The Invasion
Sometimes weird things happen to people. Ask Jake. He may tell you about the night he and his friends saw the strange light in the sky. He may even tell you about what happened when they realized the "light" was only a plan -- from another planet. Here's where Jake's story gets a little weird. It's where they're told that the human race is under attack -- and given the chance to fight back.
Now Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Tobias, and Marco have the power to morph into any animal they choose. And they must use that power to outsmart an evil that is greater than anything the world has ever seen..

Main Character: There are five (eventually six) main characters. Each book is told from a different animorph's POV:

Jake: Has the perfect nuclear family. Parents who love him, a cool older brother, and a snarky best friend to play video games with. He's pretty popular at school and gets along with most people. He has a natural leadership ability that makes him the defacto leader when he and his friends gain their morphing powers. His battle morph of choice is the tiger.

Rachel: She's a hothead gymnast. Although she looks like a blonde cheerleader type, she's not one to be messed with (she's pretty kick butt). However she can be pretty reckless sometimes and her cousin, Jake, has to pull her back from doing some stupid stuff. Her battle morph of choice is the elephant and bear.

Cassie: She's very kind, maybe because she's the daughter of two veterinarians. She loves animals (convenient that now she came become them!). She and Jake have had a flirtation for a while. When she becomes an Animorph she is often the voice of reason. Her battle morph of choice is the wolf.

Tobias: He's a loner. He didn't really have any friends in the beginning because he's often passed from one relative to another. His mom went a little crazy and now he alternates time between an uncle and an aunt. He and Rachel eventually form a romantic relationship, but things get pretty rough for Tobias when he first becomes an Animorph because there's a price to pay for morphing and he learns it the hard way. His battle morph of choice is the red-tailed hawk.

Marco: He is the funny one. Always with a snarky word to put into a conversation. He loves playing video games with his best friend Jake and sometimes he doesn't take the Animorph missions that seriously (but I think it's because he's really justifiably terrified and covers it with humor). His battle morph of choice is the gorilla.

Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill (Ax) - An Andalite alien who crash-landed on Earth. He is found by the other Animorphs and joins their motley crew. His older brother is Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, who gave the Animorphs their powers. He forms a strong friendship with Tobias (it was a bromance before I knew I loved bromances!). He has hilarious moments where he doesn't understand Earth things, but he's really useful since he can build advanced machines. He can morph into a human form that he created by absorbing small pieces of the other five animorphs' DNA and mixing them.

Love Connection: Jake + Cassie. This is a sweeter love (think Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter). Jake is the defacto leader, and Cassie is the super smart and sweet girl who gives him strength. They're pretty adorbs together.

Tobias + Rachel. This is the angsty love (think Tris and Four). Rachel is a beautiful hothead and Tobias is the angsty loner foster child who has to deal with a lot (especially after what happens to him at the end of the first book).

Allies and Enemies: The Animorphs have little to no allies since no one knows they are fighting this battle.

The big enemy are the Yeerks a slimy slug-like species that take over people's minds by crawling into their ears (ick!). They've done it to multiple other species and they're trying to do it to humans. They are led by Viser Three the only Yeerk who was able to take control of an Andalite body. Therefore, he is the only Yeerk who can morph.

Also, Jake's older brother Tom has been taken over by a Yeerk (which Jake finds out very quickly in book 1). It's what makes Jake truly committed to the cause, because humans are still alive inside their heads when they're taken over, so Jake vows to save his brother.

Setting: Present day United States. The actual state is never told to us because it's first person POV and they have to keep that stuff a secret! They are fighting a secret alien war guys.

Quote: 

So, there we were. The five of us - Marco, Tobias, Rachel, Cassie, and me. Five normal mallrats heading home.
Sometimes I think about that one, last moment when we were still just normal kids. It's like it was a million years ago, like it was some totally different group of kids. You know what I was afraid of right then? I was afraid of admitting to Tom that I hadn't made the team. That was as scary as life got back then.
Five minutes later, life got a lot scarier.

- Animorphs #1: The Invasion 

Review: Welcome to a defining series in my childhood. Pull up a chair, get cozy while I tell you all about why I'm such a weirdo. First of all, I went through a period of time where I thought any series about kids fighting a war was super fascinating (like when I was obsessed with MS Gundam Wing). Second of all, I would hide these books under my bathroom sink before bed. Then about ten minutes after bed time I'd get up to "pee" and then just lock myself in the bathroom for an hour reading. It worked really well for almost a month until my mom figured it out.

This series might start out as a chapter book adventure story, but it quickly turns into a lesson on the ramifications of war! These kids go through the ringer and K.A. Applegate knew what was what in the what-what. She made them very believably react and adapt to these situations. She made them change as characters because, ya' know, they were fighting a war!

My favorite character was always Tobias. Poor poor Tobias, he started in the negative and just kept losing ground. No matter how he tried to pull himself up, he kept getting knocked back down. It was great that he had his friends and Rachel. But Sh*t got real for my favorite Animorph time and time again (see The Invasion, The Pretender, and The Change).

Also, there are some epic "Special volumes" that were released like The Hork Bajir Chronicles, The Viser Chronicles, and the Megamorphs books. Without giving too much away, I'll just say one of the books features dinosaurs (DINOSAURS! I am dying just remembering the awesomeness of that book!)

Recommendations: Everworld by K.A. Applegate

Throwback Thursday Review: Redwall by Brian Jacques

New feature time! I will do Throwback Reviews every Thursday. Reviewing books from the good old days.

Redwall

By: Brian Jacques

Genre: MG Fantasy

First Published: 1986

Publisher: Philomel Books
POV: Third-person - multiple narrators

Kat's Rating: 4 out of 5

Description:

Welcome to Redwall Abbey. Inside its enormous doors, mice live in peace, helping those in need and throwing epic feasts for the great and the good of Mossflower Woods. But outside a grave threat is gathering. An army of evil rats led by a vicious, one-eyed warlord, is on its way.

Matthias is just one little mouse but he knows it'll take more than stones and mouse-sized arrows to keep the rats at bay. Enlisting the help of a military hare, wild sparrows and argumentative stoats, Matthias sets out to defend his freedom, his friends, and the abbey he calls home.

Main Character: Matthias is like the Frodo--the Luke Skywalker--the Harry Potter of the story. He is "average" in an amazing way. He has to be strong and brave in order to overcome his small stature. He actually has a leadership quality that he needs to learn to harness if he's going to help lead the Abbey inhabitants against Cluny.

Love Connection: Cornflower, she's sweet and strong. The romance is not a central interest, so it's more like Harry Potter in the sense that they have a love, but it's not integral to the story or characters.

Allies and Enemies: Cluny the Scourge. He's a rat with one eye and an extra long tail with a barb at the end. He's part barbarian, part pirate, part Hun.

Brother Methuselah is an old grizzled record-keeper. He is like a kind old tutor (or a maester if you've ever read Game of Thrones). He's also someone who believes in the legend of Martin the Warrior and his powerful sword (supposedly hidden somewhere deep within the abbey).

The Sparra tribe, a wild group of Sparrows that live high in the Abbey's eves. The queen is Warbeak Sparra and she is one of my favorite characters. She's a little rough around the edges, but she's also pretty strong and cool.

Basil Stag Hare, he reminds me of Sir Didymus in the Labyrinth. He has a lot of bravado, but unlike Sir Didymus he has some skills to back it up. He's an expert at camouflage and offers a lot of comedic moments in the book.

Setting: Redwall Abbey in Mossflower woods. No time-period is actually described but it feels like the Middle Ages, but with mice and hares and badgers. The world is pretty complex with it's own folk-lore and mythology.

Quote:

"Even the strongest and bravest must sometimes weep. It shows they have a great heart, one that can feel compassion for others."

Review: Brian Jacques is quoted as saying: "Mice are my heroes because, like children, mice are little and have to learn to be courageous and use their wits."

Seriously Brian Jacques, you're too adorable, get out of here. But actually don't because I love reading your books. 

This book was a great part of my childhood. I wrote "spin-offs" of these books as some of my first experiences with writing. It has the adventure of Percy Jackson, the puzzles of Harry Potter, and the setting of Game of Thrones. And it came BEFORE all of these books!

It also became multiple different television and movie versions.

These books definitely hold up over time and I would recommend them to anyone who loves middle grade fantasy and adventure.

Also, you guys. If you like reading about food, food in general, or just eating then you HAVE to read these books. The food descriptions are epic.

Recommendations: The Dark Portal by Robin Jarvis, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien