When I first started this book, I didn’t think I would like it, but I very quickly changed my mind. This was really sweet (but not twee) and very engaging. Great characters.
I’m posting about fannish pursuits for the A to Z challenge, and I have been keeping up with it rather well. Here are the posts I’ve made so far (and, yes, I don’t even want to talk about how I’m a fan of exercise. I’m just going with it.):
[wrap-up-posts week=”14″ year=”2016″ category=”Blogging A to Z” listtype=”ul”]
As of today, I’m reading:
Yes, still with Necessary Endings. Maybe this will be the week that I finish it?
I also have three books from the library on my Kindle, but I haven’t decided which one to start. Do I go for a tried and true author? The second book in a series that promises to be fun? Or something probably a little more grounded and serious? It all depends on how I feel tomorrow. I don’t want to say what the three books are because I may feel like something completely different when it’s time to choose. SUSPENSE.
I generally enjoyed this book, but I have to say I hated every single thing that had to do with Clark/Superman. WHY IS HE THERE? This is a prequel about Lois. And here’s the thing: Lois is a badass. She is a great character in her own right. She doesn’t need Clark to make her interesting or make her story worth telling.
I don’t hate the fact that an army brat who has traveled around a bunch has an online best friend. I don’t even mind that she maybe thinks she’s digging on the guy. That is all fine. In fact, it’s believable. But having it be Clark makes this more of a Superman prequel than a Lois from Superman prequel, and Lois is an interesting character in her own right.
She deserves better is all I’m saying.
Also: interesting characters, nice job setting up the world, etc. It was all fine. Except for stupid Clark being there. Oh and the school colors being red and blue. I know it’s a nod to Superman’s costume, but still. Can you imagine how hideous the team uniforms are? Gross.
I love him with my whole heart. It is possible he is the actual best.
I also love Barry, which is good since the show revolves around him. Oh, Barry. And Joe! I do love me some Joe. I even love(d) Dr. Wells.
Do you notice who is missing from that list, though? Iris. And Caitlin.
And the thing is I don’t dislike them, but, wow, has The Flash got a female character problem. Namely, that the women are underdeveloped. I mean, I feel like I know more about the various villains of the week than I do about Iris or Caitlin. Well, except for the fact that Barry loves Iris, and Caitlin loves Ronnie. Oh, and she’s a doctor. I think Iris is also some kind of reporter or something?
(That’s a joke, guys. I know she works at the newspaper. She doesn’t really DO anything, but she does have a job there. But I digress.)
So, basically, I hope that changes this season. (Never forget that Iris is a reporter but she figured out Barry is The Flash because she touched his hand. I mean, really. That is how she figured it out. Sigh.)
But! I do not want to complain about the show! It makes me happy, even if Dr. Wells is completely dead. I love the father-son bonding that happens on ~levels~ (Barry and his dad! Barry and Joe!) and how pretty Barry and Iris are when they cry (they cry a lot). Barry getting to say good-bye to his mom may have made me feel things in my tear ducts. And my heart, I guess.
Oh, another thing I hope they fix next season is how dumb these smart people are. Was I the only one constantly disturbed by how often people walked right into STAR Labs with no one noticing until they were in the room? And how Barry and Cisco and Joe would have sensitive conversations about Dr. Wells IN THE LAB? Why were they so shocked he was watching them? There were cameras everywhere! Ugh.
Anyway, Joe continues to be amazing, and I love him. And I’m glad they kind of addressed the fact that they actually made sure the metaprisoners had something to eat. Though I guess they never have to use the bathroom.
I also enjoy Wentworth Miller chewing every available piece of scenery in every scene he is in. The camp! It makes me happy!
So, yeah, I love the show even if it did trick me into watching a show about freaking time travel. (I do not like time travel unless it involves The Terminator. Or Barry, apparently.)
Oh, I should probably mention Eddie. I’m glad he had a noble death since I found him kind of annoying. So I won’t miss him is what I’m saying. I will really miss Dr. Wells, though.
This is all over the place and is just a really long way of saying I’m ready for S2 to start. So. Let’s hope I can keep up with it this time, yeah?
There’s this moment in Crushed where the villain’s lackey legit says to Kamala that it’s her own fault she was kidnapped because she got in the car with him, and everyone saw her and wouldn’t think less of him but of her. And it’s so absurd and ridiculous that I started yelling at the page. But, for a moment, Kamala starts to second guess herself and think that she should have been smarter and known better. And it’s like, “Yes, Kamala, you should have known that the boy who you trusted and who offered you a ride to school would instead DRIVE YOU STRAIGHT TO THE VILLAIN’S LAIR.” Because that is a reasonable expectation to have.
So, anyway, if even one teenager/young person reads this book and is struck by how dumb the lackey’s logic is and how of course it’s not Kamala’s fault that this guy she trusted completely violated that trust and then tried to make her out to be the bad guy, and that teenager/young person then connects it to the way society likes to blame women/girls for the terrible things that happen to them because they should have known better and realizes it’s just as absurd, then this book is the best book ever.
A+++ for showing how a predator operates also.
Kamala continues to be pretty great (LOVE HER). I am frequently concerned about her costume, though. I just know one day a bad guy is going to step on her scarf and strangle her to death. Or she’ll get it caught in an escalator (there have been no escalators in the series thus far). That’s just how my brain operates, I guess.
The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
The Englishist 