Thoughts: The devlopment of the villain.

Idle thoughts of an English teacher in Isolation.

So I totally should be marking my year 10 essays, however I keep coming back to the movie I watched with my daughter yesterday. Turning Red. The new Disney/Pixar movie that has released on Disney Plus. I had been wanting to watch it for while so was happy to have the oppurtunity yesterday.

Then I came across this tweet on facebook about how there has been a shift from a literal villain to the antagonist of the movies just being actual problems you face. I think we could also take this back as far as Inside Out – as well as Onward, Encanto and Turning Red. Although now I think about it I wonder if Coco almost falls into the same category, also possibly last years Luca.

All of these movies instead of having the tradional evil villain are instead coming of age movies where the “villain” that they overcome is a part of accepting who you are.

Turning Red:

Let’s for now – just focus in on Turning Red. A film, that deals with the way that a 13 year old girl begins to develop emotions and feelings, and must navigate a way through familial expectations as well as finding herself. To me, as both a mother of an 11 year old and a high school teacher this seems pretty legitimate. I did a whole unit with my class about being the cartographers of their own journey. On Tuesday I was talking with my class about how the person you might be in English class, is not the person your parents see, and is not the person your friends see. In an ideal would I fully acknowledge that ideally the essence of all these people is the same, and you are encouraged by your parents to try and find your true authentic self.

Lets also remember that at 13 your hormones start going wild, you are navigating the world of first crushes, maybe first loves, finding friends who are true friends, and navigating all the other aspects of puberty such as pimples, periods and hair!

So for me – Turning Red was fantastic. It was cute and beautifully animated, but it also explored these ideas. As a mum/teacher I enjoyed the story for what it was. I probably got different things from it as to what my daughter got, but that is ok! That is the whole point of movies and books, we all take away different things, see different things.

Some rotten tomatoes views however gave me a totally different view, among others were critiques that the intended audience was too narrow, that these were topics that would make people uncomfortable and that it also promoted children disobeying their parents. I am absolutely flabbagasted! As a parent do we not want to use literature to engage in conversations? To use films such as this as a springboard to talk about things that matter, about why Mei did these things, and what we could have done instead? This goes both ways! Certainly the mother in Turning Red is not perfect!

The real villains.

So back to my original point – the real villains of all these pixar movies are problems that we face, rather than being a “big bad” they are problems we all face on some level and can overcome, or perhaps just accept.

As an English teacher I genuinely believe that the reason that texts can exist is to give us a safe place to talk about deeper issues, whether this is consent such as in Asking for It, Feminist issues, such as in Vox or The Surface Breaks, Domestic violence in This Ends with Us, or dealing with your emotions and crushes in Turning Red. Texts give us a platform to use that removes ourselves from these issues. It allows us to talk about real issues hypothetically. Which is fantastic, because all these issues are conversations that we should be having.

My 11 year old is reading the graphic novel series Emmie & Friends by Terri Libenson and that has given us some fantastic conversations about what friends look like, and why different people do things in various ways, or say things that they shouldn’t have. Without the text as a launching pad then it just becomes too personal.

So I think it is amazing that Pixar is using their platform and their audiences to potentially start these conversations, to talk about all these coming of age issues. Because surely a world where we do not talk about them is worse off than one we do?

Mrs K

Book Review: The Prisoner Healer

Book 56 and 57 of 2021

The Prisoner Healer. The Gilded Cage. Written by Lynette Noni.

So after three night staying up till 1am reading I had to review these together. Both of these books were so good! So much so that 75% of the way through book two I looked up when the third book would be out and pondered trying to draw out the final 25% over the next 8 months!

Book one was fantastic, I love a strong female character who understands her purpose and does not rely on any men. One who has played the game to survive as much as she had. I was surprised by some of the twists and turns of the book, and genuinely loved each page.

Book two annoyed me a little more – there were more tropes which we see all too often and that I could have done without! However if book three is good then I can probably forgive those. I liked the story progression and pace, and the characters for the most part were characters I really liked. This did change a little bit in book two as I have said, but on the whole I was really happy.

I liked that gender did not seem to matter too much in the way that you could be a strong leader or a army leader without needing to be male. Although females still probably had a few weaknesses or allowances in some aspects on the whole it was very well done. I liked that all of the charactes carried their own trauma in some way. I disliked the double crossing and deceit which led to the cliff hanger. I am not a bit fan about that kind of double crossing trope and all the aspects that come with it. Nor am I a fan of the trope of betraying somone only to discover that you love him.

On the whole I would be more than happy to say that this is one of the best series that I have read in a long time and I look forward to the third book.

Mrs K

Genre: The Prison Healer, The Gilded Cage, Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Young Adult Fantasy, Magic, Fiction, High Fantasy, Romance, Family, Dark, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Lynette Noni, Tropes, strong characters, strong females, fantasy series,

Book Review: Gleam

Book 55 of 2021

Gleam. Plated Prisoner #3. Written by Raven Kennedy.

So – this is the third book in this series that I have read in quite quick succession. Very quickly to recap – book one made me very uncomfortable with the treatment of women. Book two – was good because it felt like it was about women finding their identity. Book Three – I am not quite sure how I feel about it.

Plot wise, there was a development of a relationship, but I am not quite convinced that we continued to get the character development that we got in book two. I found myself quite frustrated that one of the characters was able to sneak around as much as they could – this did not quite seem realistic.

Overall in terms of the way I felt about book two, I did not love this one as much. However in saying that there has been a lot of set up – so I am definitely interested in seeing book four next year. There has been a lot of set up around the fae which I find interesting, especially given we did not really get anything further on this. I can also see the kind of convergence of the two female stories we saw in book two potentially come together in book four, which could be quite interesting.

There were also a couple of cliff hanger points at the end of this book three which will be interesting to see the fall out from.

There were still some fabulous quotes, and deeper thinking around the ideas of freedom and being caged.

“I’ve realized that there are so many different kinds of cages, and if I want to stay out of them all, then I have a fight ahead of me.”

“But that’s the curse of the survivors. We have to live with our dead.”

This quote above I really found interesting – as that curse of the survivors in so many ways a cage of its own!

I love love love this discussion about the truth!

“Truths are like spices. When you add some in, it means you have more layers to digest. You get a taste of things you were missing before. But if you add too many, life can become unpalatable.

also my final quote I wanted to include was this one which talked about the villains and what it is that that means – the perhaps need for a villain, yet the way that the purpose of a villain has different meaning as well.

“You’re not the villain in my story.” “I am,” he says without remorse, his sharp jaw tight with tension. “But I’ll be the villain for you. Not to you.”

I think looking at this book on its own – I am not totally sold, but looking at the series, there is a lot to like. There is a lot of development and intrigue. Overall – as I said i am looking forward to book four.

Mrs K

Genre: Raven Kennedy, Gleam, Plated Prisoner, Fantasy, Fae, Faeries, Romance, Magic, High Fantasy, Royalty, war, Adult, new adult, retellings, mythology, paranormal.

Book Review: Glint

Book 54 of 2021

Glint. The Plated Prisoner #2. Written by Raven Kennedy.

Ok. So this book got a lot better quickly. If you have not already – I wrote my concerns about the first book here. However this book is way more story focussed and there is less of the aspects that made me uncomfortable.

Note – that I do say less – not none. They are till there. The talk of saddles, a pregnancy, the constant fear that the women face about being used for sex, and certainly the power play of the men. They still talk of women as objects to be owned. HOWEVER – unlike the first book where this felt a little overwhelming. This book seems to really focus on two female characters and their jounrey in terms of their own personal identity and stepping out from the shaddows of the men who have ruled their life. (Note – the same man!)

We get a lot more of teh history and the why each female character let themselves end up where they did. Also – we get to see a lot more of the thinking which allows us to sympathise with a range of characters.

For me this book was really made by these journeys of self discovery. However I was a little dashed by the surprise – or perhaps not surprise in the final pages. I am very interested to see how this impacts the characters in book three.

While the first book was a definite retelling of the King Midas story – this one moved well beyond that and continued the story with the characters on their own.

My final point is that I continued to enjoy the discourse on what it is to be trapped and what freedom is. I think this discourse that so far runs through both books is a real asset and a fascinating discussion.

Three stand out quotes to me from this book were:

“Plotting is what I’m best at. A good thing too, since I lack both of the traits that this world respects: power and a penis.”

“We’re all captives of something, even things we don’t want to admit to.”

“You may not be behind bars anymore, but you’re still in that cage. And I think part of you wants to stay in there because you’re afraid. But I think another part of you, the part you repress, is ready to be free.”

“Kindness shouldn’t have to be earned. It should be freely given.”

To me – all four of these quotes really engage with the development of female identity, what it means to be free or perhaps – what it means to be safe.

Overall – this book has certainly stepped up the series in my opinion and I look forward to book three.

Mrs K

Genre: Raven Kennedy, Fantasy, The Plated Prisoner, Gild, Glint, Romance, Speculative Fiction, Faeries, Fae, Magic, Romance, Fantasy Romance, Adult, Retellings, Mythology, High Fantasy, Freedom, Security, identity, caged, prisioners, Fantasy Royalty,

Book Review: Gild

Book 53 of 2021

Gild. The Plated Prisioner #1. Written by Raven Kennedy.

So this was recommended on Kindle Unlimited based on other books that I had purchased. I approached it a little warily. Having since researched it a little bit, it is recommended for fans of Sarah J Maas and Jennifer L Armentrout – so that would have sold me a lot more.

However – the book had a lot of aspects that made me really uncomfortable. The first page was a massive orgy scene. Now while I am happy to state that I like a bit of a smut, this was a bit much for my liking! As well as this the way they talked about women was very Rapey and made me very uncomfortable. The wy that women in particular were talked about as a pocession was not ok.

However, while I was contemplating it I talked to a friend about what I thought and she said that she had read the whole series. She too mentioned the aspects I had found uncomfortable. I will say – the book itself also did have some realisation about what was happening – some self awareness if you will. As can be seen in the following quote.

“Men making deals on the behalf of women never seems to go very well for the women.”

The book certainly got better – while the pocession around women remained for most of the book the story got far more interesting, and the focus of the story shifted from the sexuality of the characters to one of action and intrigue. The male protagonist at the start is Kind Midas – which definitely peaks my interest. It is someone I only know about in terms of the absolute basics of the legend – so I am interested to see what it says, and then also – how true that is!

I will say – once again – looking past the things that initially made me uncomfortable there were some great quotes and discussion about many aspects, including freedom. Two quotes in particular that I liked were:

“But memory and time aren’t friends. They reject each other, they hurry in opposite directions, pulling the binding taut between them, threatening to snap.”

“Does it really matter if your cage is solid gold when you aren’t allowed to leave it? A cage is a cage, no matter how gilded.”

These quotes and some others which looked at why it was – or the trauma that would bring someone to happily lock themselves in a cage did show a depth that I did not think was initially in the book.

I have finished the first book and moved striaght into the next book which shows something. The second book – obviously I will review when I have finished – but is far more about the story than the sex which makes me way more comfortable. And while they still call the women saddles – there is also a lot of character development.

Overall – I am not quite sure at this point if it is SJM or JLA – however it is an interesting premise, once the mysogyny dropped a little bit.

Mrs K

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Fairies, Fae, New Adult, Fantasy Romance, Adult, Mythology, Retellings, Magic, Fiction, Gold, Speculative Fiction, The Plated Prisoner, Gild, Raven Kennedy,

Book Review: Realm Breaker

Book 52 of 2021

Realm Breaker. Written by Victoria Aveyard.

This was an interesting book. It was one that had been on my radar for a little while, I really enjoyed the Red Queen series. I downloaded the sample on my kindle and was really not convinced. I finished the sample and then even read reviews on good reads, before deciding to go on my like of the previous series and go for it.

It is a much longer book than many of the others that I have read lately – at 569 pages. Having just finished this book I am still not totally sure how I feel about it. I think I liked it – or at least liked the premise. And will definitely say that the book itself was far better than the prologue which made up the sample – in fact the prologue I feel could have quite easily just not existed.

I struggled with the lack of action ultimately, and the lack of characcter development. Largely there was nothing wrong with the characters as such – a handful of strong female characters supported by some male characters as wwell – but on the whole they just didn’t develop. They accepted things happening to them and their role in life just a little too passively. There was an interesting twist, but it didn’t feel ground breaking – just interesting.

Overall – I will say that I think Aveyard sets up books well – so I hope that this is what this book is – a long set up and that as the series continues it might get better. Overall I was not totally disappointed it just felt like it was lacking a few things.

Mrs K

Genre: Realm Breaker, Victoria Aveyard, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult, Young Adult Fantasy, Fiction, High Fantasy, Adventure, Magic, Pirates, Royalty, Quest, Science Fiction Fantasy,

Book Review: When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain.

Book 51 of 2021

When the Tiger Came down the Mountain. The Singing Hills #2. Written by Nghi Vo.

This is the second book in this series. And where I say book – I actually mean Novella. I absolutely have loved this series. This is a series about the art of story telling, about what it means to have your histories accurately recorded.

This novella continues to follow Chih. A priestess from Singing Hills who travels and records the histories of those in various areas. In this story, the get stuck or trapped by a band of hungry tigers and so Chih offers to tell them what she knows about one of the most famous tigers and the tigers themselves correct her where history has been recorded wrongly.

It is a beautiful story about story telling. There is so much to love though, just about the story alone, before getting into anything else. Chih is a non-binary cleric, someone who really does put the recording of histories above her own self preservation. Her companions on this journey were tough and brilliant and fell into the role of active listeners without even meaning to.

The story within the story was that of the scholar and the hunter, and what it means to love. It had everything – the importance and power of poetry, the unintended suggestions and actions that we all make, and the importance of power in relationships and story telling.

When I first read Empress of Salt and Fortune – I was not really sure what these stories were about – but now I am super pleased to see there are three unpublished books in this series on good reads – and I am here for each of them!

At a 127 pages each (approx!) I really cannot recommend enough that you give them a read.

Mrs K

Genre: Fantasy, Novella, LGBT, Queer, Fiction, Adult, Short stories, Storytelling, Romance, Lesbian, Ngahi Vo, Singing Hills, When the Tiger came down the Mountain, Speculative Fiction

Book Review: Witch

Book 50 of 2021

Witch. Written by Finbar Hawkins.

The good reads blurb starts with this:

Set in the 17th century, a breathtaking debut, and a potential prize-winner, about the power of women, witchcraft, fury, revenge and the ties that bind us.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52700662-witch?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=c3lYRuxDlh&rank=1

However this book sadly was not for me. I was really fascinated by the information given at the end of the book of the real people that this book was based on – and I actually alost wish that that had been at the start as it may have changed some of my perception.

While this was not a book I enjoyed I will say that it was absolutely beautifully written. It was almost lyrical and this is what had me reading the whole thing.

Mrs K

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Paranormal, Witches, Historical, Fiction, Witchcraft, Witchhunter, Revenge, Historical Fantasy, Speculative fiction, Magic, Family, Siblings, Women, Witch, Finbar Hawkins, Debut,

Book Review: Six Crimson Cranes

Book 49 of 2021

Six Crimson Cranes. Written by Elizabeth Lim.

I was initially drawn to this book because of how beautiful it was. I am not even sure that the picture of the cover here does it justice. However – upon reading the blurb I wanted to read the book for so much more than the pretty cover.

This almost felt like two different stories. The first story drew me in – I have always loved the era that this book is set in, and the inclusion of dragons was a whole new aspect for me. This first part of the story was Shiori discovering who she was, and this was a gorgeous story in its own right. However when the story shifted to the curse it took on a whole other level of amazingness.

One thing that really struck me with this book was that how sometimes – people are just meant to be together or to know each other. That whole – sometimes you are just in the right place at the right time.

This book is beautifully written, and weaves together multiple aspects of myths and legends, and mythical creatures, but does so almost flawlessly. I almost don’t have much to say – other than read it! You won’t be sorry.

Mrs K

Genre: fantasy, Young Adult, Retellings, Romance, Young Adult fantasy, mythology, fiction, magic, high fantasy, dragons, curse, family, sibblings, speculative fiction, Six Crimson Cranes, Elizabeth Lim,

Book Review: These Hollow Vows

Book 48 of 2021

These Hollow Vows. Written by Lexi Ryan.

I had not realised how long it had been since I had read a fae boook until I started to read this one. I was instantly back among some of my faves. I love that this was book was suggested as a combination of the Cruel Prince meets ACOTAR. I hate when people do that – when they suggest a book cannot so much stand on its own – but needs to be a combination of successful books before it. For the record – I disagree with the statement. I did not think it was a combination, but rather a book that should shine in its own light.

I enjoyed the book because it was set in the world of faerie. However I did find that quite a few aspects of it were more than a little predictable and trope like. The female protgonist should have been quite staunchly independent and yet she wasn’t – she seemed to cave at every given oppurtunity, which is safe to say was more than a little annoying! It is an interesting phenomenon when characters in these situations are one thing in the human world, but then dramatically shift in the faerie world. And while on a practical level I can understand that – I myself am a different person in a situation where I feel confident versus a situation where I do not, it still comes across as frutsrating in the book.

Finally – As I said previously there were many elements which were predictable, and as so offten happens, all the action happens in the last 5% of the book which leaves you reeling a little bit.

I also felt that some of the key aspects of what makes Fae enjoyable to me were missing, the straight talking, unable to lie (but know how to trick and work around this) were not there – there was not even any real sense of magic.

Overall – despite what feels like a very negative review I did not hate this book. However it was definitely not one of my favourite of all time. More than anything it has sent me off in search of more books about Fae – any good recommendations?

Mrs K

Genre: Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult, Romance, Faeries, Fae, YA Fantasy, High Fantasy, Paranormal, fiction, magic, Fantasy Romance, These Hollow Vows, Lexi Ryan,