In an effort to get out of my house and interact with something that isn’t my dissertation or my cats I have joined a book club. This is our pick for June. We meet tomorrow. Guess what I’m doing after I finish another hour of dissertation work?
So, I had a moment earlier this year where someone referenced the feminist classic the Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan and I realized that I hadn’t read it. It seems like something I should have read. So, I used one of my audible credits and I picked it up. And, then I spent hours cooking, cleaning and walking on the tread mill while Parker Posey read it to me.
Isn’t that the creeepiest image?
Anyway, this classic was originally published in 1963 and it addressed a problem that women who bought (and a society that sold) the fantasy that the most fulfilling thing a woman could do with her life was get married and have children and how that not only affected those women but also had ripple effects within society. I can see, looking back, how this was a revolutionary book. It is important to know and remember that women are people and that women, all women, have capacities and interests and being stuck in and reduced to one or two roles for any person is potentially trapping.
But, this book was definitely written in a different time and was focused on different issues than the feminism is now. For one, every time Friedan wrote “women”, I found it was almost always easier to take if I added “Middle Class White” before “women”. While Friedan was probably trying to write about an ideal (and, a societal image of what a “woman” should be is certainly something everyone woman-identifying person has to contend with much like the idea of what a “man” should be is something all men-identifying people have to contend with.) most of the data she presented was about a very particular kind of woman. As already mentioned, middle class white women. And, that’s fine, but the problems that middle class white women face are not always the same as the problems that working class white women face. Or, Middle class African American women. Or, working class African American women. Or, Trans women. Or, Asian American women. Or, Native American women. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.
I am glad that I read it, though. It is nice to be able to look back and think about how much we have accomplished and to note how much work we still have to do.
So this is the final book in the series. I think. I thought the same thing about the The One but I think this is really it. I am grateful that this was only a duology and not a trilogy because while it was entertaining I feel it also ran it’s course. I liked that it flipped the original plot on it’s head by having the Princess being the one to choose instead of being one of the choices. Eadlyn, the Princess of Iliea is faced with many challenges for one being unliked by her people. She is thought of as being cold and standoffish and inexperienced and she is a little bit of all of that but what stuck me is that this is the same criticism that many women in power have faced. What I didn’t like about this book is that despite all of the self affirming moments in this book. She finds that she is stronger then she thought. She gains new perspective on not just her life but that of her peoples but in the end, it’s about who she is going to marry. That is the whole point of the Selection. To find the Princess a husband. In the first book, the selection was supposed to be a distraction and by the King more time to figure out how to handle the unrest but as the selection went on, it became more about making her more likable and then how to secure her crown when an outside threat emerges. Sort of Spoilerish but not really, I think we all knew she was going to find her true love but I really wished that by end she would realize that she didn’t have to actually get engaged. That she could find her soul mate and say this is man I am going to marry some day but right now, I’m still a teenager and I want to live a little before I settle down. That would have been a kick ass ending but this is a sort of fairy tale so you know. I don’t want you all to think I didn’t enjoy this book or the series as a whole because I did but I think it could have been so much more. And for what’s it’s worth, the guy she picked was my pick too so there is that. I’ll be interested to read what Kiera Cass does to follow this one up.
***SPOILERS***
Now that we got that out of the way. Rick Riordan’s new series, The Trials of Apollo we follow the God Apollo who is being punished for his role in the rise of the Giants in the last series. What’s his punishment? Zeus has made him mortal. This is something that Zeus has done to Apollo before so once again, Riordan has taken directly from the myths and created his own world. We first meet the mortal Apollo in an alley in New York in January, a couple months after the end of the The Blood of Olympus. (For those who’ve read, Riordan’s Norse series with Magnus Chase, the first book in that series also took placed in January. So both of his current series are happening at the same time which may mean there may be some crossover coming) Apollo is as you expect him to be. He’s vain, arrogant and totally can’t believe that Zeus would turn into a human. Again. He is quickly introduced to a new demigod, named Meg who he is now pledge to serve until he completes his trials and Zeus says he can be called a God again. Things are rough for Apollo. 1. His mortal name is Lester. 2. He has none of his godly powers. In archery he only hit the dead center. He only made one person cry when he played the guitar. 3. He has acne. 4. He has no idea of why he’s being punished for one of his son’s role in the rising of the Giants and Gaea. That’s totally not fair but then again when has Zeus ever been fair. With the help of some familiar faces, *cough* Percy Jackson *cough* Apollo is taken to Camp Half Blood where he finds that the sins of his past are coming back to haunt him and also it turns out that not everyone loved him before. With the help of the demigods, Apollo must face the trials to prove his worth and take down probably the biggest threat to humanity so far. No big deal. For those who miss characters from previous books, some show up here and we get updates on a few others and hints that others will be making appearances in later books. But what I like the most about Riordan’s writing is how he incorporates tough subjects into his stories without be heavy handed. Like how he handled Nico’s coming to terms with his sexuality. Here, we have one character deal with emotional abuse. It was heartbreaking to read and I feel it will only get worse before it gets better but no less important to talk about. I also love his sense of humor. Apollo isn’t as sarcastic as Percy or as sassy as Magnus but he is not without a sense of humor. Even when he isn’t in on the joke. All in all, this was a very promising start to the series and I can’t wait to see what happens next when Apollo aka Lester takes the show on the road.
I do love me a sassy Cajun!
I think this was the best book of the series so far. The world and the characters are now well established so we can get on with the conflict of the story. When we last left off, Garret left after hoping that Ember would tell him to stay. Ember was too raw from the fight with her brother and her dragon side feelings for Riley to say what she truly felt and let him go. They both understood that they are two different species so it probably wouldn’t work out. That’s how they justified it at least. Garret has gone to London where St. George is headquarters to get answers to if the order knows that their are good dragons, while Ember and Riley try to track down who is leaking information on his safe houses. Garret soon finds information that St. George and Talon have been working together and have set a trap for Ember and Riley so off he goes to rescue her. Meanwhile, Ember’s twin brother Dante gets promoted to a secret project that we won’t know it’s true purpose until the next book but it’s definitely not good. Even though he is all in with Talon, he is having some reservations about what he is doing but not enough to stop him from doing what he is told at all cost. So the stakes are much higher. Both Talon and St. George are after them and only if they can work together to break up the alliance. Ember is starting to come into her potential about how powerful she can be but in doing so she finds that what she has to do to survive is not always easy to live with. Killing is never easy. Garret knows that St. George is corrupt but it doesn’t make going against his former order and brothers any easier. Also Riley has been shut down for so long that it’s hard for him to open up to Ember. This book was far more action packed then previous book with a pretty big cliffhanger. One can only hope that everyone gets out alive or at least get a Jon Snow treatment.
Okay I’ve been trying to write this review for days now. How do I put into words how much I loved this book? How much I loved this series? And how much I’m going to miss these characters? I’m not sure I can. On so many levels this was everything I wanted it to be. It was atmospheric. It was at times intense. It was romantic. It was creepy. It was surprising. It had happy endings and ambiguous endings. It answered a lot questions but asked some more. In true Maggie fashion, she closed the door on some story lines but kept others open to interpretation. It had a little bit of everything. I was left wanting more because I am not ready to say goodbye but at the same time I’m satisfied with how she ended it. It’s been over a week since I finished it and I still have so many Feels! I guess I’m not going to write about the plot or the characters because I written about both many times and I don’t want to spoil anything but I will say this. This series should be read by all. Not just by Teens or adults who read YA. It should be read by fantasy lovers even though it’s not a straight fantasy. It should be read by literary fans even though many might turn their nose up to that. It should be read by history lovers, especially those Anglo Saxon fans. It should just be read!. So that’s it. I say see you later to Blue, Gansey, Ronan, Adam, Noah, Maura, Calla, Mr. Gray, Henry and Persephone. This may be our last visit but here’s hoping we will meet again some time down the road.
2 Women, So Many Books 