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Monthly Archives: April 2015

Review: “Liv, Forever” by Amy Talkington

28 Tuesday Apr 2015

Posted by Jaime in Books

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Books, Fiction, Reviews, YA Fiction

Liv Forever

Liv, Forever
by Amy Talkington
ISBN: 9781616954796
Published: January 6, 2015 by Soho Teen
Pages: 280

When Olivia “Liv” Bloom receives an art scholarship to the prestigious Wickham Hall, she never expects that her world will collide with Malcolm Astor – boys from distinguished, wealthy families like Malcolm Astor don’t mingle with plain, foster care rescues like Liv.  She also never imagines that only weeks after arriving at Wickham Hall she will be brutally murdered.

I try to give authors the benefit of the doubt.  For me, mediocre writing can be overlooked if a story is solid and well executed.  Within “Liv, Forever” lie the bones and flesh of a decent story.  They never quite come together, however, to form a cohesive or enjoyable story.  The end result is a painful and tedious read.

One of the biggest setbacks for “Liv, Forever” is its poor character development.  It has been awhile since I have encountered characters that were so one-dimensional and interchangeable.  Throughout the book, the reader even encounters girls from different time periods (not a spoiler) and they might as well be the same girl.  Sure, Talkington describes what kind of music the girls like, what they’re wearing, and even makes them throw out some random era-appropriate slang but these are superficial and lack the depth needed to create a unique individual.  The sideline characters aren’t the only ones who suffer as Malcolm, Olivia, and Gabriel are also downright boring and completely devoid of personalities.  These wooden characters only serve to enhance another of the books flaws – the dreaded, yet often present, Insta-Love.

For the record, I am not always opposed to Insta-Love in a book and I am especially more forgiving when it comes to YA Fiction.  The Love at First Sight (literally) that occurs between Olivia and Malcolm, however, is completely unfounded since there is ZERO chemistry between the two.  Even if their attraction was solely physical, Talkington fails to convey it to the reader.

Another reason this book annoyed me was the overuse of “namedropping” artists and works of art.  I get it, Liv is a art student.  It is an authors job to create a visual for the reader, though, and Talkington uses references to famous artists and their works as stand-ins for descriptions.  For example, when Liv encounters some of the woodwork at Wickham, she narrates, “The style reminded me of the etchings from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell”.   Following are my issues with this style of writing:  First, if I had no clue who William Blake was, this description tells me NOTHING.  Second, if I am familiar with The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, I am now removed from the book and am thinking of William Blake and his etchings instead.  Third, letting established, honored works of art speak for you is just lazy writing.  If this was something that occurred once or twice throughout the book it could easily be overlooked, however, “Liv, Forever” is abundant with these types of references.  When not using Van Gogh and Michaelangelo to do her dirty work, Talkington’s writing came across as sterile and lacking emotion.

In conclusion, Amy Talkington’s “Liv, Forever” is a YA murder mystery/romance that never “Livs” up to its potential (Ha!  See what I did there?).  The story is disjointed and the back story – the big reveal at the end – is so underdeveloped that it leaves the reader with too many unanswered questions.  The result is a book that feels incomplete.

REVIEW: 2 out of 6

May Anticipation

24 Friday Apr 2015

Posted by Jaime in Lists

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Books, Comics, Lists, Movies, Music, Upcoming, Video Games

May is going to be a big month.  It’s the start of summer blockbuster season and the month of some long-awaited releases.  Here’s just a taste of what I’m most looking forward to.

Video Games

witcher

The Witcher 3:  Wild Hunt (Releases May 19, 2015)

If I disappear for awhile, at least you’ll know what I’m doing.  This game looks both beautiful and massive and I seriously cannot wait to get my hot little hands on a copy of it.  I have it pre-ordered for the Xbox One but could easily be switching now that I have a PS4.

Splatoon

Splatoon (Releases May 29, 2015)

I’m still on the fence about this one.  It definitely looks like tons of fun and my poor WiiU could definitely use some love.  I will have to check out some reviews before I pick it up, though.

Movies

Avengers

Avengers:  Age of Ultron (Releases May 1, 2015)

This movie just screams SUMMER.  I’m not hard to please when it comes to action flicks and I don’t think this one will disappoint.

Board Games

No definite plans to purchase any new board games in May (haha, I have too many already).  Here are a couple that look interesting to me:

Chew

Chew: Cases of the FDA (Expected Release: May 29, 2015)

Based off the comic book of the same, in Chew you play an agent of the FDA whose job is to investigate food related crimes.  Solve cases by recruiting allies, finding clues, and sabotaging your opponents – you have to work quickly before the other players can steal all of your glory.

Cacao

Cacao (Expected Release: May 20, 2015)

A Tile placement game akin to Carcassonne.  In Cacao, you play as a tribal chief who must lead your people to prosperity through the cultivation and trade of, well, cacao obviously.

Books

Walking Dead

The Walking Dead, Vol. 23: Whispers Into Screams by Robert Kirkman (May 12, 2015)

Collects issues #133-#138.

Lois Lane

Lois Lane: Fallout (Lois Lane #1) by Gwenda Bond (May 1, 2015)

The first book in a new YA series that centers around Lois Lane.  I’m pretty excited about this one.  It’s getting good reviews so far and at least it’s something slightly different for the YA genre.

Music

The Desired Effect

Brandon Flowers – The Desired Effect (May 18, 2015)

This will be the second solo album for The Killers’ front man Brandon Flowers.  I have seen The Killers in concert a few times and they’re always pretty amazing.  I enjoyed Brandon Flower’s first solo album and I will definitely be checking this one out.

New Release: Dominion Adventures

23 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by Jaime in Board Games

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Tags

Board Games, Expansions, New Releases

Dominion

The ninth expansion for Dominion was released yesterday.  I haven’t played in awhile, but this kind of makes me want to dust off my copy and engage in a cutthroat game of deckbuilding.

The new expansion adds 400 cards to the game and introduces three unique card types: Events, Traveller, and Reserve.

Anyone up for a game?

Gallery

Squee With Delight Over This New Takenoko Expansion!

23 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by Jaime in Board Games

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Board Games, Expansions, Upcoming

Originally posted on Gameosity:
Recently Antoine Bauza, designer of Takenoko, tweeted that the new expansion, Takenoko Chibis, would be released…

Kickstarters I’m Digging

13 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by Jaime in Kickstarter

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Tags

Board Games, Detroit, Kickstarter, Lists, Point and Click, Video Games

I realize that I’ve been posting about Kickstarter alot lately.  I can’t help it, there are just a ton of cool, shiny things on there right now.  For the record, I have not backed all of the following projects (because I missed out on the Kickstarter for the machine that allows you to print your own money).  I did, however, want to share them with you.  Click on the links for more info!

Train Heist (Ends 4/14/15) – A Co-op train robbery board game.  Need I say more?

Salem (Ends 4/24/15) – Reminds me of the werewolf party game, except with witches.  This game comes packaged in a faux book case, which is definitely awesome.

Best Treehouse Ever (Ends 4/18/15) – It’s a game about building the swankiest tree house.  Plus I have to give my love to all the Kickstarters from Michigan, where I live.

A Chaotic Life (Ends 4/23/15) – Any game where I can destroy somebody’s hopes and dreams is an instant sell for me.  It’s why I play The Sims.

The Evolution Game (Ends 5/24/15) – Beautiful.  Quite possibly the most beautiful artwork I’ve ever seen in a board game.  Cool concept, too!

The Incredible Science Machine (Ends 4/20/15) – Another local Kickstarter.  Detroit, Michigan baby!  They’re trying to create one of the largest domino chain reactions in history.  Sweet!

Posthuman (Ends 4/25/15) – Post apocalyptic survival board game goodness.

Pixel Glory – Pets Expansion (Ends 4/24/15) – 8-bit card game craziness!

Ira (Ends 5/2/15) – Another Detroit Kickstarter.  It’s described as a “surreal point-and click adventure through a mysterious solar system”.  Double win!

Order of the Throne and Roehm to Ruin (Ends 5/3/15) – Point-and-Clickity

Mixtape Massacre (5/8/15) – A board game where you play as a horror movie archetype and try to take out as many people as possible.  Did I mention that it also takes place in the 1980’s?

Hard Day’s Knight (End 5/14/15) – Questing card/dice game oozing with pop culture references.

Tomo Cold Brew Bike (Ends 4/19/15) – Funding a bike cart that will serve cold brew coffee on tap to the Detroit area.

Red Flags (Ends 4/26/15) – Part game akin to Cards Against Humanity.  In this game, however, you select attributes for potential romantic matches for other players.  Worst date wins!

Surviving:  One Month In (Ends 4/27/15) – Another zombie outbreak board game.  I’m loving the retro look too.

Ill Literary (Ends 5/2/15) – Fill-in-the-Blank card game where you finish partial quotes from great literary thinkers with the not so stellar words of egomaniacal, self-absorbed jackwagons

Bill Shakespeare is Dead (Ends 5/9/15) – Another fill-it-in, this one’s with an Elizabethan era twist.

JunKing (Ends 5/9/15) – Family friendly card game about collecting junk.

Cuisine a la Card (Ends 5/10/15) – Deck-building cook off game

The Titans of Gaming Series (Ends 5/30/15) – Back this Kickstarter and you get 9 games created by “titans” of the board game industry for only $16 apiece over a 3 year span of time.

Intervention Needed…

13 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by Jaime in Library Life

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Tags

Books, Movies

I work at a library, a dangerous job for a girl who wants to read ALL THE BOOKS.  Needless to say, my queue has gotten a little ridiculous as of late!  The best part is that not only do I check books out from the library where I work, but I also check out books from the library in the city where I live.  I also have a unrealistic expectations of how quickly I read.

006

Oh yeah, and my movie checkouts are not much better.

003

I’m pretty sure Groot is judging me behind that serene, adorable smile – and rightfully so.

A Letter…

11 Saturday Apr 2015

Posted by Jaime in Library Life

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Authors, Books, Library Life

Dear James Patterson,

Would it be at all possible for you to stop attaching your name to every book ever published?  We’re beginning to run out of room in the P‘s.

Sincerely,

A Concerned Librarian

The Best Thing: March Edition

09 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by Jaime in The Best Thing

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Board Games, Books, Comics, Video Games, Xbox 360

I’ve decided to add a new monthly feature to Oh Joy(stick)!  Without further adieu, here’s a roundup of all of my favorite things from the month of March.

Best Thing I Read:

Fables

Fables, Vol. 1 by Bill Willingham – I spent most of last month reacquainting myself with various graphic novels and comic books.  Fables was, above and beyond, my favorite.  Honorable Mention:  Chew, Vol. 1 by John Layman.

Best Thing I Played (video game):

ACII

Assassin’s Creed II by Ubisoft – I’m glad I purchased Assassin’s Creed II before I played much of the first Assassin’s Creed.  Last month, I finally dusted off my copy of Assassin’s Creed and beat it.  I was , quite possibly, the most tedious games I have ever played.  I moved ahead with Assassin’s Creed II based on the reassurance from a friend that the two games are like night and day.  I’m so glad I did!

Best Thing I Played (tabletop):

DoW1

Dead of Winter by Plaid Hat Games – One of my favorite new additions to my board game collection.  This game is fun and suspenseful.  Furthermore, I love the added element that the Crossroad cards add to the game.

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