Review: Amelia Rules

Amelia Rules: True Things (Adults Don't Want Kids to Know)

Written and Illustrated by Jimmy Gownley

This book is appropriate for children who are going through, or have gone through, a divorce. For all other students, the behaviour in this book will seem extreme. There is a lot of yelling and physical angry outbreaks. Relationships seem tense, edgy, and uncertain. 

Amelia, as she appears on the cover, looks like an ordinary young girl. Certainly with her blonde hair and pretty face it is easy to make the assumption that this will be a "girly" sort of book. Amelia is a kid who seems to have everything, but the one thing she is missing--parents--is the greatest thing that sets her apart. The author often makes meta-literary statements in regard to why characters act out, blaming actions on insecurity or childhood trauma. 

The theme of the book is that adults claim to know more about life than children do, but really, there are things that adults can learn from children too.

Language and hateful speech:

There is a lot of yelling in this book between characters, and the language can often be hateful. The book opens with the quote "The main difference between boys and girls is that girls mature slightly faster and boys are idots."

In another quote, one young girl makes a belittling remark against the elderly, in a scene that is meant to be humorous: "Y'Know what's cheerful about an old folks home? Nothing! Well, there was the big crash when we coaxed those ten octogenerians into a human pyramid. But that was more funny than cheerful."

It is clear that Amelia's foul language is meant to be a repetition of what she is hearing being yelled at home. Her mother and aunt, with whom she lives, often argue loudly with each other. In turn, Amelia yells at her friend, "Shut up, Rhonda! You just don't get it! Tanner quit cuz of the business! And, like, getting jerked around! And, like...uh...society and stuff!"

In another scene, a young girl pretending to be a cheerleader at an ipportune moment is called a "hateful witch."

In fact, it seems that in every interaction with her friends, Amelia is either yelling or being yelled at. At the very end of the book, Amelia makes what appears to be a courageous move to yell (swear--it's "censored"--) at her supposed love interest. He has just told her that he was just pretending to like her to mess with her. She punches him on the arm. In true karma fashion, the love interest saunters away, falls, and breaks his leg.

Age Appropriateness

Amelia is eleven, and even at this young age she has clearly experienced more relationship trauma than is probably healthy. The author makes no hesitation to demonstrate how her parent's divorce has affected her relationships; when her parents fought, the worse she felt, and the meaner she became to her friends. 

Also at eleven, there is a lot of talk about romantic relationships between characters. Amelia daydreams about kissing boys and goes to the mall to meet up with romantic love interests. 

Positive Messages

Amelia's aunt Tanner tells her that "a cute, confident girl is much more powerful than a jedi."

In the end, Amelia's role model, her aunt "Tanner", shows that it is much more important to follow your dream than to risk failure.

My Opinion:

I didn't enjoy this book for its consistent negativity. While fights are normally resolved, there is an underlying and uncomfortable tension between characters through the length of the story. The book gives a cynical look towards relationships, with few characters willing to self-sacrifice for the good of the other. There is a strong bond between Amelia and her aunt Tanner, one of the only true love bonds in the book, though whether Tanner is a good role model is also questionable. Tanner dresses immodestly, professes in the opening quote that boys are "idiots", and is pushy and unwieldy with her sister and other characters.

I understand the point the book is trying to make and think that some children would connect with the character of Amelia. I don't think, however, that the story is a must-read for all children.

Children of the Lamp series by P.B. Kerr

   

I was also quickly reviewing this series by P.B. Kerr. There is a dense mythology regarding djinn that is reviewed at length in this Wikipedia article.

Here are a couple of quotes regarding djinn:

"Djinn power allows djinn to have an astral body, that allows them to enter other people's dreams and gives them access to possess people. Plus, if their physical body gets destroyed, their astral form can enter into any human spirit and in turn, the host becomes the djinn's new body still retaining all the djinn's knowledge and personality."

"Djinn can unleash an elemental on another being, elementals are mini-demons that live inside what djinn call the eight elements: water, earth, fire, air, spirit, space, time, and luck. Elementals tend to follow their creators once they carried out the deed they were created for and often help out their creator in times of crises. Dybbuk once released one by holding hands with the Gaunt kids." (Wikipedia)


Compare with a Christian definition of possession:

Christianity: Possession, in which Satan or some demon(s) takes full possession of a person's body without their knowledge or consent, so the victim is therefore morally blameless. (Wikipedia)


Compare with this definition of demon:

A demon (from Koine Greek δαιμόνιον daimonion) or daemon (British English) is a supernatural, often malevolent being prevalent in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology and folklore. (Wikipedia)


Summary of Book #1 in Series "The Akhenaten Adventure":

John and Philippa Gaunt are twelve-year-old twins with a remarkably gifted mother, a very kind father, and two dogs that aren't who they seem to be. The family lives a life of luxury in New York. One day, their wisdom teeth appear simultaneously. During an operation to get the wisdom teeth removed, they both have the same dream in which their uncle, Nimrod, asks that they come to London. He tells them that they are djinn (genies). They begin the adventure of a lifetime, going from Cairo to London, using pink Ferraris, and riding camels. From New York, Egypt, and London, the twins' adventures are filled with excitement as they undergo training in the use of their newly discovered powers, but are also fraught with danger, as they battle the evil Ifrit tribe of djinn and its leader, Iblis. They must preserve the balance of good luck and bad luck in the world. (Wikipedia)


My Opinion:

There is likely to be some confusion for the Western, Christian reader regarding what is "good" and "evil;" since djinn are comparable to Christian demons that give and ask for something in return, as well as possess bodies and release power over others.

"Good" in the Christian sense is when one offers something freely, or takes something away with the host's consent. Power, in the Christian sense, is love and self-sacrifice.

Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz

 

Anthony Horowitz is the acclaimed author of the Alex Rider spy series, which continues to be a popular among 10-14 year olds.

I came across another series of his, The Power of Five, which was originally called The Gatekeepers. On glancing through the book I saw that the subject matter was very dark and wanted a more detailed summary.

There is a very satisfactory one on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raven%27s_Gate

Review: Amulet #3: The Cloud Searchers

Quick Summary:

Siblings Emily and Navin set off in search of the fabled city of Cielis to continue their mission to save the world(s). They serendipitously bump into the two fugitive elves, Trellis and Luger. Meanwhile, Trellis' father the evil elf king is sending off an assassin to kill the siblings and his own son. The siblings and the elves must learn to trust each other in order to fight off the assassin and make their way safely to Cielis.


Comments on the Story:

The story is certainly becoming more interesting. Some of the ploys of the plot seem, like in the first book, to trivialize emotionally dramatic moments. For example, when the Wyverns attack the airship, Misket and Cogsley are swept away and there is a weak response from the other characters. Certainly, the author is suggesting that they are not gone for good.


Minor Causes for Concern for Parents:

Violence:
-When the assassin comes to question some elves in a bar, he pulls out a gun-like machine and zaps one of the elves, completely removing that elf's memory. For the next couple of pages, this elf is shown with his head on the table, smoke escaping from the top of his head.
-The airship stops at a port where an old friend, a woman, greets the captain with a punch to his eye.

Drinking:
-Characters are shown drinking in a bar. There is another scene of the airship captain and his "friend" leaning against each other and sleeping on a couch while a couple of wine glasses sit empty on the coffee table.


Amulet:

In a dream, the amulet speaks to Emily and tells her that she has as much control as it does. It's still not clear "who" or "what" speaks to her through the amulet.


What I enjoyed:

The inspiring and imaginative graphic visuals, the new characters, and the faster moving plot.

Review: Cloaked in Red

Cloaked in Red

Vivian Vande Velde

From Common Sense Media:

Parents need to know that this mature retelling of the "Little Red Riding Hood" story is a novelization of the movie starring Amanda Seyfried. It centers on a red-cloaked heroine who's being stalked by a werewolf; there's lots of violence, including animal sacrifice, the torture of a mentally disabled boy who's suspected of witchcraft, a wolf's attacks on a village, the severing of an arm, and more. Valerie and Peter share some steamy kisses and do ultimately "give in to each other," though sex is pretty much undescribed.
©Common Sense Media Inc. 2016. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/red-riding-hood

Review: Witch and Wizard by James Patterson

Witch and Wizard

James Patterson




I am re-posting the review for this book from Common Sense Media:

Review:

Parents need to know that this is a dystopian novel that pits adults against children. While there's no gore, the violence is pervasive and intense -- the opening scene is two teens being led to death in a public execution. The children discover they have supernatural powers such as firestarting, and there is little discussion over the ethics of hurting others to save themselves or others. The Allgood family is eventually revealed as Wiccan, and there are prophecies that Wiccans will save the world.
©Common Sense Media Inc. 2016. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/witch-and-wizard

 

Review: Amulet # 2 The Stonekeeper's Curse

Amulet Series Book # 2

The Stonekeeper's Curse

Kazu Kibuishi

The story certainly picks up where the last left off from the series' rather disappointing debut in Book #1. We have new characters in the mien of old-school heroism and a greater show of confidence from our protagonists, siblings Navin and Emily. There is an intriguing sub-plot and a more convincing main plot. Some of the dialogue still seems a bit flat, but the story and sub-story are compelling enough to draw the reader on. The graphics are fantastically drawn and prove a convincing walk into the author's imaginary world.


The Amulet

Emily continues to fight a personal battle of good and evil as she attempts to equal the forces of the amulet in her possession (or alternatively, that has possessed her). Ultimately, her battle revolves around her need to use the amulet's powers without succumbing to its tyranny.

Eg.

AMULET (speaking to Emily): So easy, isn't it? So easy to have so much power.
EMILY: Thinking. Get out... of... my head!

At some points, the Amulet wins, and Emily is filled with the Amulet's power and almost hurts her friend and teacher, Miskit.

AMULET: Feel that power, young master. With it, we can accomplish anything.

The Amulet continuously tries to convince her to leave her friends and embrace the full power of the stone.

AMULET: You don't need them, Master. We can do this on our own. [...] They'll only slow us down and make us weaker. Leave them behind. This road belongs to us.
EMILY: No. We travel together.

The above dialogue reoccurs a second time later on in the story. As Misket explains: as Emily grows in strength, so does the stone. If Emily were to lose dominance over the stone, she would completely succumb to its power and assumedly become evil. It is implied that although difficult, she is able to combat the stone's evil impulses and still use its power for good.

Her final battle with the stone is at the end of the book and at this point the stone tries to blur the lines between good and evil in Emily's intentions:

EMILY: I can defeat it without losing control.
AMULET: But how can you fight such a monster without becoming one yourself?
EMILY: By not fighting alone.

This "not leaving her friends alone" stance is Emily's main rebuttal to the amulet's suggestion of power. She feels that if she continues to keep her friends close to her, she will not become "a monster" or evil.

Some thoughts:

Who is controlling the amulet?
What is the line between good and evil in the amulet's power?
Emily cannot remove the amulet from her neck, so she is then, already, a slave to its power. But the main point is, she hasn't allowed the amulet to take hold of her mind.