Serenity

The audiobook was FANTASTIC and only about 5ish hours long. Highly recommend it as there are multiple colorful narrators that truly bring life to the characters. That being said, all the names will probably be wrong.

This story did not go as I expected it to; it was much better!! I would say that it had a very strong beginning, somewhat slower middle, but a fast paced and exciting ending. Our main character is a princess named Cimorene. She doesn't want to be a conventional princess and marry a prince, so she runs away to be a dragon's princess. Specifically, Kazul's princess.

Kazul is a super cool dragon. She completely sounds and acts like a dragon, but she is also very witty, intelligent, and cunning. She treats Cimorene well and fairly. I adored their relationship. I wouldn't call them friends, but they were friendly to each other, and there was loyalty and a bond between them both. Their personalities were perfect for each other.

Along the way, Cimorene also meets another princess named Aleanora. They had a nice friendship. I liked how all of the princesses got to see each other despite being captured by dragons. I expected Cimorene to end up finding a prince and falling in love, but instead, she helps the other girls find princes, which was great! I totally wasn't expecting it, and I actually really like that she stayed by Kazul's side when Kazul became king of the dragons. She isn't ready to settle down yet, and that's OK. She should enjoy her freedom while she can.

Overall, I would call this a lighthearted and charming fantasy story. It's always lovely to read a story about dragons without the “the dragons are dying out “or “this is the last dragon alive” tropes. It's silly and cute, but not childish. I would recommend it to others, and I would listen to it again in the future.

This ending was the best so far! Somewhat what I was expecting, but not quite. Bittersweet, but full of hope for Fireheart and Thunderclan. The beginning was sooo slow though, and I disliked (nearly hated) Graystripe so much for always being absent from the clan and Fireheart. Apparently, Fireheart's worry about Graystripe's loyalty to the clan proved to be justified as Graystripe clearly didn't care about Thunderclan by the end, so I'm glad he leaves. It made the ending more tolerable, but my heart ached for Fireheart.

It was also nice to finally see Fireheart vindicated in this novel and the mystery of Tigerclaw's loyalty finally being resolved. Honestly, I thought the ending would have been much worse with more death, but in a way, it was since something died inside Bluestar, Fireheart, Tigerclaw, and the Clan. Putting it that way, Tigerclaw's betrayal took much more than lives away.

Overall, it was a good story, but I feel like the ending was somewhat anticlimactic. The “problem” at the end of the book (with Shadowclan) was simultaneously resolved too quickly and not at all. The fact that Firepaw never warned Bluestar about Tigerclaw was also very frustrating, although understandable. I can see that the authors were basically setting it up to continue the story into the second one. It feels like book one is almost just half the story, you just want more.

Regardless of the somewhat unsatisfying ending “confrontation”, the rest of the story was wonderful. The world-building and culture surrounding the clans is rich and interesting. The custom regarding names, sharing tongues, the warrior code - all of it was exciting to learn alongside Firepaw.

Firepaw- where do I start with him? I usually don't like the main protagonist, but him I loved! He's ignorant and slightly offensive at the beginning, but makes up with it with maturity, personal reflection, curiosity, intelligence, and perseverance. He truly earned his new name at the end of the book.

Jurassic Park is one of the rare instances where the movie is superior to the book. I'm rating this a 4 due to its boring start (pre-island), it's stupid ending, and the fact that Malcolm and Genaro carried the story for me. This book is very different from the movie. Both have their strengths, which I will share via spoilers.

What the movie did better:

1. The kids. They are annoying in the book. I understand that Lex is 7 or 8 years old, so she deserves a plethora of grace, but she's extremely annoying. The author seemed to hate her; she made all of these mistakes that nearly killed them. She was even pooped on by a pterodactyl. Whereas Tim is 11 yrs old and this brilliant little Dino-nerd that is the only one that can work the computer and bring the power online (instead of Lex in the movie). I much prefer their behavior and relationship in the movie where Tim still loves dinos, but Lex is mature and the elder sister.
2. The movie bypasses the boring backstory for the most part while keeping the most important scenes I think.
3. The characters in the movie are more likable for the most part, minus Genaro!! They did my man Genaro dirty in the movie. Not cool. I really liked Genaro in the book- more on that later. Ellie Sattler specifically was shown to be more interesting and fleshed out than the book. In the novel, she's mostly admired for her legs rather than her scientific knowledge.
4. The ending. The book ending is so boring, dumb, and anti-climatic. To start, the raptors in the main building are not killed by a trex. They are killed by Grant tricking them into eating eggs filled with some sort of chemical that poisons them (forgot which). He killed like, three of them this way. In no way did I find this believable or exciting. One raptor, yes, three - no. Then when the raptors are gone, Hammond is practically MIA and Genaro is the one to call the Costa Rican government for help to blow up the island via air strike. Grant goes berserk, roughing him up physically and blaming HIM solely for the park (not Hammond), forcing him to search for the raptors nest to count the number of creatures to make sure they all die. I thought it was extremely unfair of Grant to assault Genaro and call him a coward. I firmly believe that Grant's priority in seeking the raptor nests was scientific curiosity, not genuine concern for mankind. Muldoon should have backed him up, as he and Genaro spent lots of time together, but even he turns on Genaro at the end and threatens him with electric shock to get him into the raptor nest. When they are finally at the nest, nothing happens. The adult raptors miraculously don't notice 3 humans (unbelievable) in their den. Then everyone is rushed from the island and the Costa Rican government blows it up. Soooo boring.

Things I think the book did better:

1. Malcolm is even cooler! We get far more monologue from Malcolm in the book than the movie, and he's somehow cooler. The fact that he's balding just makes him more badass because he doesn't let his receding hairline take away from the fact that he's intelligent as hell with his chaos theory. God I love Malcolm.
2. More Dr. Wu: Dr. Wu was hardly in the movie, which is a shame. In the book, he and Hammond have lots of moments together where we learn more about him. He's brave, and tries to save Ellie when the raptors were trying to kill her. I was sad to see him die in such a gruesome way, but there is something poetic about the major players in Jurassic Park dying at the claws of their own creation (Hammond, Arnold, and Wu).
3. Genaro the Lawyer is badass. The movie did him dirty and combined him with Ed Regis' character in the book, the Public Relations person that pees his pants and abandons the kids in the car. In the book, Genaro stays with Ellie and the vet with the triceratops, so he never encounters the Rex and gets eaten. Then, Ellie stays behind, but Genaro goes out with Muldoon to find Grant and the kids, and he is out there in the park trying to help get the park up and running. He even agrees to help Muldoon with the raptors although he's afraid. I don't blame him for wanting nothing to do with the raptors nests at the end. Frankly, it's easy for Grant to call him a coward when no one is waiting for him at home. Genaro has a wife and kids to take care of, so he shouldn't be treated like shit at the end when he's already risked his neck multiple times.

Other things didn't like about the book

1. The trex following Grant and the kids. It's literally stalking them. Why!? There are so many dinos for the trex to eat. Why follow the three, small humans so much?
2. Grant never confronting Hammond about his role in opening a dangerous park. I guess he didn't want to risk pissing off the man that funds his dig sites (coward).

Anyways, I rate it a 4/5 for these reasons. I still loved the book, and enjoyed the narrator for the audiobook.