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Book Review: The Prayer Box

The Prayer Box Lisa Wingate

Rating: 3 stars

When Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away in her bed at ninety-one, the struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out Iola’s rambling Victorian house. Running from a messy, dangerous past, Tandi never expects to find more than a temporary hiding place within Iola’s walls, but everything changes with the discovery of eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iola’s youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper–the hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi.

This book was an okay read for me. It wasn’t what I was expecting to read, but I thought it was okay. What I liked about The Prayer Box was the background story the reader received about Tandi and why she was on Hatteras Island. Her dark past with her ex-husband was something I found I could relate to and pulled me into reading this novel. I also enjoyed Lisa Wingate’s writing. She is very descriptive about Iola Anne Poole’s Victorian house and it made me interested in finding out what Tandi was going to find in the home. She also described the scenery on the island well enough to where I could picture where Tandi and her children were living.

I also enjoyed reading about Tandi’s growing relationship with the people around her and her children. Lisa Wingate shows some strong character development with Tandi that I really enjoyed seeing as she was reading Iola’s letters.

However, there was a lot in The Prayer Box that was missing for me. The letters Tandi finds in the boxes that were written by Iola were really disappointing to me. I felt as if they didn’t really give the reader Iola’s character. If anything, the letters told us more about Iola and her past, but I didn’t feel as if I could understand her character from reading them. While I did enjoy hearing about Tandi’s past, the reader really doesn’t get a whole lot about why she and her children left. We know that Tandi’s ex-husband Trammel was bad, but I felt as if we as readers don’t get the full picture as to what happened with him. We also don’t get a whole lot about what’s going to happen to Tandi now that her ex-husband is in jail and that Iola’s house isn’t going to be destroyed. The book just suddenly ends with no real conclusion.

I also found Tandi’s character to be disappointing. While I do understand what she went through, I felt as if she didn’t really learn from her past. The reader can see this in The Prayer Box through her relationship with Ross and the relationship she has with her children at the beginning of the book. Ross is a lot like Tandi’s ex-husband Trammel and she even mentions that when she’s talking about him. However, Tandi doesn’t realize how bad of a man he is for her even after what happens with Gina. Instead, she’s upset about his cheating but doesn’t do anything. The relationship Tandi has with her children in the beginning of The Prayer Box is terrible. It is exactly the way Tandi says she was raised as a child. But Tandi doesn’t realize this at all when she talks about the way she was raised and doesn’t even realize her bad parenting until near the end of the book. Then when she tries to be a better parent it always falls flat to me. While I do enjoy seeing that she is trying to do her kids right by her, I felt as if Tandi never really learns from her experiences. Her character made reading The Prayer Box that much more difficult for me.

Part of the reason I struggled with reading this book was because I placed high expectations on this book. I was expecting a lot more than what I got out of The Prayer Box, but I just couldn’t connect with it on the level I wanted to. It just didn’t speak to me in the way it has with other readers and that’s why it’s an okay read for me. While there were parts of The Prayer Box that I enjoyed, it was an overall okay book to read. I definitely enjoyed reading The Story Keeper more and am interested in reading some of Wingate’s other novels.

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First Impressions: Life is Strange

Life is Strange 1

Released on Jan. 29, 2015, Life is Strange is an environmental interactive adventure video game. Developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix, Life is Strange is from the perspective of Max, a regular senior photography student at Blackwell Academy who discovers she can rewind time when she saves her best friend Chloe from being shot. As the two best friends figure out a way for Max to use her powers, they discover something strange is going on in Arcadia Bay. Together, they work to figure it out through finding out what happened to a missing Blackwell Academy student.

Life is Strange 2
Max’s room in Life is Strange.

Life is Strange is a game that allows the player to rewind time. By rewinding time, the player is able to relive social interactions and change their decisions, which results in different consequences for Max in the game. This allows the player to relieve a variety of different endings for the game. Life is Strange is also divided into a total of five episodes, which gives the player the opportunity to change their decisions in the episodes if they want.

When I first started playing Life is Strange, I wasn’t sure what I was going to think of it. I knew it was a game that I wanted to play, but didn’t know what my feelings were going to be towards it after playing. But since I’ve started Life is Strange, I’ve gotten nothing but pure enjoyment from playing it. I’ve enjoyed Life is Strange since playing it because I love the high school vibe the game gives the player. You get to play as a high school student who is trying to figure out what to do with her new powers while still trying to get through everyday life. Max not only has to deal with how to handle her new powers, but how to deal with issues at school, such as bullying, suicide, rape, and abuse. These issues bring Life is Strange to a new level that hasn’t been explored in other video games and I enjoy seeing these issues brought to life in this game.

The heart wrenching scene with Kate in Life is Strange. Those who’ve played know what’s going on here. The choice you make here determines what happens to her next.
The heart wrenching scene with Kate in Life is Strange. Those who’ve played know what’s going on here. The choice you make here determines what happens to her next.

Another component to Life is Strange that I really enjoy is seeing how the choices you make in the game impacts the other characters. As I mentioned earlier, there are many different choices you can make when in uncomfortable social situations with Max. However, the choice you decide to stick with is what determines what’s going to happen later in the game. I love this aspect to the game because you can rewind time after having those uncomfortable conversations and make a different decision and then see how it plays out. It really brings to the surface the saying that “actions have consequences.”

Life is Strange 3

Life is Strange is also an enjoyable game to me because I like how you can interact with the environment. From looking at an object to taking pictures of the world around you, there are so many little things as the player that you can look at that I find to be a charming aspect in this game. By looking at these objects and taking pictures, you are able to add more material to Max’s journal so that you get one step closer to collecting everything in Life is Strange.

The one thing in Life is Strange I don’t particularly care for are the controls. While moving Max around isn’t too bad, I find that whenever I play, there are a lot of times my game lags and I feel like I’m unable to do anything. It also affects my social interactions too because whenever I talk to people in the game, they sometimes say the same word over again two or three times during dialogue. I know that’s an issue I can’t control, but I don’t really like the controls for Life is Strange because of it.

Overall, I enjoy playing Life is Strange. The game has a lot to offer to those interested in playing and I would recommend this game to anyone interested. However, for those who aren’t comfortable with playing a game that deals with issues such as rape, abuse, suicide, bullying, and violence or don’t want to play a game that is very emotion heavy, I don’t recommend Life is Strange to you. For now though, I look forward to continue playing Life is Strange and seeing what’s going to happen next to Max and Chloe with the decisions I have made.

5

Book Review: In the Heart of the Dark Wood

In the Heart of the Dark Wood Cover

Rating: 4 stars

A motherless girl hungry for hope . . . and the dream that could be leading her astray.

Almost two years have passed since twelve year-old Allie Granderson’s beloved mother Mary disappeared into the wild tornado winds. Her body has never been found. God may have spilled out his vengeance on all of Mattingly that day–but it was Allie’s momma who got swept away.

Allie clings to memories of her mother, just as she clings to the broken compass she left behind, the makeshift Nativity scene assembled in Allie’s front yard, and to her best friend, Zach. But even with Zach at her side, the compass tied to her wrist, and the Nativity characters just a glimpse out the window, Allie cannot help but feel lost in all the growing up that must get done.

When the Holy Mother disappears from the yard one morning, Allie’s bewilderment is checked only by the sudden movement of her mother’s compass. Yet the compass isn’t pointing north but east . . . into the inky forest on the outskirts of Mattingly.

Following the needle, Allie and Zach leave the city pavement behind and push into the line of trees edging on the Virginia hill country. For Allie, the journey is more than a ghost hunt: she is rejoining the mother she lost–and finding herself with each step deeper into the heart of the darkest woods she’s ever seen.

Brimming with lyrical prose and unexpected discoveries, “In the Heart of the Dark Wood” illustrates the steep transition we all must undergo–the moment we shed our child-like selves and step into the strange territory of adulthood.

This book moved me in ways I wasn’t expecting. When I first saw the premise of the book, I originally thought it was going to be an okay read with a very happy ending. However, this book took several turns I didn’t see coming. They were turns that enthralled me, making me want to continue reading. That is one of the many reasons why I enjoyed reading In the Heart of the Dark Wood.

I also enjoyed reading this book because I felt a strong connection with Allie. From the very beginning, I sympathized with Allie’s character because I knew exactly how she felt. While I myself haven’t lost my mother, I know what it’s like being without one parent, feeling as if a part of you is gone. In a way, losing anyone you care about is like that, and this book heavily portrayed that in a way that moved me emotionally. While Allie does struggle to let go of her past and to continue moving forward, when she does let go, it’s in a very adult way, which allows the reader to see her develop as a character.

I also enjoyed reading In the Heart of the Dark Wood because I enjoyed hearing about their journey and how both Allie and Zach were able to survive as the townspeople kept looking for them. I enjoyed hearing about their adventure because the author writes in plenty of detail, pulling the reader’s attention with every passing minute. The context of the text is very lyrical and beautifully written and really pulled at my emotions. When I was near the end of the book, I was crying because I was so emotionally invested in what I was reading. Allie is such a sympathetic character that it was hard not to feel bad for her and everything she has gone through.

However, one aspect of In the Heart of the Dark Wood that bothered me was how the time Allie and Zach spent in the woods dragged on. While reading about their time in the woods was enthralling, there were aspects of it that seemed to take forever to become interesting. One example is the creature in the woods that has been following them. They have encounters with this creature two or three times before they are finally able to see what creature is pursuing them. This bothers me because the reader doesn’t figure out what creature Allie and Zach encounter until the very end of the book. I was also bothered by how Allie finds her mother in the woods. While it’s good to know Allie finally has closure with what happened to her mother, I was hoping that things would go differently for her.

In the Heart of the Dark Wood was a pleasure to read. It kept me guessing at every turn of the page and really enthralled me emotionally.

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First Impressions: Okami

OkamiNTSCcoverFinal

Released in 2006 by Capcom on the PlayStation 2, Okami is an action-adventure video game. It was later released in 2008 on the Wii and has also been released on the PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network, according to the Okami game website.

Okami centers around a wolf sun god named Amaterasu. One hundred years ago, Amaterasu defeated a legendary monster named Orochi. Orochi was responsible for plaguing Kamiki Village with a curse. Using the power of the thirteen Celestial Brushes, Amaterasu was able to defeat Orochi, but at the cost of her own life. The beginning of Okami takes place in the present, where Amaterasu runs into a fairy sprite named Issun and discovers that Orochi is still at large. Together, Amaterasu and Issun go on an adventure to collect the thirteen Celestial Brush powers and defeat Orochi.

I first started playing Okami in May when my boyfriend Zach gave it to me as a college graduation present. But I stopped playing because I was struggling to defeat Ninetails. It wasn’t until recently that I decided to pick it back up again. I had heard about Okami via word of mouth and Tumblr and was immediately interested in playing it.

When I started playing Okami, I fell in love. I found the graphics of the game itself to be absolutely stunning and had a hard time putting my controller down. I spent many hours playing because I found the storyline in the game to be completely immersing and couldn’t get enough of playing as Amaterasu.

Amaterasu right outside the Dragon Palace. I really enjoyed seeing the Dragon Palace underwater. It was one of my favorite places in Okami.
Amaterasu right outside the Dragon Palace. I really enjoyed seeing the Dragon Palace underwater. It was one of my favorite places in Okami.
Checking out the Sunken Ship.
Checking out the Sunken Ship.

I love this game not only because of the graphics and plot, but also because of the characters. I particularly enjoy Amaterasu’s interactions with Issun because both of them can be really comical with each other. I also love Waka’s character because he gives off the vibe of being a mysterious prophet and the player doesn’t really know why he keeps showing up everywhere Amaterasu and Issun go. Fighting is also enjoyable in Okami too. I love being able to have a variety of weapons to use as the game progresses and that you can use the Celestial Brush techniques to help take damage on enemies. I also enjoy playing Okami because the Celestial Brushes have more than one use. While each brush technique is unique, the game allows you to use each of the brushes to help you progress, making them extremely helpful to the player.

However, while there are a lot of things I love about Okami, there are also a few things about the game that I don’t enjoy. I’m not a fan of games that sexualize or have any form of misogyny. In Okami, one of the things I noticed was Issun acted misogynistic towards some of the female characters in the game, such as Sakuya. I also didn’t enjoy that with some of the female character’s, you could clearly see parts of their body that should’ve been covered.

Sakuya’s outfit. As you can see, her cleavage is visible and not hard to miss.
Sakuya’s outfit. As you can see, her cleavage is visible and not hard to miss.

While the way Issun acted towards these women was very small and insignificant in comparison to the way some men sexualize women, it was something I noticed and picked up on. Another issue I have with this game is the layout of the map because it is really small and can sometimes be very difficult to see where you are supposed to be going.

Another issue with Okami I have is the moments where the game leaves you hanging and you have to figure out what you’re supposed to do next. The journal is supposed to help, but I find that these hints the journal leaves the player can sometimes be more confusing than helpful. Whenever I get stuck, I end up looking at walkthroughs instead because they are more helpful. This is an issue for me because while I don’t mind playing games that are challenging and that make me think, I don’t enjoy having to constantly look up information to progress when I’d rather be playing.

Some of the mini games in Okami I also find I don’t enjoy. One of these mini games is the digging mini game. I don’t like this mini game in particular because it is really a pain to complete and I find myself having to do it multiple times before I am able to finish it. Along with fishing, it is one of the mini games the player has to do multiple times in order to progress further into the game.

However, despite these issues I have, I really love playing Okami. It is a game I fell immediately in love with and one I can see myself playing over and over again in the years to come. Okami is a game that holds a special place in my heart and I recommend it to anyone interested in playing it.

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Book Review: Seeker

Seeker Book Cover

Rating: 2 stars

The night Quin Kincaid takes her Oath, she will become what she has trained to be her entire life. She will become a Seeker. This is her legacy, and it is an honor.

As a Seeker, Quin will fight beside her two closest companions, Shinobu and John, to protect the weak and the wronged. Together they will stand for light in a shadowy world.

And she’ll be with the boy she loves—who’s also her best friend.
But the night Quin takes her Oath, everything changes. Being a Seeker is not what she thought. Her family is not what she thought. Even the boy she loves is not who she thought. And now it’s too late to walk away.

I read Seeker in May and posted my thoughts about it on Goodreads. However, I want to go more in-depth about why I didn’t enjoy reading this book as much as I was hoping. But before I go into all of that, I’d first like to talk about what I liked about Seeker.

I really enjoyed how the author switched the points of view between different characters. This gave the reader a unique experience that you don’t see very often when reading books. Especially fantasy books like this one. The different points of view gave the reader a better understanding of what was really going on in the story because not only did the reader hear the story from the perspective of the main character Quin, but also from other characters in their world who played a pivotal role in maintaining the balance between good and evil, such as Maud. I also enjoyed hearing the story from John’s perspective. Though John is one of the main antagonists of Seeker, I felt as if I could understand what he was doing. I also enjoyed learning more about the technology and the setting in the world surrounding the characters in this book, such as learning about their different weaponry for fighting.

However, I found that I was displeased reading Seeker more than anything else. While the plot of the book kept me interested in wanting to read more, the execution of the plot was overall disappointing and not very clearly organized. The reader discovers that Seekers are not the knights in shining armor that protect the good like Quin thought they were. But the reader never gets an explanation of what all exactly they do.

I also was disappointed in the character development of Quin and her cousin Shinobu. When they end up traveling to Hong Kong, I felt myself becoming disoriented at the sequence of events that happened while they were there. Both Quin and Shinobu almost seemed like different characters in Seeker, trying to escape their past instead of doing everything in their power to stop John from getting an athame. I also thought that the relationship between Quin and Shinobu came out of nowhere. The reader knew in the beginning of the book that Shinobu had strong feelings for Quin, but I felt as if Quin’s feelings for her cousin came out of thin air and that they weren’t real. While I’m not particularly a fan of incest in books I read, if the relationship of love between the two characters is clear to see and the writing is well-written, I don’t mind it as much. But Quin and Shinobu’s relationship just happens with no explanation.

The only reason I kept reading was out of the hope that Seeker would get better for me. Instead, this book fell flat and really left me disappointed. I don’t recommend Seeker as a book to read because it didn’t fulfill my hopes for what I thought it was going to be and the plot was under developed.

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First Impressions: Plants vs Zombies

Plants vs Zombies Title Screen

Plants vs Zombies is an action packed tower defense video game. Released in 2009 by PopCap, Plants vs Zombies is a game where the player has to protect their home from an invasion of zombies through the use of planting an assortment of zombie-zapping plants on their property. Each plant has their own abilities that allow you to defend yourself against zombies before they can enter your front door.

However, the game comes with its own sets of challenges. These challenges are seen throughout the game with each different game mode. For example, in one of the game modes, the player has to defend their backyard from zombies, which includes having to defend zombies from entering your house through your pool. In order to defend the pool, the player can place Lily Pads in the pool. Lily Pads allow the player to defend their pool with other plants, such as Peashooters, Repeaters, Chompers, etc. by letting the player plant these plants on the Lily Pads.

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My backyard before the final invasion of zombies.

I first started playing Plants vs Zombies last year. However, I found myself getting back into the game with the goal of clearing it last week. While I have yet to beat Plants vs Zombies, I have discovered that there is a lot I enjoy about playing this game. For one, I enjoy watching all of my plants defend my home from an invasion of zombies. Part of my enjoyment of this game is because I love the strategic mindset the player has to get into to make sure they don’t get eaten. A big part of the strategy is choosing which plants to use to defend your home before the level even begins. The player is only allowed a certain amount of plants for each level so you have to choose very carefully which plants you want to use to defend your home.  In order to increase the amount of plants you can bring into each level, you have to buy a slot from Crazy Dave’s shop. I also enjoy playing Plants vs Zombies because I love the graphics of the game and the different game modes the player experiences. These game modes allow the player to be entertained without facing the same challenge over and over again and the graphics make Plants vs Zombies look pleasing to the gamer’s eye.

However, there are some drawbacks to Plants vs Zombies too. One of the drawbacks for me is choosing which plants to use to defend your home in each level. While I enjoy being challenged when playing video games, I think only being able to use a certain amount of plants each level stinks. While it does make the game more difficult, it also doesn’t allow the player to enjoy using the full arsenal of plants they have at their disposal. Another drawback to Plants vs Zombies for me is that playing it only appeals to me for a short amount of time. It is a game I find myself hooked to for a couple of days before I find myself interested in wanting to play something else.

However, I enjoy playing Plants vs Zombies. While it doesn’t appeal to me as a game to play for a long period of time, it appeals to my love of plants, nature and zombies. It is a game you can easily get hooked to, if you are looking for a game to spend a couple of days getting lost in. I definitely recommend playing Plants vs Zombies to the gamer interested in strategy based games involving plants and zombies.

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Book Review: Phenomenal: A Hesitant Adventurer’s Search for Wonder in the Natural World

Phenomenal Book

Rating: 4 stars

Heartfelt and awe inspiring, Leigh Ann Henion’s Phenomenal is a moving tale of physical grandeur and emotional transformation, a journey around the world that ultimately explores the depths of the human heart. A journalist and young mother, Henion combines her own conflicted but joyful experiences as a parent with a panoramic tour of the world’s most extraordinary natural wonders. Phenomenal begins in hardship: with Henion deeply shaken by the birth of her beloved son, shocked at the adversity a young mother faces with a newborn. The lack of sleep, the shrinking social circle, the health difficulties, all collide and force Henion to ask hard questions about our accepted wisdom on parenting and the lives of women. Convinced that the greatest key to happiness—both her own and that of her family—lies in periodically allowing herself to venture into the wider world beyond home, Henion sets out on a global trek to rekindle her sense of wonder.

Henion’s quest takes her far afield, but it swiftly teaches her that freedom is its own form of parenting, one that ultimately allows her to meet her son on his own terms: with a visceral understanding of the wonder he experiences every day at the fresh new world. Whether standing on the still-burning volcanoes of Hawai’i or in the fearsome lightning storms of Venezuela, in the vast animal movements of Tanzania or the elegant butterfly migrations of Mexico, Henion reveals in Phenomenal a world of sublimity and revelation.

Henion’s spiritual wanderlust puts her in the path of modern-day shamans, reindeer herders, and astrophysicists. She meets laypeople from all over the world, from all walks of life, each going to great lengths to chase migrations, auroras, eclipses, and other phenomena. These seekers trust their instincts, follow their passions, shape their days into the lives they most want to lead. And somewhere along the way, Leigh Ann Henion becomes one of them.

A breathtaking memoir, Phenomenal reveals unforgettable truths about motherhood, spirituality, and the beauty of nature.

Upon picking up this book, I discovered how much I really enjoyed reading it. I found this book to be a phenomenal read because it inspired in me a sense of wonder about the world around us. It brought to light how much of the world I have yet to see and how each of us in everyday life can find something to live in awe over. Hearing this incredible journey to see natural phenomena in our everyday world from the perspective of a journalist struggling to fit in her travels while still having time with her son really made me captivated to continue reading this memoir.

I found Phenomenal to be an enjoyable read for other reasons as well. I really enjoyed hearing about all of the different places Leigh Ann traveled to, from seeing the Northern Lights in Sweden to going to see a volcano eruption in Hawaii. I also enjoyed her conversations with people from different walks of life about their culture and their own beliefs and how she was able to reflect on all of those different conversations to try and make sense of the world we live in. I found Phenomenal to be a memoir that not only kept me thinking, but also inspired in me the need to travel and see the wonderful sights the world around us has to offer.

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