Book Review: Something Borrowed

Today
Will be a big blog day for me. I posted a small blog last night about the passing of my WoW subscription expiration date, but other than that, I've been missing in action.
 But enough about that! On to the review!
I've been seeing these commercials for a movie called Something Borrowed. It features Kate Hudson and Ginnifer Goodwin and is based off a best selling novel by Emily Giffin (I keep wanting to say Griffin, but its GIFFIN). The trailer eludes to being in love with your best friend's fiance, and the back of the cover of the book I picked up on Saturday pretty much says the same thing.
Rachel, the consummate good girl, has always been overshadowed by her beautiful, spoiled best friend Darcy. Then on the night of her 30th birthday, Rachel has too much to drink and sleeps with Darcy's fiance, Rachel's old friend from law school Dex. It turns out though that as the affair continues, Dex and Rachel are deeply in love with each other. As Darcy's wedding date draws near, Rachel avoids the subject of Dex's impending marriage, then realizes she can no longer avoid it. Things begin to spiral out of control and she is faced with choosing her best friend, or her possible soul mate.

Why would I read this chick book anyways?
I have always been incredibly interested in, and incredibly influenced by cheating individuals. And not those cheap nights where one drink leads to a weak moment and it really means nothing. I'm talking, the affair is "true" love and despite the repercussions, the cheating couple ends up together in the end. Like Brad and Angelina; Leann and Eddie. My dad and his wife.
i do not have a good relationship with my father and I especially have a terrible, Cinderella type relationship with his wife, my stepmother. The worst part of it all is that his wife was my mother's maid of honor in my parent's wedding.
From what I can see, my stepmother has been romancing my father for decades and decades. In fact, at their wedding last year, i was forced to stare at a picture of them back when they were younger, when my mother and father were together. Scenes like these cheapen their relationship to me. My father claims she's his soul mate, yet despite everything, he originally turned my stepmother down to marry another woman 6 months after divorcing my mother. (Yes, that's right. I have an ex-stepmother). And alas, almost a decade later, they finally had their dream wedding last summer, which my brother refused to attend, and I watched, suppressing sobs, while staring at a picture of my young, cheating father, alone in the front row. I spent their reception, sitting next to my grandmother who gloated to everyone in passing, isn't it about time. They were destined to be together. Took them long enough. I worked hard to get them together.

It's a well known fact that most women are very Pro Jennifer in the Brad/Angie/Jen problem. I do not like Angelina, but respect her charity work. I think Brad is stupid and I don't understand his sex appeal. Sure he's handsome, but while women were staring at his butt in Troy, I was dreaming about Eric Bana's toned arms wrapped around me. Brad needed a haircut. I wish people would leave Jennifer alone, like the way I wish my dad's family would leave my mother alone. Calling her nasty names because she spent her 10 post marriage years raising my brother and I alone, instead of running off with another man and marrying as soon as the immigrant papers went through.

Oh shut up. What about the book?
Right, so here we have Rachel who in all terms is a sweet girl. She is smart, works a job she hates, and bends to her beautiful best friend's every whim. Darcy is an incredibly villainous young woman, who gets everything she wants with a flip of her hair. Her confidence is something I came to envy, like Rachel. And I watched her turn from best friend to evil rival. She throws tantrums, turns everything so that it's about her, and ends up being even more hateful towards the end.
But what about Rachel. The other woman is supposed to be the despised, evil one.
It may be from my extremely bias position, but I did not understand the relationship of Rachel and Dex. Yes they were best friends in college and he seemed to genuinely love her. And Rachel exudes enough flip flopping guilt that I feel for her. And since Darcy is a bitch, it makes it even easier to want Rachel to win Dex.
My problem with the relationship is Dex. If someone loves someone else, how could the spend months promising to marry another woman. How could he sleep with her? How could they continue the affair, if they truly loved each other and never wanted to be apart? This I do not understand.
Perhaps its my jaded view on love.
I am terrified of marriage; I am terrified of being cheated on. I am terrified of my mother-in-law breaking up my marriage so my husband can be with a woman his mother chose. These are things I do not want to experience.
And even though Something Borrowed had me rooting for the other woman, as I devoured page after page, I couldn't help thinking about how twisted the book made me feel. 
Because cheering for the other woman was like cheering for my stepmother. And I wonder, did she feel sorry for herself, the way Rachel did. Did she see my mother as the evil Darcy, stealing her true love.
My stepmother has no qualms about expressing her bitterness and rivalry with my mother. She claims my mother is jealous of her fabulous life. She expresses hate and disdain for my brother and I because we will always be the bond that binds my mother and my father. My stepmother will never be rid of my mother.
And then it becomes clear. Who the Darcy and the Rachel is in my Something Borrowed tale? 

In the end
Something Borrowed was a great debut novel by Emily Giffin. She has four other books out and I would consider reading them all.
Review: B+

  
 
 

Media Update: Casting of Katniss, Peeta and Gale in the Hunger Games Movie

The Hunger Games is a young adult book trilogy by Suzanne Collins. While I complain about the similarities to Battle Royale, a beloved Japanese novel/manga/movie of mine, Collins has written a wonderful, complex story that gives me renewed faith in the young adult genre (no thanks to Stephanie Meyers).
The Hunger Games movies are going to be the supposed next big thing, expected to fill the hole that will be left in the wake of Breaking Dawn. That's a big gap to fill, considering the overwhelming success of Stephanie Meyers' books.

Book Review: Battle Royale The Hunger Games Trilogy

For a young adult novel, I have to say, I was thoroughly impressed with The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. I was also impossibly addicted to the novels, and read each book within a day, losing sleep and making me quite irritable.

The Hunger Games begins as a reminiscent of a novel I read many years ago, Battle Royale by Koushun Takami (1999). I have no choice, after reading both, but to question the creativity of the Hunger Games. I'm not entirely writing off the whole series; the books within themselves are creative and imaginative; clearly original. But the underlying story of what the Hunger Games are really needs to fess up to being influenced by Battle Royale. I can't understand how the author can claim that she was only influenced by the myth of the Minotaur. There are just too many similarities. Maybe it really is all a coincidence.

Battle Royale is a Japanese authored novel. It's popularity has spanned a manga series and two movies. It tells the story of a government facilitated "game," where each year, one class of high schoolers is transported to an island where they are forced into combat with each other. In Battle Royale, the class chosen has 50 students, who are each issued a small pack of supplies and a characteristic weapon. They are told to fight to the death, until only one winner is left standing. If they do not fight each other, devices attached around their necks will trigger and kill them instantly. These games are used by the government as a scare tactic, to keep the weakened world around them in check. They are publicly shown to insight terror into the public.   

Although not the entire plot of the Hunger Games trilogy, the Hunger Games themselves are when 2 children from each of the 12 districts are put into an arena, to fight to the death. This happens once a year, and they are highly publicized events used by the government to keep the 12 districts in check. Each of the district has a mentor, who helps them out and sends them periodic gifts if sponsorship allows. If not, the games start with a huge shell like building, centered in the middle with tons of weapons, supplies and tools available for the children to use, but only if they can survive the fight to get them. If the children to do not comply, or if action is slow, Gamemasters can tweak and add dangers within the arena to pick up the fights, kill off people, or drive them to each other.

Now the Minotaur myth is about an elusive creature within a labyrinth. Every year, a man and woman is chosen to be sacrificed to him where they are dropped into the labyrinth.

Coincidence or not, the similarities between Battle Royale and Hunger Games, in terms of the games itself, are astonishing. They definitely can't be ignored. And as much as the Hunger Games Trilogy is an amazing and original story, it bothers me that it is so similar to another one of my beloved book, and yet no one seems to notice. (I've googled it and yes, people do notice. But you don't read about the similarities in magazines or major book reviews. hello?) I can attribute this to Battle Royale being a Japanese book, but it has been out in the U.S. for years. In fact, there are two printed versions published that i know of. Maybe even more.

That being said, the Hunger Games Trilogy is a worthy read; it has a strong heroine put in impossible circumstances, with a beautiful and intriguing background to fill in the down time. I think that's the books appeal, the post apocalyptic world that is so far into the future, the idea that it has gone back in time is captivating.

Warning: I spoil the supposed love triangle down below. But honestly, there was nothing to spoil imo...!