277: Brave (Mini-Rant)

Synopsis

An epic adventure set in the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland. Determined to carve her own path in life, a skilled archer named Princess Merida defies a sacred age-old custom–and inadvertently unleashes a beastly curse upon the kingdom. To set things right, Merida embarks on a perilous quest and discovers the meaning of true bravery.

The Bad

So while reading/listening to this I realized that the story makes the dad out to be innocent and that made me so mad…

• He is not the vocal one but he is the one when poo poo hit fan (telling Merida about betrayal/suitors) he sputters then slides to back so mom can take all heat
• Merida is actually a bad person/teen- the story reads more you’re ruining my life teen than I remember
• My feminist tirade is only thing made me finish this book (also audiobook shortness)
• This did not offer anything new to story

 

(cover image and synopsis from goodreads)

 

275: Barbie: In Fashion

Synopsis

Barbie is one of the world’s best-loved dolls–with more than 700 million dolls sold since 1959. This tiny treasure includes an introduction by Barbie herself and presents her favorite outfits from 1959 to 1989. A description of each outfit accompanies each of the 300 color photos, as well as the year in which it debuted.

The Good

• Book is largely art based  so there was fun to be had looking at all the different fashions
• Barbie Family tree in the back

The Bad

One thing to note not to excuse is that this was published in 1994

When I picked this book up I thought it would be a fun departure from the stream of novelizations that I had been using as my purse books. I thought it was all pictures so there was zero thought to talking about issues surrounding Barbie.

• essays at the beginning are skippable- they are in the point of view of Barbie but are in that glamour voice like Jackie Collins I guess where they name drop fashion stuff (I don’t know if I am explaining this well but either way skippable). The first essay felt like it trivialized the critiques people had about Barbie such as her hourglass figure. It also said something about how Barbie represents America. Overall, I did not expect or need/want words in this book.
• Represents Barbie- Took 171 pages to get to the first black barbie and there was zero brown Barbie’s in between it got me thinking about legacy. How are thing ever going to be equal when there is this massive legacy of whiteness? Only in the last couple of years have Barbie started really addressing the issues of body, race, and going beyond the status quo. Even still there is so much more work to be done.

The Meh

• A lot of the clothes are ugly and/or weird

Random-ish Thoughts

I am still waiting on a Barbie book that deals with Barbies legacy in a nuanced manner that goes beyond white women point of views. I would even love to see men who loved Barbie opinions.

Some of these fashions  need to make a comeback on brown dolls

(image from amazon, ignore how horrible it looks, and synopsis from goodreads)

274: Redemption in Indigo

Synopsis

 A tale of adventure, magic, and the power of the human spirit. Paama’s husband is a fool and a glutton. Bad enough that he followed her to her parents’ home in the village of Makendha—now he’s disgraced himself by murdering livestock and stealing corn. When Paama leaves him for good, she attracts the attention of the undying ones—the djombi— who present her with a gift: the Chaos Stick, which allows her to manipulate the subtle forces of the world. Unfortunately, a wrathful djombi with indigo skin believes this power should be his and his alone.

A contemporary fairy tale that is inspired in part by a Senegalese folk tale.

The Good

When I first got into Redemption In Indigo I was slightly disappointed because I thought it would be more like Best of All Possible Worlds (Karen Lord second novel that I read first) which is different I want to say that this is more philosophical than that but I don’t know if that is true now. I think Best of All Possible Worlds has more fantastical elements because it explore different planets but Indigo is more like a parable or a fable which is probably not a mistake because it’s based off a Senegalese folk tale.

Cultural elements

Fantastical- its the culture and the mythology (one of my favorite parts is the talking creatures which nobody pays attention to its almost magical realism)

Large world and events for this to be a 188 page novel

The Bad

Questionable fatphobia and colorism

Fatphobia

-There is a character whose flaw is they are fat and always want to eat.

-I cannot tell if it is part of the original story

-Is their gluttony a bigger story about how they consume without any thought to anyone else?

Colorism

-There was a moment when main character told someone they need to cover themselves so not to get darker

– A certain character is seen as imposing because they are dark black

Overall

Probably not giving it enough justice I’ll just say I enjoyed it a lot.

Did It Better In My Opinion:

colorism in African fantasy setting~ Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

 

(cover and synopsis from goodreads)