There's a lot of silly the Beatles song ("I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "I Am a Walrus" comes to mind) and I know that they're viewed as this really serious band now, but really in their time period, the Beatles were pretty much pop acts. I've seen people deride current pop stars such as Nicki Minaj as trashy while upholding the Beatles as an example of "good music", I'd like to think that in the 1950s and in the 1960s, there are also people who think the Beatles and Elvis were "trashy pop acts" and uphold jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong as an example of "good music." I'd like to think too that during the 1920s, jazz musicians were derided as "trashy" too and people were upholding classical music composer as an example of "good music."
But I'm not going to talk about how nostalgia affects the way we enjoy music; I'm here to share an appreciation for the Beatles and Across the Universe. Incidentally, one of my favorite Beatles song - indeed one of my favorite song of all time - is "Across the Universe." It's quite a coincidence that one of my favorite films and favorite songs have the same title. Although I think a part of my liking for it was fueled by the film Across the Universe, it's a great song in its own right. "Across the Universe" has such a peaceful melody that calms me no matter what, and the lyrics are so beautiful. These qualities also makes it a great writing song, because I always feel like I'm not quite here when it plays: I'm in 1960s America protesting the Vietnam War, I'm in a grassy meadow with a notebook and a pen in my hand, I'm curling down under a cozy window with a good book and a mug of tea in a chilly autumn day. Whenever I'm feeling angry, I just lay down on my bed while "Across the Universe" plays in full volume.
Another favorite the Beatles song of mine is "Dear Prudence." Like "Across the Universe" it has a calming melody and beautiful lyrics. But I like "Dear Prudence" for another reason. I'm a bit of an introvert and I would just curl up in my room doing nothing instead of going out. When I'm feeling lonely or especially lazy, I would play this song and it would put a smile on my face.
So, what's your favorite the Beatles song? And why do you like it so much? I'd love to hear what you guys think, it's nice to see how music can have many different effect in our life. Comment below.
The two best things in this book are Kitty and Peter Kavinsky. Peter is such a sweet guy. He's not perfect, but he tries his best to make his relationship with Lara Jean work because he likes her so much. And he's a great friend! Even though Genevieve's a total bitch and totally doesn't deserve such a beautiful name, Peter still supports her when she's having troubles at home. He knows that she can be manipulative and doesn't hesitate in calling her out, but when she genuinely needs someone to listen to her, he's there (as a friend). Lara Jean, of course, misunderstands the situation and thinks that he still has feelings for Gen, even though he insists that there's nothing between them (which is completely true). But Lara Jean's suspicious when he refuses to tell her the exact reason he still hangs out with Genevieve, saying that it's not his secret to tell (which is also completely true). Meanwhile, he's being such a good boyfriend to Lara Jean: calling her every night, letting her take the charge in the relationship. I love that he respects Lara Jean's decision and never pushes nor pressures her to have sex.
Which brings me to Lara Jean herself. I find her naivety kind of endearing in the first book, but in this one it starts to irritate me. I love that the 'hot makeout sesh in the hot tub' video leak makes her realize the double standard in how society treats 'slutty' girls and boys. In the first book I thought that she was a little bit of a slut-shamer in how she thinks about Chris and Gen, but now she realizes that "they're all the same". I also love how this book is realistic in that Lara Jean would have had some insecurities in seeing Peter hanging out with Genevieve, but I only like it in moderation. This book gets a little too overboard with it, which in part is fueled by Lara Jean's naivety. She needs to learn to trust Peter a little, since she constantly thinks the worst of him yet every time he constantly proves himself to be better than beyond her wildest dreams. I know that Lara Jean still has to reconcile the Sweet!Peter that she knows now and the Douchebag!Peter that she thought he is, but come on girl, I thought we solved all that in the first book. Give the boy some credit where credit is due.
Plot-wise, I like the first parts, but as we get to the end, things starts to drag. The love triangle is unnecessary and only adds needless drama. It throws off the pacing, imo, and only serves to make me think that Lara Jean is a indecisive simpleton. You can erase John Ambrose McLaren and there wouldn't be any difference to the plot or the characters whatsoever. If he's not there, I wouldn't even notice. I wasn't even interested in seeing his letter; I didn't even realize that we didn't see his letter in the first book. The much-hyped 'love triangle' is virtually nonexistent since the guy only showed up in the 200th pages or so. If you're a k-drama addict like me, you would know that by virtue of screentime alone John Ambrose doesn't have a chance in hell to be a worthy rival for Lara Jean's affections. Also, I think he's bland and boring and unremarkable. When he told Peter K that he'd treated Lara Jean badly, I want to smack him in the face. If anything, Lara Jean has treated Peter badly by constantly thinking the worst of him and not trusting him when he hadn't give her any reason not to doubt him.
I also like how the romance is realistic in that it isn't always perfectly lovey-dovey, but again the drama gets too overwrought in the end. I do love how they have a talk about girls being in charge of their bodies, of how society views girls and sex, of all this 'YAY GIRLS AND FEMINISM!' talk. Lara Jean doesn't want to have sex not because she's not that kind of girl, but because she's not ready yet. And it's okay if you're not ready yet, you'll just have to wait when you decide for yourself that you're absolutely sure that you want it. And you have to have protection of course. In the words of the great Paris Geller: no glove no love.
The ending too fits the book perfectly, but I hate the needless love triangle, and John Ambrose's blandness and Lara Jean's naivety annoys me, so I'm giving this a lower rating than the first book. I'd still recommend anyone who's interested in contemporary YA to check this book and the first one, because it's so refreshing and different than any other YAs that I've read.
The plot started out fine. Kitty Charing is a penniless orphan cared by the wealthy curmudgeon Matthew Penicuik. Mr Penicuik declares he would bestow his massive fortune to any of his nephews who married Kitty. Naturally, his great-nephews came scrambling to his home to offer for Kit's hands. There's the Reverend Hugh Rattray, a handsome but droll and strict reverend. There's the Earl of Dolphinton, an Irish peer who's kind of strange in the head. Both of them offered to Kit - Hugh, due to pity and Dolph due to his overbearing mother - but they are both rejected by Kit since she's insulted by their offers and anyway she's waiting for Jack Westruther, Uncle Matthew's and Kitty's favorite. But he doesn't arrive when Uncle Matthew calls for him, because he feels that he'll marry Kitty anyway sooner or later, so why not make it later? He still wants to have some fun and he dislikes the old man to force his hand so. Humiliated and disappointed, Kitty sets off to run away but on his way he meets The Hon. Freddy Standen, one of Uncle Matthew's great-nephews. Freddy is the heir to a viscountcy and is independently wealthy himself, so he doesn't need to answer Uncle Matthew's summons, but he goes there anyway since on his letter to him Uncle Matthew doesn't disclose his true intentions. When dining in an inn, he encounters the distressed Kit. Hatching a scheme, she begs him to be pretend to be engaged to her. The reason that she told him was that she wanted to go to London and Uncle Matthew wouldn't allow her to go if she weren't engaged. An ulterior reason is ostensibly to make Jack jealous. So the pretend-couple sets forth to London.
I've told you before that Pretend Lovers are one of my favorite tropes. But this book is glorious for other reasons. because Freddy Standen is such a great and atypical hero in romance.
You see, Georgette Heyer and romance novels in general have two kind of flavors for a hero: the dashing wealthy rake who's very much in the petticoat line and the older smarter (but still dashing) heroes, What I like about Freddy is that he's neither of those. Freddy is wealthy, but he's neither a nonesuch or a rake or a dashing hero or very much in the petticoat line. He's a dandy, the Pinkest of the Pinks, and he cheerfully admits that he's not very clever or sardonic. Everybody likes Freddy; he's everyone's friend. And although he doesn't do much dashing rescue to maidens from odious gentlemen, he's sweet and he has address, which is very useful if you want to get out of a dreaded social engagement without offending anybody. I like what Kitty said in the end: Freddy might not be the typical heroes in the novel who snatches maidens from a mansion all willy-nilly, but no one is like that, and if Kitty meets that kind of hero in real life, she would think of him as very odious indeed! Freddy might not have any accomplishments, but he has some thing better than an accomplishment: a kind heart.
Freddy undergoes a lot of character development in this book. When the novel starts, he seems like a scatterbrained ditz, although I can see that he's a sweetie deep inside since he agrees to Kitty's scheming just so that she won't cry. Freddy's a bit lazy in the beginning, in my opinion, but as the novel progresses, he begins to take a more active role. Freddy doesn't think of himself highly at first but Kitty manages to make him see himself in a different light. His and Kitty's exploits made him realize that he can actually do something meaningful in the world.
Kitty, on the other hand, also learn some lessons in the ways of the ton, But I think the biggest lesson she's had is how she manages to see Freddy for the good man that she really is. As she becomes more acquainted with Jack, she realizes how odoriferous his behavior really is and how they're not really suited in the end after all. I also enjoy seeing Kit blooming into a confident woman by wearing clothes that she likes and fits her instead of the plain and dowdy gowns that she's had when living with the miserly, penny-pinching Uncle Penicuik.
Cotillion, at its heart, is a character-driven novel. There's not much in the way of plot (or romance) but the humor and overall sweetness makes up for it. It's a good book for a first-time foray into Georgette Heyer or a comforting palate cleanser after reading a particularly depressing historical novel.
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