I can say, with a positive mindset, that 2014 has been an awful year in nearly every way imaginable. But there have also been a great many people who care enough to try making life happier and prouder for everyone.
We can learn a lot from the past twelve months, to ensure 2015 might be better. And more hopeful. For every year is a new beginning.
To everyone all around, have a Happy and Fantastical New Year :)
Wednesday, 31 December 2014
Tuesday, 30 December 2014
Book Review - 'The Secret of Platform 13' by Eva Ibbotson
Salutations!
Victorious!
It's my 200th book review!
And just before the end of 2014!
Better make an effort then.
'The Secret of Platform 13' is a fun, magical children's tale by an acclaimed author, the late great Eva Ibbotson. Unlike all the other books I'd borrowed from my school library, I got this one before the start of the holidays.
I remember it well. It's creative, sweet, funny, quirky, and all around entertaining, like a little music box.
I'd heard that 'The Secret of Platform 13' was possibly one of the inspirations for J.K. Rowling when writing her first 'Harry Potter' book. There are similarities: A magic world with a portal to the real world - to a train station platform in London; a spoilt, overweight and noisy little boy who bullies another, much nicer boy; and a cast of wacky, colourful fantasy characters and creatures.
The Island is home to wizards, ogres, hags, centaurs, foul-smelling harpies, and an array of fey in all shapes and sizes. Mist makers, with the appearance of cute little seals, help to conceal the existence of the Island from the rest of the world. This enchanted kingdom is ruled by a beloved King and Queen, who have a newborn prince. Every nine years for nine days a "Gump" opens, allowing access to modern society through London Station, Platform 13.
Three young sister nurses (who were originally from London) are entrusted with the prince on a trip to the big city. Disaster strikes when they suddenly lose the infant. The rich and childless Mrs Trottle has kidnapped him! This is just before the Gump closes to the Island, so a rescue party cannot be dispatched until nine years later...
The guilt-ridden sisters are now starving themselves as hermits in a cave. The prince's rescue party consists of the elder wizard Cornelius, the fey Gurkintrude, the giant Hans, and the young hag Odge (not the most reliable bunch, but it's a children's book so this can be forgiven). The delightful group of oddballs find Mrs Trottle's mansion and discover Raymond Trottle, a ghastly, extremely fat and spoilt boy of nine years old. Could he seriously be the missing prince? The quest grows more complicated by the day, and there are only nine days for which to bring the prince back to the Island and his true parents...
The downsides which cause me to rate 'The Secret of Platform 13' three stars out of five are:
1. The way the story will go is fairly predictable, even for five-year-olds, once we meet Ben the servant boy.
2. Despite me calling the rescue group "delightful", Odge, who out of all in the group has the most written about her, is not a pleasant character to read about. For an underdog heroine, Odge comes across as being as cold-hearted, nasty and mean-spirited as the Trottles. At one point she suggests to the team that they murder Raymond because he's not fit to be a prince. Even if it is meant as a joke, I didn't like her at all after that.
3. Ben is far too good and formal for a young boy. And too happy for an abused child servant. In a book featuring fantasy creatures and a hidden magical kingdom, Ben's ridiculously polite presence is enough to make my suspension of disbelief disappear like mist. He's like a little human C3-PO with all the things that make him entertaining sucked out of him.
4. And the ending, after a dark and intense climax, is abrupt. It even uses the cliché of having letters written between the characters explain what occurred after the final confrontation - instead of showing us what the heck happened.
All these things keep what could have been a true treasure chest of biblio-magic from achieving great charm. It's a little weak as both a coming-of-age journey (there is no clear, single main character from what I can remember), and as an adventure narrative, mostly because of how predictable the plot twists are.
But this is all my opinion, and nevertheless I highly recommend 'The Secret of Platform 13'. It's not only for 'Harry Potter' fans. It is unforgettable in its own right; in its own fanciful, Disneyland-ish flight.
R.I.P. Eva Ibbotson.
Final Score: 3/5
Victorious!
It's my 200th book review!
And just before the end of 2014!
Better make an effort then.
'The Secret of Platform 13' is a fun, magical children's tale by an acclaimed author, the late great Eva Ibbotson. Unlike all the other books I'd borrowed from my school library, I got this one before the start of the holidays.
I remember it well. It's creative, sweet, funny, quirky, and all around entertaining, like a little music box.
I'd heard that 'The Secret of Platform 13' was possibly one of the inspirations for J.K. Rowling when writing her first 'Harry Potter' book. There are similarities: A magic world with a portal to the real world - to a train station platform in London; a spoilt, overweight and noisy little boy who bullies another, much nicer boy; and a cast of wacky, colourful fantasy characters and creatures.
The Island is home to wizards, ogres, hags, centaurs, foul-smelling harpies, and an array of fey in all shapes and sizes. Mist makers, with the appearance of cute little seals, help to conceal the existence of the Island from the rest of the world. This enchanted kingdom is ruled by a beloved King and Queen, who have a newborn prince. Every nine years for nine days a "Gump" opens, allowing access to modern society through London Station, Platform 13.
Three young sister nurses (who were originally from London) are entrusted with the prince on a trip to the big city. Disaster strikes when they suddenly lose the infant. The rich and childless Mrs Trottle has kidnapped him! This is just before the Gump closes to the Island, so a rescue party cannot be dispatched until nine years later...
The guilt-ridden sisters are now starving themselves as hermits in a cave. The prince's rescue party consists of the elder wizard Cornelius, the fey Gurkintrude, the giant Hans, and the young hag Odge (not the most reliable bunch, but it's a children's book so this can be forgiven). The delightful group of oddballs find Mrs Trottle's mansion and discover Raymond Trottle, a ghastly, extremely fat and spoilt boy of nine years old. Could he seriously be the missing prince? The quest grows more complicated by the day, and there are only nine days for which to bring the prince back to the Island and his true parents...
The downsides which cause me to rate 'The Secret of Platform 13' three stars out of five are:
1. The way the story will go is fairly predictable, even for five-year-olds, once we meet Ben the servant boy.
2. Despite me calling the rescue group "delightful", Odge, who out of all in the group has the most written about her, is not a pleasant character to read about. For an underdog heroine, Odge comes across as being as cold-hearted, nasty and mean-spirited as the Trottles. At one point she suggests to the team that they murder Raymond because he's not fit to be a prince. Even if it is meant as a joke, I didn't like her at all after that.
3. Ben is far too good and formal for a young boy. And too happy for an abused child servant. In a book featuring fantasy creatures and a hidden magical kingdom, Ben's ridiculously polite presence is enough to make my suspension of disbelief disappear like mist. He's like a little human C3-PO with all the things that make him entertaining sucked out of him.
4. And the ending, after a dark and intense climax, is abrupt. It even uses the cliché of having letters written between the characters explain what occurred after the final confrontation - instead of showing us what the heck happened.
All these things keep what could have been a true treasure chest of biblio-magic from achieving great charm. It's a little weak as both a coming-of-age journey (there is no clear, single main character from what I can remember), and as an adventure narrative, mostly because of how predictable the plot twists are.
But this is all my opinion, and nevertheless I highly recommend 'The Secret of Platform 13'. It's not only for 'Harry Potter' fans. It is unforgettable in its own right; in its own fanciful, Disneyland-ish flight.
R.I.P. Eva Ibbotson.
Final Score: 3/5
Book Review - 'Inkheart' by Cornelia Funke, Anthea Bell (Translator)
2023 REREAD: I was really into 'Inkheart' at first - which I haven't read since I was a kid - and I was prepared to admit that I had been wrong about it since then. Sadly, over halfway through its flaws become more apparent. Messy, unfocused, dragging, overly-long, the characters being less likeable by the chapter, and the completely uncommented-on sexism (there are many examples I can give - don't get me started on Capricorn's female slaves - but the one I've chosen for this review is when Elinor can't name any female heroes from books, which Meggie can compare herself to. A woman who is an avid book collector and has read thousands upon thousands of books her whole life can't name a single female hero. Even in a moment of crisis, WTF?!). Meggie is kind of believable for a twelve-year-old, but her heartlessness towards her missing mother, an old man, and a toddler made me stop rooting for her.
I stopped enjoying the book 320 pages in.
'Inkheart' is a story full of fantastic ideas, and good writing most of the time. It's such a shame that its execution, its writing which got sloppier the further it went on, couldn't keep my attention for long. It really could have done with being shorter, too.
It's still better than its sequel.
Both copies I read as both a child and an adult are library copies. I love libraries.
Final Score: 3/5
Original Review:
A children's fantasy with an epic, original premise.
Mortimer "Mo" Folchart and his twelve-year-old daughter Meggie have the inherent gift of conjuring book characters into the real world whenever they read out loud from said book. They can also send real people into the book's world, with no guarantee of “reading” them back. Their gift is not to be used lightly, for it could easily be a curse. It is because of this ability that the tortured Mo, who also happens to be a book-repairman, is referred to as Silvertongue by the very fictional characters he brought to life. Unfortunately these characters are baddies, and people with a grey morality who might find every opportunity to betray those who will help them.
Story time has never been so whimsical and scary!
'Inkheart' has the makings of a classic, even the potential to rival 'Harry Potter'. However I think there are a number of factors that hinder it in the execution field.
There is its length. 550 pages is too long: too many chapters contain lots of meandering and wandering around which could have been removed on the editing board. And maybe it’s just the German-to English translation I read, but 'Inkheart' does feel like it desperately needs an editor or at least more editing done to it. The writing isn't bad, it's just very wordy with bouts of over-description and not much action.
The secondary characters, such as Dustfinger and Elinor the aunt, are far more interesting than Mo and Meggie, who mostly seem to be doing the rounds depending on where the story needs them to go - from point A to B. Mo is Meggie's father, however he is written like a big-brother (Meggie even calls him Mo instead of Dad or Papa or something like that) and he keeps making irresponsible choices that threaten to endanger his daughter. Mo has no reason to be as careless as he is, when looking at his past.
Despite some genuine moments of perspective clarity about the world no longer being normal in her eyes, Meggie doesn't react much to what happens around her. She is the everygirl, the one the reader is meant to follow and relate to. But the most she expresses is annoyance akin to a buzzing fly as opposed to helpless, confused horror that storybook bandits are hunting her and her family down. She even vilifies an old author and an innocent child at one point - an inkheart indeed! She doesn’t seem to care much about her missing mother either, even after finding out she didn’t abandon Meggie on purpose.
I felt little emotion and investment from Mo and Meggie, even though they have every incentive to be emotional and sympathetic given their circumstances. They are just there, with not much personality or substance to them, especially in their decision-making. How ironic that the literal book characters in 'Inkheart' feel more real and more charismatic than the actual real-world people, with the exception of Elinor, who at least expresses more than a written equivalent of dull surprise.
And the romance between Meggie and Farid, an 'Arabian Nights' character, has no development whatsoever. It happens because the book says so, and because the two are opposite genders and are close in age. It is completely unnecessary.
Still, Tinker Bell appears briefly in 'Inkheart', as do brownies and other fairy tale creatures from books. So there is a lot to like and even love here. There is the idea of literary villains wanting to live in the real world because that's where there is no author to pull the strings and decide who lives and dies, and where the good guys don't always win. This is brilliant. Again, too bad it wasn't explored more.
For what it is, 'Inkheart' isn't a total waste of potential. At best it's a nice albeit long book about books for book lovers (mainly of fantasy). It reads like an old, dog-eared book with a sprinkle of fairy dust around the rough edges, which was perhaps intentional. But that's just me.
Final Score: 3/5
I stopped enjoying the book 320 pages in.
'Inkheart' is a story full of fantastic ideas, and good writing most of the time. It's such a shame that its execution, its writing which got sloppier the further it went on, couldn't keep my attention for long. It really could have done with being shorter, too.
It's still better than its sequel.
Both copies I read as both a child and an adult are library copies. I love libraries.
Final Score: 3/5
Original Review:
A children's fantasy with an epic, original premise.
Mortimer "Mo" Folchart and his twelve-year-old daughter Meggie have the inherent gift of conjuring book characters into the real world whenever they read out loud from said book. They can also send real people into the book's world, with no guarantee of “reading” them back. Their gift is not to be used lightly, for it could easily be a curse. It is because of this ability that the tortured Mo, who also happens to be a book-repairman, is referred to as Silvertongue by the very fictional characters he brought to life. Unfortunately these characters are baddies, and people with a grey morality who might find every opportunity to betray those who will help them.
Story time has never been so whimsical and scary!
'Inkheart' has the makings of a classic, even the potential to rival 'Harry Potter'. However I think there are a number of factors that hinder it in the execution field.
There is its length. 550 pages is too long: too many chapters contain lots of meandering and wandering around which could have been removed on the editing board. And maybe it’s just the German-to English translation I read, but 'Inkheart' does feel like it desperately needs an editor or at least more editing done to it. The writing isn't bad, it's just very wordy with bouts of over-description and not much action.
The secondary characters, such as Dustfinger and Elinor the aunt, are far more interesting than Mo and Meggie, who mostly seem to be doing the rounds depending on where the story needs them to go - from point A to B. Mo is Meggie's father, however he is written like a big-brother (Meggie even calls him Mo instead of Dad or Papa or something like that) and he keeps making irresponsible choices that threaten to endanger his daughter. Mo has no reason to be as careless as he is, when looking at his past.
Despite some genuine moments of perspective clarity about the world no longer being normal in her eyes, Meggie doesn't react much to what happens around her. She is the everygirl, the one the reader is meant to follow and relate to. But the most she expresses is annoyance akin to a buzzing fly as opposed to helpless, confused horror that storybook bandits are hunting her and her family down. She even vilifies an old author and an innocent child at one point - an inkheart indeed! She doesn’t seem to care much about her missing mother either, even after finding out she didn’t abandon Meggie on purpose.
I felt little emotion and investment from Mo and Meggie, even though they have every incentive to be emotional and sympathetic given their circumstances. They are just there, with not much personality or substance to them, especially in their decision-making. How ironic that the literal book characters in 'Inkheart' feel more real and more charismatic than the actual real-world people, with the exception of Elinor, who at least expresses more than a written equivalent of dull surprise.
And the romance between Meggie and Farid, an 'Arabian Nights' character, has no development whatsoever. It happens because the book says so, and because the two are opposite genders and are close in age. It is completely unnecessary.
Still, Tinker Bell appears briefly in 'Inkheart', as do brownies and other fairy tale creatures from books. So there is a lot to like and even love here. There is the idea of literary villains wanting to live in the real world because that's where there is no author to pull the strings and decide who lives and dies, and where the good guys don't always win. This is brilliant. Again, too bad it wasn't explored more.
For what it is, 'Inkheart' isn't a total waste of potential. At best it's a nice albeit long book about books for book lovers (mainly of fantasy). It reads like an old, dog-eared book with a sprinkle of fairy dust around the rough edges, which was perhaps intentional. But that's just me.
Final Score: 3/5
Book Review - 'Blood Wedding' by Federico García Lorca, Ted Hughes (Translator)
Studied this play in Drama and Theatre studies (or was it English? In my school - and my whole educational criteria - it was easy to get the two subjects mixed up). 'Blood Wedding' is a very weird and beautiful Spanish story about a wedding (duh), family feuds, regrets, murder, getting lost in the woods, bloody knives, and how we are all foolhardy when we are young and are unable to learn from our mistakes.
There's a sort of Highwayman, silver-lining vibe to the atmosphere of this tragic, magical realism and human tale. The "charming" swine Leonardo, who whisks the bride away on her wedding night, is the only character who's given a name. Go figure. Oh and the moon talks.
Themes include: Desire; breaking away from the old, safe rituals when it comes to getting married; and karmic deaths of the next generation.
'Blood Wedding' is very much reminiscent of a Greek tragedy. A human ordeal of great misfortune and heartbreak. Back at school I didn't feel as connected to it as I did with 'Women of Troy' - for I thought a lot of the characters were either bland or merely idiots for the sake of the plot - but it is a surrealist fantasy I have not forgotton. It's a bit like an old black-and-white avant garde film in written form.
Maybe my fellow young students have not forgotten it so easily as well, no matter how much they might have hated insipidly studying the classics; taking it apart piece by piece until there is almost nothing of it left to like but an empty skeleton.
Final Score: 3/5
There's a sort of Highwayman, silver-lining vibe to the atmosphere of this tragic, magical realism and human tale. The "charming" swine Leonardo, who whisks the bride away on her wedding night, is the only character who's given a name. Go figure. Oh and the moon talks.
Themes include: Desire; breaking away from the old, safe rituals when it comes to getting married; and karmic deaths of the next generation.
'Blood Wedding' is very much reminiscent of a Greek tragedy. A human ordeal of great misfortune and heartbreak. Back at school I didn't feel as connected to it as I did with 'Women of Troy' - for I thought a lot of the characters were either bland or merely idiots for the sake of the plot - but it is a surrealist fantasy I have not forgotton. It's a bit like an old black-and-white avant garde film in written form.
Maybe my fellow young students have not forgotten it so easily as well, no matter how much they might have hated insipidly studying the classics; taking it apart piece by piece until there is almost nothing of it left to like but an empty skeleton.
Final Score: 3/5
Monday, 29 December 2014
Book Review - 'Nightmare Academy' by Dean Lorey
'Nightmare Academy' - One of the more fun, dramatic and creative 'Harry Potter' rip-offs I'd picked up in the once humble abode of my school library.
Premise: Some kids - very imaginative kids - possess the gift to create portals while they sleep, through which nightmare monsters come into the real world. So the children are sent by the Nightmare Division to Nightmare Academy, which is a giant tree (come to think of it, the whole book does read like a bizarre dreamworld). Charlie Benjamin is the outcast, more-powerful-than-anyone-has-ever-known protagonist, and with the help of his new friends Theodore and Violet (why hello Ron and Hermione and the cast of 'The Shapeshifter' series), he fights monsters in the Netherworld, where nightmares that go bump in the night come from.
Issues of sexism are addressed in a surprisingly mature way; indeed the female characters have as much spunk as the predominantly male cast, and the (woman) headmaster is awesome. Also parents play a major role in this story, and not just for the main hero. For adults are scared of nightmares and loss as well...
Overall I remember really enjoying 'Nightmare Academy', despite its obvious flaws concerning originality. It's a shame my library didn't have any of the sequels when I was a student. It is colourful, intense, and it goes to highly macabre places for a children's book, though it can still be goofy and silly at times. The humour and drama are equally well done, the characters are likable, and the world building has consistent rules and imaginative content.
If you can ignore the many similarities to 'Harry Potter' and appreciate 'Nightmare Academy' for when it does try new things, you might enjoy the book, especially if you're a child at heart.
Final Score: 3/5
Premise: Some kids - very imaginative kids - possess the gift to create portals while they sleep, through which nightmare monsters come into the real world. So the children are sent by the Nightmare Division to Nightmare Academy, which is a giant tree (come to think of it, the whole book does read like a bizarre dreamworld). Charlie Benjamin is the outcast, more-powerful-than-anyone-has-ever-known protagonist, and with the help of his new friends Theodore and Violet (why hello Ron and Hermione and the cast of 'The Shapeshifter' series), he fights monsters in the Netherworld, where nightmares that go bump in the night come from.
Issues of sexism are addressed in a surprisingly mature way; indeed the female characters have as much spunk as the predominantly male cast, and the (woman) headmaster is awesome. Also parents play a major role in this story, and not just for the main hero. For adults are scared of nightmares and loss as well...
Overall I remember really enjoying 'Nightmare Academy', despite its obvious flaws concerning originality. It's a shame my library didn't have any of the sequels when I was a student. It is colourful, intense, and it goes to highly macabre places for a children's book, though it can still be goofy and silly at times. The humour and drama are equally well done, the characters are likable, and the world building has consistent rules and imaginative content.
If you can ignore the many similarities to 'Harry Potter' and appreciate 'Nightmare Academy' for when it does try new things, you might enjoy the book, especially if you're a child at heart.
Final Score: 3/5
Book Review - 'Rise of the Heroes (Hero.Com, #1)' by Andy Briggs
A fun bit of school library nostalgia, indulged in my never-ending superhero-loving phase.
Four kids receive random superpowers from a website, Hero.com. As it turns out, supervillains and superheroes exist in secret, and they live and die fighting each other. In the mission of 'Rise of the Heroes' - the kids' first foray as heroes - the fighting is over a weather-controlling machine, a kidnapped mum, and a silly world-domination plot.
The distinctive, diverse characters are realistic, but the concept and situations are not. That's where the fun and engagement lies. Even the main villain, who is the textbook definition of mad scientist, has his backstory explained and explored; similiar to Captain Hook's arc in 'Peter Pan'.
'Rise of the Heroes' also features an aspect of sibling rivalry which is truthful and touching, as part of the round circle in a complex family dynamic. In addition there is a diabetic character, whose condition helps to create tension and urgency in the plot.
Overall, this is a light, cool children's superhero book. Not quite up there with Mark Walden's 'H.I.V.E.' series, or indeed all the major blockbuster superhero films, but it's action-packed, funny and wholly accessible for everyone. A CBBC after-school television programme with much higher stakes.
Final Score: 3/5
Four kids receive random superpowers from a website, Hero.com. As it turns out, supervillains and superheroes exist in secret, and they live and die fighting each other. In the mission of 'Rise of the Heroes' - the kids' first foray as heroes - the fighting is over a weather-controlling machine, a kidnapped mum, and a silly world-domination plot.
The distinctive, diverse characters are realistic, but the concept and situations are not. That's where the fun and engagement lies. Even the main villain, who is the textbook definition of mad scientist, has his backstory explained and explored; similiar to Captain Hook's arc in 'Peter Pan'.
'Rise of the Heroes' also features an aspect of sibling rivalry which is truthful and touching, as part of the round circle in a complex family dynamic. In addition there is a diabetic character, whose condition helps to create tension and urgency in the plot.
Overall, this is a light, cool children's superhero book. Not quite up there with Mark Walden's 'H.I.V.E.' series, or indeed all the major blockbuster superhero films, but it's action-packed, funny and wholly accessible for everyone. A CBBC after-school television programme with much higher stakes.
Final Score: 3/5
Book Review - 'Jinx' by Meg Cabot
I read 'Jinx' ages ago. While I was never a fan of Meg Cabot, I remember thinking it was okay. It had a red-haired heroine, a decent love interest (meaning: he's not an idiot or a jerk), and a cousin who's an absolute psychopath.
In the beginning I'd thought it was a slice-of-life, contemporary YA book, but then it suddenly started mentioning witches and magic spells, which was weird and kind of unnecessary. Another reviewer on Goodreads has speculated that the witch element might have been suggested by Meg Cabot's editor because paranormal romances were popular then (and, disappointingly, still are). I love me some fantasy mixed with realism, but in the case of 'Jinx' it did seem forced. It even referenced 'Charmed' of all things. Nothing really naturally linked magic to the ordinary events happening throughout the book.
Also, Jean, the protag, didn't have much of a personality outside of being a "good girl" in comparison to her Gothically-dressed cousin Tory (yes, judging someone to be good or bad based on what clothes they wear is seriously insulting), even if she does have a past in dabbling in the dark arts for selfish reasons. Her bad luck "curse" - thus her nickname "Jinx" - barely contributed much to her character, or to the story for that matter, especially in the last third of the book. And the mean girls cliché is demeaning no matter the decade (though Jean did have a few female friends, thank goodness).
However, in spite of its flaws and the clichés which would become paramount and obliging in nearly all YA novels, 'Jinx' was a cute, harmless read for me as a growing teen. There was a sweet little romance, and Tory was entertaining in just how over-the-top maniacal she could be. The vaguely-there magic stuff made no sense, but the New York setting had atmosphere and the group interactions were fun and humble.
Final Score: 3/5
In the beginning I'd thought it was a slice-of-life, contemporary YA book, but then it suddenly started mentioning witches and magic spells, which was weird and kind of unnecessary. Another reviewer on Goodreads has speculated that the witch element might have been suggested by Meg Cabot's editor because paranormal romances were popular then (and, disappointingly, still are). I love me some fantasy mixed with realism, but in the case of 'Jinx' it did seem forced. It even referenced 'Charmed' of all things. Nothing really naturally linked magic to the ordinary events happening throughout the book.
Also, Jean, the protag, didn't have much of a personality outside of being a "good girl" in comparison to her Gothically-dressed cousin Tory (yes, judging someone to be good or bad based on what clothes they wear is seriously insulting), even if she does have a past in dabbling in the dark arts for selfish reasons. Her bad luck "curse" - thus her nickname "Jinx" - barely contributed much to her character, or to the story for that matter, especially in the last third of the book. And the mean girls cliché is demeaning no matter the decade (though Jean did have a few female friends, thank goodness).
However, in spite of its flaws and the clichés which would become paramount and obliging in nearly all YA novels, 'Jinx' was a cute, harmless read for me as a growing teen. There was a sweet little romance, and Tory was entertaining in just how over-the-top maniacal she could be. The vaguely-there magic stuff made no sense, but the New York setting had atmosphere and the group interactions were fun and humble.
Final Score: 3/5
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