Apologies, dear readers, for my extended absence! Last week I returned safely from the wet, hot, mosquitoey, birdy wilderness of Estes Park, Colorado, accompanied by a camera full of bird photos, a stuffed woodpecker, a cheapo water bottle, an arm full of bug bites, and two new baseball caps. However, because I moved into a new house the morning afterwards and have been frantically decorating my new bedroom and also because I am lazy as hell, I have not bothered to post anything until now. But I'm back in black at the moment and for the foreseeable future until school starts in September.
Let's kick off my return with a five-part post party, beginning today with the bookish survey 55 Questions About Books: Part I!
1. Favorite childhood book?
I had a deep personal obsession with The Burgess Bird Book for Children. I stole it from my first-grade classroom and read it about fifty squillion times. And drew on it. And chewed it. I'm not kidding.
2. What are you reading right now?
The Code of the Woosters by P. G. Wodehouse on Kindle. It's hilarious and the prose is killer.
3. What books do you have on request at the library?
None, because I don't have the energy to be driven down to the library and check out books.
4. Bad book habit?
Cheesy, funny, and preferably lesbian chick-lit. I tend to read E. Lockhart quite a bit when I'm feeling down. Which I have been a lot lately, but more on that in a later post.
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
Technically Throne of Glass, overdue and lost somewhere in the piles of boxes littering my room. RIP Eagle Rock Library branch copy of the worst book I ever read, 2012-2014.
6. Do you have an e-reader?
Well, let me tell you: I do not technology. I have an ancient iPhone and a collector's-era MacBook that isn't even in production anymore and a first-edition Amazon Kindle, the third (fourth?) of its kind. I got sand inside the first one when I took it to the beach, bought a second one, broke the second one within the first week, got sent a free replacement and so far have managed not to break this one.
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
Several at once, of course. I cannot limit my hyperactive brain to one book at a time.
8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
I've made an effort to read more new books in order to review them, although I never get around to writing the reviews anyway so I don't know why I bother...
9. Least favorite book you read this year so far?
Oooh ooh ooh, a chance to rant at my innocent, abused readers! Throne of Glass, of course... we hates it, precious, yes we does. Also, Ash, which was basically the biggest, hugest disappointment in the history of ever. Divergent, obviously, which has taught me never to trust the majority of humanity when it comes to book recommendations.
10. Favorite book you've read this year?
Fangirl, because it's an accurate depiction of me in college. Cinder, because it's a way, way better re-imagining of Cinderella than Ash. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, because E. Lockhart rocks my world. The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland, because it's gorgeous and beautiful and utterly perfect in every possible way. Raising Steam, because Terry Pratchett always and forever. Neverwhere, because the same applies to Neil Gaiman....and I ought to stop even though I could go on indefinitely. Plus also, Kingbird Highway because bird bird bird BIRD BIRD bIRD BIRD B I R D bird bird bird.
11. What is your reading comfort zone?
I can't deal with anything too violent. Or anything that lacks a plot. Or anything that spends pages describing hAIR!!1!! and cLOTHES1!!! Or anything with really irritatingly unrealistically perfect heroines. Or anything in which the writing style is not up to my admittedly high standards. Did I just describe Throne of Glass? I did, didn't I? I hate it with a burning passion, in case you couldn't tell.
13. Can you read in the car?
Absolutely. Catch me twenty minutes in the car without a book.
14. Favorite place to read?
On my bed, 'cause I don't have any chairs or even a bookshelf. It's pathetic.
15. What is your policy on book lending?
If it's other people giving books to me, then said books belong to me forever. If I give books to other people, someone is impersonating me and the police should be notified.
16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
Yeah, all the time, because I'm too lazy to keep track of bookmarks.
17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Would you like your ears stuffed down your throat and your leg sewn onto your face?
18. Not even with textbooks?
Not real books. Doesn't count.
19. What is your favorite language to read in?
Sindarin, Vulcan, Welsh... hell, I don't care.
20. What makes you love a book?
Fantastic writing, original plots, creative and non-archetypal characters... new stuff I've not seen before in a book.
21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
All of the above, plus serious humor, strong female characters, and a plethora of rad online fanart.
22. Favorite genre?
Magical realism takes the cake, followed by fairy-tale retellings, classic science fiction, fantasy satire, and contemporaries with diverse characters. Classic fantasy gets a shortbread or something. I'll likely try anything I get glowing recommendations for.
23. Genre you rarely read but wish you did?
Historical fiction, I suppose. I don't enjoy it. I find the history most of it discusses problematically irrelevant and/or romanticized. I wish I loved it because it'd be a great way to learn about history while reading more books. But I don't.
24. Favorite biography?
Uh, Kingbird Highway was pretty glorious and very birdy, which I liked, and if biographies of organizations count there's The Monuments Men. Now THAT is the kind of historical story I like. Chinese Cinderella is neat too, but pretty disturbing.
25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
I... dunno. Maybe I picked one up in a bookstore. Or something. My friend and I tried to write a self-help book once. It was called 50 Shades of Yellow: Help Yourself, Help the Ducks. I seem to remember that.
26. Favorite cookbook?
Any cookbook that doesn't require crazy ingredients like nightingale's eggs and Norwegian bok choy, whatever the hell that is. I may have made it up.
27. Most inspirational book you've read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
Um. I have no idea, frankly. I guess... maybe my own quarter-finished book Hallelujah because it's taught me so much about proper writing methods. Lame, yes, I know.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Monday, July 7, 2014
A Camping Trip
I'd just like to inform whomsoever it may concern (that's you, dear reader!) that I will be off in Colorado for a week and shan't be posting, not that I have been posting much anyway.
I am hereby regretful of this fact and hope to post more in the future (look out for reviews of We Were Liars, Fangirl, and the Thursday Next series once I return from the wilderness!)
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Alice in Wonderland Blog Meme
Happy 3rd blogversary to the Notebook Sisters! How could I skip their fabulous Alice-in-Wonderland-themed tag? My only regret is that it took me until now to find the time to write it up, but the last week of school provides such things. So allons-y!
1. Just Alice: What book cover(s) has made you super curious?
Well, I got involved with Cinda Williams Chima's Seven Realms because I spied Gray Wolf Throne on the library shelf, so I suppose that counts. As does my original resistance to the Lunar Chronicles hype, which broke down when I saw the cover of Cress. Serves me right for waiting so long.
2. Mad Hatter: List the craziest character(s) you've ever read.
The narrator of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, whose name I can't recall... starts with an "R", I believe? That's the most recent one, anyway.
3. Red Queen, Off With Your Head! What book have you felt like beheading?
I've had serious issues with a lot of very big fish, many of which I'm seemingly alone in disliking. Divergent was hugely disappointing. Eragon -- ugh, I had so many issues with the purple prose and plagiarism in that series. City of Mortal Instruments or whatever it is I despised with a burning passion. Also, I recently read Beth Revis's Across the Universe (loved the cover) and Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass (heard great things) and couldn't stand either of them. Actually, Throne of Glass ought to be in question seven because I was laughing so hard at the improbable plot and irritating characters and overall ridiculousness that I was having trouble reading the actual book.
4. White Rabbit: What books or series have been insanely popular but you've been "late" to pick them up?
Daughter of Smoke & Bone, and I'm ashamed because I'm a mild Laini Taylor fan. Looking for Alaska. I've procrastinated on this one because I didn't like Paper Towns and thought TFIOS was okay. Sweet but unremarkable. Clearly, the rest of the universe disagreed with me.
5. Caterpillar: What's the most confusing book you've read?
Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, by a landslide. Before I quit at the third book I repeatedly had to flip back fifty pages at a time to figure out what was going on.
6. Dormouse: What was the last book that sent you to sleep?
My go-to books when I need to sleep are Lord of the Rings because I find the archaic language relaxing, and the fact that I know the plot by heart is comforting. If you mean what books bored me recently, I tend not to read boring books, or if I do I look for the best in the book. So I suppose none would be the appropriate answer to the question I believe you to be asking.
7. Cheshire Cat: Book that made you laugh and smile?
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. Douglas Adams is so ridiculous. I adore it.
8. Knave of Hearts: Most recent character who stole your heart?
Probably Howl from Howl's Moving Castle. I just saw the animated Miyazaki adaptation and the hair. and the cape. the fingers. I mean, close-up shots of his fingers cracking eggs look attractive. I don't think it gets better than this. Plus, he's a magician, and he's heroic, and he's mysterious. And humor. He is funny, even if he's not trying to be.
9. Jabberwocky: Best villain you've read this year?
Obviously Islington the angel from Neverwhere. Plus his two cronies-for-hire whose names I can't recall. They were deliciously creepy.
10. Down the Rabbit Hole: What's the latest book/series/author that's completely swallowed your interest?
Most recently the Lunar Chronicles. I can't wait to get my hands on Scarlet.
1. Just Alice: What book cover(s) has made you super curious?
Well, I got involved with Cinda Williams Chima's Seven Realms because I spied Gray Wolf Throne on the library shelf, so I suppose that counts. As does my original resistance to the Lunar Chronicles hype, which broke down when I saw the cover of Cress. Serves me right for waiting so long.
2. Mad Hatter: List the craziest character(s) you've ever read.
The narrator of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, whose name I can't recall... starts with an "R", I believe? That's the most recent one, anyway.
3. Red Queen, Off With Your Head! What book have you felt like beheading?
I've had serious issues with a lot of very big fish, many of which I'm seemingly alone in disliking. Divergent was hugely disappointing. Eragon -- ugh, I had so many issues with the purple prose and plagiarism in that series. City of Mortal Instruments or whatever it is I despised with a burning passion. Also, I recently read Beth Revis's Across the Universe (loved the cover) and Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass (heard great things) and couldn't stand either of them. Actually, Throne of Glass ought to be in question seven because I was laughing so hard at the improbable plot and irritating characters and overall ridiculousness that I was having trouble reading the actual book.
4. White Rabbit: What books or series have been insanely popular but you've been "late" to pick them up?
Daughter of Smoke & Bone, and I'm ashamed because I'm a mild Laini Taylor fan. Looking for Alaska. I've procrastinated on this one because I didn't like Paper Towns and thought TFIOS was okay. Sweet but unremarkable. Clearly, the rest of the universe disagreed with me.
5. Caterpillar: What's the most confusing book you've read?
Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, by a landslide. Before I quit at the third book I repeatedly had to flip back fifty pages at a time to figure out what was going on.
6. Dormouse: What was the last book that sent you to sleep?
My go-to books when I need to sleep are Lord of the Rings because I find the archaic language relaxing, and the fact that I know the plot by heart is comforting. If you mean what books bored me recently, I tend not to read boring books, or if I do I look for the best in the book. So I suppose none would be the appropriate answer to the question I believe you to be asking.
7. Cheshire Cat: Book that made you laugh and smile?
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. Douglas Adams is so ridiculous. I adore it.
8. Knave of Hearts: Most recent character who stole your heart?
Probably Howl from Howl's Moving Castle. I just saw the animated Miyazaki adaptation and the hair. and the cape. the fingers. I mean, close-up shots of his fingers cracking eggs look attractive. I don't think it gets better than this. Plus, he's a magician, and he's heroic, and he's mysterious. And humor. He is funny, even if he's not trying to be.
9. Jabberwocky: Best villain you've read this year?
Obviously Islington the angel from Neverwhere. Plus his two cronies-for-hire whose names I can't recall. They were deliciously creepy.
10. Down the Rabbit Hole: What's the latest book/series/author that's completely swallowed your interest?
Most recently the Lunar Chronicles. I can't wait to get my hands on Scarlet.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Finch Reviews The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
Title: The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
Series: Stand-Alone
Publisher/Year: Candlewick Press, 2014
Genre: YA fantasy (supposedly)
How Finch Got It: Her friend's mum bought it for her at Vroman's Bookstore.
I am shocked to the soul and unsure if I will ever recover.
Your novel starts off reminding me of traditional fairytales in their purest forms before being sanitized for the presumed fragility of young minds. I may have a young mind, but it must learn about the grim realities of life at some point, and I would choose to learn these things no other way than surrounded by delicious, lyrical prose.
The intertwining history present in Ava Lavender is about love, yes, but it is not about faith or hope or "omg, first crush!" It is about all the scars love leaves on its victims, about relentless suffering, obsession, murder, suicide, and loss. It is shockingly dark and exquisitely tragic, an intricate weave of fantasy and reality sewn around three generations of women: Emilienne, Viviane, and finally Ava Lavender. It is a chronicle of their entwined loves and sorrows, which bear on one another in unexpected and regretted ways.
The first two hundred pages or so of the book is surprisingly well-done magical realism. It is Marquez-esque in its generations of family that culminate in Ava's birth. Like Scorpio Races, the context is more of the book than the plot itself, but the writing is elegant enough that it distracts you from the lack of true plot. Even more so that the writing, the mood deep and deluded and glorious. There is something deliciously ugly about living for someone who does not love you, about realizing you no longer love someone, about having no one to love. Ava Lavender gracefully explores isolation, desire, beautiful things, unusual things, grotesque things, the fragility of innocence and the various methods and facets of human love.
But, Leslye, the climax of the book was just far too much violence in an already dark and violent tale. Ava was already filling out her skin and wings, embracing all that she was, and her daily life taught her more than a brutal, unnecessary tragedy like her rape and mutilation by an evangelical stalker in a house full of dead and tortured birds ever could. You may have imagined you were giving us foreshadowing with a one-sentence mention of Nathaniel's revolting feather-related behaviour (not that I wanted to hear more about it) and Henry's constant repetition of the same four sentences. I feel required to tell you that none of this indicated anything so savage as Ava's assault.
And then, after subjecting us and Ava to such a horrible and aimless disaster, you veer off into a sudden return to typical, cliche, and astonishingly unrealistic YA plot! Her wings have just been cut off with an axe, and after a few months of lying in bed and her boyfriend returning from college, she's suddenly completely healed, identical emotionally to her earlier self, and ready to return to her life? Leslye, up until then you were expressing the effects of incredible, painful suffering so accurately!
To conclude, Leslye: for the first two-thirds of Ava Lavender, you have concocted an elegant and grim primitive fairytale of a book, portraying incredible pain, macabre magic, and the sometimes awful realities of love. Then, suddenly, the mantle and crust warp and shift into a conglomeration of brutality and surrealism and ridiculous attempts at a "happy ending"; disgraceful, degenerative, disappointing, and disrespectful to women who have gone through such a horrible experience. I don't understand why any of this was necessary, Leslye: the climax and resolution seemed fruitless, abrupt, and extraneously cruel.
See, Leslye? When you're not subjecting poor Ava to disturbingly gory emotional and physical scarring, you have a true gift for passionate and fantastical, if dark, prose and exquisite insight into the influence of emotion on human lives.
First enchantedly, then disturbedly,
Finch
Series: Stand-Alone
Publisher/Year: Candlewick Press, 2014
Genre: YA fantasy (supposedly)
How Finch Got It: Her friend's mum bought it for her at Vroman's Bookstore.
Synopsis
Foolish love appears to be the Roux family birthright, an ominous forecast for its most recent progeny, Ava Lavender. Ava -- in all other ways a normal girl -- is born with the wings of a bird. In a quest to understand her peculiar disposition and a growing desire to fit in with her peers, sixteen-year-old Ava ventures into the wider world, ill-prepared for what she might discover and naïve to the twisted motives of others. Others like the pious Nathaniel Sorrows, who mistakes Ava for an angel and whose obsession with her grows until the night of the Summer Solstice celebration. That night, the skies open up, rain and feathers fill the air, and Ava's quest and her family's saga build to a devastating crescendo. First-time author Leslye Walton has constructed a layered and unforgettable mythology of what it means to be born with hearts that are tragically, exquisitely human.
Epistolary Review
Dear Leslye,
I am shocked to the soul and unsure if I will ever recover.
Your novel starts off reminding me of traditional fairytales in their purest forms before being sanitized for the presumed fragility of young minds. I may have a young mind, but it must learn about the grim realities of life at some point, and I would choose to learn these things no other way than surrounded by delicious, lyrical prose.
The intertwining history present in Ava Lavender is about love, yes, but it is not about faith or hope or "omg, first crush!" It is about all the scars love leaves on its victims, about relentless suffering, obsession, murder, suicide, and loss. It is shockingly dark and exquisitely tragic, an intricate weave of fantasy and reality sewn around three generations of women: Emilienne, Viviane, and finally Ava Lavender. It is a chronicle of their entwined loves and sorrows, which bear on one another in unexpected and regretted ways.
The first two hundred pages or so of the book is surprisingly well-done magical realism. It is Marquez-esque in its generations of family that culminate in Ava's birth. Like Scorpio Races, the context is more of the book than the plot itself, but the writing is elegant enough that it distracts you from the lack of true plot. Even more so that the writing, the mood deep and deluded and glorious. There is something deliciously ugly about living for someone who does not love you, about realizing you no longer love someone, about having no one to love. Ava Lavender gracefully explores isolation, desire, beautiful things, unusual things, grotesque things, the fragility of innocence and the various methods and facets of human love.
But, Leslye, the climax of the book was just far too much violence in an already dark and violent tale. Ava was already filling out her skin and wings, embracing all that she was, and her daily life taught her more than a brutal, unnecessary tragedy like her rape and mutilation by an evangelical stalker in a house full of dead and tortured birds ever could. You may have imagined you were giving us foreshadowing with a one-sentence mention of Nathaniel's revolting feather-related behaviour (not that I wanted to hear more about it) and Henry's constant repetition of the same four sentences. I feel required to tell you that none of this indicated anything so savage as Ava's assault.
And then, after subjecting us and Ava to such a horrible and aimless disaster, you veer off into a sudden return to typical, cliche, and astonishingly unrealistic YA plot! Her wings have just been cut off with an axe, and after a few months of lying in bed and her boyfriend returning from college, she's suddenly completely healed, identical emotionally to her earlier self, and ready to return to her life? Leslye, up until then you were expressing the effects of incredible, painful suffering so accurately!
To conclude, Leslye: for the first two-thirds of Ava Lavender, you have concocted an elegant and grim primitive fairytale of a book, portraying incredible pain, macabre magic, and the sometimes awful realities of love. Then, suddenly, the mantle and crust warp and shift into a conglomeration of brutality and surrealism and ridiculous attempts at a "happy ending"; disgraceful, degenerative, disappointing, and disrespectful to women who have gone through such a horrible experience. I don't understand why any of this was necessary, Leslye: the climax and resolution seemed fruitless, abrupt, and extraneously cruel.
See, Leslye? When you're not subjecting poor Ava to disturbingly gory emotional and physical scarring, you have a true gift for passionate and fantastical, if dark, prose and exquisite insight into the influence of emotion on human lives.
First enchantedly, then disturbedly,
Finch
Verdict
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
May TBR Pile #1
Peoples! I got motivated enough to go to the school library!
I selected Cinder and Cress only to find that Scarlet was absent. Disappointing. I picked up Dune instead, and then I spied an ARC proof of Maggie Stiefvater's The Scorpio Races. I had absolutely no self-control: I had to have that book. But I already had seven out: Lunar Chronicles and Dune plus Cinda Williams Chima's entire Seven Realms series.
So I borrowed it undercover. I tucked it into my bag and walked downstairs and checked out the other three I'd selected, but not Scorpio. I don't even feel guilty! I'm just irritated at the school for putting a limit on the amount of books I can check out when I can read so many more than that in such a short amount of time.
I've finally obtained a gorgeous hardback copy of The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender. My friend's mother bought it for me on the promise that I would lend it to her daughter when I finished it, which I immediately swore. In that instant I would've done almost anything to own that book because it was so blue and golden and feathery and elegant and magical. (ETA: Then I read it... and promptly gave it to said friend because it distressed me.)
And then, dear readers, I headed off to the local branch library and picked up Throne of Glass, 1984, A Doll's House, Crime and Punishment, Neverwhere, Tithe, The Promise, The Da Vinci Code, and The Winter Of Our Discontent.
So now I've a pile of fifteen new books, four of which I've read as I compose this post. I've finished Cinder, Scorpio Races, Dune, and The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows, and am halfway through (and alternately loathing/laughing at) Throne of Glass. Assist me with my quandary now, dear readers: should I wait until the library gets Scarlet back and read the series in order, or should I read Cress right away and forget Scarlet for now?
I selected Cinder and Cress only to find that Scarlet was absent. Disappointing. I picked up Dune instead, and then I spied an ARC proof of Maggie Stiefvater's The Scorpio Races. I had absolutely no self-control: I had to have that book. But I already had seven out: Lunar Chronicles and Dune plus Cinda Williams Chima's entire Seven Realms series.
So I borrowed it undercover. I tucked it into my bag and walked downstairs and checked out the other three I'd selected, but not Scorpio. I don't even feel guilty! I'm just irritated at the school for putting a limit on the amount of books I can check out when I can read so many more than that in such a short amount of time.
I've finally obtained a gorgeous hardback copy of The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender. My friend's mother bought it for me on the promise that I would lend it to her daughter when I finished it, which I immediately swore. In that instant I would've done almost anything to own that book because it was so blue and golden and feathery and elegant and magical. (ETA: Then I read it... and promptly gave it to said friend because it distressed me.)
And then, dear readers, I headed off to the local branch library and picked up Throne of Glass, 1984, A Doll's House, Crime and Punishment, Neverwhere, Tithe, The Promise, The Da Vinci Code, and The Winter Of Our Discontent.
So now I've a pile of fifteen new books, four of which I've read as I compose this post. I've finished Cinder, Scorpio Races, Dune, and The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows, and am halfway through (and alternately loathing/laughing at) Throne of Glass. Assist me with my quandary now, dear readers: should I wait until the library gets Scarlet back and read the series in order, or should I read Cress right away and forget Scarlet for now?
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Book Blogger TMI Tag
(I'm not doing the Top Ten Tuesday for this week -- Top Ten Books I Almost Put Down But Didn't -- because I can count those books on one hand. And one hand does not have ten fingers. So you get another blog meme instead. I know I borrowed this from someone, but I don't remember who. If it happens to be you, dear reader, I'm sorry! I promise I'll keep better records from now on.)
How old are you?
I'm thirteen. I'll be fourteen in... what, six months? Seven?
What book are you reading?
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Yesterday night I finished A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid and Terry Pratchett's Unseen Academicals and Pyramids (both rereads), and this morning I read Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George (also a reread).
What are you wearing?
My school uniform. Burgundy polo shirt, grey skirt, silly ankle socks, and blue sneakers half a size too big because I had to take the cheap laces out of them.
OTP?
It morphs based on my current read. Due to Fangirl it's currently Wren/Reagan. Yes, they have one semi-conversation, but come on, they'd be best buds if they actually talked to one another.
Blogger or Wordpress?
Out of... uh... Blogger, I'd say... Blogger!
Going outside and being active or staying in and reading a book?
Depends on the book. For that matter, depends on the outdoor activity. I demand specificity.
What is the last book you read?
Like I said, A Small Place.
What is the next book you're going to read?
Probably the Lunar Chronicles, if I can steal them from my school's library, which only allows me four books out at once. I've got four, and I'm not motivated enough to return them. So thievery it is. And after that, most likely The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman.
eBooks -- yes or no?
I've got one of the ancient Kindles because I broke my first two by taking them to the beach, and an e-ink reader is useful for travelling with limited baggage because it's not as bulky. But I'm a skilled cram-as-many-books-into-luggage-as-possible-er, and my Kindle payment method is wonky, plus the battery isn't great. Nothing can compare to the smell and feel of paper and ink.
Where do you prefer to read?
My bedroom, the kitchen table, my sister's pet chair, the living room couch, the car, the other car, my sister's bedroom. Anywhere and everywhere.
Who is the last person you tweeted?
Hypothetically, if I did not actually have a Twitter, what would be the hypothetical answer to this question?
Whose blog did you look at last?
The Magic Violinist.
Who is your favorite blogger?
I don't follow a large variety of blogs, but I do check up on several regularly, including Musings from Neville's Navel, The Magic Violinist, and Notebook Sisters.
What do you do when someone tells you reading is boring?
Who is the last author you spoke to?
Unfortunately, I am hopelessly isolated from all the people that I admire. I don't know that I have ever spoken to an author. Unless you count my dad, who wrote a movie when I was eight. And my mom's college boyfriend, slam poet Taylor Mali.
Who is the last person you texted?
My mom. I told her to keep an eye on my bird while I was at school.
Who is your all-time favorite book character?
No comment.
UKYA or USYA?
No idea. I am aware, however, that the two longest series I have ever read and appreciated are both from the UK (Redwall [22 novels] and Discworld [40 novels]).
What is your preferred drink whilst reading?
From November to March (aka what passes for winter in California), hot tea or a latte. From April to October (California's scorching summer) I prefer an Arnold Palmer or a frappuccino. Any kind of tea or coffee will do. Starbucks and Teavana constantly vie for the place in my heart reserved for the chain that sells my favourite drinks.
If you hated reading, what would you be doing instead?
If I hated reading, I wouldn't be me. So I wouldn't be doing anything.
How many bookshelves/bookcases do you have?
Oh, how I wish I had a room of bookshelves! How I wish they lined the walls and composed the floor and dangled from the ceiling! Wouldn't it be delightful to have a floor made of bookshelves? Feel the spines moving under your bare feet... enough. Let me answer the question.
Right now: 4 shelves, 2 crates, innumerable piles.
After I move: Wall-to-wall. Ceiling-to-ceiling. I mean floor.
If you had the choice to meet all of your favorite book bloggers or all of your favorite authors, which would you pick?
Authors, without a doubt.
Insta-love: yes or no?
My brain is trying to decide whether to interpret this as "instant love" or "love via Instagram." I'm concerned about what this implies about my generation. Either way, too shallow and treacherous, at least at the beginning. I've been involved in one semi-relationship, and the only reason I agreed to the first date at all was because we'd been friends since fifth grade. I still feel guilty about agreeing, since I didn't like him at all outside of a close friendship. I mean, I'm not even sure if I like boys or girls! But dinner was tasty, and there were parmesan crackers. So I don't feel that guilty.
Favorite author?
I will rip your head off and chuck it at your face.
What is the number-one book on your wishlist?
Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment.
Do you prefer books with female or male protagonists?
I prefer any book with a protagonist whom I can empathize and identify. Or, alternatively, the polar opposite: a protagonist whom I find riveting because they are so unlike me that I am utterly unable to predict their next action. Male versus female is not an issue.
Which is your favorite book-to-film adaptation?
Howl's Moving Castle, definitely. If The Wind Rises hadn't been Miyazaki's last film, I'd get right on a screenplay of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland and beg him to direct it. And then S. J. Tucker could play the film score. I think the absolute perfection of such a film would cause me to die of a surfeit of joy.
What is the last song you listened to?
"Closing Time" by Semisonic.
Which do you enjoy reading more -- negative reviews or positive reviews?
Being a darkly humorous and cynical person, I much prefer to read negative reviews, because they make me giggle. Exceptions to the rule are reviews of my own work or of books I truly adore.
Who are you going to tag?
If you read this, consider yourself tagged. Take it from me, this meme is fun.
How old are you?
I'm thirteen. I'll be fourteen in... what, six months? Seven?
What book are you reading?
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Yesterday night I finished A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid and Terry Pratchett's Unseen Academicals and Pyramids (both rereads), and this morning I read Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George (also a reread).
What are you wearing?
My school uniform. Burgundy polo shirt, grey skirt, silly ankle socks, and blue sneakers half a size too big because I had to take the cheap laces out of them.
OTP?
It morphs based on my current read. Due to Fangirl it's currently Wren/Reagan. Yes, they have one semi-conversation, but come on, they'd be best buds if they actually talked to one another.
Blogger or Wordpress?
Out of... uh... Blogger, I'd say... Blogger!
Going outside and being active or staying in and reading a book?
Depends on the book. For that matter, depends on the outdoor activity. I demand specificity.
What is the last book you read?
Like I said, A Small Place.
What is the next book you're going to read?
Probably the Lunar Chronicles, if I can steal them from my school's library, which only allows me four books out at once. I've got four, and I'm not motivated enough to return them. So thievery it is. And after that, most likely The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman.
eBooks -- yes or no?
I've got one of the ancient Kindles because I broke my first two by taking them to the beach, and an e-ink reader is useful for travelling with limited baggage because it's not as bulky. But I'm a skilled cram-as-many-books-into-luggage-as-possible-er, and my Kindle payment method is wonky, plus the battery isn't great. Nothing can compare to the smell and feel of paper and ink.
Where do you prefer to read?
My bedroom, the kitchen table, my sister's pet chair, the living room couch, the car, the other car, my sister's bedroom. Anywhere and everywhere.
Who is the last person you tweeted?
Hypothetically, if I did not actually have a Twitter, what would be the hypothetical answer to this question?
Whose blog did you look at last?
The Magic Violinist.
Who is your favorite blogger?
I don't follow a large variety of blogs, but I do check up on several regularly, including Musings from Neville's Navel, The Magic Violinist, and Notebook Sisters.
What do you do when someone tells you reading is boring?
Who is the last author you spoke to?
Unfortunately, I am hopelessly isolated from all the people that I admire. I don't know that I have ever spoken to an author. Unless you count my dad, who wrote a movie when I was eight. And my mom's college boyfriend, slam poet Taylor Mali.
Who is the last person you texted?
My mom. I told her to keep an eye on my bird while I was at school.
Who is your all-time favorite book character?
No comment.
UKYA or USYA?
No idea. I am aware, however, that the two longest series I have ever read and appreciated are both from the UK (Redwall [22 novels] and Discworld [40 novels]).
What is your preferred drink whilst reading?
From November to March (aka what passes for winter in California), hot tea or a latte. From April to October (California's scorching summer) I prefer an Arnold Palmer or a frappuccino. Any kind of tea or coffee will do. Starbucks and Teavana constantly vie for the place in my heart reserved for the chain that sells my favourite drinks.
If you hated reading, what would you be doing instead?
If I hated reading, I wouldn't be me. So I wouldn't be doing anything.
How many bookshelves/bookcases do you have?
Oh, how I wish I had a room of bookshelves! How I wish they lined the walls and composed the floor and dangled from the ceiling! Wouldn't it be delightful to have a floor made of bookshelves? Feel the spines moving under your bare feet... enough. Let me answer the question.
Right now: 4 shelves, 2 crates, innumerable piles.
After I move: Wall-to-wall. Ceiling-to-ceiling. I mean floor.
If you had the choice to meet all of your favorite book bloggers or all of your favorite authors, which would you pick?
Authors, without a doubt.
Insta-love: yes or no?
My brain is trying to decide whether to interpret this as "instant love" or "love via Instagram." I'm concerned about what this implies about my generation. Either way, too shallow and treacherous, at least at the beginning. I've been involved in one semi-relationship, and the only reason I agreed to the first date at all was because we'd been friends since fifth grade. I still feel guilty about agreeing, since I didn't like him at all outside of a close friendship. I mean, I'm not even sure if I like boys or girls! But dinner was tasty, and there were parmesan crackers. So I don't feel that guilty.
Favorite author?
I will rip your head off and chuck it at your face.
What is the number-one book on your wishlist?
Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment.
Do you prefer books with female or male protagonists?
I prefer any book with a protagonist whom I can empathize and identify. Or, alternatively, the polar opposite: a protagonist whom I find riveting because they are so unlike me that I am utterly unable to predict their next action. Male versus female is not an issue.
Which is your favorite book-to-film adaptation?
Howl's Moving Castle, definitely. If The Wind Rises hadn't been Miyazaki's last film, I'd get right on a screenplay of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland and beg him to direct it. And then S. J. Tucker could play the film score. I think the absolute perfection of such a film would cause me to die of a surfeit of joy.
What is the last song you listened to?
"Closing Time" by Semisonic.
Which do you enjoy reading more -- negative reviews or positive reviews?
Being a darkly humorous and cynical person, I much prefer to read negative reviews, because they make me giggle. Exceptions to the rule are reviews of my own work or of books I truly adore.
Who are you going to tag?
If you read this, consider yourself tagged. Take it from me, this meme is fun.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
The shortest thing I will ever post on this blog
4300 words into Hallelujah.
The most I've written in almost a year since Starship Peppermint crashed and burned for lack of plot.
I'm very happy.
The most I've written in almost a year since Starship Peppermint crashed and burned for lack of plot.
I'm very happy.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Top Ten Book Covers I'd Frame as Pieces of Art
(I know, I know, I'm a day late... sincere apologies.)
"Top Ten Tuesday" is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's prompt is: Top Ten Covers I'd Frame as Pieces of Art. Now, we all know the saying "don't judge a book by its cover" has never meant anything to me. But I can limit myself to ten! I promise!
It's so dark and glitzy and gorgeous and it's such a classic novel. Cue applause track.
I'm a sucker for hand-drawn art and this is so watery and weedy and bewildering and lovely.
A nod to the book's Rapunzel thematic and shiny pretty ribbons. Precious.
I didn't end up adoring this book as much as I wanted to, but there is no denying that the cover is extraordinary. This may very well be my favourite of the top ten.
Who's to say that the rough life of maids in Mississippi households can't be pretty? It's simple and beautiful and painted with little purple finches. What's not to love?
Quite frankly, this is one of the best fantasy novels I've ever had the honor to read, and the cover does justice to the book. Is it fantasy? I'd like to say it's in a category all its own.
According to Goodreads this book is hugely disappointing, but there is no denying that the cover is utterly gorgeous. SPACE! I love space. And chaotic Asian-influenced gold paisley.
This is the kind of image you see in a daydream. There one minute and then gone. You never see it the same way twice, and once you've stopped looking at it, you can't remember exactly what it looks like. Every time I glance at it I feel as if the dotted lines have shifted into new constellations.
Told you I was a sucker for hand-drawn art, and this cover is beautifully antique and just imperfect enough to feel like a real human's hand created it.
I am so utterly breathtaken by the title and cover of this book that I'm terrified to read it for fear the book itself will disappoint. The perfect simplicity, the detailed feather and the gorgeous, gorgeous title.
"Top Ten Tuesday" is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's prompt is: Top Ten Covers I'd Frame as Pieces of Art. Now, we all know the saying "don't judge a book by its cover" has never meant anything to me. But I can limit myself to ten! I promise!
1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
It's so dark and glitzy and gorgeous and it's such a classic novel. Cue applause track.
2. The Minnow by Diana Sweeney
I'm a sucker for hand-drawn art and this is so watery and weedy and bewildering and lovely.
3. Cress by Marissa Meyer
A nod to the book's Rapunzel thematic and shiny pretty ribbons. Precious.
4. Perfect by Ellen Hopkins
I didn't end up adoring this book as much as I wanted to, but there is no denying that the cover is extraordinary. This may very well be my favourite of the top ten.
5. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Who's to say that the rough life of maids in Mississippi households can't be pretty? It's simple and beautiful and painted with little purple finches. What's not to love?
6. Railsea by China Miéville
Quite frankly, this is one of the best fantasy novels I've ever had the honor to read, and the cover does justice to the book. Is it fantasy? I'd like to say it's in a category all its own.
7. The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White
According to Goodreads this book is hugely disappointing, but there is no denying that the cover is utterly gorgeous. SPACE! I love space. And chaotic Asian-influenced gold paisley.
8. The Anatomy of Dreams by Chloe Benjamin
This is the kind of image you see in a daydream. There one minute and then gone. You never see it the same way twice, and once you've stopped looking at it, you can't remember exactly what it looks like. Every time I glance at it I feel as if the dotted lines have shifted into new constellations.
9. The Gravity of Birds by Tracy Guzeman
Told you I was a sucker for hand-drawn art, and this cover is beautifully antique and just imperfect enough to feel like a real human's hand created it.
10. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
I am so utterly breathtaken by the title and cover of this book that I'm terrified to read it for fear the book itself will disappoint. The perfect simplicity, the detailed feather and the gorgeous, gorgeous title.
What about you? What are your most beloved book covers?
Monday, May 5, 2014
April Summarized
I shamelessly stole this idea from the Magic Violinist. Thanks, MV! Hope you don't mind.
Books I Read
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Books I Read
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
Dragon Spear by Jessica Day George
The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland And Cut The Moon In Two by Catherynne M. Valente
The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Perfect by Ellen Hopkins
Brilliance by Marcus Sakey
Favorite: The House on Mango Street or The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland
Least favorite: The Crimson Crown
I'm quite certain I read more, which I unfortunately can't recall at the moment.
Movies I Watched
"The Lego Movie"
"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"
"Divergent"
"Letters to Juliet"
Quotes I Wrote
"I always
do," he says, his slight lisp signaling his age, or lack of it. "Luck
and I, we always know." He shrugs, narrow shoulder blades creasing his
shirt. "Today I don't. Now that they're here, everything just... slows and
narrows, and I can't fit through it."
Pupil-less eyes
shift to Luck, bronze-skinned and implacable. The dimpled corners of her
chestnut-tinged lips curl into a sly smile, but she makes no sound.
YOU WILL REGAIN YOUR SIGHT, FATE. YOU WILL RETURN TO EARTH,
AND WE WILL WAIT WHILE THEY GROW AND LIVE. AND THEN... WHY, THEN WE SHALL SEE.
In the thunderous,
vibrating tones of the Mother, see sounds
far crueler, and far more ominous, than it should.
--Hallelujah
"Who are you?"
And Allegra jerks at the sound, her toe catches in her wet frilly skirts, she sprawls at the round bare feet of a boy in striped pajamas.
She pushes herself up on her scraped elbows, her lips still and thin as shards of ice. Children are just as cruel as adults, just less possessed of the means to express it. She will not give this boy, with his eyes like holes and scarred cheek, any hold over her.
"I'm Joy." Allegra has used this name before. She is named Allegra, after all, supposed to be cheerful and happy and lively, and it is short and easy to remember. Her first rule of telling a lie: tell the truth in an alternate manner.
He offers her a soft hand, nails pared down. She takes it and barely represses a shudder, because his fingers feel like tiny dead eels under her own. Clammy and limp.
His smile is condescending. "Maddox."
--Hallelujah
Lifting her sodden skirt above her cold-stiff toes, she scrambles for the egress of the alley. Her
assailant, neck lolling at an awkward angle, does not reach out for the handgun
or even lift his head to watch her flee. He is just a boy, and he is far too
still.
--Hallelujah
I burst into lissome leaf between denim and linen.
A rocking chair quivers at the apex of the sun’s way,
and I devour the space I inhabit, trailing sepia frames in my wake.
--Petrichor
Fascinations I Acquired
Pandora Internet Radio, which has taught me more about the importance of a novelling soundtrack than any music on my iPod or YouTube.
Ancient Canadian churches. My concert chorus sang at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal on Thursday, and it is so gorgeously stunning that no picture can properly display its beauty.
Other newnesses in Canada, including but not limited to: fennel salad and candied salmon. The Montreal Biodome and Olympic Tower. Pre-buttered bread. Stuffed foxes shaped like balloons. Café Starbucks Coffee. Duty-free perfume. Most of these will make an appearance in On Borrowed Wings, my Romeo and Juliet spin-off WIP.
This song. Also, this creature. How can you not love, respectively, a hyper-happy techno pop anthem by Tegan and Sara about chocolate frosting and cooperation, and a radically bipolar half-unicorn half-anime kitten princess? EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!!!
Picture of the Month
[creds: kr0npr1nz on deviantart]
Teenage Death Tamsin Shieh and her iPhone [precioussss].
Monday, April 14, 2014
A WIP or Two
Oh, gosh, this is probably the most writing I've finished in a long time because school is being really nasty while we wrap up the year. Plus, it's my favorite WIP of the moment. So here, have some quotes from The Influence of Random Fluctuations in the Space-Time Continuum, featuring Kendall Lubkeman and Mandarin Renault-Torres.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
Mandarin sips her frappuccino, and disappointment tugs at Kallie. Mandarin Torres, wicked queen of Buttonwillow, California, drinking something so mundane as a doe-eyed and miniskirt-clad good-girl iced coffee?
"You're looking at me funny, 'Rene." Mandarin says it mildly.
Kallie flinches, bumping the table with one elbow and causing it to shudder. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I was thinking."
Mandarin reaches out lazily and runs a peach-smooth finger down the crease of Kallie's forehead with casual intimacy. "You'll get wrinkles," she notes, a crooked grin tilting the corners of her mouth. "Much easier not to think if you don't have to. 'Nothing matters, but knowing nothing matters,'" she trills, the rhythm intermittent and most of the notes off-key. The skilled flutist across the table can't help but shudder.
"I'm not trying now," Mandarin says defensively.
Kallie shakes her head hurriedly, a nervous involuntary jerk. "Of course not. I sit across the aisle from you in chorus, you know? I know how well you can sing."
Mandarin gives a kind of one-shoulder shrug and averts her eyes.
--The Influence
"'Rene?"
Kallie barely responds, her fingers tapping an intermittent, metallic beat. She has never been called 'Rene before, and it makes her afraid to hear her name in those sleek, imperial tones. As if those four contracted letters are undeserving of taking up the space between Mandarin's glossy lips. In her apple-green dress and limp curls, Kallie doesn't feel like 'Rene, who would be someone as arrogant, enviable and delicately Machiavellian as Mandarin herself. Someone with red boots and nails like penknives. Someone who could spray her personality over yours like graffiti dotted across the high walls behind the railroad tracks.
Kallie doesn't own red boots.
--The Influence
____________________
Updates on other WIPs:
Skylander? Pretty fabulous. I've established that Aradia does well as a Skylander, but Samkim in the Strix? Not so much. The main plotline will also involve a serious revolution and their two chosen guilds fighting opposite one another.
Nobody of Night has diverged from a fantasy into a speculative-reality urban science fantasy, involving time travel, robots, parallel universes, sorcerers and monsters. Blackbird becomes deeper and deeper every day. I'm never sure what she'll do next.
Hallelujah is still in plotting stages, though I've got the names and the basic plot down. To put it concisely, the universe is controlled by Father Chaos, Mother Universe and their children: Dream, War, Despair, Love, Delirium, Fate, and Death. None of these have immortal personifications; instead, they are hosted by a different human every generation. But this time, two Deaths are born, which throws everything into, well, chaos.
Hopeless Regiment is now a story about familial bonds and unusual coincidences, aside from the blood-caste, ancient Roman-style sci-fi tale I began it as. I get to mess around with the army, delve into gang life, and then mix them all up in a surprisingly adorable, if violent, saga.
Niagara is going well. That's about all I can say for it. Well. The fact that I just revamped the entire plot is presenting some issues. Silver is far too huggable, as usual. Micah is more of a jerk than I wanted him to be, but perhaps that isn't a bad thing. Winslow is, to be honest, kind of unintelligent. I'm hoping her smarts will improve.
Blackbird Over the Harvest Moon is tough because everything, every bit has to be genius -- that's how Teek and Magda talk. Nevertheless, it's moving along at a decent pace.
Starship Peppermint is, as of now, a collection of disjointed scenes that not only resemble Firefly far too much but refuse to organize themselves into a collective story. I am hoping that they will eventually, or I shall force them to, and that will not turn out well and will result in much editing for me.
Water's White, Girl of Green is purely delightful and a total joy to write, which I often don't find in my books. Petra is amusing, Tegan is confused, Lael is mysterious, Naiviv is vicious, and Valentine is a manipulative little witch. The complexities of the society and the unusual and surprising flora and fauna of the fairyland are fantastic.
Kairos. Beloved Kairos. What can I say? If I lived in Night Vale, this would be my autobiography. But I don't, so the next best thing is to dump dear Mime Vega into a bizarre and at times horrific American town and watch the fireworks.
Sioa still has very little plot, aside from me going "What rules? Norse myth reboots. Psychological thrillers. Tear-jerking ghost stories. Apocalypses. Revolutions. Shipwrecks. Quests. Crack-shot, computer-hacking, plane-flying heroines. A protagonist named after my pet bird," and shoving that-all in the oven to bake. Unfortunately, the timer still hasn't gone off. If any of you have decent ideas for a book involving a Japanese college student who can see ghosts, a former novice detective who's a returned ghost herself, nine modern valkyries who use Twitter, a Swedish reporter who's the ex-husband of one valkyrie and father of another, and Ragnarok, let me know. Seriously, please do.
Medusa is marvelous. How could a futuristic police procedural starring a hallucinatory, manipulative teenage assassin and her partner, a mega-genius librarian, archaeologist and soldier turned cop detective be anything less?
Kairos. Beloved Kairos. What can I say? If I lived in Night Vale, this would be my autobiography. But I don't, so the next best thing is to dump dear Mime Vega into a bizarre and at times horrific American town and watch the fireworks.
Sioa still has very little plot, aside from me going "What rules? Norse myth reboots. Psychological thrillers. Tear-jerking ghost stories. Apocalypses. Revolutions. Shipwrecks. Quests. Crack-shot, computer-hacking, plane-flying heroines. A protagonist named after my pet bird," and shoving that-all in the oven to bake. Unfortunately, the timer still hasn't gone off. If any of you have decent ideas for a book involving a Japanese college student who can see ghosts, a former novice detective who's a returned ghost herself, nine modern valkyries who use Twitter, a Swedish reporter who's the ex-husband of one valkyrie and father of another, and Ragnarok, let me know. Seriously, please do.
Medusa is marvelous. How could a futuristic police procedural starring a hallucinatory, manipulative teenage assassin and her partner, a mega-genius librarian, archaeologist and soldier turned cop detective be anything less?
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Finch Reviews Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
Believe it or not, I read eight new books over spring break and admit to not having reviewed any of them. But it wasn't my fault, right? I had no Internet on the Yucatan Peninsula, plus no laptop to do any writing with and it's downright impossible to write book reviews in a notebook.
Title: Dragon Slippers
Series: #1 in a trilogy (followed by Dragon Flight and Dragon Spear)
Publisher/Year: Bloomsbury, 2008
Genre: MG fantasy
How Finch Got It: Her mum bought it for her sister as a means of keeping her busy on a five-hour plane flight. Because Finch reads fast, she "borrowed" it after finishing all the books she'd bought for the same reason.
When Creel's aunt sacrifices her to a dragon, Creel refuses to wait for a knight to rescue her. After bargaining for her escape and winning a pair of blue slippers from the dragon's hoard, Creel sets out to find her own fortune in the king's city. Along the route, she meets and befriends another dragon, who helps her find her way. But when she arrives in the city, strange things start to happen, and Creel realizes that her mysterious slippers are more than just a pair of shoes...
Thank you, for presenting me with something to bring a smile to my worn-out face on an exhausting day. Um, it was rather fabulous. I appreciate your fresh, creative, smart and funny take on the typical Disney-princess talking-animal story.
I adored your characters, Jessica! Creelisel Carlbrun, your naive and presumptuous protagonist, isn't going to make it onto my list of top ten heroines, but she was undeniably well-written. Well done! And what's more, her narration is appropriate to her age, position, and lifestyle. You're in, what, your thirties? But you pulled off the voice of a confused teenager in a medieval fantasy world. That's what Creel was, and she acted like one. She didn't use too-complex vocabulary or modern slang, and her perspectives on situations weren't unusually advanced.
Your villains were a further improvement. I growled, Jessica! I never growl at villains (because I'm more fond of them than I am of the protagonists)! Yet I was absolutely furious with Princess Amalia, your shallow little villainess, throughout most of the book. And that didn't even compare to Larkin's irritating holier-than-thou attitude. HOW DARE YOU, YOU LITTLE TRAITOR! Jessica, I was very, very annoyed by the fact that her only consequence was life in prison. She ought to have died in a truly gruesome way. Shameful. At least Amalia got the flesh boiled off her bones. That redeemed you for Larkin's lack of a horrible death. Kind of.
Even your more minor characters were deliciously well-developed. I was surprised -- and impressed -- by the fact that Creel's first impressions of Larkin and Marta (an absolute sweetheart, by the way) shifted as the action moved onward. A protagonist's first impression will often, if not always, be correct, and this made a refreshing change. Good for you. Nor was Amalia the ditzy, grating type that she appeared -- no one can be an espionage agent and be stupid, yes? This defiance of two-dimensionality was delightful. You have such good insight into the makeup of human personalities, Jessica.
And your names! Can we just speak about those names for a minute? Where do you get these creations? Creelisel, Shardas, Feniul? Fantastic. And the quirky re-imagining of typical lore! Dragon hoards aren't just gold! No indeed. That would be silly.
Now, let's discuss the things you didn't have good insight into. Prince Luka the Love Interest was terribly adorable with his gallant manners and commoners-are-people-too attitude, but could you get any more two-dimensional? My goodness. Does he have any purpose aside from a) rescuing Creel, b) flirting with Creel, c) giving Creel presents, or d) trying and failing to sacrifice himself for Creel because she's too clever to let that happen? Did you feel you needed to simplify the romance for middle-grade audiences? No, Jessica. Go take a refresher course in Jeanne Birdsall or Eva Ibbotson.
The rampant plot faults were worrying. If the dragons had been so desperate to keep the slippers, they could have! They're house-sized fire-breathing lizards; they can do what they want! Also, Creel could've found time at some point to tell Luka about the dragons, instead of feeling as if she needed to keep them from him! There was no justification for that, which, as a kingdom-wide issue, is most certainly his business! And, Jessica, I am hung up on the whole slipper fiasco. Why did Creel immediately give up on the idea of pawning something to get to the King's Seat when she saw Theoradus's hoard? The first pair of shoes you describe are encrusted with emeralds. She should not have taken the dragonskin slippers. She should've taken the emerald heels and headed for the first pawnshop she saw! But at least you are quite capable of describing a giant cave full of shoes in a mildly diverting fashion.
Predictably, since you wrote this for middle-graders, your plot was relatively straightforward. Aim higher, grasshopper. With a few subplots and perhaps more complex scene structure, this could have been a fabulous YA or adult book reminiscent of Dragonriders of Pern. Your scenes were captivating and vivid, your characters endearing, your dialogue snappy, realistic and touching, and your action well-paced. And you didn't shy away from the dark side of things. Instead, you veered off onto the rare path of killing a protagonist -- or at the very least making your audience believe you did. Life gets tough and gritty and isn't as lighthearted as middle-grade authors would have us believe. Write about death all you like, Jessica!
Impressedly,
Finch
Title: Dragon Slippers
Series: #1 in a trilogy (followed by Dragon Flight and Dragon Spear)
Publisher/Year: Bloomsbury, 2008
Genre: MG fantasy
How Finch Got It: Her mum bought it for her sister as a means of keeping her busy on a five-hour plane flight. Because Finch reads fast, she "borrowed" it after finishing all the books she'd bought for the same reason.
Synopsis
When Creel's aunt sacrifices her to a dragon, Creel refuses to wait for a knight to rescue her. After bargaining for her escape and winning a pair of blue slippers from the dragon's hoard, Creel sets out to find her own fortune in the king's city. Along the route, she meets and befriends another dragon, who helps her find her way. But when she arrives in the city, strange things start to happen, and Creel realizes that her mysterious slippers are more than just a pair of shoes...
Epistolary Review
Dear Jessica,Thank you, for presenting me with something to bring a smile to my worn-out face on an exhausting day. Um, it was rather fabulous. I appreciate your fresh, creative, smart and funny take on the typical Disney-princess talking-animal story.
I adored your characters, Jessica! Creelisel Carlbrun, your naive and presumptuous protagonist, isn't going to make it onto my list of top ten heroines, but she was undeniably well-written. Well done! And what's more, her narration is appropriate to her age, position, and lifestyle. You're in, what, your thirties? But you pulled off the voice of a confused teenager in a medieval fantasy world. That's what Creel was, and she acted like one. She didn't use too-complex vocabulary or modern slang, and her perspectives on situations weren't unusually advanced.
Your villains were a further improvement. I growled, Jessica! I never growl at villains (because I'm more fond of them than I am of the protagonists)! Yet I was absolutely furious with Princess Amalia, your shallow little villainess, throughout most of the book. And that didn't even compare to Larkin's irritating holier-than-thou attitude. HOW DARE YOU, YOU LITTLE TRAITOR! Jessica, I was very, very annoyed by the fact that her only consequence was life in prison. She ought to have died in a truly gruesome way. Shameful. At least Amalia got the flesh boiled off her bones. That redeemed you for Larkin's lack of a horrible death. Kind of.
Even your more minor characters were deliciously well-developed. I was surprised -- and impressed -- by the fact that Creel's first impressions of Larkin and Marta (an absolute sweetheart, by the way) shifted as the action moved onward. A protagonist's first impression will often, if not always, be correct, and this made a refreshing change. Good for you. Nor was Amalia the ditzy, grating type that she appeared -- no one can be an espionage agent and be stupid, yes? This defiance of two-dimensionality was delightful. You have such good insight into the makeup of human personalities, Jessica.
And your names! Can we just speak about those names for a minute? Where do you get these creations? Creelisel, Shardas, Feniul? Fantastic. And the quirky re-imagining of typical lore! Dragon hoards aren't just gold! No indeed. That would be silly.
Now, let's discuss the things you didn't have good insight into. Prince Luka the Love Interest was terribly adorable with his gallant manners and commoners-are-people-too attitude, but could you get any more two-dimensional? My goodness. Does he have any purpose aside from a) rescuing Creel, b) flirting with Creel, c) giving Creel presents, or d) trying and failing to sacrifice himself for Creel because she's too clever to let that happen? Did you feel you needed to simplify the romance for middle-grade audiences? No, Jessica. Go take a refresher course in Jeanne Birdsall or Eva Ibbotson.
The rampant plot faults were worrying. If the dragons had been so desperate to keep the slippers, they could have! They're house-sized fire-breathing lizards; they can do what they want! Also, Creel could've found time at some point to tell Luka about the dragons, instead of feeling as if she needed to keep them from him! There was no justification for that, which, as a kingdom-wide issue, is most certainly his business! And, Jessica, I am hung up on the whole slipper fiasco. Why did Creel immediately give up on the idea of pawning something to get to the King's Seat when she saw Theoradus's hoard? The first pair of shoes you describe are encrusted with emeralds. She should not have taken the dragonskin slippers. She should've taken the emerald heels and headed for the first pawnshop she saw! But at least you are quite capable of describing a giant cave full of shoes in a mildly diverting fashion.
Predictably, since you wrote this for middle-graders, your plot was relatively straightforward. Aim higher, grasshopper. With a few subplots and perhaps more complex scene structure, this could have been a fabulous YA or adult book reminiscent of Dragonriders of Pern. Your scenes were captivating and vivid, your characters endearing, your dialogue snappy, realistic and touching, and your action well-paced. And you didn't shy away from the dark side of things. Instead, you veered off onto the rare path of killing a protagonist -- or at the very least making your audience believe you did. Life gets tough and gritty and isn't as lighthearted as middle-grade authors would have us believe. Write about death all you like, Jessica!
Impressedly,
Finch
Verdict
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Inspirational Images
I ought to stop the alliteration while I'm ahead, oughtn't I?
I keep a collection of images on my computer in a folder titled "everyfink", which I delve into when I need some kind of writing inspiration. Many of them are fantasy art, portraying scenes that find their way into my books in some form or another. I now bring you a sample, straight from the "everyfink" folder, which I should rename at some future time.
[creds: aixie on deviantart]
The idea of a young, unsure female Death led to my heroine Allegra Clancy. The image of Death was created by humanity, making Death more human than anything, and although it seems impossible Death must eventually die. Allegra's mother is taken by an old and decrepit Death, who then forces Allegra into his place. She has no idea what she's doing, which leads to a huge fiasco of ghosts, until Allegra has no choice but to get help. Unfortunately, no one can teach her except the Deaths themselves, and where does Death go when it dies?
"Allegra?"
"Yes?"
"Will things get better?"
I wiped blood out of my eye and tried to curl an arm around her shoulders. It went through her like a hot knife through butter. Nevertheless, I welcomed the few seconds to think as she re-formed from a mess of fog. I knew what she wanted to hear, and lies are not untruths, only ideas of a future that is less likely to happen.
"Yes, Caroline. Things will get better."
I keep a collection of images on my computer in a folder titled "everyfink", which I delve into when I need some kind of writing inspiration. Many of them are fantasy art, portraying scenes that find their way into my books in some form or another. I now bring you a sample, straight from the "everyfink" folder, which I should rename at some future time.
[creds: aixie on deviantart]
The idea of a young, unsure female Death led to my heroine Allegra Clancy. The image of Death was created by humanity, making Death more human than anything, and although it seems impossible Death must eventually die. Allegra's mother is taken by an old and decrepit Death, who then forces Allegra into his place. She has no idea what she's doing, which leads to a huge fiasco of ghosts, until Allegra has no choice but to get help. Unfortunately, no one can teach her except the Deaths themselves, and where does Death go when it dies?
"Allegra?"
"Yes?"
"Will things get better?"
I wiped blood out of my eye and tried to curl an arm around her shoulders. It went through her like a hot knife through butter. Nevertheless, I welcomed the few seconds to think as she re-formed from a mess of fog. I knew what she wanted to hear, and lies are not untruths, only ideas of a future that is less likely to happen.
"Yes, Caroline. Things will get better."
[creds: robthedoodler on deviantart]
Anne McCaffrey's vignette 'Pern Dragons' mentions a quote by John W. Campbell, who said that you have to have a reason for putting alien beasts in a book: they had to fit a niche in that ecology. I had a niche and I needed great big flying beasts to fit it. Dragons are cliché, and I had so much trouble coming up with a 'new' version of dragon that I switched to a completely different track. I wanted huge airborne beings that didn't resemble dragons. At all. In any way.
Then I stumbled upon concept art of a tremendous feathered flyer called an "owl griffin." Spelled the proper way, owl gryphons are now a high-flying feature in my novel Skylander.
"Third wing forward!"
The owl feathers in her hair whistling, Aradia urged Wick downward, sending him into a deep swoop. She was forced to duck as his plumed tail whipped past her head, buoyed by air currents. Pulling her goggles tighter over her face, she pressed her body to the griffin's neck as Wick flapped laboriously to ascend again.
"Sanghir! Dodge!"
A hoop was spun her way. Wick tucked in his paws and dove, Aradia clinging to the saddle. His tail caught the rim of the hoop and flicked it off in another direction, but they were already through and Aradia straightened. Her immediate instinct was to swerve and retrieve the hoop, but she knew Rule One: Always remain with your wing.
Then I stumbled upon concept art of a tremendous feathered flyer called an "owl griffin." Spelled the proper way, owl gryphons are now a high-flying feature in my novel Skylander.
"Third wing forward!"
The owl feathers in her hair whistling, Aradia urged Wick downward, sending him into a deep swoop. She was forced to duck as his plumed tail whipped past her head, buoyed by air currents. Pulling her goggles tighter over her face, she pressed her body to the griffin's neck as Wick flapped laboriously to ascend again.
"Sanghir! Dodge!"
A hoop was spun her way. Wick tucked in his paws and dove, Aradia clinging to the saddle. His tail caught the rim of the hoop and flicked it off in another direction, but they were already through and Aradia straightened. Her immediate instinct was to swerve and retrieve the hoop, but she knew Rule One: Always remain with your wing.
[creds: idk, probably Charlie Bowater?]
This steampunk image led to the design of one of my most beloved characters of all time, sassy, suspicious starship pilot Tara Hope. I thought, okay, goggles, bandana, gloves, military-looking jacket, she's a pilot. I was working on a sci-fi novel, Starship Peppermint, at the time, and I didn't have a pilot for the ship yet, so I shoved her in and locked the gate. After quite a lot of mental attempts at lock-picking and gate-breaking, she settled in and worked out wonderfully. Her character has evolved since then: she's no longer as lovely as this image, her eyes are grey instead of green, her hair isn't curly, but the coquettish expression and rather grubby clothes are quintessential Tara.
Tara blinked. “Sorry, what?”
“They’re asking us to break into the National Archives. Yeah.”
“You’re not going to take it, are you?" Tara suddenly remembered that this was Kimberly Nguyen she was talking to, and almost begging to be denied, she repeated, "Are you?"
Kim shrugged. “I dunno. We need the money. They’ll pay better than any job we’ve ever had.”
“Even the holographic noodle fiasco?”
“Yep.”
Tara whistled. “Wow. You’ve a point.”
“I have many points, and they are sharp and dangerous.” Kim turned back to her screen, fingers beginning to tap again across the keys, entering a lengthy string of numbers. “I get it, Tara, I do. You were raised to think anything like that was impossible. But it’s not and it pays. We’ve got a choice, but it isn’t much of one.”
Tara chewed her lip. “I trust you, Kim, and that’s a compliment from me. But I’ve got to think that this is too risky, even for us. There’s a whole lot of stuff in there that everyone wants, and the security they must have to compensate for that...” She trailed off, letting the point hang in the silence between them.
Tara blinked. “Sorry, what?”
“They’re asking us to break into the National Archives. Yeah.”
“You’re not going to take it, are you?" Tara suddenly remembered that this was Kimberly Nguyen she was talking to, and almost begging to be denied, she repeated, "Are you?"
Kim shrugged. “I dunno. We need the money. They’ll pay better than any job we’ve ever had.”
“Even the holographic noodle fiasco?”
“Yep.”
Tara whistled. “Wow. You’ve a point.”
“I have many points, and they are sharp and dangerous.” Kim turned back to her screen, fingers beginning to tap again across the keys, entering a lengthy string of numbers. “I get it, Tara, I do. You were raised to think anything like that was impossible. But it’s not and it pays. We’ve got a choice, but it isn’t much of one.”
Tara chewed her lip. “I trust you, Kim, and that’s a compliment from me. But I’ve got to think that this is too risky, even for us. There’s a whole lot of stuff in there that everyone wants, and the security they must have to compensate for that...” She trailed off, letting the point hang in the silence between them.
Tell me, dear reader! Do you keep inspiring images close at hand too?
Monday, March 17, 2014
Me, Myself and Hi
Isn't my title clever? I thought so.
Her demon is named Sock, and he inhabits her soul and gives decent advice in crises. He doesn't like her to call it "possession", because he thinks that sounds crude. He prefers the term "alternative habitation".
what finch does
Collects pretty words and fridge magnets. Philosophizes. Drinks tea and coffee. Travels. Listens to Pandora. Plots her universal coup. Jokes around. Writes and reads. Browses Pinterest. Watches Doctor Who and Cosmos and Star Trek. Messes about with a guitar. Corrects people's spelling and grammar. Reviews books in epistolary fashion. Eats things that aren't animals. Rants. Sings in the shower. Performs theater. Hugs and pets books with attractive covers. Trips over her tongue.
Finch, who also likes talking in third person, hopes her blog amuses and edifies you, dear reader! Now, on through the wardrobe. Or into the TARDIS. Whichever you prefer.
finch's name
She appreciates finches, hence the pseudonym Finch. Her birth name is classified information, but what she will tell you is that her last name is German, means something like "hunter of vicious little piles of stones surrounding pine trees", and has several different difficult pronunciations.who finch is
She has four personas. Well, three personas and a demon. She's either Spock, Romana, or Smeagol. That's to say, she can be factual and emotionless, ridiculously clever and creative, or possessive and bad-tempered. There is no in-between.Her demon is named Sock, and he inhabits her soul and gives decent advice in crises. He doesn't like her to call it "possession", because he thinks that sounds crude. He prefers the term "alternative habitation".
what finch does
Collects pretty words and fridge magnets. Philosophizes. Drinks tea and coffee. Travels. Listens to Pandora. Plots her universal coup. Jokes around. Writes and reads. Browses Pinterest. Watches Doctor Who and Cosmos and Star Trek. Messes about with a guitar. Corrects people's spelling and grammar. Reviews books in epistolary fashion. Eats things that aren't animals. Rants. Sings in the shower. Performs theater. Hugs and pets books with attractive covers. Trips over her tongue.
Finch, who also likes talking in third person, hopes her blog amuses and edifies you, dear reader! Now, on through the wardrobe. Or into the TARDIS. Whichever you prefer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)