Merry Wanderer of the Night [Search results for story] 

I have more mini-reviews today, because these both also fall under the category of wanted to/should have loved these books, But.

First is May B. by Caroline Starr Rose. This is a book that I really should have loved. It's written in verse, which I'm pretty sure most people know how much I absolutely adore. It's historical fiction — life on the prairie — which I've been totally fascinated with for as long as I can remember. And it's a survival story taking place in the midst of a crazy, nasty blizzard. Oh ya, and, the importance of reading and language plays a large part in the growth of the main character. Umm, yes please.

I was in love with the idea of a historical fiction story being told in verse. I feel like non-Contemporary verse novels are rather rare, so I was really excited for this one. But for some reason, the execution was really lacking for me. May is sent by her parents to live/work with a newlywed couple because her family needs the money her servitude will bring. But shortly after May gets there, the wife (who is from the city and really struggling with the vast prairie life) decides she is going to leave, and the Mr. goes after her. He's only supposed to be gone for a day, but he never comes home. May is left completely alone as winter approaches and she has no idea how to get home.

That is enough for a compelling story. But there were other things added to the story that I assume were meant to give depth to the story and to May's character, but instead just felt underdeveloped and tacked on to say — Look!! Character growth! May should have been a strong character, but I never really believed that she was, I only ever believed that I was supposed to think she was. I just never felt a true sense of connection with May and honestly thought the inclusion of May's struggles to read were overdone and unnecessary, constantly pulling me out of the story and severing whatever connection had started to form. I don't know why that was. Reading is (obviously) a big deal to me, but it never felt natural or necessary. It always felt to me like a plot device, and a poorly disguised one at that. This is actually a story I think might have worked better in traditional prose (although it pains me to say this) and although, overall, I did enjoy the story well enough, it's not a book I'll be recommending much, although if you are already interested, I suggest you give it a try anyway. I will definitely try the author again, and I think this is a book worth giving a chance, even if it didn't quite click for me.

On a completely different note, I have always been completely fascinated by true crime stories, and serial killers and other morbidly interesting stuff. So when I saw Green River Killer: A True Detective Story by Jeff Jensen on Netgalley, I was like — Yes! Win! The Green River Killer was a big deal for a lot of years, killing a tragically large number of women and eluding the police for a very long time. And, because I really am morbid, I was excited to read a story written by the lead detective's son and told as a graphic novel.

Unfortunately, the idea behind the book was the most interesting part of it. I found myself very disappointed in the actual contents of the book. The story had a very strange chronology that didn't flow well and it made it really hard to be interested in the story. There were random and unexplained jumps in time and setting that were never explained and it made the story really awkward to read.

And, the illustrations, while well drawn, weren't very distinct, and I'll admit that there were times I wasn't sure who was actually depicted. They all kinda just looked the same to me.

I feel like this is a story that could have been amazing. As the son of the lead detective on such a high profile case, you would have a lot of different information and a different view of the case than most people, and I feel like there could be a lot of really solid material for a book. Unfortunately, this one just didn't work for me and I ended up spending a good 85% of the book bored and wishing it were over.

*Disclaimer: Both of these books were electronic ARCs received via Netgalley.

So, I'm going to break one of my personal review rules/no-nos/pet peeves here for Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier and I'm going to compare it to another book. (Gasp, I know... Also, insert appropriate apology here). The story itself is pretty unique and charming, but I was reminded from the very beginning of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. The stories are not anything alike, but the writing felt very similar to me. It's told in that same third party narrative where the narrator will interject at times with 'clarifications' and comments. And it also had that same impossibility of character (like the baby biting through steel in ASoUE).

And I don't like it.

I did not enjoy the SoUE. I read most of the books and finally gave up because the story just wasn't enough to get me over my dislike of the narration and other... things. But I will say that although the narration was, at times, quite jarring to me, overall, I actually really enjoyed this book.

Once I got past the beginning, where the infant is left to fend for itself by the town elders and survives, I found myself really drawn into the happenings of the story. But it was a struggle and initially, I was really disappointed in the story, because I need my fantasy to be believable and realistic, which means I need to believe in my characters. Once Peter has gotten past his unbelievable childhood, the story really picks up for me. I found that I really liked Peter and I wanted so badly for him to succeed. There was so much at stake for him, and he had so little happiness in his young life that I so wanted things to work well for him.

The story was quite charming, and again, once past the beginning, this unknown/unseen narrator really does keep his comments and opinions to a minimum, allowing me to get farther into the story. I loved watching Peter learn about his surroundings, learn about himself and realize that he can teach and help others. He worries that his past as a thief makes him unworthy and he often sometimes confidence in himself, which is not surprising considering he's spent the last several years being told he's practically worthless. But Peter is strong and he is made of greater things than he knows, and there is much he needs to do in order to complete the quest given him by the mysterious professor.

His traveling companion, Sir Tode was also a rather enjoyable character. The victim of a Hag's curse (one that I think you definitely need to discover on your own) Sir Tode is an unlikely companion, but is really willing to be there for Peter, to be his eyes and his friend.

I'm so glad that I stuck with this book, that I didn't allow myself to get too discouraged when I started the book. It's a beautifully charming story, even with the narration being what it is. Peter is strong and brave, and although not perfect (for reasons I won't specify to avoid spoilers) Peter's struggles with being blind are raw and real. Peter understands that his skills as a thief are only what they are because of his blindness. He can hear and smell better, and his fingers are far more sensitive. He recognizes this. He knows these things. But he still longs for the ability to see. But he also doesn't dwell on it. It's one of those things, it is what it is, and he makes the best of what he has. I love little Peter.

The fantastic eyes were also such an enjoyable part of the story. I wasn't sure going into it, but after reading, I can (fairly confidently) say that this is a stand alone story. I had originally thought that perhaps it would be a trilogy, with one book dedicated, primarily, to one set of eyes, but I am happy to say that this story stands alone. All three eyes are used (and umm, pretty brilliant, if I may say so!) and the story resolves itself completely, in that way of all middle grade (ok, most MG).

I think this is a charming and delightful book, and I think it's one that will be enjoyed by many, many people. If you are a fan of Lemony Snicket's writing style, I think you will just love this one. And if you are not, give it a try anyway. It just might surprise you.

Oh! Also — I loved the small illustrations that started each chapter. They were fabulous additions to the story and they made me all happy inside.:)

*Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt is one of the most unique and beautiful stories I have ever read. While not a direct fairy tale retelling, falling more into the category of fairy tale-esque, the book reads like a fairy tale, and elements from different tales and lore find their way into Keturah's story.

Keturah is the storyteller in her small village. She tells tales around the common fire each night, enthralling the townsfolk. There is a hart that haunts the forests around the town, a hart which the Lord of the realm, a renowned hunter himself, has long hunted, but never captured. This hart often finds its way into Keturah's tales, and it is ultimately what leads Keturah into trouble. She sees the hart watching her from the woods one evening and decides to follow it, just a little ways into the wood. As is often in the case with seemingly enchanted harts, Keturah finds herself following the hart deeper and deeper into the wood, unable to stop. When she finally regains her senses, she realizes that she is hopelessly lost in the forest.

After three days of being lost in the woods, Keturah is out of strength, and knows she is going to die. Sure enough, Death comes for her. She is surprised by him, because he appears as a handsome and aloof Lord, and he tells her it is time to go. She begs and pleads for her life, and those of us near death are wont to do, and Death takes pity on the beautiful young girl. He tells Keturah that she may live if she chooses one other from her village to die in her place. But Keturah loves all the people in her village and cannot allow them to die, not even if it means that she might live.

Instead, she asks Death if she might tell him a story. He agrees and she tells him a beautiful and magical story, about life and love, one that sounds familiar, but incomplete. When he demands the ending from Keturah, she refuses to tell it, unless he allows her to live. And so, she makes a deal with Death, returning to her village for three days on a mission to find her true love. If she can find her love in three days, Death will allow her to live. And if not, she must go with him to die.

This is one of my very favorite stories. I love the air of magic within the story, even though there is no magic beyond the meetings with Lord Death. I first read this book a few years ago, and fell completely in love with the characters. Keturah is reckless, fierce, and loyal. Her two best friends are filled with goodness and love. John, the Lord's son is another fascinating character, and you watch him as he desires to fit in among the people and learn to rule them well now that he might be a wise and just ruler when his father rules no more. Even Lord Death is a fascinating character. He is the most powerful force and he knows it. Nothing can stop death, everything must eventually fall to him and yet Keturah tries to defy him. She begs and pleads and offers her stories in exchange for mercy, for life and for time.

I knew that I wanted Keturah and her story to be a part of fairy tale fortnight, because it is simply beautiful and everyone should have a chance to read it. So I decided to reread it before the event, to make sure I did the story justice in my review, and the first thought that came to mine was to Sigh and think, Oh, how I've missed you. This is a story that feels like coming home. It is a tale that perfectly fills those wanting places inside when searching for those magical tales, and it is a story that will never leave you. I think about this book all the time, and I recommend it regularly.

The writing is effortless and vivid. It begins with a prologue that sets the story up with a fairy tale feel, right from the beginning, giving you everything but that actual 'once upon a time' and when the story itself starts, you are already enchanted by her words. You are in Keturah's world, you are living in that village, watching, waiting with bated breath to discover what the future holds for Keturah. Everything feels so very real and you can feel Keturah's pain and panic as her agreement with deal draws to an end and she knows she must soon complete her task or go to her death. She is fighting death for everything she loves or may come to love and it's not always an easy struggle to watch.

This is a story of love, of hope and of almost magic, the kind of magic that we can almost find if we search for it long enough. It is a story of understanding, of personal redemption and finding happiness with what you have. The risks Keturah takes for those she loves are huge and you love her all the more for what she is willing to risk to protect others.

Contemporary has always been my favorite genre and although there are lots of different directions a Contemporary story can take, the two that come to my mind most often are the tough issues (which I prefer) and romance. I'm going to admit right now that I've been a bit... prejudiced against the romantic fiction my whole life. I've never been terribly interested in reading a story where the only thing that really happens is a love story and the challenges thrown up to thwart them so we can all cheer and be happy when they get past them.

Don't get me wrong, I like a love interest as much as the next girl, but I like it to be a part of the story, not the story. And for a long time, I just didn't read anything if it seemed like the main (or only real) plotline was a romance. But after I started blogging, and I got to talking to more and more people, reading more and more reviews, I started thinking that maybe I should give them more of a chance. I mean, I hadn't even wanted to read a Sarah Dessen book, because I wrote it off as romantic fluff.

So I did. And it's still not my favorite book to read, but I admit to liking them a lot more than I thought I would. Books like this are just a lot of fluffy fun. And, I've discovered that some of them are super enjoyable and just tons and tons of fun, even if they are a bit fluffier than my normal read. And, I've been surprised more than once by a book I thought was nothing but fluff having a lot of hidden depth and emotional reality to it.

I so most definitely still prefer the romance in my books to be a part of the story. Books like Jellicoe Road don't rely on the romance, but its inclusion enriches the story and the characters. Or The Piper's Son, also by Melina Marchetta. The love interest in this book is more the remembrance of a girl he loved in his past, before his life went to hell and he needs to get his life together before he can turn around and pursue her again, or he'll just end up hurting her all over again. That is the way I prefer my romance. As something the enhances the story, encourages growth between characters but isn't the focal point of the story. I prefer books where the romance could be taken out of the story and the plot itself would still essentially be whole. Obviously, the romance is important, because there are things that other people can teach us that we simply cannot learn on our own. But when the story completely and totally falls apart at the removal of the romance, I do find that I have to try harder to maintain my interest.

But through recommendations from other bloggers and giving myself a chance to read outside my comfort zone, I've discovered that these romances that I had previously written off as little more than the literary equivalent to cotton candy are often full of a surprising amount of depth.
Contemporary Romance is never going to be my favorite genre. But after reading books by authors like Sarah Dessen, Elizabeth Scott and Stephanie Perkins, I'm no longer so quick to brush it aside and I actually look forward to reading even more.
So if you have some Contemporary Romance recommendations for me, let me know! This subgenre isn't an easy sell for me, but I'm trying to branch out more and one can never have too many recommendations.

Copyright by Volt | Photography Sarah Pantadisi | Styling Nova Dando | Model Harmony Boucher at Models One
VOLT MAGAZINE

VIA Harmony Story

Help me welcome Susan Niz to the blog today, author of Kara, Lost, a story about a 16 year old who runs away from home. Susan was kind enough to stop by and answer some questions about herself and about her new novel.

Why do you write?

I believe that I was born to write. I notice details and I like to imagine people’s stories, which I think has to do with a fascination with analyzing emotions, reactions, and relationships. Also, I’ve been through so many crazy things that I could keep writing forever. And because my life is stable now, allowing me the opportunity to write.

Have you always wanted to be a writer? If you couldn't write, what would be your 'dream job'?

I have always wanted to be a writer. When I was three or four, I would staple together any kind of scrap paper, scribble a title on the cover, and imagine that it was my own book that I had written. I became a teacher and taught for many years. I found many aspects of teaching to be very fulfilling; teachers can really make a difference for kids.

I would like to be a baker, a musician, an artist, a textile weaver, or design educational children’s toys. I don’t necessarily have the skills for most of those jobs. Ideally, I would get paid to do something where I could collaborate creatively with other people.

The story in Kara, Lost is not a light-hearted book, and Kara's journey sounds like a truly painful one. Why this story? Why did you need to share this story with the world?

I ran away from home when I was sixteen and was homeless for a few months. Kara’s story is fiction, but I told my story through Kara’s voice. I felt driven to get the story out of me, to try to make some sense of it, to share it with other people, and to put it out in the world so that it wasn’t just living in a shameful place inside me. I feel liberated by the process, but it wasn’t clean or easy. Writing my story as fiction allowed me to explore motivations, causes and effects, and emotions in a way that was a little less personal and not tied to ideas of blame.

What does it feel like, knowing that your book is now in print and soon to be read by people all over? Do you ever just stop and think, Wow! I'm a writer?!

Yes, I do sometimes think, “I actually did it.” It’s a process of finding my voice as a published author and enjoying the sense of accomplishment that comes along with sharing my book with others.

What is the hardest part of writing for you? The easiest? Most rewarding?

If someone wants to write a book, they should now that it takes a lot of hard work. The most difficult part was just the consistent effort and commitment of time and focus that it took. The easiest part was the drive to tell the story and the actual story ideas. The most rewarding part is knowing that I followed through with my dream. Now I can ask myself, “What is my next dream? What is my next story?”

If you could share anything with your readers, tell us any one thing, what would it be?

Know your worth and don’t let others keep you down. Be strong. Keep going and find a positive path in life.

Thank you so much for stopping by Susan! It's great to hear more about the motivation behind your book!

The Sweetest Spell by Suzanne Selfors is a book that I hadn't even heard of until Misty and her magic fairy tale fortnight fingers managed to get a copy sent to my house. I read the synopsis and thought it sounded super... weird (escaped death because of a cow?! Churns milk into chocolate?! Chocolate conquers all?!) but then, I noticed at the very top, where it says "re-telling of The Ugly Duckling" and I was like, Oh! WIN!

This is quite a charming little book and I was actually quite impressed with much of the writing and the imagery and the feel of the story. It didn't quite have that magical something that makes you feel a fairy tale, but it was close and I found myself enjoying the story immensely.

Without giving too much away for fear of spoilers, I will say that the villian and the climax of this book were a disappointment to me. I don't think we need a detailed back story from our bad guy to make us understand why/how they are in a fairy tale retelling. But they do need a motive. Even if that motive is just — I'm evil and I know it... But in this book, I never really got the motive. I mean, I understood the superficial motive, but it didn't really... fit right to me. (It's really hard to explain this without just spoiling everything.)

There were a also few moments that felt rushed and a few characters that seemed to change halfway through, like the Peddler. Some of him I understood, but I felt like the author tried too hard to allow him to make an about face that wasn't really there. (You don't grin maniacally when you stab someone if you are really just a good person at heart...)

But other than wishing for a bit more character development in certain places and a slightly more sensical ending, this was definitely a book I enjoyed reading. Once I started reading, something about the writing was compelling enough to make me want to keep turning pages. There was never that insane rush to get to the end of the story because the action is so intense you just have to have to have to know what's going to happen next. Instead, it was just a gentle pull that kept me turning the pages, reading along. Which, considering how important cows are to this story and the way that cows move, feels like the absolute perfect pacing for this story.

I thought that most of the interactions involving Emmaline were done very well. The author really shows how deep rooted and damaging prejudices are and Emmaline has to face a lot of them, from the people in her village who scorned her, to the people in the rest of the kingdom who despise her and her people, to those so overcome with greed they see nothing of her except her magical ability to create chocolate, the thing they desire and crave more than any other. She is a strong character, one determined to remain true to herself no matter what happens and no matter what she's up against. And I loved watching her sense of self and purpose grow.

The story itself is full of the usual fairy tale fare — a damsel in distress, a quest, crimes again the King/Queen, lies, betrayal, false reports, true love, and etc. but Selfors always managed to infuse her own spin and her own touch to every part of the story. The basic fairy tale predictability was there, but nothing about this story felt like I was reading the same old thing. The fairy tale was buried underneath an original story and I truly enjoyed it. Is it the best book I've ever read? No. But it's definitely one I enjoyed and definitely one that's going to need to sit it beautiful hardcover on my fairy tale shelf.

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The Mermaid's Mirror by L. K. Madigan is the story of Lena, a 16 year old who feels the call of the sea. She been through a lot of changes in the last year or so, changes that come from growing up. Her best friend, Kai, has grown into something more, and she's trying to navigate the boyfriend-girlfriend thing without alienating their other best friend, Pem. She's also desperate to begin surfing, but because of a horrific accident when Lena was young, her father refuses not only to return to the water himself, but also refuses to let Lena learn to surf. But the sea is calling to Lena, stronger than ever and she finds herself unable to resist its call.

And then she sees the mermaid. After that, nothing will ever be the same.

Although not a direct retelling of The Little Mermaid, The Mermaid's Mirror definitely contains elements that feel very like a fairy tale and the story moves in much the same rhythm and pattern as a retelling. There are mysteries to uncover, secrets to keep, and unbelievable challenges to face.

Lena is fairly close to her family. Her mother died when she was young and her father remarried when she was nine. This is the mother she remembers and they have a relationship that is closer than many biological families share. She doesn't always understand her father or the decisions he makes, but she loves him and they too are close, although that relationship gets a little strained as she realizes just how many secrets are really being kept. But it is with her half-brother, Cole, that Lena has the strongest relationship. About ten years younger than Lena, he worships her in that special way reserved only for young children. And she is a wonderful older sister, doing what she can to make sure Cole always feels loved and welcome by her.

Her relationship with her friends was also handled very well. Lena is still a little unsure about what it really means to be Kai's girlfriend and you can tell that he is more into her and their relationship than she is. She cares about him, but you can kind of tell that something is missing. But the three of them, Lena, Kai and Pem are close and it is obvious that they all truly care about one another.

As Lena searches for truths about the mermaid in the water and the mother she never really knew, she begins to unravel the secrets that her father was not ready for her to learn. When she finally gets the full story, she is left with an unimaginably tough choice. She is taken, by the mermaid in the waves, to live beneath the surface, in the village of the merfolk. Wrapped in the enchanted seal cloak, she is able to breath the water and survive in the water. Below the surface, she learns about different kinds of love and her whole world is opened up to new possibilities. Her thoughts of her previous life are murky and seem to drift away almost as soon as she has them. It is eventually that strong connection to her family, specifically Cole that will eventually force her to make a choice between the world she has always known, or the world she is just discovering.

I think that the real strength of Madigan's writing with this story is her characters. They are so complex, so developed and so real that I cannot help but feel drawn to them. I feel Lena's pain and her confusion. The anguish of her father is palpable when he realizes his daughter is lost to him. Although the story was delightful and the writing well crafted and beautiful, it was the characters that truly made this story. They are what carry it, what the story rests its weight upon.

I was thrilled with how much I enjoyed this book. Madigan does not take the easy way out here. She does not give you a pretty package to wrap your story in and make the world perfect. But she does give you a real story, one that is beautifully told and one that will linger with me for a while. I imagine that this is a tale that will make sudden appearances in my mind, reminding me of the enchanting world beneath the waves and the bittersweet relationships all tied together by Lena. It was much different than I had expected, but it is, nonetheless, a story that I truly enjoyed and one I imagine I will be reading again in the future.

Bonnie from A Backwards Story is with us again today, bringing us another fantastic interview — this time with Carolyn Turgeon!

Carolyn Turgeon is the author of three novels, Rain Village, Godmother, and Mermaid. Her next novel, The Next Full Moon, is scheduled to come out in August/September 2011. Based on Te Swan Maiden, this will be Turgeon’s debut novel for young readers. Her novels tend to be twisted versions of fairy tales you’ve never seen before, such as The Little Mermaid from the princess’ perspective in addition to the mermaid’s or a version of Cinderella where the godmother is banished from the fairy realm when something goes horribly wrong... For a review of Turgeon’s work, please visit the above links. Reviews of her other titles will come to A Backwards Story later this year. Godmother and Mermaid are also featured in a FTF guest post titled FRACTURED FAIRY TALES.

1) What were your favorite fairy tales growing up? What drew you to them?
I can recall loving all kinds of stories, such as Thumbelina and The Princess and the Pea, with all their strange and wonderful images—the tiny girl floating along in an acorn, the princess with her stack of mattresses. I think my favorite fairy tales were by Oscar Wilde: The Happy Prince, The Nightingale and the Rose… but my favorite was The Selfish Giant. It’s very sad and strange and beautiful—the ghostly little boy, the lush garden, the endless snow and frost, the giant who gets struck down, covered in white blossoms… I’ve always tended to like stories that are very sad.

2) What made you decide to write alternative versions of fairytales from unique perspectives?
I didn’t really start out intending to write alternative versions of fairy tales. When I started Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story, I just wanted to tell the Cinderella story straight, with lots of wonderful, lush detail and full, fleshed-out characters and all kinds of weirdness and darkness, etc. That’s what I love about fairytales, by the way—that strange combination of beauty and darkness you find in all of them. After my first book, Rain Village, which took forever to write, I wanted to do something that I thought would be a lot of fun, something that I would really love writing. I only decided to tell the story through the perspective of the fairy godmother when I realized how limited Cinderella’s perspective was—back then I only ever wrote in first person—so I figured that if the fairy godmother was narrating she could be pretty omniscient, tell you what was going on with Cinderella and the other characters. Plus, she could tell you her own story, too, which I thought might be interesting. Later, I decided to set the book in contemporary New York City and only have the godmother remembering everything that had happened in the other world. The book is set half in New York and half in the fairy tale world (in flashbacks). I only decided to do that after joining a writing workshop and seeing that the people in the workshop didn’t seem to be responding to the straight-out fairy tale I was writing. I wanted to win them over and I thought maybe I could lure them in with a present-day story set in the city, win them over that way, and then plunge them into the fairy tale.
So the book only slowly evolved into this alternative version. Once I put the fairy tale in via flashbacks, I knew something had to have gone terribly wrong. Why else would the fairy godmother be an old woman in New York?
After writing the book, though, I felt there was something really powerful in taking a story as well known as Cinderella, a story that’s in our blood and bones, and telling the “real” story from a perspective you never think or care about.

3) Can you tell us more about your upcoming book, The Next Full Moon?
The Next Full Moon is my first children’s book, a middle-grade novel about a 12-year-old girl who’s being raised alone by her father in Pennsylvania and who starts growing feathers, which is totally mortifying and confusing for her of course. She then comes to discover that her mother, whom she thought died when she was an infant, was (and is) a swan maiden. The story’s based on the old tales in which a man steals a swan maiden’s feathered robe when she’s in her human form, takes her home, marries her and has children with her. One day she discovers the robe and flies away—there are various reasons for this, depending on the version you read. I wondered: what happens when those kids she leaves behind hit puberty? In my book, the man and woman had only one child, and now here’s the kid ten years later with feathers appearing on her arms and back, having no idea that her mother is still alive and, of course, no idea that she’s a swan maiden.
I like the idea of a 12-year-old girl, full of shame and embarrassment, slowly discovering that she’s magical and amazing.

4) What other ideas are you working on right now?
Well, I’m working on a few things right now. Because of Mermaid, I started this blog, I Am a Mermaid, where I talk to all kinds of people about mermaids. I’ve realized that there’s this whole mermaid culture out there that’s really fascinating and lovely. So I’m writing my first non-fiction (but still quite fantastical!) book. And I’m working on a new novel that has to do with Weeki Wachee and a YA novel about a drowning pool, and I have this half-done thriller that I hope to finish this year…

5) Was it hard coming up with your own lore when you began world-building? How did you bring everything together?
It was challenging for me to write about magical worlds, I think, in that I was afraid of making them too Disney-ish or corny. So with Godmother, at first I was very vague when talking about the fairy world; in fact in the first draft, the flashbacks start with the godmother meeting Cinderella and we don’t really see her in her own world at all. It was only after the book sold that my editors pushed me to make the fairy world more defined and vivid, to explain the rules of that world and the landscape of it and so on. So I added in the first couple of flashback chapters that are in the book now, and they were probably the hardest chapters for me to write, even though they’re probably the lightest ones in the whole book.
With Mermaid, I mainly had to explain the rules we see in the original Hans Christian Andersen story… like why the mermaids can only visit the human world once, on their birthdays, and so on. It was more like putting together a puzzle than anything else, trying to create the worlds in that book and make them adhere to specific points from the original story.

6) Which of the books you've written is your favorite so far? What makes it the most special to you?
Hmmm. I think that would always tend to be the latest one. Right now I’m very excited about The Next Full Moon and writing for this younger age group. I found it surprisingly easy to write as a twelve-year-old, which is possibly a little worrisome, and was able to draw on my own memories and experiences more than I have for any other book. Like the characters all go to the lake in their town, where there’s an old carousel and people sell lemonade and they can all go swimming or lie out on the beach. And I was just directly describing the lake my friends and I used to go to in East Lansing, Michigan, where I lived from when I was twelve to fourteen, and I hadn’t thought about that lake in years. We moved around a lot when I was growing up, and so I’m really distanced from some of those memories and places. It was kind of nostalgic and wonderful, writing that book and slipping into those memories and this old self. Also, I have to say, I think the trauma and awkwardness of being twelve mixes really well with the fairy tale elements in the book, and I like the idea that something magical is happening to you as you hit puberty and you just have to figure that out.

7) What are some of your favorite fairy tale inspired novels and/or authors?
I love Angela Carter and her weird, gorgeous visions. I love Alice Hoffman, Francesca Lia Block, Joanne Harris, Isabel Allende, Jeanette Winterson, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Italo Calvino... They’re not all fairy tale writers and I don’t know to what extent they’ve all been inspired by fairy tales, but they all write in that vein I think, lush and magical. I really enjoyed Erzebet Yellowboy’s Sleeping Helena. And I also, by the way, really loved the way the Pied Piper story is used in the movie The Sweet Hereafter. It’s pretty brilliant.

8) If you could live out any fairy tale, what would it be and why?
Oh, I think maybe Thumbelina. I mean, who wouldn’t want to ride around in an acorn? For the most part, I think fairy tales are not the stories I would like to live out. Though I wouldn’t mind being the little mermaid for a day, before she goes and sees the sea witch and ruins her life…

9) What's your favorite Disney rendition of a fairy tale? What makes it so special?
I’m going to have to defer to my childhood self, who loved all those movies quite passionately. As an adult, I could barely even get through The Little Mermaid, which I was totally swept away by as a teenager. Probably my favorite, though, is Snow White. The old versions of that tale are really very shockingly weird and violent, and even the Disney version is incredibly creepy, with our semi-dead heroine lying gorgeously in a glass coffin in the forest and our hot prince having a thing for dead chicks.

FUN AND CRAZY ROUND!

~Best fairy tale villain and why?
Oh, the stepmother from Snow White. She’s a gorgeous witch with a magic mirror who has her stepdaughter murdered in the forest and then eats her heart (or lungs or what have you). Even though she’s betrayed by her huntsman and actually eats a stag’s heart, she believes she’s eating Snow White’s. It’s hard to think of a more perverse female villain! And I love the image of her skulking through the forest with her cloak and her basket full of poisoned apples.

~Rapunzel is named after lettuce; what odd thing would you be named after if you were in a fairy tale?
Oh, I love Rapunzel and the lettuce that is so delicious and addictive that Rapunzel’s mother craves it above all else and even makes her husband climb into a witch’s garden to get more for her. I mean, who pines for lettuce? Now I totally want some lettuce, now that I’m thinking about it...
I’d like to be something equally un-chocolate-y, if you know what I mean, some other pedestrian, unsexy vegetable with hidden powers of seduction. Like a rutabaga or a turnip. Turnip is kind of a cute word, not too far off from the delightful “tulip.” I’d like some fairytale character to be sitting in a room wasting away from a mad desire for turnips.

~ Using that name, give us a line from your life as a fairy tale:
She stared out the window at the impossibly lush turnips growing outside just beyond reach, their leaves shooting into the air like hands, their bodies dense and purple, as round as breasts. Her mouth watered as she watched the turnip leaves undulating in the breeze. As if they were bellydancing, she thought.

Meanwhile, Turnip was enjoying a large slice of chocolate cake at Jean Georges.

~Would you rather:

- — eat magic beans or golden eggs? Golden eggs. Don’t those sound delectable? A magic bean is just wrong.

- — style 50ft long hair or polish 100 pairs of glass slippers? I think polishing the glass slippers would be much more manageable. And I love things made out of glass, especially slippers and dresses. Are you aware of Karen LaMonte’s glass dresses? Look:

- — have a fairy godmother or a Prince Charming? Oh, a fairy godmother. Who wouldn’t want an endless supply of dresses and carriages? And let’s face it: Prince Charming isn’t all he’s cracked up to be.
Come to think of it, though… if we’re talking about the fairy godmother from my own book, then I’d really have to go for the hot prince, or even one of the coachman or mice. Anyone but the godmother, please!

-----------------------------------------
Okay, okay, here’s the part you’re all waiting for: The giveaway! Carolyn has generously agreed to give away three—yes, THREE—autographed copies of Mermaid as well as some fun mermaid tattoos! You know you want to win this contest and read this fantastic book.

To enter,. In addition, please leave a comment answering this question: What would you do if you could be a mermaid for a day? Also, what would you be willing to sacrifice in order to become a mermaid?

Entries must be received by MAY 5th. May 8th This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL!
Good luck and I can’t wait to see your responses!

PS from Misty: I love this picture! ----->

The Kid by Sapphire is a novel I really should have liked. I read and reviewed Push on the blog last year (click to read my review) and while I can't say that I loved the book, I definitely understood the point and was left with an overall feeling of purpose. The Kid, however, did not leave me feeling any of that. I am not going to give this an official review, since I didn't actually finish reading it, but I am going to leave you with my thoughts and explain why this was a book I found myself unable to complete.

Note — this review is going to contain spoilers for the first half of the book. I really struggle with not finishing books. I read quickly so it's usually not a big deal to push through a book I'm not loving. So for me to have really put this one down, I feel like I owe a thorough explanation. You have been warned.

The thing is, I tried. Really I did. I had every intention of finishing the book, even after I realized I wasn't enjoying it. In all honesty, if this hadn't been a review book I probably would have made the DNF decision somewhere between pages 5 and 50. I knew that early that this wasn't going to be a book I'd enjoy. But, because this is a review book and I felt terrible not finishing I ended up making it to page 207 before finally admitting defeat and admitting that I just... wasn't going to be able to do it. I intend to identify the scene that finally pushed me over the edge, but I want to talk a little more about the book before I do that.

One of my main complaints in my review of Push is what I felt to be an extreme level of graphic content. I said, "Although it is important for the direction of the story that we understand Precious has been abused both sexually and emotionally, I did not then, and do not now feel that the level of description was necessary. Some of the specific details the author included seemed in place merely for the shock and horror value." That feeling is amplified in The Kid. Extremely amplified. I honestly feel like Sapphire sat down and asked herself about all the hard, rough, graphic and extreme stuff she could possibly add to a story like this and then added it into the story. -Just add graphic rape, stir in a bit of cussing and VIOLA! Instant edge.

The story is told by Abdul (also called J.J.), Precious's son. And the narrative is incredibly difficult to follow. I don't know if that's because Sapphire is female and unsure how to write an authentic young boy character (something I strongly suspect...) or where it is merely her writing style. But I felt such a strong detachment and disconnect from the story I found myself completely unable to care about the story or Abdul. Even in the very beginning of the story, before we realize that Abdul is going to pass along the abuse he receives while in the system, I didn't care about him. And for serious — Who can't care about a nine year old boy?! Abdul has all these strange and very violent thoughts, where he screams in his mind things like Crazy Ass Roach Bitch and F*cking Bitch and on and on. And I wasn't always sure if he's only thinking these things or when they actually cross over into actual speech or actions. This is especially noticeable in the 13 year old section, but is also present in the beginning, when he's only nine. So, the story starts the day of him mother's funeral and Abdul is sent into the system. A boy in his first foster home rapes and severely beats him, landing him in the hospital for 3 weeks. They then decide to send him to a Catholic orphanage where two of the priests rape him on a regular basis. So, J.J. decides to return the favor and he rapes other boys in the orphanage. After being kicked out of the orphanage, for reasons that are a bit sketchy (unreliable narrator and as mentioned before, very awkward and detached narration) Abdul/J.J. is sent to live with the great-grandmother who should have been taking care of him for the last 4 years. But the priest at the orphanage decided he liked Abdul and wanted to keep him close. (barf)

This is where I finally accepted that this book wasn't for me, that I was going to have to call it quits on the story because I just couldn't stomach it or believe it anymore. I finally gave it up after listening to page after page after page after page of his great-grandmother describing, in graphic detail to a 13 year old boy how she had been raped at the age of ten, gave birth to his grandmother, ran away from home and ended up living and working in a whore house. Graphic detail. To a 13 year old. I was disturbed but still pushing through... And then — In the middle of this disturbing and inappropriate story from great-grandma, Abdul decides he is going to teach her a lesson, he decides he's going to really 'show' her. So he pulls his pants off and proceeds to masturbate to the point of orgasm while g-gma is still talking. He's 13 and he thinks that jacking off in front of his grandma is a good idea... Really? Really?! SERIOUSLY?!

I read a few pages past this but just couldn't do it anymore. I get that he's had a crappy life. Really, I do. I get that his life experiences are so far from mine that I can't possibly understand what he's gone through or what he feels. But I also felt that Sapphire failed her job as a writer, because she didn't write the book in a way that allowed me to understand or sympathize with Abdul. I was never able to understand his thoughts, his motives, anything. And I never cared to either.

Normally, in a book like this, I can find something good to say about the story. And I tried, really I did. I don't mind telling you what I don't like about a book, but I really like having something positive to say about the book as well. But, I have nothing. I was unable to find a single redeeming quality. I can't even say that the author's motives were pure or acceptable, because I can't figure out what they were.

And, I'm worried that given the nature of the book, given the subject matter this tries to tackle that people are going to be hesitant to say anything bad about it. I can see it. And I know that there are some people out there who will genuinely like this book. I get that. I know that not every book is for every reader. But I also believe that this book is going to be getting more praise than it deserves because no one wants to say something bad about a book like this. But you know what, there are great books out there that handle the topic of abuse. Great writers that manage to give credibility to their characters, their situations and their reactions, whether positive or not. In my opinion, Sapphire is not one of them.

Maybe some of you will be interested in this book. Maybe you will be better able to make sense of the jumbled and confused mess that is Abdul's narration. If so, I'd love to hear from you, love to hear what you think. But for the most part, this is not a book I would ever recommend.

*Disclaimer: A copy of this book was made available to me through TLC Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A couple of week ago Ron stopped by to talk to us about what makes a good graphic novel. It seems like a lot of you out there agreed with Ron's thoughts and some of you were looking for a good place to start with graphic novels. Ron compiled a great list of some of his all time favorites. I've read about half of these and I can vouch to their greatness!

Boiling the medium down to just a few recommendations is…impossible, but I’ll do my best to provide an interesting and diverse list. Even so, superhero comics will comprise a healthy portion of the list because they are so integral to the medium. I’ll also try to mix ongoing series with singular, one-shot works. Away we go—

Watchmen/The Dark Knight Returns

These two works are closely linked despite being vastly different when it comes to content. Watchmen is the arch-comic, the comic of comics, not only because of its brilliance, but it’s also a comic about comics. This is something the movie didn’t adequately capture. Writer Alan Moore spins a “Golden Age” story out of control, warping it into a self-reflexive mirror to the superhero genre, and artist Dave Gibbons subverts classical style, yet doesn’t seem like a carbon copy of it. This is a perfect comic.

In The Dark Knight Returns, Writer/Artist Frank Miller redeems a laughable Batman by infusing him with eighties pop-culture sensibility. The story sees Bruce Wayne as an old man, forced to once again become Batman in order to stop a brutal crime wave in Gotham City. The work, while whitewashed in eighties action movie veneer (Miller’s Wayne owes more to Clint Eastwood than Adam West), also explores the enduring nature of the character and his relationship to other heroes in the DC universe. It’s a rip-roaring read, but it’s also Miller at his cleverest—there’s a density to the work that he rarely has been able to recapture.

(Further reading: [Moore] The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen I & II; From Hell; [Miller] Batman: Year One; Daredevil: Visionaries Volume 2; Sin City.)

Criminal

Ed Brubaker is one of my favorite writers, and this is the reason why. Criminal pulls on the pulp origins of early comics as well as film noir and blends it into one outstanding package: contemporary but timeless stories about the criminal underworld. The tropes may feel familiar, but a good story, especially a crime story, isn’t “predictable” so much as it is inevitable. If there’s one thing this series has in spades it’s that sinking feeling.

(Further reading: Captain America; Sleeper; The Immortal Iron Fist; Gotham Central.)

Asterios Polyp

This is one of the most formally experimental pieces that I’ve ever read. Writer/Artist David Mazzuchielli uses everything at his disposal to construct a fascinating character study of a dead-beat architect named Asterios. It’s a vibrant book, story-and-art-wise, with each character constructed in interesting colors and character-specific fonts. It’s simply a pleasure to behold.

(Further reading: City of Glass.)

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
This is an amazing work, something you’d lend to non-comics to get them hooked on the medium. It plays simply at first, but unfolds beautifully, each chapter adding a layer of complexity to the story. The art is outstanding, too, and lends to the credibility of the story itself, about a death in the family and so much more. The story will resonate with any reader, and that’s the highest praise I can give it.
(Further reading: Dykes to Watch Out For.)

Daredevil Volume 2 #16-19, 26-50, 56-81

This run of issues comprises Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev’s run on the book, a run that is simply outstanding. The most common phrase associated with the series is that, “Daredevil spends as much time out of his costume as he does in it,” which is a simple way of saying that the run is unusual within the genre. It’s more than that, though. Bendis’ characters speak in dialogue closer to David Mamet’s theater aesthetic than “word balloon banter,” and he fractures the timeline brilliantly to deal with heavy thematic concerns about the real power that a hero holds. Maleev’s art is also outstanding. He brings gritty realism to the book, and employs specifically cinematic techniques to convey the story. It’s a terrifically exciting body of work.

(Further reading: Powers; New Avengers; Ultimate Spider-Man.)

Scalped

This book is similar to Criminal (I could see them shelved together, yes), but offers a unique slant on the crime genre. Instead of portraying the underbelly of a city, Scalped digs into an Indian reservation in the Dakotas in which a sleazy FBI agent tries desperately to bring down the corrupt man who runs the rez, Lincoln Red Crow. The best part of the series is that it doesn’t pull any punches, everything writer Jason Aaron throws at the reader means something, and either pushes the plot forward dramatically or tells the reader something important about a character. The stakes in this book are incredibly high.

(Further reading: The Other Side; Wolverine: Weapon X.)

As I said, great list! Be sure to check out Ron's previous post and his blog Entertainment Etc.

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Cinder by Marissa Meyer is a book that has been on my radar since April, when Marissa participated in Fairy Tale Fortnight (linked for any of you who missed it). And I'll be honest, I spent a long time going back and forth on where or not I was really interested in this one. I was always interested, because it's a fairy tale retelling, and that always grabs by attention. But this is a futuristic Cinderella, a Cinderella who is a cyborg. I haven't read a lot of science fiction, and I'm always a little bit wary of it. So I went back and forth between — Ya, I'm excited (shrug, I guess) and Yes! Of course I'm excited!

And then I read the book.

No more debates for me! This book was so amazing. It freaking rocked my face! Meyer manages to take the Cinderella story and turn it into something new and unique and futuristic and different while still keeping that magical feel of a fairy tale.

Cinder is a great character. She's confused about her role in the world, because according to the rules and laws of their world, being a cyborg makes her somewhere between a second class citizen and a possession. So she knows that, according to the laws & prejudices of her world, she is less than human. But other than the metal in her hand and leg and a few 'upgrades' here and there, she feels human. And how do you reconcile something like that?! Feeling like a person but being treated as a machine. My heart so went out to Cinder, because that would be so hard!

I was also really excited, because we get to see some chapters narrated by Prince Kai. It made him more real to me, made him a much stronger character, and it gave me a reason to root for him. Kai is in a terrible position because of the story's villain — the proverbial rock and a hard place — and no matter what decision he makes, it's going to end badly. And we get to see him struggle over that. He desperately wants to do right by his people, but how can you really do right, when no matter what choice you make, bad things will follow. There is bad, and then less bad, but that might lead to worse. Hearing Kai's narration takes him from Love Interest to Real Character. I love seeing a love interest who is developed beyond why they are, or should be, in love with the main character.

The villains of this story are the Lunar's — The Moon People. And boy — are they a villain worth reading about. Creepy, bad nasties. And that's all I'm going to say about that. (Mostly, because in early January, I'm part of the Cinder blog tour and Marissa is going to give me a whole post about them to share:) )

I will say that the story was, to me, more than a little predictable. I had most of the major plot points figured out rather early on in the story, and only some of those were because it is a retelling. I've mentioned this before, but I am very forgiving of predictability in my fairy tale retellings. Very forgiving. So being able to predict parts of the story didn't bother me at all. Because watching the characters get their on their own, being there as they learned their secrets made it so worth while. Meyer is a talented writer. She's created characters I adore and want to get to know better and she placed them in this situation where they have to act and become strong or do nothing, and then she lets them choose! There were honestly moments when I felt like they were real people making their own decisions.

This is a book that has something for everyone. The threads of the original fairy tale are woven so perfectly into the story that you can feel the fairy tale but it isn't as blatant as other retellings. It is part fantasy, part science fiction, full or magic and mystery and I am so in love with this book. I'm probably not doing the book justice, but believe me when I say it is awesome. I am already eager for the remaining books in the series. I can't wait to see the end of Cinder's story, as well as meet the new fairy tale characters and watch their stories intertwine. Meyer is definitely an author I'm going to keep my eye on, and I highly suggest you do the same. If you haven't read this one yet, I highly recommend you work on remedying that as soon as possible. This is a story it would be a shame to miss.

Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert came in the mail for me one day, completely unexpected. It was signed and shipped from Stephanie herself and I have no idea why. I searched through my emails, couldn't find any mention of the book, but it had been on my watch/tbr pile for a while, and it was signed, so I was happy and added it to the pile, waiting to be read. It waited for a couple of months before I finally picked it up.

I wish I had read it immediately.

This is one of those books that forces a person to redefine and reevaluate the way they view their world. At least, that's what it did to me. I've been waiting a while now to write this review because there is so much to be said about this book, and I don't feel at all qualified to say it.

It's a story about Kara, a teenage girl who doesn't really seem to fit in anywhere, doesn't make friends easily and doesn't deal with internal pain very well. When her best (and only friend) moves away, she has no one left but her younger brother Liam who doesn't really trust her, because they used to be close, and then she ditched him for the best friend. But they start to get closer, and then Kara meets Maya. She's confident, vibrant and flamboyant, pretty much everything Kara is not. They bond quickly and Maya takes Kara with her to Scoville Park, where she is introduced to an entirely new world and where she feels, for the first time in forever, that she has friends, that she fits in, and here, she can be cool.

But the crowd that hangs out at Scoville Park is not exactly the crowd that mommies and daddies want their kiddies hanging out with. They drink, smoke, do drugs-some 'basic' high school fair (pot) and some much, much harder (heroin and acid) and get into all kinds of trouble. But Kara, who has been secretly cutting for years to feel in control of her life finally feels like she's found a place to belong.

This leads me to the only thing about this book that I can find fault with. Every single teenage character in this book (and I do mean every single one) that gets more than two sentences of face time spends the entire novel drunk/stoned/high/strung out/tripping/hungover or some combination of them all. I know that there are some teenagers who did go through high school like that. And, it makes sense that if you are living like that, the people you hang out with are likely to be living like that too. I get it. Really, I do. But it is something so completely foreign to me, something that is as completely and totally different from my own high school (and life) experiences as you can possibly get, that I had a hard time with that. It just felt a little over the top, a little extreme.

But then again, this is coming from the girl who has never even tasted alcohol, has never picked up a cigarette, never even been tempted to try drugs. None of these are things that appeal to me. Partly because I'm supremely fond of my brain, and very aware that any and all drug use diminishes brain capacity, and also because I don't like the idea of giving up that much control to a substance. I freely admit, I need more control over my life than that.

So, although I struggled with the level of constant drug abuse, it is also such an integral part of the novel, and given what these characters experienced is so completely different from what I, or anyone I know, went through at that age, it really forced me to reexamine the way I view the world and the people in it. These characters are filled with so much pain. I wasn't always a happy person in high school, in fact the emotion I was most familiar with for most of my growing up years is anger, but I've never met a cast of characters with so much emotional turmoil before and the pain practically bleeds from the pages. But, surprisingly, somehow, there is a lot of love included in that pain. This group of friends — flawed, suffering, somewhat stupid — is there for each other, and you know that at their core, they would go through Hell to protect each other. Which is why it's all the more heartbreaking when things start to break them apart, when they start to splinter.

I read this book through a perpetual ache in my chest, wanting them to find help, wanting them to understand that there is hope in the world, a life better than drinking and drugs can offer you. Every time Kara cut herself because she couldn't handles the pressure, my heart bled along with her arms. I wanted them to want something better for themselves, to understand that each of them deserved better than what they were giving themselves.

My absolute favorite part of this book was the way Stephanie told the story. It begins with the epilogue. Kara has been gone for four years now, having left the area after a night in Scoville with her 'boyfriend' Aidan leaves her almost dead in the park from a heroin overdose. She decides it is finally time to tell her story, and so begins her Ballad. The story is told mostly by Kara, but her narrative is broken up by the Ballads, or stories of the other characters. They take a few pages to express their hurts, their pain, their suffering. They write about the life experiences that made them who they are, that brought them to their present state. And although the story on its own, Kara's story is powerful in and of itself, I believe that the heart of the story would be missing without these added narratives. There is something about hearing about these disappointments straight from the characters who experiences them that gives the story a raw honesty that really reached into me. They each titled their own story, and these short titles really capture the tone of the story, and the characters themselves. And, as if that weren't enough, Stephanie has includes a single lyric with each ballad, each new section, a lyric that captures and hints at the tone each new section, each ballad will take us through. And the lyrics are perfect, almost as if the songs themselves were written for each of these characters.

I can't express enough how much this book moved me. These characters are so incredibly real to me, so rich and raw, their stories so moving, that I don't know how you can read this book and not be touched. I don't know how you can spend time with these people and not be left with an ache in your chest because you know there are people like them in real life, suffering, waiting, heading toward death or a life full of nothing. I ache for them. Still. It's been over a month since I read this book and I still find my heart aching every time I think about this book, every time I glance at my bookshelf and see the spine. This is an important book, and it doesn't get nearly the attention and love that it deserves. People, this book needs to be read. So what are you waiting for? Go do it.

Can I start a review with holy shit? Well, whatever your answer is, I'magonnadoit.

Holy shit. I didn't think it was possible, but Jeffrey Eugenides has once again succeeded in writing a book that grabbed me by my eyeballs and yanked me into the story. I read Middlesex over the summer and I loved it so much I've taken to calling it my favorite book. I'm not committing yet, just trying it on for size. Since I survived the beefy, wonderful Middlesex, I wasn't afraid at all to try his other book, The Virgin Suicides, even though I had already seen the movie and that usually ruins a book for me. The movie did not ruin the book for me. Just like Middlesex, the writing in the first few pages was enough to make me sit still and read the crap out of this book.

"...our eyes got used to the light and informed us of something we had never realized: the Lisbon girls were all different people. Instead of five replicas with the same blond hair and puffy cheeks we saw that they were distinct beings, their personalities beginning to transform their faces and reroute their expressions. We saw at once that Bonnie, who introduced herself now as Bonaventure, had the sallow complexion and sharp nose of a nun. Her eyes watered and she was a foot taller than any of her sisters, mostly because of the length of her neck which would one day hang from the end of a rope" (26).
Eugenides goes on from that point to describe each sister in a similar fashion, exuding innocence and creepiness the whole way through. Everything in this book is innocent and creepy, suburban and having sex on the roof of your parents house. (Can I insert a little squeal here? Thank you.) The story is written from the point of a view of a group of boys in the neighborhood who watched the Lisbon girls their whole lives, except now they are adults and the Lisbon girls have been dead for a long time. They retell the whole story and occasionally talk about specific evidence they have. Photographs, clothing, makeup. They call these Exhibit 1-97, and they insert them occasionally throughout the story until you reach the end where the girls commit suicide (I'm not giving away anything here, you know the whole book it's going to happen) and the boys bombard you with evidence for everything as they explain to you why the girls died.

The story moves slowly and Eugenides has perfected the art of creeping through the pages. Even though it's slow I kept turning the pages just to soak up more of his writing. This is also the first time I have ever read a story where I believed it was told from a group of people rather than just one person. He doesn't spend a lot of time defining characters, but he doesn't have to because the point of the story is that no one really knows anyone. He doesn't glamorize suicide. He says things anyone who has been exposed to suicide has thought. Once again, he is a masterful storyteller.

Most people seem to think Middlesex is amazing and The Virgin Suicides is pretty great. I'll put myself in that camp too. I honestly don't have any complaints about the book at all, but when compared to Middlesex I just didn't feel that there was as much to the story. Part of that is probably the nature of the book, as I said there is very little characterization happening, just snippets here and there, but it wasn't enough for me to throw down the book at the end and start hyperventilating like I did with Middlesex (slight exaggeration).

To end this I'll share one of my favorite parts of the book, a part I think really shows Eugenides talent at summing up human emotion in one little thing.

"Jerry Burden found the following doodle: a girl with pigtails is bent under the weight of a gigantic boulder. Her cheeks puff out, and her rounded lips expel steam. One widening steam cloud contains the word Pressure, darkly retraced" (142).

I give this book an A.

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Elijah's Coin by Steve O'Brien is a hard book for me to pin down my feelings for. It's a story about Tom, a young boy who starts making poor choices, and doing 'bad things' and how Elijah, a mysterious man gives him a coin and a lesson that will change his life.

I knew that this was going to be a novel that included life lessons when I accepted the invite from the publisher to review the novel. And I was okay with that. I'm still okay with that. Sometimes, that's what I'm in the mood to read. But this one felt a little... false to me.

For starters, this book felt like a true story trying too hard to be a novel. When I first started reading it, I kind of struggled. It just didn't feel right. When it occurred to me that it didn't feel quite right as a novel, I stopped reading it so much as a story, and instead looked at the lessons it was trying to convey. Once I started reading it with that perspective, the story and I got along much, much better.

The lessons this book teaches are really things that everyone should learn. They are fairly basic things but things that make life better for everyone around you. Things like, offer to help people before they ask. Or better, if you see someone who needs help, just do it. Or, that luck doesn't really exist, and in order to make something of yourself, you need to stop waiting for your luck to change and get to work.

As a novel, I felt that there were some awkward holes and pacing and the ending was given a very pretty, very tidy bow that wrapped up the story a little too neatly to really feel authentic to the rest of the story. Also, I have been very open about the fact that I don't like sudden genre changes in the middle of my books, so I didn't do well with the sudden metaphysical ponderings tossed into the middle of my realistic contemporary book, even though I saw them coming. I want my books to pick a genre, and stay there. I don't like when my contemporary becomes something beyond that.

The author also included a set of two coins in the back of the book, replicas of Elijah's coin. One is for you, and one is to pass along to someone needing to learn what this book teaches. The coin serves as a reminder throughout the story for Tom, and the other characters that Elijah touches, and the coins in the back are supposed to be that for you as well. I'm gonna be honest here — the likelihood of me personally ever using the coin is slim to none and I cannot see myself passing it along to anyone else either. But it's a nice touch, a gesture that I can appreciate and it adds a level of authenticity to the story and the lessons learned.

All this being said, I am glad that I was given the opportunity to read this book. It is definitely not for everyone, and I recommend taking a fairly close look at it before you commit to a purchase, but it is something I'm grateful to have read, and I believe the lessons taught are things that we all could use a little reminding about.

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Ever wonder about who Prince Charming really was? What his story actually is? In so many of the classic tales, we hear very little about who Prince Charming really is. We know the basics of their actions — fought his way through a massively huge hedge to kiss a sleeping princess, stumbled across a chick in a coffin & stole it, climbed up lots of hair, only to be tossed out of the tower, etc. but we really aren't given very much information about the actual prince. Fairy tales tend to focus on the evil and the maiden and the deeds of the prince, but very little else.

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy is that story. Who are these princes? What are their names? Their personalities? Healy has taken those bare boned details and created a delightfully entertaining story about who these princes really are and what happens after the "happily ever after".

This is the perfect middle grade book and if I had read this when I was a kid, I would have inhaled it. Which is not to say that I didn't like it now. On the contrary! I found it to be perfectly entertaining. The story itself wasn't without it's flaws (mostly that some of the princes real personalities totally annoyed me...) but the book was just... so perfectly readable and entertaining.

Even when they drove me crazy, I loved seeing a real side to these heroes who had previously often been demoted to nothing but a kiss and a title. My favorite was Prince Liam and that's all I'm going to say because I think these are characters that are best discovered on your own. Each of the characters in this novel start in one place and end in another that demonstrates growth as a person, but doesn't take away from who they actually are. I love that. I love seeing characters learn from their mistakes and the mistakes of others, sacrifice what they want for what's best for others and just become better people.

The princesses aren't exactly what they appear to be in the original tales either. They are also given their own unique personalities and attributes (some good, some most assuredly not...) The side characters were also a lot of fun. I loved Liam's little sister Lila, the bounty hunter, the Bandit King and his group of bandits and the Trolls. Oh my goodness, the Trolls! They might possibly be my favorite part of the story. Seriously.

The book is told by a narrator, talking directly to the reader, who already knows the whole story and sometimes gets ahead of him/herself. I'm not normally a fan of that body-less/nameless narrator talking at me from the pages, but in this story, it worked. I never felt annoyed or pulled out of the story because of the narrator and I actually loved his little hints and nudges and secrets that the heroes really should know, but didn't.

I am so not doing this book justice. This review is all over the place, for which I apologize, but there is just so much going on in this book and it's just so fun and funny and charming (ya, I said it. So what). But really. You need to go out and read this book. If you like fairy tales, read it. If you like the funny and absurdly ridiculous, read it. If you know a kid (boy or girl) who likes action and bumblers and heroes and fun and awesome princesses, then go buy it/read it/share it. It's a book that I think has something to offer to everyone. Not everyone is going to love it, but I'll wager most everyone will definitely enjoy it.

It's the beginning of a new series. But it ends well. There is no cliffhanger, no annoyance when you turn the last page. If you wanted this novel to be it, you could read this one as a stand alone and be happy. But let's be honest. It's me we are talking about. I'm for sure going to be eagerly anticipating the next installment of these heroes Princes. And, I fully intend to pass this book along to my little brothers who I definitely think will just love this one!

Oh ya. And also... The illustrations? Fabulous. Like, seriously. Ashley is in love.

Check out the awesome guest post from Christopher during Fairy Tale Fortnight!
And here is a link to an excerpt with illustrations I posted!

*Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the awesome folks at Walden Pond Press in exchange for an honest review. And it is.

Sorry that this post is going up way later than normal — I've already had 2 posts go up today (crazy scheduling) and wanted to have them at least a little spread out. And, I had some stuff come up after work that I wasn't expecting... Sorry.:)

Anyway, I wanted to do two mini-reviews, both Printz Honor winners and both that, although dealing with different issues, both do have a similar emotion tied into the story.

First is Keesha's House by Helen Frost. It's a story written in verse about teenagers struggling to find their place in life, struggling to make it from day to day. The story is told in a series of poems written by/about different characters in the story. Although most of the poems are from the seven teenagers, there are a few verses from the POV of the family or adults these teens left behind and we do get to hear from Joe a time or two as well (more on him in a sec). Keesha's dad is an alcoholic and abusive, so she leaves. She finds Joe's house, and Joe lets her stay. She pays what she can in rent and is able to have a place for as long as she needs it where she feels safe. Initially, I was worried about this — Adult man letting teenage girl stay in his home... Screams creeper. But it worked. Somehow, especially after we read the poems from Joe he really is just a super nice guy trying to do for kids what his aunt did for him — provide a safe and comfortable place where these kids can just feel secure. Several of the other teens in the story spend time at Joe's, although they hear about it through Keesha and she becomes almost the protector. She's the one that lets them know that there is a safe place they can go if they need to, a safe place for them when they feel they have no other options.

My heart broke for so many of these kids. One mistake that changed their lives, one life ruptured through someone else's mistakes, some who just can't seem to keep their head above water. I wished so much for these kids to be safe, to have people in their lives who love them and would care for them. It's a short book, just over 100 pages but every page counts, every page brings you into their lives, makes you care for them more and more and you just open your heart to these kids. It makes me wish that all kids would be able to find a place where they can stay, a place where they were able to find a temporary haven.

This is a book I don't think should be missed, a book that I think is important. If you are looking for a quick but powerful read, grab this one.

My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr is another emotional read, although this one is written in more traditional prose. In this story, Ellen absolutely loves her older brother Link, and his best friend James. She's more than a little in love with James, but it's a little bit of a joke between them, pretty much understood to be a school girl crush. But then, she hears people talking about the two of them at their school, asking if they are a 'couple'. She's never really thought about it before, and doesn't really understand much of what it means, so she asks. She knows it's getting into a messy area, because in her family, you walk away... You do not talk about the tough stuff. But she is so confused and so desperately wants to know and understand her brother better that she asks. And everything changes.

Link is not gay. He's very adamant and defensive about it. James is, or not, or is. He's not really completely sure, but he's also not terribly concerned with giving it a label. He loves who he loves and I never got the feeling that he cared if the person was male or female. He loves Link but nothing sexual has happened between them and Link won't even talk about that possibility. But when Ellen forces it into the open, it ruptures the dynamic of their friendship.

Link and James stop hanging out, Link gets a girlfriend and Ellen and James start spending more and more time together.

I liked a lot about this book. I loved the way that Ellen sought out information on a subject that she didn't understand. She bought books, asked questions, looked up information online and tried talking to others about it. I also loved the initial time that Ellen and James spent together, because it taught her a whole new, and much broader way of viewing the world.

But I'm not sure I loved the direction the book went, especially the changes in certain relationship dynamics.

But then again, I'm torn. When you read a book, there is a certain expectation in the resolution. We expect a certain amount of closure, a certain level of completeness. And this book didn't really have that. Yes there is a lot of improvement, a lot of growth and maturation, but a lot was left very much up in the air. And I've decided that I'm okay with that. Because real life is messy. And in a story like this, there is no complete happy ending, there is no pretty package tied with ribbons and that's okay. Because it's real. There were some places the story went that I didn't really love, but the book was real. Life isn't clean, life doesn't always follow orderly and organizable paths. Often it's crazy, messy and hectic and you know, it's nice to read a story that ends without that completeness because it means that the characters don't have to end, just because the book has.

Jabberwocky by Daniel Coleman is the story behind the well-beloved poem by Lewis Carrol of the same name. Full of nonsense words, valor and whimsy, the poem Jabberwocky tells of a boy who sets out to fight the might beast and who returns triumphant, bearing the head of the great monster. But the poem doesn't tell us anything about the boy, where he comes from or why he sets out to hunt the Jabberwock and Coleman uses this story here to fill in some of the blanks.

My family has always been involved in theater, and my family reunions often include some form of a talent show, sometimes planned and scripted, other times completely spontaneous. Often in the performances, my dad would go on-stage with my grandpa and together they would perform this poem. My grandpa would stand in front and recite the poem, while my dad stood behind, using his arms, in place of my grandpa's to act out the poem (this included lifting up my grandpa's hair piece when they reached the part of the poem where the boys slays the Jabberwock and removes his head, much to my grandpa's dismay)

So, when I heard about this book, I knew that I wanted to read it. I love that poem, partly because it is brilliant but also because it brings back a lot of wonderful memories of my family. This is a very short book, just over 100 e-pages, and it reads very quickly. However, I don't think it would read as smoothly for someone who is unfamiliar with either nonsense writing or the poem itself.

One of my favorite things about this book is also what I think will be most challenging for most readers. Coleman has taken the words of the poem like 'wabe', 'brillig' and 'mimsy'. None of these words actually means anything, but Coleman took them from the original poem, took the meaning from them that he chose and inserted them into his story and I personally think he did a phenomenal job. Partly because the writing was very smooth, and partly because I'm very familiar with the poem, I found myself without any trouble being able to guess to the meaning of each word as I went through, even if I didn't know exactly what they meant. However, Coleman does include a glossary with the book, so if you think you will have trouble picking up on what the words mean, or you find yourself confused, he does include a way to verify what each word means.

Another thing that I loved about the book was the inclusion of the poem itself. Each section of the book is prefaced by a stanza of the poem, offering some foreshadowing of what is yet to come. I thought it was the perfect way to incorporate the poem into the story without being awkward or forced.

And the story itself was wonderful. Our main character, Tjaden, is the perfect boy to seek the Jabberwock. He is brave, but smart and fiercely determined to prove himself a man. He's a little bit full of himself at times, and he takes life a little too seriously for someone so young but he is also a very likable character, one you would want on your side of life. Honorable and proud, if given the right motivation, he could face the Jabberwock alone.

Honestly, I could not have been happier with how this book turned out. I was almost worried about reading it, because I do have such fond memories of the poem, but I was beyond delighted with how the book turned out. Coleman did a fabulous job combining his own story with the tale from Lewis Carroll and it's one I can see myself reading again.

I will admit that part of why I enjoyed this book so much comes from the memories it brought to surface and the already positive tone I have toward the poem and anything tied to it. I tend to be extremely fond of anything that can bring back positive memories of my grandpa, which means I knew before I started reading that this is a book I would either love or hate.

That being said, however, the happy memories alone were not enough to make me like this book. The story and the writing were able to hold their own and they most certainly did this favored poem a great justice. I'm not always a huge fan of how other people reimagine stories already told but I thought this one was just about as perfect as it gets.

So thank you Daniel Coleman, for writing a story worthy of such a phenomenal poem.

I am going to admit it... Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez is a book I read because I loved the cover. The summary makes it seem like a romance that just happens to be set during a major violin competition. So I was expecting something fairly fluffy and feel good romancy.

Umm. No. Not at all. There is so much more to the story than that. SO very much more. Carmen is an intensely passionate and complex character. She's an amazingly talented violinist, but she's also a teenager, a person, even though she's never really been given the chance to be normal. She's preparing for a huge violin competition, THE big violin competition and she's the favorite to win. But there is one other person who might be able to take the prize from her, a boy from England named Jeremy and Carmen becomes almost obsessed with discovering who he is so that she can determine whether or not she needs to be nervous. And what happens when they begin to get to know each other completely changes Carmen. And not in that annoying — OMG I like, have my first, like, crush, on like, this boy, like you know, he's like, well, like hot and stuff? — way but in a way that makes her question why she's really doing what she's doing and how far is too far in pursuit of dreams.

This book was so much more than I expected it to be and I absolutely loved it. From the teaser at the beginning where Carmen is contemplating dropping her Stradivarius violin off the balcony (!!!! NOOOO!!!) to the very end when the story comes to its ambiguous resolution, I was completely and totally involved in this story and I felt the story, nearly as strongly as if I were living it.

Almost every part of this story was perfectly blended. The side characters and their stories were fully developed and contained just enough detail that I really felt like I knew them as well. I find that I am lacking sufficient eloquence to do this story justice, but believe me, it is worthy of every bit of praise it has received. One of the most complex relationships in this story is that of Carmen and her mother. I am going to be intentionally vague here, because there is much to this story that you must learn on your own, but it is one of the most toxic relationships I have ever seen. On the surface, all seems fine. They have moments were they are just quiet together, being a mother and daughter and basking in the fact that they have a strong bond. And initially, I actually cheered that a parent in a YA novel was a good influence, active and involved in her child's life. But then things start happening that make you wonder at what is going on beneath the surface and I ended the book with absolute disgust and disdain for that mother and not a small amount of hatred.

My first inclining that all was not as well as it seemed was when young 11 or 12 year old Carmen has her first bout of crippling stage fright and, rather than work through it with her, her mother immediately signs her up for anti-anxiety beta blockers, because there's no way she can cope on her own and her career can't take another performance like that one. What type of mother does that?! Has such little faith in the abilities of their child and makes that painfully clear to them?! Carmen develops a psychological dependency on these beta blockers and her mother encourages this, telling her she is no good without them and that if she needs more, to just take more and all things will be fine. And this ends up being a large part of Carmen's struggles later in the novel.

I do wish that more time had been given to Carmen's struggle with addiction, because it is a dangerous and powerful thing. It seemed too easy for Carmen to overcome her dependency, especially given how strongly her mother pushed her to get back on them and that confused me some. I wish it had played a stronger role in the novel but as it stands, it was a stepping stone of sorts to the larger issue at play, which is her relationship with her mother/agent and where that all went wrong.

For most of the novel, Carmen is torn between wanting to be with Jeremy and not feeling like she is able to trust him (there's that mom again). And my heart hurt for her. It's impossibly hard to feel like the person that you are falling for is out to sabotage you. But really, Jeremy was a great person. He's confused as well, trying to reconcile each of the parts of himself into one person and figure out what is truly important in life. Watching the two of them start to learn together was wonderful and challenging and just made my heart happy.

The climax of the novel, which includes Carmen contemplating the destruction of an irreplaceable violin made me so emotional I had a hard time even reading. I was such a mixture of fury, disbelief, pain and fear. Carmen is not in a good place at that point, and I don't blame her. It was devastating to read but so well written.

Martinez really understands how to write a book, how to fully engage the reader and how to make one care completely for the characters within. I am going to be avidly watching Martinez for whatever she comes out with next. There is no way I can use one review to adequately describe every part of this novel that was great, to talk about each of the things that I loved, that really worked for this book. So just take my word for it (and the word of lots and lots of others who have also loved this one) and go read it. This is one time when even that stunning cover isn't enough for the brilliance of the story within. So seriously guys. Read this book.

Today's guest is Sierra of Yearning to Read ! Recognize her name? You should! She is none other than the author of this awesome review on A Kiss in Time that we recently saw on Misty's blog and she is also the very generous donor of both My Fair Godmother and the Jessica Day George prize pack ! So be sure you leave her some love!
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Johnny is a pretty normal guy. He lives in Florida and fixes shoes for a living. Or really, he fixes shoes not just as a living but to pay rent, phone bills, electricity bills, for food, etc. You know, all the every day things your father usually manages to pay for. Johnny's father would pay for theses things — but he disappeared when Johnny was a toddler. Ever since, Johnny's been the man of the house, working to feed and care for his sweet mother who in turn works hard to provide for him. Johnny would love to become a shoe designer, make millions of dollars, and give his mother the life of ease. But, how likely is that to happen? Unless you meet the princess of Aloria, who is filthy rich, thinks you're a good boy, and consequently wants you to find the Prince of Aloria who has been turned into a frog by an evil witch... in return for her hand in marriage and millions of dollars and a life of ease.
Yeah... that can be a hard one to pass up.
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My thoughts -
Once again, Alex Flinn knocks us all out with a fantastical fairytale that makes you feel like you've never read a fairytale before in your life.
Talk about original. I mean, this book was so original it was almost strange. It was neat, though! From the ear-piece that lets you talk to animals, to the cloak that transports you to wherever you want to go; from the princess who (apparently) wants to marry the boy from South Beach, to the witch who has a grudge and a slightly evil but really predictable plan. It was awesome, on all levels.
For a while I thought the Cloak would be like the one from 12 Dancing Princesses, one that makes you invisible. But no, it was totally different. And the ear piece was a neat idea and added a "technological" magic twist to the story. There were a few other fairytales thrown in there that only added, built, and made the story more enjoyable. The animals that Johnny meets give him quests to test his loyalty and to make sure he's really going to save the prince, which made everything feel a bit more "old fashioned". This all played in to create an atmosphere that was highly original and definitely Alex Flinn. I was hooked from the first pages.
Favorite character (character thoughts) -
Meg is such a great character that I just have to say that she's my favorite. She was strong, honest, and just lovely. She was deserving and totally inspired me. She and Johnny's relationship was hilarious at times and sweet at others. Everything about her made the story all the more lovable.
And while she's my favorite, I can't move on without pointing out my honorable mention, Johnny. He was quite a character as well. He compliments Meg perfectly. He's a klutz (hilarious!), a doubter, and he doesn't follow instructions well. I found that these things, on top of the fact that he's honest, reliable, and loving, made him a great character. I loved that he couldn't always see what was right in front of him. I love a good, teasing love story where you just want to yell at the guy — "SHE'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU, STUPID!"
Also, raise your glass to Alex Flinn herself for creating a character like Johnny who is, specifically, a completely different person than his competitors, Kyle from Beastly and Jack from A Kiss in Time. I found this extremely refreshing, as I'm sure you will.
Pretty much the only downer in this book for me: I found that I didn't really, at all, like Victoriana, the Alorian princess. She was funny in parts, but I thought she was ubelievable. I couldn't picture her as clearly as the other characters, even her brother Philippe, and I couldn't hear the accent in the way that Alex Flinn typed it up. It just didn't click for me... but maybe that's just me.
Favorite aspects/scenes -
There are too many aspects of this story to choose from, so I will name as many as I can without spoiling anything for you. The love story was soooo amazing and much more passionate than that of A Kiss in Time. It was believable and well-developed and gave me strong, gutsy butterflies so many times I lost count. The tests Johnny has to go through to gain information are also a favorite part. The lessons Johnny learns... the twist that involves the animals... the amazing shoe quotes that easily become a lovable part of the story. And the perfect ending to a great story.
Some favorite scenes: The sunset scenes with Johnny and Meg... And I was totally taken by the perfectly smooth scene in the beginning during which Johnny realizes that the Cloak and the ear-piece are really magic. It was amazingly well-told and Johnny's reaction to the magic was normal and hilarious and pretty much perfect. Bravo to Alex Flinn!
One phrase to sum up this book (final thoughts) -
Wonderfully original are the words that come to mind when I think of Cloaked. I could not help but fall in love with this book — and I hope you will, too! I recommend this book highly!
For the parents: A few kisses, with little or no description. A handful of underhand jokes directed toward girls, and a couple of direct comments. None are explicit. A pretty darn clean book. Definitely can be read by a younger audience than Alex Flinn's previous fairytales. I'd say 14 years old is a good age to start.:)