Maggie Stiefvater's Blog: Maggie Stiefvater, page 381

October 1, 2012

Day 14, Raven Boys Tour

Day 14 of The Raven Boys tour is done! 16 more to go. I'm taking all the travel rather well, I think:


Day 14 of Tour  
 Imagine me on day 27.


 Yes, that's a face mask. It's not woad. Nor my natural coloring.
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Published on October 01, 2012 18:16

September 25, 2012

Writers, Feed Your Brain

I am now on day eight of my tour for The Raven Boys — at least, I think it’s day eight — and I’m eating my breakfast here in my room and thinking about a blog post I’ve contemplating for a long time. It is sort of about writing, but it’s also sort of about room service.

Right now, this is what I have on my room service tray: an unsliced banana, a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice, and two sunny side up eggs. Tomorrow I will probably also get room service and tomorrow this is what will be on my room service tray: an unsliced banana, a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice, and two sunny side up eggs. In fact, by day 30 of this tour, I will have probably had as many eggs, glasses of orange juice, and bananas. I will never want to see any of them ever again.

I swear I’m working to a point here.

My point is this: I’m allergic and/or intolerant to pretty much every chemical preservative under the sun. Some make me big, some make me small, the details are largely unimportant. All we need for purposes of this post is the knowledge that, at worst, they make me fall down, and, at best, they make me feel slightly awful. They are my kryptonite. I’ll do anything to avoid them, even if it means thirty days of sunny-side-up eggs, bananas, and (when I can get it) freshly squeezed orange juice (Also, 30 days of Chipotle, the only national chain that’s preservative-free). (That’s a lot of burritos.)

Having to obsess over my food has taught me a lot about how my body reacts to certain foods and chemicals. In the past, I rejected the idea that a trace amount of a preservative or a coloring or a raising agent would’ve had the power to change how I feel. Now, that seems like a strangely cavalier attitude. I trust a tiny bit of ibuprofen to cure a headache, a tiny bit of caffeine to wake me up, so why wouldn’t I expect other chemicals to have effects? I reckon at this point you’re wondering when this stops being one of those conversations where you nod politely and plan your exit and begins being something relevant to writing. THAT MOMENT IS NOW.

I think everybody has a dietary kryptonite. We all react differently to common foods: milk, corn, honey, red food dye, baking soda. It might not be a large enough reaction to be properly called a food intolerance, but it would be enough to make you sluggish or irritable. Also, it’s generally cumulative. Here’s the writing bit. As a writer or a creative person, it behooves you to listen to your body. Because focus and concentration are the first things to go when you’re eating something your body doesn’t care for. You might not notice that you’re operating at 90% when you’re shopping or working the day job or doing laundry. But that 10% is often the energy you need to be able to write or paint after doing everything else in the day. Studies have shown that the creative bit of our brain is the first to go. As writers, that’s the only bit that matters. That’s the part that lets us conceptualize an entire novel.

So this post is me urging aspiring writers to look at their plates. Even if you don’t have an allergy or intolerance, I recommend keeping a food journal for a month. We eat a lot of crap — especially we Americans — a lot of non-food things, and those are the ones that often mess with our creative brains. If you simplify your diet and keep a journal, you'll be able to easily track what makes you feel great and excited and what makes you feel sleepy. Basically, if you aren’t feeling bright and awake for all of the moments that you have your eyes open, there’s room for improvement.

And you’d be stunned, I think, at what it will do for your creative productivity.

I’m going to go eat an egg, I guess.






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Published on September 25, 2012 06:38

September 16, 2012

Tour Schedule, One Last Time

I have finally completed my packing for tour. I think. It's hard to prepare for 29 days of surprises, so I always pack for 29 days of everything going perfectly as planned and assume that the sheer weight of that packing expectation will shape reality.

 
And if not, I can always buy an extra set of toe-nail clippers in Chicago.

Here is the tour schedule, for anyone who missed it before. Know that I will be wearing something that is in that pictured suitcase. Know also that I'll be at the Texas Book Festival and will have more details on October Texas dates very soon. And good golly. I hope you enjoy The Raven Boys if you pick it up these next few weeks.

Tuesday, September 18, 7:00 PM (SHARPIE GUITAR event!) Launch Event, Paramus, NJ - Barnes and Noble https://www.facebook.com/events/415863355138053/

Wednesday, September 19, 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. Informal Stock Signing at The Strand, New York, NY https://www.facebook.com/events/445474842170998/

Wednesday, September 19, 6:00 PM Event with David Levithan, New York, NY - Books of Wonder https://www.facebook.com/events/262135043898896/

Thursday, September 20, 10:30 AM New Haven, CT - Book Signing at the Yale Bookstore https://www.facebook.com/events/146528482153013/

Thursday, September 20, 1:30 PM Storrs Mansfield, CT - UConn Bookstore https://www.facebook.com/events/433332923377044/?context=create

Thursday, September 20, 7:00 PM Cambridge, MA - Cambridge Public Library https://www.facebook.com/events/390951300971219/

Friday, September 21, 10:00 AM Cambridge, MA - The Harvard Coop https://www.facebook.com/events/365882940149613/

Saturday, September 22, 1:40 PM Washington, DC - National Book Festival https://www.facebook.com/events/368883439846870/

Tuesday, September 25, 7:00 PM Brampton, Ontario - Chapters https://www.facebook.com/events/364937963575548/

Thursday, September 27, 7:00 PM, doors at 6:00 PM (SHARPIE GUITAR event!) National Writers Series, Traverse City, MI - City Opera House https://www.facebook.com/events/160116380787647/

Friday, September 28, 5:00 PM Lansing, MI - Schuler Books https://www.facebook.com/events/349701605105280/

Sunday, September 30, 2:00 PM Naperville, IL - Anderson's Bookshop https://www.facebook.com/events/406132696100589/

Monday, October 1, 6:00 PM Libertyville, IL - Cook Memorial Library https://www.facebook.com/events/303291439769299/

Tuesday, October 2, 7:00 PM Winnetka, IL - The Book Stall https://www.facebook.com/events/431714280212317/

Wednesday, October 3, 2012, 5:00 PM Signing with Libba Bray, Chicago, IL - State Street Macy's https://www.facebook.com/events/272099026225442/

Thursday, October 4, 2012, 6:00 PM St. Paul, MN - The Red Balloon Bookshop https://www.facebook.com/events/253883174714668/

Friday, October 5, 2012, 7:00 p.m. "This is Teen" Group Event with Eliot Schrefer, and Pete Hautman, Minneapolis, MN - Intermedia Arts https://www.facebook.com/events/489852737709475/

Saturday, October 6, 7:00 PM Signing with Brenna Yovanoff, Denver, CO - Tattered Cover https://www.facebook.com/events/404345879627445/

Sunday, October 7, 1:00 PM Boulder, CO - Barnes & Noble https://www.facebook.com/events/423280011057934/

Monday, October 8, 7:00 PM Orem, UT - Barnes & Noble https://www.facebook.com/events/276556335787359/

Tuesday, October 9, 7:00 PM Salt Lake City, UT - The King's English Bookshop https://www.facebook.com/events/402077596508159/

Wednesday, October 10, 6:00 PM Signing with David Levithan, El Cerrito, CA - Barnes & Noble https://www.facebook.com/events/270476899725701/

Thursday, October 11, 7:00 PM Petaluma, CA - Copperfield's Books https://www.facebook.com/events/445642445458650/

Friday, October 12, 7:00 PM Signing with David Levithan & Ellen Hopkins, San Francisco, CA - Books Inc. https://www.facebook.com/events/186202041512953/

Saturday, October 13, 2012, 6:00 PM Corte Madera, CA - Book Passage https://www.facebook.com/events/270064606438108/

October 27-28, Texas Book Festival, Austin, TX http://texasbookfestival.org/Author_P...
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Published on September 16, 2012 15:35

September 14, 2012

Well. This is Pretty Much Perfect.



Today I was driving back home from signing Raven Boys pre-orders at Fountain Bookstore, and the mountains were looming attractively all around the interstate, and the sunset was smiling ferociously over the top of them, and the car was charging tremendously fast beneath me, and I was playing 80s music because, why the hell not, and I thought to myself that my current life sure did compare rather favorably to my childhood dreams.*

P. S. New Line/ Warner Brothers just optioned The Raven Boys' film rights, with Akiva Goldman producing. And if Akiva's name sounds familiar, it's probably because he was a writer for Fringe, Angels & Demons, I Am Legend, and Cinderella Man, and producer for yet more awesome like Constantine, A Beautiful Mind, and Da Vinci Code. *thank you, readers, for that.
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Published on September 14, 2012 17:34

September 11, 2012

The One Where Maggie Buys a Race Car

Right. So. I've bought a race car.

I just feel like there's a point in everyone's adult life where they think to themselves: we have an adult decision to make here. Do I set up a 401k, do I actually decorate the guest bedroom, or do I buy a race car?

In a way, I feel this decision has been fated for my entire life. I went into kindergarten one year early, I got engaged just a month and a half after meeting Lover, and I published six novels in four years. I just like doing things fast. And what better way to go fast than in a race car? Well, the answer is: in a fighter plane. But let's not be ridiculous here.

 Although I do own a pair of aviator sunglasses.

My New Cheap Sunglasses  
Those of you who read the blog regularly will know that I already have a Car Slightly Slower Than a Fighter Plane, i.e., Loki* the '73 Camaro, which went with me on my FOREVER book tour last July. And Loki didn't really break down at all during that, unless you count the total failure of the air conditioning system outside of Nashville, which I don't. Mostly because I don't remember anything from those parched days of 190 degree heat and 127,000% humidity.

*so help me, if anyone comments on this post with "You mean Loki like THE AVENGERS!?!?!?!" I will punch them in the face with a Wikipedia article. Although I enjoy that Loki, that is not the Loki to which I refer.

Parking the Camaro in London, Ontario

But despite Loki's totally trust-worthy nature (I am laughing even as I type this)(anyone who has ever had to push/ pull/ rescue/ fuel/ pump/ lift/ tuck Loki and I from the side of the road is probably also laughing at this point), he is ill-suited to the sort of racing I want to do in 2013. Which is this sort:


Rally racing involves gravel and dirt and rocks and also cars with speed restrictors on them to keep you from driving off (too many) cliffs. It requires a rather rugged sort of race car, with two people in it. One to steer. One to shout the blind turns as they come up. I shall be one of these people. The other person shall be Bill Lauze, a brave soul who seems strangely untroubled by putting his life in my hands.

So. The car. This is what it is supposed to look like by 2013. That's right, there's just no point in driving a race car unless you can plaster your book cover all over the outside.

R2 Mock Up winged copy

But this is what it actually looks like at the moment.

Face Off, R2

Butt Shot, R2

Guts of the R2

2012-09-10_10-52-24_857


Observe that button right there. That button would ordinarily start the car. I believe at the moment that the word "POWER" is what we like to call "a lie." Do you remember when you were a child and your parents used to give you old, broken remote controls so that you could pretend they were your cell phone? That is what that button is right now. It is a pretend button. You can push it and pretend your race car has started. And then you can make thrum-thrum-thrum noises as you run around the shop. You know, like a grown-up.

I realize that all of these car photos are rather technical, so I have taken the liberty of demystifying one of these shots for the layperson.

r2 demystified

Of course, Bill is the one suffering through eviscerating the car at the moment, while I labor at finishing as much of the sequel to THE RAVEN BOYS as I can before I head out on tour. Which starts in two seconds. So I should get to that. I'll leave you with an image of me wearing a very silly helmet and getting my other car grubby.




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Published on September 11, 2012 08:39

September 6, 2012

20 Miscellaneous, Unprioritized, and Unasked for Pieces of Wisdom

1. Hang paintings at eye level.

2. Use vinegar on jellyfish stings. Don’t pee on them. Unless you’ve been drinking vinegar.

3. When lost in a city, follow the direction of the heaviest traffic; it’s usually headed to the city center.

4. Sage is the Thanksgiving spice. When you want to make that Typical Thanksgiving Gravy, it’s sage. I swear it.

5. Sean is pronounced the same as Shawn. Seamus is Shamus. Sinead is Shin-ade. Celt always has a hard C, like cotton, unless you’re talking about a sports team, and I have no idea why you’d be doing that.

6. Your dad told you, and I’m telling you again: turn in the direction of the skid.

7. If you feel tired after drinking coffee, drink a glass of water at the same time.

8. The reason why your skin looks funky is because none of us wash our faces enough. SCRUB, dammit. No, you don’t need soap. Just get that dead stuff off, for crying out loud.

9. If you need the meat of a nonfiction book in a hurry, read the first chapter and last chapter. If you have more time, the first paragraph and last paragraph of each chapter. If you have even more time, first sentence and last sentence of each paragraph. That’s the point of it. The rest is just proof.

10. Hank is short for Henry. Chaz for Charles. No, I do not know why.

11. The longer you soak beans before you cook ‘em, the less farting happens. Soak overnight and rinse before cooking and then rinse after cooking for the least explosive dining experience. But you can also boil them for a minute and let sit for an hour before rinsing and cooking and rinsing again.

12. Don’t drink milk when you have a cold. It thickens your mucus and makes it last longer.

13. If you’re not checking luggage at the airport, you can be way later for your flight and still make it.

14. When two strangers are in a conversation, they have a tendency to adopt the same position. The person who changes position first has the upper hand in the discussion.

15. Athletic shoes have been carefully designed to provide as much support as the bare human foot. Being barefoot is awesome.

16. But you can get hookworms if you’re barefoot.

17. Less likely to get athlete’s foot, though. Athlete’s foot is a fungus that likes warm, moist places and hosts with sweet teeth.

18. Your marker probably didn't actually run out of ink; it probably just ran out of solvent to keep the pigment flowing. You can use water to rejuvenate most pens, but for a marker, you'll need something more like what the company puts in there. Which is a lot like lighter fluid.

19. Your home-made cake doesn’t taste like a box cake because you’re using butter instead of vegetable oil.

20. Don’t stand behind a strange horse, don’t look a strange dog in the eyes, don’t rub a strange cat’s belly, and for God’s sake, don’t let strange men handcuff you to your bed.  




Feel free to add a piece of wisdom below.
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Published on September 06, 2012 06:01

September 4, 2012

Last Call for Signed, Doodled Raven Boys

Hullo guys! Radio silence always means one of two things: I'm out of the state, or I'm on the last few weeks of a deadline. The latter is true this time — I'm frenzied working on the sequel to THE RAVEN BOYS, which is even weirder and more Maggie. If you can even imagine such a thing.

Anyway, I was reminded by Fountain Bookstore that very soon I'll be driving down there to sign and doodle in all of the copies that are pre-ordered through them. I figured I'd better mention it again on the blogs, because I have gotten a few questions about it each week on Facebook.

Here is the deal. If you pre-order a copy of The Raven Boys from Fountain Bookstore, I will sign it and doodle in it. And I also got these really spiffy limited edition bookplates that feature my art from the trailer, and one of those is going in each pre-order too.

Bookplate for Fountain Bookstore

Fountain Bookstore ships all over the U.S. right through their website, which is convenient if you can't make it to one of my signings (although surely you'd prefer to hear my cheery voice telling bad jokes)(although I generally don't doodle at my in-person signings). And they also ship ALL OVER THE WORLD if you shoot them an e-mail so they can arrange for the shipping.

And yes, I will sign every book that is ordered from them BEFORE the release date of September 18th, which is when I'll be taking off on tour as well. And yes, it is only through Fountain Bookstore that I'm doing this, because they're the only store that I visit to sign books before the books come out. They do also have signed copies of everything else I've written too.

I will be doing a More Useful blogpost (you won't be able to believe how useful it is) later this week.

. . . I cannot really believe it's two weeks until this book comes out.

(is it braggy to say it just got a fourth starred review from Children's Bulletin? Probably. I didn't say it).
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Published on September 04, 2012 14:09

August 25, 2012

DO NOT LOVE YOUR CHARACTERS (More or Less Than Your Readers)

Dear Internet, I apologize for being absent. I was out of town and then I was writing the sequel to Raven Boys and then I was buying a race car. I know. Excuses, excuses.

A few days ago, I posted some coffee-fueled writing tips on Facebook and Twitter. As follows:

1. Thou shalt not love your characters more than your readers do.
2. Do not forget the weather.
3. (specially for YA writers!) Only 20% of US families are single-child families. HELLO SIBLINGS.
4. Read it out loud. In Emma Thompson's voice, if you can.
5. If you're bored while writing, the reader is bored while reading. Delete & regroup over coffee.

I got asked a few times to clarify #1, so that is what I intend to do. When I said it, I was not referring to the treasured writing wisdom “kill your darlings.” Faulkner was the first to advise writer to kill their darlings, which basically boils down to: if you love a bit of your writing too much to be reasonable and logical about it, you should cut it. That you should never sacrifice the good of the whole because of blind affection for a single bit. (I do not agree with this advice, by the way. I think if you love a part of your writing beyond reason, you should delete the rest of it and write the rest to match the loved bit).

What I meant when I said “thou shalt not love your characters more than your readers do” was that you can love your characters, but you must show your work.

I can’t tell you how many times a writer has confessed to me how much he/she adores her characters, how their voices inhabit his/her life, how he/she wishes they were real so he/she could spend time with them*. Then I read the manuscript and the characters are flat as a board. It’s possible — nay, probable — that these characters are vivid, living, lovable characters in the writer’s head, inhabiting a fully-realized world full of authentic moments. But none of that character-building has made it onto the page. The writer hasn’t managed to write the characters well enough to allow the readers to share that experience.

*sometimes writers tell me they have crushes on their character and would date them and then I get squicked out and run away. So feel that way if you must, just don’t tell me about it. Because I will run away.

As a writer, you have to earn every little bit of affection. Our goal as writers, maybe over and above anything else, is to convey the story in our head in such a way that readers experience it exactly the way we imagine it.

Loving characters that readers don’t care about is just . . . unseemly. When you’re in love with them, you have to make sure that your fondness for them isn’t ruining your objective portrayal of them. Perhaps Faulkner was right after all. If you love a character too much to be able to tell if you’re getting across their coolness, maybe you are better off just cutting them.

Oh, you know I don’t really believe that. I always think the answer is improving your writing to match your passion, not stripping passion from your work. I think it holds true for characters too. Listen to what your critique partners say about your them. You know your characters through your emotions and imagination. Your critiquers know them only through your words. Your job is to make those two portrayals the same.
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Published on August 25, 2012 08:48

August 14, 2012

The Raven Boys Tour 2012

I guess it must officially be getting close to fall because I can finally share my public tour events for The Raven Boys! I'll be on tour/ away from home for a month, which is why I own 32 black tank tops and 16 pairs of identical jeans (American Eagle, in case you're wondering). It's also why folks at the end of the tour will get a slightly more slap-happy Maggie than folks at the beginning of the tour.

If you're wondering what an event is like, here is a rough idea (though, sadly, this tour will lack Camaros and Tessas. The rest is applicable). (Also there are many slap happy videos from my tour last year on YouTube).

Like last year, I took a guitar and Sharpie'd all over it, and like last year, I'm going to be giving away this guitar to a reader at the launch event. Here it is (click to see it bigger): The Sharpie Guitar for The Raven Boys

But in case you can't make it to the launch event, I will be giving away things at the other events. Namely, the frames from The Raven Boys trailer, nicely matted. (You can get an idea of the other frames by watching the trailer).

RB kiss

And also some of the frames from The Scorpio Races trailer, which are weird and transparent, as you can see. Frames from The Scorpio Races Video

Frames from The Scorpio Races trailer

Anyway, I am very excited to be getting on the road again and seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones. You can get more details and RSVP on the Facebook event link beneath each event. Come see me? Please?
The Raven Boys Tour PUBLIC appearancesTuesday, September 18, 7:00 PM Launch Event, Paramus, NJ - Barnes and Noble https://www.facebook.com/events/415863355138053/

Wednesday, September 19, 6:00 PM Event with David Levithan, New York, NY - Books of Wonder https://www.facebook.com/events/262135043898896/

Thursday, September 20, 10:30 AM New Haven, CT - Yale University Barnes & Noble https://www.facebook.com/events/146528482153013/

Thursday, September 20, 7:00 PM Cambridge, MA - Cambridge Public Library https://www.facebook.com/events/390951300971219/

Friday, September 21, 10:00 AM Cambridge, MA - Barnes & Noble https://www.facebook.com/events/365882940149613/

Saturday, September 22, 1:40 PM Washington, DC - National Book Festival https://www.facebook.com/events/368883439846870/

Tuesday, September 25, 7:00 PM Brampton, Ontario - Chapters https://www.facebook.com/events/364937963575548/

Thursday, September 27, 7:00 PM, doors at 6:00 PM National Writers Series, Traverse City, MI - City Opera House https://www.facebook.com/events/160116380787647/

Friday, September 28, 5:00 PM Lansing, MI - Schuler Books https://www.facebook.com/events/349701605105280/

Sunday, September 30, 2:00 PM Naperville, IL - Anderson's Bookshop https://www.facebook.com/events/406132696100589/

Monday, October 1, 6:00 PM Libertyville, IL - Cook Memorial Library https://www.facebook.com/events/303291439769299/

Tuesday, October 2, 7:00 PM Winnetka, IL - The Book Stall https://www.facebook.com/events/431714280212317/

Wednesday, October 3, 2012, 5:00 PM Signing with Libba Bray, Chicago, IL - State Street Macy's https://www.facebook.com/events/272099026225442/

Thursday, October 4, 2012, 6:00 PM St. Paul, MN - The Red Balloon Bookshop https://www.facebook.com/events/253883174714668/

Friday, October 5, 2012, Time TK "This is Teen" Group Event, Minneapolis, MN - The Loft https://www.facebook.com/events/489852737709475/

Saturday, October 6, 7:00 PM Signing with Brenna Yovanoff, Denver, CO - Tattered Cover https://www.facebook.com/events/404345879627445/

Sunday, October 7, 7:00 PM Boulder, CO - Barnes & Noble https://www.facebook.com/events/423280011057934/

Monday, October 8, 7:00 PM Orem, UT - Barnes & Noble https://www.facebook.com/events/276556335787359/

Tuesday, October 9, 7:00 PM Salt Lake City, UT - The King's English Bookshop https://www.facebook.com/events/402077596508159/

Wednesday, October 10, 6:00 PM Signing with David Levithan, El Cerrito, CA - Barnes & Noble https://www.facebook.com/events/270476899725701/

Thursday, October 11, 7:00 PM Petaluma, CA - Copperfield's Books https://www.facebook.com/events/445642445458650/

Friday, October 12, 7:00 PM Signing with David Levithan & Ellen Hopkins, San Francisco, CA - Books Inc. https://www.facebook.com/events/186202041512953/

Saturday, October 13, 2012, 6:00 PM Corte Madera, CA - Book Passage https://www.facebook.com/events/270064606438108/

There is also this event coming up in a few weeks. It is pre-Raven Boys release, but I'll have special bookplates for you to stick in your book when you do get your hands on it. Plus there will be Tessa Gratton and Brenna Yovanoff there with me, signing copies of The Curiosities.

Saturday, August 25, 2:00 p.m. Merry Sisters of Fate event, Lawrence, KS - Lawrence Public Library https://www.facebook.com/events/497328386950345/

UK'ers, be not sad — I'm doing my best to head over there in the spring.
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Published on August 14, 2012 08:50

August 10, 2012

Five Things About Mr. Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt

Mr.chartwell Rebecca Hunt Cover1. If I tell you this is a book about depression, you won’t want to read it. At least, I wouldn’t want to read it. Depression is real, yes, but depression also tends to be static; it clogs and slows and dilutes its victim. Which makes for boring fiction. So I won’t tell you that this book is about depression (because it’s not very true, anyway). I will instead tell you that this book is about Winston Churchill, which also isn’t tremendously true. Winston Churchill struggled with depression during his life, referring to it as a black dog. Well, in this book, depression is truly a black dog, six feet tall and smelly and just there. So there you go. This is practically a dog book.

2. Also, it’s not really about depression. It’s about strength. Possibly this makes it a not-depressing book with depression as a main character. Rebecca Hunt is a very clever wordsmith, and I had to stop a few times to read sentences out loud because of how very TRUE their contents were. I love a book that makes me nod and say “that’s exactly how it is! I never thought of it that way!” (Well, I don’t really say that. I just go GAH and read it out loud. But that’s what I mean.)

3. Plus, it’s funny. It’s interesting, isn’t it, how sadness and laughter live right next door to each other. This book nails that. Hunt is well aware of the humor inherent in a six foot tall dog named Mr. Chartwell looking for a room to let, and she runs with it.

4. The metaphor is pretty stinkin’ impeccable. I really think this exchange between one of the narrators, Esther, and the black dog, Mr. Chartwell, is a great example of both the book’s humor and the effectiveness of the metaphor. She has just asked him how it is that Mr. Chartwell affects Churchill, and he replies: “It’s hard to explain. With Churchill we know each other’s movements, so we have a routine, I guess. I like to be there when he wakes up in the morning. Sometimes I drape across his chest. That slows him down for a bit. And then I like to lie around in the corner of the room, crying out like I have terrible injuries. Sometimes I’ll burst out at him from behind some furniture and bark in his face. During meals I’ll squat near his plate and breathe over his food. I might lean on him too when he’s standing up, or hang off him in some way. I also make an effort to block out the sunlight whenever I can.”

5. The novel never overstays its welcome. Short chapters fill its brief 242 pages, making for a speedy read. The conceit of a panting black dog following people around might have gotten old if Hunt had let it, but — unlike Mr. Chartwell — Hunt gives the reader precisely what is needed and then is gone before there can be an aftertaste.
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Published on August 10, 2012 10:02

Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater
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