Susan Arnold's Blog, page 5
July 23, 2016
Interview with The Clarkston News
Click here to be redirected to the original interview!
Six years ago Susan Arnold began writing her first novel Blue Vigilante which she just self-published.
Arnold, a 2015 graduate of Clarkston High School, explained the series began in her eighth grade English class at the junior high school.
Her teacher, Robert Albee, gave the class a short story assignment.
“As we were writing, I struggled keeping the short story short,” Arnold said. “Mr. Albee, after grading the assignment, told me that he could see there was so much more potential to the story. I just kept writing and writing and turned the short story into a four-novel-long series. The writing journey was crazy.”
During the writing journey, Arnold takes readers into the world of Marybeth, also known as “Bat.”
In Blue Vigilante, Marybeth chooses to join the most feared gang in America, Black Bullet, in a rash revenge-fueled decision, Arnold explained.
During her initiation, she proves herself to be an amazing fighter, the best the gang has ever seen. She quickly works her way up the ranks to third in command.
When she witnesses a ruthless murder during a gang fight she is faced with a moral choice, leading to the decision to quit fighting for Black Bullet. But making the decision isn’t as easy as she thinks.
“As third in command, she knows too much to simply stop fighting and she isn’t old enough to drop out of the gang, so the leader, Trigger, decides the only way to solve the problem is to kill her,” Arnold explained.
Arnold finished the first book only a few months ago and mixed in writing with being a full-time student, learning how to drive, working a part-time job and that was before she graduated from Clarkston and went on to Northern Michigan University.
“Not to mention that I matured and that changed my writing voice,” Arnold added. “Though I wish that I could have published Blue Vigilante sooner, I’m glad I didn’t. If I had published the book as a 13- or 14-year-old, the pace and tone of the book would not match the rest of the series.”
She added writing the book wasn’t the hardest part or publishing – it was editing.
“It’s a constant back and forth battle between writing and then polishing, cutting and rewriting. I’ve edited and reread BV so much, that I practically know it by heart,” she said.
Arnold enjoys Blue Vigilante because it’s the first book and series she wrote and a project she continued working on.
“I have a stack of written works I started but never finished,” she explained. “Blue Vigilante captured my imagination enough to make me stick to it.Also, I think entire idea of the plot is something that hasn’t ever really been explored before, which makes it very interesting.”
The target audience for Blue Vigilante is young adults, but Arnold added anybody would enjoy reading it.
“As long as they’re mature enough to read it,” she said. “This book involves a gang, which means violence, drinking and drugs. I wouldn’t recommend the book for kids under 12.”
Arnold is attending Northern Michigan University and pursuing a master’s degree both in English Writing and Photography.
Blue Vigilante is available online.
~Staff Writer Wendi Reardon
July 11, 2016
July 5, 2016
‘The Giver’ BOOK vs MOVIE
I’m only ten minutes into Phillip Noyce’s ‘The Giver’ and the differences between the book and the movie are already piling up.
*Warning: contains spoilers*
In the beginning of the book, Jonas is just about to be a Twelve, in the movie, he is graduating. (Which makes more sense for the mature audience that the movie is targeting, but off puts the book instantly.)
In the book, Lily, Jonas’ sister is about to be an Eight, in the book she is becoming a Nine.
In the book, the Ceremony of Release is a small, private event that takes place at the Home of the Old
In the book, there is a maximum of 50 children per year, in the movie, there are over 100 graduates.
In the book, Asher is assigned the job of Assistant Recreational Director, in the movie his is a drone pilot.
In the book, Jonas, Asher, and Fiona spend their last volunteer hours at the Home of the Old, in the movie, they are at the Nurturing Center with Jonas’ father, which is how Gabe is introduced
In the book, Fiona is assigned the job of Caretaker of the Old, in the movie, she is assigned to be a Nurturer (pretty much the exact opposite)
In the book, the Chief Elder is at the ceremony in person, in the movie, she is a hologram
In the book, Jonas is number 19, in the movie, he is number 52
In the book, Jonas’ directions for his new position were paper, in the movie, they were digital holograms with a voiceover.
In the book, the annex was pretty much connected to the House of the Old, in the movie, it was built on the edge
In the book, The Giver placed his hands on Jonas’ back, in the movie, they grip wrists
In the book, the first memory Jonas receives is sledding, but only that, in the movie, they include the cabin and the family
In the book, they do not go for a walk
In the book, Jonas’ father asks to bring Gabe home, in the movie, Gabe is brought to Jonas’ father
In the book, it is light colored eyes that make Jonas and Gabriel stand out, in the movie, it is a mark on the wrist
In the book, The Giver did not mention that he saw colors right off the bat
In the book, Jonas’ tries to get Asher to see color, in the movie, he tries to get Fiona to see color
In the book, the whole scene [from the movie] with Jonas, Asher, and Fiona looking at the drones and sliding down the solar panels does not happen.
In the book, if there was drama between The Giver and the Chief Elder, the reader did not know about it as the audience does in the movie
In the book, there is no plan for Sameness exposed as there is in the movie
In the book, music is mentioned only a handful of times, in the movie, The Giver plays the piano
In the book, Jonas takes a pill each morning, in the movie, every citizen receives a morning injection
In the book, there is no interaction between Jonas and the Chief Elder other than the Ceremony
In the book, Gabe has his own comfort object, which is a hippo, in the movie, Gabe borrows Lily’s comfort object, which is an elephant but is mistaken as a hippo
In the book, Gabe sleeps in Jonas’ Mother and Father’s room because Jonas’ Father is a Nurturer, and then he moves to sleep in Jonas’ room. In the movie, Gabe sleeps in Lily’s room
In the book, dreams exist and the citizens remember them each morning, as they share their feelings at dinner. In the book, Jonas’ mostly doesn’t dream.
In the book, Jonas first encounters love when The Giver shares his favorite memory with him (Christmas with a family), in the movie, The Giver explains love after Jonas has a dream
In the book, Jonas accepts the war memory in an easier fashion, in the movie, he storms out
In the book, Jonas just stops taking his pill, in the movie, he has to make in elaborate scheme to skip his injection and then he tries to convince Fiona to do the same
In the book, Jonas has a temporary meltdown about the game of War, in the movie, he quits being the Reciever
In the book, Jonas goes back to the annex, in the movie, Fiona has to convince him to go back
In the book, Rosemary was in training for five weeks, in the movie, she was in training for two months (eight weeks)
In the book, Jonas brings up Release, in the movie, The Giver is reliving a memory with Rosemary, explains that she wanted to be released, then brings up release footage for Jonas to watch
In the book, the triangle/waterfall does not exist
In the book, none of the “feeling” stuff with Fiona happens
In the book, Jonas and The Giver plan out an escape and it’s cut short by the planning of Gabe’s release, in the movie, there is no planning and Asher tries to stop Jonas, in the book, Asher didn’t even know
In the movie, The Giver already has a plan of escape
In the book, Jonas begs and begs The Giver to come with him
In the book, Jonas does not attack anybody, in fact, the only physical contact he has is with The Giver, Gabe, and when he holds onto Asher’s shoulders
In the movie, his mother is much more involved
In the book, Jonas takes Gabe from his dwelling and steals his father’s bike to do so. In the movie, he has to sneak into the Nurturing Center, convince Fiona to join his cause and kidnap Gabe, all while being hunted down
The movie has a much more high-stakes chase down
In the book, Jonas sneaks away quietly, at night, and nobody notices that he is gone until the next day. He just rides a bike down the road as far as he can for days on end. In the movie, he rides a motorcycle off a cliff.
In the book, due to the fact that it follows Jonas, we do not know what happens in the community after he leaves
In the book, Jonas travels by bicycle at night and sleeps during the day, hidden in a bush, in the movie, he sleeps at night (with a fire, how stupid if you’re trying to hide) and travels by foot during the day once the power to the motorcycle runs out
In the movie, some weird plane/drone/UFO stuff happens. That doesn’t happen in the book
In the book, there is no romantic relationship
In the book, we do not know what happens to the community
‘The Giver’ Review
I read Lois Lowry’s The Giver in two days. I only put it down when I had to.
I was instantly gripped by Jonas, the protagonist, and his love for language. The book opens with his internal dialogue as he tries to figure out if he was frightened or something else entirely. He weighs different words and emotions in his mind, finally deciding on apprehensive. Following through Jonas’ thought process, I believe, really helps the reader figure him out as a character.
Furthermore, as we read through Jonas’ thoughts, we are exposed to the culture of his community. The community itself is captivating enough to keep me interested up until chapter eight, when the story really starts to take off! The community and it’s never ending rules are so interesting and different than that of the way that we live today, that there is no way it cannot be interesting. The community is not explained outright, which I think is why I enjoyed the book so much. As the story progresses and more rules appear, they are explained, instead of all at once. That method of writing really helps the reader feel more immersed in the world.
The Giver was a quick and easy read, something that I was not expecting due to all the hype that I’ve heard about it. Lowry does an excellent job creating a book that can stand the test of time and span generations.
I like to think of The Giver as the first dystopian book before they got really popular (Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner, Delirium)! Seriously, dystopian is its own genre.
Though I wish there had been a few things cleared up, such as the ending and the part about the planes (in the beginning), I really enjoyed reading The Giver and plan on watching the movie right after I write this review (and by the look of the trailer, I’ll probably be disappointed).
I give The Giver ★★★★★
June 5, 2016
Review: Blue Vigilante by Susan Arnold
Here’s the latest review of Blue Vigilante!
Title: Blue Vigilante
Author:Susan Arnold
Page Count: 351 pages
Synopsis: (Goodreads)
In a rash, revenge-fueled decision, Marybeth decides to join the most feared gang in America, Black Bullet. During her initiation, she proves herself to be an amazing fighter, the best that the gang has ever seen and she quickly works her way up the ranks to third in command. Black Bullet and Atomic Bomb, the rival gang, always fight for dominance, which never phased Marybeth–Bat, as she is known in the gang–until she witnesses a ruthless murder during a gang fight. Faced with her morals, she decides to stop fighting for Black Bullet.
As third in command, she knows too much to simply stop fighting and she isn’t old enough to drop out of the gang, so the leader, Trigger, decides that the only way to solve the problem is to kill Bat.
As the building explodes with…
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Requiem Review (SPOILERS)
To be honest, I am very disappointed with the way Lauren Oliver ended the Delirium series. I fell in love with the first book, once it started to pick up the pace. I even had the rest of the series two day shipped to my house once I finished reading because that’s how good it was and how intense the cliff-hanger was.
When I got to the second book, Pandemonium, I was sort of let down. The way the story was told was very different from the way the first book was told. It was harsher and it wasn’t in chronological order…but it worked for the actual story, it fit the way Lena had matured between the books. But, of course, Oliver had to add in another guy to Lena’s life. I felt that the addition of this new love was completely unnecessary. Given the plot line of the entire first book, and her hatred toward Julian, in the beginning, makes it almost impossible for me to believe that she’s actually fallen for him. (I would have believed that they had just become friends and that he fell for her (given the circumstances) but I just don’t think that the Lena I had come to know would have fallen for Julian.) Don’t get me wrong, though, Julian is a great guy. And then, at the very end of the book, BAM an entirely unnecessary love triangle added just for some drama and because all the popular books at the time had a love triangle. I just don’t find it possible that Alex is alive after the end of the first book. And even if he is, that he found Lena out in the vast Wilds.
After the let down of Pandemonium, I was excited to read Requiem, thinking that it would actually be better written. I was wrong. If it wasn’t for how much I loved the first book of this series, I would have given Requiem a one-star rating. I didn’t mind how Oliver told the story through both Hana’s and Lena’s point of views, I thought that it worked really well and accented the story wonderfully. And the story itself wasn’t too bad, though it wasn’t nearly as captivating as Delirium. But, for most of it, there was unnecessary drama, a vast majority of the background information wasn’t explained (because Lena, as a protagonist, was kept in the dark for most of it, which is fine; readers, though, shouldn’t be kept in the dark. That’s, like, rule number three of being an author. NEVER keep your readers in the dark, they love to know what the protagonist doesn’t.) and the ending didn’t even seem like an ending. The book just stopped, abruptly, leaving me wanting more that I wanted at the end of Delirium. Did the rebellion succeed? Is Hana alive? How will Lena break the news to Julian–who has nobody besides her–that she’s going to be with Alex? Why are you guys breaking down a wall when an entire nation wants to wipe you out? I wanted more. And the way the book just stopped made it seem to me like Oliver hadn’t even thought out an ending, or didn’t want to, and decided to call it good. I was very disappointed and almost didn’t even bother finishing the book.
Like I said earlier, if it wasn’t for the first book, I’d give Requiem a one-star rating. But it gets a three-star rating because of Delirium.
May 24, 2016
PANDEMONIUM Review
Pandemonium, book two of the Delerium Trilogy, was instantly not at all what I thought it would be.
I thought that it would pick up right where the first book left off, or at least somewhere near there, but it’s told through two different timelines: then and now. Now takes place six months after the end of the first book, then picks up only a few days after. It was an aspect of the story that I wasn’t prepared for, but I think it worked out for the better in the end.
What really threw me for a loop was the fact that Lena, the protagonist of the series, was SO different than she was in Delerium. It’s understandable, why she’s so different, but I don’t think it’s explained as well as it can be given the then and now story sequences.
The whole situation of the now sequences (SPOILER: a rebellion) isn’t well explained either. It’s stated several times that the Invalids have attacked cities across the nation, but we only get a detailed account of the attack in Portland, which doesn’t even make sense since Lena isn’t even in Portland for any portion of this book. Due to how big of a deal the rebellion is in Pandemonium, I wish there would have been more details about not just the attacks, but the rebellion in itself. Also, there is a big deal made about Lena’s escape from Portland and how it impacted the Invalid’s method of receiving supplies…shortly after, a rebellion is started. I want to know if Lena’s escape somehow started the rebellion, or if it was a lynchpin to starting it.
Lastly, there were a couple twist endings to Pandemonium. One (I’m not going to spoil it) that I thought was very appropriate and well placed, the other (also will not spoil it) seemed lame and as though it will be used to create unnecessary drama in the third book.
Overall, I give Pandemonium and 3.5/5 rating. It was well written and suspense-filled, but very different from the first book.
May 20, 2016
Delirium Review
I just finished reading Lauren Oliver’s Delirium, which is only book one of a trilogy. And when I say ‘just finished’ I mean five minutes ago.
I have nothing but praise for Delirium. Within the first few paragraphs, I was already enveloped in the world that Oliver has created. First off, each chapter starts with an excerpt from a book or website that exists within the dystopian United States in the book. That alone shows the depth of development that Oliver used to create the story. She made up books and authors, for crying out loud.
Furthermore, love almost ceases to exist in Delirium. That is something that I can’t even fathom; not being able to say you love someone, or even something as simple as mac and cheese, not being able to hug a friend hello or goodbye because of the ever-lingering fear of being imprisoned for showing any sort of affection toward anybody.
And then we meet the main character, Lena. She is one of the most relatable characters I have ever read. She doesn’t see anything wrong with the system, she thinks of herself as any old plain Jane, and she doesn’t want anything to change. Whenever I read a dystopian series, the character is somebody that tends to stand out: Katniss, who hates the Capitol before she becomes tribute, Tris who chooses to leave Abnegation. Lena was much more simple than that (probably because she was scared out of her mind), and it was refreshing to see a character who was so normal.
Fair warning, though, I wouldn’t start reading this book if you only want to read one. Delirium ends with one of the most epic cliffhangers I’ve ever read. So epic that, as I’m typing up this review, I have several other tabs open to Amazon and I’m about to buy the rest of the series (so stay tuned for more reviews!).
Rating:★★★★
May 10, 2016
May 6, 2016
BLUE VIGILANTE GIVEAWAY
Do you want a chance to win a free copy of my debut novel, Blue Vigilante? Click here to enter the Amazon giveaway that is currently going on!
