Dot Hutchison's Blog, page 12

Interview: Jodi Meadows the Awesome!

Hello, friends!

So here’s where Dot finally pulled her big girl panties on. I’ve been wanting for a while to start an interview series with some of the authors I love, but me being me, and being shy and awkward and socially self-concious (even on the internet) ((I swear, I really am shy)) I couldn’t quite convince myself to reach out and ask authors to take time for that. Well, I finally asked, and the awesome Jodi Meadows is here to kick off our interviews!

For anyone who doesn’t know, Jodi is the author of the fantabulous Incarnate, an epic story of identity and romance and a changing world. Seriously. Amazing. So everybody give a cheer for Jodi!

Okay, icebreaker question: who’s your favorite superhero?

Jodi: Currently Batman. I don’t know. I go back and forth a lot on my favorites, and it’s usually the last superhero movie I’ve seen. The husband and I recently caught up on the first two Christian Bale Batman movies in preparation for the third one and they always make my heart go pitter-patter.

I’m sure this is a question that makes you cringe every time, but where did the idea for Incarnate originate?

Jodi: When I was a kid, some of the other kids in day care and I had a hole we were digging under a tree. We were going to dig to China. Well, we never made it to China, but I did find a box of ideas. Millions of them. All the ideas came flying out when I opened the box. I had to shut it quickly to keep them inside. >em>Incarnate was one of those.

(This answer may be a lie.)

Having written three Nosoul books, which was the hardest to write? What was it that made it more difficult than the others?

Jodi: They were all difficult in their own ways, but I think book 3 was probably the hardest. There are so many storylines to tie up, problems to resolve, character arcs to complete. . . . I also had to throw away the first draft of book 3 — all 75,000 words. And then the next 10,000 words when I tried to start over. When I’m answering these interview questions, I haven’t turned the draft in to my editor yet, so I don’t know what kind of changes she’s going to suggest, but right now I’m pretty pleased with the story. I know it will need more work once I have some distance from it, but I think it’s solid right now.

What is a perfect day of writing like for you?

Jodi: Quiet in the house. No distracting drama online. Just a lot of coffee and inspiration.

Is there anything you have to have while you’re writing? Lucky pen, lucky drink, lucky ferret?

Jodi: Nope. I mean, a bottle of water is always nice, because no one writes well while they’re dehydrated. But otherwise, no. I don’t want to need something like candles or a ferret while I’m writing if, say, I want to write during a layover in the airport. I hear they don’t like candles there.

What about a writer’s life has surprised you most since you got your book deal?

Jodi: Hmm. Not sure. I had a lot of friends who were already published by the time I got my deal, so I had the advantage of hearing their stories and seeing them go through the process. I was pretty well prepared!

What about a writer’s life has been the most gratifying?

Jodi: When someone writes to me and tells me that my book made a difference in their life.

What book or books most influenced you as a reader or writer?

Jodi: ALL the books! Everything is an influence. But some of the books that affected me the most deeply: Sunshine by Robin McKinley, Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn, The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (basically all of her books), Winter of Fire by Sheryl Jordan, Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce.

Side note from Dot: having read and loved most of those books- YAY! Anything Robin McKinley or Tamora Pierce is on my must-read list, but Winter of Fire is one of my all-time favorites!

You get to corral a gaggle of fellow YA authors into a single space: what’s the space, and what do you do?

Jodi:Oooh. The space is a bookstore and we talk about books. (Hopefully there’s a cafe in the bookstore so we can drink caffeine and eat junk food.) One of the best things about writers is that they LOVE talking about books they love and books they’re working on. So yeah. That.

What is your most anticipated read of 2012?

Jodi: Oh geeze. I don’t even know. There are a lot. Some I’ve already read: Defiance by C.J. Redwine (fab dystopian fantasy), Timepiece by Myra McEntire (fab timeslip romance), Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock (fab urban fantasy), Everneath by Brodi Ashton (fab myth fantasy), Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins (fab paranormal romance).

Okay, final question: What was it like, that moment when you found out your book had sold?

Very surreal. I had a big clue ahead of time since my agent had to set up an auction, and I’d already had a chance to talk with the editors who wanted to offer. But I kept not believing until the minute we got our first offer because I’d had so much practice in disappointment in the past. My agent called me while I was reading the first offer email and there was a lot of “wow” and stunned silence and then incoherent babbling. I’m still kind of embarrassed about the babbling.

Heh, I don’t think you need to be embarrassed about the babbling- I know my call had a lot of nervous laughters and sudden bursts of Oh my God!

Thanks so much for dropping by, Jodi!

And if you haven’t read it yet, definitely check out Incarnate first book of the NoSoul trilogy, to be followed by Asunder next year!

Until next time~

Cheers!

Book Review: Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein

It starts with a confession, a game she has no chance of winning. It starts with a war and a horror, a history. It starts with a chance, a crashing plane, a mission, and a changing name. But most of all, it starts with a friendship, one with the power to change the course of everything, a friendship that forms its own courage, its own strength, one that will defy the terrors of a Gestapo cell. Because sometimes, friendship is a code name for hope. Trapped in a nightmare, Verity will have to draw on that friendship to survive the unspeakable horrors that await a captured spy.

I’ll go ahead and give the warning: I can’t help but gush about this one. Days and distance are not helping any in that regard, because I think about all the amazing aspects of this book and I’m just blown away all over again. So there is gushing, and maybe a bit of drooling.

The ages of the characters in this book are somewhat nebulous. You get the distinct impression that’s on purpose, probably because it teeters on the edge between Young Adult and Adult. It really could have gone either way, but I’m so glad it went YA, because the voice- oh my God the voice- is so spectacularly compelling. This is a voice that sucks you in from page one and never lets go, and at no point does it become less than riveting. It’s beyond compelling straight into captivating, and even when you’re breathless and appalled and teary-eyeed, you cannot put this book down. Holy expletive, the voice.

It manages to make even the most horrific things matter-of-fact, not in a blase sense but in the sense that she’s tried very hard to prepare herself for anything. Watching the moments where her composure starts to crack, but you know she’s still thinking and planning and gah! awe. Absolute awe. She’s brutally honest and yet, there’s always this sneaking suspicion that she’s tricking us all sometimes. And sometimes, there’s the suspicion that she’s trying to trick herself. The fate of a captured enemy operative is torture and then death- she never flinches from this. She relates that torture in a way that’s sickening, but not grotesque. It doesn’t back away from details but neither does it dwell on them, as much a part of her experience as the fervent wish for clean clothing.

There is so much that’s going on in this book, and yet it has a single, easily identifiable pillar around which it revolves: friendship. Not a romance, but a friendship as deep and true, perhaps even more so, than a romance in such circumstances could possibly be. How these two very different young women come together under a common cause is both gratifying and hysterical as they compare fears, games, and histories. But they do come together, forging both a friendship and a formidable team, and that frienship sustains them through some truly horrifying trials. It’s more than edifying, it’s transformative. Because of this friendship, their lives could never be the same again. I love that even with the subtle threads of possible romances that crop up from time to time, the central focus is always on that incredible friendship.

I love love LOVE how even the villains are humanized with fears and histories and famlies. That human factor is a little bit terrifying- how can they be okay with doing this to other people’s children?- but so true to life and history. Sympathy for the devil is so hard to write, and even harder to sell to a reader, but it comes off so flawlessly it’s hard not to tear up even for the horrible people. Not are the ‘good’ people all valiant knights in shiny white armor. Just because someone is working for the same side doesn’t make them good, and there are distinct threats and discomforts even among your own people. A lot of this book takes place in the gaps in other stories, in the grey areas between accustomed roles and laws, between war and peace, between hope and death, but it doesn’t just hide in the grey areas, it flourishes in them.

This takes place in such a fascinating period of time, with vast leaps in both technology and the role of women. As men went off to the front lines, women stepped into the necessary duties of farming, civil service, and medicine, but also into the increasingly perilous roles in intelligence and aviation, whihc made for some fantastic opportunities they couldn’t be sure would still exist after the war. Entire auxilliary corps of women rose up to fill those positions and became instrumental to the advances that were made. Many of the radio operators- and nearly all of the first radar operators- were women. We see not only our captive’s work in the shadowy world of intelligence operatives, but also her best friend’s work as an aviatrix, a world of planes when aviation was still fairly young and in rapid development, and female pilots were few and far between and subject to discrimination from nearly every angle. The detail in these worlds, the precision of the story and the locations, is really just mind-boggling. This doesn’t come off as historical fiction, mainly because we never feel that divorced from the story. We feel like we’re there in the middle of things.

Oh, the twists. So many twists, and so wonderfully layered. Some you can expect, if you’re paying attention to the obscure details outside of the story, but they’re still wonderful in how they come to be, and others are wonderfully, devestatingly unexpected. More heart-shattering yet are the ones you’re waiting for, the ones you know will happen but you keep hoping and praying they won’t, and then they do and it’s just staggering.

Despite ALL THE TEARS, I love that this book had the grace, strength, and courage to go for the good ending rather than the happy one (and trust me, that’s not giving anything away; this book doesn’t let you make those kinds of assumptions). I don’t mind a book leaving me with a lingering hope-tinged sorrow if it coems hand in hand with the glorious satisfaction and contentment that comes of finishing an astrounding book.

If this review comes off as seeming light on details, it’s for a reason- I don’t want to deprive you of the discoveries. It is such an amazing book, with characters that live long after the pages end. And you can’t read it just once- as soon as you get to the end, tears streaming down your face, jaw somewhere around your knees with shock, you’ll immediately want to turn back and start it again to watch with more understanding how all of these pieces fit flawlessly, gorgeously together.

This is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year, and perhaps ever. Do yourself a favor and don’t miss this one.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, out in stores now.

Until next time~

Cheers!

Mini-Vacation and GIVEAWAY

So I’m actually away from my computer this entire weekend because one of my big brothers is graduating with a Very Important Degree and we’re going up to see him be all important and stuff. (Don’t let the sleepy grammar fool you- I’m ridiculously proud of him)

To make up for my absence, I’m giving away an AMAZING book!

I got an ARC for Christopher Healy’s fabulous The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom and just about hurt myself laughing. Despite having the ARC, I had to go ahead and buy the finished book anyway, for two reasons: one, I love to support the authors of books I love; and two: because I had to have the interior illustrations. They’re wonderful! They’re funny and pitch-perfect and only add to the atmosphere of this fantastic story.

So now I’m passing on that ARC! You too can laugh yourself into pained incoherence with the adventures and misadventures of Princes Gustav, Frederick, Liam, and Duncan! Trust me, you WANT this book.

And all you have to do is answer a question: who do you think got the shortest end of the stick in fairy tales?

For my part, I always felt bad for the Little Mermaid (the real one, not the Disney one). She tries so hard and gives up so much, every step hurts like knives underfoot, but in the end she still can’t get the guy she’s risked everything to be with. In her case, you really can die from a broken heart, and it’s not that there’s anything wrong with her, it’s not the prince hated her, it just…didn’t work. Her story brings tears to my eyes every time.

So who do you think got the short end of the stick? Tell me below and you’ll be entered to win- that’s all you have to do. You don’t have to follow me here or on twitter, you don’t have to like my facebook page, just comment. (Of course, if you WANTED to do those things, I’d love you and give you virtual cookies, but it’s optional). Open to US residents only, and you can comment through Saturday, 2 June 2012.

Can’t wait to hear what you come up with!

Until next time~

Cheers!

Book Review: Insurgent, by Veronica Roth

WARNING: this is the second book in a series, sequel to 2011′s Divergent; if you have not read the first book, there WILL be spoilers below!

The factions are in chaos, Abnegation all but destroyed at the hands of the Erudite-controlled Dauntless. It’s hard to know who to trust, a situation made worse by the ever-present threat of another simulation that could turn even the most beloved people into mindless puppets intent on your death. In the wake of her parents’ deaths and her faction’s destruction, Tris has to decide how far she’s willing to go, what’s she fighting for, and- perhaps most importantly- what she’s willing to give up.

Middle books make me nervous, especially if I liked the first book. And I LOVED Divergent. Like it was almost physically painful to put the book down to clock back in for work, and while I was working my brain was still buried in the story and the characters. I loved the action, the brutality, the question of identity and choice and decisions. This book was more than captivating- it was engulfing. So I’ve been very nervous while waiting for this second book.

And I shouldn’t have been, because holy crap it’s AMAZING.

This book picks up immediately where the first left off, on the train running from the tattered remnants of the simulation that caused Dauntless to slaughter much of Abnegation. Her parents’ deaths are still raw and heavy with no time to try to make sense of what’s happened because if she doesn’t keep moving, she’ll join them. They have to find out what Erudite’s after (and why) at a time when only two of the five factions haven’t been directly impacted by the slaughter.

There is so much to love about this book. Right off the bat we get to start seeing more of the factions that separate this society. Tris and Four go with some of the Abnegation refugees (including Four’s father, Marcus) to the Amity compound on the edge of the city, but they know that isn’t going to be a long term solution. Amity is as foreign to Tris as Dauntless initially was, a compound awash in cheerful reds and yellows, with people who hug each other and talk things out until they reach a consensus. There’s no leader, just a spokeperson or representative who carries the decisions of the faction the rest of the council. They’re very happy people, and Tris at the best of times is not a particularly happy person. But we go beyond Amity to look within Candor, where unflinching honesty isn’t simply a way of life, but the hardest truths are accepted with the grace of a gift. We’ve peeked into Erudite before, but we get glimpses of a more complete world, one with children and people who couldn’t care less about who’s in control as long as they can keep learning. What makes these factions so compelling is that the vices and virtues inherent in their chosen trait is fully embraced. The sometimes black and white worldview of the first book, where each of the other three factions comes off as rather single-minded and flat, comes more into the world of grey here. It complicates things, certainly- decisions are easier to make when everything is black and white, right?- but it also makes us fully involved in these difficult moments.

And there are a LOT of difficult moments. Tris reels from crisis to crisis, not even given the time to recover from one before she’s thrust into the next. It’s a nearly constant state of high adrenaline, as crippling in its own way as grief and fear. Each crisis is not just a test but a blow, and some of them wound more than others. Nor are they all external blows. If the first book was about Tris’ choice, this book is about its consequences.

And one of thosse consequences is Four. I love the conflict that grows in the space between them, the way they respond differently to the events even as they cling to the comfort each usually finds in the other, but those differences become more pronounced until Tris has to try to figure out if they actually want the same things (which will force her to figure out what she even wants). As enigmatic and abrupt as Four could be in the first book, he starts to feel like someone we don’t really know anymore. It’s hard to understand some of what he’s thinking, what he’s working towards. We feel disconnected from someone we thought we understood really well, but that’s okay- because that’s also how Tris feels.

I LOVED how we got such a close look at the science behind divergence- how awesome is that? And really, it stands on its own without much gushing, because it’s frickin’ amazing.

I think one of my absolute favorite things about this book is how it truly continues the story not only in terms of action but in terms of character. And it’s not just choice and consequence, though that’s captivating. The first book was also very much about exploring the difference between strength and bullying, and where the line can be drawn. Tris chose strength, but strength leads into other traits as well, and here we see just how fine the line is between recklessness and courage. Just as she had to make choices in the first book, she has to make them here, and they’re not any easier.

I still wish Tris would use more contractions in her narration, simply because she uses them in her dialogue and the inconsistency is sometimes jarring, but other than that, there was really only one thing that bothered me. It’s hard to talk about without spoilers, but when you get to the biggest *GASP!*- and trust me you’ll know what it is- I have an issue with the timing, which could prove potentially problematic. I think you’ll see when you get there. But at the end of the day, if those two very tiny things are my only irritations about a book? I’m in love.

Insurgent, by Veronica Roth, absolutely NOT to be missed!

Until next time~

Cheers!

The Diving Board

Writing is a lot like swimming.

There’s the spark- you don’t just randomly go swimming. You get the idea to go swimming. And when you get that idea, you turn it over in your head to see if it’s something you really want to do. After all, there are lots of other ideas. You could go bowling, watch TV, hang with friends. Is swimming really what you want to put your time and effort to?

So you decide, yes, you want to go swimming. You want to go with that idea. But again, you don’t just jump into the pool. You make preparations. You get into your bathing suit, you get a towel, sunscreen if you’re into that. You have to actually get to the pool, whether that’s in your backyard, across the complex, or across town. If it’s going to be an all-day thing, you pack things to take with you, like a book or toys or music. In other words, you’re gathering the tools you’ll need.

You arrive at the pool, set out your things just the way you want them. Now you face a choice: shallow end or deep end?

There’s something exhilirating about the thought of plunging into the deep end right off the bat. No worries, no holding back, just SPLASH. Just jump in and see what happens next.

But sometimes, you know, that water is really frickin’ cold, and when it closes around your head, there’s a moment of panic. Suddenly being in over your head isn’t just a literal sense. You flail and struggle, and sometimes you manage to paddle to the edge and pull yourself out, and it’s going to be a little while before you try that again.

Which is why most people start out at the shallow end. They test the water with a foot or a hand, to make sure the temperature is something they’re comfortable with. They ease in, a bit at a time, acclimating themselves, and when they dip under fully, it’s with the comfortable assurance that they know exactly where the surface is. There’s no panic, no sudden shift. They’re fully in control. So, when, they’re ready, they can either swim slowly and steadily into the deep end, or they can head to the diving board.

That’s my favorite part.

When I was younger, I was someone who would just run alongside the pool (usually to a chorus of “No running by the pool!”) and hurl myself into the deep end with gleeful abandon. And at first, everything would be fine. With swimming, it stayed fine. With writing…not so much. I’d jump into a new project and then suddenly I’d be flailing. I didn’t know where I was in the story, didn’t know who the characters were, had no idea where I was going. It was like being underwater with my eyes closed and not knowing which way the air was. When I finally broke the surface, I was confused and discouraged, and I’d set it aside and sometimes it would be a little while before I’d try again.

How stupid was I to try the same thing time after time after time and expect different results?

(Isn’t that one definition of insanity?)

Now I come at things from the shallow end. I write notes to make sure I actually have a grasp of the idea. I do research beforehand, I make outlines- even if they’re just lists of the big things that happen (it varies from project to project). When I fully submerge myself in the project, coming up is the realization that I’m as ready as I’m going to be.

Which is when I go to the diving board.

As a kid, pools with diving boards were infinitely cooler than pools without. There was something about standing on the very edge of the board, toes curled over the lip, bouncing up and down and feeling the springiness as it bounced back. That moment- that bounce- has infinite potential. After all, who knows how high you can jump? Will you do a straight dive, a swan dive, a jackknife? A cannonball? A flip? A flop? But no matter what you were going to do, standing on the diving board was a deliberate thing. You had to choose to do it.

Standing on the diving board after prepping a new project is wonderful and terrifying, and for me probably the best part. You have all this potential ahead of you for amazing things. There’s also a lot of potential for literary belly flops. You’ve done your prep work, you know you’ll be okay in the water, it’s just the entry that’s a point of dismay.

At any given pool party, there was always one kid who was scared of the diving board. He’d go up, stand on the edge- but just couldn’t jump. Sometimes one of the other kids would get impatient and just push him in, and then he’s struggle and cry and it kind of put a pall over the whole rest of the party. Other times, the kid would stand there forever, until finally he gave up, walked back down the board to the deck, and went to sit in one of the chairs for a while, totally discouraged and embarrassed.

Sometimes, when I’m standing on the edge of a new project, I feel like that kid. I know there’s nothing to be scared of. I do. I know that. I know how to swim, I know there are people on the side who will help me if something goes wrong and I start to flail, I know that. Still. There’s that moment of paralyzing panic.

Every now and then, it’s okay to back away. To go back to the shallow end and get comfortable for a bit before trying again.

But at some point, you HAVE to jump in.

Enjoy the splash.

Until next time~

Cheers!

Book Review: Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

Catherine, commonly called Birdy or Little Bird, is in a bit of a fix. The daughter of a knight and a minor lady must marry, it seems, but each suitor is more unsuitable than the last? What’s a girl to do? Well, if she’s Birdy, the answer is to raise a ruckus in inimitable fashion, and along the way learn some valuable lessons about people, life, and just what it means to spread your wings.

It’s been years since I read this book, so long I’d almost forgotten why I loved it so much. But I remember!

Catherine is an amazing character, one who frankly reminds me of myself. Even when she isn’t causing trouble, she’s…well..causing trouble. There are just some occasions in which it’s an accident. She’s resourceful, defiant, imaginative, curious, strong-willed, rarely chastened, and never broken. She’s genuine and compassionate and kind, and if she whines about the sacrifices she makes for others, the impulse behind the sacrifices in sincere. She’ll consign herself to a dreadful fate to save a starving, beaten bear from being baited to death- just don’t ask her to share her blankets. She already shares them with the fleas.

Catherine’s story is laid out in a diary, written at the behest of her scholarly monk brother Edward. At first it’s a chore she hates as much as embroidery, hemming, or any of the other many ladies tasks to which she’s assigned, but then it becomes something wonderful- a way to get out of all the other hateful things for a little while each day. We follow the course of a year, each day with its patron saint (and why they’re a saint). This book is like a window into the 13th century. For some bizarre reason we frequently romanticize the medieval times, but there is nothing ideal about Catherine’s world, where the remedies are appalling, the bigotry institutionalized by Crown and Church, and bathing is something you do once or twice a year if you’re brave. It’s sweltering in summer and freezing in winter, clothing is a finite resource, and beds are packed tighter than sardine cans.

But there’s joy there too, a million tricks and jokes and mummer’s games, with festivities timed to the calendar of saints. Catherine, of course, provides a great deal of amusement (even if the privy fire really was an accident). There are weddings and gifts and plays, and if they’re twined through death and loss and cracks on the head, well, that’s all a part of life as well.

Catherine’s wish for flight isn’t a literal one, but it’s a very real one. Her story underscores how powerless most women- especially most upper class women- were during that time period, something that becomes a rather frightening parallel in the here and now. A woman must marry (or become a nun, and nuns have as many rules and chores as the daughter of a knight), and she’ll likely have no say in who her husband will be. She’s expected to obey meekly, first her father then her husband, and do all that could be asked of her. A girl cannot go on adventures or do dangerous things (excepting, of course, giving birth, which is as deadly as it is dangerous), she cannot be a great scholar or live in the woods. Catherine struggles against it, flailing against the bars of her cage, but still she progresses on a slow, inexorable march to the altar and a husband of her father’s choosing.

But there’s a very wise woman who gives her a key piece of advice, and when she finally understands what the woman means, her outlook changes. Her circumstances don’t- well, they do, in a rather too-neat ending, but she doesn’t know that when her outlook changes- but she comes to understand that whatever her circumstances, whatever her lot in life, the one thing that cannot be taken from her is who she is. She can be forced to be someone’s wife or someone’s mother, a lady of a manor, but the one thing she can always be, the one thing she can control, is being Catherine.

This is an amazing historical view, full of every range of emotion, and quite frankly, a lot of fun to read.

God’s Thumbs!

Until next time~

Cheers~

Restful Reading

This is a lazy post, I’ll be the first to admit it. I have spent the past week and a half drunk on reading.

I’m at one of those rare breaks where I’ve finished a draft of one project and need to set it aside for a while, plus I’m not quite to the point of editing a different project, and it’s not really time yet to start a new project. I’ve just finished a ton of work and I’m about to launch off into a ton of work, but for just a little while, I have nothing that has to get done right now.

Which for me means a reading binge.

I don’t read as much when I’m drafting or editing. I don’t want to get pulled into someone else’s voice, and there are so many amazing books in my TBR pile that it’s hard not to get lost in them once I start. I allow myself about two books a week while I’m writing, mostly for when I’m eating or on break at work.

This last week and a half, I’ve been reading between one and three books a day, and it’s WONDERFUL. (At the moment I’ve just streaked through the Song of Ice and Fire series, and those are really more like one a bit per day books). I’ve read fairy tales, read epic fantasies, a couple of contemps, some adventure. I’ve read picture books and middle grade and YA and standard genre, and I’ve been in absolute heaven. I’m not reading to dissect anything (except after the fact for reviews, but that’s different). I’m not reading to learn anything, not reading to find a particular skill (though I appreciate what I notice), I am reading purely for the pleasure of doing so.

I’m reading for fun.

Which is something we don’t always allow ourselves. There are things to write, to edit. Books are tools, books are lessons, books are useful.

Well, yes.

But books are also FUN.

So make sure that every now and then, you give yourself a gift of some time to read whatever you want. It’s restful, but it’s also like putting a battery on a charger- you come away from that reading time with all the juices going, ready to dive back in and save the world. Or destroy it. Or build it. Whatever it is you happen to be doing.

Happy reading!

Until next time~

Cheers!

Book Review: The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, by Christopher Healy

Ever wondered what comes after the happily-ever-after? For the four Princes Charming (or is it Prince Charmings?), it’s the realization that no one knows your name because they’re much more interested in the lady. But when one of those ladies goes off in search of adventure, what begins as a missing bard quickly grows into a heroic (and not-so-heroic) quest involving bandits, bounty hunters, giants, dragons, and a grumpy witch with serious issues. Buckle up, lovelies! It’s one crazy ride.

This book should come with a warning printed on it: do not attempt to eat or drink while reading. My keyboard will never be the same.

This book has such a fantastic sense of fun, a humor that infuses every sentence. Its pitch-perfect tongue-in-cheek narration (think Lemony Snicket without the bite) has a levity that keeps the story floating along effortlessly. You will hurt yourself laughing with this one, whether it’s sniggers over Sir Bertram the Dainty, giggles over well-meaning but rather inept Frederic, or full-on belly shakers over the Bandit King. This could be a dangerous book to read in public- depends on how you feel about people staring at you, or if you feel uncomfortable losing all composure in front of people. It’s a fantastic story to read aloud with kids. Honestly, I think my friends and I would get a kick of out reading it out loud together if we were in the same area code.

The four princes are all distinct, fitting certain stereotypes but embodying them so fully that they step beyond them. They have varying degrees of frustration with the Prince Charming label (and the lack of publicity for their exploits that comes with it), and all four of them grow and learn along the way. But initially? These four princes couldn’t be more different. There’s prissy Frederic, who’s never been on an adventure in his life and considers his greatest talent to be his ability to coordinate his stylish clothing. He’s never ridden a horse (too dangerous!), slept outdoors (too messy!), or even lifted a sword (too risky!). There’s Prince Gustav, unlucky in most of what he attempts. He’s very brave but he’s uh…well, let’s call him impulsive. He’s huge and prickly and never stops to think before he runs into danger- or gets run over by danger. Then there’s Prince Liam, a real hero with a number of great deeds to his credit- who possibly woke up the wrong princess and needs to get away. Their fourth compatriot is Prince Duncan, who names all the animals and trusts to his luck to see him through. Together, these four function about as well as if you’d hog-tied all of them.

But they each bring something valuable to the table, even if it takes them a while to realize it. Much of the story is caught up in them bumbling around, getting in each other’s (and their own) way, but every step is also building towards that moment when they finally understand what it is to be an actual team.

Of course, there’s also the four ladies. Only half of them are princesses as of yet. There’s Ella, of Cinderella fame, now freed from her life of servitude to her step-family by virtue of being Frederic’s fiancee. It took a lot of guts to go the ball against orders, to seize opportunity when it arose, and that kind of girl doesn’t do well taking picnics day after day after day. So what’s a brave, curious, resourceful girl to do? Well, if you’re Ella, the answer is to run off in search of a missing bard. There’s also Rapunzel, whose rescue was somewhat compromised by her needing to rescue her rescuer. It’s in her nature to help people, which doesn’t much help prickly Gustav. There’s Snow White, sweet and a little odd, well-equipped for her wacky husband but just needing a few hours of peace and quiet. And then there’s Briar Rose, who probably should have been left asleep for another prince to deal with. She’s mean and spoiled and arrogant, hateful and cruel, and determined to get her own way no matter how much misery she causes. Actually, the more misery she causes the happier she is. While the focus is on the four princes, the four ladies are hardly by-standers. Each of them has a place in the story as well, some as rescue and some as…well, distraction is probably for the best for some.

But these are by no means the only characters. We meet the evil witch (who didn’t start out that way, you know), the giant in her service (who could really use a good pair of shoes), a dragon, a Bandit King with a temper (who’s a bit of a psychopath), three grumpy dwarves (are dwarves ever anything else?), a very clever little sister (because little sisters just rock), a morose bounty hunter, sixteen older brothers, five missing bards, a tavern of dangerous men, and a motley assortment of parents as idiosyncratic as their children.

It’s a fast-paced story, taking us back and forth across the lands while never letting us feel bored or battered by repetition. The foreshadowing is done in beautiful sarcasm (the prologue gives you a long description of where you’ll find the princes in Chapter 20), and sometimes the things we’re told in asides are at least as interesting as what we’re told that’s to the point.

This is a book you set aside time for, after you’ve eaten, when you’ve no thirst, with your kids or friends around you to share in it with you. Just make sure you avoid anyone you don’t want to see you laughing hysterically.

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, by Christopher Healy, out in stores now. Don’t miss this!

Until next time~

Cheers!

Character Study: Valjean and Javert

Note: this comes from the characters as presented in the musical of Les Miserables, not the book. The book made me want to do horrible things to humanity as punishment for my being forced through it. The musical I adore.

Over the course of a few weeks, while I was cleaning my room and doing edits and various other things that ultimately proved to be more important than I thought they’d be, I had a few things running on repeat on the TV, things I knew so well I could keep the screen covered with a blanket, enjoy the sounds, and not be tempted to sit down and watch (it mostly worked). One of these was the 10th Anniversary Dream Cast of Les Miserables.

I fell in love with Les Mis back in Middle School; the folks who absconded with me into the drama program introduced me to the show. I could sing the entire thing, every part- even the parts that blended over each other in songs- and pick it up from any point in the show. When my dad was stationed in London for a year, we went for a visit and he took us to see this show. I bawled at least seven separate times because holy hell, it was SO GOOD. So as I’m listening to it as a backdrop to other tasks, most of my thoughts were much the same as they’d ever been.

-I feel really bad for Eponine, because God her life is one giant ball of suck.

-I wish the Thenardiers getting filthy rich at the end wasn’t so easy to believe, because I really hate it when horrible people do well for themselves.

-Marius’ survivor’s guilt is going to make him unbearable in a few years, given his generally obsessive personality.

-I feel really bad for Javert, for being so unbending he has nothing else but to break.

And then I took a break to stretch and get something to drink, and I listened (and paid attention) to the scene where Valjean and Javert are arguing after Fantine’s death. And some thoughts started prickling. And prickling a little more. And sinking claws in. So I hit rewind (it’s actually a VHS tape, which makes me giggle every time, I don’t why) and started over, and this time I listened to all of their interactions, listened to their solos. Basically paid close attention to the dynamic between these two men.

And I was fascinated.

On their own, these two characters are interesting enough, but when paired, they’re so much more.

For anyone not familiar with the musical (or the book, to which the musical bears some similarity), these two men are actually the ones we start with. Jean Valjean is a convict, Javert a police inspector. After nineteen years in prison- five for stealing a piece of bread, fourteen for trying to escape- Valjean is finally being released on parole, and Javert promises he’ll be close behind should Valjean decide to go back to his thieving ways. But parole at this time was an ugly thing- a parolee had no rights under the law, there were few jobs they could get, and most folk treated them like the scum of the earth. Being on parole was a short track to starvation and a return to a life of crime. While staying with a bishop, Valjean steals some of his silver and gets caught by two policemen, but the bishop tells them he gave the silver to Valjean as a gift to start fresh. Once the policemen are gone, he tells Valjean that he has bought his soul for God, that he must use this as a way to become a man of God and faith and uprightness. Valjean breaks his parole, leaves his name behind, and starts over, with Javert searching for the convict who broke his parole.

Over the next fifteen to twenty years, the two men occasionally cross paths. Sometimes Javert recognizes Valjean, sometimes he doesn’t, but always his search is constant for Convict 24601. It’s more than obsession; it’s his purpose, an unbending, unyielding, fanatic devotion to the law. Every time they come together, recognition or not, they clash against what is right and what is law.

That’s where the fascination begins.

For Javert, the law is what it is. It does not matter what is fair, it does not matter what the circumstances may be, the law is the law (for a YA reference, think “The law is hard, but it is the law”). Does he enjoy his work? Yes. He’s a judgmental bastard who delights in proving his moral superiority over the scum of the earth. He takes both pride and pleasure in locking people away, and he doesn’t much care if they’re innocent or not. For him, it is enough to know that the courts have declared them guilty. This detestation of the lower forms is intrinsic, a lifelong obsession stemming from his birth inside one of those jails. He overcame all the calamities of his birth to become a foundation of the law, and that kind of rigid discipline doesn’t allow for anything else. He’s a religious man, but his faith is built on an Old Testament God of flames and swords.

For Valjean, the law fails to protect those who most needs its protection. In the musical, it never says why he stole a piece of bread (in the book, I believe he was stealing it for a starving sister, or maybe her children- the book was a long time ago and I tried really, really hard to forget most of that experience), but that’s all he stole at first. Until he breaks his parole, the rest of his life is determined by that measly piece of bread. For a time, that does exactly what we would expect it to do- makes him hateful and vindictive, disillusioned with the world and all the people in it. Until the bishop. He takes the bishop’s offer of redemption seriously, and in his new life he becomes a successful industrialist, the mayor of his town, a fine and respected man who uses his wealth responsibly. When he makes a mistake- as in not investigating the argument among his factory workers involving Fantine- he does his absolute best to remedy it. He takes his promises seriously, and will put his own life and welfare on the line in the name of doing what is right. Also a religious man, he’s a child rescued by the New Testament God of forgiveness and love.

In the name of what is right or what is law, both men can be unyielding. In that aspect, they’re very similar. They will go to the ends of the earth in pursuit of that purpose. To that end, they actually understand one another very well. They can’t agree with it, they can’t go along with it, but they understand it.

That innate similarity, compounded by the many differences in execution, are what makes them so fascinating as a driving pair of characters. Because with understanding, with common groundwork, comes a point where one has to yield to the other- and neither can take any pleasure in it.

Valjean has broken before. He broke in prison, he broke under his parole. He broke under the bishop’s mercy and reformed himself into something new. He broke under the weight of a promise to the dying Fantine, broke again to rescue an innocent man from the fate reserved for him (Valjean). He breaks under the strength of Cosette’s love for Marius, the knowledge that he can’t shelter her from the world forever. But. Each time he breaks, he puts himself together as something stronger, something better.

Javert can only break once, because when he breaks, he shatters. It goes against everything in his nature to bend or break, and once such a thing occurs, everything about him is in irreparable pieces. For a man of flames and swords and retribution, mercy is a shattering force.

Valjean never does anything to Javert except argue with him, evade him, and once even save his life. He never attacks the man, and while he calls him naive- as any man who sees only in shades of black and white can be argued to be- he never insults him either. He promises Javert his sense of justice, once his (Valjean’s) promises have been fulfilled. Once Marius is safe for Cosette’s sake, he’ll surrender himself to the law. Compare that to Javert, constantly reinforcing Valjeans’ histroy as 24601, constantly calling him the scum of the gutter. Compare Valjean’s mercy- reassuring the dying Fantine, rescuing Cosette, rescuing Marius, giving Javert his life instead of taking it- with Javert’s glee at the prospect off slaughtered revolutionary schoolboys.

But we would never get the depth of these characters in isolation. Even against other characters, we only ever see certain aspects. It’s only when set against each other that we understand these characters completely- they’re dependent upon each other in order to be fully realized. Javert is not, on his own, a sympathetic character, but his relationship with Valjean allows him to become one in our eyes, leading to one of the richest, most emotionally taut moments of the entire show.

Not every story can support characters so fully intertwined, but those that can are amazing if they can get even half of the depth and bonds of the connections between Jean Valjean and Javert.

Can you recommend any?

Until next time~

Cheers!

Book Review: Enchanted, by Alethea Kontis

Words have power, be they names or stories, and no one knows this better than Sunday Woodcutter, seventh daughter of a seventh daughter. But what starts as an unlikely friendship with a frog becomes a great deal more when curses cross and stories twist, and not only Sunday but all her sisters will have great destinies to fulfill to save their kingdom from an evil without a name.

So I have this thing for fairy tales. Liiiiike really have a thing for fairy tales. So I saw the cover and thought oh, cool, Princess and the Frog, that chould be fun.

This book blew me away. It is so much more than a single fairy tale, so much more than any fairy tales, and yet somehow it’s everything that every fairy tale could ever be. Seriously, I could gush for days and still not be able to relate how much I loved this book. I devoured it, and having to clock back in for work was painful. I wanted to blow off everything so I could keep reading.

Sunday is an amazing character, joyful and brooding and open and strong. She has a destiny given her by her name but also a burning desire to be more than that, to make a life outside of a name and a fate. She’s a storyteller, but she’s one that knows the power of words, so she’s cautious with them. For all that, there’s an unfettered merriment and love in her, love for all her family members (no matter how crotchety). Everything she feels, she feels intensely, with no filter between who she is and who she seems to be. She’s refreshing, and while she’s not someone who races out to save the day, neither does she stand around and wait to be rescued.

I absolutely fell in love with our frog prince. He starts out as someone with the potential to have great strength- if he can find it. He’s one of those rare people who has the chance to start completely over, but that redemption has a price he may not be able to pay. More to the point, he may have to sacrifice that redemption for something far greater. Determined to be a man worthy of Sunday’s love, despite the history between their families, he has to acquire a lifetime of memories and skills in just a few days’ time. There’s so much he doesn’t know, some he may never know. He doesn’t have to seek adventure because it’s waiting for him right at home.

Most of this cast is phenomonal. In a family of extraordinary people, extraordinary starts to feel rather normal, so they accept things as commonplace that would otherwise be mind-boggling. Why wouldn’t Sunday fall in love with a frog? After all, eldest son Jack Jr was a dog for a time, and brother Trix is a changeling. Each character has a different destiny but each twines through the others. They’re not a loose collection of people in a house; they’re a family. Each is distinct and well-drawn, and like sister Wednesday’s poetry, sometimes the truths lie more in the shadows and the spaces between.

And the fairy tales. Oh, the fairy tales. This isn’t a single fairy tale, but rather a tapestry that weaves through so many. Just a sampling of the stories included: Princess and the Frog, Twelve Dancing Princesses, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Jack and the Beanstalk. But there are so many others, sometimes pillars of the story and sometimes fleeting glimpses that make us smile even as we’re too absorbed in the book to look away.

This book is as enchanting as the title suggests. Beautifully paced, gorgeously painted, this book is simply not to be missed. Enchanted, by Alethea Kontis, out 8 May 2012.

Until next time~

Cheers!