Have I Told You How Much I Love This Book?

My mom and I hosted our book club meeting this month and of course I wanted to talk about a young adult novel because, as you all know, I love them!  It was a great meeting with good food and I think we had a pretty good discussion.  Any chance I get to talk about books is a good time for me.  I just wanted to take this opportunity to talk about one of my very favorite books.  The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale.  I read this book about three years ago and loved it.  It's such a great book with a very human main character to overcomes her own personal challenges and in finds that her greatest triumph comes by staying true to herself.  I had the opportunity to read, nay, devour, this book again thanks to our book club.  I believe I loved it even more the second time. 
Not only is it a great book but the author is another LDS woman who has made it in the writing world and written a story that is absolutely worth reading.  Thank you Shannon!
I highly recommend this book.  As my mom says, "I think every girl should read this book."  And I would have to agree.

Matched

In the midst of all the writing I've been doing I've also been reading quite a bit.  I just finished Matched by Ally Condie.  I was first drawn to this book by a reader on Shelfari.  She said she simply couldn't wait for this book because she loves Ally Condie.  I couldn't remember having heard about her.  The cover is beautiful and intriguing and the synopsis were enough to make me buy the book. 
This book is about a dystopian society (yeah, I know, Mal read another dystopian book) that is unlike any other I've read.  The people in this society are matched with their significant other when they are 16 and court each other until they are able to marry at the age of 21.  Everything goes perfectly until the main character, Cassia, finds out that maybe her match was not the only person that she could be matched with.  She begins to discover how to think for herself and realizes that "they" might not always know what's best for everyone.
It was a good book, and of course the first in a series that I will be anxiously awaiting to read the next.  More than anything I'm so excited that Ally Condie is another LDS writer who has written a great book.  Another woman who is making it with a great book that is worth reading without all the junk that's in today's world.

This semester started out as a rather depressing one.  I thought I was going to get all this time to write over the Christmas break and I don't think I wrote more than a sticky note's worth.  However, this semester I've actually had some inspiration.  Thanks to Jernae, I decided that I would just start writing a scene that I've been wanting to write.  So, that's what I did.  In the process I've had another realization: I'm a slow writer.  I've tried to forget about my perfectionism while I write so I could simply get the story on paper and tweak later.  But, I always find myself thinking too carefully about every word.  I've just decided that's going to have to be okay for now.  Someday I will learn to write faster.  Because that piece is still in progress I'm not going to post anything about it yet.  Not to worry though, here's the prologue.  :)

Prologue

Isaac walked into the dark room where his mother stood in front of a large, glass projection screen.  She stood with her arms folded and hip cocked to one side.  The heels on her four-inch stilettos looked more like knives than shoes, but people seemed to pay more attention to her fitted lab coat than what she wore on her feet.    By her stance, he knew that she had discovered something.

Images and videos of a young woman illuminated the screen.  She couldn’t have been more than seventeen.  She and another boy with the same emerald eyes and dark hair laughed while they played cards.  In another she was young and had been crying.  One image showed her gazing out at something he couldn’t see.  Her eyes concentrated on something distant, while the curve of her jaw was relaxed.

On a video screen labeled September 19, 2057, today’s date, she was running through a forest.  The forest looked wet and challenging, but her slender frame gracefully moved between the trees, avoiding branches and rocks.  Her eyes always looked forward in unwavering determination.

He stood next to his mother to watch the screen more closely.  “Are you sure she’s the one?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said, still looking at the screen.

“But how can you be sure?” 

“I suppose there’s really no way to tell.”  Still, somehow he knew that she’d found the right girl.

She’s beautiful, he thought.  “Who is she?”

“She’s the one that will try to overthrow us.  We must make sure that she succeeds.”

“Succeeds?”

“Isaac,” his mother said condescendingly, “we must make her think that she will succeed.”

“What do you want me for?”

She turned to look at him directly.  Her eyes flashed as a smile crept up the side of her face.  “We have a mission for you.”

The Circus

A couple of days ago I finished reading Water For Elephants.  I must say that I quite enjoyed it.  It gives the reader and inside view of what a circus was really like in the 1930s.  The story was kind of told in an almost fairytale-like way.  It switches back and forth between the 90 (or 93) and 23 year old versions of the main character and you get his days when he hopped aboard the circus train contrasting with the circus coming to town while he sits in a nearby nursing home.
While I liked this book there were a few things that I didn't like so well.  First, as Natalie mentioned, there were several sexual references or scenes that I wish weren't there.  Second, in the main character's older years when he's 90 (or 93) he looks back on the circus with such fondness and he can't wait to see this circus that's come to town, but his days in the circus were not happy.  I didn't understand why he would want to go back so badly.  He obviously grew more fond of it later, but that's not the happy part that this book is about.
I will say that I liked this book well enough that I'm excited for the movie to come out.  I would recommend it, but with a work of caution because of a few scenes of "adult content."

Great Book!

I've only just started reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, but so far it is excellent!  The writing is so fantastic and I can't wait to read more.  There will, of course, be more about this book later.  :)

Meh... Could've Been Better

I finally finished Charlie St. Cloud.  In all honesty it started slow and I had trouble diving into it at first.  While I was really searching for some easy brain candy to dive into for this Christmas break I think I was really looking for something that took me out of life for a while and a book that was impossible to put down.  That's not quite what I got out of this book... at first.  Yesterday, at work, I took the book with me and if I had time, I was going to read it.  Turns out I had a lot of time and it got to the point where I didn't want to put the book down.  I had to find out what was going to happen.  So, I must say the book was quite enjoyable and a good love story.  It was unique and original.  I don't think I've read anything else like it.
The biggest reason I had trouble getting into this book was because the author simply told the story he didn't show it.  I kept waiting to experience what the character was and it never really got there.  I liked the characters and the story, the writing just seemed to lack.  It started out great and interesting and then sort of died off.  During the climax the tension increased and I think that's really the reason the book was enjoyable to read.  If you are looking for a unique love story that you are able to walk away from on occasion, this is good brain candy for you.
Now, I think I need to go watch the movie!

I always knew dystopia was scary but...

This book was crazy!  I really don't know how Margaret Atwood imagined this one up, but it's certainly original.  Even though it was written about 20 years ago it still makes perfect sense today and actually still felt very modern.  The Handmaid's Tale is the story of a woman living in a world where everything has been changed.  She's one of the first generation in this society and therefore still knows how to read and write even though these things are forbidden for women.  In this world women are used specifically to replenish the earth.  Men are either in charge of a household of women dedicated to giving he and his wife a child or they are sent to the armed forces never to love a woman.  It's a society of duty.  Pleasure is essentially forbidden, but what happens when the people are smarter than government gives them credit for?

The story was not only original, but the writing was spectacular.  If the story doesn't draw you in the writing will.  Atwood writes the way the main character is really thinking and you, as the reader, can't help but picture everything she sees with brilliant clarity.  Disclaimer: Because this story is largely based on the fact that the main character is used only for her fertile organs, there are scenes that can be potentially disturbing to some readers.  They are not long, it's the exactness of the language that may be disturbing.

My advisor had a list of books to read for my writer's workshop class.  I had to choose one that was most like the style I read and write.  Because I work a lot with dystopia (the opposite of utopia, for those of you who don't know) this book was the one I wanted to read.  It really made me think a lot about the factors in an unstable society and it really made me think about my own writing.  I've found another author whose writing I can aspire to.

Torment

I finally got the chance to read Torment by Lauren Kate.  (it seems like I'm saying "finally got to read" a lot lately.)  It was pretty good and I'd say it was a worthy sequel of Fallen.  I dove right in and just read and read and enjoyed it the whole way through.  One thing that has always bothered me in books like these is the fact that the simple actions of honesty and forgiveness are sometimes the best way to solve a problem with someone you love.  That was really the only problem I had with this book is that the main character, Luce, is tormented by the fact that she doesn't know all the answers because the love of her life can't tell her.  She, like many other women and girls I know, has a tendency to blame everything on the man she loves instead of just trusting him and what he's doing.  However, that's the torment she feels and I can't blame her for how she feels.  She just does things different than I would... or hope that I would.  That aside, I still liked this book and if you are in the mood for an entertaining love story I recommend this series.  There were some very unique and original ideas that I thoroughly enjoyed in this book as well, but you're gonna have to read it to know what they are.

I Actually Finished It!

I've never been able to finish a Nicholas Sparks book before now.  They all are great stories but I feel that they've been translated better into film and therefore can't get myself to finish one of his books.  I got about halfway through the Notebook and a couple of chapters into Dear John.  Needless to say I was giving up on the ever sad tales of Nicholas Sparks.  Now I'm in a book club with some ladies in my neighborhood and guess what book was chosen as our second?  You guessed it (probably because of the picture) Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks.  I fully expected it to be difficult to finish like the others but I was trying to think of it as a great love story and find things useful to talk about at our next book club meeting.  Not only did I finish this one, but I didn't want to put it down!  It was so exciting!  While certain situations are not ones that I would ever wish upon anyone for any reason, it was told so well.  I don't always love the way he writes but this story is done very well and the characters seemed quite real to me, especially Katie.  This book was good and if you are looking for a love story with action that will get your heart racing, check this one out!

So Good

If you've looked at my blog at all you know that I thoroughly enjoy the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.  When I found out that she was writing a prequel series (Infernal Devices) I was so excited.  The first book came out a couple of weeks ago and I have finally had the chance to read it!  It was every bit as good as the other series with some new twists and turns.  Not to mention some familiar characters.  This one, I believe, is still considered Urban Fantasy (don't ask me what the genre really entails because I couldn't tell you), but this one takes place in Victorian London.  This one also has just a teeny bit of Steampunk in it as well, but not too much.  I know many people may be put off by the words Fantasy and Steampunk, but really, these are good!  Now, I'm terribly excited for book two in this new prequel series.

Short Story

Here's little something I wrote last night for a writing exercise.

The Necklace

The necklace wasn’t expensive, but it was beautiful.  Sapphires ran the length of the necklace with the biggest being in the center.  Diamonds wrapped around each of the sapphires with rare delicacy.  How did I know it wasn’t expensive?  A trained eye could see that the stones were manufactured.  Still, anything was more than I could afford.  Because it belonged to her I knew that it was okay to borrow.  Right now she just didn’t know that I didn’t plan on returning it.

I heard something to my right and flipped around to see who it was.  I ducked a little just in case it was her.  Someone was definitely in the dark room with me.  Slinking around the dresser I tried to see who it was.  I tried to slow my breath and make it inaudible.  The moonlight cast a small white light across the wood floor and a large boot stepped into it.

“Clara?” A voice whispered through the silence.  I exhaled finally.   It was only Brian.

“Could you consider being a little more quiet?” I whispered back as I came out of my hiding spot.

“Sorry, it’s really dark in here.”  I could see the silhouette of his shrug and rolled my eyes.

Instead of arguing with him I crept back to the jewelry case and lifted the necklace.  I stared at it for a second watching it as it caught the moonlight.  It was cold as I slid it down the front of my shirt.  I could feel Brian looking around nervously.  Why couldn’t he just calm down.  Nerves don’t help in situations like these.  Emotion only leaves room for error.

“Alright, let’s get out of here,” I whispered as I turned and focused my gaze directly at the window.  I looked out and saw the road below was clear.  The window flew open without a sound.  Sitting on the sill I laced the claw around the lip, held the rope and jumped.  When I reached the bottom I stayed in my crouch and saw that no one was there to see.  I unlatched the claw and motioned for Brian to come down.

We reached the restaurant in good time.   The hostess eyed us suspiciously in our black attire.  “Grayson?” she asked.

I eyed her coldly before she decided to lead us up the stairs.  The room was dim and the walls were covered in expensive rugs.  The air was thick with smoke.  I cut into it after the hostess motioned to the man in the tailored gray suit.  Without fear of this powerful man before me, I sat down and crossed my legs slinging my arm over the back of the chair.

“This is a new look for you,” he said in his raspy baritone.  He motioned to my ensemble with his cigar.

“Hi, Daddy.”  I said it with a smirk.

“What’s he doing here?”  He waved his cigar and frowned at Brian who was now sitting in a chair behind me trying to avoid the conversation.

“I thought I might need some help,” I said looking down at my fingers tapping the table.

Daddy laughed before his stare fixed back on me.  “Did you get it?”

A confident smile crept across my face.  I pulled it out of my shirt and placed it on the table to display it for him.  He stared at it before reaching out to touch it.  I turned back to Brian when Daddy’s approval didn’t come right away.  Brian sat there, arms folded, slouching and gaze fixed on one of the rugs.

With his eyes still focused on the necklace he said, “Does your mother know?”  His cold gray eyes were all that moved when he looked at me.  I had the feeling his question meant more than I wanted it to.

I stared back for a second before answering.  “N --,”

“Yes.”  Brian cut me off.

My body went rigid.

“Mom found out yesterday and planted a fake, but Clara can tell you all about that.  Can’t you Sis?”  Brian was standing next to me now with the same cold gaze as my father.

“Clara,” Daddy’s said calmly, “you knowingly brought me a fake?”

There was nothing I could say that would fix this so I sat there, rigid and silent.

My father sat back in his chair and tapped his cigar letting the ash fall on the floor.  “Miranda, baby, can you come out here?” 

“No!”  I flew up out of my chair.  Just as quickly Brian seized my arms and pulled them behind my back.  I struggled but knew it was pointless.

Mama was shoved from behind a curtain on the opposite side of the room wearing the real necklace.  A metallic sound scraped across the table.  I didn’t have to look to know that it was a gun.  Brian let go of my arms.  I couldn’t move anyway.

Daddy blew out a puff of gray smoke.  “Get the necklace Sweetheart.”

A Novel of Letters

Today I finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  It took me a while to finish it because for some reason I wanted to move on to other things rather than keep reading.  This thinking doesn't really make sense to me because it was a rather enjoyable book.  It takes place just after WWII and the entire story is told through letters.  Now, I know what some of you may be thinking.  Oh great, a book written through letters.  Why do I want to read this?  Well, I guess you would want to read it because it surprisingly reads very much like a regular novel.  This is one that was quite enjoyable and I found myself grinning when it was finished.

Sadness

Since school started I haven't written anything.  It's not like I don't have any time to write it's just that I don't!  I really don't understand this.  I have the ideas for my novel and they keep germinating in my head but they just aren't coming out on paper.  Yesterday I couldn't resist the urge to write.  I was so in the mood to get this next scene down, confident in the new direction that I was taking.  Know what happened?  I only wrote a measly two paragraphs.  Just now I tried picking it up again and guess what.  One sentence.  I'm very confident in what's going to happen in this next scene and many of the scenes to follow and they just aren't coming out.  Right now my head is foggy, I have a dry cough and I want nothing more than a nap.  Maybe this is my problem.  I feel like crap so I write crap.  Who knows?  So, in hopes that more writing is soon to follow, I am posting a tiny little piece of my novel.  Un-edited, un-cut.

Everyone came rushing down the stairs, clearly hungry and more than ready to eat.  There were only six of us now.  There used to be more, but they’ve all graduated and been placed in their careers.  No more had come in for about three years.  Rylan and I were lucky to be placed in the same orphanage together.

Garrett being the loudest out of all of us bragged about how well he did on his exam today.  “So, guess who was the fastest one today.”  He said it with a smirk and looked around at all of us.  When his eyes reached Melissa, sitting next to me he pointed and said, “Melissa didn’t even know what hit her.”  She lifted her eyes just enough to glare at him.

They were in a class together.  “What exam did you guys have today?” I asked.  Every class had different exams on different days.

“Swimming,” he said leaning forward to taunt Melissa a little more.  She just continued to glare at him.  “Yeah, you were alright in the pool, but you didn’t stand a chance when it came to the lake.  Water to cold for ya Missy?”

Melissa just rolled her eyes and went back to nibbling on her roll.  She was a pretty good swimmer and I’d seen her beat Garret several times before. 

“Guess so,” he said smugly and leaned back on his chair chewing on a piece of chicken.

“Shut up, Garrett.”  Melissa had enough.  “You weren’t looking this confident when I found you sinking in the marsh.”

“Oh!”  Rylan finally chimed in.

Melissa now had a sneer on her face and taunted Garrett with it.  His smile was fading.  “I didn’t know you were such a cry-baby.”

The whole table erupted with laughter.  “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”  His face was starting to turn red.

Rylan was still laughing, “Did you have to pull him out?”

“Yep,” she said, “but only because I couldn’t concentrate to swim with him begging me like that to pull him out.”
            “I never begged you!”  His face was even redder now.

“Missy, Missy help me!  I can’t get out.  My legs are sinking.  Ah!  Missy hurry, I think there’s a snake trying to swim up my shorts,” she mocked and began to mimic his sobs.  “Missy!  Please!  Please get me out of here, this snake looks poisonous and hungry.”  She finally broke her mocking character and let out a simple little laugh before glaring at him again.

“That’s not what happened,” Garrett spit at her.

“Yes it is, why don’t you tell everyone how you got stuck in the marsh?”  She spit the words back at him.  “Or are you just going to let the results describe how you cheated?”

“I didn’t cheat!”

Another One Over

This weekend was dedicated to my reading of Mockingjay.  It really was fantastic and a great end to a great series.  I'm still a little (nay, quite) sad about a couple of characters.  I would love, love, love to talk about specifics, but I know there are those of you out there who wouldn't care to read any spoilers about it. So, I will talk about my love for  the series in general.  I don't know what else I can say other than, holy crap I LOVE the Hunger Games series!  Truly a very unique idea and one that has stuck with me over the course of two years.  I read the first book a few months after it came out two years ago.  Suzanne is a master of cliffhangers and I simply couldn't get enough.  My love for dystopian novels grew even more after reading this series.  I highly recommend it and hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.  Now I have to go read something else to get over my slump after finishing something that has been a part of my life for so long.  If any of you have the urge to discuss this series I would be more than happy to chat!  Happy reading!

Number 4

I couldn't put this book down.  I first heard about this book through Barnes & Noble (one of my dearest friends) while I was searching through the "coming soon" section.  The synopsis sounded like a book that I just absolutely had to have.  However, I still waited because cash flow is a bit on the low side and hardbacks are expensive.  Well, at least over time.  I kept thinking about this book and how much I though I would like to read it, and then I looked at the author.  As many of you probably know, I have a tendency to research every book I buy.  I don't want to invest in my own copy if it's not something I'll enjoy.  I found it very unfortunate that the author's parents would name him Pittacus Lore.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized it must be a pseudonym.  And what did I find out?  It is!  Not only is it a false name but the author is the person who wrote my books on how to write books.  That was the breaking point.  The next day I caved and bought the book.  From the very first page there was no disappointment to be had.  It kept me reading and it was seldom seen out of my hand (unless I was watching LOST).  If you are looking for an exciting young adult novel that has a new twist on superheroes pick this one up.