Review: Just Listen

just listenJust Listen
 by Sarah Dessen
Published by: Penguin Group Inc.
Form: Purchased Paperback
Big Themes: Family, Identity, Friendship, Falling in Love, Sexual Abuse, Eating Disorders, Modeling, Music

Summary:
Annabel is the youngest of three sisters.  All were models.  All are different.  Something happened to Annabel at the end of the school year, and when she returns to school in the fall, everything has changed.  Annabel has to figure out who she is and what she wants out of life.

What I Loved:

Family: Sarah Dessen does families well.  The characterization and family dynamics seem to often be one of the central plots her books.  I liked the sisters a lot in this book, and I enjoyed how each of them had a hobby they were passionate about.  I love when characters have cool hobbies in books–bonus points!

Quirky Love Interest: Owen is passionate about music and it was captured in every aspect of his character.  He really came to life on the page.  Musical guys aren’t really my thing, but if you like musical leading men–this is your book.

Criticism:

Heavy Flashback in Exposition: Ergh. Sarah Dessen, this is another trademark of your books it seems.  The beginning is heavy with flashbacks and delays getting to the real story.  While it does provide character insight, I prefer my books to be faster-paced and flashbacks inevitably bog the story down.

The Secret Game: Ergh. This is a major pet peeve of mine.  I can’t stand when the main character clearly knows something or went through something, but we as the reader aren’t being informed of what it was.  It feels like a manipulative game by the author because I should know everything the character knows if they are the one telling the story.  It’s one thing if it’s just not information that comes up organically in the story.  But I feel cheated when the character is walking around thinking about this obscure ‘bad thing’ but the character isn’t revealing what the ‘bad thing’ was.  This is a trick to me.  Because if I was in that characters head, then I’d know what the bad thing was.  Don’t hold it back just to string us along.

Overall:
Three and a half stars.  I bought this book for a trip to the beach, wanting a light romantic read.  But the subject matter was a lot heavier than I probably want in a light read.  I generally don’t want to read many problem novels, and with both eating disorders and sexual abuse, this was not exactly what I was looking for.  However, there is great characterization, great family, and a sweet love interest.  Worth reading.

Behind the Story: Journaling Your Writing

Owl & White/Red BookBehind the Story posts will be about what goes on behind the scenes as a writer creates their story.  I’ll be writing about my own writing process and sharing any tips or advice I’ve discovered on my own or gathered on the topic. Hopefully both readers and writers find these posts fascinating!

This week’s topic:

Journaling Your Writing

I wanted to share something I started doing as part of my writing routine that’s been helpful for me.  Perhaps it will be helpful to other fellow writers as well!  I’m calling it journaling because that’s pretty close to what it is. Here is what I include in my journaling:
  • Today’s Date
  • Brief Description of Where I Left Off in My Novel
  • What Scenes I Know Are Coming Up Next
  • Surprises While I Was Writing
  • My Final Word Count For the Day
I don’t write a ton for each entry.  A typical day looks like this:
Write Tip Pic
I want to explain what each part does for me, and why this has been a useful tool:
  • Today’s Date: Helps to hold me accountable for writing each day.  And it’s useful in tracking my own productivity.  I also give myself gold star stickers on a calendar for each 1k I write, and if I forget to “star myself” then I can go back here to check.
  • Where I Left Off: I always begin my writing day by re-reading the last scene that I wrote.  I usually try not to do any editing.  Rereading gets me back in the zone and refreshes my memory.  And then writing a brief blurb of that scene in my journaling helps me focus on what about that scene was important.
  • What’s Next: Listing the scenes that are coming up next can serve as an outline, menu, or brainstorm session.  Sometimes it’s a reminder of what’s on my agenda.  Sometimes I can kind of pick from the menu based on what I think comes next organically.  And sometimes I have no idea what comes next and I brainstorm some possibilities.
  • Surprises: This is probably the part of my journaling I love most.  Whenever I sit down to write, something will usually come out that I was not expecting.  An unplanned plot point or an emotional burst from a character or a new quirky secondary character makes himself known.  My favorite part of my writing day has become writing down the surprises, and often I want to explore that surprise more the next day.  I also think it might be fun to share with readers someday… “This character came out of nowhere!” or “I was never planning to do that!”
  • Word Count: This holds me accountable for my writing most of all.  I try to write a 1,000 words a day… no matter what.  It’s a high goal, but honestly, the hardest part is making the time to write and getting your butt in the chair.  Once I’m started, I usually make it.
Not only has this journaling been helpful, but I also think that somewhere down the road, this is going to be a sentimental keepsake.  Being able to look back and see how my story unfolded… I wish I’d done this from the very beginning.
Now I have a beautiful use for all those awesome journals/notebooks that people give me as gifts  🙂
Any other writers do some form of journaling?  Anyone plan to give this a try?
Let me know if there is a “Behind the Story” topic you would like to see… Happy Writing!

Book Review: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

12000020Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Published by: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Form: Purchased Hardback
Big Themes: Identity, Growing Up, Friendship, Family, LBGT
Recommended for: Ages 14 and up (for language, alcohol use, and violence)

Summary:
Ari doesn’t really have any friends.  He has a mom who is a teacher, a dad who won’t open up, and a brother in prison that no one will talk about.  One summer at the pool, a boy named Dante offers to teach him how to swim, and from that point on, Ari’s life will never be the same.

What I Loved:

Characterization: Both Ari and Dante are characters I fell in love with.  I’m not one for realistic fiction, but what I’m learning is: if the author pulls off great characters, then bring on the realism.

Imagery: Some of the imagery was poignant and lovely.  Particularly, around one pivotal scene involving rain.  I would give examples, but I had to loan this book to a friend.  So if you want some beautiful imagery, you’ll just have to go read it for yourself.

Diversity: If you’re looking for diverse books, this is a must read.  (Hispanic and LBGT)

Family: Probably one of my favorite aspects of this book were Dante and Ari’s families.  If you want a book full of loving, supportive parents, who are real, flawed, but beautiful individuals–this is your book.

HR sealofapprovalOverall:
Five big shining stars.  This book will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy.  I am so happy that such a book exists.  If you are hesitant to read LBGT titles, I highly recommend this one as your first.  It’s a beautiful story, rooted in friendship and family.  I recommend it so highly that I’m giving it the Hughes Reviews Seal of Approval.  And bonus points for a gorgeous cover.

Book Review: Dreams of Gods and Monsters

dreams of gods and monstersDreams of Gods and Monsters
 by Laini Taylor
Published by: Little, Brown & Company
Form: Purchased Hardback
Big Themes: War, Peace, Love, Friendship, Death, Reincarnation, Fate, Prophets, Angels, Chimaera, Universe, Multiple Dimensions, Rebuilding, Wishes

This is a spoiler-free review.

Summary:
The final installment of the trilogy that began with Daughter of Smoke and Bone.  Karou is fighting for peace for her people against insurmountable odds.  She finally has people she can trust and allies on her side, but will it be enough?  The future balances on a precipice and could tip either way…

Review of Book 1: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Review of Book 2: Days of Blood and Starlight

A Conflicted Review:

I’m breaking from my usual review format because this review is tough enough to write without being constricted to a template.  This series was vying for a spot in my Top 5 Books of All-Time.  I’ve spent much of today reading other people’s reviews of Dreams of Gods and Monsters, and most people love it.  I can’t say I feel the same love.  It was good.  But I am disappointed more than in love.

I feel an overwhelming sense of irony because in my final words of my review of Book 2, I wrote:

“It is rare that I have total confidence in the author to finish a series when I’m only on the second book of a trilogy. I have total confidence that Laini Taylor will have a perfect third and final book, and I can’t wait to see how she pulls the whole thing together.”

It rips me apart to say I’m disappointed in this book because I sincerely believe Laini Taylor is a genius when it comes to writing.  I wonder if I just don’t understand what her vision was, or if I’m justified in my dissatisfaction as a reader.  So I’m going to express why I was disappointed, without spoilers, and I definitely invite discussion in the comments.

I was so excited for this book that I purchased the book on the day it came out.  But as I began reading, I started to get an uneasy feeling that perhaps this wasn’t going to be as satisfying a conclusion as I hoped.  The first reason for this uneasy feeling was the book’s pacing.

I have a low tolerance for slow pacing in general.  But in this case, it wasn’t just that there was a lack of action or suspense.  The pacing was slow because of point-of-view changes.  The book would repeatedly switch to the POV of completely new characters that were just being introduced in this final book.

The problem with this is that I have no emotional attachment to these newbie characters, nor did Taylor build emotional attachment for me.  There were times where I actually felt like Taylor was instructing me to care.  “Hey!  You should like and care about this person!  She’s cool.”  I never once felt like this particular character did anything to earn my respect and admiration.  We got a heck of a lot of backstory, that I think was supposed to make me sympathize and understand.  It didn’t have that effect.  Instead I found myself bored whenever the POV would switch to a newbie character (and there were many newbie characters, not just one).

Which brings me to my biggest problem with the newbie characters: they were all immensely powerful.  The newbie characters were all stronger than the original cast of characters.  And rather than let the original cast of characters fight through and solve the major conflicts of the novel… the newbie characters solved some of the most major conflicts.  This had a very deus ex machina feel.  I really struggle with this because I think Laini Taylor must have had some purpose behind her decision to allow new characters to resolve the overarching conflict.  I think she’s too smart a writer to rely on any resemblance of deus ex machina to resolve the conflicts she’s established.  But this is exactly how the story’s resolution came off to me, and I wonder what I’m missing.

My final dissatisfaction with the novel is how little resolution we get for so many of the secondary characters we grew to care about in previous books.  Did Amzallag find his family?  What purpose or ending came to Rath the Dashnag?  What happened to the deer-girl refugees Sveva and Sarazal?

When you have such a wide cast of secondary characters, many of whom received their very own POV chapters, then I feel as though I’m owed some sort of resolution for those characters.  And there I run into a dilemma.  When does an author owe a reader resolution?  Does the author owe a reader some level of satisfaction?  Or does an author not owe the reader anything?

I think the biggest reason I felt dissatisfaction in this conclusion is that so much of the resolution of the war was told off-screen.  The resolution was recapped.  I had invested in this dream of peace between two groups at war, but I did not get to witness the final battle, the surrender, the two groups working together, or the rebuilding of society.  All of this happened off-screen or was told as if it was a bit of backstory that we missed.

Did I want to see happiness and rainbows?  No.  I realize that war is messy and the rebuilding after war can oftentimes be just as difficult as war itself.  But you can’t spend two books on fighting and violence, and then treat the resolution as a sidenote (a sidenote of deus ex machina no less).

My last issue with the book is the introduction of a larger, more powerful, vague enemy in the final pages of the book.  We get an ominous and overwhelming threat that every single character is going to have to physically battle.  The end?  This is a trilogy.  This is the third book.  Laini Taylor herself writes in the acknowledgements:

“An ending is reached.  It’s deeply satisfying, a little bewildering, and unbelievably sad to be closing this chapter of my life.  A trilogy, completed!”

So you introduce a completely new threat, as they are rebuilding from total devastation, and say case closed?  That’s supposed to be satisfying?  It’s one thing to leave a series open-ended for spin-offs or sequels.  It’s another thing entirely to literally introduce a threat that impacts the lives of the characters in a very real way, and then say “The End” without any resolution.

If the purpose of this new threat was to emphasize metaphorically that even after achieving peace there will always be danger in the world… then that was a very literal and not very subtle metaphor.  I don’t understand if Taylor was trying to buck the trend of neatly tied-up endings?  Was she setting up a spin-off series with her newbie-powerful-characters?

Most reviewers seemed to find this book satisfying because of the romance.  Lots of happy couples.  And most reviewers like Zuzana.  I agree.  I love Zuzana.  She’s loyal and fiesty and hilarious.  And most reviewers praise Taylor’s prose, which I agree is still extraordinary in its lyrical qualities and vivid imagery.

Overall:
I can’t get past my feelings of dissatisfaction.  I originally gave this 4 stars on Goodreads, but after typing up my review and really mulling things over, I am going to have to say 3 stars.  I do question whether I, as a reader, am owed anything by the author.  Does she owe me a satisfactory resolution (sans deus ex machina)?  Does she owe me information on what became of secondary characters, considering we spent time in their POV?  Or does an author have the freedom and right to bring her vision of the story to light without regards to her audience?

This series was poised to go on my All-Time Favorites list, but now I see it instead as a cautionary tale to myself as a writer.  I never want to leave my readers dissatisfied and disappointed.  The story will be my own, but I will be sure to spend enough time on my resolution and secondary characters to leave my reader satisfied.  If they spent several hundred pages of their time, then I personally feel like I owe them something.  I currently have some plotlines and secondary characters that are unresolved, and I will definitely be working hard to find a resolution for each of them.

Discussion is welcome.  I wanted to like this book, so I’m definitely open to anyone who can share thoughts and ideas that will put this book in a more favorable light for me.

After Note:
I wrote up this review, and then did some internet research.  According to an interview with Laini Taylor on Hypable, it seems that Laini prefers to write without a plan or outline:

“I have fear, as a writer, because of my process, which involves a lot of faith in my future self. (“Future-me will figure this out. Just leave it to Future-me.”) But the alternative—plotting it all out in advance—has just never worked for me, so this is what I do.”

So now I doubt that Taylor had a purpose or end destination in the first place.  I’m fine with writing a first draft without a plan.  Personally, I find outlines helpful, but some of my favorite scenes are the ones that I did not plan out.  The scenes that came out of some subconscious part of my brain.  However, I am now of the belief that Dreams of Gods and Monsters could have benefited greatly in the revision process if beta readers or editors had asked some key questions about the choices Taylor was making as an author, the direction the plot had taken, and how certain subplots were resolved.

Because ultimately, I feel cheated out of a resolution between the angels and chimaera.  That’s what the series led me to be invested in, but the final book did not deliver a satisfactory resolution.  An all-powerful other swept in and solved it all for them and an entirely new conflict was introduced.

Having no plan initially is fine, but that’s what the revision process is for: making sense of the pieces and ensuring you deliver a story that is whole and cohesive.  Without a satisfactory resolution, I don’t feel like this book delivered a whole and cohesive final product.  There is a bond of trust between author and reader.  I feel like Laini Taylor broke my trust as a reader.  Do I still think she’s a beautiful writer?  Yes.  Did she create an engaging world?  Absolutely.  Did she create memorable characters?  Yes, characters I cared immensely about.  But will I trust her again, with hundreds of pages of my time and invest in another series by her?  Right now, my answer would be no.  I don’t want to invest my heart in a world and characters if I can’t trust her to craft a satisfying resolution.  And that makes me really sad to say.

Book Review: These Broken Stars

these broken starsThese Broken Stars
 by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Published by: Disney Hyperion
Form: Purchased Hardback
Big Themes: Survival, Social Class, Space Travel, Love, Death, Ghosts, Mental Illness, Strength, Trust

Summary:
Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen are from two different worlds.  Lilac is a socialite and focus of the paparazzi as the daughter of the wealthiest man in the universe.  Tarver worked his way up in the world as a military hero.  When their spaceship, the ill-named Icarus, is thrown from hyperspace and crashes on an uninhabited planet.  Lilac and Tarver are forced to depend on each other for support and survival in a wild, mysterious setting where social class means nothing and anything–even love–is possible.

What I Loved:

Totally Fresh and Original: This book didn’t feel like it was trying to be like any other book out there.  It felt fresh.  As I read, it felt like diving into something fun and different.  The book is described as Rose and Jack from Titanic, but where the ship sinks in the first five minutes, and then they land on the island from LOST.  So yes, there are hints of ideas we’ve seen before: poor boy loves rich girl, post-crash survival story, and mysterious setting.  Despite those familiar elements, the authors pulled off making this something entirely new and original.  Between this book, Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles, and Beth Revis’ Across the Universe series, I think YA science fiction is showing great mainstream potential.

Unpredictable Plot: The twists and turns in this book were exceptional.  There were many, many parts of the book where I wasn’t sure what was going on.  Without spoiling anything, I will say that the elements that were similar to a ghost story were completely unexpected and a pleasant twist.

Slow, Authentic Romance: It takes a really, really long time for Tarver and Lilac to admit any sort of feelings for each other.  I enjoyed getting to know them as individual characters, especially since the book switches back and forth between both of their voices.  That dual perspective allowed readers insight into what each character respected about the other.  For example, Tarver is in awe of Lilac’s determination, though he does not express this to her.  Seeing how both characters grow to respect and admire each other was a refreshing perspective in teen romance.

Smooth Writing: This book was co-authored by two people who were living on different continents.  DIFFERENT CONTINENTS.  Technology clearly made this sort of endeavor possible (I think they specifically mentioned Google Docs.)  I am totally fascinated by the idea of writing a book with another person.  I just can’t fathom what the process would be like and how to begin meshing two different writing styles.  But this book flowed seamlessly.  Never was it obvious that this book was written by two people instead of one.  In fact, when I heard Meagan Spooner speak at the NoVa teen event last month, she said that it is difficult to remember who wrote what in the book.  They each started out writing one character.  However, I guess the editing process was more of a free-for-all.  Because Spooner said that they would tell each other “I love that line you wrote!” and the other would say, “I didn’t write that line, you did!”  I love that.  I love that a story would get to a point where no one person can take ownership.  I love that this book was such a collaborative effort!  🙂

Overall:
Five Stars.  I just thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I can definitely see myself picking it up to re-read one day.  Highly recommend!

Book Review: Wonder

wonderWonder
by R.J. Palacio
Published by: Knopf
Form: Purchased Hardback
Big Themes: Acceptance, Popularity, Bullying, Friendship, Siblings, Loss of Loved Ones, Growing Up

Summary:
August Pullman (Auggie) was born with rare and severe facial deformities.  Despite years of surgery, Auggie will never have a normal face.  Growing up in and out of hospitals, Auggie has never been able to attend normal school.  But with no more surgeries on the horizon, Auggie’s parents decide 5th grade (the start of middle school) would be the best time for Auggie to start getting a mainstream education.

What I Loved:

Different Perspectives: The first chunk of the book is told from Auggie’s perspective.  We need to hear his perspective first.  We need to understand what his life is like, how he feels about himself, and most importantly, how utterly normal he is (other than his face).  Within the first dozen pages, I was flying through the book because I was rooting for Auggie.  Because we began in his perspective, I learned how stacked the odds were against him, but also how lovely he was on the inside.  I can’t imagine the book starting from any other character’s point-of-view because we needed to see life as Auggie did in order to love him and root for him.

However, I thought the different perspectives as the book progressed were brilliant.  Each perspective showed how characters dealt with getting past appearances and also dealing with societal pressure/peer pressure for being different. Many of the characters who befriend Auggie also have to deal with being bullied due to their association with Auggie.  Your average kid reader won’t ever be in Auggie’s shoes, but they definitely will be in the shoes of someone with a choice to make: befriend the outcast, bully the outcast, or ignore the outcast.  Seeing how different kids deal with the pressures of befriending an outcast/victim is so valuable both to the story as well as relevant to a child’s real life experiences.

Authentic Voice: The author so clearly understands kids and teens.  She nails the voice, thought processes, worries, behaviors, and interests of the kids/teens in the book.  I truly believe this is one huge reason why this book has done so well.  The heart of the book is about how kids/teens interact with each other, and if the author hadn’t gotten this right, the whole book would have fallen apart.  Her readers wouldn’t have bought the story if the actions/reactions of the characters didn’t feel 100% authentic.

Balance of Happy and Sad: I tend to avoid sad books, but especially depressing contemporary fiction.  I avoided John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars for the longest time because I didn’t want to read some depressing, contemporary book about kids with cancer.  I read for fun, and that book did not sound fun.  I felt similarly about this book.  Yeah, it was getting rave reviews from everyone.  But after reading the description… I did not want to read some depressing book about a kid with a deformed face.  However, the author manages a beautiful balance of happy and comedic moments with sad, tough scenes.  I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and there is an uplifting ending.

Relevant Themes: Bullying has certainly been front page news, and this book addresses so many different angles on the topic.  In a perfect world (where teachers actually had some say in book selection and curriculum), I’d love to teach this novel (ideally in whatever grade kids begin middle school) in conjunction with Gordon Korman’s Schooled, Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl, and perhaps also Cynthia Lord’s Rules.  It would provide a great opportunity to look at how different authors approach topics as well as do comparative character studies.  But most of all it would give students an opportunity to examine the choices we have in the roles of bully, victim, and bystander.  I believe a unit composed of these books would foster empathy and positive decision-making at an age when growth of character is so important.

Overall:
An excellent book that I would recommend EVERY MIDDLE SCHOOLER read.  Great food for thought regarding how we judge people on appearances and how individuals can make small choices that have a ripple effect on their community as a whole.  Five Stars.

NoVa Teen Book Festival 2014

Where: Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia.
When: Saturday, March 8th from 9:30am to 4pm
Book Event Website: NoVa Teen Book Festival

This was the first book festival organized by NoVa Teen, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  But I can say I was highly impressed!  The venue was bright and comfortable with great acoustics.  The program of authors was varied and entertaining.  Lots of volunteers in bright red shirts helped answer questions and keep the day running smoothly.  And there were loads of tables with books and food for sale.  I am certainly adding NoVa Teen Book Fest to my list of annual events!

What I loved most about this event was how they organized the day.  In the main auditorium, they had 45 minute author panels, and then in classrooms they had smaller breakout sessions.  I didn’t attend any of the breakout sessions, and instead opted for the main panels in the auditorium.  Main Author Panels are listed below:

  • “Who Are You” A discussion about identity, destiny, and the roles that shape characters.
  • “The Scientist” The morality of science and the consequences of defying nature.
  • “Survivor” How dire circumstances and high-stakes situations unite and shape characters to defeat the odds.
  • “Bad Boys” An exploration into the appeal of bad boys and the girls who love them.

I loved that each panel had a theme that went beyond just book genre.  I caught the end of the panel about identity, and then listened to both “The Scientist” and “Survivor.”

The Scientist
This panel was my favorite of the day.  I love science fiction and this panel was FASCINATING.  The topic of science and morality is so timely and relevant.  Each author on the panel had a different perspective because each of their books had a different futuristic/science premise.

Jenna Black’s book Replica is based on the scientific premise of being able to create a back-up copy of yourself–complete with memories, physical traits, the whole deal.  Essentially cloning, but with that added twist of creating a duplicate copy of not just your body but your brain.  Ethics and idenity issues abound with this idea, and it is a fascinating concept.  (I bought the book.)

Jennifer Rush’s Altered is a book I’d already purchased as a Kobo ebook, and I started it… but have yet to finish.  In part I haven’t finished purely because I only have the Kobo app on my iPad and my iPad isn’t ideal to read on, in my opinion.  I need a Kobo ereader.  This book is essentially about genetic modifications, and some boys who have been experiments in a lab.

Cristin Terrill wrote All Our Yesterdays, which is about the catastrophic consequences of time travel.  The main character’s dilemma is whether she should go back in time and kill the inventor of time travel–even if that inventor was someone she loved and cared about…  Sounds a bit like the movie Looper.  I loveeee time travel stories, thanks to Ray Bradbury’s “Sound of Thunder.”  The consequences of time travel in fiction seems to have infinite possibilities and conflict galore.

And the final member of the panel (also the moderator) was Jon Skovron whose new novel Man Made Boy is about the son of Frankenstein.  The son of Frankenstein is a gifted hacker and creates a sentient computer virus.  Supposedly, this computer virus lacks empathy for human beings, and Boy Frankenstein must take responsibility for his creation.  I thought this was a super interesting premise, and this was one of my book purchases of the day.  Plus, Jon Skovron was a great moderator–knowledgeable in the field of YA and asked interesting questions.

Pictures from “The Scientists” Panel

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Author Jenna Black

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Jennifer Rush and Jenna Black

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From Left to Right: Cristin Terrill, Jennifer Rush, Jenna Black, Jon Skovron

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Author and Moderator Jon Skovron

Survivor
This is probably one of my all-time favorite topics.  I love throwing my characters into high-stakes situations and seeing them fight their way out.  And all my favorite books involve authors pummeling their characters with dire circumstances.  And while I enjoyed the discussion, it wasn’t quite as mind-blowing as “The Scientist” panel was.

I’ve heard the whole “discuss how your character is a strong female” question before.  Yes.  Strong, kick-butt females are hot right now.  And I doubt that’s gonna change anytime soon… Because the alternative is… weak females?  Yeah.  Pretty much every author will argue their female lead is strong.

What I did find interesting was the idea that when a female character is too perfect… She’s a Mary Sue.  But go to the other end of the spectrum and she’s unlikable.  Arrogant?  She’s the B-word.  However, what several of the panelists argued, is that male characters can be these things.  Too perfect is hero figure (Bruce Wayne aka Batman was their example).  Arrogant is a beloved bad boy.  Female characters seem to have to hit this sweet spot of being just a bit flawed and relatable.  Very interesting and something you could delve deeper into if given longer than a 45 minute discussion.

The two authors I was most impressed by during this panel were Kristen Simmons and Meagan Spooner.

Kristen Simmons is the author of Article 5, which at least a dozen people on my Goodreads listed as “Want to Read” but only one actually read (the one person gave it a favorable 4 star review).  Perhaps Article 5 hit the dystopian trend a little too late, but from what I heard from Kristen Simmons, I’d still like to give this book a shot.  It sounds like a high stakes, exciting read!

These Broken Stars by Meagan Spooner and Amie Kaufman keeps popping up on my blogger radar with rave reviews.  The author described it as “Rose and Jack from Titanic in a spaceship where they crash in the first five minutes and land on the island from LOST.”  I paraphrased that.  Anyhow, it’s a love story in space from dual perspectives (I totally looove books with two POV characters).  And I pretty much had to buy this book based on both that crazy description and to see what all the blogosphere hype is about.

Pictures from Survivor Panel

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From Left to Right: Jessica Spotswood, Meagan Spooner, Kristen Simmons, Claudia Gray, Lisa Maxwell

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Kristen Simmons and Claudia Gray

Overall, this was a fantastic book event that I would highly recommend attending if you live in the Washington DC metro area.  Well-organized and a fun bookish day!

February 2014 Recap

Hughes Reviews ButtonFebruary 2014 was a good month  🙂

Once I finish grading these lovely essays, I should be posting some more book reviews.  I’m attending a book event on March 8.  I’ll also have some more “Bits of Writing Wisdom” to share soon.

Below is a recap of posts, organized by categories, with clickable links.

Book Reviews:

Writing Posts:

Book Events:

Top Ten Tuesday:

Top Ten Reasons I Love Being a Reader

5b4a8-toptentuesdayTop Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

For more information about Top Ten Tuesday and a list of upcoming Top Ten Tuesday topics, click here.

This Week’s Topic:
Top Ten Reasons I Love Being a Reader

  1. Go Anywhere- Whether it be a country, time period, or a fantasy world, books allow you to travel anywhere.  Some of my favorite places I’ve traveled are: Hogwarts, a battle school in space, Prague, and a giant whale airship during WWI.
  2. Be Anything- At this point in my life, I know for the most part which careers I won’t ever pursue.  Writing is kind of my thing.  Working with teens is my thing.  Perhaps someday I’d like to make editing my thing.  But there are a thousand other occupations I can experience through the pages of a book: pilot, mad scientist, princess, detective, archeologist, astronaut, revolutionary… The list goes on.
  3. Using My Imagination- Who doesn’t want to be a kid again?  One part of what is so special about being a kid is not knowing life’s limitations.  Every door is wide open.  And part of that comes with the young’s unique imagination.  When I read, part of that essence of being a kid comes back to me.  When reading, I can suspend my disbelief and allow my imagination to open up possibilities that as an adult, I know now aren’t really possible.  Reading is still a place where anything is possible, with the help of a little imagination.
  4. Libraries are Free- As a reader, my entertainment can be 100% free–thanks to libraries!  I recently read this little anecdote in a speech by Lois Lowry (Arbuthnot Speech, 2011):

    Annika said something in German to my granddaughter, who translated for her. “She wants to know how much it costs to use the library.”
    I told them it was free.
    “Free?”
    Yes. Free.
    “Do other towns have free libraries?” they asked.
    By now we were in the car. I sat there for a minute, thinking about the geography of the area, then said, “I’m going to show you something.”

    Lowry goes on to drive them by several public libraries all within a small radius of her home, and at the end of the tour, while eating ice cream, the visiting German girls proclaim that libraries are the best thing in the United States.  Reading this story made me truly appreciative of the fact that I not only have a free library, but a stunningly beautiful one just two miles from my home.  I have thousands of books at my fingertips, which would certainly be more than people in other parts of the world have access to.

  5. Reading Fiction is Good for the Brain- A recent study showed that reading fiction boosts brain activity, and not just while reading, but for up to five days after finishing a book.  Scientists are calling it a type of muscle memory.  I always feel more positive, clear-headed, and productive after finishing a good book, but I always just attributed it to being in a good mood.  But this study would suggest that after finishing a work of fiction, your brain actually gets a power boost that goes on for days.  Who’s going to be making more time for reading?  This girl!
  6. Reading Makes You a More Empathetic Person- Another recent scientific study found that reading literary fiction improves a reader’s ability to understand what another person is thinking and feeling.  Nonfiction, popular fiction, and genre fiction did not have the same results.  But literary fiction showed a significant increase in empathy and understanding.  Perhaps the expression, “Put yourself in someone else’s shoes” should instead be “put yourself in someone else’s narrative.”
  7. Reading is Both Relaxing and Exciting- Reading is my form of relaxing in the evening.  Curling up under a blanket with tea and a book is idyllic.  But when I’m in the middle of a page-turner, I can tell you that my heart is literally racing.  The duality of a book being both relaxing and inciting racing heart-palpitations is a uniquely wonderful experience.
  8. Books are Better than Movies- Isn’t this a universal fact?  The book is always better than the movie.
  9. Never Ending Supply of Books- It is physically impossible to read every book ever written on this Earth.  How glorious is it that you will never run out of new, fresh stories to read?  While I sometimes feel daunted by my to-read pile, it is actually a wonderful thing to have so many great stories waiting for me to enjoy.
  10. Belief in the Power of Words- I believe that books have the power to change the world.  Whether it’s through spreading knowledge, creating empathy, inspiring the future, or simply providing pleasure, I sincerely believe in the power of words.

Whew!  What a Top Ten Tuesday!  I think this may be one of my favorites because writing the post has left me feeling so many warm, fuzzy feelings about reading.

Three cheers for being a reader!

Any great parts of being a reader I missed?  Please share!

Book Review: Cress

cressCress
by Marissa Meyer
Published by: Feiwel & Friends
Form: Purchased Hardback
Big Themes: Rebellion, Survival, Responsibility, Space, Love, Friendship

Reviews of Previous Books in the Series:
Cinder (5 stars)
Scarlet (4 stars) And… I can’t find my review ANYWHERE.  So confused.  Basically, from what I remember, I really liked this book, but parts were really scary and reminded me of a zombie apocalypse.  And I hate zombies.

Summary:
The series continues, but this time adding to the cast of characters: Cress.  A girl who has lived as a hacker and spy for the past seven years from a satellite orbiting Earth.  But her satellite is a prison, and Cress feels no loyalty to those who have trapped her there.  With her hacking skills and knowledge from years of spying, she would make a fine addition to the rebellion against Queen Levana.

Spoiler Free Section:

If you like book series with a wide cast of characters and expansive world-building, Marissa Meyer is delivering.  Her characters are lovable, well-developed, and quirky.  The history and depth of the world she’s created makes this a great escapist novel.  But most of all, her series is FUN.  For me, this book was the perfect read to curl up with after a long day at work.  I caught myself actually smiling and giggling as I read.  Meyer is highly influenced by Star Wars, and it’s fun to spot parallels between the two.  If a grand space adventure with a fun cast of characters sounds like your thing, I urge you to give this series a shot.

If you don’t want the series ruined for you… then I suggest you stop reading.

What I Loved:

Characterization: What I find especially remarkable is how the friendships and relationships between characters is making each character stronger.  Marissa Meyer is doing a beautiful job of using characters to bring out the strengths and flaws of each other.

I wasn’t a huge fan of Thorne’s character until this book.  I felt like he was a bit of a caricature–too perfect, too handsome, and with too many one-liners.  But when paired with Cress, he became more human, more real.  Cress herself was quite naive and idealistic.  But when the two were paired together, it forced realism upon them.  Thorne couldn’t be as perfect as Cress believed him to be, and we saw his flaws.  Cress, seeing the bad in the world along with the good, grew into a character that was stronger as she shed some of her naivete.

Another dynamic that I think worked beautifully in this book is Cinder and Kai.  They started the series on unequal ground.  Kai as emperor and Cinder as the lowest of the low, a cyborg servant.  Despite this, there was still chemistry between them.  As the series has progressed, Cinder has grown not just in strength of character but also in what responsibilities she has undertaken.  In one of the final scenes, where Cinder and Kai have their first real talk since the ball in the first book, the sense of understanding between the two characters is breathtaking.  Both Kai and Cinder feel the weight of responsibility, and it brings depth and beauty to their relationship.

Cohesiveness of Plot and World: With each book, the world and plot get larger and more expansive.  Meyer’s ability to make it all work is impressive.  From the futuristic technology to the plague to the intergalactic war, Meyer has managed to not just have it make sense, but also to interweave these elements.  The addition of bio-warfare was a twist I didn’t see coming and it further tightened the plot.  I admire how Meyer weaves some science into a series of books that would be considered too light and fun to be hardcore sci-fi.

Raising the Stakes: Meyer does one of my favorite things: throws her characters into the worst possible situations.  I looooove this.  Oh look, the whole gang is safe together in space… LET’S SEPARATE THEM.  Cress is going to finally escape her satellite… LET’S CRASH LAND HER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SAHARA WITH NO SHOES AND A BLIND MAN.  Marissa Meyer is AWESOME.  I want the characters in the worst possible situation.  I want to be on the edge of my seat.  I want to see them fighting to get out of it, using their skills and wits.  And please, no magical resolution.  Make them work for it and make the resolution an earned pay off for all that struggle.  Meyer does this 100%.

Humor: If you like witty dialogue and banter…  If you like when each character has their own voice and quirks…  If you like when quirkiness results in humorous interplay between characters… Then you’ll love the humor that Meyer has going on.  One of my favorite bits in Cress was Iko, the robot with the ridiculously girlish personality.  The scenes with Iko provided just the right levity and humor.  Her character is absolutely hilarious.

HR sealofapprovalOverall: Five big beautiful stars and I’m giving this book the official Hughes Reviews Seal of Approval.  That’s how much I loved it.  This is, without a doubt, my favorite book in the Lunar Chronicles series.  It just hit all the right notes for me.  I’m anxiously awaiting the final book, Winter, though I can’t imagine it topping my warm fuzzy feelings for Book 3.

Cress on Goodreads

My post on meeting Marissa Meyer