Feature & Follow Friday #21

Feature & Follow Friday is a weekly social blog hop between book bloggers. There are two regular hosts: Parajunkee and Alison of Alison Can Read, and two special guest hosts every week. If you want to join in, click on either of their blogs to get the details. The FF question of the day is: 

Q: You are a matchmaker — your goal, hook up two characters from two of your favorite books. Who would it be? How do you think it would go?

This question makes me laugh, because I've advised many fictional couples not to be together on this blog as the Cranky Divorcee (at right). It's really hard to turn it around and be proactive! But for Feature & Follow Friday, I'm going to play Miss Lucky in Love (lower left). She's very sweet. See, she even has kittens!





I'm matching up Katniss Everdeen and Four from the Divergent series. This is assuming an alternate plot/world scenario in which neither of them is attached, because I like Peeta/Katniss and Tris/Four, and Miss Lucky in Love would never ever try to come between two sweethearts. But I think Katniss and Four would have even more sparks and crazy times together than Tris and Four. Plus, they'd move between both of their worlds really smoothly.

YA Highway: Road Trip Wednesday #19

"Road  Trip  Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors  post a  weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be  answered.  In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination  and get  everybody's unique take on the topic." Today's question on the  YA  Highway Road Trip is:

What book and/or writing conference would you love to go to?

This question is particularly timely for me because I am going to BEA for the first time next week! The YA Highway conference theme posts have been giving me some good ideas. Take snacks, for example. I wouldn't have thought of snacks, which is surprising, because as a mom, I am always carrying snacks!

Maybe I should prepare for BEA like I prepare for an outing with my child: arm myself with food, drink, wipes and distractions to pass the time? As you may have gleaned, I'm very excited about going. Here's a list of some of the things that I'm most looking forward to, and the accompanying supplies:

1. Free books! Okay, glorying in the potential literary loot is a little tacky. But I love being in any place that's full of books, whether it's a library, bookstore, or a conference that's been described as "the Disneyland of Books." And being in a place full of books that people just want to give you? Heaven. 

I'm preparing for this exciting aspect of BEA by bringing tote bags. I have dozens of them. In my home, totes are the opposite of the universal disappearing sock. The bags multiple when left alone together in a closet. Let's hope they keep performing this trick at BEA, in case I run out of bags!

2. Taking pictures of everything and tweeting random reactions. Because if you're not documenting and tweeting it, it's not really happening, right?! 

 

3. Getting some of my favorite books signed by their authors. Although this makes me nervous, and arguably there's not much to the interaction--you push your book towards the Author, like the dozens before and after you, trying not to embarrass yourself--I'm so excited about it.

4. Going to the YA Teen Author Carnival (and similar social things). I'm bringing my lucky t-shirt. I may not wear it, but having it with me makes me happy!

5. Seeing the spectacle. I'm looking forward to just being a part of such a crazy, whirlwind, enormous gathering devoted to books.

I would be really, truly, pretty-please-with-a-cherry-on-top grateful if you could share your tips or thoughts about BEA! What would you suggest to do, bring or see?

Memorial Day: Dulce et Decorum Est

(Soldiers carry a wounded comrade through a swampy area, 1969)

If you do nothing else this Memorial Day, read the following poem by Wilfred Owen.

Dulce et Decorum Est

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,

Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,

Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,

And towards our distant rest began to trudge.

Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,

But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;

Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots

Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.

Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling

Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,

But someone still was yelling out and stumbling

And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—

Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,

As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams before my helpless sight,

He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace

Behind the wagon that we flung him in,

And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,

His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;

If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood

Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,

Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud

Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—

My friend, you would not tell with such high zest

To children ardent for some desperate glory,

The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est

Pro patria mori.

In a letter home, Owen translated the Latin phrase from Horace as: “It is sweet and meet to die for one’s country.” Wilfred Owen died in combat in World War I. He was twenty-five.

I remember exactly where I was when I first read Dulce et Decorum Est: in a Brit Lit survey class at Grinnell College, with sun coming over the page of my Norton anthology from the window behind me. If this is your first time reading the poem, maybe it will haunt you too.

Book Review: Burn Mark

Title: Burn Mark

Author: Laura Powell

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books

Pub. Date: June 19, 2012

ISBN: 9781599908434

If I wrote reviews in the form of Monopoly cards, Burn Mark would get "Advance to Go: Collect $200." It's that awesome. I could stop here, really. You could click away now to pre-order a copy and start counting down the days until June 19. But then I wouldn't get to write about Burn Mark, and I'm bubbling over with things I want to share about this novel.

First, the publisher's summary:

"In a modern world-where witches are hunted down and burned at the stake-two live interact. Glory is from a family of witches, and is desperate to develop the 'Fae' and become a witch herself. Lucas is the son of the Chief Prosecutor for the Inquisition and his privileged life is very different from the witches he is being trained to prosecute. And then one day, both Glory and Lucas develop the Fae. In one fell stroke, their lives are inextricably bound together, whether they like it or not."

In this alternate reality, the classicism of English society is alive and well. Witches are the impure underclass, and non-Fae families such as Lucas Stearne's rule the country. The novel initially focuses on Lucas' world of privilege, giving enough context to measure just how much Lucas loses by becoming Fae. Our immersion in Lucas' life heightens the shock of entering Glory Wilde's world. As part of a family coven that desperately clings to memories of its long gone heyday of power, Glory lives in the Fae area of London, surrounded by poverty and sexism, with few options for her future.

After several twists and turns, Glory and Lucas reluctantly collaborate in a mission to stop a new anti-Fae uprising. Thankfully, there is no "instalove" in this novel. Their friendship is slow to develop, and seems to have the potential to be something more. But their allegiances to their very different worlds run deep. Glory and Lucas are too busy and conflicted to get sidetracked into the obligatory romance. While I love YA romantic relationships, and even the controversial love triangle, it was refreshing to read a novel in which the main characters can interact without falling in love.

Burn Mark is reminiscent of Holly Black's Curseworkers series. Both are set in a modern alternate reality in which supernatural powers and their possessors are controversial, in which gangs and the government dual for supremacy in a battle where each side has equal faults and virtues. But Powell delves more deeply and satisfyingly into the structure of the society Lucas and Glory live in, thoroughly examining both the witch gangs and the government entities designed to suppress the Fae. In the end, both Lucas and Glory realize their worlds are much more similar than they are different. But this realization does not simplify anything.

Lucas and Glory come to terms with being witches, but their futures are complicated and will be difficult to navigate. While I don't know if Burn Mark is the beginning of a series, it stands alone beautifully as the story of the beginning of Lucas and Glory's passages to adulthood. However, I can't imagine it's not the beginning of a series, as Powell has set in motion so many questions and possibilities in a fascinating world that the reader wants to explore further.

As an added bonus to the well rendered universe and compelling plot of Burn Mark, Powell's prose is gorgeous. The character development is masterful as well. Even the depiction of a minor character such as Glory's dad deepens the reader's understanding of the life of the fae through a handful of short but poignant scenes.

I stopped reading early one night because I wanted to prolong the experience another day, which in my rubric is an even higher mark than finishing the book in one sitting. But whether you devour it all in one day or at your leisure, move Burn Mark to the top of your summer to-be-read pile.

Writing a Pinterest Story

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Story starters, or writing prompts, are a staple in the teaching of creative writing. I've never been a fan of this method of jump starting the writing process. I'd rather use my time and energy on the work that I've already begun. But sometimes, trying something new can make your brain work in different, productive ways.

I've talked before about how Pinterest is a great writing tool, for games like Speed Pinterest and collecting inspiring images for your work in progress. Switching from the verbal to the visual is a fun way to recharge your mind. (I swear I'm not shilling for Pinterest; I'm just another obsessed fan.)

The most recent way that I've found to use Pinterest is in creating a story through pictures, using a story starter. The Scholastic Story Starter Machine is a great option. Yes, it's meant for children. But it's fun! The machine generated prompt was: "Write a funny story about a million year old inventor who is shipwrecked on a desert island."

The result was The Shipwrecked Inventor. I left out the funny part of the prompt, because I only write short stories about sad things. It's a problem. Since I wasn't taking the whole thing very seriously, there was no pressure to create something "good." I thought I'd left that mind set behind in high school. So, basically, yay!

I'll definitely be creating more Pinterest stories via prompt, despite the fact that Pinterest's inability to rearrange pictures on a board can be intensely frustrating. You have to start with the first part last. Even then, Pinterest positions pictures visually in a way that doesn't lead the eye from one to the other in the order you've arranged them. But again, creating a mini-story backwards is another way to stretch before starting your real writing.

Feature and Follow Friday #20

Feature & Follow Friday is a weekly social blog hop between book bloggers. There are two regular hosts: Parajunkee and Alison of Alison Can Read, and two special guest hosts every week. If you want to join in, click on either of their blogs to get the details. The FF question of the day is: 

Q: Summer Break is upon us! What would be the perfect vacation spot for you to catch up on your reading & relax?

Since this is a fantasy hypothetical, I feel like I should pick someplace exotic that I've never been. But the place that I'd most like to read a book is Nantucket, an island off of Cape Cod in Massachusetts where I was fortunate enough to live for several years.

Nantucket is special for dozens of reasons, but it's uniquely suited for summer beach reading because you can frequently find an uncrowded stretch of sand to make your own. 

You're not part of a hive of humanity crammed onto the beach, so close to the people around you that you're forced to listen to their radios and chit-chat, smelling their sunscreen and snacks. On a good summer day at the right spot on Nantucket, the nearest people are far enough away to be little blobs moving back and forth between the ocean and their umbrella. 

In every other season, you can sit on the beach for hours reading and never see another soul. There's also the gorgeous library and cool bookstore(s), but the biggest attraction for me is privacy. Between the bluff and the ocean only your book exists, until the sun sets.

Bookish Marry, Fuck, Kill: V.C. Andrews

V.C. Andrews

The second round of Bookish Marry, Fuck, Kill belongs to V.C. Andrews.  The first smut I ever read was handed to me by a friend on the bus in middle school.  Not to blame this now-forgotten friend; I would have discovered Andrews on my own eventually. But the sharing of these scandalous books was a rite of passage. Before Andrews, reading was something good for you. But our parents wouldn't have approved of us reading V.C. Andrews, even if they didn't realize it. Flowers in the Attic felt like my tween version of The Anarchist's Cookbook. In hindsight, I realize that illustrates just how sheltered I was.

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The Rules:

Marry means this will be a book you will own (and presumably read) for the rest of your life. Fuck means you get to read it once, in a literary one night stand, and never again. You're attracted to the book, but you don't want to wake up next to it every morning for the rest of your life. Kill means you eradicate the book from the world. You may even be reaching back in time and strangling the book before it was ever written.

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The Candidates:

Flowers in the Attic
My Sweet Audrina
Dark Angel

My Choices:

Marry: I'm getting hitched to the least of these three evils, Dark Angel, which is part of the Casteel series. Most of what I remember about this book is the lengthy descriptions of the main character's new school wardrobe. There may well be a high creep factor that I'm forgetting, but in this literary marriage, I'm going to cling to that amnesia.

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Fuck: I really don't even like thinking about this category in the context of V.C. Andrews' books. But I'm going to hold my nose and pick Flowers in the Attic. It was the first Andrews book I ever read. I wish I'd stopped there, but the lure of the forbidden led me to read what felt like dozens. Flowers in the Attic falls near the middle of the Andrews Wrong-O-Meter. The children imprisoned in the attic are victims, and their decisions are easier to understand in this book than in any of those that follow in the Dollanganger series. And by easier to understand, I mean less gruesome and illegal.

Kill: My Sweet Audrina. God, I rue the day I picked up this book. I can count on one hand the books I wish I'd never read, and this tops the list. It's an extremely creepy take on the sexual assault of a child. You thought nothing could be more I-have-to-take-a-shower inducing than the Dollanganger series? Think again, friends. I believe book burning is far worse than flag burning, or any other kind of object burning, but I'd be tempted to throw this one on the censorship pyre.

Has your sordid fascination with Andrews been reawakened? Check out The Complete Annotated V.C. Andrews Blog-O-Rama, a site devoted to the rereading and analysis of Andrews' body of work.