A Frustrating Update

It appears that Blogger lost a post where I had written reviews of 3 books I recently read. I really, really want to rewrite them, but unfortunately it won't be as soon as I thought. I'm very discouraged at the moment. Ugh.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer: A pleasant surprise

Screw the Obsidian analysis I've barely started and the almost-complete Doctor Who finale write-up I still haven't posted on Tumblr (which may just never go up, at least completed). I'm in the mood to review this while it's still fresh in my mind. (Although admittedly it's been possibly over two weeks because I forgot about this post.)

I bought Cinder quite a while ago when I still had YA optimism, because it was (and still is, go check it out) just $2.99 on Kindle. But by the time I had started reading it, I was getting increasingly frustrated by the age group. The thrill of reading genre series as I had when I was younger was leaving me, as I began to feel in YA they were too similar with elements I just wasn't fond of and I gravitated more toward the underrated contemporary novels when I did read the
I was planning on not reading YA purely for hype, and deleted a few from my to-read list because the synopses had not appealed to me. I was prepared to write for a middle grade market, as I was dissatisfied with this one.

Until now.

Well, I mean, I'm still going to be critical. There are still elements and patterns I'm not fond of that are apparently in the majority of what is published in this age group, and those are also the things I will probably never write. But still, there is hope for a little something different.

Enter: Cinder by Marissa Meyer.

The ironic thing, considering the above, is that this would have been one of the first to go if I was eliminating books I had no natural interest in. Fairytale retellings? Cinderella? I was the strange girl who didn't grow up on Disney princess movies and who isn't too interested in happily-ever-afters. Well, Cinder is actually an unpredictable retelling to an extent, and is only the first stepping stone in a larger series (which is one I want to continue for once!). It probably isn't going to change your life or make you think too much, but it succeeds in the inoffensive entertainment and interesting departments, which is sometimes just as good.

From first glance, this seems like a lot of ideas thrown into a blender. Cinder is a cyborg (not an android, although those exist too) who works as a mechanic and is the ward of a wealthy family containing her step-mother Adri and step-sisters Pearl and Peony; they live in New Beijing, a futuristic Beijing after the Fourth World War in which there was a lot of destruction that caused the world to join together and form about five nations, this being the Eastern Commonwealth; there is a deadly plague running rampant and oh, there are also these Lunars who are oppressive brainwashing aliens who have an eye on a political foothold...you get the idea. But, for the most part, this felt well put-together and original instead of tossing several ideas in a blender.

First off, I'll air my few criticisms.I believe the worldbuilding comes off a little short in regards to the other aspects. Cinder takes place in a futuristic China, which is great--YA dystopias are overwhelmingly USA-exclusive--but there isn't a whole lot of Asian influence. I believe others have covered this better than I ever could (check this out), but mostly there were a few simple names, the mention of pagodas or a Buddha statue, and the fact that the ruler is called "emporer" (which made me think of how my world history teacher believed the dyanastic cycle in China would come back as it has throughout history). That's it. We get to learn how the world became more united through the war, but what happened to the culture?

Furthermore, I was initially a bit confused over how human and how robot Cinder is. At first I imagined her as a complete android like Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, so phrases like "her heart winced" were jarring. Eventually I remembered what a cyborg actually was (how silly of me), although it is a bit disappointing that she mostly behaves as a human. Also, I guessed the plot twist very early on (and some of the other twists in advance), which didn't hinder my enjoyment of the book because I did have a good time with it, but it did make the ending feel a bit anticlimactic. Still, I am looking forward to continuing this series, which I hear only gets better.

Onto the good things, then. Despite the aforementioned predictability which had to do with a different aspect, Cinder does not adhere too firmly to the fairy tale. Her robotic foot is an important symbol but it doesn't have the same plot significance (unless I missed something?). There isn't a Fairy Godmother, and other elements are cleverly changed or thinly incorporated. Most refreshingly, one of the step-sisters is nice, and the other step-sister and the step-mother have motivations to be grouchy. The romance is also not as prominent and both characters are fully established as people with their own stories, and it takes on a slow build that made me so happy exists in a YA book. And I'm not going to spoil, but there were a few twists that made it even better.

I don't think I'll get to the rest of the series until the new year, but I am looking forward to it. Cinder wasn't perfect and it wasn't significant, but it was fun, and that was the genre I needed at the time and it's still a genre that has legs.

What I've Been Reading #1

I decided to stop doing wrap-ups strictly by month because that was preventing me for reading how I wanted to. That said, nearly all of these books I began in October.

1. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury: This is actually a collection of disconnected stories, which I wouldn't have thought would have appealed to me, but I'm so glad I read it! I liked it more than The Martian Chronicles and it's about on par with Fahrenheit 451 for me. There were two stories in a row that made me cry; I love how there is something hopeful about Bradbury's work, but the endings are never quite happy. I immediately added this to my favorites list, and I think it will stay there! 5/5 stars.

2. Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout: I read this because I got the Kindle ebook for free and it was supposed to be a commentary or deconstruction on Twilight. I'm currently stalled on writing an analysis of it with that angle, where I will talk about in more in depth. I do believe that is the best way to enjoy it; while it was clever at times, the love/hate relationship got quite repetitive, and it isn't anything spectacular. 3/5 stars.

3. Stardust by Neil Gaiman: I don't really have a good gauge for a rating on this one so I'm not going to give it a star number (I gave it 4 on Goodreads, but it might be 3.5, but it's not the same 3.5 as others...). I didn't really have any problems with it, although I fell into the bad habit of not focusing enough when the narrative focused on another character than the protagonists. I thought it was lovely and I loved the sort-of-twist at the end. It was cute. I've started the movie too and enjoyed it so far...but they gave away the twist already!

4. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley: I loved the satiric tone and the concepts, but then it became a bit baffling. I've since came up with a good analysis as to why many of the characters did not change, and I've come up with a great thematic theory that explains the ending. But overall it's a case of liking it in theory, but the actual reading experience did not have as strong of an impact. Still though, that beginning... 4/5 stars.

5. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde: I could have done without the really long chapter full of historical details of what he was stealing, but overall I really enjoyed this. I loved the atmosphere and the twists, and Dorian's inevitable but still shocking decent to madness. I definitely recommend. Still, it's not my absolute favorite (yet),. 4.5/5 stars.

6. The Golden Apples of the Sun/R is for Rocket by Ray Bradbury: The edition I read was not exactly the same as you can find separately in stores, as it was in an omnibus so it removed stories that had been in The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man and added five more in their place. I enjoyed it for the most part, but the stories were much smaller so I didn't get as attached to them. There were some good ones, but I didn't feel a sense of continuity. 3/5 stars.

7. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini: I loved the first 100 pages or so, but after that I seemed to be distanced from it. It just didn't move me as much as it did some others; I felt a little bit manipulated, actually...especially with his ease at becoming a published author. Also, he was practically an outsider in Afghanistan the whole time (especially later, where you may even call him an American tourist), which felt was a bit convenient for marketing to and hooking American readers. I don't mind the foreshadowing or the plot convenience, but there was something between me and the novel. Maybe it's just the hype. 4/5 stars.

And here is what my TBR looks like!

• Currently I'm in the middle of Cinder by Marissa Meyer, because it's about time I did some YA to review, and I won't spoil it but I'm really enjoying it! Maybe I won't give up on that market quite yet.
• I just bought Frankenstein and Jane Eyre.
• I still have The Da Vinci Code, and in ebook format I have The Warrior Heir, Throne of Glass, and The Darkest Minds, which I will get to eventually for review.
• I also plan on getting to Around the World in 80 Days and Great Expectations by the end of next year!
• Otherwise, I am patiently awaiting Christmas gifts.

I Must Be Cynical: My Fair Share of the Sun

I saw a play last night. It was a school production, and unusual in the fact that it was only one act. It was even more unusual in that there was no singular lead, backdrop, or specially-made costumes. For the most part it consisted of fourteen students sitting in chairs or on ladders wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, seven across from the other seven. It was called My Fair Share of the Sun, a very new play. And it was amazing...until the very end.

The summary, from this:

Uncle Fy and his niece Zoe plant 14 white birches along the lonely dirt road to his cabin in the woods. Shortly thereafter, a violent storm destroys the house and uproots the elder trees, who were the beloved caretakers of these 14, leaving them to fend for themselves. Despite the best efforts of a few of the trees, the group splits into two rival groups, each living on opposite sides of the road, as they race to grow to the sky and crowd each other out in an insatiable hunger for sunlight. They descend into chaos and treachery but, in a momentous climax, achieve an ironic peace—chained to the tiny society that defines their entire world, trying to decide who owns the sun. This is a symbolist play about us—all of us—and our struggle to be the social creatures we all know we have to be in order to live together on both sides of the road.

It sounds so cheesy. And the beginning was, and the ending was. But the middle? It was brilliant. There was childish bickering as they tried to figure out what they meant in this world and understand each other. There was the beginning of rivalry, and the descent into greed and madness. Whole scenes were comprised of shouting and screaming in terror. The fear of dying and the desire to die and get it over with. They turned against each other, sometimes very brutally. A few took control and bullied the others into following along to throw rocks at the rivals. A couple tried to strangle squirrels. And near the very end, it looks like even the good ones on the dominating side are going down the wrong path.

Except...the ending.

Up until the ending, it appeared that they a few trees were going to systematically destroy the others in an endless struggle. They would make more and more enemies with each other. It was like Lord of the Flies with trees.  Their bond was going to be their downfall. It was so beautiful and dark. This was a five-star play for me. But then...the ending.

See, the dominant faction of trees, at the request of what appeared to be one of its good members, joins branches in the middle of frigid weather that was in danger of killing them. The apparently good tree assures the others that they're not going to fall backward, which terrifies the trees across from them, because it looks like they will fall on top of the others and kill them all. The lights go out. There are screams and cracking sound effects.

But they didn't all die. They became intertwined, some of them even switching sides of the roads. And I mean, I suppose that is ironic. But it was just a little bit thematically inconsistent with what came before for my tastes. And I think I really wanted more of the terrifying decent into darkness.

This accentuated something about myself. I spent most of my time yesterday figuring out what I really wanted to write in terms of age range, and how dark was acceptable. I just really love unhappy endings, especially when they say something about ourselves.

A Departure

I've been musing a lot today on genre and what I want to read and write. There are some directions this blog will turn.

1. Yet more thoughts on the landscape of the current market of literature, especially that for children and teens, as I wonder what the heck I really want to write and how to go about it. (This was so much easier when I didn't worry about where in the bookstore my writing might be found someday...)

2. Continued analysis of current books to see if there really is so much sameness that I feel is stifling me. 

3. My thoughts on a very obscure play I saw that sort of exemplifies what I want to see from stories, and how this may not actually be considered compatible with the age range I want to write for.

Writing Update

My reading and blogging have taken a step back because of 1) stress and 2) not exactly doing NaNoWriMo, but I started writing a new novel just to try something different on November 5th and though I would just keep track of the progress on the website for fun. I'll be pretty happy if I hit 5,000 words

It's a children's/middle grade contemporary realism story about growing anxiety and perfectionism, and probably also about growing up. While I have a general sense of the character arc, I honestly don't know a lot about where I'm going to make it a complete novel, but I've found that I work better that way. It's not the easiest to write quickly, but because it's less restricting I tend to write more that way.

And, well, I can never resist jumping in to a story!

The Fault in Our Stars, Revisited

Courtesy of Better Book Titles

This is long overdue for a proper re-review, even if I never reviewed it in the first place to begin with. There are vague spoilers, although you probably know what they are.

I've always been critical of popular things, and typically avoid them. Especially if they are teenaged things. It just isn't really for me, I've discovered in this roudabout experiment I've undertaken this year. I had always avoided the teen section because I was really not a fan of romance and I was also in middle school at the time and felt a bit alienated from YA. After entering high school I was so busy I didn't have as much time to read...and also didn't know what I should read. Eventually I wanted to reconnect with the book world, and this one seemed so popular and critically acclaimed (though honestly I don't know what made me really want to read it), so I started with it, unofficially beginning my "YA experiment" which has practically ended except for the occasional snarky review or analysis.

Now, as this predated my reviews I didn't really read this critically, and the same goes for Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns, though I can confidently say this was the only one to really make an impact on me. That said, it was not something I was interested in reading again, even in the long run. And I think that's crucial. It had impact, but nothing I really wanted to continue to savor.

What The Fault in Our Stars was rally about to me was what I deemed to be the central theme: the inevitability of death. For me, it wasn't about teenagers or even teenagers with cancer (no offense). In fact, I've argued that they're functionally adults. It's really best if you read it as a life on fast-forward about two people who love each other and death inevitably comes. That line about how her parents knew the same thing would be coming to them? Yeah.

Because the thing is, if it isn't read this way (and I'm in doubt as to whether the majority of fans do), the most common criticisms are absolutely true. The philosophical discussions are not only out of place in teenagers (and I say this as someone who has always been surrounded by "nerds") but most people. Teenagers also don't perfectly fall into relationships like this...as John Green has said multiple times on his website. (Because yet another interesting thing to talk about with TFiOS is how it's Green's book to deal the least with awkward teen relationships and worldviews, and yet it's the most popular.) Chapter 1 had me rolling my eyes because of their instantaneous meeting, but I had never really read a romance novel before so I figured they had to get that part over with instead of building things slowly as they got to know each other (something I find more realistic and relatable).

Hazel and Gus weren't really characters to me. Their relationship did not have anything that made it unique, or anything that gave a reason for the particular two of them to be together. And Gus does fall into many YA/etc boyfriend tropes that I just don't find attractive, and that quite frankly alienate me. Yeah, it's subverted in some ways as he degrades, and I wouldn't want to be in Hazel's position. Honestly, I cried for the last 100 or so pages after the twist, but it wasn't because "oh no poor Gus, I've grown so attached to his character." It was "oh no, what if something like this is in my future?"

It isn't necessarily a story of a relationship for me. Nor one about cancer, or teenagers. So really, I don't belong in its sphere of influence. I think John Green has some good ideas about teenage relationships and teenager stories, but this is the only book that it really came together for me, and it's not even the one about how teenage sexuality is awkward or the one about why you shouldn't think of people as more than people. This one isn't revolutionary. It has some good jokes and musings, avoids the teen boy speak I just don't connect with, and meant something personal to me when I read it. But almost in a superficial way. It wasn't like other books I've loved, where I knew why the theme connected with me. This one just connected with me because it was a very real and painful thing, but something about it just doesn't feel real.