And She Went There – A City of Bones Review
*Spoilers!*
Title: City of Bones
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: McElderry Books (http://imprints.simonandschuster.biz/margaret-k-mcelderry-books)
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Length: 485 pages
Oh my… geeze Louise. What the heck! I totally saw the insinuation of the plot developing, and I completely anticipate that this particular plot development will prove to be false… But Clare totally STAR WARSed us! Except with Luke and Leah there was relief that came with the knowledge of their familial ties (after the ewww moment), because at least then we felt ok about hoping that whiny Luke didn’t get the girl and that Leah and Han Solo were meant for each other. Clary and Jace! Really? Did Cassandra Clare have to go there? Yes, yes, I fear she did. Although I’m not buying the story line, it worked hook, line, and sinker and I’m itching to find out what happens next.
Of course, now, perfectly livid and irritated at my fascination for this series, I’m both addicted and torn.
What am I torn about? And why am I still addicted?
1. I was not a Twilight fan. Meyer captured her target audience, and it was a fun little fairy tale – so in that aspect I can respect it. But Bella is useless and I pretty much hate her character, Edward is ridiculous and I pretty much hate his character, and their whole relationship, I think, is absurd and sends the wrong message. Cassandra Clare’s work definitely goes in the same genre, so in that sense I don’t want to like these books. Still, Clare is just so much better with her character development, her story telling, and her writing. Granted, I could do without all the teenage melodrama romance, but the adventure and the world she has created is wonderfully fascinating. (Read my Twilight review here: https://anakalianwhims.wordpress.com/tag/flaubert/)
2. These books are complete fluff. In general, I am particular about my fluff. I am very judgy, and frankly, a bit of a book snob. Apparently, though, I’m in the mood for some complete and utter fluff, and a girl needs a healthy dose of dessert in her life in order to truly enjoy the non-dessert. Clare makes up for the feeling of reading a crap ton of mind numbing cotton candy equivalent books with a healthy dose of literature references, so instead of cotton candy, I feel as though I’m reading a lemon meringue pie (with extra cool whip).
3. I absolutely protest having half naked boys on the front cover. It’s a huge turn off when it comes to my book buying tendencies. I was duped by Infernal Devices and the gentleman in the top hat. Happily duped.
4. Then, which to read next? City of Ashes? (Book 2 of Mortal Instruments) or Clockwork Prince? (Book 2 of Infernal Devices). Infernal Devices is the better series so far in my book, mostly because its Victorian and steampunk and all that delicious goodness, but I’m in a little more distress over the Mortal Instruments story line in this moment. Does Clare pull a few more twists and rectify this ridiculous love story into the something morally acceptable I feel she is alluding to – or am I going to writhe my way through an incestuous romance? And if this situation is resolved as I suspect (and hope) it will be, how does she do it?
Side note: Contrary to recent and probably most frequent posts, this is not a blog dedicated to childrens or young adult titles. I read them a lot, therefore review them a lot, mostly because I have a child and partly because I enjoy reading what has been published since I was a child myself. In the coming month(s), my readers/ followers can (fingers crossed) expect to find reviews and commentary for Book 3 of Les Miserables, Coming of Age in the Milky Way by Ferris, Merchant Kings by Brown, a surprise title sent to me to review by an author, and the latest discoveries in my Astrology research project.
The Part Where I Admit I’m a Sucker…
…for any book cover featuring a gentleman in a top hat.
Title: Clockwork Angel
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: McElderry Books
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Steampunk
Length: 478 pages
I am very skeptical when it comes to current popular young adult titles. Anything published in the aftermath of the Twilight Saga makes me pretty inclined to doubt that the story will be anything but unequivocal crap. In fact, when I first saw the covers of Cassandra Clare’s original series The Mortal Instruments (City of Ashes, City of Bones, etc.), I had no interest whatsoever in the nearly naked teens displayed on the front cover in all their thin, muscled perfection. Clockwork Angel, on the other hand, the first in the prequel series The Infernal Devices taunted me for months. This front cover is still shimmery and radiates young adult paranormal pop culture crap, but the teen isn’t naked, he’s in full on Victorian era attire, coat, top hat, the whole shebang. I was torn. How did they know they would suck me in like this? How did Cassandra Clare know that this book was basically screaming at me: YOU, You pompous, self-righteous, book snob, YOU, try to NOT read THIS one!
I rebelled. I refused. It continuously called my name. And if it hadn’t been for 1) S. Smith renewing my faith in *new* young adult fiction with Seed Savers and 2) Felix J. Palma enchanting me with a love hate relationship with The Map of Time (that a. ended in love and b. also featured a somewhat shiny top hatted man on the front cover), my rebellion would have won out and in turn I would have lost out.
Cassandra Clare, if you are reading this, I loved Clockwork Angel. I didn’t want to, because I’m a book snob, but you won me over, with – of all things – book love.
Clockwork Angel is a little bit paranormal, a little bit steam punk, a whole lot of adventure, and even more book worship. Clare’s characters are well read in all my Victorian and pre-Victorian favorites. No matter how predictable or typical they behave, they win me over every time with their references to Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, A Tale of Two Cities, countless poets, and more. The feelings are that of typical teens without over exaggerating the melodrama. And the adventure and fight scenes are just down right fun. How do you pass up automatons, vampires, warlocks, and gadgets? You can’t, especially when its been so long since the vampires have actually been bad guys, not sparkling, cheesy love interests. Thank you Clare, for putting those vamps in their place. In Clockwork Angel we know they are bad guys, dangerous, but they don’t over run the story… it’s not entirely about them, they’re just part of the landscape… Thank God.
Now, of course, I have the entire Mortal Instruments series sitting on my end table to be read, despite their front covers. I’m suckered, I’m hooked, I have to know the whole story.
End Note: I’d put Clare’s writing at about a 6th-7th grade level, content probably for a 14+ but I’d have no problem letting anyone younger read it because there’s nothing inappropriate or anything, it just might take a slightly older child to catch all the literature references.
Interview with S. Smith
I’m excited to share with you all an interview with S. Smith, author of Seed Savers
1. This is quite a political statement, was that your intention?
Not so much. I think it was more about my love of good food. Seed Savers is a love story starring home-grown food. I love food—growing, harvesting, cooking, eating, and sharing it. And I think a lot of people these days maybe are missing out on that. I grew up on a small family farm and we always just ate what we grew, putting the fruit and veggies up for the winter and enjoying the goodness of how much better everything tasted than the “store kind.” Sure, politics obviously comes into the book, but it’s much more than that.
2. I read on your blog that Senate Bill S510, the Food Safety Modernization Act, inspired the story line. But what made you choose to tell the story through the eyes of children for children, instead of writing a piece more geared towards adults?
Actually, although I mention Senate Bill S510 as being the idea behind my story, I believe I wrote Seed Savers prior to hearing about it. I started writing Seed Savers in April of 2010, and most of the internet frenzy on the bill came out after that. I think a friend told me about the bill after reading a draft of my story—it’s hard for me to remember exactly. The inspiration for the book and the reason I wrote for children is covered in the blog titled “How It All Started”(May 2012).
3. There are many documentaries floating around about the habits of companies similarly described in the history of your futuristic world. Have you seen any of them? If so, which ones did you consider the most inspirational or informative? (I’d like to watch them.)
Here in Salem we enjoy the Salem Progressive Film Series, which is a “volunteer organization dedicated to educating and raising awareness of important current events.” They bring in great documentaries and speakers once a month. I have enjoyed going to many of these. I’ve watched movies on water, dirt, food, urban gardening, MONSANTO, etc. As mentioned in the “How It All Started” blog, Food, Inc. truly was a part of the inspiration for my book.
4. You must be a gardener! What are your favorite household ‘crops’? (Mine are lemon balm and rosemary – for the smell, of course.)
Oh my gosh. Well I do live right in the center of town, so I only have a very limited amount of space for my own little garden, but I do love growing tomatoes—I’ve been starting my own from seed for about the last four years—and yes, the fresh herbs are wonderful (cilantro, basil, sage, rosemary, thyme, parsely, dill, oregano….). I also have strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and one boysenberry bush.
5. The lupines are a symbol of safety for the children during their flee from oppression to knowledge and fruitfulness (both literally and figuratively). Why the lupine? Does it hold special significance for you?
Well, I think that’s covered in the book. Mt. St. Helens is sort of in our backyard here in Oregon, so we get a lot of coverage about whatever is going on up there. I either heard on t.v. or read somewhere that lupines were the first plant life to come back after the devastation of the volcanic eruption and I jotted it down to use in my book. I still have the scrap of paper on which I wrote it down.
6. Seed Savers is reminiscent of titles like The Giver and Invitation to the Game. Do you often read dystopian society literature? What are your favorites?
The Giver is one of my favorites. I also really love Fahrenheit 451 and The House of the Scorpion.
7. Your book is peppered with verses from the Bible as well as symbols regarding Mother Earth. Do you mind me asking about your religious beliefs? What’s your life’s mission statement? (This is something I find particularly fascinating about writers in general, how C.S. Lewis’ beliefs seeped into The Chronicles of Narnia, the infrastructure of Orson Scott Card’s science fiction and that of Mormonism, and so on…)
“To act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly…” 🙂 I am a Christian, but more importantly, I had to be true to my characters. I didn’t want flat characters, and children at that age often do go to church and have strong beliefs. My two favorite books, Peace Like a River and The Secret Life of Bees, both have spiritual themes running through them. And let’s not forget that Twilight begins with a quote from Genesis.
I certainly hope the book can be viewed for all of its layers and not dismissed on account of some Bible verses.
8. When can we expect Book Two in your series? Have you written the whole series and just timing their releases or are you writing as you go? (I’m dying for the next installment already!)
Thanks! Book two, Lily, will probably be out sometime in August. It is completed and in the editorial process right now. Treasure will be available on Kindle devices soon (in process right now). I have not written the entire series yet, but do have a brief outline. I am currently about one quarter of the way through the first draft of book three.
9. The kids do a lot of traveling as they run away from home to Canada, in the last third of the book. Do you enjoy travel? Have you been to Canada? What are your favorite things about both your hometown and your favorite place to visit?
Is this a spoiler? Yes, I enjoy traveling a lot, but as I get older, I dislike flying more and more. I have been to Canada, but only British Columbia, not Quebec.
Oregon has often been referred to as “the Eden at the end of the Oregon Trail,” and for good reason. It is very green here, and we have gorgeous lakes, rivers, and forests. I live in the Willamette Valley, so when I go to a place without mountains in the horizon, it’s a bit disconcerting.
My favorite place to visit is Logan Pass on the Continental Divide at Glacier National Park in Montana. Even though I live in a valley, I absolutely love standing on the top of high places and looking down. 🙂
10. Is there anything you’d like to share about yourself or your work to your readers and fans that hasn’t already been discussed?
I think Seed Savers is very timely in regard to topics such as the urban garden movement, food deserts, childhood obesity, school gardens, etc. The science teacher at my school (who also has a gardening class) was very much of a help and encouragement to me as I was writing the story. We like the idea of kids having a novel to read in science or gardening class for that literacy tie-in. In regard to my writing process, I don’t always know what my characters are going to do next. They often surprise me as much as they might surprise you (perhaps even more so!) 🙂
Thank you for interview!
A Romance to Last the Ages
Title: Dragonfly in Amber (second in The Outlander Series
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Publisher: I am reading from A Dell Book, pocket papberback, published in 1992.
Length: 947 pgs
Although the book covers are a bit outdated and have been revamped and republished, The Outlander Series itself will never be outdated… will never get old. Often shelved in the romance sections for its sexual content and love story, its a little more dramatic, a little more fantasy, and has a little more historical detail than your average romance. Gabaldon has written a saga that is a “little more” no matter where you house it in your bookstore.
Where I devoured Outlander (the introductory book of the series, published in the UK as CrossStitch), Dragonfly in Amber I mosied through. I kept it on my nightstand and read 20-30 page here and there, until I finally finished it this morning over breakfast. But not because it wasn’t good.
Jamie and Claire Fraser are the kind of characters you like to let linger with you. By book two you see more of their faults and weaknesses as well as their strengths, and they are less token flat romantic leads strictly enamoured with each other. Still definitely a romance, these books are also clearly about a marriage tried by time travel, war, and witch hunts, and more. There’s a real element to them that traditional romances don’t have, the Outlander Series is all adventure but never fairy tale. Knowing there’s a whole series of nearly 1000 page books, its easy to set it down after a little bit, assured they will be there when you come back.
Of course, the moment you get to the end of one, Gabaldon has teased you with some lingering story line that makes you want to immediately start the next. I recommend having several of the series set aside before you begin so when that moment comes you aren’t left with the deep urge to leave your house and run to the nearest bookstore hoping they have the one you need in stock. Just buy them all up whenever you see them, and toss them (in order) on your TBR pile.
Like Baroness Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel, I think The Outlander Series will be a romance that lasts through the ages.
Hercule Poirot, mon ami
Welcome back to my blog, Mes Amis! I have finished yet another book in the Hercule Poirot series, and just as she has done in the rest, Christie has brought a small smile to my face.
Hercule Poirot by Ceska Soda
Poirot Investigates
As with every detective hero, Poirot manages to be cleverer and more astute than everyone with whom he comes in contact. He sees every clue and teases us with it, not telling us what it means until the end. He manages to be both exasperating and adorable, Hastings (and the reader) often want to wring his neck and simultaneously shake his hand while he lectures his younger ally on the use of his “little grey cells” in his brain. In the finale of one adventure,Hastings exclaims: “Poirot was right. He always is, confound him!”
I think my favorite thing about him is how often he toots his own horn. He has no sense of modesty and is constantly talking of himself in the third person, proclaiming his greatness and intelligence. When not speaking in the third person about how happy people will be to see the arrival of the “The Great Hercule Poirot” he’s is busy saying things like:
“I, who have undoubtedly the finest brain in Europe at present, can afford to be magnanimous!”
One would call him pompous, but with his short, round stature and that twinkle in his green eyes, how can you hate him? In fact, if he were real, I’d hope that he would call me ‘mon ami.’
Inhale (And be ready to hold your breath, a lot) – A Review
Title: Inhale
Author: Kendall Grey
Publisher: Howling Mad Press, LLC
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Romance
Length: 453 pages
Buy: http://justbreathenovels.com
I happened across Kendall Grey on Twitter (kendallgrey1) not too long ago, an exciting day for me because shortly after I was being sent a review copy of her book Inhale. It came with many warnings: could be too graphic for you, rated R, etc. I promised I’d give it a try, and frankly, despite the fact that she was correct on most counts (the girl knows her work, knows what it is) I still enjoyed it.
Grey laments in her blog post titled Bless My Heart:
Not everyone is going to like my book. Some people won’t get it. They won’t like my style or my voice. Others will say the language is too rough. There’s too much graphic sex. Not enough graphic sex. Too much back story, yet they don’t understand the world building. Too many stereotypes. Predictable. The plot has holes big enough to fly a space shuttle through.
Worse, some readers will say, “It was okay.” Or they won’t be able to finish it. *GULP* Twist the knife in a little harder, why don’t ya?
And what I’d like to tell her: “Who cares?!” I’m a reviewer who doesn’t like peoples’ books sometimes, I wrote a whole post about not liking Kostova’s ‘voice,’ I often get irritated at novels with too much graphic sex (The Outlander series, prior to this book, my one exception). I admit that back story has a time and place, even though I’m a sucker for it. Plot holes big enough to fly a space shuttle through are more my husband’s issue with life, not mine… But using stereotypes with purpose rather than laziness and character development are highly important to me.
Photograph by Jemma Milanovic used in the cover of “Exhale” to portray Gavin Cassidy
Grey, you stayed true to your vision, and that, I appreciate. Your characters are believable, and your story engrossing and imaginative. I’m not hooked on the genre, but I’ll definitely be reading more of your work.
After years of working in a bookstore and running the literature section, I see/hear the words “urban fantasy” or “romance” and I expect cheesy, terrible writing. It’s snobbish, I know, but I just assume it will be L.J. Smith with more adult content. I agreed to review this book, however, after perusing Grey’s blog (kendallgrey.com) and discovering that she uses a lot of ‘colorful language’ in the realm of ‘pardon my French’, but her writing is quite good. Plus, I’m a sucker for people willing to use the word “wafted,” it’s one of my favorites.
Reading Grey’s work reminded me exactly of how I felt when I read Twilight. It’s not to my particular taste, I prefer my love stories of the Jane Austen variety and my fantasies J.R.R. Tolkien or Robin McKinley style. It’s not something I want my daughter reading, but I read the thing in nearly one sitting and was captivated by the adventure and Grey’s multi-leveled worlds. Just as I understood why the masses were maintaining an unhealthy obsession with Twilight, I’m actually shocked that Grey hasn’t got a larger cult following. I’m surprised that the next installment in the Just Breathe series isn’t the most anticipated release since Eclipse hit the shelves in August of 2007. I can think of about fifty regulars at my store that would be all over it if they knew about it. (And yes, I plan to share that information with them.)
That being said: it’s far more adult than Twilight. So, don’t go passing this around to twelve year old girls to devour; but if you’re an adult who likes to read paranormal romance, who reads purely to escape real life for two hundred pages (or for 453 pages in this case), Inhale is right up your alley. Just like Grey knows what she writes, you know who you are… it’s worth it to you to go buy yourself a copy.
Right Whale original 5×7 mixed media illustration by Bryan Collins
Now, just because I’m not that person and I speed read through parts that seem like they are getting too hot and heavy (I’m a fan of my fast forward button in movies too), and maybe you’re not that person either, don’t be completely opposed to checking out Grey’s work. Grey has thrown in some awesome stuff that steps outside the urban fantasy stereotype and gives us something to latch onto: Whales. Grey’s love for whales has overpowered all the stuff that I don’t necessarily care for in these books and become something beautiful. Referred to as a “word diddler and whale champion” in the author biographical blurb in the back of the book, the coolest thing about her and this new series is that All profits from sales of the JUST BREATHE Trilogy will be donated to whale education programs. Not something I expected to read at the opening of an urban fantasy novel. That in itself is worth tossing some money Grey’s way and picking up her book the first chance you get, even if you only intend to donate it to your local library for someone else to enjoy.
Visit JustBreatheNovels.com and browse through the series playlist, a little mood music while you read is always lovely. Also check out: www.cetaceanresearchnetwork.com and www.facebook.com/KendallGreyAuthor.
Evenings With Agatha
Title:Murder on the Links
Author: Agatha Christie
Genre: Mystery
Length: 173 pages
One of the most wonderful parts of January has been the cold – and Agatha Christie. At the start of the year, I committed myself to a 23 month plan to read all of the Agatha Christie Crime Collection, of which I own a beautiful black and red leather set.
The picture may be old, but its the same fireside.
In the evenings, my daughter and I light the fire in the fireplace, turn on the radio (its one of those old school looking wooden ones from Target, complete with turntable, cd player, and tape deck) and jazz immediately warms the living room with sound.
I keep my Scentsy burners on constantly and this month we’ve had a lot of Honey Peared Cider, Weathered Leather, and Cozy Fireside going.
Ayla, my daughter, is 14 months old. The jazz comes on and suddenly its dancing time! We sway and swing until the tea kettle is ready (it doesn’t whistle to my utter chagrin), and then curl up together and I read aloud the selected Agatha Christie for the evening.
This is the one time of day that we spend in the living room, most of our ‘living’ happens in the library where all my books and Ayla’s play mats are. How silly of us that our living room is where we do all our reading on death and murder.
This arrangement is everything I imagined would be wonderful about spending time with my daughter, and Agatha always lives up to her end of the deal, with all the excitement of a three ring circus.
In this second installment of the Poirot investigations, Poirot cleverly and humorously antagonizes other detectives as he and the narrator, Hastings, solve the crime together. If I said anything more, I would give away all the best parts!
The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street
A Review of Helene Hanff’s sequel to 84, Charing Cross Rd.
At the end of 84, Charing Cross Rd. when Helene’s correspondence with London bookseller Frank Doel seemingly came to an end – I cried. Now, in Duchess of Bloomsbury Street when Helene first sees Charing Cross Rd. with her own eyes – I cried again. Helene Hanff is simple, witty, clever, and utterly enjoyable every time she takes pen to paper. I enjoy romping through London with her and cannot wait to read what she has to say about life in America when I finally find myself a copy of Apple of My Eye. And, if I ever visit London, I hope I have even half as many wonderful people available like The Colonel and PB to escort me to all the best sites, and then maybe my trip could be almost as perfect.
Ghosts, Suffragettes, and Skirts, Oh My!
Although Rebecca Kent (also known as Kate Kingsbury or Doreen Roberts) is not English, her Bellehaven Finishing School is, as are all the household staff and students. Well to do Edwardian Brits send their daughters to the care of Meredith Llewellyn, a widowed headmistress who sees ghosts! Not just any ghosts, though, of course only ones that have been killed off before their time!
A sort of “Ghostwhisperer” (tv show starring Jennifer Love Hewitt portraying a woman who talks to ghosts and coerces them to go to the light) for lovers of period pieces and proper society and pesky suffragettes, Kent’s cozy mysteries are just the right medicine to hunker down with while recovering from a Spring cold, hayfever, and all those other things that come with the changing weather.
I’ve finished reading High Marks for Murder, am currently reading Finished Off, and cannot wait to begin Murder Has No Class. Although the series was cut off by the publishers trying to pinch pennies in this recession, the author has wrapped up some loose ends for us here on her website: http://www.doreenrobertshight.com/id4.html.
Anakalian Whims 
Seed Savers – a series to be treasured
June 8, 2012 at 1:00 am (Education, Reviews) (books, Christian fiction, dystopian society, fiction, gardening, homeschooling, kids books, reviews, S. Smith, Seed Savers, self-sufficient living, series, social commentary, Treasure, young adult)
Author S. Smith has written the latest and greatest of young adult dystopian society novels. In the spirit of the previously mentioned Lowry novel and and Monica Hughes’ Invitation to the Game
, Smith has given us solid middle grade tale featuring a new (and somewhat real) futuristic threat – illegal gardening. It’s yet another great pre-cursor to students preparing to read Orwell’s 1984
. Educators everywhere should be aware of this rising star in children’s literature.
The detailed history of how this society came to be is part of its unique twist. Most dystopian society stories don’t spend a lot time telling you how it got this way, just that it did and people didn’t notice, the path somewhat alluded to but not specific. Smith helps point out the steps leading up to this future with factoids that suspciously resemble things that are happening in both the farmlands and corporate America. From living organism patents made legal in the 1980’s to genetically engineered seedlings, Smith spells out just exactly how this future (though a little outlandish in a society newly obsessed with being eco-friendly in its marketing) could quite possibly go from where it is now to the kind of United States described in the book (corporations and the government in bed with each other making trouble for the little people – Banks, anyone?… in combination with the idea that a government can make a plant illegal – marijuana comes to mind). Yet, she does this effortlessly, without killing the flow of the story.
I personally love social commentary presented through the art of fiction. (You like this too? Check out this site: http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/371512?uid=3739920&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=56242603693). I find it compelling and quite frankly the best way to address particular situations that when written about in a nonfiction format becomes an irate rant. I love the way it personalizes events and characters in a book so quickly, in a way that the average story cannot do. Get under the skin of an art fanatic… make it impossible for art to be appreciated, collected, loved (if you’re not a reader, check out the movie Equilibrium, then again, if you’re not a reader what’s up with you reading my blog? What brought you here? Leave me a comment.)
Tug at the heartstrings of a gardener… attack the very core of their being by telling them in this reality, they can’t have one.
Needless to say, I loved it. S. Smith, you are brilliant, my dear, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series. This one is going on loan to my nieces and nephews, is getting short listed on my very long list of required reading for my daughter who will one day be homeschooled. It will be the fun fiction to parallel our botany classes that week, the friendly reminder of why she will be taught to tend her own garden, and perhaps raise a chicken.
Buy Your Copy of Seed Savers Today!
Visit the author’s website here: http://authorssmith.com/
Want to start your own garden (before its too late!), check out Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Lu-7FIj_g
Also for fun, check out this blog: http://www.thisgardenisillegal.com/
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