Smoke by Ellen Hopkins

I give this YA novel 5 out of 5 

Pattyn Von Stratten is still breathing, even though her heart is still with the love of her life and their unborn child, ripped from life by a car crash. Living a life far from home under an assumed name Pattyn tries to move on, but remains weighed down by the guilt of what she now considers ill sought revenge. Back in their Mormon home, Pattyn’s sister Jackie reveals the struggle of a family trying to knit itself back together, but can something that was never really whole be fixed? Can either of these sisters ever find peace and move forward?

Raw and arresting, Smoke is the Burned sequel every Ellen Hopkins fan has been waiting for. Hopkins picks right up from where the story last ended in its devastation and weaves a tale of hope and renewal. Still filled with twists and unexpected turns, Smoke is not short on excitement or drama. It is a careful line to be drawn, but somehow Hopkins always manages to hit it just right, delivering narration and story that seems so real and human that a reader can’t help but connect to it.

Though her eleventh book written and a sequel to boot, this poem novel is equal to her best writing. It seems with Hopkins’ writing it only gets better. And in the case of Burned, Smoke gives Pattyn and her family the resolution they always deserved.

A forever fan of Hopkins’ books and style of writing, I’ve always recommended Burned as a great read, only warning that its end is harsh and can really take it out of a reader emotionally. However, with an end-cap like Smoke to depend on, the story is even more worth the read.

By Alissa Tsaparikos

Etiquette and Espionage: Finishing School Book 1 by Gail Carriger

I rate this book a 4 out of 5

Equipped with the most atrocious curtsy and a propensity for breaking all the rules, Sophronia Temminnick is the exact opposite of the proper lady her frazzled mother wishes her to be. At wits end, her mother does what any troubled mother of a wayward daughter must, send her to finishing school.  But what first seems to Sophronia as the worst fate of all, soon reveals itself as a blessing in disguise, because Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality is not at all what it seems. With instruction on the proper way to flutter one’s eyes and curtsey followed by knife throwing and the correct way to poison, Sophronia learns quickly there might be many other ways to “finish” than she first thought.

Taking place in the same Victorian Steampunk alternate universe as Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate adult novel series, Etiquette and Espionage is the young adult precursor to those novels events.

Written with the same wit and dashing adventure as her previous books, Sophronia’s shenanigans are quite a bit of fun to read. Though the character names are a bit of a mouthful, the Victorian semantics laid on a little thick, and the plot somewhat predictable, the novel is overall very well done and well worth the read. Not done with as much diligence to the time as her previous series, Carriger still brings out a great amount of historical reference, making the novel educational and fun, much like the finishing school within the story.

As I read there was a distinct feeling of YA about the narration, one that almost seemed over emphasized at times. However it wasn’t too distracting from the story, and though the Parasol Protectorate remains my favorite of her writing, I still very much recommend this book and look forward to reading the next ones in the series.  

By Alissa Tsaparikos

The House of Chimes

So I know that I've been in the middle of far too many writing projects to even try starting a new one. But I don't think I'd even know how to do things if I wasn't in the middle of 500 things at once. I just can't let go of good ideas when I am lucky enough to get them.

Though I have been writing other things and working on a few big baddies in the novel-esque department, this one fell into my lap and I am very excited about it.

This will be to date the first children's novel I have ever attempted. YA, adult fiction, and adult non-fiction are all familiar genre's for me. I have not, however, attempted anything of substantial size that was specifically aimed at children. This character just feels twelve years old. There is no getting around it. So I'm not fighting and just seeing what happens.

So far I have fifteen or so pages, some large plot points laid out, and some major character back story and development. It's a lot more than I can say for some of my projects so I am pretty happy.

Story line so far includes a house that runs on an inner clockwork all it's own and is inexplicably alive, a young girl who doesn't listen and refuses to accept the transparent excuses given to her and the other children who live in the house, and a mystery that once discovered can't be forgotten or turned away from.

It's definitely in it's begging stages, but I can't wait to see what happens.

A Modern Re-vamp Re-vamped: My Take on Pride and Prejudice in the 21st Century

                       So as most every one has noticed, the modern day reinterpretation story is very in at this point in time. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries web series modeled as a blog took this by storm, gaining thousands of subscribers and viewers and much notice and acclaim while they were at it. I myself was an avid fan and viewer, watching all 100 of the videos of the series and then following the cast and writers' progress all the way to the Emmy's where they won for the amazing job they all did. Now the team is back at it again with Emma Approved, their next vlog type series based off Jane Austen's Emma.
                     
                        But what exactly is it that they are doing? They are doing what has been done so many times before, but with a twist refreshing and engaging enough that still pulls everyone in and keeps them coming back for more. The LBD project was a definite success. There are of course many similar attempts that don't quite hit the mark.

                       A next big project I've started to work on and want to aim towards is to do as they and many other have before them have done. I want to to take the bare essentials of Austen's Pride and Prejudice and make it a new story, one that works in today's world. I have no idea if I will hit that mark or get anywhere near it. My initial reaction is to say I won't, but I'm trying to just write and not think about that quite yet. If it never makes it any further than the internet, I'm not sure I will even be upset. As I have already mentioned here and here, I believe that writing and the sharing of a story should not be confined merely to the whims of the publishing industry. Nor do I believe that a person should be barred from writing on a story or in a specific world just because another author came up with the original idea. If it worked for Shakespeare, I think that it can work okay for me too. So I'm going to try writing this story my way and see where it leads me.

Tell me what you think of this idea. :)

Beautiful Darkness and the dreaded reading slump

                 True to my word I did indeed go from reading Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl to the next book in the series Beautiful Darkness. I had high hopes that the story would start giving some of the answers that left me wondering as a reader at the end of the last book. However to my disappointment the befuddlement and over-mysterious cloud that Ethan constantly wanders through during these books only becomes more dense and aggravating. Then to my dismay I found myself in the reading slump. Nothing about this book could hold my attention. I have renewed it and renewed it on my card at the library over and over, and still I seem to make barely any head way with the story.

                 Now as reading funks go, it can be hard to tell if it is the particular book you are reading that has caused it, or if it is just one of those times that reading just isn't on the menu, no matter how good the story (at least that's how it goes for me). However, with this book, I'm starting to wonder if it is really the culprit. I am a little over 100 pages into the book and practically nothing has happened, and the communication between characters has become, if anything, even worse. I've become fed up with how little the authors are giving the reader as far as information and the story goes. Until I finish the book I'd have no way of knowing if these problems resolve themselves, but already discouraged the forecast for finishing doesn't look good.  As well as this, the reading slump isn't be so slumpish either. I have been reading. Perhaps not conventional published book reading, but reading nonetheless.

                  All this being said, I've decided to give it a rest. This book is not to be read at this moment. Perhaps I will get back to it later. Perhaps not. We shall see.