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.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

I rate this YA novel 3.5 out of 5

This is a semi-spoiler review. Nothing hugely important is given away, but proceed with caution.

            I approached this novel with a sense of intrigue. Like most book lovers, I enjoy watching (and judging) adaptations of books when they are set to film. However, I also love watching a film and then pursuing it further to the book it is based off. To me it is an excellent way to further delve into a world I am already interested in due to the films presentation. This is how I found myself in the case of this novel. I had heard much upset from fans of the book when it came to the movie, so I was not in the least surprised when I found the book to be vastly different to that of its film counterpart. If this is one of those books you wish to hurriedly read so you can watch the movie, stop now. Watch the movie, enjoy it (or not) for what it is and then read the book and enjoy it (or not) for what it is. They are definitely two different entities. The stories, though similar, hardly coincide.

This is a book review however, and so on to the review! I did enjoy this book. It was well written and very interesting. The story is intriguing and the narrative choice of Ethan really made a difference in the normal supernatural teen romance adventure types. The advantage of this, the main character and reader being out of the loop and questing for information, makes for great reading incentive. However there were some parts of the story that just didn’t seem fully explained. I wanted more and even at the end of the book there were important pieces of the plot that I didn’t understand. These included things such as: why Macon was what he was and not a Castor like everyone else, why exactly Lena was so special when she turned sixteen unlike all the other Castor’s, and what the heck was up with her connection with Ethan in the first place. I understand that Lena being a Natural made a big difference with the whole claiming herself part of the plot, but if that was the long and the short of things being so different I wish that there could have been more questioning about their extreme measures over her in comparison to say Ridley, who just ran off into the night and that was the end of that. I know that all these questions and maybe more might be discussed in future books, therefore I am willing to let them go, for now.

All in all it was a pretty good book. It wasn’t the most amazing thing I have ever come across, but it had good plot and great characters. I fully plan to read on through the rest of the series. 

By Alissa Tsaparikos

Dead Ever After: The Final Sookie Stackhouse Novel by Charlaine Harris

I rate this Adult Fiction piece 4.5 out of 5

Thirteen books later and I must admit, I am definitely still a fan. I had always been a bit worried about this series. Though interesting, a series so long can many times jump the shark before it finally comes to an end. By this I mean that the writing becomes less immaculate and the characters are forced to do more and more unrealistic and ridiculous things in worn out plot devices simply because the author is grabbing at straws to keep it going. Bad writing, going against characterization, and the inevitable loss of readership is the usual outcomes of such a fate. However, I am happy to report that this last installment of this long supernatural mystery series, is still just about as fresh, fun and intense as the last twelve.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and finished it in only a few days, I am happy the series came to an end. Amazing writing or no, even the best story world and plot devices can become worn out. I believe Sookie got a good final ending and it should stay that way. For any more crazy happenings to occur for her, it might take on the ‘been there, done that’ feel. As it is, what with running through every enemy, both in every variety of supe, vamp, fairy and human, Sookie might have to outrage some aliens next to mix up the story line (I am kidding…please don’t do this Charlaine!).

All in all it was a really great read and I recommend any fans to devour this last book posthaste.

Note on the end – Spoilers to follow –

I am so very happy that Sookie ending up with Sam came to a natural conclusion. As a reader the believability of the situation was really great. It didn’t feel forced or as if the author was making the characters do something they didn’t want to. It came at a natural progression and worked very well.

I also very much appreciated the final note from Sookie, being that she will always strive forward and live her life, man or no man. Sure it is really nice that she probably will end up with her best bud Sam. However, Sookie’s life isn’t hinged on that working out. She has always been presented as a strong independent woman throughout the many dangerous adventures and misadventures she gets into during the novels. Though she takes her fair share of lovers throughout the book, it was never about Sookie needing to be with a man. It was more like the flowery decoration of the novel: a nice steamy scene here and there to break up the violence and intrigue. The idea at the end however is less of romance, but more of good reliable friendship as well as the permanence of Sookie’s presence in her home that has belonged to the Stackhouse’s since her grandparents. It gave the novel a nicely open ending that was not only pleasing but also realistic.

By Alissa Tsaparikos

A Stolen Life: A Memoir by Jaycee Dugard

This review is a little different from my usual pieces because I rarely read non-fiction. However this gripping book was too good to put down or pass up.

I rate this memoir 4.5 out of 5.

A Stolen Life details Jacyee Dugard’s harrowing experience as a kidnap victim who is forced to live in the backyard of her abductor for the next eighteen years of her life, suffering horrible neglect and sexual and mental abuse.  In those years she bears two daughters to her rapist, and grows from an eleven year old child into an adult, always striving to look for hope and a future for herself and then her children. Years of her life are taken away, but this is a novel about a woman who refuses to give up.

Written in first person present tense the narration is bare and revealing. Little to nothing is left out in the revelations of what she goes through.  Besides the passages detailing her imprisonment there are frequent reflections done in the point of view of the present day woman. In these moments she talks about the experience with some critical distance and goes on to explain parts of the story that might not be immediately presented by her younger self. Part of the novel also includes diary entries that she made as a young woman, a heartbreaking collection of entries that show a beautiful soul becoming more and more desperate with each new day.

This novel is not for the faint of heart or easily upset. The descriptions of her sexual abuse as a child are graphic, pornographic, and unapologetic. Jaycee is sharing her life with the world if the people are willing to read, but she had to live through such distress and she refuses to hide or protect the man and woman who stole her childhood and so much more.  It is a life story that is deeply sad and disturbing with a surprising amount of healing in the resolution. The bravery it took to write of such an experience with such openness and then go on to live a life after, well it is something to be admired.  

As a reader I have to admit I was greatly disturbed by what I read, but I couldn’t stop reading. I finished the book in a few days and almost felt bad about reading something such as this so avidly. But it wasn’t the abuse that grips you tight and keeps you glued to the page. It is Jaycee. It is her amazing mind and her endless hopes and dreams. Through the whole thing I was rooting for her, feeling for her, and waiting for her to be saved.

Almost everyone has heard about her story when she was saved and her face and life were plastered all over the news for weeks. Even now a google search will come up with so many hits on her name and story. However, to really see things, to know what she went through and to fully understand the unflagging perseverance of the human spirit, one must read her book.

Jacyee Lee Dugard, you are an inspiration to us all.

By, Alissa Tsaparikos

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones – Book to Movie Review

I am going to start this up front with a disclaimer. There has been a lot of hate floating around, and a lot of fans becoming very defensive of the movie and books because of this hate. I am a huge fan of the books, and I did not dislike the movie. I am not here to hate or crush people’s happiness. I am simply going to explain what I liked and disliked about the movie,  as a fan of the book series and book world, as a reader, as a movie lover, and as a writer myself. These are my opinions, and may be very different from other peoples. Anyone and everyone can feel free not to like them. I am certainly not going to be the one to say that I am the queen of all and know more than anyone else about films and books. Please feel free to disagree, though I elect to ignore senseless hate. However I will again iterate, what is to follow is not hate. I do not hate the movie. I am merely going to explain likes and dislikes. I usually don’t have to explain this kind of thing up front, but with trolls rampant and fans getting more than a little upset, I wanted the record to be straight.

As a book to movie interpretation I give this one a 4 out of 5. Granted, there are a lot of things changed, especially in how the movie handled the end of the story. However, as a reader I cannot say they messed anything up. There was a lot of the same amazing wit from the book, something I loved about the writing.  Many lines were given verbatim, and that is just something great to see when analyzing book adaptations. It really brings the story to life. Also, the things they did change helped move the story along in the film version. There is no way to make an exact replica of a book’s story when transitioning it to film, but the story was, I have to say, very intact. The ending, though different in the setting and the way it was approached (including with some minor changes in scene and happening) stuck with the original story, and there wasn’t really anything important that was left out, torn apart, messed up, deluded, or any of the other numerous horrors that book fans fear when their beloved reads hit theaters. Lovers of the books breathe a sigh of relief, the story was intact!

Also, another sigh of relief, the characterization was spot on and amazing. In my opinion, just about all the characters hit me in just the right way. I was very happy to see that the actors and actresses were their characters. The only character I was massively disappointed in was Magnus. Now, I will say Godfrey Gao looked the part perfectly and he was not a bad actor, especially considering English is his second language. However, I was not sold on his performance of the infamously snarky and flamboyant warlock that the Mortal Instruments readers have come to know and love. There was just something in his lines that lacked that emotion and personality that is Magnus. I hated to say it, but the moments with him felt, to me, very wooden and rehearsed. I do hope that it has something to do with how little screen time he had in this film, and I am hoping it will become better with more in the future films. If I had not read these books, he would have been a pretty forgettable character to me, and Magnus written is anything but forgettable.

On a lesser note, Valentine was another character that I didn’t quite expect to come across as he did. He certainly was the perfect psychopath. However, I’d always seen his character as a cool and collected socio-path, ready to screw maliciously with your mind until you want to die. His truly crazy snap doesn’t really come out until much later story plot in the books, and not until the very last moment. I’m willing to blame this on the actual actor’s diva like performance, than the writing of the script.

And now further into the film:

For this second part I wanted to give a little input on the film itself and how it came across as a narrative. I personally give it a 3.5 out of 5 simply as a film. It was not a bad movie, nor was it amazing. I felt in the middle about it, though I did come away pretty happy.

One of the issues I had with it was that many of the scenes came off as so dramatic, almost to a degree that was unneeded. The fact that I wasn’t a big fan of the music selections for said dramatic parts might not have helped. On the other hand, the Mortal Instruments middle name is drama, and perhaps coming to film emphasized that in a way I noticed much more than when I read the books.

Another major issue that I noticed even more was the “convenience” of exposition and happenings. Exposition is such a hard thing to work out in this kind of situation. It can be the biggest challenge of a book to movie adaptation to give the exposition so that non- readers and newbies to the story world can keep up, but without becoming bored. This film did a pretty good job of explaining things (a fact I can back-up after speaking with a non-reader of the books after he saw the movie). There is enough that the watcher can keep up with the story-line of this film, understand what is going on, and be engaged. However, my problem was less with the content of the exposition and more with delivering of it. The way it came out just didn’t seem natural to some of the characters who were giving it, and even seemed to answer the questions before the “mundane” characters of the story even thought to ask further. I do understand what with a strict time setting and other film concerns, characters have a limited amount of time to deliver story in-between the action, especially in this film. I don’t think this film did a bad job per say. I just walked away feeling that it felt convenient the way it came across, and couldn’t get it out of my head. This especially came across for me in the scene where Isabelle is speaking with Simon, and again when Clary is with Magnus. Neither Isabelle nor Magnus would have naturally given up so much information, Isabelle not to a strange Mundane, and Magnus at least not without being coy, tight lipped, and slightly irritated at the Shadowhunter intrusion.

These nitpicks and critiques are just on the whims I felt personally as I watched the film. Overall I was pleased and I definitely urge fans to see the movie. Certainly it had some critique, but I still liked it, found it immensely entertaining, and was able to be emotionally attached to the film characters. I am also glad I can very safely say, they didn’t mess it up!

-Special love to all the Mortal Instruments fans.

By: Alissa Tsaparikos