Review Smash

             I have had a few reviews overdue. So I thought I'd just do mini reviews. Sounds good?

            I will warn though that I've kind of been in a book slump. I didn't like these books as much I as thought I would, or as much as I probably would've. And it's mostly because they're not Divergent. :( I know that is an unfair thing to hold against a book.

Splintered by A. G. Howard

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          Ever since Alyssa's great great grandmother (you know, the real Alice of Alice in Wonderland) went mad every one of her female ancestors has inherited the insanity. Visiting her mother in an asylum and now also hearing the bugs and plants talk, Alyssa wonders if she can run from this fate much longer. But then she finds out her family line has been cursed and she can save her mother and herself by journeying to Netherland. It sounds crazy enough to put her in asylum. But with all the other things she's heard and seen, and this being her last hope, she'll take the chance. Oh, and there's a love triangle.



           The story was very interesting. Though most of the time it seemed a little overwhelmed by the love triangle. I, honestly, had many disagreements with the characters. We were at odds through most of the book. But they felt so real, I was literally arguing with them. They're very well written, and I've heard that a lot of people love them.
           The world of Netherland (aka Wonderland)? Amazing! I loved the whole concept behind each place and all the different creatures (the Mustella, he was the best character! I wish he had a name). The world of book had me intrigued the whole way through (the concept behind the graveyard and the spider sisters- I loved it; though the feast with the duck was just revolting). Despite being on the morbid side, I really loved the world of the story.
            There is a lot of description, beautifully done. I got to learn all about Netherland to my heart's content. But there's also long descriptions of Alyssa's clothing (I'm going to assume "platforms" are very tall and clunky shoes, for obvious reasons), and long descriptions of each of the kisses she has (can we say goopy?). 
          It was a really good book. If I find the second one, I'll definitely pick it up. I want to know more about Netherland. Even though I initially disliked the characters, every time I think back on the book, I end up liking them more. . .


The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

            Hazel Grace has cancer and probably will for the rest of her life (and who knows how long that will last). The last thing she expects to experience is love. But when she meets Augustus Waters who has dodged the threat of cancer before and knows how to use words like existentially and fraught properly, her life doesn't seem to suck so much. But does she really want love? Does she really want more people's hearts to break when she doesn't live?

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           This book made me laugh. Out loud. I haven't laughed with a book in a while. I loved that. But my favorite part was that these kids used big words. In their everyday dialogue. Words that I needed a dictionary for. Yes! (They did tend to use this one bad word. I don't really understand why because they had this vast vocabulary available to them, why succumb to. . . whatever. I will never understand that.)
            The characters were amazing and hilarious. Together and as individuals. And being people who were/had been/were closer to death than others, they tended to talk about important things. Things that mattered. Some of the things you would never have realized mattered that much unless you saw it through their eyes. It was an interesting perspective.
            There was this one scene that I skipped. The sex scene. And I know it's a romance so it's "supposed" to be included. But I was hoping it wouldn't be. Why does the world think this scene is okay? That ithas to be a part of the genre? Especially since the people who are in this scene are so young. I know people who are that young still do these things in real life, but should we encourage that? I think not. (this I guess isn't necessarily a problem with the book so much as with the genre.)
             I found the plot a tad predictable. I hate saying that.
             I could tell by the way the book was written that the ending was going to be anti-climatic and leave a lot of loose ends. But it was sooo drawn out. I was just ready for the book to end.
           Hazel has such a unique viewpoint on things. And I loved how Augustus would try to give his friend, Isaac an outlet for his frustration. Okay, these outlets were a bit destructive, and though Augustus made jokes you know he cared because he made jokes. Those were the sweetest and funniest scenes in the book.

           You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do have some say in who hurts you. - The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
           
Eli the Good by Silas House

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            1976 summer in the country. Eli is ten year's old and the world is a wonder. But in his small hometown of Refuge, his family is shifting around him. Eli's sister questions what she believes and always seems at odds with their mother. Vietnam revisits his father and everyone tiptoes around him. Why has his aunt come to stay with them? And his mother struggles to hold them all together. Eli feels invisible as he has always been the observer on the sidelines. He tries to find the balance of when it's time to be the audience and when it's time be a part.

           I loved this book. The cover is beautiful. I know, it's just a tree. But I love trees and I like the small role trees played in the book.
           It has that wonderful nostalgic old time, small town feel. When all the kids in the neighborhood would ride bikes together and families would hang out on the back porch. I enjoyed that more than I expected.
           For a book this story had a lot of music to it. Just the way it's written, plus the fact that it named a lot of popular artists and songs of the time period. Eli's family was always singing along with the radio. Or the record player, got to love the record player.
           I loved the characters too. I related to Eli well, though I can't stand that part of him that revels in other people's drama. I love his family too. The way they connected with each other. Even when they fought and disagreed, they would come back together.
          The story was heavy on description though. There wasn't much dialogue. Usually when people said something, the conversation was paraphrased or just told to me instead of being in quotation marks and live on the page. That made me sad.
           There was no romance (yay!). His sister had a boyfriend, but even that wasn't much of a romance most of the time.
           It's not exactly a coming of age story. Eli did grow, but he learned more about his family than himself. He learned what his parents, his aunt, and his sister believed in and thought was important. He saw them grow and hold together. I loved how he was always so curious about his father.
           This one was my favorite out of all three of these.
          
           Years later I would realize that this was one of the world's great problems, that people often allow themselves not to think. They choose to not think, and that's how the whole world gets into trouble. My only excuse that day was that I was a child.  -Eli the Good by Silas House

Beautiful People: Oddball

           I'm so excited about this! I've seriously been waiting for it since the middle of last month. I'd randomly think, "Hey, I wonder when the next Beautiful People is coming up. . . oh, wait, it's not until next month. Sadness."

           But now it is here! Yay! Today I'll do Oddball from, um, Oddball.

1) What’s their favourite food? (Bonus: favourite flavour of chocolate!)

           His mom's tree mussel stew. It's similar to clam chowder. But in his opinion it's the best thing in the world, and it taste like home. As for chocolate, Oddball's never really had any. Except this one time, someone offered him a chocolate chip cookie. Which now comes second to tree mussel stew. If heaven was food, it would be tree mussel stew and chocolate chip cookies.


2) What do they absolutely hate?

           Swamp spinach, some of the worst tasting stuff you'd ever eat. Anything illogical.

           Oddball also hates to see people turning on each other. The inhuman ways they act toward each other. Prejudice and unforgiveness. He thinks people are some of the cruelest beings on the face of the planet. Even though there are times, and some people, that are surprising kind and caring. He thinks children are usually the more innocent of people, because they haven't let the hate or prejudice get to them yet. So Oddball also hates it when people overlook kids, or don't listen to them, or treat them badly.

            I know, that sounds kind of harsh. His opinion of people sounds really hard. But he's harder on himself. He doesn't much like himself either.
        

3) What do they enjoy learning about?
           Oddball loves to learn about different kingdoms and cultures. He used to read loads of books about different kingdoms when he was younger. So become a Postal Traveler and experiencing different cultures firsthand is something he really finds fascinating.

4) Who is the most influential person in their life?
           This is really hard to say since most of his younger life was spent alone. But it would probably be his parents. They always cared about people, even when those people wronged his parents. They always went out of their way to help others and be a light and relief in the midst of a broken and bitter world.

        Later on, Rocky also. Because Rocky always keeps going, no matter what. There's always hope, there's always a way out, and- Even though Rocky has a lot of faults, he makes Oddball think that maybe there is hope for humans. He makes Oddball realize that even though there's a lot of bad in people, there can be a lot of good in them at the same time.

5) What is their childhood fear?

           That his father would be killed and leave him alone to care for his mother. His mother was sick and Oddball knew how to care for her when his father was away. But he and his mom both thought the world of his father. To his young mind, everybody did, or least anyone who cared. What would they do without his dad? He had no idea.


6) What is something they have always secretly dreamed of doing, but thought impossible?
           He's always wanted to have friends. He would never admit that he would actually want the company of other people. And he thinks it highly unlikely that anyone would ever accept him. And flying. Maybe that's cliched in some way. But in the Border, where he's from, you never see the blue open sky. It's always gray, leaking clouds. He'd love to see the sky and the sun and be high in the sky where things seem so infinitely perfect where nothing can harm you.

7) What is something he is impractically afraid of?

           Perhaps this isn't an impractical fear. But Oddball doesn't see it as impractical at all. He thinks it very possible. He fears that there may never be a place where he belongs.

           He isn't too keen on electricity either. He doesn't like crowds either, but that is explainable since in the Border people don't want him alive.

8) Are they a night owl or morning person?

           Sometimes he wakes earlier than most people, but that's just because he can't sleep any longer. It's not really a habit of his to rise early.

9) Do they say everything that pops into their head, or leave a lot unsaid?

           Oddball always leaves a lot unsaid. Usually it's the sarcastic commentary he keeps in his head, though sometimes even that does come leaking out once he gets comfortable around people. And he *almost* always keeps quiet when what he thinks would cause conflict. But if it's someone who's close to him and he's angry, he can throw a heated argument.

10) What are their nervous habits?

           He gets fidgety. He squirms. He's lived a life of running from prackles and lynch mobs. So he when he's nervous he feels like he has to keep moving. He can't just stand still. Crowds also make him nervous, so if he's already nervous, he tends to seek solitude.


           Question: where do you find photos for your characters? And gifs also? I've always wanted to use them, but I have this weird fear that I'm going to be accused of stealing someone's art or photo or something.

           Thanks for stopping by! Let me know if you have a Beautiful People post too!

To Say Nothing of Inspiration

           So. . .
     
           Oh, right I came here to say something.

           I've been writing. (it feels good to say that.) Usually I try to write scenes in the order they happen. Buuut, you know, sometimes, I just cannot get a certain scene out because:

           The inspiration is just not there. Zero inspirationo.

           This particular scene was actually a story that someone was telling. A vital legend that shaped some of the superstitions of the Vorban people.

           (Maybe that's weird. A story within a story. Some people have laughed at that. I kind of ignore them. . .)

           Though I didn't know how to write this scene, I did have a mental check list of things that I wanted it to include:

- Shrels (huge spidery beasts, because nothing is scarier than spiders)

- children's nightmares

- a blacksmith's hammer ringing all night

- the silence when it is not ringing

- a narrator driven mad by the Shrels

           How all of this was going to fit together? *shrugs* I hadn't a clue. But after skipping around it for weeks, I finally sat down and decided this:

 If this is supposed to be a weird, creepy-ish kind of scene/story, maybe doing something weird or different will help me out.

          What were these things I broken routine with?

wear hat
wear necklace with definition of "intrepid" pendant
open a new document
mess with the size and style of the font
turn off lights in room
write whatever comes to mind, immediately
no editing

           The product came out something like this:

the story of the Shrels                    

nightmares stop
in children’s sleep
under the metal watchmen’s keep

but dare he stop
his metalwork
and lay his hammer down to shirk

the air so still
calm and clearer
is only then when they draw nearer

from beyond the
waters green
is only then you hear their scream

for the Shrel
its hunt is best
in the silence of its prey’s rest

it waits intently
for the quiet
so in their nightmares it may slip

awake again
they never will
but only to the living chill

of the bloodless
empty shells
whose life has left with the Shrels

lonely, longing
and wandering
mad from too much pondering

Of the Shrels
so dark and shrieking
little children do not go seeking,

keep far from
thine enemies,
seek not monsters such as these


           I changed the font so you could actually read it. I orginally wasn't going for a poem. But from this I got a basic story going in my head and continued to write the tale of a wandering man who had encountered the Shrels at a very young age. It's not supposed to be completely coherent because he is mad after all. But at the same time, he's kind of long-winded. So much so, I question if the story is creepy and weird like it's supposed to be, or if it's just lame and weird. :P

           But it's been written! Finally.

           So what do you do when the inspiration gears just lock up? Do you have a box of strange antics to restore to? Do you try something different in your routine? Or do you just plod on like the best of the good faithful writers?