"It was the kind of snow that brought children running out their doors..."

Hey Megan,

First things first: I love the author's name. Eowyn Ivey. Not only does she have an awesome last name, but she shares a name with the slayer of the Lord of the Nazgul (LOTR nut up in herrrr).

Cool fan art of the snow child

Now that my nerdy observation has been made, I'll get serious. I liked this book. It's not my favorite, but I did enjoy it and recommend it to a friend. Were I at a different point in life--namely, that baby-craving stage--I think this book would resonate with me more. Since I am years (and may milestones like, hey, finding a man and getting married) away from even considering having children of my own, I could not relate to that yearning and emptiness felt by Jack and Mabel.

What I thought was brilliant, though, is how she sets you up for the ending throughout the entire book. Ivey sets a somber tone from the start, as our first introduction to the lives of Jack and Mabel is desolate, hopeless, and dark.  The two set off for Alaska in hopes of evading their sorrows and starting anew, and instead find that new trials pile atop the old.

Even when the impossible happens and a child materializes from the snow, and their immediate lives improve, the author leaves no room for optimism.  Even as they begin to fall in love with this snow child, Faina, who is as fickle and fleeting as a winter wind, Mabel is haunted by the fable from her youth.  For a snow child is precious, and no matter how long she stays or how much you love her, she will leave, without warning, when you least expect it.  Her end is sudden and final.  So both Mabel and reader are constantly guarding against this moment, heeding the signs of the stories.  Past children have melted when their fox is taken from them, when they allow themselves to grow too warm, when love creeps up unexpectedly.  All these milestones come and pass, yet Faina remains.

When the moment finally comes, it is just as the stories say.  One moment she is there, and the next all that remains is her blue coat and red snow-drop patterned scarf.  The tale is done. As someone who doubts they could ever see a story of their own through to the end, I appreciate and admire the foreshadowing and consistency Ivey has in crafting this tale.  We, the reader, know what will happen from the start, and though the author keeps her promise it is no less shocking. I do, however, think it would have had a greater impact without the epilogue--yet as someone who likes things to be neatly wrapped up in the end, I did appreciate it.

Now, however, I need to research that Russian fairy tale for myself, especially since it sounds like a perfect winter-time story for my kids--students and babysitting charges.

Keep Calm and Read On,
Becca

The Raven Boys

Hi Megan!

It's here! It's finally here!  After months of waiting, one of our mutually adored authors has finally published her latest books. And, like I warned you, Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys is definitely my pick.

Image from the Ironwood Carnegie Library Website

First things first, I'd like to point out a bit of irony with the timing. I've been reading her book all week (September 30-October 5), which just so happens to be Banned Books Week.  And believe me when I say this book is definitely going to cause quite a stir and, depending on how popular it becomes, it may even end up on the 2012 top banned books list.  Because it's got some "questionable" material in it to be sure--lots of violence and witchcraft/occult subject matter.

For some reason, her incorporation of the occult world--from seemingly innocuous psychics to ritual sacrifice and what appear to be demonic summons--really threw me for a loop and, if I'm being completely honest, often made me feel uncomfortable. I've read books with bits and pieces of this subject mater before--Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus trilogy involves demonic summons, Cassandra Clare's multiple trilogies for young adults revolves around battles with demons and Nephilim--and those didn't throw me the way this book did.  I think the difference is this: all those other series, while they definitely exist in the realm of magic realism, the authors treat their "magic" as if it could only exist in the world of the book; never did I feel as if what happened within the pages of the book could someday happen in reality.

The beautiful cover art

Stiefvater, on the other hand, uses witchcraft and the occult not as if it's some "other" whose existence is wholly dependent on a fictional realm, but as if it's real.  Much of that credit, I'm sure, goes to the amount of research she had to have done for this book.  The rituals are very specific, and don't appear to be a simple figment of her imagination. While I wouldn't say the other authors I mentioned didn't do their research, Stiefvater used it in what I'll call a literal application. There is no "other."  The world of Henrietta exists on the same temporal plane as the reader, and everything that happens in this small town can and does happen in our world (or so it seems).  This takes quite a bit of powerful writing on Stiefvater's part, especially since I continued reading despite my discomfort, so props should be given to her for that. However, I certainly did not devour this book as I'm often apt to do, and I think it is because my unease made it impossible for me to become completely immersed in the story.

What I LOVED about this book, however, is her incorporation of historical figures and legends from the British Isles--in this case, Owain Glyndwr. I love it when authors play with stories that have been around for centuries, such as D.J. MacHale who took the title of Pendragon--the title used in recent literature to refer to the mysterious King Arthur of Britain--and re-imagined it into a young adult scifi/fantasy series.  However, the series I was most reminded of was The Dark is Rising Sequence, by Susan Cooper.  This is a classic YA fantasy series, which again re-imagines myths and legends born out of Wales. There's just something about those old stories that entrance me...but again, they don't leave me on edge the way The Raven Boys does. Hmm. Well, reading is supposed to make you uncomfortable, right?

Anyways, this post is far longer than it should be, so I'll stop here. Hopefully I can get my book up to you in time so you can get it signed! But, in the meantime, here's a picture of Maggie and me at the LA Times Festival of Books with my favorite work by this author, The Scorpio Races (which also uses cool myths!).

I look horrible! Ah!

Keep Calm and Read On,
Becca

PS~ My favorite quote from this book is also about the stars:

She recognized the strange happiness that came from loving something without knowing why you did, that strange happiness that was sometimes so big that it felt like sadness.  It was the way she felt when she looked at the stars.

The Snow Child: A Novel

Dear Becca,

Shame on me. Though I rushed to read The Snow Child, I’ve been dragging my feet when it comes to this blog post.I have to begin by saying how much I love the cover of this novel. This is such a beautiful illustration and captures Faina, the snow child, exactly as Eowyn Ivey wrote her. Not to mention, if I were judging this book by its cover, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

Image from B&N

 The Snow Child came highly recommended to me by a colleague who described it as a whimsical read. Whimsical is a good word for it, though I would add that there is something extremely dark about this tale which makes it so much more complicated than I expected.

I’m not extremely fond of the first chapter and if this book had not had such positive reviews, I think the first chapter would have scared me away. It’s only the first chapter so I’ll go ahead and give some of the plot away – the main characters, Jack and Mabel, are an older couple who tried to have kids but were never able. They live on a homestead in Alaska now and Mabel feels alone and unsatisfied by her life with Jack. In the first chapter, she goes out to a lake that is barely frozen over with ice intending to walk out so far that the ice breaks and she falls through and drowns. A very dark suicide plan. This scene is important to the rest of the novel because you better understand how much Faina, the little snow child, means to them when she shows up. Also, you see how much Jack and Mabel’s relationship changes because of her. I just wish that it hadn’t been quite so dark.

I expected this novel to focus on Faina but I was rather okay with it focusing on Jack and Mabel because, to be honest, I liked them a whole lot better than I liked Faina! I haven’t touched on the mysteriousness surrounding her very much because I don’t want to give anything away, but she is a skittish young child who is not quick to show emotion. She brings a lot of warmth and goodness to the people whose lives she touches, but she is never able to commit to them as fully as they commit to her. I think that’s where my resentment stems from.

Faina is based upon a character in Russian fairy tales named Snegurochka. I very much appreciated the fact that author Ivey incorporated the original tale, “The Snow Maiden”, into the storyline. Just as the reader questions whether Faina is human or supernatural, so does Mabel. And in the end, the truth doesn’t really matter to either. (Well, maybe it will matter to some readers, but it didn’t matter to me.) I found a version of the fairy tale on-line which you might like to check out.

When all was said and done, I was left with tons of unanswered questions about Faina and this story. Sometimes that drives me nuts, but this time I was okay with it, which is a major compliment in and of itself for this book. I’m really curious to hear your thoughts on it, Becca! I feel like this is a category that we’ve never really read/discussed together before. Perhaps it’s also good timing considering the magical elements in The Raven Boys. 

Til we read again,

Megan

A Mini-Reunion!

Though this time we were unable to reunite over books, we did the next best thing: shopping!

Haha, really though, we kept our shopping addictions in check when we visited SLO last weekend, and spent most of the time talking and catching up. 

Highlight of the trip? Avila Valley Barn--the CUTEST little farm and produce stand.

Anyways, new posts should be up soon, but in the meantime, here's a shot of the two of us riding a cowboy's little green tractor ;)

"I just stared up at them until it felt like I could breathe, maybe for the first time that day."

Photo credits go to this Photobucket account

Hi Megan,

So I thought I would change things up this time by putting the book art first. And this is really a terrible cover for this book.  This whimsical, light-hearted cover will leave UK readers COMPLETELY unprepared for the massive amount of emotional suck-itude within its pages.

This is not a happy book. Sure, it's got that romance plot thing going on, but really, it's not that lovey-dovey. For anyone who has lost a loved one, this is a horribly depressing book. So I'll get real for a bit, and talk about me and my life-something I really hate doing, but since my personal experience had a huge influence over how I received this book, I think it's appropriate.

The summer before my freshman year of college, we found out that my grandma had an advanced case of lung cancer.  She had been having respiratory problems for a long while, but the doctors continually misdiagnosed her, and in fact reassured us that cancer was the least likely cause of her illness. This hit me hard.  Grandma was like a second mom to me--she was my babysitter, piano teacher, and imparter of age-old womanly wisdom,  like baking, sewing, and the facts of life. She had always been healthy and active, so to see her frail and hooked up to oxygen machines was difficult to say the least.

Despite some misgivings, I went off to college, and got caught up in that life. I made new friends, and met my first serious boyfriend--the first guy who I thought might be "the one," and who I was very excited to introduce to my family. Then, just before Spring Quarter Finals, I get a call from my parents, letting me know that Grandma was in her last days.  A few days later, during finals week, she passed away before I was able to go home and say goodbye. Needless to say, it was crushing. I'm not one who cries, but losing one of the most important people in my life left me gasping for air.

When I started Second Chance Summer, honestly, I wasn't impressed. The writing was so-so, and I really wasn't that engaged.  And she quoted song lyrics for the dedication. I hate it when authors do that (did you ever read Halo? She quoted Beyonce, and the book was horrible).  But as I read on, I became increasingly engrossed, and ended up reliving my own losses. This book had me bawling, not for the character's loss, but for my own. Because I've been there. I've felt that. I still find it hard to cope with the fact that my grandma will never meet my husband, and never sew a quilt for my babies. And, like Taylor, I was very fortunate to have a shoulder to cry one, one that didn't belong to a friend or family member, but my boy, my love. Honestly, I don't know how I could have handled that finals week without him.  While we are now separated, and it ended with him being an ass, reading this book reminded me that he's not a bad person, just a terrible boyfriend.

So while Morgan Matson may not be the best writer, in the conventional sense, she gets it. She understands that devastating loss. So props to her for that.

As for my quote, that was another thing she "got." I loved growing up outside the city limits, because in my darkest moments, seeing the stars changed everything.

To a happier posting next time,
Becca

“Everyone knows how fond the king is of his dark little fool…”

Dear Becca, 

Despite the fact that I was English major, I got through college without taking a course specifically on Shakespeare. I have read several of his plays, but I would not saw that I have extensive Shakespearian knowledge. King Lear is one of the ones I missed and I have to say, I felt at a terrible disadvantage while reading this book. The Sparknotes helped, but I always felt a little in the dark…like when someone tells a joke and you mostly get it, but it’s just not as funny because you know you’re missing something. In order to fully appreciate this book, I think I should have read the play first but unfortunately I just did not have the time or desire to do so.

Christopher Moore, author of FOOL (Photo Credit)

That said, it was still a very funny book. As you mentioned, there was lots of raunchy humor! I read this primarily on my BART rides to and from work and often hoped that no one was reading over my shoulder. I wish that I knew more about the Fool’s story line in the original play so that I could compare it to this adaptation. I assume the ending isn’t the only thing that’s changed.

I particularly enjoyed the footnotes, an appropriate touch since Shakespeare plays always have a lot. Taking something so familiar and making it silly was such an easy way to create humor in the story. For instance: “2. The dog’s bollocks!–excellent! The bee’s knees! The cat’s pj’s. Literally, the dog’s balls, which doesn’t seem to be that great a thing, yet, there you are.” The Fool’s narrative voice is great and I love that the story is so clearly his. I especially liked all the references to “perfect f***ing French”. These comments seemed to capture the spirit of this character exceptionally well for me.

I wish that I could have sat down and read this book in one day. I feel like it’s a one-sitting kind of book. It would have helped me stay in that world and mindset a little easier, especially since it was a little more difficult for me to get there without having read the play.

One thing that I would be interested to discuss with you is the “future” of this blog and our exchanges. I have a stack of books at home that have been on my shelves for years going unread and I thought I might try to burn through some of those and include one as a blog book. However, the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was a bad idea. Those books have gone unread for years because I’m not very excited about them. Personally, I want to focus on sharing books that I’m really excited about or books that other people are really excited about. I’d like to focus on “buzz” books. (Books that are creating a buzz. Was that obvious?) We are both looking toward careers and futures that center heavily on books so it seems appropriate. I will really have to consider my next choice… 

Til we read again!
Megan

Second Chance Summer

Dear Becca,

Shortly after we went to the LA Times Book Festival, Jessi Kirby did a book reading signing in my area. She was touring with Jenny Han and Morgan Matson, which is how I came to find my latest YA selection: SECOND CHANCE SUMMER by Morgan Matson.

At first, I was a little wary of this book. It’s about a teenage girl, Taylor Edwards, who goes to her family’s old summer house for her father’s last summer. (He only has a few months left to live after being diagnosed with cancer.) I wasn’t sure about reading this because I don’t usually gravitate towards books about death or terminal illness. I understand why such books are important for people going through similar situations – we all need something to relate to and help us sort out our emotions – but personally I don’t like reading a story that’s going to turn out to be a “downer”. My mom went through cancer and she’s recovered, thank goodness, but it’s not something I long to relive. Nor was it something I wanted to read about while we were going through it.

Anywho, suffice it to say I had my reservations but Morgan Matson was one of the sweetest authors I’ve ever met. She was very down to earth and we spent a good ten minutes discussing her MFA. She was extremely encouraging when I told her I was thinking about applying to an MFA program. I definitely wanted to see what her latest book was all about.

As with most of my book choices, part of the storyline is a summer romance between Taylor and her first love, Henry. Taylor and Henry dated before the Edwards family stopped summering at their lake house. There is some mystery about what happened that summer, but it is enough to say they did not break-up on good terms. I suppose I’ve always known that the key to a novel about a good summer romance is the male love interest but it really hit home with this book. Henry is an extremely good guy. In fact, I can’t think of anything really negative about his personality or the way that he treats Taylor. That said, he might be a little bit too good to be true. I loved him as a character and of course I wanted him and Taylor to wind up together, but to all the young ladies out there – most guys are not this perfect and most guys do not give you this many chances.

Now, fair warning, I tried to read this book with a steely heart since I do not like crying during books. But I cried anyway. (Just a little bit.) You know the ending is coming but it’s still just so darn sad! The father-daughter relationship is a huge aspect of this book that I haven’t really focused on in this post. (Again, the whole talking about death/illness thing – I’m not good at it.)

Lastly, I hesitate to say anything about this because I know it’s not Morgan’s fault…but what really bothered me while reading this book was the number of typos. I’m used to there being one every now and then – after all, no copyeditor is perfect – but there were so many in this book that it actually became a distraction.  Nevertheless, it didn’t take away from it enough to stop me from recommending the book to you! And I’ve since gotten Morgan’s first book, AMY & ROGER'S EPIC DETOUR, which I am excited to read!

I hope I’m not killing you with all these romances…

Til we read again,

Megan

PS (10/1/12) - I have to add a much delayed post script because I failed to mention that Matson references Colorado College, which is where I spent my first two years studying. It's very rare for people to know what I'm talking about when I mention the college, so I was more than a little surprised! After reading Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, I found out that the CC reference in Second Chance Summer is actually Roger from her first novel making a guest appearance. I wonder what Matson's connection is to CC!

Fool

Helloooooo Megan!

So as you know, originally I had planned to read a far more ambitious, academic text for our blog.  However, little 'ole me neglected to account for returning to school and having all sorts of responsible reading to do.  So, unfortunately, I'm going to have to put Neil Gaiman's American Gods back on the bookshelf for a while--but hopefully not for long!  Perhaps that will be my Winter Break book of choice.

In its stead, I've selected Fool by Christopher Moore, a book added to my collection courtesy of Tara, from our thesis class. When she was getting ready to move about a year and a half ago, she held a book giveaway via facebook, and I was quick to snatch up Christopher Moore's texts.  Mind you, I had no idea what this was about.  I just really wanted a copy of Bite Me, about, you guessed it, vampires to add to my growing collection of modern vampire fiction. Happily, this was HI-LAR-I-OUS, and I can't wait for you to read it. :)

Credit for the picture goes to these lovely folks. 

Now, since you have not had the pleasure of reading King Lear, you definitely need to check out the Sparknotes for the text before delving into this find, since it's a spectacular interpretation of The Bard's original work.  Fool is the story of King Lear told from the perspective of, you guessed it, the fool, who is a significant, not-so-minor character in the original play.

First things first: LOTS of raunchy humor. I mean, LOTS of it.  But that's part of the fun.  Actually, that's all the fun. I mean really, the book does not cease to entertain--even with the plot is particularly dark and twisted, you know that somewhere, someone's getting shagged, and Pocket (our Fool extraordinaire) is going to poke fun at them.

Which brings be to the genius of the novel.  Though this is satire, it's done in the spirit of Shakespeare. Take the opening to the book, this warning to the reader Moore presents before even reaching Chapter 1:

WARNING
This is a bawdy tale. Herein you will find gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity, as well as non-traditional grammar, split infinitives, and the odd wank. If that sort of thing bothers you, then gentle reader pass by, for we endeavor only to entertain, not to offend. That said, if that’s the sort of thing you think you might enjoy, then you have happened upon the perfect story!

Does that scream Shakespearian monologue or what? As my beautiful, thespian-minded friend Deirdra pointed out, it's very similar to Puck's closing monologue in A Midsummer Night's Dream (and she'd know, since, you know, she played Puck back in high school).  The world Moore describes is synchronous with the world Shakespeare would have known and described.  Not only does he draw from Midsummer, but those three witches in the woods seemed very Macbeth-ian to me, with maybe a touch of the comedy of the three Fates in Disney's Hercules?

All Shakespeare aside, I also enjoyed those parts of the story unique to Moore's vision of this fictional world.  Pocket's history is unique, heartwarming, and, at times, tragic.  While the original Fool couldn't be ignored, since the Bard gave him the juiciest lines in the play, Pocket is a Fool you can't help but love.  Oh, and I should point out that, yet again, we have a story where the time jumps around a bit (that's how many now?).

Anyways, I don't have much to say about this one. It's just a great, light-hearted read, and I enjoyed reading it for the fun of the experience.  Maybe all my powers of analysis have been monopolized by the demands of grad school...hmm...

Extra bit of fun! A shot of D 'n' Me from Midsummer back in the day :)

Keep Calm and Read On,
Becca

"It comes down to your word against his."

Dear Becca,

For some reason I keep putting off the writing of this blog post. I don’t know what it is. Maybe I just don’t have a lot to say about the book or maybe I’m just tired of working on the computer all day long. Whatever it is, I won’t delay any longer….

The first thing that struck me about YOU AGAINST ME is how British it is. In reading your last post, I overlooked the bit about Jenny Downham being British. And even though I did a bit of reading about her myself and knew – somewhere in my subconscious – that she was British, it didn’t occur to me that it would be so apparent in her novel. My first clue: Mikey’s mom walks into the room with a fag in her hand. My jaw dropped until I remembered what fag is slang for in England (cigarette). And then there was the spanner that Mikey carried around for a whole chapter… I would be curious to know if there are two versions of the book and if you happened to purchase the original, British version. When I studied abroad in the UK, I picked up a Sarah Dessen book and the publisher had changed common American slang in order to make it more British. Pants became trousers, etc. But it doesn’t seem like that‘s the case this time. It just seems like a very British book. (And there wasn’t anything wrong with that once I got used to the slang!)

As you mentioned, there was a good balance of “all the lovey-dovey stuff” which was good because I trend toward far more fairy-tale romances than you do. I have to hand it to Downham – she wrote the most beautiful sex scene that I have read so far in YA. From Ellie’s perspective it was very moving and captured the sentiment without being too blatantly physical. I loved it.

SPOILER ALERT: One thing I want to say which is immensely cynical …Despite the fact that Mikey and Ellie overcome their “Romeo and Juliet”-like conflicts and wind up together, I can’t help but question the longevity and practicality of their relationship. On the one hand, I truly do believe that if you love each other enough you can overcome any obstacles. But on the other hand, as a very family-oriented person, I can’t imagine being in a relationship where there is such deep-rooted conflict between your families. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, there is no good reason for their grudge against one another so they can overcome it if they put their minds to it. But in this novel, the conflict makes perfect sense. I can’t imagine Mikey’s sister, Karyn, ever forgiving Tom for what he’s done to her. She’ll probably never be able to stand in the same room with him again. If Mikey and Karyn’s relationship is going to last for the rest of their lives, they will continue to face obstacles like that and what a challenging environment to start your own family in!

If I haven’t made it clear up to this point, though, I definitely enjoyed this book. It’s one I might not have picked up on my own – when it comes to YA, I don’t usually pick up books about sexual abuse –but the main characters are really compelling and it has a feel-good ending which I always appreciate!

Til we read again,

Megan