Reality Boy Book Review

October 23, 2013October 23, 20131 Comment

Reality Boy by A.S. King

This review is based on an advanced reader’s e-copy, physician acquired through NetGalley. This in no way, doctor shape or form had any effect on my honest review. Thank you Little, Brown for granting me access to this novel.

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

Gerald Faust knows exactly when he started feeling angry: the day his mother invited a reality television crew into his five-year-old life. Twelve years later, he’s still haunted by his rage-filled youth—which the entire world got to watch from every imaginable angle—and his anger issues have resulted in violent outbursts, zero friends, and clueless adults dumping him in the special education room at school.

Nothing is ever going to change. No one cares that he’s tried to learn to control himself, and the girl he likes has no idea who he really is. Everyone’s just waiting for him to snap…and he’s starting to feel dangerously close to doing just that.

In this fearless portrayal of a boy on the edge, highly acclaimed Printz Honor author A.S. King explores the desperate reality of a former child “star” who finally breaks free of his anger by creating possibilities he never knew he deserved.

My Review:

This book was brought to my attention by Andrew Smith, the author of Winger. He kept talking about A.S. King, who I admit I had not heard of before this, and her brand new book, Reality Boy, which was just released yesterday. As soon as I saw it on NetGalley, I immediately bid for it and was excited when I got it. I already read Lauren Kate’s new book, Teardrop, and I went tearing through Allegiant yesterday. After taking some time to recover from Allegiant (which I still haven’t QUITE recovered yet), I was bored and needed to keep moving through my ever-growing list of book. I remembered that this released yesterday, and I sped through this book yesterday too. I was on a ROLL.

I had read the synopsis for this book but I don’t think I was quite prepared for the sort of story that King was going to tell. I was still reeling from Allegiant and my emotions were still going haywire and I went face first into this book, unaware of how this book was going to effect me.

This book was such an eye opener in two different ways. One, it really makes you think about the effect a camera can have on a child, whether its reality TV or just as a child actor. For Gerald, its reality TV, and it scars him big time. Every single thing he did as a child, all that bad, has been broadcast all over TV, and then with the spread of the internet, all over YouTube and all that. That is scarring, and its incredibly thought provoking to think of the effect of having a child’s life broadcast on television before they can even understand what is going on, before they even get to school. Can you imagine going into school and kids already know who you are, and have seen all your bad and embarrassing moments? They can judge you before you’ve even met them, and that’s exactly what happens with Gerald and its absolutely horrifying to watch.

But for me, its even more horrifying because of the way Gerald is treated by his mother and his sister. At first you think, its just a normal teenager, who has anger issues and has a passive mother and a cruel sister, but the story goes so much farther than that. As the story goes on, you learn of the mental, physical and emotional abuse that Gerald goes through at the hands of his seriously crazy and incredibly cruel sister, and the ways in which his mother ignores it. It sickens me. Every single time that something happens (or doesn’t happen) with Tasha or his mother, I just feel so sick to my stomach, and you keep turning the pages, hoping so badly that it gets better for Gerald, that someone does something, that people stop being so incredibly passive.

And I think when Heather, the girl who works with him, comes into his life, with her own set of familial problems, she is able to make him feel worthwhile and full of love, and she makes him feel happy, when he hardly ever feels happy. I think they both kind of embrace that idea that we can’t always excuse the things our families do to us simply because they are family. The whole idea of blood is thicker than water is not always true. I love that it shows we can’t always just deal with what our family dishes out because they are our blood and we are stuck with them for life, and they are the only family you have. Sometimes you have to speak up against the harm being done, and sometimes you have to fight that. I like that the two of them come together, and go on an adventure of friendship and love and self-discovery and escape and freedom.

This book is beautiful and I was so happy to be able to experience and I really have to give thanks to Andrew Smith for that, for promoting this book and this author so much. Its a heartbreaking but eye opening story of the effects that a camera and a neglecting family can have on a child, especially as that child grows up. Its a story of self-discovery and a story of escape from the childhood traumas that can hold us back. Watching Gerald, both as a child and as a burgeoning adult, grow into himself and gain some confidence, set goals and become determined for his freedom and his escape. Such a beautiful novel, and I definitely recommend it. Its a fairly quick read, I read it in about a couple of hours, and I was so glad that I did.

Rating:

5 out of 5 stars

Exclusive Interview with Teardrop author, Lauren Kate!

October 23, 2013October 23, 2013Leave a comment

Just a few days ago, dosage I posted a review for Lauren Kate‘s brand new book, Teardrop. Teardrop is the first of a new series for Lauren, who is most known for her Fallen series, which tells the story of Luce and her epic love story with the fallen angel, Daniel.

I’ve read the Fallen series and adored it, and I was eager to jump into Lauren’s new series. I luckily acquired an ARC of the novel, and quickly devoured it this weekend. You can check out the spoiler free review here.

The story is of Eureka, who was told at a very young age, that she should never ever cry. She takes this to heart, and as she grows up, becomes a very distant and sort of hardened person, but she is still loving and funny and kind to her best friends and her younger siblings. After her mother dies in a freak natural accident, Eureka inherits some strange gifts from her mother, which leads her to this secret story of Atlantis, and a mysterious boy named Ander, who will do anything to protect her, and the strange powers that her tears have.

Now I am SO happy and excited to share this short, but amazing interview I was able to do with Lauren a few weeks ago, just in time for the release of Teardrop. She has some amazing answers and insight to share with you guys, so I hope you enjoy!

Sara: Can you tell us a little more about Teardrop, and how it is different from books you’ve written in the past?

Lauren: The main difference is in the voice, which is what always distinguishes novels for me. Eureka is a thrilling heroine to write–she’s strong, funny, sensitive, and she has a beautiful, strange imagination that she only shares with the reader. Her love story is very different from Lucinda’s–far darker–but it still has the epic grandness that I love to write about.

The Fallen novels were my first experience with series writing. Before that my projects were always stand-alone stories, so their narratives had clean(er) lines. Fallen was an unwieldy beast whose tail I couldn’t see the end of until I wrote it. I had to school myself in story mechanics with each new book. I stopped fighting “plot” and began to embrace outlining. Sometimes I’d still prefer to flit wherever inspiration wafts me–but Fallen taught me the importance of giving your story a skeleton around which to graft the tissue.

It also taught me to stay in a kissing scene for longer than it took me to get embarrassed–just beyond my blush seems to be the sweet spot.

Sara: Which book is easier to write: the first book or the second?

Lauren: The writing doesn’t get any easier. I still worry that every idea I have will be my last. Every time I start to plot a book, i fear the book will rebel and hatch a plot against me.

Sara: Where do you get your ideas or inspiration from?

Lauren: I began–as I think most writers begin-by sitting down to write only when I was on fire with inspiration. I never had writer’s block and was immensely proud of every scene I wrote. Writing was joyous! The only drawbacks were my stories had no plots, it took me five years to finish anything, and I had a shoebox full of rejection letters. When I finally decided to take an interest in story mechanics (i.e. outlining before I began to write), it was an adjustment to my method because there was less of that magical discovery every day. I already knew where my characters were going in every scene; I didn’t get to stumble upon that like one stumbles upon an arrowhead in a park. But the flip side was because I knew where my characters were going, I had no more excuses not to write every day. And in doing that I learned the most valuable lesson: that I could actively generate inspiration instead of passively waiting for it to strike.

Teardrop specifically was inspired from my time in rural northern California, where the nearby lake was a flooded valley that one had been the site of a small village. Imagined ghosts of this underwater town haunted me, leading to an obsession with flood narratives, from Noah’s Ark to Plato’s Atlantis to Mesopotamia’s Gilgamesh.

I was especially drawn to the legend of Atlantis: a glorious and advanced ancient civilization that disappeared so completely under the ocean, it slipped into the realm of myth. For several years I knew I wanted to write about Atlantis, but I didn’t know whose voice would tell this story–and isn’t that always the most important question?

Inspiration struck one day when I was crying. My husband was listening to my sob story, never mind what it was about. He couldn’t reach me; I was trapped under the flood of my emotions, as tear-shedders often are. But then, he extended his hand, touched the corner of my eye with his finger, and captured the tear welling up. I watched as he brought my tear to his face, as he blinked it into his own eye. Suddenly we were bound by this tear. Suddenly I wasn’t alone. And suddenly I had the first scene between my hero and the boy she loved.

The tear unlocked the story. Instead of an angry god, generating the deluge, a single tear incites Teardrop’s apocalypse. And in the tale I wanted to tell, I knew that a tear capable of flooding the world could only be shed over a mighty heart broken.

Sara: What advice do you give to aspiring novelists?

Lauren: Read–but you already know that.

Never push ideas away. Give them space and time to grow up into stories. Live curiously, ask questions, understand that writers can find even boredom fascinating. Hold onto your mystery. Make writing friends. Keep the good ones. Finish your stories. Finish your stories. Finish your stories.

Sara: What are some of your favorite activities outside of writing?

Lauren: I have dreams of working in a restaurant kitchen someday, so when I’m not writing, I’m often cooking, browsing through recipes, or planning my next dinner party. I love food blogs.

I also love to run and hike the canyons around my house in L.A. There’s a secret trail behind my neighborhood that is almost always empty. Every morning before I write, I take my dog–and now, my daughter–up for a hike in the hills. It requires some trespassing but that’s half the fun, and on a clear day, you can see snow in the mountains to the east and a shimmering ocean to the west. It’s LA at its finest.

Sara; Who is your fictional crush?

Lauren: Rhett Butler!

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I hope you all enjoyed learning a little more about Lauren, her writing and her stories. She had such beautiful answers to the questions I posed to her and I was so eager and happy to share them with you all!

Lauren’s book, Teardrop, is in bookstores now, so make sure to head out and buy a copy and learn more about Eureka and her adventures.

She is also on the road quite a bit in the next couple months, in celebration and in promotion for this new book, so click this link to see if she’s coming near you!

Happy Reading!

Tuesday Top Ten-Favorite Divergent Moments

October 22, 2013October 21, 2013Leave a comment

Today is the day, information pills my friends. It is 9:45 here, viagra dosage in California but most other places, its midnight and Allegiant has released. Which means, its released for me too! Which means its already downloaded to my Kindle RIGHT NOW.

Do you know how hard it is to write this post when all I want to do is dive into this book?

But alas, I will finish this post in a timely manner and then you guys will basically lose me until I finish this book :)

So in order to celebrate the release of the final book in the Divergent trilogy, I have decided to count down my top Ten moments in the Divergent trilogy…so far. I hope you enjoy them!

P.S. There will DEFINITELY be spoilers for Divergent and Insurgent in this post. You have been warned.

10. The Raven Tattoos

I love when Tris gets her tattoos, the three ravens on her collarbone. I think its a real turning point for her. She still has loyalties to her family and to the faction of Abnegation but she realizes she has to sway her loyalties toward the Dauntless in order to become one, and not a factionless. I think this moment shows her accepting that she can have both, in different ways. The Dauntless mostly all have tattoos and by getting this tattoo, she is stepping into their world. But because she gets three tattoos for her mother, father and brother, it shows she will always love them, no matter what factions they are in. I think its incredibly sweet and amazing. I plan on getting the exact same tattoo soon, so I can’t wait to be part of that with her.

9. Tris’ First Simulation

When Tris goes under the simulation, in order to determine which faction that she fits the best with, I don’t know what any of us expected. This is so soon in the book, it happens so fast before we even really know Tris or the society that she lives in. But this right here shows so much about her. It shows her strength, her intelligence, her courage and bravery and her ability to think quickly and her ability to lie as well. Its amazing how quickly you can become acquainted with, and fall in love with, Tris, in this one scene. Its also when we find out that she’s Divergent, which is SO pivotal to the entirety of the series.

8. Amity and Tris

When Tris goes to Amity, after the disaster events that happen in Divergent, and she is injected with the peace serum, and she just acts ridiculous? I just love it. Because I feel like we’ve gotten two different versions of her. We get the silent, selfless, “stiff” Beatrice of Abnegation and then we get the strong, brave Tris of Dauntless, and seeing this silly and carefree Tris, where she’s acting free and open. She’s saying all these things that she’s never said before and its just fantastic. Amidst all the chaos that is going on in their society, the fact that we are able to laugh for this scene is fantastic. I’m sure not sure how many humorous moments that we are going to have in Allegiant so this was a nice moment.

7. Peter Saving Tris

I didn’t expect this in the slightest. You think Tris is going to die, or be tortured, and you feel absolutely completely hopeless. I mean, I can’t even imagine how much hopeless I could have felt in that moment with Jeanine. So when Peter saves Tris, SAVES her, I was in shock, but I don’t know. I kind of felt for Peter in that moment. You hate him so much, he’s just an enemy but you can’t help but like him at least a little bit in that moment. He risks his life, does everything he can, and saves Tris. I kind of have hope for Peter now. I don’t know whats going to happen to him in the future, but you just never know.

6. The End of Insurgent

Come on! That cliffhanger, where they watch the video, and you see Edith Prior and then things go to chaos and then the book just ends! I remember thinking, this can’t be happening. I read Insurgent when it came out nearly a year and a half ago, and I thought, there is no way that I have to wait that long to figure out what happens next. I seriously think its one of Veronica Roth’s best moments because she knows exactly how to create a huge drama, and then just leave you hanging, panting, dying for the next thing to happen. Its intense and insane.

5. Knife Throwing Scene

Okay, so Four decides, hmmm, I’m gonna throw knives at Tris to teach her a lesson or something and he nicks her ear on purpose and makes her bleed. He’s a total jerk in that scene. But for some reason, every single girl who has read that book loves that scene and we totally fall even more in love with Four than we already were. We’re all mentally thinking, I wish a boy would throw knives at my head in a desperate attempt to tell me how much he is in love with me. It literally makes no sense whatsoever, but it just is one of those scenes that sticks with you. That’s why it was the VERY first still that was released from the filming. And even though its kind of crazy, I think it also shows the strength and fear in both of them, testing each other strengths and fears in that moment. Its a bonding moment for them, though they don’t even know it.

4. Four’s Fear Landscape

I like this scene because this is the moment that you realize there’s so much more to Four than just that tough guy, stoic attitude. He has fears, not a lot of them, but they’re all so real and full. I think showing Tris really is his way of telling her how much she means to someone. The fear landscapes open us up to a person, our souls, and you sort of lay yourself bare to a person when you show them that. By taking Tris into his landscape, and even letting her discover his true identity, he is opening himself up to Tris, completely. Its a beautiful scene. For the first time, you sort of believe that Tris is just as strong, if not stronger, than Four

3. The Ferris Wheel

There are two ways in which I love this scene. First off, you get the fact that Tris is incredibly intelligent in the scene and that she shouldn’t be underestimated. Ever. While everyone is bickering on how to handle the Capture the Flag situation, she decides, I’m going to climb this ridiculously huge Ferris Wheel in order to see what the other team is up to. And she does it, she shows the bravery to do it as well. But I like it as well, because I think that this is the turning point for Four when it comes to Tris. I think he had always noticed her, she was another Abnegation transfer, but this moment where she just shows her ultimate bravery and she’s so calm, it stands out to him. It also helps that climbing this far up, being high up, is a fear for him, and to see her tackle it is huge. Its a scene that I’m dying to see in the movie. I can’t wait for this.

2. Four’s First “I Love You”

This really speaks it all. Its the most absolute perfect way for it to happen. It reminds me so much of my own first “I love you” with my boyfriend. It was absolutely perfect. Its not the way you picture it or imagine it. Its not beautiful or over-the-top, but its amazing. Its amazing just exactly the way it is. So I can’t say much more than that. Its beautiful. It shows the perfection of them as a couple.

1. Tris’ First Jump

I think I knew I loved Tris as a character when you see the way she is in her simulation but when she decides to switch to Dauntless and she is the first one to jump into that chasm, where she just has to have faith that there will be something down there to catch her…its the moment that Tris becomes one of my absolute favorite characters. Tris is the only transfer from Abnegation and everyone is making fun of her, and they’re already underestimating her before she can even do anything and the fact that she undresses herself a bit and throws it at Peter, and then takes that first jump. Its beautiful and I love that scene. Its also the scene where she and Four meet for the first time, and where she changes her name from Beatrice to Tris, so I just love it. Its the one scene where I’ll probably tear up and jump up and down in my seat for in the movie. Of course.

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I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Tuesday Top Ten. Now I must go to my bed, curl up with my Kindle and dive into this book.

If you don’t see me for a few hours, that’s where I am!

Share your own Divergent and Insurgent moments in the comments below! NO spoilers for Allegiant!

Blogger Spotlight-Christina Marie from Lulo: Life Lived Creatively

October 21, 2013October 21, 2013Leave a comment

One of the best parts about running this blog is having the ability to meet some really cool people, sildenafil and some of the coolest people that I have met have led me to really cool blogs. I’ve said it before, more about no one’s blog is 100% original but everyone’s voices are different so there are blogs that I love to read because I love the writer, and I love the passion that they show for what they are writing. They are fun and interesting to read and they inspire me to get better and better in my blog.

So I decided to do a feature (inspired by Megan at the Nerdy Girlie’s Geek Girls Gab), where I profile the bloggers that I love. Not only do I get to find out more about them, but I also get to share them with you guys! Most of the bloggers that I follow are like me, nerd girls, fan girls and they enjoy the same things as me, and you! Every blogger that I profile is one that is super important to me and I urge you to check them out!

If you are interested in being featured on the Blogger Spotlight, feel free to contact me, please! I would love to hear from you, to feature you on the blog and to help spread the word about it!

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This week’s blogger is my very own contributor, Christina Marie and her blog Lulo: Life Lived Creatively

You can find her:

Sara: Tell me a Little Bit About Yourself:

Christina Marie: I’m a blogger in my late 20s. Was born in Alabama, raised in California, but now living in Kansas. I went to UCLA for my undergraduate degree in Ethnic Studies, Music, and International Relations. Go Bruins! I’m an only child. I am a singer, writer, and event planner.

Sara: Tell me about your blog:

Christina Marie: My blog started out as a beauty/fashion site, hence the name Luscious & Lovely. But as time went on, I began to recognize my love for creative arts — which included music, movies, television and my all-time biggest passion, books. So I had to start rebranding. I’m currently still in the rebranding process. But I don’t want to lose what originally brought me to blogging, which is beauty & fashion. My blog is now called LuLo (short for Luscious & Lovely), but I’ve added the tagline “Life Lived Creatively”. That sums up my life goal. To live life as creatively as I can. And hopefully encourage people to do the same. And to give people a place to squeal and fangirl together! The common features on my blog are Music Minute, Movie Bite, Beauty Bite, Photo of the Week, etc. It’s constantly growing.

Sara: What is your favorite nerd memory?

Christina Marie: My favorite nerd memory is definitely the first time I purchased my Slytherin T-shirt. I felt so badass. Draco Malfoy is my favorite Harry Potter character. I always root for the underdog. I always cheer for the scorned and the mocked to claim some sort of personal redemption. That’s what I saw in Draco, so I bought the Slytherin shirt in support of him. Even though it doesn’t fit me anymore – I bought it almost 10 years ago – I still have it.

Sara: What are you most looking forward to, as far as new books/movies/etc?

Christina Marie: I look forward to book releases and more opportunity to engage with my fellow bloggers. I’m aiming to make it out to SD Comic Con in 2014, as well as to BEA in New York, but we’ll see. I will be at RT in New Orleans, so I’m pumped about that. I am really excited to see what happens with the Divergent films, as well as the Vampire Academy films. But I am most looking forward to the release of the final book in the TMI series (which is my all-time favorite book series). Cassandra Clare is EVERYTHING to me! As for TV shows, I am really excited to see where Sleepy Hollow goes. It’s already been renewed for a second season, so I am pumped for the rest of season one!

Sara: As my blog is mostly about books and reading, what are some of your favorite books or authors to read?

Christina Marie: Favorite books are definitely ALL of the books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan, The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, and the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery. My favorite authors are Sarah Rees Brennan, Cassandra Clare, Rick Yancey, and Rick Riordan.

Sara: What are some of your favorite blogs to follow?

Christina Marie: Fangirlish, What A Nerd Girl Says, TMI Source, Hypable

Sara: Who is your fictional crush (what, we’re nerd girls, we all have one!)

Christina Marie: Draco Malfoy from HP, Percy Jackson, Poseidon (from Percy Jackson), Jace Wayland (from TMI), Gavriel (from The Coldest Girl in Coldtown), Peregrine (from Under the Never Sky), Four (from Divergent), Liam (from The Darkest Minds), Dimitri (from Vampire Academy)… the list goes on & on & on…

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I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Blogger Spotlight, and I hope you’ll be able to check out Christina Marie’s posts both here on What A Nerd Girl Says and on her own blog as well. I’m glad to have her aboard, and I ADORE her blog, so definitely check it out!

Don’t forget you can check out previous spotlights here!

Happy Monday everyone!

Teardrop by Lauren Kate Review

October 21, 2013October 21, 20133 Comments

Teardrop by Lauren Kate

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

Never, adiposity ever cry. . . . Eureka Boudreaux’s mother drilled that rule into her daughter years ago. But now her mother is gone, and everywhere Eureka goes he is there: Ander, the tall, pale blond boy who seems to know things he shouldn’t, who tells Eureka she is in grave danger, who comes closer to making her cry than anyone has before.

But Ander doesn’t know Eureka’s darkest secret: ever since her mother drowned in a freak accident, Eureka wishes she were dead, too. She has little left that she cares about, just her oldest friend, Brooks, and a strange inheritance—a locket, a letter, a mysterious stone, and an ancient book no one understands. The book contains a haunting tale about a girl who got her heart broken and cried an entire continent into the sea. Eureka is about to discover that the ancient tale is more than a story, that Ander might be telling the truth . . . and that her life has far darker undercurrents than she ever imagined. From Lauren Kate comes an epic saga of heart-stopping romance, devastating secrets, and dark magic . . . a world where everything you love can be washed away.

My Review:

I think I feel the way about this book the way I did about Josephine Angelini’s Starcrossed novel. I like it, I love the concept of it, but I’m ready for more. Because I was able to read the second and third novels of the Starcrossed trilogy right away, I was able to like the first novel a lot more because I saw the direction that it was going and the events of the first book made more sense to me.

With Lauren Kate’s Teardrop, I am loving the concept, and I think I’m liking the direction its going in but I’m very confused.

First off, its really hard to get past the fact that the main character’s name is Eureka. I’m okay with weird and unusual names if the situation calls for it, but in this situation, it honestly just drives me insane. Its a contemporary sort of fantasy-paranormal so its hard to believe in Eureka as a normal every-day girl because her name is EUREKA! I hope as the books go on, I’m able to get over it, but its driving me insane. Its really hard to get past the fact that her name is just so unusual, and not in a pretty way. For most people, it probably won’t be a bother at all, or a deal breaker, and it wasn’t really for me either, it was just incredibly distracting.

I also think that it took a LONG time for anything to happen. I remember looking down at the page number (to update my goodreads status, of course!) and thinking, wow, she still doesn’t know what’s going on. She is still kind of bumbling along without knowing what’s going, and we’re kind of deep into this book. I think, like Starcrossed, Lauren Kate had to spend a lot of time building up the stories and the characters and the background and then created the problems so close to the end of the book that you’re going to want to read the second book, which I definitely do. The lack of action for a good chunk of the novel might deter some people though, so I warn you on that: its there, its coming, just be patient.

But I’m not hating on this book at all! I think there’s a lot of potential here for a great book. The idea of Atlantis is not something new: we saw this in the Starcrossed trilogy. But the myth, the story, the idea that raising it would be for the worst, not the best, its a unique twist, and I’m really liking it. I like when there are myths and legends spun into our contemporary world. It makes me envious because I’ve always loved myths and if someone came up to me and said I was an essential part to the stories, I’d probably squeal in happiness. So I was excited at the idea of Atlantis, and the idea that raising it isn’t the best for the rest of the world. It gives you that idea that there’s going to be a lot of action and drama coming up, because Eureka holds an immense power and people are really going to fighting to have her on their side.

I also think there’s a lot more to a lot of the characters that we think, including Eureka’s seemingly normal friends, and even some of her normal “enemies” from school, as well. The mystery that sort of surrounds the town and the people that are in it, and even just Eureka’s own upbringing is what carries this novel. Because so little is revealed as the book goes on and on, you’re continually turning the pages in the hopes that you’ll find out something new. While this book doesn’t jump out at me as an immediate winner, the book builds up a strong enough story to entice me to read the sequel, in hopes that the secrets revealed at the end of this book evolve into a much larger story.

Besides, Lauren Kate is a beautiful writer, and the lack of ‘OHMYGOD I LOVE THIS’ does not come from bad writing in the slightest. She is a great writer, and she writes some beautiful prose, and you really do care about all these characters. I think a lot of this book is setting up the story that will explode in the next few books. The last one hundred pages of this novel were the easiest to get through because so many of the questions that were building throughout the first 3/4 of the novel were finally being answered but also not at the same time. They created more questions to be answered, and that right there will get people to come back for the second book.

Rating:

3.75 out of 5 stars

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Don’t forget to tune in later this week for an exclusive interview with Lauren Kate!

Getting Over My Writer’s Block

October 19, 2013Leave a comment

So I’ve had two novels in my head, treatment both of them bursting to come out and yet, approved none of them could actually get out on the page.

It was incredibly frustrating.

The first one was about a girl living in a baseball obsessed town. She grows up with the love of baseball, page until one day, something changes and baseball isn’t the same anymore. The novel was going to go back and forth between the present and the past, eventually ending at what happened, and why her love of the sport changed. I still want to do this, because I’m passionate about the story and passionate about the sport of baseball and its a story that I really want to tell, but it just wasn’t flowing the way I wanted it to.

Then I was also working on something that could best be described as a zombie novel but its not quite what you think. Its about a girl named Katy, who is living in New York when a virus hits, and it wipes out huge chunks of the population before anyone can figure out what is. Then suddenly the bodies of all the victims disappear, and the world starts to panic. Before you know it, the bodies are reanimated, and they hunger for human flesh. But they aren’t like normal zombies: they’re incredibly fast and intelligent, and there are too many to get rid of. The government decides to bomb the major cities, to get rid of the problem once and for all and Katy goes on the run with her dad, and the only boy she’s ever loved and hated at the same time.

Two great ideas right there, if I say so myself.

But NOTHING was working. I’d get on my computer and just stare at the screen. I honestly couldn’t do anything. I would try typing things but it just wasn’t happening. I was incredibly frustrated. I didn’t even feel like it was writer’s block. It was all in my head but I couldn’t get it out on paper.

And two things have really helped me.

First off, I was at the Los Angeles Teen Book Fest last weekend, and that was SO helpful. Meeting all these authors and talking to them, and hearing their stories of writing and how they tackle writing. One thing that really stuck out to me was something that fantasy writer, Cornelia Funke said…she writes all her novels in notebooks! And that SO stood out to me. I used to write all my novels out in notebooks before I had my laptop and I thought, well, maybe I should give it a shot.

And let me tell you, it has totally worked!

I went out and bought a notebook and I’ve been writing my novel, the sort-of zombie novel, in it ever since, and I honestly can’t stop writing. I’m on a roll and it feels really good. After feeling like you’re failing in the world of writing for so long, it felt good to just write. I also took advice from the other authors at the event, and have just been writing, not really focused on structure or any of that yet. When I focus on that, I lose the story and I get all stressed out about whether my chapters are long enough and that sort of thing. When I’m in my notebook, I just write, and its been awesome.

Then last night, I got another spark of inspiration. I was at a concert for one of my favorite bands, Story of the Year, who I haven’t seen in concert in about 8 years. It was such an amazing show, and I’m all bruised up and sore and EXHAUSTED from it. But it was fun. I discovered a new band (to me) last night though, a band called Set It Off. And right before they played a song, the lead singer shared some awesomeness with us.

His name is Cody and he had a lot to share. He talked about how he dropped out of college to pursue music, and that people didn’t always believe in him, and they didn’t believe that he could do what he wanted with music but that he kept doing it anyway. He was encouraging everyone to follow their dreams, no matter what people said, and that even if you fail, at least you tried, you tried to accomplish something that was important to you.

Then they played this song: Dreamcatcher, which you can listen to on YouTube here.

Now, I’m not saying that you should drop out of college. I’m not saying you should go to college either. That’s kind of a person-to-person basis there and I wouldn’t presume to tell anyone what to do in regards to their education.

But I really appreciated that attitude, that idea that no matter how crazy it sounds, or what people tell you, you should try anyway. I focus most of my energy on this blog and on my novel, not school and not work. Because THIS is my passion and my dream. And sure, maybe I’m going to fail. Maybe I won’t accomplish anything at all, but this is what makes me happy and I’m going to keep trying.

So I thought it was cool that he basically pulled the sort of thoughts I’ve been having in my own mind and it really made me want to yell out loud. Like, YES! YES, EXACTLY. Pursue your dreams, and stop listening to what everyone else says. The only person that matters is yourself!

So that was super awesome too. That has given me a huge spark of motivation and inspiration as well, and I feel like I could just keep writing.

So the whole point of this post is to say: that when you’re feeling like you can’t write (or whatever it is that is YOUR thing), you just have to find that motivation and sometimes it can come from the most random of places. I’m grateful for the amazing things I’ve been able to do this year, and the motivation that I know have in me.

Now I gotta get back to writing BUT I’ll leave you with a nice little quote from the novel I’m working on now. No guarantee that this will make into the final novel, but hey, you can get an idea of what to expect in the future!

Happy Reading and Writing everyone!