Hi! So, at the moment I'm still at CTYI but we're in the computer room today trying our hand at web journalism i.e. blogging. It's actually been mandated that we use Wordpress so I am, but as it's not co-operating at the moment I thought I'd drop in here, to my trusty Blogger.

CTYI is coming to an end, with less than a week left, and I will of course write down everything I can remember from it once I go home. I really wouldn't like to forget any of this, because it's been the best thing I've ever experienced.

Usually when I'm really looking forward to something, I blow it up in my head until it's reached such epic proportions that reality couldn't possibly match up to it. I was both astonished and elated to see that CTYI surpassed even my most ridiculous expectations. It has been, quite literally, magical. Often I feel like holidays/things I've been looking forward to pass too quickly, but the great thing about this is that each day has been so incredibly busy that it feels fulfilling. Still doesn't change the fact that I'm going to cry when it ends, but I'll know that it's been so worth it.

A lot of things follow the principle that 'you get out of it what you put into it'. I came here expecting that CTYI would be the same. In some ways it has been, but the amazing thing is that even the people who were a bit reluctant or shy seem to be having a great time. As far as I can see, there's no way you can't.

I arrived with a strange collection of things in hand, including a pirate sword, a multi-coloured dressing gown and 15 packets of Instant Noodle. Incidentally, these are common things to see in CTYI. I was shown to my room (I'm a residential student) and can I just say, it's gorgeous.

Back when I can, only two days left!

Top Ten Favourite Beginnings/Endings in Books

I'm participating in Top Ten Tuesday (TTT) hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. I didn't number them becayse I can't choose between a lot of them, but these are all in my top ten.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (J.K. Rowling) - Ending

It was a huge shock (Dumbledore!) but it was a really dramatic ending and I have to repect that.

Fragments (Dan Wells) - Beginning

This really kept up the momentum from the previous book, and it was a great entrance into a brilliant book. Started with a bang!

Skulduggery Pleasant: Kingdom of the Wicked (Derek Landy) - Ending

CURVEVBALL! The last chapter epilogue was just THE BIGGEST TWIST.

Partials (Dan Wells) - Ending

I don't know why I loved this so much. It was just enjoyable.

The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) - Beginning

Not the exact beginning, but the reaping - it was excellently described and really let me into the world.

Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox - Ending

All the plotlines melded really nneatly and naturally here, I loved it.

Temeraire: Throne of Jade (Naomi Novik) - Beginning

Drama was just brought right up from the start, as was the emotional core of the story.

Temeraire: His Majesty's Dragon (Naomi Novik) - Ending

The ending to this one was really heartwarming after all the adventure, I must say.

Blood Ties (Sophie McKenzie) - Ending

This all tied in really neatly, and the description was beautiful.

North Child (Edith Pattou) - Beginning

This really brought me into the faiytale world well.

So those are my Top Ten for this week! Leave links to your own TTT in the comments, or if you don't have a blog you can just suggest some endings in the comment itself!

Guest Post: From Reading to Writing

As I'm away on holiday right now, Oliver Dahl, who blogs at The Dreamers Adventures, is here with a guest post. Presumably, if you're reading my blog, you're a bookworm - so here for your viewing pleasure is a post about how reading tastes translated into his work as a self-published author. Enjoy, and be sure to check out his blog on July 13th for my post on how to write dynamic characters - and stick around on his blog for a look, you might like it!

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It doesn't take long as a writer to hear the tossed-around phrase, "write the kind of book you would want to read."

When I first started (trying!) writing books, I hadn't heard of this writer adage. I almost discovered it on me own, though under different words and ideas. This was around the fourth or fifth grade.

"Little kid" me wanted to read a book. And not just any book, something with dragons, twin boys, characters like me that I could connect to, and dwarves and elves of my own variation. I wanted to read something that had a colorful, vibrant, unique, and constantly changing setting. I wanted to read a book with magic, and a wizard, and a desert, with a rickety old bridge like in Indiana Jones. I wanted to read a book that, quite frankly, didnt exist.

No matter how hard my little heart looked for something like this, I couldn't find anything. Sure, there were books that were close, and aspects of those books added more little things to my list of things I wanted in would I thought would be a perfect book. When I realized that no such book really existed down to the minute details that I wanted, I realized that I could write it. I could write that "perfect" book. And maybe other kids like me would want to read it. And that's how it all started. I still have the crinkled pieces of notebook-paper that the first pages had been written on.

If you haven't been able to tell already, I have quite a few tastes that I look to satisfy in the books that I read. Oftentimes, I joke about the length of the self-filed genre of my first book, The Dreamers. I classify it as "Modern YA scifi fantasy adventure." What a mouthful. Now if I could only fit in action and "contains cheesy knock-knock jokes" in there somewhere. Hmm...

If we take that adage I first quoted, and apply it right now, you can assume that because I wrote a book in that genre, I enjoy reading in that genre as well. And you would be absolutely correct. Michael Vey, by Richard Paul Evans is another book I would classify in that long genre. I absolutely love fantasy, science fiction, YA, Dystopian fiction, and most subgenres between. My favorite "genre" however, is a mixture of all of these set in modern times. Rick Riordan is a great example of this. Suzanne Collins' "Underland Chronicles" is another. I love how almost believable their stories are. You can make yourself believe that Camp Half Blood exists. You don't know for sure that it doesn't. And that is what I love. Wheras in generic fantasy fiction set in the typical medieval ages, you know it didn't happen because of history books. (The dragons are a little bit of a clue, too...) And, if not for the Doctor or time travel, we could rule out our scifi as impossible as well. It's the slim chance of possibility that draws me in to modern fiction.

"So you're saying... There's a chance?" :)

Alright, I'm getting sidetracked. Like I have mentioned in a post of mine, I think that everything that we write comes from somewhere else. Everything we write comes from other stories that we have seen, read, listened to, and experienced. It is my belief that if we never experienced anything, heard, read, or saw any form of any story, we would be unable to write. Due to the fact that most of the stories I read as a kid were fantasy, scifi, and fiction in general, those stories that I experienced and enjoyed became stored into me.

The things that I have read really are the things that I write. Mixed together with my own experience in my mind like a blender, I make new idea "smoothies" from every story I know. And again, because most of those stories I know are fiction, most of my smoothies are, too. To keep going with this rather strange smoothie metaphor, if my most of my ingredients are berries, (fiction) then most of my resulting smoothie is going to be, too.

Well, I guess that's it for now. I hope my rambling and impromptu smoothie-metaphor-filled, button-pushing made sense. I hope that before you leave, though, you'll check out some of my smoothies. Er, I mean... Books. That's right. :)


Born in 1998, Oliver Dahl is the oldest of five children and lives in Idaho. Previous to finishing middle school, The Dreamers had earned him the a spot as one of Idaho's Top 50 Idaho authors (2011). The title of Idaho's Student of the Year (2012) preceded both the publication of Dahl's second novel, The Nightmarers, and the completion of his freshman year of high school. Oliver's books have spent time in the top percentages of books on Amazon.com. Authors like Brandon Mull, Obert Skye, and Richard Paul Evans own autographed copies and have expressed interest in The Dreamers. Dahl is also an awarded musician and engineer. He has as twice as many Oscars as Leonardo DiCaprio, and has won the Tour de France as many times as Lance Armstrong.


He can be found in too many places online.
Website BETA: www.oliverdahl.weebly.com
Blog: www.TheDreamersAdventures.blogspot.com


Facebook Page: Click here to view my page.
Twitter: @OliverWDahl.
YouTube: Click here to view my Channel.
About.me: Click here to view my page.
Amazon Author Page: Click here to view.
GoodReads Author Page: Click here to view.
Google+: Click here to add "The Dreamers" to your circles.
Tumblr: check out what I think is funny at www.oliverwdahl.tumblr.com!
Imgur: pictures (usually funny) www.oliverwdahl.imgur.com
DeviantArt: See what I'm drawing over at www.oliverwdahl.deviantart.com
I'm on Riffle! Check out my profile.

Stupid White Men - Michael Moore Review

Stupid White Men – Michael Moore Review

Genre: Non-fiction, Politics  

Source: Bought

Rating: 3.5 Stars

In short: Entertaining, thought-provoking, well-researched enough to be funny  – but lacks rereadability.

I read this book again this week after reading it for the first time about two years ago. It’s one of my favourite non-fiction books, brimming with political satire and sarcastic hilarity. Unfortunately, what makes it so novel and fresh in the first place means that reading it again takes the pleasure out of it a little. Still definitely one to get from the library or borrow though. It went to the top of the UK bestseller list before it was even released in the UK, and it really is a triumphant feat of sleuthing.

Another good thing is that you can just choose chapters at random because each is an independent unit. With names such as ‘Dear George [Bush]’ and ‘Kill Whitey’ and ‘the End of Men’, it’s a delight to read and you’ll always find something to interest you.

Something Moore does well is make your blood boil. He somehow comes up with hard, unexaggerated facts that have mysteriously stayed out of the public spotlight, and waxes eloquent about the oppression and corruption that nobody notices.

The last chapter and the epilogue were where Moore fell down in my estimation. I don’t know whether he lost inspiration or something, but he stopped being as witty and hilarious as he had been throughout the rest of the book. And as I said above, upon rereading it you aren’t as shocked by the facts and things he says so it isn’t such an enlightening read. Still, the first time around you really enjoy it, and it is a damn good book.

For almost all of the book, Moore is furious. And funny. And furiously funny. The End of Men and Kill Whitey especially are great chapters to show up misogyny and racism, and he does it all with a sense of humour.

So there you go. It irked me that the UK and Irish version left out a section because we don’t have the Freedom of Speech Law, but hey, that’s the law.

 *** *** ***

I'm currently on holidays, if you call CTY early college a holiday, without internet - this is a scheduled post. I can't reply to comments as fast but continue to leave them and I'll reply when I get a chance!

Matched - Ally Condie Review

Source: Library   

Pages: 366
Publisher: Penguin
Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb: On her seventeenth birthday, Cassia meets her match. Society dictates he is her perfect partner for life. Except he's not. In Cassia's society, Officials decide who people love. How many children they have. Where they work. When they die. But, as Cassia finds herself falling in love with another boy, she is determined to make some choices of her own. And that's when her whole world begins to unravel...

In short: Enjoyable, thought-provoking dystopian - very YA.

Review: I'm feeling a lot of cover-love for this one (go Theresa Evangelista!). Cassia trapped in the orb is an excellent descriptor of the book to come. Besides, I've seen a lot of good reviews so I had to get it.

The funny thing is, when you boil it down I would usually HATE the premise/theme of this book. It's literally centred around romance and a love triangle. I have never seen anything MORE love-triangle-y. (love-triangular?).

But what's amazing about this book is its dystopian elements. The dystopian world Ally Condie creates is vividly described and quite terrifying in its very utopia.  On paper, it's a perfect system. But when you throw human beings in, it's restrictive and unjust. The little details that Condie lets slip out subtly - the Officials completely choosing someone's line of work, their partner, their possessions - really build up to create a good picture of it all.

It was really enjoyable and light. It's not a hugely long book, but there's a lot of information in it - and even with that it's not done with a heavy hand, which I'm very glad of. As well as that, there were some genuinely thought-provoking parts that seem to be missing from a lot of dystopians lately. The government has everyone die on their eightieth birthday, because it has decreed that after that quality of life decreases so much that the person shouldn't be alive at all. That was really chilling, and brings up topics like pre-emptive euthanasia. Then there were the measures the Officials took to keep everyone equal and not questioning, like when they raided homes for artifacts. Again, hints of Communism. Not loudly, but just enough to make you compare it to today's world. And they incinerated libraries (!!!).

And then the romance. I am not a fan of romance. This one was done well, actually, but I still don't like it being the main focus of the story. So, the conflict is that Cassia is expected to love the person she's Matched to, but because of some big conspiracy/mistake, it doesn't exactly work out as planned. She sees someone else, and starts to fall in love with them, breaking every rule in the book.

Here's what I did like about the romance. Her 'true' love interest, the unsafe one, encourages her to open her eyes, to see past the forced safety of Oria and become a bit of a rebel. It makes her into a defiant, proactive heroine and I really liked that. Also, with the way the love interest is done it's exactly like Slated by Teri Terry (one of my favourites, my review here), to the point where it's uncanny.

There were some quite clumsy metaphors, as if the author was just trying to get them in - like the one about Sisyphus. I get the point, and I understand that it was meant to symbolise their struggle and acts as a catalyst for Cassia's transformation, but it just seems forced.

Other than that, a highly enjoyable book that leads well into its sequel in the trilogy, all the books of which (Matched, Crossed and Reached) are out now.


P.S. I got contact lenses, after 13 years of wearing glasses! This is exciting! Also, I have to get Fractured, Slated's sequel. And Divergent. And Insurgent ... I have less than 2 weeks until holidays so I have to get my books lined up soon.

Control - Kim Curran ARC Review

Publisher: Strange Chemistry

Source: ARC from Netgalley and Strange Chemistry

Rating: 5 STARS

Publication Date: 6 August 2013 (Seriously, get it).

Blurb: Official burb: Scott Tyler is not like other teenagers. With a single thought he can alter reality around him. And he can stop anyone else from doing the same.  That’s why he’s so important to ARES, the secret government agency that regulates other kids like him: Shifters.  They’ve sent him on a mission. To track down the enigmatic Frank Anderson. An ex-Shifter who runs a project for unusual kids – as if the ability to change your every decision wasn’t unusual enough. But Anderson and the kids have a dark secret. One that Scott is determined to discover.  As his obsession with discovering the truth takes him further away from anyone he cares about, his grip on reality starts to weaken. Scott realises if he can’t control his choices, they’ll control him.

Things to get out of the way first:

An unequivocal five star rating. This book was amazing! I got an excellent first impression, what a gorgeous cover! It literally took me through the ringer, and I FELT ALL THE FEELS.

(Slightly more professional) Review

It really had everything I look for in a book. I think sci-fi, fantasy and YA fans will love it – actually, I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t. The nearest thing I can compare it to is Jumper (another amazing one) or the ending of Catching Fire. You know that last line of Catching Fire, the one that turned readers into a ball of nerves? Yep, same in Control.

 The main character, Scott Tyler, is fascinating. He’s daring, loyal and absolutely adorable as a male protagonist. His girlfriend and fellow Shifter, Aubrey, is as kickass and sassy as you can get, and it was incredible. And there’s a particular event that happens where Aubrey thinks he’s betrayed her, and his reaction actually made me cry. Me. I often mentally cry at books, but there were literally tears.  I thought I’d conditioned myself against that, but this book really got under my defences.

 The characterisation with the other characters was fantastic too. I especially loved Jake’s tech skills and Rosale’s fierceness when she thinks Scott hurt Aubrey. The relationship was THE BEST. There’s one scene – one of my favourites – where Scott is thoroughly beat up, basically wishing he could die (much as you feel for the protagonist, don’t you just love those moments? There’s just so much raw emotion and pathos. It’s beautiful.) and Aubrey, who he thought would never speak to him again, comes and gets him out of it. The moment he realises who it is is heart-warming. She hasn’t forgiven him (she doesn’t know yet that it wasn’t his fault) but she thought he was going to do something stupid, and she came and got him out of it. I don’t know why, but this scene just really struck a chord with me. It’s plain to see that he really cares for her, and I loved it so much.

Is it possible for a book to be too intense? There were an inordinate amount of moments when a lightbulb went on in my head, saying that the scene/character/dialogue was just too much to handle. I’m used to, and expect, a book having some of these moments. But this one just had it all.

Shifting – altering reality by changing your decisions – would be such a difficult concept to pull off. But Kim Curran did it flawlessly. She did it by imposing limitations on the power – it can only be a decision you considered different choices for, you can’t undo a Shift... It was simply really skilfully written, and I powered through it.

There were very few things that I didn’t like. I felt a bit cheated by the MEGA CLIFFHANGER ending (see Catching Fire reference above), but that was only because I was so engrossed in the story and the amazing characters that I didn’t want to let go. Plus, I’ve really come to care for Scott, and the way the book ended it seems very likely that it’s going to go Mockingjay-esque, meaning no punches pulled and my poor, poor favourite protagonists being put through ever worse situations.  There was one section in the middle where I was very confused about location, but it’s not that important for your enjoyment of the story.

Objectively, it was still amazing. It had the quick-firing plot, snappy dialogue and grabbing characters that melded together to make a brilliant novel. And even when it was tense and fast-paced, it was hilarious. The dialogue managed to be authentic and still have humour. There’s even a secret government department (with a motto!) which always helps.

The action scenes at the end were thrilling, terrifying and awe-inspiring in equal measures. Scott pulls off some stunts that are truly worthy of a YA hero, and these last scenes were written like an action movie, and I mean that in the best possible way. The high-octane chases and shattering glass were so vivid.

It was so well thought-out. Scott and co. are Shifters, so they’re used to planning out every decision, But when they go up against a certain person, they don’t realise how many other choices are changing, and how impacted the world will be. It means an ending that the first-person protagonist doesn’t understand, which makes it very jarring. But that was admirably effective in communicating the message that choices have far-reaching consequences. There are details – the ‘hypnic jerk’ being an excellent example – in abundance, and the author has obviously really imagined the connotations of this world she’s created.

Not only was I able to appreciate the obvious writing talent Curran has, it was a really enjoyable read too.  From other reviews I’ve seen, it seemed like this book is better than the first in the series, Shift. Nevertheless, I’ve still ordered the first one, because I haven’t enjoyed a book this much in months. I give this my highest recommendation – coming out in August, this is definitely one to be added to your Autumn TBR list!

Links:
Author's Website
Goodreads Page


Thanks to Strange Chemistry for the ARC!

The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan Review

Thanks to Stephen for lending me this book, because I LOVED it!
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication Date: April 1st, 2006
Pages: 389
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 4.5 stars

Blurb: Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.


In short: Just fantastic, incredibly entertaining.

My review:

I loved this, no matter how MG it is. The plot is really driven and light, with not a trace of introspection to be seen. It was just all-round entertaining! Sometimes, when a book isn't very entertaining I go and see if the premise deserves praise, and this one has both a great premise and an exciting plot - win-win!

I loved Percy/Annabeth (Pannabeth? Percabeth?) SO MUCH. She was just so sassy and superior, making for hilarious scenes between them. And she calls him Seaweed Brain. What more could you ask for? Yes, she was set up as a *very* obvious love interest, but so what? She was a great very obvious love interest!

The Greek mythology was handled really well! It was made very entertaining and relevant, and there were some great nudges hidden in there (like: 'Someday they'll think you're just myths, too'). Also, all the gods and their abilities were described so well, it's making me quite inarticulate. The whole thing was brilliantly atmospheric and dramatic.

The description of the cabins and Mount Olympus was beautiful and I really felt like I was right there! While I'd choose to go to Hogwarts over Camp Half-Blood any day, it was still absolutely epic. The characterisation was done really well too, even with the secondary characters. It's not that the writing was especially delicate or beautiful, but it was clear and just a pleasure to read.

I just loved how the quest went, and how the hero's arc developed. I especially loved his awesome powers in water. The foreshadowing was very heavy but just in a MG way, so I didn't mind - with a book as popular as this, you're going to know some of the basics anyway (such as Percy's identity - hmm, I wonder who his father is?) and I can't fault it.

It was interesting that Percy had ADHD and dyslexia and was being shuffled around schools. The explanation was that his brain was 'hardwired for Ancient Greek', which was a bit silly. Your brain isn't THAT hardwired for a language - if I was brought up speaking French from birth, I'd be fluent. It seems like a gimmicky ploy to make ADHD etc. kids feel better about themselves, because it might just be because you're half-god, and besides, look at these super-duper reflexes! Still, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I don't know what I can say other than that I really recommend this. I'm definitely getting the next four in the series, whether I have to beg, borrow or . . . buy. And here is a shoutout to Aylee at Recovering Potter Addict, who HAS to read this book soon and post a review on her blog!

Also, it's been made into a movie. And Logan Lerman is gorgeous, you can't say no to that.  

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I'm reading one I'm really excited about at the moment, Control by Kim Curran, so look forward to that!

And I have just realised that I've been doing Labels completely wrong, so my Cloud is all messed up. I'll be fixing that in the next few days.