Guest Post: YA Novels by Katheryn Rivas

What makes the best YA novels?

With the wild popularity of books like The Hunger Games, Twilight, and His Dark Materials, I think it’s safe to say that young adult novels aren’t going anywhere any time soon. But their massive appeal begs the question: is there some way to quantify what makes a great young adult novel? I don’t think you can reduce a work of fiction to a science, but I also think there are some clear reasons why certain young adult novels become such huge successes and others never find a big enough market. Here are some of the themes and qualities that I speculate may make for a successful young adult novel.

Series or stand-alone book?

First things first, I’m curious about whether or not readers prefer to read a series of books centered around the same universe and characters, or if they’d rather read one long work about those same people and places. I think the clear answer is that a well written young adult series will always have more appeal than a stand-alone work simply because it continues the story.

Just take a look at the untouchably popular and influential Harry Potter series: J.K. Rowling knew that the depth of the story that she wanted to tell couldn’t be contained in one book, nor could it even been bound by the standard trilogy. She successfully spanned Harry’s story over seven books pacing, the events perfectly with every new year at Hogwarts. The lesson from her books and from countless other young adult series is clear: if you can tell a good story, don’t limit yourself to one sprawling book. Give yourself the room to let characters grow over several installments.

Supernatural beings and powers

There’s no secret that supernatural creatures and characters with otherworldly powers appeal to young readers. Many readers want to feel a sense of awe and wonderment when they delve into a story, so it makes sense that successful young adult novels feature main characters that run with vampires, trolls, ghosts, werewolves, zombies, fairies, and any other supernatural being you can think of. These creatures can be sources of great wisdom or objects of chilling fear and everything in between. Most important, fantasy creatures give young readers the chance to stretch their imaginations to their out limits, which is an exercise that every reader should do.

A smart combination of reality and fantasy

The best young adult novels blend elements of our ordinary world with fantasy in an attempt to make young readers imagine a world not so different from our own. Again, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series does this brilliantly by suggesting that an entire world of magic lies just outside the reach of the normal person (or muggle, if you will). It seems like these hybrid fantasy/reality novels do a great job of making young readers think about certain aspects of our society that they might not have considered otherwise. For example, certain elements of Harry Potter deal with discrimination (think of the magical purebloods vs. muggle-born magic users subplot), while parts of His Dark Materials clearly deals with questioning established authority figures as a child. It speaks to the emotional depth that young adult novels can achieve.

What qualities do you think make the best young adult novel?

By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Katheryn Rivas, who writes on the topics of online university.  She welcomes your comments at her email Id: katherynrivas87@gmail.com.

Guest Post: Justin Ordonez

Today I have a Guest Post from an exciting new author!

Author Bio: Justin Ordoñez was born in Spain, raised in the mid-west, and currently lives in Seattle. He's nearly thirty years old, almost graduated
from the University of Washington, and prefers to wait until TV shows come out on DVD so he can watch them in one-shot while playing
iPad games. For fifteen years, he has written as a freelance writer, occasionally doing pieces as interesting as an editorial, but frequently
 helping to craft professional documents or assisting in the writing of recommendation letters for people who have great praise for
friends or colleagues and struggle to phrase it. Sykosa is his debut novel.

The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award and the Devolution of the Species.

I’m a confident individual—not cocky or anything, just I’m fine with the unknown, and I don’t (in what is one of the biggest advantages to adult life) fall victim to swings in esteem dictated by writing, girlfriends or sports. I have a belief things work out in the end, so I don’t bother pretending I know the whole plan. I suppose I was used to this quiet serenity, as comfortable with it as I am the jeans I wear too often between washings, that I took it for granted, and didn’t realize how fragile confidence (and sanity) can be. One day I’m the Zen master of my little slice of reality, and the next I’m livid, and like Jack Nicholson when he turns into a really really big jerk in The Shining. Also, I’m in a crosswalk, cars stopped for me on both sides, and surrounded by people who do not know I’m about to surrender to an adult temper-tantrum the likes of which have not been seen since medieval times, when you could get serious about your crankiness.

The industry refers to it as the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.

I call it the Destroyer of All Things Good and Pure and Beautiful.

Let me expand on this.

People have read my writing, I don’t mind sharing it, and I enjoy getting feedback. That said, I’ve never seriously pursued traditional publishing. For one, all the authors I know in the industry rarely speak highly of it, and two, you can’t make enough money to justify what they’re gonna do to your book. Basically, I’m still Busch League at this whole publishing game, even the self-publishing one, and in sharing my work on such a broad scale, which is why, when I decided to self-publish Sykosa, I put myself through a vigorous mental and spiritual routine meant to strengthen me for the task.

I thought I was strong as steel.

Little did I know, the Destroyer of All Things Good and Pure and Beautiful had me in its sights.

Part of the University District in Seattle, a tiny café called Café Allegro has its entrance down a murky, garbage filled alley. It’s the kind of place you almost never find in real life, but characters on TV are always taking hot dates to. “Just ignore the plague diseased rats and that dead hobo, if we go a bit further, I swear, there’s a nice restaurant where I’ve made reservations for us.” I was meeting up with a friend, he was explaining the contest, how to enter, and said, “Submissions end this weekend, you should do this.” In the past, I had investigated the contest, but I never had a document ready for it. This year was different. And I was mentally and spiritually prepared…remember? At home, I typed up the entry forms, a quick synopsis of the book, submitted it, and then—believe it or not—forgot about it. And when I say, “forgot,” I don’t mean in the, “I’m actively trying not to think of it,” sense. I mean in the, “I’ve lost my car keys, but I’ve also forgotten I own a car, so I never look for my keys and wonder when that jerk is going to move his car from the front of the house,” sense.

Weeks pass before, as I’m innocently crossing the street, heading from one meeting to another, I decide to use my smart phone to check my email. There it is. “Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award – Second Round Selections Announced‏.” I think, Oh yeah, it’s that thing I entered. Being a smart phone, I need to use my fingers to resize the website so I can locate what I need, and during this, I review the contest in my head. It’s the first five thousand entries cut down to one thousand. The top twenty percent make it. Then, it finally happens. The most dangerous thought a person can have. What a joke! Of course, I’m in the top 1,000. I reach the PDF file of those moving onto round 2. My last name being Ordoñez, it’s once again a bit of finger scrolling, and it allows time for more thoughts. What if I didn’t make it? No way, that’s not possible.

I reach the Os.

I’m not there.

In an instant, every snide look, every cold shoulder, every time anyone ever hurt me, assembles itself into—what I’m conservatively describing as—an atomic fireball of anger, hate, fury and rage. Can you believe these idiots? What moron said no to Sykosa? This is why humanity is going to go extinct, because people are so stupid they can’t see a good book when its staring them in the face! I’m so upset I don’t realize I’ve stopped in the middle of a crosswalk, people having to jar to circumvent me, car drivers impatiently staring like, This is why humanity is going to go extinct, because people are so stupid they can’t even cross the street! I stare and stare and stare at the PDF and I can’t believe it.

Sykosa—my novel—didn’t make the top 1,000 entries.

Then, I notice none of the names beginning with O are last names. It’s the same thing with the Ns and the Ms. Carefully, methodically… Who am I kidding? Like a crazed child forced to wait an hour to go Trick or Treating because their sibling is suffering a costume malfunction, I attack my smart phone as the Americans did Normandy, slamming at the screen again and again until I reached the Js.

“Justin Ordoñez – Sykosa.”

All I can say is that, upon seeing my name, I lost that which sets humans apart from our ape cousins. I jump, slamming my fist into my chest, thinking (but thankfully not shouting), Oh yeah! All the time, I knew it! Never any doubt, baby! As people stare at me in real concern, drivers wondering if this is the side-effect of a stroke, I spin several times, then throw my backpack to the ground—overwhelmed, overcome, over everything! I finally collect myself enough to leave the street, but my limbs are  shaking and I cannot stand still. I know enough to know, in five or six seconds, my facilities will return; for now, I might as well be a 6’4”, 230lbs infant. A coherent thought materializes. They alphabetized the list by first names instead of last. Wow, that was close. That was… Dear reader—in a calm, collected, cool manner, not at all with a psychotic eye twitch, frayed hair standing on end, and the menace of a man who compulsively lights and re-lights a cigarette lighter—I nearly fainted, experiencing near total psychosis and perhaps doing nothing else besides drooling a river onto myself.

They alphabetized the list by first names…

They alphabetized the list by…

They alphabetized…

They alphabi….

They alpha…

They….

OMG, WHO DOES THAT!?!?!?!?!?!? WHY IS THE UNIVERSE THIS WAY? IS THIS SOME KIND OF SICK GAME?!?!? ARE THEY WATCHING ME FROM THEIR SATELLITE FEEDS? LAUGHING? LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY AND HIGH FIVING EACH OTHER? I DON’T UNDERSTAND! I DON’T UNDERSTAND! HOW COME MY MOM ALWAYS GAVE THE AFTERNOON SNACK TO MY SISTER BEFORE ME? SURE, WE GOT THE SAME SNACK, BUT IT HAS TO MEAN SOMETHING! IT HAS TO! AND WHY DIDN’T LYDIA SAY YES TO THAT DATE I ASKED HER ON IN SEVENTH GRADE? DOESN’T SHE KNOW WHAT SHE MISSED OUT ON? CAN’T SHE SEE HOW GREAT I AM? WHY DOESN’T ANYONE LOVE ME? WHY IS THE WORLD SO EMPTY? ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY. ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY. ALL WORK AND…

And…

And…

And that’s why I refer to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award as the Destroyer of All Things Good and Pure and Beautiful. In what took a micro-second, I experienced what Robin William’s put so classically in Good Will Hunting, “You ripped my fucking life apart.” I’ve never been hurt like the Amazon corporation hurt me on that day. I’ve never been cut so deep, nor taken by such surprise—I know I love writing. Fifteen years of doing it every day, for free, and with nothing other than my passion, has taught me I love it, but I didn’t know I love it this much. I didn’t know I was so vulnerable. I didn’t know I could be so human. And now I’m a shattered version of my previously so sure self—pretending I’m not counting down the days until March 20^th when the next cut is released, to see if I’m there, to see if Sykosa can leap another hurdle.

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, I love you. I love you, and that’s why I hate you so much. And there’s nothing you can do to make it better.

Nothing.

(Well, winning would go a long ways to making things right…)

Justin Ordoñez is author of “Sykosa.” It’s a YA novel about a sixteen year old girl who’s trying to reclaim her identity after an act of violence shatters her life and the life of her friends. Intense as that sounds, it’s actually a fun read, and it’s hilarious at many points. It comes out in April 2^nd, 2012, and you can read an excerpt here: www.sykosa.com/excerpt.html. Also, to be notified when Justin releases more blog posts in the future, please “like” Sykosa’s facebook page at www.facebook.com/sykosanovel.

Thanks for visiting Justin! 

Check out the book. Follow the links above.

Book Promotion: The Exile

Title: Fallen Star Story: The Exile

Author: Jack Truong

Genres: action, adventure, space opera, romance, young adult

Release Date: 03-07-2012

ISBN: 978-1-4675-2174-1 

Availableon Amazon

Description: Life has been peaceful for Kai, a seventeen-year-old living on a deserted island, until one day, catastrophe strikes his home. Separated from his beautiful masters, Kai becomes a mercenary and travels through the galaxy to find his beloved. Fighting through many hopeless battles, he must do everything to survive and reunite with them. Along the way, he meets new friends, faces dangerous enemies, and discovers a whole new world. This is an epic, futuristic fantasy story about a young boy who goes against unimaginable odds to discover his true feelings and identity.

Guest Post: Jacqueline Gardner

Author Bio

Jacqueline Gardner works as a Story Editor for the production company, Labragirl Pictures.  Her love of storytelling began at an early age when she would make up stories with her grandmother before bedtime.  In early 2010, she completed her first novel and has been stuck on writing ever since.  She resides in Colorado and loves hiking, writing, fantasy fiction, and all things cupcake.

Jacqueline is the author of new book 'Thoughtless' 

When Bridget finds a dead cheerleader in the janitor’s closet, she becomes the killer’s next target. High school just got worse. It’s bad enough that she can hear the shocking truths that pass through her classmate’s heads. Now she has to worry about staying alive, and all clues point to the one person whose thoughts she can’t read - her boyfriend Terrence. Someone is taunting her, threatening to expose her secret. And when Bridget tries to single out her blackmailer, she’s nearly beaten to death by a mind controlled minion with fiery eyes.

But when Bridget finally comes face-to-face with the killer, suddenly a horde of brainwashed students programmed to destroy her life doesn’t seem so bad. 

Guest Post

In high school I spent way too much time wondering what other people thought of me.  I remember sitting in class, watching nervously when someone eyed my new pair of jeans.  I would spend the next week obsessing over whether or not to return them.  But after I moved out and went to college, I quickly saw that almost everyone felt like me.  In fact, if I could go back in time I’d probably see that no one gave a crap about my new pair of jeans, because they were too busy wondering about their own pair of jeans.

Lots of my book ideas start with a simple question or a random thought that floats into my head and never leaves.  One day a thought came to me.  What if I’d had the opposite problem in high school?  What if I’d never obsessed over my own problems because I was too busy dealing with other people’s issues?  And that’s when I started brainstorming a plot for THOUGHTLESS.

Bridget is a sixteen-year-old mind-reader who spends her days hearing the worries of her classmates.  While writing Bridget’s story, I drew a lot from my own high school experience.  But don’t worry!  I never found a dead cheerleader in the janitor’s closet or received creepy notes from a blackmailer.

Personally, I like books that are raw.  When an author draws from personal experience I connect more with the book.  Incorporating so much honesty and then shipping it out for the world to see isn’t easy, but it’s a challenge I’ve given myself.

Thanks Jacqueline, your book sounds fabulous. Check it out people!

Book Review - Halflings

Title: Halflings
Author: Heather Burch
Series: Halflings (book 1)
Publisher: Zondervan
Release Date: 1 Feb 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0310728184

 Synopsis
After being inexplicably targeted by an evil intent on harming her at any cost, seventeen-year-old Nikki finds herself under the watchful guardianship of three mysterious young men who call themselves halflings. Sworn to defend her, misfits Mace, Raven, and Vine battle to keep Nikki safe while hiding their deepest secret—and the wings that come with.

A growing attraction between Nikki and two of her protectors presents a whole other danger. While she risks a broken heart, Mace and Raven could lose everything, including their souls. As the mysteries behind the boys’ powers, as well as her role in a scientist’s dark plan, unfold, Nikki is faced with choices that will affect the future of an entire race of heavenly beings, as well as the precarious equilibrium of the earthly world.

My Review
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
When I first read the synopsis of this book, I thought: 'yeah that sounds like a really good book, I'll definitely accept that to review."
I got the book in the post and saw the cover for the first time and I have to say it does fit the story quite well, I always take the cover sleeves off to read as I don't want them to get damaged and the book is a gorgeous red and black underneath.
The book starts with Nikki being attacked by a group of Hell Hounds so you are thrust straight into the action, the book sucks you straight in and I'll tell you know, it doesn't let go.
After the attack Nikki is left with a lot of questions, she also notices three guys following her around, and she thinks she recognizes one of them as her savior from the hounds, but how can that be and who are they? She has a lot to figure out.
The book is told from Nikki's, Mace's and Raven's point of view, and I enjoyed their individual voices. Nikki is not your typical teen, she's a bit shy and has one best friend, yet she is a Black Belt in Karate and a fantastic artist, but she doesn't interact well and is full of self doubt (aren't we all) She does show an inner strength and determination not to give up which I admire. Mace is what I would call a Sweetheart, charming and loveable but fiercely protective. Not afraid to show his sensitive side and put Nikki first. Raven is the typical bad boy, but I feel there is more of him to come and more sides that we have yet to see.
The plot progresses at a good pace and keeps you hooked in. It's a mixture of action, mystery, adventure, love, myth and laughs. I couldn't put this book down once I had started it. I ended up walking round the room trying to make my lunch one handed without looking because I didn't want to put the book down (I had to cave in in the end, it is impossible to open a jar with one hand, lunch had to be made, but I did it as fast as possible.)
The book is a good length at about 286 pages, it gives you the right amount to make you feel like you've been on an adventure but isn't too long. In fact I think I read this in about 2 and a half hours total. It is set for a second book and I cannot wait to read it, I really want the next part and am sad it's not out for a while yet.
If you like Fantasy/Paranormal Romance/ or anything to do with Angels (fans of Fallen, Hush Hush etc will really love this book)

My Rating

    

FF (60) & TGIF (43)

Follow Friday is an opportunity to discover and follow other book related blogs! Want to join? Check it out at Parajunkee.

This week's question feature is from Hesperia Loves Books!

Q: Have you ever looked at book’s cover and thought, This is going to horrible? But, was instead pleasantly surprised? Show us the cover and tell us about the book.

My Answer: 'I Am Number Four' by Pittacus Lore. I absolutely love this book, the story is fab etc, but the cover just doesn't grab me, it's quite plain and well boring really. 

 

 

TGIF!

This meme is hosted by GReads!

This Friday's Question: 

 

Promote An Author: Is there a particular author you wish got more recognition? 

Pick one author & tell us why we should read their work.

 

My Answer: Y S Lee

Y.S Lee is the author of 'The Agency' series, a Victorian Detective series. 

 

I love this series, it's so good and well written, the descriptions and imagery are fantastic, it really captures the world/era. Not many people seem to know about them, certainly not round my area. They deserve to be read more, they should be read more. 

Why not give them a go? :D

Also visit Y.S Lee's website here 

 

Happy Hopping, have a great weekend everyone!!!

 

Fantasy World Building

I was sent the link to a short teaser video that I found interesting, and think all you lovers of Fantasy would enjoy too. This video is on world-building and features New York Times bestselling fantasy authors Barbara Hambly, Alan Dean Foster, and Patricia Wrede.

Each author uses world-building to transform invented alien worlds in their novels into worlds that are imaginable to readers. Alan Dean Foster describes his creative approach; “When I write a book I go there . . . my writing is very visual, and that’s because in my mind’s eye, I actually go to the place. I close my eyes and simply describe what I’m seeing.” The approach is different for all writers- check out how these three describe what it means to them.

For additional content (and to see Hambly’s, Foster’s, and Wrede’s worldbuilding for yourself) check out Open Road Media’s Spotlight on Science Fiction and Fantasy collection of excerpts in Scribd, or visit our full collection of fantasy and science fiction titles on Amazon: Science Fiction and Fantasy Favorites

To learn more about each author from the video, check out their profiles and title information here: 

• Alan Dean Foster
• Barbara Hambly
• Patricia C. Wrede 

Do  you write fantasy? How do you create your worlds? I know when I write I see the whole universe/world/place in my mind and walk through the streets/forests/parks etc with my characters. Just like Alan said above, I go there. 

I will admit I haven't read anything by any of the authors featured, but I'm definitely going to look through the amazon link at what they've done and maybe add some to my To Be Read pile. :D

Children's Book Day!

Today was Children's Book Day. This is a special event that happens every year for Bedfordshire Libraries.
We are given a list of books to read and then on the day we all come together, Library Assistants and Librarians and discuss the books, then vote for our favourite.

This year we were given 7 Children's Fiction books and 8 Picture books. Here's the list of what they were: (click on the title to go to my review)

Children's Fiction:
- The Memory Cage by Ruth Eastham
- Tall Story by Candy Gourlay
- For The Record by Ellie Irving
- A Year Without Autumn by Liz Kessler
- Zac & The Dream Pirates by Ross MacKenzie
- The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon
- Monkey Business by Anna Wilson

The Picture Books:
- Mine! by Rachel Bright
- Millicent & Meer by Richard Byrne
- When Titus Took The Train by Anne Cottringer
- First Week At Cow School by Andy Cutbill
- Norman the Slug With The Silly Shell by Sue Hendra
- When I Woke Up I Was A Hippopotamus by Tom MacRae
- Don't Worry Douglas! by David Melling
- Bedtime For Monsters by Ed Vere

Quite an odd selection compared to other years but I was looking forward to some good discussions.

The day was hosted in one of the libraries as it has quite a bit meeting room. We got there for a 9.30 start and all found a seat. After a quick intro from one of the Children's librarians we had 'Steve May' in for a talk.
Steve May is an illustrator of many books including the 'Buster Bayliss' series. He talked to us about his work and a bit of his background, then introduced some ideas for the Summer Reading Challenge - which he is designing for this year. It was interesting and good to see lots of different designs.

We then had a quick break then broke up into small groups to discuss the children's fiction books. There were about 8 of us in each group. We did a quick summary of each book then discussed what we thought about each one. I tried to push my favourite and really sell it. The discussion was good, we didn't all agree about everything but we did on some things. And I started to look at some of the books differently after the discussions.

We then had another talk, this time the wonderful Liz Pichon came in. (Yes her book is on our list, but we had already voted by that point and we weren't to let it sway our vote)

 Here's a picture of Liz when she was younger.

Liz Pichon of course wrote the 'Brilliant World of Tom Gates'. She started off by telling us how she got into Illustrating, and her love of design and drawing from a very early age.
Liz has illustrated some great picture books such as 'The Ugly Bug', "Bored Bill' and 'Spinderella'.

We had a fun game of 'Drawing consequences' - we had to design a monster but one body area at a time, starting with the head then the body then the legs & feet. Our monster had an egg shaped head with horns and hairy ears, with a triangular eye and warts, then 7 arms and a hairy chest covered with tattoos then a tutu with clown pants and platform shoes with fish in them. It looked fab when put all together, if not very odd.

She was very nice and funny and engaging and I really enjoyed her talk. I did enjoy her book anyway and it was one of my favourites and I am going to read the next parts in the series. :D

I was disappointed at the end though, as apparently an email had been sent round the libraries saying that we could bring one of Liz's books with us and she would sign it, but I never got the email and so didn't know which meant I missed out on a signed book (anyone who knows me, knows I love to collect signed books.) But never mind, at least I met her.

We then broke for lunch before coming back to our groups for the picture book discussion. We all agreed on one firm favourite, but the rest we all debated on, none of us could agree on what we liked/disliked. So it was great!
We put our individual votes in again and then went back to our seats ready for our afternoon talk. This time it was David Melling who has illustrated over 60 picture books! (yes his book was on the list too)

Picture taken from 'David Mellings' website which can be found here.

David was great, full of life and funny. He again told us about his childhood and how he got into illustrating. His slideshows/presentations were packed full with cool pictures and funny situations.

We did some drawing ourselves with David, he did a step by step talk through of how to do a Goblin. Everyone's came out slightly different but they all looked great. We all had to add extras to our goblins to make them personalised. I gave mine a crown and diamonds so he was a King Goblin, but a cute one. :D


David Melling then told us about his newest book called 'Hugless Douglas and the Big Sleep' which continues in the series of 'Don't Worry Douglas which we had all read of course.
This new one isn't due out until April but he read it to us and then we had the chance to buy a copy.

I was first in the queue and David agreed to sign everyone's books, he told me that mine was the first copy of this book that he had signed, I felt so special and privileged. Here is a pic of his signing:

In case you can't see it properly it says:
'To Becky, Big Hugs, David Melling' then he drew a cute little sheep underneath. :D
He was so cool and I love my book. Douglas is adorable!

We then broke for another tea break, after tea we had our last guest speaker, his name was Tom and he was from a company called 'Nosy Crow' who specialise in 'interactive books' they also publish picture books and a bit of children's fiction.
He gave us a demonstration of some of the 'interactive books' they can be bought on iTunes and work on iPads. They are stories that are read out to you with all different voices, have music and sound effects and you can help the characters for example on the '3 little pigs' story, if you blow in the microphone you help the wolf blow the house down.

It was very cool and great to have a play with and the talk was interesting. I had heard of some of the picture books they had published and will be looking up some of the others. Tome struggled to get his iPad back at the end, we were all too fascinated by it!

We were then told the results of the book votes. With the Children's Fiction, there was only one point between first and second, second and third, third and fourth. So it was a really close call.

The Winner was: 'The Memory Cage' by Ruth Eastham.

The Picture book Winner was: 'Don't Worry Douglas! by David Melling, it was a clear winner.

We finished the day on a high and I really enjoyed it.
Although my choice didn't win it was a fab day and I enjoyed the discussions. It is great to just be able to sit for a whole day and talk about books, books, books. What more could anyone want.

If you have made it through all of that, well done. I salute you! Go eat a cookie as a reward.

Book Review - Blue Fire

Title: Blue Fire
Author: Janice Hardy
Series: The Healing Wars (book 2)
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books
Release Date: 31 Mar 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0007326822

Synopsis
Part fugitive, part hero, fifteen-year-old Nya is barely staying ahead of the Duke of Baseer’s trackers. Wanted for a crime she didn’t mean to commit, she risks capture to protect every Taker she can find, determined to prevent the Duke from using them in his fiendish experiments. But resolve isn’t enough to protect any of them, and Nya soon realizes that the only way to keep them all out of the Duke’s clutches is to flee Geveg. Unfortunately, the Duke’s best tracker has other ideas.
Nya finds herself trapped in the last place she ever wanted to be, forced to trust the last people she ever thought she could. More is at stake than just the people of Geveg, and the closer she gets to uncovering the Duke’s plan, the more she discovers how critical she is to his victory. To save Geveg, she just might have to save Baseer—if she doesn’t destroy it first.
 
My Review
I really enjoyed book 1 'The Pain Merchants' and couldn't wait to read book 2. I sat down this morning to start this one and had finished it in about 3 hours.
Nya is still being hunted after the events of book 1, but she isn't taking it lying down, running an undercover operation to rescue apprentices from the Duke and his evil experiments with magic, she is working from the shadows. 
Danello has a bigger part in this book and I was glad for it, he is a solid presence in Nya's life, strong, confident, and funny in places. He is the perfect balance to her fiery temper. 
Aylin also features more and she is a breath of fresh air. I love her calming presence and sense of organisation. Tali once again is in trouble and Nya is determined to look after her, I keep hoping for Tali to break out of her shell and take responsibility for herself, stand up for herself. It hasn't happened yet, but I hope it will in the third book.
There are a lot of new characters in this book and they offer a good range, I love the little street boy with his cheeky, sarcastic humour. Vyand one of the 'bad guys' is a great villain, she is one of those who appears weak but will pop up when you least expect it and take the enemy down.
The plot moves fast and had me hooked. I couldn't put the book down. It has a good mix of adventure, mystery and magic. There wasn't a minute that I was bored, my attention was hooked all the way through and it had a lot of twists and turns that I hadn't expected. 
I am really looking forward to book 3 which comes out in April, I want to see if Nya and Danello succeed. 
A great, quick read that will have you hooked.

My Rating

   

Book Review - Nightingale & Guest Post: David Farland

I'll start off with the guest post and then put my review below. So here you go, let me introduce 'David Farland' author of 'Nightingale'

"

Reading in the Future

Imagine that you put on your “reading glasses.”  The glasses are dark, fitted with lasers and high-quality stereo earbuds, so that as you put them on, your entire field of vision is captured.  A laser inside the glasses flashes a novel title on the interior surface of your eye. 

Of course, the book you see is my book (why not, it's my fantasy). The letters start small, off in the distance and they quickly draw closer to you, but they don't stop, they wash right over you and just when it seems they're all around you, they explode in a burst of light, “Nightingale, by David Farland.”  You can hardly imagine what life was like before 3D. As soon as you read the last word, a laser with a computer link that tracks your eye movement cues the background music, and images begin to flash in your eye—a holographic video-clip of the character of Bron, as an infant, being abandoned outside the door of a cheap hotel in the Utah desert.  The camera pans up to the face of his mother, Sommer, bitter and broken, with tears in her eyes.  We flash to the prologue, where Sommer runs through a forest at night, her breathing deep, while dogs snarl and bark as they give pursuit.  Fireflies rise up around her.

Words to the novel appear on screen, as background music continues, and you begin to read.  As Sommer twists her foot and falls, the lasers pace your reading and insert a sound-effect—the thud of a body falling, the hiss of breath knocked from Sommer’s throat.  The dogs bay more excitedly.  A man’s heavy footsteps can be heard tromping through the brush behind the reader, and a startled mewling cry escapes Sommer’s throat. . . .

Welcome to the future of reading, where text, images, sounds and music forge a collage.  That’s the vision I have that led me to become a co-founder of East India Press.

The technology to do this already exists. The use of heads-up displays in fighter jets was pioneered in the 1960s, and that technology has now gone public.  Though readers now are using the iPad2 and the Kindle Fire, I’m looking forward to the devices we’ll have five years from now, or ten years.

How can reading technology be better than with current books?

We don’t want to replace reading. We don’t want to make movies.  Reading often engages the audience’s imagination in ways that movies fail to.  We want to keep it that way.  We want the reader to be a partner with us in bringing a tale to life.  At the same time, we hope to ‘enhance,’ the story, help readers become more fully involved with it, yet keep budgets reasonable.  With film clips, animations, illustrations, background music, and sound effects, we can create something that fuses a lot of storytelling tools.

Creating e-books has become cheap and easy.  This year, it is estimated that three million people will be putting their own e-books up for sale.   That’s a staggering number.  If you spend twelve hours a day just examining those titles, and spend only ten seconds studying each e-book put up this year, you wouldn’t be able to glance at even 1/100^th of all the books that will be published—much less read one!

Readers are being deluged, often with books that aren’t any good.  Most of those books, unfortunately, wouldn’t have made it past an editor.  The author just wasn’t ready.  Sure, there will be a few diamonds among all of that coal, but no editor will have time to sort through it.

I've had my share of sorting through manuscripts.  For nearly a decade I was the first judge for one of the world’s largest writing contests.  A funny story, once an editor of a major publisher asked me to help pick a book to give the “big publicity push to” for the next year.  I read through thirty books and selected a book that the marketers thought was “too-long” for its intended audience.  I pointed out that the book was also written several grade levels too high for its intended audience. But it was a great book, so I urged them to push it despite the book’s apparent problems.  It was called Harry Potter.

Even though authors can publish their own works, we’re going to need editors in the future who understand how to green-light a novel, who can recognize what will please an audience.  But once a work is selected, the editor will take the role of a producer—assembling a creative team of composers, musicians, illustrators, animators, directors, sound-effects engineers, and so on.”

Distributing enhanced books won’t be expensive.  After all, it will be done electronically.  There are no copies to print, ship, or store.  But creating them will be expensive and time-consuming.  

Still, it will be a lot less expensive than making a movie.  To create a really great movie with a lot of special effects can cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and it will only give the viewer an hour or two of entertainment.  But by meshing technologies, we can create a similar experience with novels, spending perhaps only a hundred thousand or two—and it will give a reading experience that might last for twenty or thirty hours or more!  Novels have a unique ability to let us achieve deep penetration into the minds and emotions of a character, much more so than with a film.  I’m excited about the possibilities.

In fact, I am so excited about the possibilities that I went indie with this next novel. I didn't have to by any means. I'm an award-winning New York Times bestseller. Instead, I decided to start my own publishing company for enhanced novels.  I see potential. Nightingale is the first young adult novel I’ve written, outside of a little work with Star Wars and the Mummy.  I knew it could be a hit, but I wanted to do something . . . unique with it. I've trained dozens of other #1 international bestsellers, people like Brandon Sanderson and Stephenie Meyer, and I've learned to spot “good,” whether it's someone else's work or my own. Nightingale has it.

Now that it’s done, this is a first step toward creating a more-engaging form of novel, the kind that kids who are reluctant readers might devour.  I’m looking forward to see what we can do in ten or twenty years. But Nightingale is a step toward that future.

Nightingale is the story of a young man, abandoned at birth, rejected from foster home after foster home.  People see that he’s brilliant and talented, but also “strange.”  He’s the ultimate loner until he meets Olivia, a marvelously gifted teacher, who recognizes that Bron is something special, something that her people call a “Nightingale,” a creature not quite human.

I was excited to see how it would be received. I was even more excited when the first reviewer said, “I devoured the novel.  It was absolutely incredible! . . . I struggled to explain just how much I enjoyed it in my review. . . . After reading Nightingale, I don't think I will even be able to go back to reading regular e-books again.  Like it says in my review, reading the enhanced Nightingale felt like an ‘experience.’ It didn't feel quite like a book or a movie. It initiated all of my senses.  . . . enhanced ebooks are actually a real deal.” That's what we were hoping people would see in it. The future of books is beginning now.

Best of all, East India Press has created a new web simulation technology that mimics how the book appears on the iPad, so you can see and hear it for yourself for free at www.nightingalenovel.com."

About David Farland

taken from his website  

David Farland is the international bestselling author of nearly fifty books, including such award-winning novels as the science fiction masterpiece On My Way to Paradise (Philip K. Dick Memorial Special Award Winner, Best Novel in English Language) and the historical novel In the Company of Angels (Whitney Award Winner: Best Novel of the Year). He is best known though for his fantasy work, which includes the New York Times bestselling series The Runelords, and his lovable and wacky middle-grade fantasy series Ravenspell.

With Nightingale, Dave makes his first foray into creating his own young adult series. (Dave has written young adult novels for both the Star Wars and Mummy franchises as Dave Wolverton, but this is the first young adult universe that he's created for himself.)
In addition to writing novels, Dave has also worked in videogames on such international bestselling games as Starcraft: Brood Wars, and Xena: The Talisman of Fate.
More recently, Dave has worked in the film industry as a movie producer and a screenwriter. His screenplay for The Runelords in now in development for a major motion picture.
Throughout his career, Dave has worked extensively helping new writers through his work as coordinating judge of the Writers of the Future, as a creative writing instructor at Brigham Young University, and by teaching writing seminars. Many of his students have gone on to become some of the most successful writers of our time, including such #1 international bestsellers as Brandon Sanderson, Brandon Mull, and Stephenie Meyer.
In 1999, Dave set the Guinness Record for the World's Largest Book Signing.

Book Review

Title: Nightingale
Author: David Farland
Publisher: East India Press
Release Date: December 2011

ASIN: B006292FMO

 

Synopsis

Bron Jones was abandoned as a newborn. Thrown into foster care, he is rejected by one family after another, until he meets Olivia, a gifted and devoted high-school teacher who recognizes him for what he really is -- what her people call a "nightingale."
But Bron isn't ready to learn the truth. There are secrets that have been hidden from mankind for hundreds of thousands of years, secrets that should remain hidden. Some things are too dangerous to know.
Bron's secrets may be the most dangerous of all. 

 My Review

I was contacted by the publishing company and asked if I would like to review this book. It was sold to me as "an enhanced novel with more than a hundred full-color illustrations and animations; author’s notes and interviews; and its own 45-minute soundtrack. It is being hailed as the "first rock opera of novels," because it combines many types of art and technology, performing together."  I thought, that sounds really cool, I can't say no to that, my mind is just too curious. So I accepted the review. I was given a special code to access this 'enhanced' novel online. 

When I first loaded it I was surprised, I got a full colour cover with some eerie music playing on it and I was quite excited. You then get a page of illustrations and then a page with songs on,  you can click on a title and it will play, cool right?

Anyway I started to read, the prologue starts with a page of illustrations and some moving images, music, sound effects and a short introduction it looks incredible! Then you turn the page and it becomes an ordinary e-book.

Let's leave the awesome effects alone for a minute, the story itself was very gripping to start with, you get introduced to Bron and some of his past and start to feel a connection to him. You know he isn't all he seems but you can't figure out why. I like Olivia - Bron's foster mother, she seems quite cool and introduces a whole new world to him.

I got a little bit annoyed as I went through the book with girls throwing themselves at Bron, practically every girl that sees him drools. Despite popular belief that is not all that girls think about.

The story does progress at a good pace and there is a mix of adventure, mystery and a bit of what you could call magic, the character development is good and I really felt like Bron was changing as he learned more.

There is good graphics and music at the start of each chapter for quite a few, but towards the last third of the book, it's all stopped, just a simple title heading and a quote on a white page, it felt a bit like they had run out of steam. After being so impressive it went completely plain. It's not a big issue and ultimately didn't hurt my reading experience, it just seemed a little odd.

Throughout the book words or phrases would be highlighted, clicking on these would bring a small box up containing the authors thought or experience whilst he was writing the book. These were quite interesting to read but I also felt that it really slowed down the pace of the book, as I would be in the flow of reading and then get distracted and stop to read these anecdotes. As the novel went on I found myself just ignoring them.

I didn't get anymore music, pictures or sound effects the further I went into the novel and I'm not sure if that was how it was supposed to be or if my computer didn't load it properly, I don't know, but to be honest I didn't miss it that much. In fact I was secretly pleased as it meant I could move on through the book faster. At 424 pages this book is quite long and as I take a very long time to read e-books anyway this one did take me longer than usual. In fact I had it for a couple of months as I kept looking at other things or not making time for this. (Sorry to the publishers and David for the delay)

Overall the actual story itself was very good although I felt it got a little silly towards the end, there seems to be a little bit of a trend at the moment to introduce Lucifer or Satan as the villain in the book, I don't know why, it seems a little bit silly to me and also like they couldn't come up with their own villain and so have fallen back on this one, and I didn't quite believe it, but up to about 380 pages I did rather enjoy it.

If I was buying it I will admit that I would go for the ordinary version instead of the enhanced, for me it didn't wow me, others may think it incredible, but I just want to read the book, that's all, my imagination is strong enough to create the world and feel for myself.

I was glad I tried it though, it was very different. 

My Rating

 

I struggled a bit with this rating, parts of the book I 'really enjoyed' and I leant towards that as the rating, but overall I thought it was good but it didn't wow me and it took me a long time to read. I would recommend it if you like fantasy style books and obviously not everyone struggles with e-books like I do, so give it a go. 

It's just I expected to be wowed and I wasn't, sorry.