Close Encounters with Authors and Heroes; a Celebratory Evening in Review

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“They say everybody has a book in them. I don’t know about that; I couldn’t write a novel. But everyone has a memoir in them. Everyone has a story.” That’s what I overheard author Anthony Martignetti say as he signed a copy of his newly published memoir, Lunatic Heroes. Seated next to his longtime friend, Amanda Palmer and her husband Neil Gaiman, Mr. Martignetti greeted each person that eagerly waited in the line that snaked around the columns of the lobby of Cary Hall in Lexington, MA. The book signing was the final note to the book launch party that had been as much a celebration of life, love, and friendship as it had been about the book.

Martignetti  moved in next door to Amanda Palmer when she was 9, she informed us as she opened the evening with the foreword that she had written for the memoir. And yes, when I say Amanda Palmer, I do mean that Amanda Palmer, of the Dresden Dolls. She and Martignetti have had a friendship since then that, as she said, is difficult to describe, but is best put to words as something like this “Anthony moved in next door when I was nine and taught me everything I know about love and knows me better than anybody and we still talk almost every single day even if I’m in Japan.”

Machine Hearts and Magic Arts: Needing More LGBTQ YA Literature

www.malindalo.com

I recently read Ash, a novel by Malinda Lo in which the main protagonist is not only female but also a lesbian. Lo’s modern take on Cinderella pulls us into a world of fantasy and royalty. Instead of Ash falling in love with prince charming, she slowly develops feelings for Kaisa, the King’s Huntress. In this version of Cinderella, tales about faeries run rampant amongst the country, and these stories mix with those of the Huntress, who hunts wildlife with other hunters. They provide for their people, while magic hides in The Wood, the place Ash first meets Kaisa.

This novel dealing with coming of age, family trauma, and realizing one’s sexuality really touched a soft spot in my heart. We read the struggle of losing both parents and feeling lost without them, and we can relate to Ash’s pain. When I read what Lo said about her book, the feeling of nostalgia hit even harder.

On her blog, Lo describes how her story came to fruition. It began with her just working on a heterosexual take using Cinderella.

Traveling with Harry: An Interview

I love Harry Potter.

J.K. Rowling has been my hero ever since I was a little kid. Her stories made me truly love reading. I would devour those books, and waiting years for each one to come out was absolute torture. Where was Rowling going to take me next? What was going to happen to Harry? Were Ron and Hermione ever going to get together? And could Voldemort actually die this time?

Let’s just say that I was invested. That’s why it was extremely exciting when my friend and fellow Harry Potter fan, Jackie, told me about her Harry-Potter-related quest this semester. We are both studying abroad in the Netherlands, and the program's set-up allows for most students to jet off to various locations every weekend in the name of experience and good times.

Jackie's quest? To get a Harry Potter book from every country she visited.

* * * 

Italy and the Brownings

How do I love Florence? Let me count the ways….

           

A few weeks ago, I took a short tour of Italy, stopping in Venice, Florence, and Pisa all within five days. It is true that you can’t see everything in that short amount of time, but what I did see convinced me that what novelists, painters, and poets have often said is valid—Italy is a one-of-a-kind place. Its balmy weather and ancient atmosphere inspires all kinds of creativity. It is no wonder why famous poets Elizabeth and Robert Browning moved to Florence as soon as they were married. And it was fortunate for me that their old apartments are still maintained by a museum open to the public.

Elizabeth was born in England in 1806. She was a very well educated child, studying Latin and Greek. As a very young girl, she was also exposed to Shakespeare and Milton. These studies certainly nurtured her creativity and supported her future literary pursuits. In fact, by age twelve she had already written four books of couplets, showing poetic potential before she was even a teenager.

However easily writing and scholastics came to Elizabeth, she was also destined to struggle throughout her life with a mysterious disease.

Book Review: The Last Child of Asgard by Shane S. Almond

Nocturnal Press Ltd.

Shane S. Almond’s the Last Child of Asgard: Delta is a YA novel that puts a new twist on old myths. With its release date on October 26^th in the UK and on November 15^th in the US, the book is fresh off the shelves and ready to create success for this first time author. Almond was born in London, England in 1986, and worked on the first book in his series for the last ten years. He’s had interviews in various newspapers worldwide, first in the Epping Forest Guardian in London and most recently in the Lincoln Eagle in New York. He’s been very passionate about his debut novel and currently writes the sequel.

The Last Child of Asgard: Delta focuses around young Max Turner, who comes to realize that he isn’t just an ordinary boy. Max is the son of Apollo, the Greek god of the sun; and Fridr, the Norse goddess of serenity. With the Greek and Norse gods at war with each other, Max finds that he is caught in the middle, sharing the blood of both. Thus, he is sent to Moonrise Academy, a school for heroes and demigods, to learn of his power. It is there that he discovers a prophecy that foretells of a final battle on Mount Olympus and he discovers that only he has the power to stop it. It’s the perfect story for someone interested in the ancient myths.

“When I was little, my dad showed me videotapes of Greek Mythology classics such as Hercules, Clash of The Titans, and Jason and The Argonauts,” Almond states. “As I've grown, I've noticed that people just keep retelling these classics; nobody has ever written what happens next. That's why I started The Last Child of Asgard series. I want to tell new Greek Mythology stories, not just retell the classics.” And, The Last Child of Asgard: Delta is precisely that. Taking around ten years to complete, Almond can certainly say that this is one of his biggest accomplishments. “It’s been a long process. I started writing as part of my GCSE English coursework.” Almond says that over the ten years it took to write the novel; rain ruined it once or twice, his computer has reset itself causing the story to be erased, and there was a point when he was homeless and carried his manuscript with him to the library to work on. “It’s been a long process,” Almond says with a chuckle.

Some of the authors that Almond says are his inspiration are J.R.R Tolkien and JK Rowling. “I grew up reading The Hobbit. I loved that book so much that I just couldn't put it down until I finished it. I think in total, I've read that story about seven times,” Almond comments. It isn’t surprising that Rowling is listed as one of the top inspirations on Almond’s list. The Last Child of Asgard could easily be described as Harry Potter meets Percy Jackson. It’s definitely a rollercoaster ride from beginning to end, full of action and unforgettable characters. Readers are sure to be on the edge of their seat, eagerly awaiting the second book in the series. Almond has kept things pretty quiet about it, but he’s currently planning it out.

The Last Child of Asgard: Delta is a fast-paced novel, full of action and adventure. It will have you on the edge of your seat while you root for young Max and his friends as they take on Queen Artemis and the other gods of Olympus that plan to destroy Moonrise. It’s a vivid page-turner, fit for anyone who is interested in Greek and Norse mythology. You’ll learn more about the gods and goddesses from their original stories, as well as new tales of them in the present day. It’s certainly not a book to miss out on; one that will leave you eagerly awaiting the sequel.

The Last Child of Asgard: Delta is now available online and soon-to-be in retail stores across the US. Be sure to pick up a copy and continue the myths as you join Max in his adventures at Moonrise Academy. 

By Erin Sinnott

Book Review: In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

Google Books

Mama sighs, but playfulness has come back into her voice. “Just what we need, skirts in the law”

“It is just what the country needs”…It’s about time we women had a voice in running our country.

You and Trujillo, Papá says a little loudly, and in this clear peaceful night they all fall silent. Suddenly, the dark filled with spies who are paid to hear things and report them down at Security. Don Enrique claims Trujillo needs help running this country. Don Enrique’s daughter says it’s about time women took over the government. Words repeated, distorted, words recreated by those who might bear them a grudge, words stitched to words until they are the winding sheet the family will be buried in when their bodies are found dumped in a ditch, their tongues cut off for speaking too much.

(Alvarez 10)

In the Time of Butterflies is the story of Mirabal, Patria, Dede, and Minerva. This story takes place in the Dominican Republic and although the four sisters really did exist, it is a work of fiction. This novel follows the story of the sisters using flashbacks and the third person. However, what makes this story so compelling is the plot: four young women who are fighting for a political cause. What is also interesting about this book is the reader able to learn a lot about Trujillo’s dictatorship. The way in which the history plays out in the novel is very subtle; an example of this is in the book the Mirabal family discuss how everybody in the country has to have a picture of Trujillo on their living room wall if they do not it shows that they are not loyal to him. While I was reading I noticed the book was teaching me something new, but not in a boring way. It is also important to note that the audience does not have to research the history as it is explained in detail in the book.

Although the story has a lot of history there is a narrative that is easy to follow as well. A woman who was born in the Dominican Republic, but grew up in the United States, has gone back to find out more about the sisters since she wants to write a book about them. People in the United States don’t know about the sisters and the woman believes their heroic story is worth telling. There is only one remaining sister left alive and that is Dede. The story is told through the memory of Dede, but each chapter is titled for one of the sisters as well as a time period. Dede talks to the writer although at first she is somewhat reluctant since she has spoken to so many people about them before. Dede works at a museum dedicated to her sisters, and therefore assumes she knows what the writer is going to ask her. However, we learn from the book the questions were different than that of what she had been expecting. Because it is history we know from the beginning what is going to happen at the end, which is three of the Mirabal sisters are going to die, but what encouraged me to read the story is the book does not focus on their death but on their lives. The book starts with the sisters at young ages and develops until their fatal deaths. The story is also about their non-political lives, their lives as young women meaning their crushes, feuds, happy moments and sad moments. This is what makes the story so great. It is a book I recommend since it is a story of something that we unfortunately do not learn in our history books and depicts four young women fighting against all of the odds to make their country a better place to live in. Anybody who picks up this book even if they are not interested in history will enjoy it.

By Gilma Velasquez

Book Review: Endangered by Eliot Schrefer

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Endangered by Eliot Schrefer is a novel about a fourteen-year-old girl named Sophie who lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Early on, Sophie establishes the many ways in which she is different from other young Congolese women. She is half white, comes from a wealthy family, and is a United States citizen. Sophie’s mother also operates a sanctuary for bonobos, a type of chimpanzee that resides only in the Congo and has DNA 99% that is similar to humans.

When civil war erupts in Congo during the summer Sophie is there, she chooses not to flee with the other American evacuees. Instead, with her mother away and her father still in the U.S., Sophie frantically runs away in order to rescue Otto, the Bonobo she’s connected with. Sophie rescued Otto from a trafficker and became his adoptive mother; she explains throughout the novel how sensitive bonobos are, and how they can die of heartbreak if their mothers abandon them.

Sophie and Otto then embark on a quest to survive in the war-torn country. They spend weeks hidden away in the Bonobo enclosure in the sanctuary, where Sophie has to learn to survive in Bonobo society. When the rebels discover them, Sophie and Otto flee. Eventually, they manage to make their way to the river to track down Sophie’s mother, who is secluded on an island and out of contact.

Endangered tackles several very heavy subjects such as war and human nature in a way that is relatable. The voice of fourteen-year-old Sophie remains slightly innocent throughout the novel, but her maturity and intelligence allow the reader to vaguely get a handle on what’s going on. Sophie isn’t naïve because of her background, but she acknowledges she is not as accustomed to the life most Congolese lead. Her ability to be both inside and outside a situation is what moves the novel; in one scene, Sophie dives headfirst into the city of Mbandaka to save Otto when hunters kidnap him. Sophie winds up in the middle of the destroyed city. In a town filled with soldier, Sophie notes the danger of being a girl during the war, “There was no reason why a young woman should be alive and intact.” This scene offers the closest look into the war’s effects, but Sophie, despite being aware of the danger, is able to remain collected. With death as a likely possibility, the reader continues to see an objective view on what’s going on around the main character. This is why the reader understands why Sophie fights so hard to keep Otto safe and alive; because despite what’s happening in the present, Sophie is still able to evaluate the scenario and determine the consequences. More so, she is determined to maintain her humanity through her treatment of animals.

While the book could be classified as young adult, themes like death and war take it to a deeper and more universal level. Overall, Endangered is an enticing read and will certainly move any reader, especially if they have equal respect for animals and people.

By Carrie Cabral

Book Review: The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

www.kazmahoney.com

Following in the footsteps of Alyson Noel’s Evermore and Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely, Karen Mahoney tackles the modern fairytale in her YA novel, The Iron Witch. The first in a series of four, this “urban fantasy” introduces Donna Underwood, a magically gifted teenager, whose attempts at a normal life fail miserably when she encounters a group of evil fairies. Like the alchemists in her story, Mahoney skillfully combines her ingredients. Themes of friendship and romance are mixed with well-paced adventure, strong characterization, and the fascinating idea of an ancient war between a fey race and magicians. “Once upon a time” doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Left parentless by a violent fey attack, 17-year-old Donna struggles through the trivialities of high school while hiding both her horrific past and her future as an alchemist. When her best friend, Navin, with whom she shares quite a bit of romantic tension, is kidnapped by skin-changing fairies, Donna is forced to face her nightmarish history. Along the way, she begins to question the very foundations of her family’s alchemical order, as well as the placement of her loyalties, when friendships are put on the line. She also meets Alexander Grayson, a super-hot halfling, who spends a lot of the novel shirtless. So, maybe the fairy-stealing-Navin stuff isn’t that bad.

Readers will admire Donna’s strength and independence, while appreciating the realism of her teenage character. Her romance with Xan, although not quite as “sensual” as author, Richelle Mead suggests, will make them go “Aw!” on several occasions. While fans of Michael Scott’s The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel may be disappointed with Mahoney’s lack of research, the constant suspense leaves little room for historical information. Those who enjoyed the romantic toil of Ever and Damen in Evermore or the fairy-human dynamic in Wicked Lovely will fall for this novel as fast as Donna falls for Xan.

Better luck next time, Navin. Maybe there are some hot chicks in Fairy Land.

By  Erin Arata

Junot Diaz at Porter Square Books

Porter Square Books is a bookstore in Cambridge that I’d never heard of until my fiction professor told me Junot Diaz was going to be reading there. Diaz is one of the most acclaimed writers of the present day. He was recently made a 2012 McArthur Fellow, was awarded three other fellowships including the Guggenheim Fellowship, which are amongst other awards. Seeing someone of his stature read his work aloud was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Diaz is currently teaching creative writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology making him a “local author.” For writers and readers, to be able to identify Junot Diaz as a part of the local talent added more excitement to the event. Diaz started the event by asking the audience to raise their hand if they were from New Jersey and the Dominican Republic, where he sets his stories.

The event was in promotion of Diaz’s new collection of short stories, “This is How you Lose Her,” which consists of nine stories all in regards to love and relationships. He even brings back his frequently used main characters, Yunior and his older brother, Rafa.The event started with the Q&A, in which Diaz described his belief in the arts and in his own work. “If you’re in this to make money,” Diaz said in response to a question by an audience member, “You’re probably not going to be able to write anything you believe in. If I write what I believe in, at the end of the day I feel like I can at least be proud of it.” One of the stories Diaz shared was describing his desire to read as a young child, and the librarian at his school. Diaz didn’t speak English and the librarian didn’t speak Spanish, but he expressed his awe of her determination to teach him how the library worked, just because she thought that everybody had a right to read books. Many of the questions were in regards to Diaz’s status as a Dominican-American author and he took the opportunity to share his thoughts on racism in the United States. “When you’re an immigrant, you’ll always be an immigrant. Every sentence I say I still double-check it in my head, and I’ve been here since I was six.”

After the Q&A, Diaz read from his novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Oscar is a token nerd; he’s a fantasy writer who has written several novels by the time he leaves home for college, he’s overweight, he’s awkward, and guilty of the worst thing a Dominican man can be guilty of; he’s bad at playing women. The story also parallels with Oscar’s family’s past in the Dominican Republic and how it affects Oscar’s future. He tells the story through Yunior, who knew Oscar in college and later writes Oscar’s story. All of Diaz’s work has Spanish language and cultural references, which are all able to be understood with context.

Diaz’s belief in the arts came through in the second Q&A section, where he expressed that the purpose of art is to “rehumanize humanity.” He voiced something that I think we all feel as writers and artists; believe in what you do and other people will too.

Porter Square Books hosts readings and book events regularly; just the day before Diaz’s reading, they hosted the acclaimed children’s author Lois Lowry. Other events can be found at http://www.portersquarebooks.com/event.

By Carrie Cabral

The Journey of A Story: The Hobbit

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” 

goodreads.com

The organizers of Boston Book Festival clearly also had The Hobbit in mind when planning their schedule of events. The Festival was hosted in Copley Square on Saturday October 27^th and one of the first talks on the docket was titled “The Hobbit; There and Back Again”. The event featured a panel of three speakers Corey Olson (aka the Tolkien Professor) and, in particular, Wayne Hammond and Christine Scull, eminent Tolkien scholars and married couple who collaborated on the book they presented, The Art of The Hobbit, as well as several other books on the Tolkien canon.

The importance of art and the visual to Tolkien in his work is striking in comparison to the entirely visual retelling of his stories through Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and upcoming Hobbit trilogy. The Book Fest’s Hobbit presentation opened with a showing of the trailer for The Hobbit; An Unexpected Journey and then proceeded to Hammond and Ms. Scull telling The Hobbit in summary accompanied by a slideshow of corresponding sketches, illustrations and water colors. By comparison to a full scale movie, this kind of hurried retelling could probably be called coarse at best, but there was really something magical to it as well.

Victor Hugo

There are certain sensations that I will never get used to, no matter how often I experience them. Walking in the echoing footsteps of someone far greater than I will always remain a mystery to me. This past weekend, I visited the City of Lights. With its many brasseries and bridges reaching over the famous Seine, Paris is a city of romance and intrigue. It is a loadstone for writers, sucking them in and churning them over and over in the air of fresh baguettes and cigarette smoke, and tempting them to weave haunting tales. Victor Hugo was one of the great writers who looked through the smoggy air of Paris’ lower class and found literary gold.

Last month when I walked through the abandoned rooms of Anne Frank’s secret annex, I felt her presence as the girl who experienced the cruelty of European history. Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to walk through the sacred walls of the Notre Dame Cathedral and the private apartments of Victor Hugo.

Every Love Story is a Ghost Story: A Life of David Foster Wallace

To some, David Foster Wallace was an articulator of the seemingly ineffable, a man giving voice to the most pressing issues facing modern man. To others, he was a writer of overwrought prose all too willing to impress with postmodern pastiche. To many, he was an intellect who realized that his smartness was not enough to fulfill a reader and more importantly himself – that an equal helping of heart went a long way, and was even of paramount importance. And yet to others still, he was just the next logical step up from writers such as Barth and Pynchon, the satirist of today satirizing the satirists of yesterday. If he wasn’t the modern patron saint of depressives everywhere, he was just another unfortunate, disappointing statistic.

Whatever your opinion of Wallace and his writing, D.T. Max’s absorbing biography Every Love Story is a Ghost Story: A Life of David Foster Wallace is an absolute must read.

Bookstore Quests in the Netherlands

This semester, I’m studying abroad in the Netherlands through Emerson College. We’re allowed to travel every weekend and, for the most part, I’ve taken advantage of that arrangement. I’ve been to a Swedish autumn festival in Stockholm, taken a ride on The London Eye, wandered the alleys of Venice, and attempted to avoid death-by-bike in Amsterdam, among other adventures. There are a few things I wish I could do more of though. One of those things? Visit cool bookstores. 

I thought I would easily find a few on my travels, but nothing ever caught my eye until I visited Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross Station in London. After being a typical tourist and taking my picture with the shopping cart halfway through the wall – positioned to look as if there really were a magical platform beyond – I wandered into the bookstore next door. The Casual Vacancy, J. K. Rowling’s new book, occupied a bookstand by the cash register. Yet I didn’t find what I really wanted until I moved to the back of the store. Harry Potter books occupied an entire wall, which I took a moment to appropriately stare at. It was amazing to see my favorite series in the country in which it was first conceived – in the very station that Harry began his journey to Hogwarts. Yet, besides its impressive collection of Harry Potter, the store was like any other.

Book Review: Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon

This review contains spoilers.

Though fast paced and filled with twists and turns, Michelle Gagnon’s Don’t Turn Around fails to meet the high standards it sets for itself. On Amazon, fans of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo are told they will “devour the story of Noa.” Sadly, the characters fall flat, as does the plot, and a lack of plausibility takes us out of reading experience. 

The novel has a promising beginning, with the main character Noa waking up on a cold metal bed with an IV attached to her arm and no knowledge of how she got there.  Though it’s hard to believe someone with no fighting experience could escape this heavily guarded facility with no help, she does so through luck and her will to never give up.

Shelley Jackson’s Skin Project

ineradicablestain.com

Our culture’s fascination with body art has grown tremendously since it first crept its way into the mainstream. Until recently, tattoos were associated with foreign tribes, and in America, sailors and prisoners. Once considered a taboo subject, today they are common, considered an art form and a means of expression. Their acceptance continues to cultivate, especially among creative types—the same type who might enjoy a good story. Author Shelley Jackson saw the potential among this group. She came up with a project to combine her love for the literary and visual art, to get thousands of people involved and thousands more interested.

Book Review: "Who Could That Be at This Hour?" By Lemony Snicket

goodreads.com

On Saturday, October 27, I was fortunate enough to be able to almost meet Lemony Snicket. That's right. Almost.

You see, for those who are unfamiliar, Lemony Snicket is the pen name of author David Handler. He personifies Lemony Snicket as a man who is quite elusive, and, although he is scheduled to attend many events such as book signings, usually has an "unfortunate" circumstance that prevents him from attending.

I was, and still am, an avid fan of A Series of Unfortunate Events, the first series written by Lemony Snicket. I was thrilled to find out that he was publishing a new book in the same vein. I was even more thrilled to find out that he would be speaking at the Boston Book Festival held in Copley Square.

Two College Reads That Are Actually Entertaining

We all know the drill.

It’s the first day of class and the teacher flips through a power point, hands out a sheet of paper, directs us to a class web server—all to point out our class reading.

As if we could forget.

It doesn’t matter what the book is or what we’ve heard about it. As soon as it’s on the syllabus, we know we’re that going to hate it. Isn’t that the point of a “required text:” that it’s long, complicated, and about as entertaining as the time your grandma pulled out her cat-filled photo album?

I’ve had my fair share of terrible textbooks. I still cringe every time I see a calf (thanks, Beloved) and John Steinbeck makes me sob like a toddler. Still, in spite of all the painful page-turning, there is hope. There are a few books that, though required, are actually great reads.

Here’s two of them.

Books into Feature Films

Every year there are more and more movies with “based on the Novel by [in this case] Suzanne Collins” as an end credit. But, how many times after the movie has finished have you turned to your friends and said, “that is not what happened in the book—this movie sucked” and, maybe your friend never read the book, and they said “what are you talking about the movie was great”?

loavesofbread.livejournal.com

This summer I watched The Hunger Games on the big screen. I had not yet read the book when I went to see the movie, and I thought it was good.  I thought that the movie was a good portrayal of the book because I had understood the plot, and the characters, but I was curious to see what more the book had to offer, so I read it. I really enjoyed reading the book and when I finished it I still really liked the movie and felt it was a well played out movie. But, the truth is, like a lot of books that are turned into films, a lot of scenes were cut as well as characters. Then I understood something: books and movies are two different types of art. Books show you the story through words and you imagine it (I personally think of books as movies that play in my head), and movies show you the story through images. Since I consider both two different types of art, I should also consider this when I watch a movie that is based on a book. Books have many pages to tell you a story. The Hunger Games has 374 pages to tell you the story; the movie only has 142 minutes. Although 142 minutes is a lot of time, scenes must be chosen wisely to portray the basic ideas of the book.

DuoTrope

Since my last article was about upcoming contests and publications looking for submissions, I thought this would be a good follow-up, especially for keeping up with events throughout the year (and years to come). While I can recommend the Writers’ Market: Novelist and Short Story Market and Poet’s Market books (and Guide to Literary Agents, if any of you are that far along on your publishing endeavours), there’s a new literary database that can help you find publishers looking for submissions for magazines or contests. It’s not that well known, but once you check it out, you’ll be hooked forever.

www.zazzle.com

It’s called DuoTrope.  While when you get to the front page of the site it looks like nothing special at all, this really is a magical and helpful tool for all writers. Once you’ve signed up and activated your account via e-mail, you can browse through thousands of publishers that are currently holding contests and/or looking for submissions. But that’s not all it does. You can sort your publishers by fiction/non-fiction/poetry, what genres they take, if they publish electronically or in print, and if they allow material that has been published before or simultaneous and multiple submissions. You can also control what markets pop up under your settings for publishers based on how much they pay, what their acceptance rates are, and even how fast they respond to submissions. DuoTrope is the first online publisher guide that puts you in control.

Book Review: The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

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It was a strange moment when I found myself once again holding an unread J.K. Rowling book. There was a certain sweet nostalgia in the unfamiliarity, made all the sweeter by the fact that it had been questionable if I’d find myself in a similar situation ever again. And yet, there it was, grinning at me like a vintage movie poster. Or perhaps I was the one that was grinning, but I didn’t stay that way for long. I spent two solid days working my way through the 500 page novel that broke my heart over and over again.

The idyllic English country town of Pagford is the setting of The Casual Vacancy, and also its central character. The town is bordered by an unsavory council estate called the Fields. The residents of Pagford proper hold the Fields in contempt for their less than respectable ways. Yet the secrets they harbor behind their quaint doors are every bit as unsavory as what goes on in the Fields. At the opening of the book, Barry Fairbrother—town councilor, town activist, rowing coach, friend to all, and genuinely good man—dies of a burst aneurism in his brain.

Amsterdam and Anne Frank

This weekend in Amsterdam, I walked over one canal after another, was almost killed by at least nine aggressive bikers, marveled at the works of Rembrandt Master of Light, and had my first taste of Indonesian food. Amsterdam is a beautiful place, rich with history and culture and dripping with vibrant, interesting people. But there is a sadness to this great city that lurks beneath the waters.  As I walked the cobblestone streets between townhouses sagging under the weight of lush window boxes, I couldn’t help but think of a girl who walked them long before me.

Kelly Young

Most people in the world have probably heard of Anne Frank; many know her story or have read the famous diary she kept during the Second World War as she hid from the Nazis in Amsterdam. However, Anne’s writing is more than a means of understanding the life of those in hiding during the Holocaust – Anne also wrote her own fiction: fairy stories and an unfinished novel which she hoped to publish after the war. A young girl who often wondered if she was any good at writing, Anne’s experience of the Holocaust has been translated into 70 languages. 

The Frank family planned to go into hiding as conditions in Amsterdam became increasingly difficult for Jews.  Their plans were rushed in 1942 when Anne’s sister Margot received a letter requesting her to report to a labor camp. The family hid in a secret annex behind the offices of Anne’s father, Otto Frank, at 263 Prinsengracht—together with the van Pels family and Fritz Pfeffer—until August of 1944.  At this time they were discovered by the Gestapo and taken first to the Westerbork Transit Camp and then on to Auschwitz. Anne and Margot were later transported to Bergen-Belsen, where they died before the liberation. After the war, Otto Frank returned to his offices and the secret annex, where he retrieved Anne’s many writings.

The Book is Better

goodreads.com

A few months back a friend of mine—a very tech savvy person who goes to a technical college—received an e-reader for his birthday. He was pretty excited to be in possession of a new gadget. He told me about all the great books he was going to buy, and how awesome it would be because it would motivate him to read more. And because he would be reading more he would be able to converse with me, his token literary friend, on all things concerning the written word. “Besides,” he remarked with a grin, “who wants to, like, read a book anyway?”

Although I harangued him with arguments about the ills of technology (“human attention spans are now rivaled by a goldfish’s, thanks to Youtube”), I have to concede that my friend brought up an interesting point. What exactly is the difference between the experiences of reading a paperback and reading on an e-reader?

Book Review: The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron

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In the spirit of such tales as Howl’s Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones and The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent comes a debut novel by Sharon Cameron called The Dark Unwinding.  This Young Adult fiction could not arrive at a more opportune time, with the fan-bases behind dystopian chronicles like The Hunger Games and Victorian-era Steam Punk romances ever growing. At first glance, The Dark Unwinding belongs to the over-marketed craze for downtrodden heroines controlled by socially secure foes, lost in technologically rich story-scopes—and yet beyond initial prejudices, it is a fun read with sinister complications.

Forced to investigate, or in this case verify, her Uncle’s insanity at his estate by a scheming Aunt Alice, Katherine is willing to do whatever it takes to keep her Aunt’s son, Fat Robert, as heir to the family fortune—in other words, to secure her own welfare. However, upon entering Stranwyne Keep Katherine realizes that her report could jeopardize the lives of far more than her and her Uncle. What’s more, she understands that classifying her Uncle as a lunatic would simplify his ingenious work.

It's All Greek To Me

For my Literary Foundations class, I had to read Homer's The Iliad. I thought I’d really enjoy it, being a huge fan of The Odyssey and Greek mythology in general. Yet, I ended up not caring for it much. It was an interesting story but I couldn't sympathize with Achilles or fully understand the ancient Greek motivations. It made me wonder why Troy, the movie based off The Iliad, was such a huge success. How could the story translate into a film and why would modern audiences even like it? Well, I’ll tell you why: because it was nothing like the book.

The Iliad:

wikipedia.org

The book begins with Achilles (the godlike Greek warrior) and Agamemnon (the warlord) having a dispute. Agamemnon takes away Achilles' war “prize”, the slave girl Briseis. Achilles, mad at the warlord for taking away the woman that he thinks is rightfully his, decides to not fight in the war. Not only does he not fight, but he even prays to the gods to kill his countrymen. He figures that if enough Greeks die, they'll blame Agamemnon and turn against him.

Book Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

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I have never read a single book by Maggie Stiefvater. To be honest, I'd never heard of her before I ended up getting my hands on this book. And after reading the book, I have realized what a shame that is, because Maggie Stiefvater is a superb writer of YA fiction.

           

Her newest book, The Raven Boys, tells the story from multiple viewpoints of a few characters, but mostly from the viewpoint of Blue. Blue is the daughter of a psychic; yes, one of those reading-your-palm, pick-a-card kind of psychics. However, Blue herself lacks all psychic ability. Her only strange attribute is her ability to amplify the psychic abilities of those around her. However, she always ends up going with her mother to church on St. Mark's Eve to watch those who will die in the next year walk past. Blue had never been able to see these spirits pass–until the time she sees just one.

           

What's the Next Big Trend in YA?

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Dystopias have been the most recent trend in Young Adult fiction, but since the craze has reached its climax many readers are wondering what the newest YA journey will be. From the past trend of vampires with Twilight, to the most recent love of The Hunger Games, it looks like an interesting few years is in store for YA novels.

One trend emerging from the dystopian genre is Science Fiction. Stories like The Hunger Games take place in speculative societies. They ask the question: what if? Books like this existed before the YA phenomena with 1984 by George Orwell and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Both writers take their own spin on what could be the future. In this, they create a whole new world.

Boston Indies: Brattle Book Shop

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Chances are if you enjoy reading at all, bookstores are a personal heaven of yours. The smell of paper and the comfortable silence shared by fellow booklovers is intoxicating. However, large chain bookstores are unreliable—Is it okay to still be mourning the loss of Borders?—and companies like Barnes & Noble, coupled with the effects of Amazon, are making independent bookstores more rare and precious than they’ve ever been before. So, if you’re interested in supporting small business owners and spending a bit of your time relaxing in the company of books, consider making a point to explore Boston and find those little hole-in-the-wall independent bookshops.

Book Review: Magisterium by Jeff Hirsch

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I admit that when I first picked up Magisterium by Jeff Hirsch I wasn’t anxious to read it. Young adult sci-fi/fantasy has never interested me much, but it was only fair that I give it a try. This book tells the story of 16 year-old Glennora Morgan living in a dystopia some 200 years in the future. After an explosion in the year 2023, a rift was established, splitting the world in half, and no one in the Colloqium has dared cross the border since. That is, until Glenn’s father is arrested and she has no option but to escape to the other side where she discovers the mystery of her mother, who disappeared ten years earlier.

Book Review: Ripper by Amy Carol Reeves

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Ripper, by Amy Carol Reeves, presents itself as a time-period thriller with a supernatural twist. After a family tragedy, main character Abbie moves in with her grandmother in a posh section of London. She soon begins work at Whitechapel Hospital, but within days victims of a malicious serial killer begin turning up around the area; the work of now infamous Jack the Ripper.

Abbie’s association with the killer runs deep, as she begins to experience vivid visions of his victims moments before he strikes. Mystery and thrilling plot lines ensue as she must decide whom to trust and find a way to unmask the Ripper before he claims more lives.

REVIEW: Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas

Prove trustworthy,

become my Champion,

 and wealth and glory

will be yours eternal.

sarahjmaas.com

If you were the world’s most deadly assassin, and the only way you could escape your life’s prison sentence was by entering a competition of skill to become the tyrannical King’s Champion—royal slang for hit man—would you do it?

I cannot say yes enough. I think it’s safe to say every person secretly wishes he or she could lead badass lives. However, wanting a badass life is one thing, but actually living vicariously through a character for one is another. Some may say this is pathetic, but clearly I have no shame. Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas definitely provides the right amount of fantasy, fighting, and badassery that can make any reader wish themselves right into the plot.