Tell Me What You REALLY Think [3]

 Ratings and Reviews Part 3 - Results May Vary

 

For the last two weeks, I've posted about ratings and reviews, about how they work and how they don't and why I like to utilize both. Today I want to give a breakdown on exactly what goes into my ratings and reviews. This post turned out to be a little longer than I expected, so I'll talk about how I use other people's reviews next time.

For me, reviews come before ratings. Everything I think about a novel, which gets explained in the review, goes into figuring out what rating I give it. So I want to go through what I look at in a novel and how that translates into a number.

When I began blogging and doing reviews, I had a difficult time because my thoughts are sometimes hard to organize. But a while back I decided to focus on certain areas and now I structure my reviews using the following headings: Preface, Writing, Setting, Characters, Downside, Cool Stuff, and Verdict. At the end is when I give my rating out of ten.

 

Though the Preface section doesn't appear to be important and may just seem to be a lead-in to my real review, I find that my expectations of a book and that book failing to meet, meeting, or exceeding my expectations affects my overall view of the novel. If I originally think I won't like a novel but it ends up exceeding my expectations, that has a bigger impact than if a book simply meets my expectations. Same if I'm expecting to love a book and end up loathing it.

I also use the Preface to mention where I heard about the book and if there is any controversy involved. Sometimes I go into a novel knowing most readers are divided on it and that sometimes causes me to read more critically, looking for the things mentioned by both sides to see who I end up agreeing with.

This is pretty self-explanatory. Not every reader likes every writing style, though I am pretty easy to please. But there are a few things that get me twitching. First is when the writing is not tight. Being repetitive, too much telling, using too many unnecessary words/sentences, etc., tend to get in the way of me enjoying a novel.

Second is when the writing is too pretty. An example of this for me is The Near Witch (by Victoria Schwab) vs. Pandemonium (by Lauren Oliver). I loved how the writing in the former flowed easily and I didn't take note of it other than it was pretty and I liked it. But in the latter, the writing was gorgeous with lots of details, but it was too much. I noticed it every time one of the passages had that fast-paced, lots of feelings and sensations thing going on and it distracted me and pulled me out of the story. (Funnily enough, I do not think Delirium, or any of Oliver's other books that I've read, had this issue.)

Third is when things don't match up. What I mean by that is the dialogue may not fit a character or the tone or style of the writing doesn't fit the content. This one doesn't happen that often but when it does, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

For me, setting is the most fluid facet of a story. If a novel has a good setting, great. If the setting is more of a character in the story, fantastic. If a mundane setting is brought to life by the writing, awesome. If the setting is hardly mentioned, so be it. My only issue comes in when the story is constructed to have an amazing setting (i.e. Ireland, Paris, Space, etc.) and it is not utilized to its fullest potential. That's when I get a little irked because I wonder why set the novel there if the story would have worked just as well anywhere else?

Characters are one of the most difficult aspects to pin down. I could love the traits of a character in one book, but then hate a character with the same traits in another book. It is totally subjective and relies heavily on what story is being told. I do tend to enjoy characters who are more action-oriented, witty, and clever. I like protagonists who are wholly good, but also enjoy the anti-hero if he/she is done well. For antagonists and villains, I like the really super ridiculously evil ones and the ones who are tortured or torn over what they are doing, especially if that kind of character started out on the side of good. Character growth is also important. Watching a character change over the course of a novel is really enjoyable and if there is no growth, it can make the whole story feel stagnant.

This is the part where I mention stuff that didn't work for me. This could literally be anything, but I try to keep it to stuff I haven't already mentioned in the above sections. A lot of times it is related to plot, pacing, or specific events in the story.

Cool stuff is the stuff that makes me happy, which usually involves laughter, smiling, bouncing, and squeeing. Often YA authors like to be clever and sneaky and sometimes I catch on and it makes me happy and this is where I talk about it. Or if it's too spoilery, I don't talk about and just tell you to read the darn book. ^_^

After evaluating these areas, I arrive at a Verdict. This is where I sum up my feelings on the story. I try to use a few words to describe what kind of story it is, what I liked, and what I didn't. This is also the part of my review that I post on Goodreads since it gives enough information for those who just want the basics while those who want more details can follow the link to the full review.

Last comes the rating. I basically go with my gut and adjust if I think it is needed. If I absolutely adored a book and it had nothing that I thought of as a Downside, automatic 10. Lots of problems but still readable usually ends up around a 5. I've never had a zero (not that I've reviewed officially anyway). When I figure this rating for Goodreads, I half my rating, and if it ends up with a .5, I usually round up, unless I don't think the book deserves the boost, which brings me to...

Now, there comes a time when my review and my rating for a book won't match up. This is due to some intangible qualities of a story, an "it" factor, that are hard to define or explain and are often personal and utterly subjective. How could this happen?

My best example is Twilight (by Stephenie Meyer). Despite all the flaws that Twilight had with characters, writing, plot, etc., it was still a book I thoroughly enjoyed. That is why, if I reviewed it on my blog today, I would give it an eight instead of the four it may technically deserve. Same goes for if a book was extremely well written, perfectly plotted, etc., etc., but I couldn't connect at all to the story or characters. It may deserve a 10 because it is technically good, but for me, I'd probably give it a 7.5 or an 8.

It is this essence of a story that makes it so difficult to rate and review because it means that sometimes a book will just speak to you in ways that others do not. You may not be able to adequately explain your feelings, and that's okay. When I do my review for Timepiece (by Myra McEntire), I'm going to be hard pressed to explain why totally screwed-up, mistake-making Kaleb is my favorite character. The real reason is because he reminds me of my husband, but to explain how would be difficult.

Is that something I should say in a review? Maybe; maybe not. I do think when you truly relate to something in a story, it's best to share some part of that if you can so that others not only get to know the book better, but they also get to know you a little better too. I always enjoy reviews more from people I know at least a little something about. It gives the review perspective and relates back to trusting certain people's reviews more than others.

So what do you think? Do you structure your reviews? Do your ratings and reviews always match? Do you have trouble describing the "it" factor for books you love? Let me know in the comments!

Don't forget to check back soon for the last post in this series, Part 4: Resourcing Reviews. Thanks for reading! ^_^


note: term definitions taken from dictionary.com and about.com

Quirk Review: The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking #1) by Patrick Ness

From Goodreads: 

Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.  

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought? 

PREFACE:

This book was one I had seen and heard about and even read the back cover copy of a few times. But I never really thought it was a book for me. My friend Meg of Myth-illogical finally convinced me to read it after talking it up and loaning me a copy. So did The Knife of Never Letting Go end up being a book for me?

No...and yes.

WRITING:

This is an odd book when it comes to writing. The story is through the point of view of Todd, a boy on the verge of manhood. Where he is from, education was not a high priority and he was never one who did well with reading or language. This shows through in the way Patrick Ness uses language in the book. Several words are often misspelled, and when Todd is in an intense situation, sometimes there is no punctuation to be found. This puts the reader directly in Todd's mind. At first, it was a little strange, but I ended up liking it. It completely fit the tone of the story.

Now when it came to the storytelling aspect, I thought Ness did a really good job. He writes well enough that even though the words are filtered through Todd's imperfect brain, it still works how it is supposed to and the reader is in no way confused and can easily follow the story.

SETTING:

This novel is set on a planet that is not the original Earth, sometime in the future, though the details are not very abundant. The setting for this novel makes me think of barren fields, dark forests, deep ravines, and rolling hills. It reminds me of what the settlers of the West would have encountered when traveling to expand the United States. IThe setting is really a series of backdrops that work well and serve the story by keeping the focus on the characters while occasionally acting as an obstacle. It also gave the story a real sense of the journey which worked in its favor.

CHARACTERS:

Oh, Todd. Todd was a character I didn't quite get at first. In the beginning, as things really get rolling, you feel bad for him. He is so confused and lost and you can't help but feel for him. He's not perfect, by any means, but as the novel progresses, you get a sense of the kind of man Todd can become. He struggles with this through most of the book and by the end his struggles and determination to be a good person really make you root for him.

Viola was another character that I didn't quite feel for at first. At least, I didn't feel anything for her other than pity. She is a stranger in a strange land, especially when she meets Todd, but again, as the story moves along, more of her true nature is revealed and I really loved her by the end of it.

I want to mention Manchee, but I also don't want to talk too much about him either. So we'll just leave it at there is a talking dog named Manchee. You've been warned.

The men of Prentisstown, where Todd is from, are downright crazy. Scary crazy. I am definitely glad I don't live in Todd's world.

DOWNSIDE:

I only have two small downsides for this novel. The first is that I have a really hard time loving a novel that creeps me out too much or scares me or makes me feel bad. While this novel only does each to a few degrees, it is still enough that I find myself thinking about the story long after having read it. This is usually a good thing, except I'm remembering all the horrible things that occur, which is not happymaking for me. I mean, just thinking about it while writing this review is causing that little catch in my chest.

The second downside is that there is a big reveal near the end that I expected to be much bigger. I pretty much had this big secret thing figured out, but the way it was gone on about in the novel made me think it was worse than I was imagining it to be. I was imagining it correctly, which was kind of a let down when I had prepared myself for something much worse.

COOL STUFF:

The first cool thing about this novel, and what really hooked me into reading it, was that the Noise, the thoughts of all the people in the town, is sometimes represented on the page as a jumble of words and sentences in many different fonts and such. It sounds crazy but it is cool.

The second thing is this story is full of action and tension and suspense. I couldn't not stop reading. I wanted to read and find out what happened when I was supposed to be at work and it was torture to have to wait until break or lunch time to continue the story. It was that good.

The third thing is that Ness is one of those authors that keeps throwing you curves when you're expecting a fastball. There were several times I was just waiting for the next punch to the gut and then the end is a real heavy hitter of a cliffhanger.

VERDICT:

Despite being a difficult story, I am glad I read The Knife of Never Letting Go. It is a great novel full of action and danger and two main characters that grow and change as a result of what they go through. While it is YA, the tone is definitely bleaker than most. If you are looking for something different and something to really dig into that will keep your mind working long after the last page, I definitely recommend this book.

Tell Me What You REALLY Think [2]

 Ratings and Reviews Part 2 - The Role of Reviews

 

Last week I talked about the reality of ratings and why I feel that ratings should not be the only measure of a book's quality. Today I want to discuss the important role that reviews play.

Reviews, like ratings, are subjective. Every reader reads a book through their own personal lens so that is something that will never change. But unlike ratings, reviews allow for a reader to explain what he or she felt about a book and why.

This facet is one of the great things about reviews. Someone with no knowledge of a novel can read another person's thoughts on it, and depending on the reviewer, in various amounts of detail. In fact, they can get on something like Goodreads or search book blogs and read many different views on the same book. When I'm considering whether or not to give a novel a try, I often search reviews to get the good and the bad. This also allows me to get a better sense of the book and find out if it is really something I want to read.

But are all reviews equal? Not exactly. While everyone is entitled to an opinion, sometimes you may question a reviewer's sanity over certain claims. I know I have. But again, all reviews are subjective and that is something to keep in mind. I usually try to read reviews by people I know have similar reading tastes to mine. That means not just reading an odd review here and there, but actually figuring out whose reviews you trust.

Now the question is, what makes up a decent review? For me, statements like "This book is awesome!" or "This book is awful!" are not reviews. A review may have these sentiments in it, but the focus is more on the why. Why is the book great? Why is it terrible? Whether or not I agree with a reviewer, I appreciate when a reader takes the time to explain his or her thoughts on a novel.

The downside of such explanations is they can get long. It takes time to read through an extensive review of a novel, let alone several. I have been known to get long-winded in reviews, but I try to keep mine reasonable. A lot of times, especially if a review is lengthy, I skim for the information I am most interested it in, whether it is about the plot, the characters, or the writing itself. This is where ratings can be helpful. If you typically agree with a certain reviewer, you can use you his or her rating as a signpost. Still, I prefer both a review and a rating.

What do you think? Do you utilize reviews or think they are important? What do you think should be included in a review? Do you have any reviewer dos or donts? Let me know in the comments!

And don't forget to check back for Part 3 of Tell Me What You REALLY Think: Ratings and Reviews for a look at how I utilize and write reviews.

The Near Witch Blog Tour Giveaway Winners!

I had a great time being a part of The Near Witch Blog Tour which celebrated 
the paperback release of The Near Witch! 

In case you didn't catch everything, here's what you missed:

5/8: Character Interview (Wren) - Hannah @ The Book Vortex
5/9: Character Interview (Lexi) - Marla @ Starting the Next Chapter
5/10: Victoria Schwab Magical "If" Interview - Shalena @ Writer Quirk
5/11: Character Interview (Cole) - Kelly @ Bookshelf Banter
5/12: Victoria Schwab Video Interview - Sara @ Through the Looking Glass 

5/13: The Ash-Born Boy Playlist - Lindsay @ The Violet Hour
5/14: Victoria Schwab's Favorite Books - Hannah @ The Book Vortex
5/15: Release of The Near Witch paperback and The Ash-Born Boy short story - The Ash-Born Boy
5/16: Review of The Ash-Born Boy - Marla @ Starting the Next Chapter
5/17: Day in the life of Victoria Schwab - Kelly @ Bookshelf Banter

Now to the giveaway winners!

The first giveaway was via Rafflecopter for 
a special signed hardcover of The Near Witch and signed bookmark.

The winner of this giveaway is:

Christina K.! 

The second giveaway was via Twitter for a paperback edition of The Near Witch, and the winner of this giveaway is:

Lauren @ The Housework Can Wait!

Winners, you should have an email from me in your inbox.
Please respond within 7 days with a valid mailing address or I will have to pick another winner.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the tour and the giveaways and congratulations to the winners!!!

Write Stuff [20]

Write Stuff  is based on the Wannabe Writers meme hosted by Sarah at Confessions of the Un-Published. This meme is what prompted me to start Writer Quirk, so I am thankful to Sarah for creating it.


I'm going to continue straying from the usual format and just give a brief update about where I am and what I'm working on.


In my last Write Stuff post (here) I talked about the issues I was having writing the second draft of my first novel. I eventually decided to stop working on that draft and focus on creating an outline for a new version. I gave myself the month of April to complete this outline. After working my butt off (I really wish this was a literal statement) I completed my outline two days before the May 1st deadline. Yay!

So now I have a complete outline made of roughly sixty-two scenes split into four acts. The entirety of it was sent to my writing pal and friend Meg (of Myth-illogical) for a quick review. I began writing what is my third draft of this novel on on the first day of May. I have given myself a four month window to complete this new draft so by the end of August, I should have a complete draft. My goal with this one is to have something worth revising and not have to go through another rewrite.

I chose my deadline so that I could have September as a buffer if I need it and the month of October to work on an outline for NaNoWriMo instead of going in mostly blind like the last two years. November, being National Novel Writing Month, will be just for that, and then in December I will take a writing break, because I'm going to need it. ^_^ Hopefully in January I will be able to begin revisions on my third draft. I will try to update my progress here every so often to let you know how its going. And that is where I am!

So my lovely quirks, where are you at in your process? Have any writing goals or deadlines that you are working toward? Let me know in the comments!

Tell Me What You REALLY Think [1]

 Ratings and Reviews Part 1 - The Reality of Ratings

 

Last month at the SOKY Book Fest I talked with Jackson Pearce about her novel Purity. After learning I had read and reviewed the book for the Southern Book Bloggers ARC Tour, she asked me what rating I had given the book. I told her, and she said, "Not bad." It may not have been a bad rating or a great rating, but I wanted her to understand what exactly that rating meant, so we further discussed the novel (if you want to know what I thought, click here). I would rather her (or any author) understand my thoughts than just walk away with a number.

Being asked flat out by an author what rating I gave her book got me thinking about the pros and cons of ratings and reviews. While it was easy to tell Pearce a number, that number hardly encompassed all of what I felt about the book, which was why I wrote a full review of the novel. Rating systems, whether it be so many stars, something out of ten, or what have you, appear regimented and streamlined. However, as all book reviewers know, rating systems are subjective and used differently by different people. As such, the true meaning of the rating can get lost in translation, especially if there is no explanation provided or full review to accompany it.

This issue can be seen in the reactions some in the book world have to rating novels. Kristi of The Story Siren does not give ratings for books either on her blog or on Goodreads. She only reviews books and explained why in one of Dear Story Siren posts last year. I also saw on Twitter sometime during the last couple months that no matter what three stars is supposed to mean on Goodreads, getting only three out of five stars is not the best thing that could happen for a book or its author. (I can't remember who said it, an author I believe. I tried searching for the tweet but had no luck finding it.)

Personally, I like to give ratings for novels. I prefer the out of ten scale because it gives me more of a spectrum to work with than the out of five on Goodreads. If you look at my Writer Quirk Rating System post, located on the Quirk Reviews page, you will see how I break down and explain my numbered ratings. Goodreads does something similar. When you hover over a star on the rating bar, a little box pops up to tell you what assigning that star rating means.

Unfortunately, because ratings are supposed to be a quick look at what a person thought of a book, getting the actual meaning behind the ratings may be not happen. Even if you do know that three stars on Goodreads means you liked a book, that is neither always taken into account nor does it tell the whole story. I'm guilty of looking at ratings and misreading them all the time. On Goodreads, I often don't spare much of a glance for a book with less than an average of a four star rating. But in doing so, I'm ignoring books with an average of a three star rating, which means that most people who read those books liked them. I'm not only cheating the author and the book of proper notice based on my subjective view of the ratings, but I may also be cheating myself out of a good read (please excuse the pun).

So the reality of book ratings is that they are decent for a short-cut reference but cannot fully express a reader's feelings and are thus lacking. This is why I believe actual ratings should be used alongside reviews instead of just on their own. But why not just remove ratings altogether? Personally, I think they are useful to some extent. If you familiarize yourself with a rating system or the person giving the ratings, they can serve the purpose they are meant to fulfill.

What do you think? Do you use ratings? Do you think they are misleading, necessary, or some combination of the two? Ever had an author ask what rating you gave his or her book? Let me know in the comments!

And don't forget to check back for Part 2 of Tell Me What You REALLY Think: Ratings and Reviews for a look at the pros and cons of full book reviews.

Today=AWESOME (The Near Witch Paperback Relase & WQ 2 Year Blogoversary!)

Today is Tuesday, May 15, 2012 and today = awesome. 

Why?

1. Today is the release of the paperback edition of The Near Witch! If you haven't read this ah-maze-ing novel (my thoughts found here), you should, and what better time than with this new edition? Also, if you buy the paperback, it comes with the first chapter of Victoria Schwab's upcoming YA novel, The Archived, which I am insanely excited about, like kitten-with-a-ball-of-sparkly-yarn excited. The Near Witch + The Archived Chapter 1 is way more than worth the few dollars it costs so go get your copy! (You can buy it here or here or here or here.)

2. If you have seen my interview with Victoria Schwab (found here) you know I am giving away a signed hardback edition of The Near Witch. BUT, if you tweet about The Near Witch before 12:01AM CST on May 16th, I will pick one tweeter to receive a paperback edition of The Near Witch! The only other rule besides the deadline is that the tweet must contain the hashtag #thenearwitch and link my twitter handle (@writerquirk). Now don't tweet the messages directly to me, just make sure to have both of those components in the tweet and do it before the deadline.  

3. Lastly, today is Writer Quirk's two year blogoversary! WOOOT! Because I'm running two giveaways right now for The Near Witch, I'm holding off on a blogoversary giveaway which will allow me to gather more prizes for my lovely quirksters! I'm thankful for all of my readers and visitors and I'm hoping for another awesome year! ^_^

Thanks again for reading and don't forget to check out The Near Witch!

Sixteen-year-old Lexi, who lives on an enchanted moor at the edge of the village of Near, must solve the mystery when, the day after a mysterious boy appears in town, children start disappearing.

Victoria is the product of a British mother, a Beverly Hills father, and a southern upbringing. Because of this, she has been known to say "tom-ah-toes," "like," and "y'all."

She also tells stories.

She loves fairy tales, and folklore, and stories 

that make her wonder if the world is really as it seems.

The Near Witch Blog Tour - A Magical "If" Interview with Victoria Schwab + Giveaway!

I absolutely loved The Near Witch (for proof, click here) and for my stop on The Near Witch Blog Tour, I got to interview the amazing and adorable author, Victoria Schwab. Magic and witches feature prominently in her debut so I decided to ask Victoria seven magic and witch related "if" questions (seven because it is the most magical number). Hope you enjoy! ^_^

 
WQ = Writer Quirk

VS = Victoria Schwab

WQ: If you were to star as the witch in a fairytale, which kind of witch would you be?
VS: Considering I tend to root for villains, am power-hungry, and have an epic evil laugh, I'm going for Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty.

WQ: If you could have a magical animal as a friend, what kind of animal would you choose?
VS: A really, really big talking wolf, like in Princess Mononoke.

WQ: If you had only one spell to help you around the house, what chore would you use it on?
VS: Laundry. I really, really hate doing laundry.

WQ: If you could magic items into your possession, what would you conjure first?
VS: Tea. If I were REALLY powerful, I'd magic a full tea tray complete with pot, cups, scones, and sandwiches and tea cakes. I do love tea.

WQ: If you had the ability to magically travel to your favorite place, what kind of magical transport would you use?

VS: TARDIS, obviously. I know we're blurring the lines of magic and sci-fi here, but COME ON. TARDIS. Especially if I could magic a David Tennant into it to keep me company.

WQ: If you could turn a fictional character into a real being, who would you magic into our world?
VS: Magnus Bane from The Mortal Instruments. Oh, oh, oh, and the hot vampires from The Vampire Diaries. Yeah, that's right, ALL of them.

WQ: If you had to go toe to toe with the Wicked Witch, how would you win?
VS: That's hard. Her evil laugh is almost as good as mine and I reaaaaaaally don't like monkeys. I think I'd have to magic a narwhal sidekick, and have them douse her with arctic water. Either the cold will get or, or the melting will.

A big thank you to Victoria for playing along and giving great answers! I am right there with the David Tennant, narwhals, and smexy vamps! And Victoria, if you want to share some ARCs of your upcoming novels (The Archived and Vicious) I will gladly do all your laundry. ^_^  I may not be magical but I will work for words!

And now for the giveaway! Using the Rafflecopter widget below, you can enter to win a signed hardcover edition of The Near Witch. But not only is this copy signed and comes with a signed bookmark, Victoria also drew a NARWHAL in it! Isn't is beautimous?!

All the standard WQ rules (found here) apply. 

Good luck and thanks for reading!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

From Where I'm Standing [8]: SOKY Book Fest

On April 21, 2012, Megan (of Myth-illogical) and I hit the road again to attend the Southern Kentucky Book Fest (SOKY) in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Unlike our previous journey to Nashville, we arrived ahead of schedule and had absolutely no trouble finding the Carroll Knicely Conference Center, part of the campus of Western Kentucky University. The parking lot was packed but we found a spot after just a few minutes and went in to stalk meet some of our favorite YA authors.

Our intention was to relax and walk around a bit before attending two of the YA panels being held, but as soon as we saw that many of our sought-after authors were sitting at their tables, we ran made our way over and proceeded to fangirl over them.

The first person we met was Kelly Creagh, author of Nevermore and Enshadowed. I have wanted to read Nevermore since I first heard of it, but I had never gotten a copy. Well, I'm glad I waited because I was able to buy my copy and get it signed (at SOKY you can't bring your own books to be signed). Kelly was also super-super sweet and gave us lots of swag (which my quirksters will be seeing in a giveaway!). She also had stuffed ravens on her table and gave us purple-ink pens which makes her that much more awesome.

Thankfully, all the YA authors were seated near each other, so next we saw Rachel Hawkins for the second time. We talked with her and Megan bought and had signed a copy of Spell Bound (my review here). Next was Jackson Pearce, author of Sisters Red, Sweetly, and most recently Purity (my review here). I got copies of both Sweetly and Sisters Red and Jackson graciously signed them. I also told her that I read and reviewed Purity as part of the Southern Book Bloggers ARC Tour and she asked me flat out what rating I gave the book. I was honest with her and we talked about the novel, and yes, she is as cool in person as she is in her videos.

Next we talked with Victoria Schwab, one of my most favorite YA authors ever and the creator of the amazing The Near Witch (my review here). To show my love, I gifted her with a sparkly, special edition Pinkie Pie My Little Pony. I think she loved it. Then I got another copy of The Near Witch, which she signed (and drew a narwhal in!), to giveaway in The Near Witch Blog Tour coming up next week to celebrate the release of the paperback edition.

Victoria also shared some love-a-ly sekrits about Vagabond Puppies, one of the novels she was working on last year. And no, I will not share them as I cannot break the sparkly pony pact of trust. ^_^

After we bought (way too many) books, we headed to one of the meeting rooms for the YA Paranormal panel. The featured authors where R.A. Nelson (author of Throat and Teach Me), Rachel Hawkins, Kelly Creagh, and Victoria Schwab. Each author took some time to talk about their books, their journey to getting (and parting with) an agent, getting published, and answered questions from the audience. The highlights were Kelly Creagh sharing some cool stories about things that happened to her while writing Nevermore and Victoria Schwab revealing the premise behind her upcoming novel, The Archived. Rachel Hawkins brought the funny (I was laughing enough to make my face hurt) and I was really glad to get to learn about R.A. Nelson, who worked for NASA, has written some interesting stories, and had quite a journey to getting where he is today.

After the paranormal panel came the YA Contemporary Panel. This panel featured Jackson Pearce, Ty Roth (author of So Shelly), and Dori Norman (author of Taming Clancy). The authors were introduced by the moderator and then each read a section from their novels. Having read Purity, Jackson chose one of the most humorous portions of her book to read and had the room cracking up. Ty Roth shared the prologue of his novel, while Dori Norman read a section where her main character learns she should have listened to her friend. Then came questions from the audience, with a minor author-audience stare down (Jackson said it would happen). The authors were lovely and funny and it was great getting to hear Jackson speak and learning about the other two authors.

After the panels were over, Megan and I headed back to the large room with all the books and author tables (seriously, I will never get over the sight - that many books and authors in the same room was simply amazing). We stopped by the table of Alecia Whitaker, author of The Queen of Kentucky (she had been swarmed before so we had missed her). I had heard of The Queen  of Kentucky (her debut) but not much about it, so we got to talking about the book and let me tell you, Alecia is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. She shared with us about her process of getting published and told us about a novel she has in the works that sounds like so much fun and which got us on the subject of beauty pageants. Then I got a copy of her book and she signed it and wrote me a sweet note. And I'm a total spaz as I forgot to get a picture with her! So instead, here is a photo of Rachel Hawkins photo-bombing Meg and Victoria Schwab's photo:

While we were with Alecia, the other YA authors returned to their tables, and it appeared I had made Rachel Hawkins a teensy-bit sad by giving Victoria Schwab a pony. I didn't have any more sparkly ponies, but Rachel said that was okay, so I dug around in my bag for a while (like an idiot, because as Megan reminded me several times before it sunk in, I had left them in the car), and eventually I gave Rachel three ponies to choose from. She picked Roseluck, a very pretty pony, and was mollified.

Photo Credit: Rachel Hawkins via Instagram via Twitter

We hung around for a little while longer, chatting with the authors and having lots of giggles (and me making a fool of myself) before leaving with a happiness high. It was a great trip and I couldn't have had more fun or been more impressed by the awesomeness that makes up these YA authors. I also want to thank them for not calling security due to my excessive fan-girling.

L-R: K. Creagh, R. Hawkins, J. Pearce, A. Whitaker, V. Schwab

Thanks for reading about our latest YA adventure! Stay tuned for the next From Where I'm Standing, which should be coming your way later this month! ^_^

2012 Reading Challenge Update: March-April

2012 Reading Challenge

Shalena (Writer Quirk) has read 46 books toward her goal of 75 books.

hide

46 of 75 (61%)

view books

From the looks of things, I'm moving along well toward my overall goal, though I only reviewed about half of what I did during January and February. I'm behind on reviews, so that number may change and I will update this post if/when it does. So here are my numbers for March and April. Remember, in my #/# calculations, the first # pertains to only March and April and the second # is the number for the whole year thus far.

Main Breakdown 
Books read to date: 44

Books read in March: 13

Books read in April: 11

Average books read per month: 12/11

Books reviewed: 9/24
 
Type Breakdown
YA books: 23/42

Non-YA books: 1/2

 Print books: 7/14

Audiobooks: 17/30

 Genre Breakdown
Paranormal: 7/17

Contemporary: 5/9

Fantasy: 5/8

Science Fiction: 1/3

High Concept: 1/2
Historical: 1/1
Dystopian/Apocalyptic: 4/4

 Title and Review Breakdown
Legacy by Cayla Kluver

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick (full review)

Revived by Cat Patrick (full review)

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (full review)

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (full review)

Hanging by a Thread by Sophie Littlefield (full review)

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

Eve by Anna Carey

First Test by Tamora Pierce

Ninth Grade Slays by Heather Brewer

Overbite by Meg Cabot

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (full review)

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson 

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins (full review)
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (full review)
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Paper Towns by John Green
Purity by Jackson Pearce (full review)

Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Legend by Marie Lu
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Page by Tamora Pierce

Have you read anything good so far this year?

Link a review if you wish! ^_^

Giveaway Highlight: Book Nerd Reviews

There is a huge international blogoversary giveaway going on at Book Nerd Reviews. I love this blog and Melissa does an amazing job and she is rewarding readers with some amazing prizes! There will be five winners who get to pick one of twelve books (see below) if they win. It is an easy Rafflecopter giveaway, so get on over there!

Just click the image below to enter!

Quirk Review: Revived by Cat Patrick (SBB ARC TOUR)

From Goodreads:

As a little girl, Daisy Appleby was killed in a school bus crash. Moments after the accident, she was brought back to life.

A secret government agency has developed a drug called Revive that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a new name, a new city, and a new life.

When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she discovers the agency’s true goals, she realizes she’s at the center of something much larger — and more sinister — than she ever imagined.

Release Date: May 8th, 2012

A very big thank you to

 SOUTHERN BOOK BLOGGERS ARC TOURS  

for the opportunity to read this book!

PREFACE:
I read and adored Cat Patrick's debut Forgotten, so I've had Revived on my TBR list since I first heard about it. I dove into the novel knowing nothing more than what was on the back cover. The premise was fairly unique and I was excited to see how Patrick would pull it off. I thought she did amazing with the high concept of Forgotten, so did Revived live up to my expectations?

Yes, but with slight reservations.

WRITING:

One of the things I loved about Forgotten and consequently about Revived was Patrick's writing. It is simple without lacking style, sort of like that favorite shirt that makes you look awesome and is also comfortable. The writing is just that, awesome and comfortable, and I was immediately pulled into the narrative.

One of the cool things was that despite the writing being similar in feel to Forgotten, Revived doesn't feel like a repeat in any way. Daisy is a very different and completely separate protagonist from London (the main character in Forgotten) and you definitely get her voice coming through the entire story and would never be able to confuse the two.

SETTING:

The setting for this story changed on occasion, with Daisy moving or traveling, visiting friends and such, and I liked how each one felt different. I think the locations were more vivid because we saw how they made Daisy feel and how she reacted to them. I didn't think there was a large amount of description, but there didn't need to be. Patrick gave just enough, relying more on Daisy filtering her surroundings and reacting to them than just giving a line by line rundown of what was around her.

CHARACTERS:

Though I didn't have quite the emotional connection to Daisy that I had to London in Forgotten, I still enjoyed Daisy as a main character. She was a smart girl, adaptable to almost any situation, and she had to deal with a very unique lifestyle. She also had walls and issues but tried to move past them, realizing that maybe her life didn't have to be what it had been in the past. I liked that Daisy came to understand that because of the way her life was, she saw the world, and more specifically, death, differently than most. Daisy definitely grew as a person and that was fun to see.

I also loved how quirky Daisy was and how she owned her personality. The girl was into everything, music, books, interior decorating, blogging, to name a few, and I liked that she wasn't pigeonholed as a character to just be into one or two things, like usually happens in novels. It's not that it is bad when a character has a specific focus or only one or two main interests, it was just different to see one have so many that were all pretty equal.

Daisy's main friends, Megan and Audrey, were awesome. I liked them both for different reasons because they were very different characters. They each played a specific role in Daisy's life. Megan was the safe place, more sister than friend, who kept Daisy grounded and was always supportive. Audrey helped Daisy to grow out of her carefully constructed shell and taught her the tough lessons of life through her friendship.

As for the love interest, I really liked Matt. He seemed to have the tall, dark, and handsome thing going on (always a plus for me). The moments between him and Daisy were awesome, even when things were complicated and not going well. It added dynamics to them as characters and to their relationship. I like it when relationships aren't easy and the characters sometimes have to grow while away from each other so that they reach some better place together.

DOWNSIDE:

I only have one qualm with this story, and it isn't so much a problem as I just wish it was different (if that makes sense). There are a few moments of action in the story, but for the most part, this novel is the kind where the tension is mostly underlying. I like that, but there are parts where I wish something more had been done with them, such as when things happen off-camera that would have been more fulfilling to witness first hand. This was something that was present in Forgotten but to a much smaller degree. In Revived, it was more pronounced and just made things feel tidied up too easily.

COOL STUFF:

Going back to the tension, Patrick is a master at threading slivers of suspense throughout the story without making the novel feel like a thriller. One of the best things was, because of Daisy's unique life, she does things or is in situations and you keep expecting something to happen but you don't want anything to happen, creating that tension that keeps you reading.

This quiet buildup also falls in with the subtlety of Patrick's storytelling. We get to see Daisy's life from her point of view, and while things happen that are out of the ordinary, the story still feels realistic. Daisy feels like a true person that has to learn to deal with the aspects of a normal life while also hiding the abnormalities she is accustomed to. It is a strange thing to read something that is high concept but feels like it could be happening to someone down the street.

The last thing I liked about Revived was something I also liked about Forgotten and that was how the story is complete but because of the premise and how things are at the end, there could be another installment in the future. Though I'm typically a series reader, I felt satisfied enough to accept it as a stand-alone but I would also be excited if Patrick chose to write a sequel or companion. Her approach removes the pressure of a series while holding on to the potential.

VERDICT:

Revived was a one day read for me. I enjoyed learning about Daisy's unusual life and watching her come to terms when her abnormal existence intersected with the rest of the world. The story has mystery, romance, friendship, and an interesting concept that is as complex as it is engrossing. While I didn't completely fall in love with this novel as I did Patrick's debut, Forgotten, Revived is still a great read that I would recommend to any YA fan.