Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber

I was so glad to finish this book. Between its ridiculous insta-love, and shallow, pointless characters, I found myself skimming through the second half of this book. Having read and loved Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber when I was younger, I really wanted to like this book. And in some ways, I did. However, there were many blatantly awful aspects to it that really had me just wanting to be done with it.

The best thing about this book was the writing. It has the perfect amount of description, and really sets the mood for each different scene. Starting this book was like snuggling up in a cozy blanket and drinking tea. But as I read on, its problems really took a toll on me, making me want to just throw the book at the wall.

It was obvious from the beginning of the book, who the werewolf was going to be- (it’s Brandon). Along with that, many aspects of the book are also extremely predictable. This is aside from the fact that the psychic character, Dr. Meadows, practically reveals the whole plot from the beginning.

There is an extreme lack of character building. The majority of characters, including the main character, were really shallow and kind of stupid. Celeste has absolutely no backbone or sense of self respect. She even refers to herself as one of those people who won’t do something for fear of hurting someone else’s ego or social standing. She never even stands up to her snobby friends or stupid ex-boyfriend, to defend herself or her relationship with Brandon. She is quick to blame herself, and claims she wants to help Brandon, but only seems to focus on what she did wrong. In the story, they come nowhere near ‘curing’ him, and her search for help is pathetic.

The only character I actually saw potential for, was Brandon. He seemed the most normal and real character in the story. Also, admittedly, the main character had potential. If she had perhaps stood up for Brandon near the end and told Nash to lay off, I would have appreciated her more. Instead, she barely mentions that he’s not as bad as her friends expect. Mr. Worthington, the old man Celeste visits sometimes, was probably the best character in the whole book.

Nash is just a dick. Yeah, I’m actually saying that in a review. He is clearly a terrible boyfriend, who doesn’t give Celeste any attention, UNTIL she stops caring about him. And then he does a really stupid thing, that ends up being a major part of the plot, to try to win her back.

Though the lack of character development was very frustrating, the biggest flaw to this book was its insta-love. I have never seen a ‘love’ form so quickly in a book before. Celeste sees Brandon one day at school, later he somehow miraculously saves her from wolves, and boom- she’s in love with him. It’s not just a crush, or lust, she is obsessively in love with him, and even admits that!  They have one encounter after he saves her, and they both are 100% head over heals in love with each other. While Celeste at least explains why she loves him- (his outdoorsy-ness), Brandon literally has no reason to love her back.

I am so done with this book. I feel bad to have to give it such a terrible review because I really liked Ellen’s books when I was younger. And also, as I said, the actual writing is actually quite good. Perhaps this book would be better for a younger person, like a middle schooler. However, I still think calling what Celeste and Brandon have ‘love’ is not at all accurate and a bad example for kids to read. I don’t know how this continues as a series, but I will not be reading the rest to find out.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

I was hesitant at first to pick up the second book in the Divergent trilogy, after the first book proved to be unspectacular, unlike it was hyped to be. However, my interest in the dystopian world made me want to hang in with this series a bit longer. And to my pleasant surprise, Insurgent was well worth the read. It filled in most of the holes that the first book left, and ended up being a lot better than Divergent.

The writing, though still somewhat mediocre, did seem a bit better than the first book. Perhaps this is due to the immense character growth and story progression, or simply Roth’s improved writing skills from one book to the next. Regardless, there weren’t quite as many repeated words in small amounts of space as the first book.

The book starts directly where the last one left off, something I really enjoy in a series. The great thing also about Divergent’s end and Insurgent’s beginning, is the slight pause in the plot, that allows the reader to see not only how the world has changed, but also how the main character, Tris, has changed. The character development in this book was absolutely the best part about it. Tris becomes independent, headstrong and selfless, more sure of herself than in Divergent. Her true self is revealed as she matures and grows with the situations she is put in.

The romance between Tris and Four becomes a lot more real in this book. The emotions and struggles are so natural, and you can truly see how their personalities come together, despite clashing. However, the kissing toward the beginning seems a bit excessive.

I was very happy to learn more about the factions and the world in general. The world-building was much better in this book. We learn about every faction, as well as the factionless. In learning about the society they live in, we are also shown its flaws. None of the factions are perfect, or what they seem. Through this, we realize that people are much more complex than they seem to be. People are so vastly different, even people within the same faction. This book makes you question people’s morals and ways of life, as well as their character.

Tris’s emotion and thoughts were very relatable, in my opinion. She thought in a much more straightforward way than in the first book, making her choices seem rational and right. Because of the strong emotions and great character development, this book was much, much better than the first book in the series. With a shocking and thought-changing ending, I am more than excited to pick up the third and final book in the trilogy.

Goddess of the Night by Lynne Ewing

 

I first started reading this series back in middle school and was completely engulfed in the witchy world of the characters. I was lucky enough to find books 1-9 at Goodwill several months ago, and now I’ve decided to reread them to see how I like them now.

The first book of the Daughters of the Moon series was a really fun and quick read. I read it mostly at night, which emphasized the slight creepiness of when Vanessa, the main character, was being followed. The writing was pretty juvenile, including a lot of short, simple sentences. However, when there was description, it was more enjoyable, especially when the girl’s powers were being explained.

The overall storyline was extremely predictable. It is easy to see from the beginning who the bad guy is going to be. The characters were definitely underdeveloped. Vanessa, despite being popular and cool, is a regular, boring girl, with no back story and hardly any personality. The others, though they had a bit more personality, still did not seem very believable. Each character just seemed to be contained of a different cliche high school group.

The way the characters meet was unrealistic. Vanessa acts like Serena is her friend almost instantly, when all she did was go over her house for a psychic reading. They become friends without ever really being friends. Also, the relationship between Vanessa and Michael is very forced. Despite Vanessa telling the reader that she has always liked Michael and that they apparently had something going before the start of the book, it still seemed to develop unnaturally, and there is no concrete reason given as to why Vanessa even likes Michael. Also I like how the character of Stanton developed throughout the story, even though he rarely appeared.

So there were a lot of things wrong with this book, but fortunately, those faults didn’t stop me from liking it. I am a sucker for girls with magic powers, and the lore behind them, especially moon driven powers. Though it is only touched upon in this book, through the character Maggie, I love the Greek mythology aspect of their magic, as well.

I also really liked how Vanessa didn’t take any sexist shit. That’s something I did not notice the first time reading this, but finding them this second time made me appreciate this book even more.

There was definitely a bit of nostalgia going on for me while I was reading this book, which is perhaps why I liked it more than I should have. Regardless, if you are willing to overlook this book’s flaws, it’s worth a read. I definitely recommend it for a younger audience, like middle schoolers. With it’s subtle basis in Greek mythology, and slight feminist undertone, I think this is a great book for young girls. I will be continuing the series, and I’m excited to see if there is any character development.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

 I had been thinking about reading it for a while, but I didn’t pick up the book Divergent until after I watched the movie. Although this will not be a review of the movie, the one major thing the film lacked was what finally pushed me to pick up the book. While the story was exciting and entertaining, the one thing I was hoping for never appeared. And because I think that part is so vital to the world building, I unfortunately cannot give this book more than three stars.

I had heard much hype about Divergent, even before it was turned into a movie. Although it sounded pretty cool, the main reason I didn’t pick it up immediately was because its story line sounded bland. Yet another dystopian YA in which a girl tries to overthrow the government, and has a surprising love interest. After reading it now, that is pretty much exactly what it is. However, there is something about it that makes it worth the read. The growth of the main character is a beautiful and surprising aspect of this story. As well as the amazing ending that the movie did not portray nearly as well as the book.

Set in a dystopian world that separates people into factions, the story follows Tris (Beatrice) a teen girl who discovers that she is a Divergent. The character of Tris lacks personality in the beginning, perhaps because she came from the faction Abnegation, the selfless. But as she progresses through the story, she changes. Instead of just standing back and letting things happen to her, she begins to make things happen. She starts off, and continues through most of the book, to be a stereotypical teenage girl, not fully thinking things through and acting on impulse. However, near the end, as the conflicts arise, she shows her true self to be brave and smart.
   
Tris’s relationship with Four, while highly predictable, actually plays out nicely. It isn’t simply lust. It grows as the story does, making it seem much more believable. With the exception of Four, and a few others, most of the other minor characters lack depth. They are made to seem dimensionless. I don’t know if this is to show the meaning of the factions, or if it is simply due to bad writing.

The factions are pretty fun, adding a lot to the story. They really intrigued me, and made me want to learn more about the world. However, this is where the book majorly lacks. Aside from the basic facts about each faction, we never really find out how people in each of them live. Even Dauntless, the most mentioned faction, has many holes in the information we learn about it. This is true with all the others as well, especially Amity. Along with this lack of faction information, we learn little to nothing about the world itself. The city they live in doesn’t even have a name as far as the book tells us. There is simply life in the city, and that’s all there is. Aside from mentioning what’s beyond the city, no one questions it, or wonders how big the country/world even is. As world building is crucial to a dystopian story, I found the lack of it very unfortunate.

Another slight hole in the story was the explanation of the Divergents. Although the main conflict isn’t solely based around the discovery of Tris being a Divergent, it still has a lot to do with it. This makes me wonder how the issue was never really faced head on before. Clearly, Tris is not extraordinary, and people are all extremely complex. So why is it only now that the Divergents are becoming an issue? And how many Divergents are there really?

With the lack of world building being its biggest downfall, another was the writing. Though not awful, it is very simple and unembellished. There is a lot of telling, rather than showing. Through most of the book, the main character’s voice is not very strong. Along with this, there are a lot of cliche lines and repeated words/sayings within a short amount of time. Luckily, the exciting story, and character growth make up for the mediocre writing.

Even with so many flaws, I still found this book to be incredibly entertaining. The training  especially is exciting and fun to read about. I think it’s a story that both girls and boys can enjoy and get into. The romance aspect is kept to a minimum, so as not to be overwhelming. The training and other initiation processes are really cool, adding a lot of action to the story. As well as the action, there is a lot of thinking and life decisions being made by the main character. The end especially brings a lot of contemplation, about what is right, into the story.

The ending was definitely the strongest point of the story. If you are hesitant to read Divergent, read it for the ending. So much happens in such a short amount of time. There is character building with both the main character, and many of the minor characters. We discover so many things about people and the society of this book. Tris’s parents disprove the statement ‘Faction before blood.’ Tris standing up to Marcus truly shows how far she has come as a person. It opens up so many questions and really makes you want to find out what happens next.

The ending of this book was fantastically done, and it only leads into the second book, Insurgent. I have begun reading it, and have discovered that much of the unsaid information about the factions and world are slowly being uncovered in it. So while Divergent was not a spectacular book, it is very entertaining and an enjoyable read. I think it will be worth reading if you’re willing to read the rest of the trilogy, and I plan to do so.

Update!

Sorry for my lack of activity on this blog. Lots of stuff has been going on, but I'm finally able to start reading again. I'll be posting new reviews very soon, starting with one of Divergent!

Zines- Collecting, Reading and Making Them

Zines from my personal collection

As mentioned in my previous post, I've been in a bit of a book reading slump. However, I have really been into zines. I've been reading the ones from my collection, and buying/trading some new ones. I've also been working on making some of my own. Typically, most people don't know what zines are. That's why I'm making this post- to tell you all about them!

Zines are basically self-published mini-magazines that can be made by anyone. They can be about anything, from diary entries to art to stories or photography. They are usually photocopied, but they can also be formatted on Photoshop programs. They are folded together like little booklets, and are usually distributed in small batches.

One of my favorite things about zines, is that they are a great form of artistic expression. Because anyone can make them, their quality varies from zine to zine. They are usually sold for a few bucks, or traded, or sometimes given away for free.

The first zine I ever made!

I've been making and collecting them since I was about 16. I discovered them in high school, through the internet, as I've found most things. I have made a variety of personal zines and art zines, in various sizes and styles.

Reading- When I first got into making zines, there were two books that inspired me to make my own.

The art and layout of this book is what first drew me to it. It is made quite like a zine, but in a more professional book form. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in zines. It includes everything you need to know to start out. Packed full of articles about why people make zines, and how to make them, this book is so full of useful information. I still reference this book, even if just for inspiration.

With lots of information about distros and zine resources, this tiny book is in the typical zine cut and paste style. Ignoring the spelling errors, this book has even more information than the first, including things not so obvious, such as prison pen pals and creative commons.

There are other books, and of course, lots of other zines that explain how to make them.

Collecting- Zines can be traded or purchased from their creators, as well as from zine distros. Etsy.com has a great zine section, which is also where I sell my zines.

a personal zine of mine

Online, there are also zine distros you can order from. Two of my favorites are Sweet Candy Distro and Portland Button Works. Though I've never been to one, there are also physical distros that you can go to. I've also heard that some small record shops and bookstores also carry zines, but they are few and far between unless you live in a popular city, like Portland.

Making-  Making zines is a lot of fun. Because you can make them about anything, they are diverse and for just about anyone. There are several simple templates for making them, but the most common is just folding a sheet of paper in half. You can fill your zine with art, writing, photography, or any combination of them. There is no right or wrong way to do it.

page layout

Zines are a great way to express your creativity. They usually aren't made for profit, but they can be sold. Trading zines is one of the most fun things to do, in my opinion. It gets your work out there, and you get to check out other people's as well.

If you have any questions, please let me know. Also, I am going to begin posting zine reviews on this blog as well, being that they are fairly similar to books. So look out for those! I hope you enjoyed this post, and were able to learn about something new, or be inspired to make your own zines!

Reading Slump?

I guess I'm in one of those, because despite really wanting to read multiple books, I have been unable to finish even the two fantastic ones that I am currently reading.  It's an unfortunate thing, makes me feel guilty.

However, I have been into something very similar to books that I want to share with you in another post- zines. I've been both reading and making zines since I was in high school, and they are an awesome form of self publishing that is not known by many people. Regardless of this, they deal with both writing and reading, so they fit into this blog. Thus, I will be making a post about them sometime soon. So look out for that, and I'm sorry for my lack of reviews and book posts on here. I just haven't been reading much.