Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre (pronounced like ‘air’ for those of you who are confused as I usually am) by Charlotte Bronte, my favorite of the Bronte sisters is one of my favorite books, and easily my favorite of the romantic persuasion.  

When I was first assigned this book for an independent novel assignment in school, I had mixed feelings. I had heard it described as ‘romantic’, ‘boring’, ‘amazing’, and again, ‘romantic’. So I didn’t quite know what to think. Then, of course, there was the synopsis.

Orphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead, subject to the cruel regime at Lowood charity school, Jane Eyre nonetheless emerges unbroken in spirit and integrity.

She takes up the post of governess at Thornfield, falls in love with Mr. Rochester, and discovers the impediment to their lawful marriage in a story that transcends melodrama to portray a woman’s passionate search for a wider and richer life than Victorian society traditionally allowed.

With a heroine full of yearning, the dangerous secrets she encounters, and the choices she finally makes, Charlotte Bronte’s innovative and enduring romantic novel continues to engage and provoke readers.

I like very dark stories, typically. So this book didn’t exactly pique my interest. However, when I actually read it, I changed my mind very quickly.

While this isn’t exactly promoted, the story of Jane Eyre is quite dark. When the story opens, your thrown into Jane’s torment straight away. The tragedy of Jane’s childhood was that she remembered a time when she was loved and had someone to love, and each time to finds this love it is torn away from her. Her parents, her Uncle Reed, her dearest (and only) childhood friend. These events build her up into the type of women the rich folk look for in a governess (a stay-at-home private tutor/babysitter). Her passion is treated as a sort of undertone. It does not control her, but it gives her a sort of outward spunk (for lack of a better word) uncommon in women of the time. Making Jane one of these most interesting characters I have ever read.

Then, of course, there is the love story. I am a closet-case sap, you see. And while I am very tired of stories where it feels like they quite literally fall into a sort of love like state with a person they’ve talked to once, their relationship was not as simple as the synopsis makes it seem. Jane insists on being his equal, his partner. Not his servant or what have you (even though she’ll only call him Mr. Rochester). She is not a character looking for love, and when she starts to have a crush she fights it. The whole thing happens as it should: gradually, then all at once. And since Charlotte Bronte is such a brilliant writer, we get to experience her pure joy, as it is the first time since she was a very young child that she had been happy. And, really, it’s not that dramatic. Everything that happens is set up in a way where, when it happens, you’re just thinking ‘Of course‘.

Also, this is a Gothic novel. It is dreary. The main characters are damaged (in fact, I believe they discuss this at some point) and there are ghosts and crazy people and fire. Monsters hiding in the shadows, even. Not like the boogieman, of course, but in the way where earlier in the book we are told a ghost story and we watch as it seems to play out (until logic takes hold, of course). But there are moments when the whole thing feels like a madhouse, when you think for a moment someone is going to die. And, perhaps, someone does.

There are maybe two sunshine happiness moments in the whole story. The first, the sequences in which Jane and Rochester declare their love for one another and run off to get married. The second is the ending. I mean, this book has one of the happiest ending in the history of ever. Especially taking into consideration the pasts of the characters and the whole rest of the book. When you get to the ending, it is very satisfying and slightly giggly.

I would recommend this book to people who are fans of classic literature with feminist views, strong female protagonists, romance, and gothic fiction.

If you enjoyed basically anything by Jane Austen, Lady Windemere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde, Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, or Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, you will probably enjoy Jane Eyre. 

If you have read Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys and have yet to read Jane Eyre, I’ll have to kindly ask you what you’re doing with your life, because clearly you have done something incorrectly.

Basically, I love this book. Give it look. And if you didn’t love it, please tell me why below.

Have a nice day.

To the Silver Screen Vol. 1

Perhaps my favorite book to movie adaption (in which I have read the book and seen the movie) is The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. In my mind, the movie was a perfect adaptation and that is do, in no small part, to the fact that Chbosky was the writer and the director of the film as well. In that was, he was able to elaborate on some of the events mentioned in the book, making for a great adaptation. Another aspect that made this so darn enjoyable was the casting, which was perfect. I have no other argument than to say that the casting was perfect.

Even though this did not perfectly fit the way I’d imagined them, by the ten minute mark in the movie I couldn’t imagine them any other way. They captured the essence of each character in the same way that Chbosky was able to display the essence of his book on the screen.

In my mind, a book as always been the story of the author, which is why so many adaptations fail. When new writers and directors come in, they often tell the story their own way, giving limited power to the author. I’m okay with this sometimes (as in the cases of Jaws and The Godfather), as the book simply wasn’t cinematic or something of the sort. 

I think this adaptation only worked because Chbosky was at the helm. If he weren’t, many things would have been changed or cut or gone terribly wrong because movie execs just don’t love the story as much as they love the money and their freaking sample-size statistics. Which is understandable, in their position. 

But this whole thing just turned out so perfect, I can’t quite express in words how perfect it was. What’s your opinion on this adaptation? Let me know, and have a nice day. 

And in this moment, I swear we are infinite

 

Great Quotes Vol. 1: One-Liners

This is day 17 of the 30 Day Challenge (look at me go) and this is the start of another series: Quotes. You know when you’re reading something, a book, a poem, anything, and you just have to stop and read and reread the wondrous words on the page because they are just too perfect? I shall be sharing some of these quotes.

The prompt calls for quotes from my actual favorite book(s), but I would spend far too much time geeking out about said books, and we really wouldn’t get anywhere. So we’re just going to look at a few quotes from some books I thoroughly enjoy. Okay? Okay.

We’re going to start off with some of my favorite one-liners.

“Life is a perpetual yesterday for us.” – The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold

“Have all beautiful things sad destinies?” – Wide Sargasso Sea,  Jean Rhys

“Maybe humans are just the pet alligators that God flushed down the toilet.” – Lullaby, Chuck Palahniuk

“They love their hair because they’re not smart enough to love something more interesting.” – Looking for Alaska, John Green

“I decapitated dandelions all morning, leaving carnage and death strewn into my path.” – Twisted, Laurie Halse Anderson

“Heart and head are contrary historians.” – Stargirl, Jerry Spinelli

“All grown-ups were once children…but only few of them remember it.” The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

“Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.” – The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger

“Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another.” – Beloved, Toni Morrison

“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” – Their Eyes were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurtson

“My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.” The Fault in Our Stars, John Green

“Books are mirrors: you only see in them what you already have inside you.” The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon

“And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.” The Perks of Beings a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky

Maybe I cheated a little bit. Maybe I couldn’t resist adding a couple from my absolute favorite books. What can you do? Any lines you like here? And lines you like I don’t have here? Tell me about it in the comments below.

Have a nice day.

Favorite Characters Vol. 2

Let’s talk about the ladies.

Gilda Joyce

In an earlier blog, I believe I cited Twilight as my discovery of a love of reading. I had never read fantasy before and it lead me into trying to find better fantasies, but there was actually two series that came just before. May Bird, and Gilda Joyce.

Gilda Joyce was a sort of young supernatural detectives series, and I loved every second of it. Gilda was extremely eccentric, the type who wore pink cat eye glasses and blue wigs, disguising herself my looking completely ridiculous. She was around the age of 14, I believe, and an aspiring novelist, with around 5 ‘completed’ manuscripts hiding in her closest. She was basically be before I knew I was me. Outspoken, ridiculous, she’ll always be one of my favorites.

Isobel Lanley

Isobel is the protagonist of the Nevermore series. While I don’t immediately consider her to be one of my favorites, she sort of breaks the stereotype, so I feel like I should mention her. She’s a cheerleader dating a football player at the start of the story. Of, you know where this is going. She falls for the quiet kid and dumps her douche bag boyfriend and realize how much of a bitch she was and everyone lives happily ever after!

No.

She’s actually a genuinely nice person. She doesn’t like to break the boundaries of high school, sticking to her own crowd and all that, but she’s a nice girl. And, I mean, an actual cheerleader who competes and stuff rather than just waving around pom-poms in a skimpy outfit. Her boyfriend is also kind of nice, he’s just the jealous type. So dumps him for being a douche. Only after that does she start to fall for the weird guy, and even that has a natural progression to it. She’s portrayed as a lovely young lady, and I appreciate that.

This list might seem slightly underwhelming, but most of the ladies I want to talk about, I feel deserve their own blog. You know, Hazel, Jane Eyre, Nuria Monfort. Yeah.

Ta-ta for now.

Favorite Characters Vol. 1

It’s Day 15 of the 30 Day Challenge. There is no day 14. Day 14 is a lie.

Anyway.

The prompt is favorite male characters. I have so many I’ve decided to just start a series talking about my favorite characters in literature. I’m going to start with Jacob something or other, Mackie Doyle, and Augustus Waters.

Mackie Doyle

Mackie is the protagonist of the YA book The Replacement. Basically, the book is about a small superstitious town that lives with the constant fear of their children being taken in the night by these creatures who are severely allergic to iron. It’s a quirky little tale, taking a lot of it’s lore from fairy lore, and the idea of the changeling. In the book, when one of the human babies is taken, the creatures leave behind one of their own sick children. The replacement usually dies within a couple of weeks. Mackie is one of the replacements that, for some odd, reason, did not die when he was supposed to.

I can completely relate to this kid. Everyone knows what it’s like to feel like a freak in high school, how you’re completely different from everyone. Mackie actually is a freak, and he’s very much aware of how different he is from other people. More aware of it than other people are, in fact. He’s not human, he’s not quite sure what his deal is, and he’s just trying to keep his head down so the superstitious town doesn’t freak out. He’s also kind of a sweet heart and a hero by accident. Those are two of my favorite things.

Perhaps my favorite thing about Mackie is the fact that he’s an idiot. You can read it going ‘Why would you do that? Mackie stop it. Mackie, no. Mackie!’ and be reminded that he is, in fact, a teenager. He makes mistakes. And he’s sweet and he’s just lovely and I love him.

Jacob

We’re not talking about Twilight. We’re talking about North of Beautiful. One of my favorite books, for some reason. There’s something wonderful about Jacob, right from the start. For some background, Jacob is one of the main characters of the story. He was adopted from China when he was very young by a wealthy blonde lady, and meets the protagonist when she almost hits him with her car after getting a treatment to try and remove the giant birthmark (port wine stain) on her face. His attitude toward life is generally light, and he likes to use humor to get through things. but he also knows when to be serious. The truly spectacular thing about Jacob is his philosophy.

Basically, he takes everything, clothing and the like, to be costumes to project what you want people to see, what you want them to think about you. When he goes into a small town where people don’t know him and his family, he knows people are going to stare. He’s clearly adopted and he’s not female (most children adopted out of China are female). People also tend to point out the scar on his face from a surgery to correct the cleft lip. He’s used to staring, but he’s also decided he’s going to decide why people stare. So, in a small town, he goes full out goth. I appreciate that.

I might like Jacob just a bit more than Mackie, but that might be due to the fact that the story of North of Beautiful is put together better than The Replacement. So yeah. I love them both.

Augustus Waters

I lied. He’s getting his own blog. I just really wanted to mention him here, put the thought in your mind. I don’t think you’re ready for Augustus Waters.

Toodle loo!

Favorite Writers

I believe it’s day 13 of the 30 Day Challenge, and I’m going to talk about my favorite writers. The actual prompt is favorite author, but that word has always sat strangely with me. Like at one point you’re a mere writer, and you graduate into an author. I don’t know. Anyway. My favorite writers.

Shakespeare

This isn’t cheating. I would classify myself as a huge fan, not quite a Shakespeare freak yet. The only plays I can quote are Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet. Hamlet is one of my favorites, but I really hate Romeo and Juliet. At least, I hate how it’s used in pop culture. More on that Later.

The man just has a way with words.

Yet him for this my love no whit disdaineth;                                                                 Suns of the world may stain when heaven’s sun staineth.

Good ol’ Sonnet #33. I get this sense of awe each time I read this man’s work. Just, wow. I love it. Enough to buy a hard cover complete works of 1252 pages. Yet, I feel kind of odd using words to describe this man. Because he’s so good with those word, that anything I could possibly say would be completely insufficient.

My favorites plays are Titus Andronicus and Hamlet. And I’ve got to give a shout out for Mercutio’s Queen Mab speech in Romeo and Juliet. 

Edgar Allan Poe

Yes, I own a hardcover copy of his complete works as well. The books is the same size as the Shakespeare one, but the pages are thicker, giving the still impressive 842 pages.

I love this man. Every haunting story or forlorn poem brings a smile to my face. Odd, I know. But if that hadn’t been made apparent by my favorite plays, I am a fan of the macabre. I tend to find the darkest stories to be the most interesting. And Poe just crawled right into my heart.

Is all that we see or seem                                                                                         But a dream within a dream?

My man!

I’ve got to appreciate such works as The Fall of the House of Usher and The Raven. But my all time favorites are as follows:

Poems: A Dream Within a Dream, A Dream, Lenore

Stories: The Masque of the Red Death, The Cask of Amontillado

All Time: The Tell-Tale Heart

John Green

What is this, you say? A writer who’s still alive? Yes, indeed. A writer’s who’s still alive. I have been a fan of John Green since before I actually read any of his books. I love watching him talk. But, once I started, I knew that I would thoroughly enjoy everything he wrote. He has a real genuine way of writing, and I quite enjoy it.

I loved Looking for Alaska. I had never once read a book like that from the point of view of the person who wasn’t damaged or poor of anything like that. He didn’t get it at all, and it was so weird for me. Because I get it, and I’m so used to reading and writing people who get it. And – slight spoiler – the death in the story was not at all dramatic. It just happened. Very quickly, without warning, without a big dramatic set up. Because that’s how death is.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson. I can’t really talk about it as I haven’t finished it yet, but I’m giving it it’s own little section.

Then, of course, there’s The Fault in Our Stars. That book sort of crawled into my heart and lit up my life while I read it. It a book that I want people to read, but I won’t tell people to read. Because that would seem to personal. I know it’s a best seller, but I still operate knowing that no one really read the same book that I did. That books like that mean something different for different people, and with my current circumstances, I know nobody around me quite ‘gets’ what I took from it.

That’s my list. Have a nice day.

DFTBA

Twlight

I’ve been away for awhile, and I suppose it’s time I talk about Twilight. Because it is indeed day 12 of the 30 Day Challenge (sort of) and I really love to hate this series. Or maybe I hate to love it. Probably both.

Now, I’ve seen many blogs and authors and generally people completely disregard the Twilight series, and I don’t want to do that. I love talking about Twilight. And, if I’m to be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t have ever really started reading had I not read Twilight. I hated reading. All through grade school unless it was Junie B. Jones of Captain Underpants or a nondescript fairy tail picture book, the chances of my reading it were slim. I was criticized, of course. I still am. In grade school I had a ‘college’ reading level, so why wasn’t I reading harder books? My friends kind of scoff and go ‘I was already reading Harry Potter in first grade’ as if they’re actually above  Junie B. Jones and Captain Underpants. There were a couple books here and there I read on my own and loved, like Bud Not Buddy and a couple of the Goosebumps books and Gilda Joyce. But when I read Twilight, I was introduced to a whole new world of literature. I really didn’t know there were fantasy books that could hold my attention. Fantasy movies had always been my favorite, but I’d seen fantasy books as these tomes you had to commit to. But not Twilight. It was like my gateway drug. But for books. So I can’t just write it off. (As I’ve said in a previous post, you shouldn’t be so quick to write off anything that so many people love).

So I’ve compiled a list. Five things I hate about Twilight and five things I love.   

The Shit List

1. It’s not a saga. I know, of all the things that could possibly bother me, it’s one word. But i hate it when people describe something and they do it wrong. A saga is a long story of heroic achievement. It’s not a long story, as it takes place over only a couple of years. And it’s not about heroic achievement. It’s about love and standing up for what you believe in. Something extraordinary happening to a normal girl. People like Bella because she’s basically normal, not because she especially heroic. So it’s not a friggin saga and stop pretending it is.

2. The friggin love triangle. I hate love triangles with every fiber of my being. If you really loved the first one, you wouldn’t have fallen for the second one. It was also unnecessary to the story, and it doesn’t make sense that it was Renesme because  fantasy needs to be rooted in basic fact to work and I just can’t go with that. it also seemed to perpetuate the idea that and guy and a girl can’t ever just be friends and it made Jacob out to be a whiny little asshat when his base was of perhaps the best friend a person could ever have.

3. Character development. Fantasy or no, the characters are still people and people tend to react to certain things in certain ways. I like Edward in the movies infinitely more than in the books, because he makes more sense. 90 years and he never had sex? Really? And why the hell would he leave? And why did Jacob suddenly need to have Bella? And why didn’t Charlie really try to find his daughter? I can’t handle it.

4. Accidental abusive relationship. Accidental is the key word here, and abusive if probably the wrong word. Let’s say unhealthy, leaping right over the edge to obsessive. He left, and she was a zombie until he got back. Depression, I get. But that was slightly extreme. And if that whole soul mate thing caused her to do that, then I still don’t understand how Edward could have left in the first place. But the fact remains, he went so far as sabotaging her car so she couldn’t visit her best friend. People say ‘oh, he’s just protective’. But seriously. If your boyfriends messed up your car so you couldn’t see your friend, would you be okay with it?

5. Some of the plot points really kill me. An example: I get that Bella is so good as being a vampire. It offers a great contrast. But the explanation is bullshit. Everything happens for a reason, Bella was meant to find her soul mate. They could only ever be together in immortality – as vampires. Okay. I can dig it. But as an explanation to her being so good at it? By that very logic, they all should have been good at being veggie vampires as they were all meant to become vampires to find their soul mates. Meyer could have just as easily said Bella was good because she’d had so much preparation. She had seen these things and she knew what to expect and it was her choice and all that good stuff and it would have made much more sense.

Really Great Redeeming Qualities

1. The discussions I can get from it. I have spent so much time talking to people about how it would have looked with our various style of writings. I’ve heard some people say they would have switched it to a different point of view, like Edward or Jacob, and make the romance a subplot, teasing you with it so that its that much better when you finally get there. With me, it would probably be 3rd person. With  the kinds of things I write, though, it would have been about the Volturi and the corruption there and this huge dark thing about a romance existed between a Volturi member and a Cullen or something completely weird like that. I like contrast. Anyway, i get some great discussion about Twilight. It’s one of those things people can just talk about.

2. The lore. It’s all very interesting and serves to remind people that it’s fantasy – you can basically do whatever you want with it. You want to make a vampire sparkle? Then go ahead. Have a blast. I mean, I think that’s kind of ridiculous, but still very interesting.

3. Racial tension. I love stories with racial tension, and I think it does a lot to mirror the sorts of issues we face today. it makes the whole thing more interesting and more frustrating to read. While it was dealt with a bit weird, I believe that fantasy is one of the best ways to get across the racial tensions we still face today. I mean, there was just about no logic to the tension between the shapeshifters and the vampires. Basically, they thought the other side was dangerous and didn’t slow down enough to double check. For awhile, it kind of seemed like the wolves were more biased than the Cullens, but if you really read it, that so isn’t true. And I think it was all an accident.

4. The characters. Not Bella. I don’t like Bella. She’s a neutral mask character to the point where she becomes boring. She starts out enjoyable, then become insufferable. Until she’s a vampire and done with that whole damsel thing. But then she’s just kind of boring. But the Cullens. I love the Cullens. And i love the ideas behind all the characters, and how they’re all slightly neutral mask so fanfiction writers can just go at it. I love Aro and Marcus and the ideas behind the Volturi. I’m always interested to learn more about them (even though the thing with the witch twins doesn’t make so much sense – good idea, poor explanation). I just really enjoy them all. It’s all so interesting, especially knowing you could probably get an independent  book  o novella out of most of them.

5. Jasper. Is it cheating? I love Jasper. So much. I often joke that New Moon should have ended with Jasper killing Bella in the early chapters (I really don’t like that book). And when they were voting and he just goes “I’m getting tired of wanted to kill you all the time.” Oh Jasper. Aren’t we all? Jasper is the character I can geek out about, and the character that I would skip through the books to find. Because yes.

Yeah. That’s my list.

This Six Questions of Socrates

Day 11 of the 30 Day Challenge: I really hate this book.

Don’t tell me that I just didn’t ‘get’ it or I should stay away from books like this if I’m not prepared for philosophical frustration. Because philosophical frustration is one of my favorite things.

My problem with this book is it has no destination. Phillips tries to play the role of Socrates, so to speak, in attempting to break down other people’s arguments. Which he doesn’t do. He gives some background as to where he is (which is, admittedly, interesting for some of the parts) and then lets us read the discussion of other people without once posing his own questions forcing the reader to really think about it. I’m okay with there being no answer to these questions. It’s just that for forty pages it’s a few people saying the same things worded differently and then he brings it together by telling us what Socrates might have thought. Yes, it’s a pretty good introduction to philosophy. No, it is not a bad book. But I hate it so much.

This book goes nowhere. I would have probably enjoyed this book a lot more if it wasn’t a summer read book and instead after each chapter we had hour long discussions about what the answer of the question was for us. The six questions of Socrates, I believe, are not something that can be written about in such a manner. They’re the type of things you sprinkle over a philosophy text or even complete fiction that prompts real thought in really situations. If you’re just reading a discussion then your own thoughts are almost taken out of the picture as you read what everyone else has to say.

Any books you hate?

 

Best in YA Vol. 2

Hello again, dear readers. It’s supposed to be day 10 of the 30 day challenge, but I don’t really feel like I can go into that one. So instead, I’m going to talk about a couple of books I’m mentioned in previous posts. Enjoy!

Realistic

The Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon

It’s true: After 17-year-old Ben’s father announces he’s gay and the family splits apart, Ben does everything he can to tick him off: skip school, smoke pot, skateboard nonstop, get arrested. But he never thinks he’ll end up yanked out of his city life and plunked down into a small Montana town with his dad and Edward, The Boyfriend. As if it’s not painful enough living in a hick town with spiked hair, a skateboard habit, and two dads, he soon realizes something’s not quite right with Billy, the boy next door. He’s hiding a secret about his family, and Ben is determined to uncover it and set things right. In an authentic, unaffected, and mordantly funny voice, Michael Harmon tells the wrenching story of an uprooted and uncomfortable teenaged guy trying to fix the lives around him–while figuring out his own.

I loved this book. I think about it constantly and try not to cry about the fact that I don’t own it. I mean, seriously. What’s up with that? Anyway, for me this actually wasn’t one of those super angsty books. You really see where Ben is coming from. And he’s so funny. There were moments in this book where I had to put it down because I just could not stop laughing. This was couple with the heart wrenching moments between Billy and Ben, as Ben finally found someone to connect with, since both their moms left them and never spoke to them again. Ben’s dad is an asshole. I can see where he’s coming from a lot of the time, but he always plays the ‘you hate me ’cause I’m gay’ card, which even causes Edward to roll his eyes. Edward is just lovely. Ben actually likes Edward more than his dad and refers to Edward as his momdad. Their conversations are also quite funny, as Edward can’t help but point out all the oxymorons. For example, one of my favorite parts in the book is when Ben goes, “I don’t hate fags.” Heh. Then, of course, there’s Edward’s mother. She’s tough. She cares, but you’ll never know. She’s always watching and will lock Ben out of the house if he doesn’t finish the yard work. She’s the best. Anyway, the book is hilarious and heart warming and go read it.

Supernatural

Suck it Up by Brian Meehl

Are you up to your neck in bloodsucking vampire stories?

Tired of those tales about dentally enhanced dark lords?

Before I wrote this book I thought all vampires were night-stalking, fangpopping, bloodsucking fiends. Then I met Morning McCobb. He’s a vegan vampire who drinks a soy-blood substitute called Blood Lite. He believes staking should be a hate crime. And someday he hopes to march in a Vampire Pride Parade. He was also the first vampire to out himself and try to show people of mortality, like you and me, that vampires are just another minority with special needs. Trust me—this is like no other vampire book you’ll ever feed on.

So, as my buddy Morning says, “Pop the lid, and suck it up.”

I like this synopsis. It doesn’t tell you what the book is about, but I like it. Basically, Morning McCobb let’s the world know vampires are thing, some people don’t want it that way, and shit gets crazy. This book is wonderful. I just realized a couple weeks ago that there’s a sequel (Suck it up and Die) and freaked out. This is another book I need to own immediately. What I love about this book is how quirky it is. Morning is a scrawny geek. The comic book references in the book are fantastic (His favorite comic is Watchmen) and Portia, the love interest, is great. She’s a spitfire and like, you know, a person. Like, she doesn’t believe Morning is a vampire for the longest time. Their relationship all comes very naturally. It’s not one of those love at first sight deals, or the ‘I’m going to protect you’ type stuff (If Morning did go that route, Portia’s response would be something like ‘Fuck you, I can protect myself). For me, the greatest part of this is that Morning wants to be a firefighter. A vampire. Firefighter. Please read this.

Have a nice day.

North of Beautiful

This is really late. But we’re going to pretend it isn’t. Okay? Okay. Good. It’s Day 9 of the 30 Day Challenge: A book I thought I wouldn’t really like bu ended up loving. That book is North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley.

It’s hard not to notice Terra Cooper. She’s tall, blond, and has an enviable body. But with one turn of her cheek, all people notice is her unmistakable “flawed” face. Terra secretly plans to leave her small, stifling town in the northwest and escape her controlling father. When an unexpected collision puts Terra directly in Jacob’s path, the handsome but quirky Goth boy immediately challenges her assumptions about herself and her life, and she is forced in yet another direction. With her carefully laid plans disrupted, will Terra be able to find her true path?

I picked this book up from the local library on a whim a couple years ago, mostly because the chapter titles were all references to maps, there is a reference to Helen of try in the first paragraph, and the story takes place north of Seattle. Got some mad love for Washington. (Side bar, here in Washington, we don’t call Washington D.C. Washington. It’s D.C. If they didn’t want the confusion they shouldn’t have made us a state). I wasn’t expecting much from this. But, the story is much more interesting than it seems.

Let’s talk about Terra. She’s insecure. She has a perfect body, and she’ll be the first admit it, but she has this  body because she works hard to get it. And she works hard to get it because she had such extreme dysmorphia for her face, she is obsessive about making everything else perfect. What’s wrong with her face? She has a port wine stain. This is when I started getting interested, by the way. Her port wine stain, a birth mark, covers about half of her face. It’s smooth (some stains are not so smooth) but it’s dark. She’s grown up hearing people tell her how pretty she will be if the laser treatments work.  The laser treatments never work, so she still wears a pound of heavy make up every day to cover it. Terra’s boyfriend, not Jacob, is no help. He’s just your average white guy. He’s embarrassed by Terra’s face too, but she’s never met anyone who wasn’t so she assume it’s normal. And she’s embarrassed by her face, so she doesn’t expect him to be okay with it at first. But their relationship doesn’t actually have any substance anyway. Then there’s her father. ‘controlling’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. He’s abusive to her and her mother. I’m pretty sure it’s exclusively emotional abuse, but that’s still terrible. He’s as asshole.

There there are big chunks of the plot the synopsis doesn’t even mention. First, Terra is an artist. She makes collages, and she’s pretty talented. She doesn’t think she is, and doesn’t like to show people her work, but she that’s a huge part of the story and a huge part of who she is. Then there’s China. China is a huge part of the story. Terra’s dad is a cartographer (hence, her name and all other map references in the book). He found a map that suggested the Chinese actually found America first, but it was proved to be a fake and he let it ‘ruin’ his career. So he hates China. There is a map of every part of the world hanging in their house, but he deliberately left out China. And part of the book takes place in China.

Which leads me to Jacob. Jacob is one of my favorite characters in a  book ever. His story line is really interesting, and he’s just a really cool character. That ‘unexpected collision’ is meant quite literally. Terra and her mother are driving home from another unsuccessful laser treatment in Seattle (which they didn’t tell Terra’s dad about). Leavenworth gets quite icy during the winter, so when they go to stop for coffee Terra ends up swerving, almost hitting a guy, and running into a Range Rover. Terrible day so far, but this is where Jacob comes in. Jacob is a boy who was adopted from China when he was very young. Which is super rare. He has a scar on his face (from a clef lip correction surgery, we later find out) and becomes the first person in existence who appears not to notice Terra’s port wine stain. The car belongs to his mom, a really nice blonde lady who is the very image of an independent woman who don’t need no man (which is shocking for women who live in an abusive house).

Anyway, Jacob is the best. He’s someone who’s been stared at his whole life, so he’s come up with this really great philosophy. He knows people are going to stare, she he decides why they’re going to stare. Going to a small town? Dress like a goth. He sees most clothes as costumes. I like that.

Anyway. The story is wonderful, the execution is great, and i felt slightly bad for doubting it after I read it. But you can’t blame me. The synopsis was terrible.

What about you guys? Have a book you thought you wouldn’t like, but loved?