Writer of young adult fiction, fantasy, and science fiction.
Author: byjehunter
I'm the author of the Black Depths and Artifacts of Avalum series. I'm also a reader and I love posting young adult book reviews and blogging about everything related to books. In the morning, I can be found drinking coffee and wishing it was still dark outside. In the afternoon, I'm stuck at my day job, and in the evening, I'm probably working on my latest creation.
Young Adult Book Review: Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley
I believe I came across this book while browsing in the bookstore. it might have been the feather on the cover which initially captured by attention. What held my attention when i began to read was the author’s unique and varied writing. Aza, the main character in Magonia (associate link), is on Earth and dying, by the narration is anything but dead. Aza has such a smart, lively and unique voice, that I couldn’t help but fall in love with her. What interested me the most was that the story is based on a little known piece of folklore (at least to me). I love myths and folk tales, and generally love books that elaborate upon them.
It felt like there was a fair bit of setup before the story really took off, but the set-up was all worthwhile. Once the two main characters, Aza and Jason, are separated, the real adventure begins. While the characterization could have been stronger for some of the secondary characters, this was obviously the first book in a series, and I’m hoping the deepening of the world and the people populating it is to come. The second book, Aerie, was just released in October, and I’ve already added it to my list of Want to Reads. A good solid fantasy novel.
Wow, the tenth update already! Things are going well, and have become consistent with the help of Nanowrimo. I’m behind in NaNoWriMo word count, which you can see on the chart pulled from my NaNo page last night. I’m hoping I can average 2,500 words a day until the end of the month in order to win this year. I know I can do it. I’ve been reminding myself of the new journal I’ve been coveting for a while, and that I get to buy it the minute I win. This has been my primary source of motivation all week.
By mid-December I should have a completed draft of a novel I’m calling Life. I’m planning on letting Life sit for a few months while I work on rewrites for UJ and still untitled project. Once I’m done drafting Life, I’m planning on using my 1,000 words a day to finish my long overdue WattPad project, Half-Moon Blood. I also plan on spending all my free time in December trying to catch up on GoodReads goal for 2016. I pledged to read 40 books, of which I’ve finished 31. I have a bunch of half-finished novels waiting for me to read them, so I’m hoping it won’t be too challenging to finish 9 books in the next 5 weeks. The good news is, you should see a lot of reviews next months!
Obviously I’m going through my book journal from 2012. City of Bones is a young-adult classic. I read this back in it’s ‘hay-day’, before it got turned into a movie and then a Netflix TV show (neither of which performed well). Here’s what I thought of the book:
Associate Link
I borrowed this book from a friend, who bought it based on Amazon’s #1 rating. My friend wasn’t impressed with the book, and maybe her telling me that biased my own opinion a little bit. I didn’t find Clary to be a deep character. She doesn’t seem to have any interests beyond Simon. Though she occasionally draws, her art doesn’t come across as being important to her. Clary has no girl friends, which would have added to the depth of the story. Some parts of the novel were pretty transparent, and others seemed far-fetched (if you’ve read it you probably know what I’m talking about).
I gave City of Bones 3/5 stars. I went on to read the next two books in the series, but haven’t been interested enough to continue reading this world. I know some people absolutely love it, but I guess it just isn’t for me. I’ll be writing more about other books I’m currently reading this week.
Do you know a girl who loves books? I do. In fact, I am one. So today I’m going to give you my top 10 gift ideas for girls who love books. This is all stuff that I’ve found on my online “window shopping” that I totally crave. Hopefully, you’ll find something on this list that the reader you know and love will crave too.
Leg Warmers
Maybe it’s because, for me, Christmas is all about snow and snow is all about warmth and comfort. But I have a serious desire to get some leg warmers or ‘reading socks’ this Christmas. It’s always nice to be warm when reading.
Associate Link
2. Reader Themed Mug
Along with being warm, I like to have a warm drink by my side when I’m spending a winter day indulging in a book. I own so many mugs that my husband has tried to ban me from buying more, but it hasn’t stopped me. Especially when it comes to mugs decorated with imagery from my favourite fictional worlds.
I love reading. I love books. I love owning books. I love marking those books as my own so that I can rest assure that when I lend them to people they will make their way back to me. Bookplates are great not just for fiction, but for notebooks, binders, or anything else needing a ‘This Belongs To’ sign.
As an avid reader, i track what I read. I use Goodreads to do this, but I also keep a notebook, just in case I ever forget my password and also because I like writing things down with pen. Is there anything better than doodling on piece of paper.
Adult colouring books are everywhere these days. They came into popularity sometime last year, and have stuck around. I own two and I love them. The popular young adult Throne of Glass series released a colouring book earlier this year, or there are always classics to choose from like Alice in Wonderland.
Some of the hottest Young Adult Books are made into movies, and those movies have been given stellar soundtracks featuring some of today’s best selling artists. On the Miss. Peregrine’s soundtrack, you’ll find Florence and the Machine, and Pink has a stunning track on the Alice Through the Looking Glass soundtrack.
I believe I’ve already hit on how I love to be both warm and comfortable when reading, though I will read in such uncomfortable places as the subway, a cafe, an on any public bench when I’m killing time waiting for someone. But at home, I’m going to make sure I’m reading some place I can really relax.
Book lovers will probably go gaga over book themed library bags. I use them not only on my trips to and from my local library, but also just around town for groceries, or to stock up on books when I’m heading out of town on a long trip. Sure, I have an ereader, but I have to pack real books too, because what if—GASP—everything electronic stops working?
And of course, what would be a list of gifts to give a book lover without mentioning books? But it can be difficult to buy a reader a book. It’s always a worry that they will have already bought the book you picked out, or that it just isn’t their style, so when all else fails, go with a gift card, this way the reader can choose just what kind of happy ending they want to read about.
Using the image of the cabin below, imagine a character who is living in it. Or who stumbles upon it in the night. Or who is terrified of it. Write a scene regarding how that character feels when they approach this place in the cool, dark night.
I’m taking a pause in my NaNo-ing as I’ve just realized I’ve reached 100,000 Words in my 365,000 words in a year goal! Whoo-hooo! *Insert Party Here*
I’m so supremely pumped about this! I think I might have to reward myself with a little something for reaching this huge milestone! Here’s a look at my table for the past couple days. As you can see, yesterday I had a great day, but I didn’t even realize how close I was to 100K until I updated the 800 words I’ve written so far today!
This 100K words has mostly been the finishing off two projects which were already started when I began my 365K goal. I’ve written one completely new short thing, and I’m 18,000 words into my brand new novel, which I’m just calling Life, for now though it will definitely change in the future.
Wow. I really can’t believe I’ve come this far already! I’m so happy with myself. Even though I’ve had a few days where I haven’t written new words, i’ve generally been either rewriting something, working on formatting, or horribly sick. So I feel pretty good about that too, though I’m still hoping I can get more consistent with my daily word counts. For now I’m going to happily take the 100K and just my buy myself another e-book to read in the future. What better way to reward oneself for writing that by getting something new to read?
I love getting the first copies of my books! Today I got the first printed edition of Twisted Currents, which looks amazing with its vibrant cover. I arrived home to this box, and was stoked to open it. It didn’t let me down. Next step, dropping copies at the book store.
If you read the news, then you probably know that everyone is fretting about the impending destruction of the earth. There’s the recent Brexit vote, Donald Trump’s win, the never-ending war in Syria, Terrorism. If you’re a Doom Thinker, then you probably like dystopian novels. I’ve read my fair share of Young Adult end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it books, so here’s my round-up of my favorites, and a few selections that I hope to fit into my reading schedule in the near future.
Invitation to the Game by Monica Hughes
I’m sure I’ve written before about my love for Monica Hughes. In my teen years, I read everything by her that I could get my hands on, but Inivtation to the Game remained my favorite book. It’s about a group of teens invited to play a virtual reality game to escape their horrible lives in a world where there are no jobs, and no money. Only the game isn’t everything it seems. It’s a quick, easy read, but well worth it.
The Hunger Games is near the top of almost every book list I make. I love this series, book or movies. If you haven’t heard of The Hunger Games, then you must have spent the past five years living in the middle of the ocean with no connection to the modern world. If you’ve heard about the books but haven’t read them yet, then pick them up. Suzanne Collins has beautiful writing that you don’t want to miss out on.
This pick might be highly controversial to some, as The Selection series is primarily romance versus dystopian. I was surprised by how much I liked this series, and in truth, I enjoyed it more for the romance aspects than the dystopian ones, but I still think The Selection series is a great read.
The world as we know it has been destroyed by disease and teens have been stuck in some kind of weird maze. Yeah. You’ve probably heard of this series or watched the movies. The Maze Runner is a great action book, and makes me think a lot about scientific experimentation, the truth about disease, and what’s really real.
I read this amazing piece of Young Adult fiction and award winner a few years ago, and have yet to post a back dated review for it. But I really enjoyed the story, and when I finished it, I went looking for a second book, which at the time there wasn’t one. There is now, and Drowned Cities is another book on my Want to Read List. Ship Breaker follows Nailer, a young boy who has to scavange for valuable parts on old ships to get by in a world ruined by the melting of the polar ice caps.
This book is a bit different than the rest on the list, because the dystopian-ness is caused by the rise of sea creatures from the ocean floor (not a virus, corruption, or a collapse in government). But I have a weakness for all things ocean, and I loved the main character, Lyric, and the grimy, gritty feel of this story.
I know that a lot of lists ove this book at the top, and while I liked, I didn’t find the world as convincing as some of those above, but I still loved the series. The movies are pretty good too, even if they are up in the air regarding whether or not the last movie will go to television or theaters, and whether Shailene Woodley will actually be in the show (you can read more about this here).
8. Wither (The Chemical Garden Series) by Lauren DeStefano
This series, like The Selection, is more romance driven than dystopian focused. However, the characters were strong and the mystery keep one reading. If you haven’t read this series yet, and you’ve read everything else on my list, you might as well try this one.
Associate Link
9. Pretties (series) by Scott Westerfeld
If there’s one thing I was obsessed with in this book, it was the hover-boards. I still want one to this day. This dystopian series primarily deals with a world obsessed with looks and social media. If you feel this kind of pressure, then you’ll probably relate to the main character, who realizes that maybe a perfect looking world, isn’t so perfect underneath.
Associate Link
The following are books I haven’t read yet, but that are on my Want To Read list. Legend has been sitting on my ereader for four years. There just isn’t enough time in the world for books!
10. The 5th Wave (series)
Aliens and the end of the world. Yes Please!
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11. Legend by Marie Lu
I’ve heard such good things about this book, and like I mentioned above, it’s been waiting to be read for four years! That’s probably the longest of any book on my To Be Read shelf. Poor book! Hopefully I’ll find time for you soon!
You might remember my post from a couple of months ago about the crazy winter snowstorm we had. Well, after that it went back to fall, and now it almost feels like spring again. We’ve had a nice and warm November, and now I’m stuck waiting for snow again so I can enjoy reading and drinking tea under warm blankets in earnest. Below is a picture of a beautiful sunset the other week. There is no snow in sight.
As we get closer to Christmas, I’m going to have a few more Christmas posts. I haven’t started my shopping yet, but when I do, there are likely to be plenty of trips to the book store. Meanwhile, I’ve been trying to get outside to enjoy the weather and get some fresh air in an attempt to get over this cold that has been plaguing me for two weeks.
But I do feel like the change of season is appropriate. Because I spent that brief winter finishing up my Black Depths Series, and I’ve now moved on to writing something completely new and really just ‘General’ fiction for NaNo and the shift has been an incredible and welcome change. I’m being forced to work my writing brain in all different ways, and get to know characters that have been hanging around the edges of existence for a while. It’s also nice that there isn’t snow, since the book I’m writing takes place in the summer. The current season is helping me to keep that in mind. Hopefully, the snow will hold off until I finish this ‘summer’ project. But only time will tell.
Pick a boat. Make up a character who is looking at buying that boat. Why do they want to buy it? Are they buying it for themselves or someone else? Are they trying to run away, or are they trying to get somewhere? Write for ten minutes without stopping.
I borrowed this book from a friend, who bought it based on Amazon’s #1 rating. My friend wasn’t impressed with the book, and maybe her telling me that biased my own opinion a little bit. I didn’t find Clary to be a deep character. She doesn’t seem to have any interests beyond Simon. Though she occasionally draws, her art doesn’t come across as being important to her. Clary has no girl friends, which would have added to the depth of the story. Some parts of the novel were pretty transparent, and others seemed far-fetched (if you’ve read it you probably know what I’m talking about).
2. Reader Themed Mug
4. Reading Journal
5. Book Themed Adult Colouring Books
6. Book-Turned-Movie Movie Soundtracks
And of course, what would be a list of gifts to give a book lover without mentioning books? But it can be difficult to buy a reader a book. It’s always a worry that they will have already bought the book you picked out, or that it just isn’t their style, so when all else fails, go with a gift card, this way the reader can choose just what kind of happy ending they want to read about.
8. Wither (The Chemical Garden Series) by Lauren DeStefano
Have you read any of these books? What would you add to this list?
J. E. H U N T E R 