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.
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!
Associate Link
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!
I posted a while back about reading Hexed, which I loved. I moved onto Charmed right away. I finished a few days back, though I was hoping to finish sooner but being sick and busy and going back to working 80% hours at my regular job didn’t equate to a quick read.
Charmed (associate link) was as charming as the first book in this duology. I was really hoping there would be more books in Krys’ series, but it doesn’t look like there is. Though she does have a brand new realease that just came out this week, which I might have to check out because I love her writing style.
Charmed was a fast paced as Hexed, and brought me deeper into the Witch Hunter’s world. Indigo was smart and sassy, and most of the time she didn’t rely on boys to save her (that is one of my pet peeves about some heroines). Indigo learns more about her magic in book two, and the stakes are just as high. If you love witchy books about teens, then pick up this book, you’ll love it.
Twisted Currents is finally here! I do not have the physical copies yet, but the ebook is up on the Kindle store now.
You can also order physical copies on the CreateSpace store, this is a great option if you don’t live in Saskatoon and want to order yourself or someone you love a whole bunch of books. You can find the entire series here.
Now Reformatted!
So, now that I’m done writing the Black Depths Series, I can get back to focusing on NaNoWriMo, which I’m terribly behind on. Hopefully I can catch up within the next week. This year, I’m working on a piece of literary fiction, but don’t worry, I have some other YA drafts I’m looking at polishing and self-publishing in the near-ish future.
I picked this book up for my e-reader a month ago, and I have to say, I wasn’t disappointed. Hexed was the perfect read for pre-Halloween. Hexed is a classic “Teenaged girl discovers she’s a witch, story,” but the voice of the main character, Indigo, is unique and easy to fall in love with. Indigo’s more than a little bit self-centred and naive at the beginning of the book, but I love the progression and growth of a character who learns some hard lessons.
Hexed(associate link) is a quick read with lots of action, which takes the leader on a journey into a simple magical world of “good guys” vs “bad guys”. The story is set in LA, which I found fresh, because doesn’t it seem like everything is set in New York or London these days (and not just books but TV and Movies too)? I mean, there are so many other places in the world to see (side note: This was part of why I really enjoyed Daughter of Smoke and Bone, because it was set in Prague and I’ve always wanted to go there).
Once I finished Hexed, I picked up the sequel, Charmed, right away. It’s that good.
Well, I’ve finally finished my rewrites and edits on Twisted Currents, and am now waiting for editorial and cover art. Whew! *Take a big breath*
If you read the title of this post, then you already know I’m talking about how busy self-publishing is. The real work that goes on behind the scenes. If you’re a self-published author, you’ll know what I mean about being busier than ever before. Unless you’ve published and made millions (which is so, so rare), then you likely aren’t sitting on a beach in Mexico sipping drinks from coconuts. Instead, you’re probably huddled in a dark corner of your basement, hoping to squeeze in two more minutes of writing/editing/promo time.
Where I’m Not
If you’re a reader of this blog, then you’ve probably noticed the slow down in blog posts over the past couple of weeks, the lack of book reviews, and the lack of posting in general. And that’s mostly do to those pesky rewrites I’ve been working on. Rewriting is the most difficult part of the writing process for me. It’s that time when I sit down and think: Does this part really make sense? What is the symbology of that? How would this character say it? It’s a lot of work. And it’s even more work when self-publishing because there is no one to help you out. Though, you can remedy that by finding beta-readers or hiring an editor, for me, part of self-publishing is doing it on my own and writing something that is nearly 100% mine, and not 50% mine and 25% feedback from beta reads and 25% changes made by an editor I may or may not know. The editing I pay for is generally typo/grammatical only, which means the creative part of my novels are all mine. But it makes me so busy!
So what takes up all my time?
Writing the Draft – This takes me at least 40-60 hours of straight work for an 80K word novel. I’ve tried to do this all in one week before, but mentally it’s exhausting, so I usually spread that 40-60 hours out over a month or two.
And Then There’s Cat Distraction Time…
Rewriting the Draft (at least once) – I rewrite at a speed of 10 pages per hour (on a good day), for an 80K word book, that’s around another 40 hours. Again, this is spread out because yes, I do have a day job, and yes, I prefer to write at night, making it my “night job”.
Editing the Draft – This is slightly quicker, because at this point I’m only making small changes, but it still takes around 30 hours.
Getting Someone Else to Edit the Draft )and making those edits into a Final) – Most hired editors will get an 80K words novel back to you in 1-2 weeks. So there is the waiting time (where you can at least do other things), and then the review of those edits, which takes about another 5 hours.
Formatting – I hate formatting. This is probable the bane of my existence. This takes me anywhere from 1-10 hours (or maybe a million, I’m not sure, but it certain feels like FOREVER).
Blog – This is just a constant process. And fun (I love blogging)
Tweeting – I should really tweet more than I do (15 min per day)
Facebook – I should definitely Facebook more than I do (15 min per day)
Cover Art Design (hire out or do my own) – I currently hire out my cover designs, though I do the text myself. While my artist is working on the drawing, there is a feedback process to make sure the image is going in the direction I need. In total, cover art probably takes around 2-3 hours, and that’s because I don’t draw (if I did, I would love to do my own art but I imagine it would take me another 40 hours at least).
Book Launch Planning – If you’re going this, look at spending 5-6 hours over the course of a month to choose the sections you want to read, what kind of treats you want to serve, sending out e-vites, preparing other promotional material, and practicing your reading.
Readings/Arts Fairs/Public Events – This is similar to the launch, and a similar amount of time.
Writing a novel is a long, slow process. Writing a series is a slightly more fast-paced process that is just as much work. I have to admit, I’m glad to be concluding the Black Depths Series for the moment, because I need a breather. After a week of getting sampling edits back from potential editors so that I can find the right editor at the right price, I’m just about burnt out. But I’ve timed this perfectly, because now that the book is off to the chopping block, I have time to sit back, read, relax, and blog prior to starting NaNoWriMo in exactly one week.
Join me tomorrow when I post my first blog about my 2016 NaNoWriMo preparations.
Well, we’re back into fine weather here, and I’ve had a great week of meeting my writing goals. What’s really helped this week is that I’m pushing to finish rewrites to get Black Depths #5 out the door by Halloween (cover art and editing dependant). Here’s a look at the numbers for the past week:
It looks fantastic, and as you can see, I’m well over my goal, so I’m thinking I might allow myself a mini-break once I finish this draft. Although, there is a short story I’m trying to finish up in order to enter it into the CBC Short Story Literary Awards Contest, and there is the fact that the point of this exercise is to write 1,000 WORDS A DAY FOR A WHOLE YEAR.
Yeah, that’s a lot tougher than it sounds. Speed wise, I can type out a thousand words in under half an hour. What’s tough is coming up with motivation. Take today for instance, I’m extremely tired because one of my little kittens did not let me sleep last night. All I want to do is nap but I pushed through anyway, and I’m even writing this blog post, though I was pretty sure I WASN’T going to do it. I think that means the writing has finally made it into my blood. It’s finally more habit and chore and hopefully from here things just get easier. I am looking forward to dropping back down to 1K a day though soon, once my currently project, Twisted Currents, is wrapped up. Self-publishing is never easy, but I’m pretty sure it’s most difficult as self-imposed deadlines approach.
Ah well, I’m sensing a celebration coming down the pipe… Probably in the form of cake, tea, and books…
Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all my readers out there. I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for reading my blog and following along with me on my many journeys. I appreciate each and every like and follow I received. Whether you be in Canada, the USA or far beyond the waters, I hope everyone has a great weekend and finds sometime to give thanks and spend time with loved ones.
This weekend I’m hoping to get a bit of reading done. Reading the entire Reckoners Series by Brandon Sanderson is how I dream of spending my weekend, but between all the visiting with family and turkey and cupcake and pie eating, I will probably only get through a few pages.
I will be away from the blog for a couple days for the holiday, but will be back next week to blog away. Hopefully, by the time I return, all the snow will be gone and we can get back to autumn! But still, I could resist one last gorgeous winter picture.
8. Wither (The Chemical Garden Series) by Lauren DeStefano
Have you read any of these books? What would you add to this list?
(associate link) was as charming as the first book in this duology. I was really hoping there would be more books in Krys’ series, but it doesn’t look like there is. Though she does have a brand new realease that just came out this week, which I might have to check out because I love her writing style.
(associate link) is a quick read with lots of action, which takes the leader on a journey into a simple magical world of “good guys” vs “bad guys”. The story is set in LA, which I found fresh, because doesn’t it seem like everything is set in New York or London these days (and not just books but TV and Movies too)? I mean, there are so many other places in the world to see (side note: This was part of why I really enjoyed Daughter of Smoke and Bone, because it was set in Prague and I’ve always wanted to go there).
J. E. H U N T E R 