The Siren (Elizabeth)

The Siren by Kiera Cass

The sirens have one job: to feed the ocean. The ocean is a alive, intelligent, and feeling. She takes girls from shipwrecks and offers them another chance at life--as her siren, feeding her by luring humans into the ocean. The sirens are made immortal, unnaturally beautiful. Their voices are poison to any who hear it. After 100 years of loyal service, they're granted their freedom, a chance to be human again. Kahlen is the most beloved of all the sirens. She follows the rules strictly, stating far away from humans, until she runs into an irresistibly sweet guy at the library, who somehow understands and communicates with Kahlen without her having to say a word. Sirens are allowed to have lovers, but nothing with commitment or love. Suddenly, Kahlen finds herself yearning for what could never be.

The book itself is a siren. Whenever I put it down, I could feel it's song tugging at me, drawing me back to the story. Every second of reading was pure joy. Every paragraph was riveting, even if it wasn't packed with romance or action. Kahlen and her world are both absolutely enchanting. I couldn't wait to learn more about them. The only issue I have is that the power of their song is inconsistent. At one time, they said only one siren was needed, but during one particular singing, when three sirens out of four were singing, they lost control of some of the people. At another point, it only took one word for her to drown a person, though she tried to stop him. At another point, as soon as she stopped singing, the spell was broken. But this is a relatively minor, nit-picky detail, and in the grand scheme of things, it was a minor distracted, but didn't detract from the pleasure I experienced reading this. Overall, I think this is one of Kiera Cass's best—if not the best.

According to Erin's post on types of fantasy, this book is a low fantasy. What types of fantasy do you prefer? And what would you do in Kahlen's position, if offered another chance at life? Would you be tempted to become a siren or would you rather drown?

Thank you for reading! I look forward to seeing what you guys have to say :)

-Elizabeth Newsom

P.S.

If you're interested in other book review like this one, feel free to check out my new blog: http://www.elizabethnewsom.com

Attributions:

http://www.kieracass.com/news/2015/8/20/the-siren-is-coming

Visualizing Your World (Hannah)

When I was first considering my topic for this post, my mom suggested I write about characters.  After all, I have put so much research into them.  Surely, I could find plenty of information for a post.  Unfortunately, there is just too much information, I wasn't sure what to focus on.  Besides, there are so many fantastic blogs on writing that whatever I could write would just feel redundant.  (If you are interested in reading some of this information, we have links to several wonderful blogs over on the left.)

Instead, I came to a much more fun idea.  As you may know from other posts, my favorite part of writing is developing a unique, beautiful, intricate fantasy world.  Character and plot always come second for me.  However, I am not a very visual person.  If I want to see an image in my head, I have to close my eyes and add each detail manually, like I am painting a picture in my head.  This sometimes makes it difficult for me to imagine my settings and characters.  To get over this problem, I have come up with a fun solution.  I create a collage of images that are similar to what I am imagining.  I usually arrange it in Power Point, so I can look at all of them together.

Here are some examples of pages I have put together:

 In my current work-in-progress, the Airaloth are primarily inspired by classic light elves, classic mages, and Oriental culture. I wanted the look of their buildings to reflect that.  I planned to combine Oriental architecture with glass and other translucent materials to emphasize their focus on light and magic. I put together a page of Oriental buildings that I liked, focusing particularly on the swooping roofs, and then I created another page of images that reminded me of glass, crystal, or ice.  This way, when I look at these collages, I can get an idea of what the buildings look like without having to try to form them in my head. 

Also, the Airaloth landscape is very traditional fantasy: green, rolling hills, magical forests, stunning water, and majestic, delicate buildings on the horizon.  I keep all of these images handy whenever I need to describe the setting as I am writing.

 The Nyloth are another race in my story, and they are very different from the Airaloth, despite being partially related.  They live underground because of a curse that will turn them to ash if they are touched by sunlight.  Their homes are built in and around huge mushrooms.  They also carve the stone into majestic Gothic structures. 

Most of these pictures just come from google.  Often, when I find inspiration related to one of my races, lands, or characters, I will save it and add it to a page.  Races are a bit more difficult to put together, but they can also be a lot of fun.   Humans, elves, dwarves. dragons, and others are easy to find, but I do have some original species in my story, so I have to look for more alien-looking images.  I find science fiction sources are much better than fantasy for this.

Nathala

Vasi

Saelina

Individual characters are the hardest to do.  I often can't find good pictures, apart from whatever I have on the race page.  Often, I use online dress-up doll games to help visualize characters.  They rarely work perfectly, since fantasy clothes can be so varied, but I often try to imagine what the character would look like if he or she were in a specific universe.  For these pictures, I used the AzaleasDolls Sci-Fi Warrior creator, and chose what they would wear if they were in the Star Wars universe.  My main characters, Nathala and Vasi, are Nyloth warriors.  Saelina is an Airaloth mage.

Often, I can get lost finding or creating visual aids for my writing, and procrastinate what I am actually supposed to be doing: putting words on a page.  However, I find these aids to be incredibly useful, not to mention fun.  They are also very handy for giving others a glimpse of my story.

What do you think?  Would you enjoy putting together something like this, or would it be too difficult to find pictures to accurately represent what you are imagining?  Do the images in real life ruin the images in your head?  Similarly, are book-to-movie adaptations ever disappointing because they don't match up to your own interpretation? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for reading!

~ Hannah

 Attributions:
I have long since lost the actual links for the images in my collages, unfortunately.
The pictures of Nathala, Vasi, and Saelina were made using the AzaleasDolls Sci-Fi Warrior Creator.

Favorite Fantasy Foods (Erin)

Do you know what we haven’t talked about yet? 

Favorite foods! 

I love learning about delicious foods in fun books! Here are three of my favorites. What are yours?

3. Lembas Bread: Used by the elves in J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit to give travelers long-lasting energy, Lembas Bread is more like unleavened bread or dense crackers. My daughter actually got to try making this in her Food and Nutrition class last year! They made their bread with banana, but what else could you use?  Thanks to her amazingly creative teacher, the class actually wrapped them in fancy, green, leaf-like papers. 

2. Butterbeer: Okay, not technically a food, but still one of my favorite fantasy concoctions. A Harry Potter favorite, butterbeer is a bit like butterscotch flavored root beer, but smoother, richer and not quite as fizzy. Recipes found online vary from site to site because butterbeer was actually imagined into being by J.K. Rowling. I was always a huge fan of the fuzzy, butterscotch candies my grandpa used to keep in his pocket. He’d use them to bribe us into going out for a walk with him, in order to give my grandma a bit of peace and quiet. Imagine: Rootbeer float meets butterscotch candy. Delicious! Let us know if you find a promising recipe! 

1. Turkish Delight: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  Growing up in America, I had no idea what Turkish Delight was. I think, each time I read C.S. Lewis’ magical book (at least once a year), I would imagine Turkish Delight as something new. Divinely melting chocolate, savory beef stew, or perhaps delicate, snowflake-shaped ice candies. Years later, my mother-in-law bought Turkish Delight from a specialty shop. Similar to gumdrops, but square, dusted with powdered sugar, and slightly chewier, Turkish Delight wasn’t quite as delicious as I imagined. However, it is still worth trying, and a fun addition to any Christmas party.  

What did you think Turkish Delight was the first time you read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?

Attributions:

https://pixabay.com/en/flat-bread-salad-baguette-sandwich-617241/

https://pixabay.com/en/photos/?image_type=&cat=&min_width=&min_height=&q=milkshake&order=popular

https://pixabay.com/en/turkish-delight-map-tradition-sweet-1040790/

Love Triangles: Which Team(s) Are You On? (Laurie)

Okay, dear readers, I must confess I have love triangles on my mind. Not my own, fortunately (I assure you, my husband is in no danger!), but I just read the Enslaved series by Katie Clark, which has a phenomenal love triangle (look for a future What We're Reading post on these books), I just started The Selection series by Kiera Cass, which features a prominent love triangle, and I'm in the midst of drafting a more substantive post on the factors that contribute to a well-written love triangle - more on that later :)  Whew!

Anyway, all this studying up on love triangles got me thinking about some of the more contested love triangles in recent YA fantasy/dystopian history. When you're in the midst of a series of books or movies involving a heated love triangle, you can't help but pick a side, right? So I want to know...which team(s) are you on?

Team Edward or Team Jacob? (the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer)

 Team Maxon or Team Aspen? (The Selection series by Kiera Cass)

Team Gale or Team Peeta? (The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins)

Let me know if there are any I missed :)  I can't wait to hear what you think!

See you next time!
Laurie


Attributions:
Twilight series: http://twilightsaga.wikia.com/wiki/Eclipse_%28film%29?file=EclipsePoster2.jpg
The Selection series: http://theselection.wikia.com/wiki/Maxon_Schreave?file=The_Prince_Illustration.png (Maxon), http://theselection.wikia.com/wiki/Aspen_Leger?file=Screenshot_2015-10-13-16-47-10.png (Aspen)
The Hunger Games series: http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/thehungergames/images/d/db/Peeta_gale.jpeg/revision/latest?cb=20120910214451

Gretel (Laura)

As many people do, I believe pets are family members. I brought my cat home for the first time eight years ago in April. She was almost four, and her name was Missy, though I think the shelter gave that to her. I called her Gretel because the swirled gray and cream colors on her tummy reminded me of the snow-capped Alps in "The Sound of Music," and I liked the name of the youngest von Trapp child. Sometimes I call my cat Miss Gretel as a hybrid of both of her names.


I have many goofy nicknames for her: Fluffers, Angel Bear, Pants--she is so furry, she looks like she is wearing MC Hammer pants.


But she was not always so fluffy.


The day I met her at the Humane Society, she was shaking and had fur piling out of her as if she were a little sheared lamb. I learned later the shedding was from stress. I had originally thought she was a short-haired cat because of the length of the fur around her face, but I could see the fur on her tail and back was very long. The long fur had just thinned out in other places, also due to stress.

She was trying so hard to be curious and sniff around despite her shaking that she completely melted me. I picked her up and put her on my lap and told the lady working there that I didn't know what to do with cats.

She said, "She'll show you."

I think of that every day when Gretel gives me her ear for a scratch, then her chin then her snowy tummy, or now and then she even uses her front paws to pull my hand to her head. Subtle. She was like that right away, even though she had other challenges to overcome.

In her first days with me at home, she crawled along the floor on her tummy with her tail flat against the floor. With her awkward fur and low walk, she looked like some other kind of animal, not a cat. She sneezed blood, had eye discharge, and was so skinny as an adult cat that she could comfortably hang out in the three-inch space behind my cedar chest. She didn't know how to play with toys, and would get frustrated if I tried to pull one along the floor for her to chase. At first, I fed her kibble with my fingers, and later she would eat on her own only if I was sitting at her back. I

eventually got her two sets of food and water dishes to keep in our two different rooms because she would only eat in the room I was

in and I had been carrying her dish back and forth so she would keep eating.

I remember the first night that I heard a funny little snore come from her, and I knew she was happy and finally starting to relax and trust in the safety of her space. It took her about a year after that to develop a purr. It started as a small vibration I could see in her new fluffy cheeks or feel when I pressed my head to hers. Now she purrs so loudly that she sometimes sounds like a crackling campfire, keeping me warm and the room bright.

She watches movies with me, sits with me while I write, and when I get off the couch, she takes my seat. As I wrote my draft of this post on paper, she hovered over my pen, like a large, rumbling, furry pen decoration and occasionally licked the paper so that it was slightly damp. At times, when she is bathing herself, she stops to clean my hand like it is her kitten. There can be no closed doors in our apartment--when I shower, she is on the mat just outside, waiting for me to finish. As she eats or scrunches herself over her front feet so that the tufts of fur on her elbows flip out to show the cream color beneath, it looks like she has angel wings.

And each day that I start to leave the apartment for work, she goes straight to her food bowl because she knows I don't like to leave her back while she is eating.

She makes me laugh every day, softens me when I'm upset , and makes me a happier and better person. I don't know where she was before she came to me or what happened to her, but I sure am glad she's with me now. Miss Gretel. My Bear. I love her so much.

Favorite Fairy Tale Retellings (Elizabeth)

I love fairytales, particularly their element of classic romance. All of my following favorite fairytale retellings are romances, so be warned ;)

3. Winter by Marissa Meyer

All of Marissa Meyer's books are some of my very favorites. The prose is beautiful, the plot unpredictable, and the characters unique, yet lovable. I would have just chosen her books for all of my top three, but I've decided to choose other stories for variation.
As you can guess, Winter is a retelling of SnowWhite, and it's definitely my favorite of the Lunar Chronicles, though Cress is pretty amazing.  Winter is the grand finale of the entire series, and Marissa Meyers doesn't disappoint. None of the characters are neglected. Each relationship gets their own sub-plot and a share of the spotlight.
Winter is the fair Lunar Princess. Like Levana, she also has had a miserable childhood, tortured by her closest relative instead of loved. But instead of traveling the path Levana went, Winter becomes kinder. In fact, she stops using her telepathic Lunar abilities, because she thinks it's wrong to take control over someone. As a result, she has terrible hallucinations, and many think she's insane. Jacin, Winter's guard and child-hood friend, is so sweet and protective of her. I just loved seeing the two interact.
I must warn you that this does not read as a stand-alone. The plot gets more complicated with the addition of more sub-plots, so you must start with Cinder and work your way up. Each and every book sparkles in its own way, so I'd recommend reading all of them.

2. The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest by Melanie Dickerson

This story strongly reminded me of Robin Hood, except for the fact that Robin Hood is a woman, and she illegally hunts in the forest to feed orphans instead of stealing from the rich. Jorgen Hartman is the handsome forester. His mission: to hunt down the illegal poacher. As he's hunting the poacher down, he meets a beautiful maiden who teaches the village children, and he begins to fall in love. As you can guess, this beautiful maiden is the poacher. She not only teaches the children, but feeds them. The tension right from the beginning is ratcheted higher by the fact that Jorgen is trying to hunt her "alter ego" down while falling in love with her. The romance is also very sweet :)

1. Dragon Rose by Christine Pope

This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast (my all-time favorite fairytale), and though it's the second in a series, it does read as a standalone.
The Dragon Lord has ruled over Rhianne's town for centuries, and she's been selected as his next bride. None of the brides ever return once they enter the stony fortress the Dragon Lord lives in...
This is another very tender romance. The Dragon Lord is surprisingly kind, even when Rhianne pries into his secrets. Rhianne is strong, independent, and practical. She's a great character to follow, and it's exciting to unveil the mysteries and secrets that lurk in the castle.

Do you know of any other Beauty and the Beast retellings? I'd love to check them out :) Do you like to read retellings of fairytales? Why do you think some people like to hear the same stories over and over again?

Want more fairytale retellings? Check out Laurie's favorites.

Thank you for reading!

-Elizabeth Newsom

P.S.
I'm linking my website to my name, so please feel free to check it out ;) Especially if you like romances.


Attributions:
Winter: http://lunarchronicles.wikia.com/wiki/File:Winter_Cover.jpg
The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest: http://melaniewrites.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-huntress-of-thornbeck-forest-is.html
Dragon Rose: http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Rose-Tales-Latter-Kingdoms-ebook/dp/B00A81XPX0

Wings of Fire (Hannah)

"What We're Reading" time again!  Although technically Erin was the first to complete a full cycle of topics, this is my first time repeating a category I have already written in.  I hope it is the first of many!

Now, for the real topic.  A few weeks ago, I wrote a post on great fantasy worlds, and used the Wings of Fire series as an example.  In that post, I got to gush about my favorite part of reading fantasy: experiencing amazing new worlds.  Here, I am going to go into greater detail on the Wings of Fire series, by Tui T. Sutherland.  This series is a work in progress, and it can effectively be divided into two distinct parts. The first five books, or half of the series, is the part I am reviewing.  These books are great for those who love action/adventure and in-depth fantasy worlds.  There is virtually no romance, except for the occasional crush.  It focuses more on the relationships between the main characters, who have grown up together and see each other as siblings.

"When the war has lasted twenty years...

the dragonets will come.

When the land is soaked in blood and tears...

the dragonets will come.

Find SeaWing egg of deepest blue.

Wings of night shall come to you.

The largest egg on mountain high

will give to you the wings of sky.

For wings of earth, search through the mud

for an egg the color of dragon blood.

And hidden alone from rival queens

the SandWing egg awaits unseen.

Of three queens who blister, blaze, and burn,

two shall die and one shall learn

if she bows to a fate that is stronger and higher,

she'll have the power of wings of fire.

Five eggs to hatch on brightest night,

five dragons born to end the fight.

Darkness will rise to bring the light.

The dragonets are coming..."

So begins the first book, The Dragonet Prophecy.  In the land of Pyrrhia, three Sand dragon (or SandWing) queens have been fighting for the throne for eighteen years.  The other tribes have taken sides, and the world is torn apart by war.  Everyone looks for the dragonets to come and end the destruction.  Hidden away from the rest of the world, five dragonets - the Dragonets of Destiny, as they are known - anxiously await their chance to save the world.  Unfortunately, there is a catch: the prophecy was broken almost as soon as it was spoken.  The SkyWing dragonet was murdered before he was even born.  Instead, one of the dragonets' handlers stole a RainWing egg to replace the missing SkyWing egg.

The book begins eighteen years into the war when the dragon who spoke the prophesy, Morrowseer, comes to check on the dragonets.  Infuriated by the absence of the SkyWing and the presence of a RainWing, Morrowseer declares that the RainWing, Glory, must be killed.  Clay, the MudWing Dragonet of Destiny, and the self-proclaimed protector of the group, finally becomes fed up with hiding under a mountain at the mercy of their cruel guardians, waiting for destiny to come to him.  He leads the other four dragonets out into the world... where they promptly encounter more danger than they ever expected.

Over the next few books, the dragonets encounter the horror of the war firsthand and do all they can to end it. They get swept up into the political machinations of the warring queens, get kidnapped by their own tribes, and are both adored and hunted from one corner of Pyrrhia to the other.  Ultimately, they fulfill the prophecy and bring the war to a close, but it comes at a high price.

Each of the Dragonets of Destiny gets his or her own book.  Every book is well written and distinct from the others, and I love how each character's viewpoint adds another facet to the story.  Like everyone else, I had a few characters that I liked more than I liked others.  So, when it came time to read the books that focused on the characters I didn't like as much, I groaned inside.  I couldn't leave the series unfinished, though, so I decided to read them, even if I didn't like them.  Of course, I thoroughly enjoyed the books focusing on characters I liked, but it was the books focusing on characters I didn't like that really caused me to have a lot of admiration for the writer.  She managed to take characters I didn't like very much and create the perfect story to show off their strengths and weaknesses, who they are, and why I should care about them.  I enjoyed those books just as much as I did the others.

By Mike Schley

I don't want to repeat what I said in my other post, but for those of you who missed it, Wings of Fire is set in one of my absolute favorite fantasy worlds.  It is populated entirely by dragons, and there are seven different types.  The dragons of a same type live together in tribes, and each tribe is organically different.  For example, SeaWings can see in the dark and have glow-in-the-dark scales.  Why?  Because it is dark underwater, and they have to be able to see.  Also, it is impossible to speak underwater.  They flash their glowing scales, much like Morse Code, to speak to each other in their own language.  Each book explores a different region of Pyrrhia, and the depth and nuance of every area is magnificent.

The main characters, the Dragonets of Destiny, are each so different and yet complimentary.  Glory, the plan-oriented and dry-witted RainWing, clashes with Tsunami, the headstrong, impulsive SeaWing warrior.  The NightWing Starflight loves books and scrolls, and remembers just about everything he reads.  His knowledge is invaluable, but he often comes off as a know-it-all, and whenever danger hits, he freezes.  Sunny is a perky, happy, naive SandWing that truly cares about others.  Holding the group together is Clay, the strong, protective, and easy-going MudWing.  The group dynamic is very organic and often humorous, but there is a lot of conflict when their personalities clash.

These are considered tween books, but I have been reading them as a teenager, and I think they have the perfect balance of simplicity and complexity.  Since many of the other books I read are thick and complex, and require a lot of investment to fully understand and enjoy, I love having these to relax with.  They are fast reads, but the author doesn't sacrifice quality for simplicity.  It's nice to be able to breeze through a well-written, engaging story once in a while, and these are perfect for that function.  All in all, these are some of my favorite books and they are well worth reading.

Do you ever find children's books to be interesting?  Do you prefer lighter, faster reads, in-depth and complex stories, or do you like a good mix?

Thanks for reading!
~ Hannah

Attributions
The Dragonet Prophesy: http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/wingsoffire/images/0/0f/A2a.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20141006235308
The Lost Heir: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51bAAxOB-pL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
The Hidden Kingdom: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51m733zVbpL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
Map of Pyrrhia: http://tuibooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Wings-of-Fire-map-final-compressed-e1340913451579.jpg
The Dark Secret: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51AoIP0VPoL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
The Brightest Night: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Ov-HBgV-L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg