Dream Conference Panel !

Hi there! Recently I've been asked what my dream panel at a book conference would look like. I thought it was a great idea for a post and it got me thinking! So behold, the panels I'd sooo fly across the world to be part of.

Survival Skills in Unnatural Circumstances

Featuring:

Haymitch Abernathy and Sirius Black

Need I explain this one? Both Haymitch and Sirius have been through hell and back in their lives and still find the strength within to be sassy and lovable, and in their own ways, good parental figures to Katniss, Peeta, and Harry. I'd love to hear some practical advice about how to stay alive and (somewhat) sane in the arena and in Azkaban, and also about rehabilitating themselves (or not) in their lives afterwords.

Fantasy World-building 

Featuring:

JK Rowling and Rick Riordan

                                                                                     

These two quite literally wrote my childhood. I'd spend hours dreaming I'm a witch and demigod, living out my days in Hogwarts and Camp Half-Blood (yes, I said AND not OR. It's all possible when you're 10) .

As an adult still reading their books, I'm astounded as to how well-rounded the worlds they built are. Clues about characters' pasts or futures were always subtly present, all questions answered in wondrous ways we never expected but made perfect sense. The characters were full and complex, the worlds with clear rules and ways in which they worked. 

If these two ever did a panel you can bet I'd break the bank to be there. After crying and possibly just being in awed silence for a while, I'd ask for world-building tips in writing fantasy. 

So those are mine! I'd love to hear from you what panels (imaginary or not) you'd like to attend. Make your own post, or just comment below. Then check out Eventbrite and see what's actually happening near you! (You never know, you may get lucky 😉 ) or use their conference management tools to create and host your own amazing conference panel. Have a great week!! 

Book to Movie Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
book by Ransom Riggs
Directed by Tim Burton

When Jacob discovers clues to a mystery that stretches across time, he finds Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. But the danger deepens after he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers.

So. Moment of truth. Despite having reread Miss Peregrine in the last year looking forward to this movie, I totally forgot lots of it. Also, I came in late to the movie and was a bit distracted. THEREFORE, I will just tell you in short what I liked and didn't like.

The good: 

LOVED the character of Miss P. SUPERB acting. There was emotion, spunk, badassness, ladylike and queenlike and momlike. AWESOME.

The kids were cute, wished I could have seen more of them- more interactions, playing, anything really.

The scenery - views of Cairnholm were breathtaking, as was the home.

The end- awwwwwww. I doubt they'll make a second movie and truthfully this conclusion made little sense, but it warmed my heart.

The less good:

The character of Barren- I have so far NEVER liked Samuel L. Jackson's acting. Sorry.

The whole scene at the amusement park- like what??? Was that in the book???

 Emma's character and the whole Emma-Abe-Jacob mess of feelings. It wasn't really there, and I wanted it. It's important. On the whole, a story is beautiful to me if it's about people and their feelings and complexities (i.e. why I still read Cassandra Clare) and a lot of those were omitted from the big screen (like Victor and Bronwyn) , albeit understandably.

On Jacob's character I was pretty neutral. I also feel like there was too much buildup for the scene of the reset. I wasn't as wowed as other reviewers. Overall?

Review: Six of Crows

Six of Crows
Leigh Bardugo
Fantasy 

Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he'll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:
Break into the notorious Ice Court(a military stronghold that has never been breached)
Retrieve a hostage(who could unleash magical havoc on the world)
Survive long enough to collect his reward(and spend it)
Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done - and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable - if they don't kill each other first. 

If you have never heard of her, please read Leigh Bardugo's Grisha trilogy RIGHT NOW. Truly a piece of the best fiction out there.

That said, Six of Crows is a very different type of read. It's set in the same world, making it the same genre, but it's more of heist drama than a fantasy-world adventure. It's told from the different POVs of the six, making each chapter unique and fresh. Also, each of the narrators have a backstory that most of the others don't know about- it's fascinating  and never repetitive, also allowing you a window into tensions and dramas within the group. 

Kaz Brekker is your deliciously complicated, tormented and brooding, talented scheming bad boy. In another story he'd also be the sexy hearthrob, but in this novel the romance takes a backseat. What was amazing was that the plot alone was so thrilling that I did not find myself searching for more steam in the romances at all. 

As for the rest of them- they were diverse, dynamic, funny and intriguing. You'll love them. 

Setting:  Ketterdam was cool - the gangs, the entertainment houses, the ports, the fights... oodles of awesome. Surprisingly, in Fjerda where all the action happens, I wasn't all that enthralled. Hoping that in the next book (releasing soon!) we'll get to go back to our beloved and magical Ravka *insert heart-eyes emoji here*. 

Two more points of praise:

These days, successful authors will almost always write some spinoff of our favorite stories in their worlds. They'll make it about new characters and if we're lucky they'll up the stakes, but in the end they'll always  have our old friends come in and make a cameo. Leigh Bardugo, however, really gave us a new story, and didn't even have to force the Grisha characters from before into the book to make us excited. Color me impressed.

And one last thing- I read Six of Crows from a paperback edition, BUT DID YOU SEE THOSE BEAUTIFUL HARDCOVERS?? WITH THE BLACK ON THE PAGES?? I WANNNNTT

Rating:

Review: Troublemaker

Troublemaker
Andrew Clements
middle grade contemporary

Clayton Hensley is accustomed to trouble: There’s a folder of incident reports in Principal Kelling’s office that’s as thick as a phonebook and growing daily. Most recently, Clay’s art teacher told the class to spend the period drawing anything they wanted, and Clay decided to be extra “creative” by drawing a spot-on portrait of Principal Kelling…as a donkey.
It’s a pretty funny joke, but Clay is coming to realize that the biggest joke of all may be on him. When his big brother, Mitchell, gets in some serious trouble, Clay decides to change his own mischief-making ways…but he can’t seem to shake his reputation as a troublemaker.

In elementary school, I loved Andrew Clements. An advanced kid and reader, I often felt books meant for my age were stupid. So like all academically strong and frustrated kids, I started reading YA early. Clements was never like that- he doesn't write down to children, and he recognizes them for how smart they really are. His characters are always dynamic and interesting, talented and full of life. They are fully capable of manipulating the adults around them. 

Troublemaker was satisfying in all those ways. Despite how smart and witty and independent Clay is, he openly worships his older brother and aims to be like him. I found that realistic and adorable.  He makes you laugh and you can't help but love him. 

I found his willingness to transform his ways entirely not exactly likely, and also the quickness in which he succeeds. In addition, the example the author used for his message was an exaggeration. Just because he was a troublemaker in 6th grade does NOT mean he's on the path to crime.  However, I thought the ideas behind it -that there are consequences to your actions, and that you can have fun without hurting anybody or breaking the rules, and that if you don't take responsibility for your life you can end up in places you don't want to be - were brought forward well and in a way that was light and enjoyable for a middle grade reader. 

Happy weekend!
Love,
Esty

Review: The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend

The Duff 
Kody Keplinger
YA contemporary

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper may not be the prettiest girl in her high school, but she has a loyal group of friends, a biting wit, and a spot-on BS detector. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. But things aren't so great at home and Bianca, desperate for a distraction, ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

Unfortunately for all of us, I read The DUFF a few weeks ago and only got around to reviewing it now. I loved it, but am more critical after time has passed. Whatever I say, keep in mind that it was awesome. 

The Duff had a really great concept that was executed not as brilliantly as it could have been. For one, the amazing idea that was this book - how we all feel like the duff next to our friends - was spelled out and shoved in our a faces all the time, instead of subtly through the story as I, for one, would have preferred it. 

Another problem was the one-dimensionality of the supporting cast. Bianca's mother, Jessica, Toby... all just served their purpose in the story and showed no hint of complexity at all. Frankly, in the case of Jessica I actually felt that feminism was dealt a blow - a young, clueless, perky girl portrayed as nothing but that. Even the characters of Bianca's father and Casey, who both had potential to be interesting and realistic, well-rounded characters, ultimately were made to be cliches. 

Bianca, at least, I felt was very normal,  realistic and relatable. She was perhaps more aware of herself than a real person usually is, but I think in books that sometimes helps us tolerate our protagonist's flaws. 

Writing-wise, the novel is very, very immature. Phrases were repeated, the language structure used was simple, slangy, childish. (I confirmed my suspicions later... the book's reading level is 3.7 - at the end of third grade in America you should be able to read this. Content-wise of course, this is firmly high-school.) 

HOWEVER, like I said above, I really liked this book. I laughed, I fell for Wesley (even if he is your typical troubled YA popular bad boy), I felt for Bianca. I understood the need to escape from problems, the insecurity that has plagued every teenager from the dawn of time. The unrequited crushes, the parental problems, regrets, girls judging girls, girls trying to stop... it is, for all its faults, a very good coming-of-age story. 

                         

Review: To All The Boys I've Loved Before

To All The Boys I've Loved Before
Jenny Han
Contemporary 

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

This never happens to me - usually when I love a book I love it straight off the bat. I also usually never hate a popular, bestselling book - not always in love with it, but usually never hate it. I consider my tastes fairly normal. 

This book tho. 

I couldn't stand it for the first 50 pages or so, and seriously considered putting it down. (THIS NEVER HAPPENS)  Because I'm crazy about not DNFing, I continued. Boy am I happy.

From the second Lara Jean jumps on Kavinsky and I looked up from the book in bewilderment like did she just do that things took a turn for the awesomeness. I loved how funny things were, I love how I grew to care. I hurt for Josh, I hurt for the sisters. I liked how normal and boring our protagonist was, but how her story and life was beautiful and meaning to me nonetheless. I liked how she was Asian, and it was addressed - ahhahh I had never thought about the costumes thing. 

The romance was beautiful. It was slow, it was funny, it was natural. He grew on me, Peter. Totally had me in love with him by the end. My only real point of criticism throughout the novel was that Lara didn't dwell pretty much at all on who sent her letters. I felt that anyone else wouldn't rest until they found out who had done it. 

As for the person who had done it... without spoilers, I felt that that was a drastic move, and frankly an unforgiveable one. Not to mention the cause of Lara and Margo's fallout... the Song girls' ability to forgive each other was truly astonishing. 

THE ENDING. Like with Jenny Han's other books,  I had a bad feeling about where the sequel was going to go so I spoiled it in order to decide whether or not to read it. Fortunately, it seems things will end up where I believe they should be and have decided to continue(:

Soooo recommended.