Top Ten Tuesday: My Ten(-ish) Most Recent Reads

                    "Top Ten Tuesday" is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!

April was actually, for me, a pretty exceptional reading month. The entirety of Spring usually is, as the sunny days start pulling me out of a winter-long reading slump, but these past few weeks proved especially beneficial. In total, I started about ten books, DNFing two of them, and still being in the process of reading two more. Then, in the last 24 hours, I tacked on another title to the list. 

That's not half bad, for someone who managed to finish all of one book back in February! (My success is no doubt thanks to the reading hacks from my Lawful Good and Chaotic Neutral blogposts this past month, too.) 

So, here's a sentence or two each about what I managed to read in the month of April... plus one bonus installment from May that I managed to read in less than a day, because yes, it was, in fact, that great. 

cover to cover

1. Rogue Protocol (Murderbot #3), Martha Wells

Murderbot continues to track down answers to his questions by following the classic "explore the abandoned space station" adventurer's track.

2. Exit Strategy (Murderbot #4), Martha Wells

Murderbot, now with answers, continues to track down his friends and rescue the humans from certain danger... again. 

3. 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice Inside My Head..., Dan Harris (audiobook)

Network news anchor kicks a drug habit and chronic anxiety by getting into meditation; spends the rest of the memoir trying to make Buddhist practices more palatable for Americans. 

4. Kitchen Counter Cooking School, Kathleen Flinn 

Perfect Food Memoir is perfect: when a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef decides to use her forces for good, to train a batch of novice chefs to make their kitchen a healthier, happier place. 

5. Wolf-Speaker (Immortals #2), Tamora Pierce 

Perfect YA Fantasy series is perfect: Daine begins to come into her own powers, while protecting the animals of a region from an environmental threat from the people who rule there. 

last month's sole completed romance read

6. Touch the Dark (Cassie Palmer#1), Karen Chance

The first in a now-twelve-plus installment Paranormal Romance franchise, a Chosen One is tasked with dealing with a bunch of absurdly horny vampires, an insurrection from Rasputin, and entirely too much info-dumping. 

(Read more of my thoughts on this novel and more, by checking out my most recent post here!) 

DNFs

7. My Fair Succubi (Succubi Diaries #3), Jill Myles (20.5%)

A Jessica-Rabbit-style newly-formed Succubus contends with the patriarchy, misogynistic angels, some missing halos, and a love triangle. (I wouldn't know what else happens, because I DNF'd.)

8. Everything is F*cked: A Book About Hope, Mark Manson (audiobook, 26%)

Unconventional self-help guru is unable to help much of anyone figure out the sociological implications of Hope, because he's clearly got a lot going on himself. (I wouldn't know what else happens, because I DNF'd). 

still in the process

9. Best Food Writing 2017, ed. Holly Hughes

A collection of articles, introductions, and other similarly snack-sized pieces into a portable reader of some of the best Food Writing from 2017. But you could probably tell that from the title. 

10. King of Scars (King of Scars #1), Leigh Bardugo

Continuing on in the successful - and now Netflix-worthy! - Grishaverse, Prince Nikolai has some monster-adjacent stuff to take care of, with Zoya and Nina coming along for the ride. 

extra eleventh installment because I accidentally read a novel in the last 24 hours oops

11. Cemetery Boys, Aiden Thomas

Everything you've heard about this much-hyped YA Urban Fantasy book is correct. I had so much fun reading about East LA brujx, a ghostly teenage prankster, and a plot to unmask a murderer, that I was able to complete this read in less time than it usually takes me to write a blogpost! 

What's in your Top Ten today? Let me know, in the comments below!

MAYBE GROWING UP IS THE SCARY PART: A FEAR STREET REREAD

Around this time last Fall, I was suddenly seized with the urge to place a massive book order. The impulsive stationary purchasing of my elementary through collegiate years - coinciding with the advent of school - had been replaced by a different form of paper-collecting as an adult. I turned to Book Outlet, to justify the pricing, which proved to be a very good idea when my order topped out at around eleven titles.

Three among them, were chosen specifically because of how well they fit my particular brand of Autumn-laced nostalgia: recent repackagings of R. L. Stine's Fear Street books.

FEAR STREET AT THE LIBRARY

I was a total R. L. Stine junkie as a kid. I always felt too shy to check them out of the elementary school library during our weekly "Book Time," but the local library branch, located a brisk ten minute walk from my house, had them in plenty.

Still, even my fourth grade fixation on the Goosebumps books, was nothing compared to the summer before seventh grade, when, week by week, I checked out every single Fear Street book on offer. 

I can even vividly remember where they were all placed... back in 2007, before my small suburban library had been struck by the impressive onslaught of the YA genre, all of the well-thumbed mass-market paperback books belonging to that age group fit onto a meager set of five wire shelves, all on one wall, at the furthest back of the "Kid's Section." Very different from the new and nicely-updated library I visit now, this corner used to be quite literally shadowy, largely due to its location, sandwiched behind two tall rows of shelves and the old computer terminals.

I would glance over the more antiquated fare - including two different time-stamped-and-stained editions of Go Ask Alice - and the cutesy teen romances with cartoon-emblazoned covers, but you couldn't help but notice when you reached Fear Street: the moody black, blue, green, and purple covers loomed darkly towards the bottom shelf.

As a kid who was - by all accounts, and still widely is - a total coward, these books marked a serious departure from my typical reading material. I don't know what prompted me to pick up the first one, nor what carried me through a row of approximately fifteen to twenty titles, but I know that I loved them all.

That summer didn't end up altering my overall typical reading style too much, but it is fondly remembered by me, every time I see R. L. Stine's name. It's perhaps for that reason, that I associate summertime so strongly with the Horror genre... or maybe I just prefer to read about creepy things when the sun's still shining.

I hadn't thought about revisiting Fear Street, until the second I saw them available in repackaged duologies on Book Outlet. Into the cart they went, and soon enough, they were in my hands. (Well, in my brother's hands. Ostensibly, I had bought them for him to read, too.)

But I hadn't read these books since that first binge-fest, back when I was only just about to turn thirteen that October. Now, I was 25. I had no idea how things were going to go. I just knew that it was a ticket back in time I was willing to cash in.

RETURN TO FEAR STREET

As it turns out, the books I remember reading so vividly back when I was a preteen, perhaps haven't stood the test of time like I would have liked them to. Then again, that isn't so much of a judgement against the source materials themselves, as it is against my expectations.

I should have expected the writing style to be fairly juvenile (they are Middle Grade, after all, and that's the time of my life where I enjoyed them the most). The diction is simplistic, and appropriate for younger readers, while the syntax is so brief and unornamented that you can practically fly across the page. I ended up skimming a lot, simply because there wasn't a ton of details to get caught up in. As I found out from listening to one of his interviews, this brevity is deliberate, as it allowed his fans to click better with the characters.

The fast-paced action and flow is also helped along by an array of stereotypical tropes of horror, in order to more easily identify the genre, and make it move along more briskly. There weren't just ghosts, or guns, or mysterious figures, or terrifying creatures, or dead animals... but all of the above! It's an overload of puzzle pieces, not all of which are essential to the construction of the narrative, but again, make it more recognizable to readers who aren't as acquainted with the genre as of yet. For many, the Goosebumps and Fear Street books are a young readers' first foray into the realms of Horror and Thrillers, and by stocking the books so completely with these elements, it orients them into the aesthetic.

Every chapter ends with some form of cliffhanger, be it a foreboding final sentence promising danger to come, or a terrifying action about to take place. Repetitive and exaggerated, they easily compel you to keep on reading, something beneficial for readers with a shorter attention span, kind of akin to the end caps of Nancy Drew novel chapters.

At first, with Party Games, I chalked my apathy into being too focused on the para-text of the material (not only was the plot one I immediately remembered, but it actually bears some similarity to the movie Game Night). In this novel, a hardworking and down-on-her-luck girl catches the attention of longtime crush and resident rich boy Brandon Fear, and is invited to a secluded cabin on an island for his birthday party with his friends. The "game" of them all getting arrested by the police goes sideways, when real kidnappers hijack the party.

Then, with Don't Stay Up Late, various hallmarks of Stine's books - having an unlikeable main character, ignoring the warnings about Fear Street - started to irk me the more I read them. Every single person gets warned, and chooses to ignore it. Every single character has a secret motivation, a guilty conscience, or just a history of bad behavior. When you're a kid, these repeats feel familiar, like a recognizable motif of the author, but to an adult, they can become overbearingly repetitive.

I stopped after two books... the month of October was just not long enough to continue justifying reads that didn't fit my mood. But after a year of ruminating over the "failed" experiment, I think that I have a firmer grasp on the Fear Street books, why I loved them, and what I don't necessarily love them now. Essentially:

MAYBE SOME THINGS ARE NOT GOOD AT 25, BECAUSE THEY WERE SO GOOD AT 12

As you can probably tell from the previous section, the various foibles of the Fear Street novels - be they stereotypes and tropes, or simplistic writing - are made all the more into assets when transferred to the hands of a twelve year old. In rereading them, I was forced to confront the idea that maybe they weren't as good the second time around, because they weren't for me anymore. 

Listen, Middle School is a weird time, and Middle Grade is at least partially written to recognize that fact. For me, Stine's series became a summer fixation, not just because they were fast-paced, filled with thrilling action, and plots that felt like something new... but because at that time, I was really looking for something that made me feel a little bit more grown up. That dark and Shady (wink wink) shelf at the back of the Kid's Section, marked a departure, and reading about high schoolers encountering scary things, without adult intervention, felt like stepping into a new chapter of my own. Look at me, Mom, I'm checking out books from the YA section! They made me feel so teenager.

Reading them again as an adult, and seeing with more experienced eyes, only made me realize how young I really was, when I loved them. In the end, I can't help but miss not only the Fear Street books I read in my past, but the person I was when I tore through them all so voraciously. 

Despite the fact that I didn't fall as fully back in love as I did as a kid, I would still pick up some of my old favorites - like The New Girl, Prom Queen, The Dead Boyfriend, Killer's Kiss, and the Fear Street Cheerleaders books, especially - in a heartbeat. I hope they keep coming out with more of the reprints... I may not be the one to read them right now, but I'm still willing to bet that there are plenty of kids who would be willing to give these strange and familiar books a go.

(But more importantly, I recently learned they re-released the Dangerous Girls duology into a single package as Bitten, so that's going to be high on my TBR list now. Because that's still a whole other story.)

Did you ever read the Fear Street books? Are you an R. L. Stine fan? 

Let me know, in the comments below! 

BITS OF BOOKS: DRAFTS FOLDER LOVE STORIES

Remember a month or so ago, when I told you all about the treasure trove of unused reviews I had found tucked away into the nooks and crannies of my Drafts folder? Well, they weren't exactly the end of the stack... in fact, far from it!

So, I grouped together a few of those drafts that just so happened to follow a common theme: love stories. Sure, I've only gotten into romance novels recently, but I've had my past with cutesy contemporary YA and NA happily ever afters, too! While they certainly aren't the kinds of things I'd feel prompted to pick up nowadays, it feels a shame to leave them languishing in the dark of Drafts... so, I've decided to share some of them with you.

And besides, it doesn't look like the bad weather is letting up around Washington anytime soon. Might as well find something sunshiny to keep you optimistic while the world around you is thawing!



Leah on the Offbeat, Becky Albertalli

I had a hold placed on this Simon Vs. The Homosapiens Agenda sequel at the library months before it came out last summer. Both self-aware and highly aware of current teen trends, Leah on the Offbeat is a contemporary YA romance in every sense of the term, packed with relatable feelings, current humor and slang, and conversations that feel all to real to anyone who's had to struggle through things like school musicals, epic promposals, and friend breakups.

I'm a fan of Albertalli's other books, but unfortunately, I came away fairly underwhelmed. The excitement I had over revisiting Leah as a character was dashed a little bit by the fact that she is incredibly cynical, sarcastic, and angsty, which is not always a great character frame to inhabit as a firsthand narrator. It was hard to get invested in some of her troubles, especially those between her and her mom, when it felt like her attitude went a large ways in causing them. While I did appreciate some of her attributes, like her fierce protection of her friends, her enthusiasm for drumming and art, and the relatable relationship she had with her weight (curvy main characters, represent!), they were often washed away by her constant snarking and pessimism.

Honestly, my favorite parts of the novel as a whole were often the ones that featured - shocker! - Simon and Bram. 

Now Me: Unfortunately, the more I think of this secondary installment for the Creekwood fan base, the more disappointment I feel at its outcome. I liked Albertalli's other YA foray, The Upside of Unrequited, a lot more, and it had a curvy main character as well. I'd probably opt to reread that selection, rather than this one. 



I Believe in a Thing Called Love, Maurene Goo

An unexpected and fun YA contemporary romance with plenty of hijinks and hilarity to stretch the bounds of what your average high school experience looks like, without sacrificing any of the awkward charm. 

Cheerfully steering clear of the typical high school stereotypes, by swapping out the teen rom-com rulebook for one of her own, Goo creates a unique cast of characters unlike any you've ever met before... outside of a K-Drama, that is. While I don't think I knew anyone in high school quite as high-achieving as Desi Lee before, I think I probably would have liked her: she reminded me of Sarah Strohmeyer's whip-smart heroines from Smart Girls Get What They Want.

Now Me: Everything about this book - from the doodles on the cover, to our quirky main character - were absolutely cute and fun. Goo has another popular YA book out, and another one arriving this summer... maybe it would be fun to take a step back into the mindset of a romantic high schooler again? 



Public Relations, Katie Heaney


This book was a fun, quick read, that ultimately resembled bad fan fiction a little too strongly for me to fully engage with the plot. 

The attempts at obscuring the inspiration for Archie Fox, the love interest, were almost comically half-hearted, and it kind of made the whole thing come off as a Tumblr "imagine" rather than a fully edited and published novel. That, coupled with a less-than-inspirational heroine, and an unconvincing romantic buildup, rendered the entire thing more suitable for YA shelves than NA. If I was looking for a good celebrity-and-normal-person romance, I'd probably reread something like Meg Cabot's Teen Idol instead. 

Also, this book will absolutely not age well. From frequent mentions of real-life celebrities, to strong social media reliance, to the amount of times the food-ordering service Seamless was mentioned, this book will have exhausted any of its cultural collateral within five years. 

Now Me: Same with Leah on the Offbeat, my opinions of this book have only gotten stronger with time. The litany of narrative issues, coupled with inconstant stereotyping, and the poorly obscured real-life source material, make this one more closely resemble something you'd find on Tumblr than in the real world. 

What kinds of past reads have you been thinking about lately? Got anything buried in your Drafts folder? Let me know, in the comments below!

Book Versus Movie: Dumplin'

I have a slight confession to make: I do not like movies. "But how?" you cry. How can someone dislike an entire form of media?

The short answer is that I don't have the patience for it. The long answer has a lot more to do with what I feel are shortcomings of the genre - stuff like how limiting the scope of two hours' worth of visuals are as a narrative format, or how the portrayals of characters onscreen as constrained by stereotypical beauty and aesthetic standards damages plot - and the fact that sitting around for that long is just plain boring. I can lounge in one spot and read a book cover-to-cover over the course of several hours... but ask me to do the same for a movie (or television!), and I'll probably cry.

(Notable exceptions include Beauty and the Beast, ParaNorman, Black Panther, Treasure Planet, The Godfather, and the second half of the Fast and the Furious franchise, but that's a whole other thing.)

Why am I telling you all of this? You're on my book blog, which means my movie preferences are probably not why you're here. But it all explains why, when it comes to movies, there is a particular subset I handle with a whole lot of scrutiny: Movie Adaptations.

I've done it before for Love, Simon last year, and even Wild the year before that. So, I'm taking on one of my favorite YA novels of last year, and it's Netflix counterpart, to see how both stack up!

the story

Julie Murphy's Dumplin', originally released in 2015, follows the story of Willowdean Dixon, a fat girl growing up in a small town in Texas. Her mother, Rosie, is a faded star of the local beauty pageant - Miss Teen Bluebonnet - who can't seem to let go of that past, choosing instead to help run the pageant every year, famously wearing the same gown she won in every time she crowns a new winner.

Willowdean has never seen herself reflected in the lifestyle of her mother, but after the untimely death of her beloved aunt, Lucy, she feels compelled to change that. Joining the pageant as an act of rebellion, Will finds herself joined by a whole new group of cohorts, eager to challenge the status quo.

Meanwhile, she juggles not just school, but a job at a local burger place, as well as the affections of two boys, who couldn't be more different. As tensions rise, and Will begins to wonder how confident she is in her own plan, she's forced to question whether she's as comfortable in her own skin as she really thought... especially after her beautiful best friend Ellen joins the pageant, too. 

the book

The figure of "the fat girl" is easily tokenized in YA literature, but Dumplin' soars past those boundaries with glee, as well as the stereotypes typically ascribed to other body definitions in fiction.

Willowdean is not perfect, nor shy... far from both. The front-runner of the pageant, Bekah, is skinny, blonde, and beautiful, but also incredibly kind and humble. None of the "outsiders" Will befriends were meek or otherwise wallflowers, and one of them was even widely a pain in the ass, including to her fellow friends. They talked frankly about sexuality. They had flawed relationships with parents who refused to recognize their body as something that is a part of them, rather than something outside and separate from themselves. The characterizations allowed them to be both fully-formed and full-figured, instead of being relegated to stereotypes of "the jolly best friend" or the "juvenile weirdo."

Because these classifications are so unique and relatable, it doesn't allow the reader to brush the book off as an attempt to settle a score, or present a "Big Topic" kind of narrative. Willowdean's entire objective isn't that she's doing something to stick it to the man, it's so that she can do it for herself, and the same goes for her friends. There's an emphasis on the fact that it sucks that something that is somehow normal for other people shouldn't be normal for her, just because of her size. It's something she tries to explain to her ex-beauty queen mom, to no avail.

Here's the bottom line: representation is SO important. I read this book in a way that I know my two younger sisters never will be able to.

Notes from the Field 

• Loved the small-town Texas perspective, something I've never read before but want to look out for in the future. It's far outside the realms of what I'm used to experiencing in my daily life, and I thought it was communicated really well through both description and characterizations of its inhabitants. 
• A lot of background male characters who were also interesting, instead of only the two love interests, and that included a diversity in male rep as well as female.
• Naturally, the book meant a little more to me, too, because I myself was in a pageant when I was in my senior year of high school (one that got its start in the 1930s, no less!). Granted, it was not your average pageant - while others give the excuse of being "a scholarship thing," ours literally was a community service type thing, and we rarely wore our gowns - but the experience still meant a lot to me, so when Willowdean described the fervor over things like preparing for interviews, or the bonds she formed with the friends she took part in the pageant with, I totally got it.

the movie

As is typical for any movie adaptation, Dumplin' - released by Netflix on December 7th, 2018 - streamlined elements of the book narrative for greater concision, but did so without losing any of its heart. 

Granted, this meant relying a little more heavily on character stereotypes, while also punching up some of the thematically-oriented moments for greater emotional payoff (kind of like what we saw with the Love, Simon movie). However, it is a fair adaptation of a contemporary YA novel, that never felt like it was dumbing down its source material for its audience; if anything, it made some of the foundational aspects of the novel shine.

There were different objectives in play, of course: reorienting what could ostensibly be defined as a romance-centered novel, into the greater frame of a coming-of-age story, the movie focused more on Willowdean's development, especially in terms of how her relationships with her friends, her crush, her late aunt, and her mom, intersected with her self-perceptions of confidence and worthiness. This lead to a near-expulsion of almost all named male characters, which to me, made the film really unique.

This choice of focus made the movie an exercise in realistic portrayals of teen lifestyles, and the overall production design really strove to drive that point home. The wardrobe of the entire cast is really darn exceptional, defining aspects of character background like socioeconomic class, occupation, and objectives in a subtle way that you can't get from a written description. Director Anne Fletcher (also responsible for The Proposal, praise be) did a great job with making everything look very down-home and authentic, painting the portrait of a small Texas town with a broad brush of rural Americana that feels recognizable. Danielle McDonald was a perfect casting choice as Willowdean, as was Jennifer Aniston as Rosie.

Overall, the whole thing really set the standard for quality of content that I expect out of Netflix these days. 

Notes from the Field 

• The soundtrack - which, despite the fact that some are remixes and plenty have features from other artists, is made up exclusively of Dolly Parton songs that she helped produce - is far, far better than anything I could have ever expected. It even got a nom at the Golden Globes!
• It's difficult to portray hero-worship in a way that makes sense through visual media without going overboard, but I thought that it must have been a little difficult finding the right amount of Dolly fixation when she's also one of your movie's producers. Like, we all love Dolly, but... it's a lot! 
• This casting was stupendous! I could not have been more impressed. Especially the supporting cast: 
• Dove Cameron (whom my family adores from her work on Disney Channel, and off-Broadway) struck a perfectly sweet note as pageant front-runner Bekah, 
• Odeya Rush (from another family favorite, the 2015 Goosebumps adaptation) was a great girl-next-door Ellen, 
• Maddie Baillio (Tracy Turnblad in NBC's Hairspray Live) was the Millie sent from Heaven that we all desperately needed, and 
• Bex Taylor-Klaus killed it as Hannah, who was actually one of my least favorite characters from the book, but played the role with such sincerity that it made her feel more real, and less stereotypical. 
• Even Luke Benward - who plays Willowdean's handsome work crush, Bo - hit the right intersection of being both approachable, yet vaguely unattainable, that was so fundamental to their relationship. 

the verdict

At the end of each of these kinds of posts, I choose which of the two formats I felt delivered a story better. However, this is going to be the first to divert from that pattern... because I thought both shared different versions of the same great story, and were so varied in their approach, I can't award any kind of outcome that would evenly match them.

Instead, I think that each different medium, served a different need.

 The book, carrying the responsibility as both the original format, and the more complete narrative - giving background, development, and explanation in a more nuanced way than the visual nature of a movie could - might be for those looking for a deeper dive into an engrossing story. Not only is the cast of characters much larger (even including a second love interest!), but they are more fleshed out, while the narrative still gave room for more interior thinking from Willowdean.

On the other hand, the movie only took out what was necessary for a more cohesive and concise plot, one that maintained all of the emotion, while only losing minor plot elements. The aeshetics and production design make for a beautiful viewing experience, one that truly transports you in a way that simply dreaming up the setting and characters yourself might not. It kept some of the book's breakout moments more subtle (such as Ellen's relationship with her boyfriend Tim, or Hannah's big reveal at the end of the pageant), in order to put greater emphasis on others (getting to know Aunt Lucy, or Will's resolution with her mother). In total, the movie felt like more of a feel-good experience, and even offered more plot resolution at the end: instead of leaving the winner of the pageant ambiguous, they announce the name!

I can honestly say that I personally enjoyed both, and would recommend them. If you're asking me which is your best option, I genuinely believe in both. It just depends what you're looking for! At any rate, figure out which medium suits you best right now, and if you enjoy it, make time to try the other.

Have you seen or read Dumplin'? Which version was your favorite? Let me know, in the comments below!

NaNoWriMo 2018, Update #1: Let's Get It Started!

I've participated in NaNoWriMo several times in the past, and each has been its own individual experience. From writing while an active student, sorority member, and fashion website contributor in 2014, to completing the whole challenge in 17 days after a week-long vacation, and ensuing sickness, left me sidelined for the first half of the month, in 2016. Last year I won on Day 21, after having taken only two days off: one for a major surgery, and one for recovery from that surgery!

Each time I write for NaNo, I try to use it as an chance for something new. The best example of that was last year's challenge, which I took as an opportunity to tackle both a genre I had no experience writing in - Horror! - and a format that I wasn't familiar with - short stories! - in order to push my writing experience to the next level. By the end of the challenge, I had written three and a half horror shorts that I was justly proud of, and had accumulated such a slush pile of other soft ideas, that I ended up writing one and a half more stories on my own time throughout the rest of the year... as well as about fifteen full outlines for others.

But no matter how difficult or different I found that project, the time has come to choose a new one, and while I'm going back to the standard formatting of a novel, the genre and audience I'm writing for this time might be even more intimidating than last year's. 

Young Adult Contemporary. That's what I'm writing. A genre so completely outside my wheelhouse that my younger brother - and one of my favorite reading buddies - could not even muster it up as a guess when I prodded him into trying. A genre I don't even really read on my own time, at least since I was about in high school.

Not that that's stopped me before: the first two books I wrote for NaNo were both highly-satirical thrillers... something else I don't really read. And it's not like I seek out short form horror for the most part, either! So far, that writing advice of "write something you'd like to read" is a little wonky, in my case, and YA contemporary definitely fits that quota.

But its the idea I fell in love with first. It's something I haven't been able to evict from the residency it's taken up in my head, since I first spit-balled the idea during a random Top Ten Tuesday post from last year. The more I thought about it, the more I felt sure the idea was a good one, that could work, and was the sort of thing other people might want to read, too... until now, I am left with no other choice, than to pursue the whole thing myself!

And so this year's project is going to be an adaptation, which is new for me, too. I've never even written any meaningful fanfiction, and yet, here I am about to jump in on a novel that not only I love, I've never really felt prompted to focus in on, from a writing standpoint, all that much. Here I am in the past week, doing deep dives not only into historical and pop culture context, but major themes and motifs, authorial intent and personal life, but even a gosh-darned Tony-winning musical adaptation.

At this point, to decide not to pursue it, would be like acting against my own instinct. It would be denying the part of my brain that's prompted me to take part in these crazy writing challenges all along. The only way to keep developing my writing abilities, is to keep leaning in to the organic parts of the creative process... and I, like Mary Lennox, will "[become] stronger, by fighting with the wind."

And that, ladies and gentleman, is the book I am adapting to a YA contemporary audience: Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden. The above quote also provided the inspiration for my working title, Fighting with the Wind. 

As of the moment I post this, I have not written a single word of it yet. I haven't even written a single word of the synopsis for my NaNoWriMo author's account yet, beyond the title. I just wanted to take the time to honor where I've come from through this yearly reflection, and how excited to find out what it's willing to teach me this year.

Happy National Novel Writing Month, everyone! I can't wait to see what we come up with this time.

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year? What is your story? Let me know, in the comments below!

Review: Truthwitch

I'm a big fan of Dennard as an author, and gave this book a 3.5 - rounded up to a 4 - on Goodreads. I'm only saying this now, because it's going to take a little bit of this blogpost to get to the points I actually liked about the novel. Just be patient, and trust me on this one! 

Truthwitch (Witchlands #1), by Susan Dennard, follows the story of Safiya and Iseult, two young witches caught up in a storm of political turmoil and uncertain alliances they never bargained for. While Safiya's Truthwitch powers make her a hot commodity for the clashing kingdoms, Iseult's Threadwitch home tribe is overrun with a dark and mysterious power, placing them both at risk and on the run. With the help of Prince Merrick, they try to keep one step in front of the rapidly gaining enemies... but with a Bloodwitch on their heels, who knows how long they'll be able to stay ahead.

The story jumps in with both feet, the plot taking off with a frenetic pace, as so much happens in such a short amount of time that you're left desperate to find a sense of understanding amongst all the scenery flowing past you. Eventually, however, you find your groove, and begin to determine from between the multitude of new names, stereotypes, and personalities, what the story is actually about.

Even retroactively, I still feel like there was too much happening from the get-go, to the point of various holes not getting filled as they should have. If it's a question of plot versus character in the front seat, plot can undoubtedly be found driving, and it's got its gas pedal pressed to the floor. If things had been slowed down a little, and the reader been given a marked amount more detail of what they were seeing and experiencing, then it might have been easier to digest, while still keeping in time with the pacing necessary to the plot.

If it's even possible, I feel like there was almost too much showing, rather than telling: if things had just been explained a little better as they happened, no matter what narrator or framing the exposition would have come from, it wouldn't have taken so much effort to get caught up to speed.

The characters themselves seemed pretty standard for the roles needing to be filled in various YA Fantasy: the pretty, but weapon-wielding, tough girl who acts on impulse and serves as the main, the dashing and brooding prince who cares for his people despite cruel inter-family forces trying to take him down, the emotionally stunted and logical outcast who is privy to the secrets of the world, but cannot navigate her own feelings quite as easily.

That might be why I liked one of the other side characters - the Bloodwitch - so much, because I felt like I hadn't seen him in this format before. Granted, I'm pretty aware of his typecasting outside the realm of YA: maybe it's his jaded and cynical attitudes towards completing a task and getting paid for it, or the fact that he wears a white cloak, with its hood pulled down over his eyes, tons of leather armor, and scabbards absolutely bursting with gleaming metal, but the whole thing about this character felt very video game-y.

There were even elements of the plot that felt similarly formulaic, like pieces of an IKEA furniture set that needed to be snapped together to generate an acceptable outcome. Various choices characters made - which even in the moment, and with very little time to have met them, felt a little out of place - would eventually regain their clarity when it morphed into a meeting point or intersection with the plot or motivations of another character, that they needed at that time. It was a series of small deus ex machina moments that really came across as the author needing her characters to be somewhere, and just getting them there by any means necessary, regardless of plot.

Still, despite the fact that these elements were so recognizable, despite the plot that was too breakneck and unresolved... I think I really enjoyed this book. There were new and exciting systems of magic that reminded me a little of the Avatar the Last Airbender Universe, the various settings and communities described set things up for a fun and well-integrated world having been built, and overall, I enjoyed getting to know the characters, for all that they might be modeled after others. It was a good time, and I've already picked up the sequel, because sometimes, things that are recognizable - and even a little formulaic - can be the foundation for fun, easy reading.

Final Verdict: Already-established fans of YA Fantasy will definitely enjoy this fast-paced, wide-spanning, yet still recognizable, romp through a thoroughly built-out magical world. While I wouldn't recommend it to anyone new to the genre, or anyone looking for something unique or different, it's the perfect kind of thing to read on a cozy afternoon.

Have you read Truthwitch? Are you a fan of Dennard? Let me know, in the comments below!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Sensory Reading Memories

"Top Ten Tuesday" is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Artsy Reader Girl!

This week's "Top Ten Tuesday" theme - "Books with Sensory Reading Memories" - kind of stumped me at first. What do you mean, sensory memories? I don't listen to anything while I read, because it distracts me, so that strikes out audible memories, and I eat way too much while reading, so there's too much information there to make anything meaningful out of taste memories.

It was only when I freed up my brain a little bit, and started thinking from the opposite angle, that I finally started to get somewhere.

For instance, what books made me think of summer? Instantly, Tamora Pierce comes to mind, as she's always been the first pick for vacation reading, starting when I was in middle school. Then, there's summer reading, completed frantically while staring out the window at the sunshine outside. Then, there was the old classic, the one I read every summer.

So, it seems that I do have some sensory reading memories, after all. It's just not the experiences that shaped my readings of the books... but the books that shaped the experiences!



1. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, J. K. Rowling
My Dad was a prodigious nighttime reader, when it came to my sister and I. It's how all three of us first read the first two Harry Potter books: together. I can still remember when my younger sister and I shared a room, the two of us tucked under our matching bedspreads while my Dad read to us. Most notably, he pronounced the name "Hermione" disastrously wrong, but we wouldn't figure that out until the story hit the big screen.

2. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
This children's classic will always and forever remind me of my Dad, because he might just be its greatest champion. Not only is this another from among the bedtime reading collection, but something he felt so strongly about, that each of us kids has our own collectible hardcover copy to fill out our own libraries. It has a full cast of characters taking part in the action, and for each one, my Dad gave it a voice in such a memorable way, that that's probably how I'll read them forever.

3. Trickster's Choice (Trickster duology), Tamora Pierce
This is exactly what I mean, when I said that Tamora Pierce's books remind me of summer. Older fans might sigh, because I read all of her works completely out of order... starting with the Trickster series, the summer after the 8th grade, while I was on vacation in Oregon. I had never read Fantasy like this before, and could frequently be found tucked up in the hammock swinging outside of our cabin, soaking up the words in every bit of sunlight I could find.

4. First Test (Protector of the Small series), Tamora Pierce 
Immediately after finishing the two Trickster books on that vacation, I needed more. Hence, why I could frequently be found reading Keladry's books underneath my desk in Geometry class, once I'd made my way to freshman year of high school. Thankfully, I had a fairly understanding desk partner, who would always make sure I was paying attention when it was important.

5. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain
The classic answer for bookish memory-related questions will always be this one, because of how much there is to pull from: I've read this book every summer since I was about 8 years old, and there are so many experiences that run flush with what I remember of that particular season growing up. From sitting in Summer School quiet-time every afternoon in elementary, to laying outside by the kiddy pool with our nanny, Lindsay, to reading it while curled up in my bed, under the shade of a gloomy Washington June, there are just about as many memories associated with this book, as there are stains on the inner covers, or tears along its spine.

6. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
The first of the two assigned summer reading memories I've mentioned, Wuthering Heights is notable for two reasons: I absolutely hated reading this book, and I finished both it, and the corresponding course material, within three days while on vacation in Sunriver, only days before my Junior year of high school would start. Frantically filling in notes sections on my Word document, and trying to skim over whole pages, only to realize I missed something and had to go back... this novel was an absolute nightmare, compared to the sunny weather I was watching outside.

7. Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer
Yet another summer reading gig, but the one from the year before, when I actually was prodded by my mother into finishing the assignment ahead of time. In my tween-and-teen bedroom, one I no longer shared with my sister, I had a large set of bay windows that faced the afternoon sun, and a desk turned against it, so by the time we hit July, I was roasting with the sun at my back when I tried to work... so most of this book was consumed, while sitting on the white carpeted floor, away from the sun's gaze.

8. The Big Book of Pasta: Your Complete Guide to Cooking Perfect Pasta Every Time
This serves as a stand-in for every other book I read while puttering around the kitchen, opening cabinets and stacking ingredients, while making sure not to accidentally move the page as I move around. I cook for my family quite frequently, but due to the rise of Pinterest (all hail), that usually takes the form of me peeking at my computer screen now, than it does the pages of a book (all of which are usually library copies). This one, however, is the counterpoint, as evidenced by its numerous tomato stains, and the battered spine, broken to the exact page for my sister's favorite Spaghetti Bolognese.


9. The Spiderwick Chronicles, Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi 
Funny enough, I can't remember the first time I read this batch of small, hardcover books, about children who discover the magical (and dangerous) creatures living around the forest-bound house that their uncle lived in. However, I do remember the second: sitting in quietest part of the school library, enjoying my last chance to read books before Thanksgiving Break, when they'd be doing an inventory of all the books that needed to be retired.

10. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
Yet another repeat read that comes with a whole host of various memories to pull from, the most notable part of this book, for me, was that we read it in my senior year of high school. While that year was one of the most significant of all of mine so far, for a few very important reasons, my English class that year was a star standout. I can strongly remember reading this book for the first time, during class itself, as our teacher had us read various parts out loud to the class, but I sped ahead. Thankfully, I had friends there to nudge me when it was my time to read... especially when our teacher selected me to playact as Lizzie during the first proposal scene (I crushed it, in case you were wondering).

What's in your Top Ten? Let me know, in the comments below!

Book Versus Movie: Love, Simon

So, what feels like a million years ago, I used to have a recurring series on this blog called "The Novel and The Movie," running through various book to movie adaptations, and determining between the two which I thought was superior (Spoiler alert: Between The Maltese Falcon, Bridget Jones' Diary, and Wild, the movie came out on top once!). 

Of course, these posts weren't the only times I've talked about movies on this blog - like in last summer's exploration of the Twilight legacy - but they were unique in that they pitted two different mediums of the same story against each other. When my siblings and I recently saw a movie that led us to consciously make those same kinds of judgments, well, I knew I had to bring the series back! 

(And yes, I'm very aware that this post jumps on board the hype train a little late, as the movie came out March 16th. I'm excusing it, because Albertalli's newest book, Leah on the Offbeat - which focuses on the character of Leah from Simon's story - just came out a few days ago!) 

THE SIBLINGS

If you do remember the Twilight post that I just mentioned, then these two might seem a little familiar!

While I read Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda all the way back in 2015, and have been telling everyone how much I love it ever since, neither my younger sister, Delaney, or youngest sibling and only brother, Beaumont, had ever got around to reading it. Naturally, I mandated that before anyone got to see the movie adaptation - Love, Simon, which premiered this past March to a Rotten Tomatoes score of 92% positive - they would have to do so.

• Delaney is a college senior and soon-to-be graduate, with a passion for HR, and a legacy in Greek life, serving as both Chapter President and Panhellenic President. Despite having been a cheerleader for all four years of high school, and coming out as a lesbian to our parents in college, she has somehow never seen the the seminal LGBT film, But I'm a Cheerleader.

• Beaumont is a high school sophomore, and member of the Knowledge Bowl, Jazz Club, and School Band, as well as Crew for the annual Spring musical. He loves watching Jeopardy with his family, and would like to make sure this profile mentions his beloved pet hedgehog, Beignet.

Delaney read the book quickly over Winter Break - after I gave it to her for Christmas - and Beau did it in the Spring, finishing up just a day before we saw the movie. 

THE BOOK

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, by Becky Albertalli, follows the story of Simon Spier, a teenager who keeps his sexuality hidden from everyone... except for the stranger from his high school, Blue, that he's been messaging online. After he mistakenly leaves his email open in the library, and is subsequently blackmailed by geeky Martin into helping win over his friend Abby, Simon's junior year gets a lot more complicated. Can he juggle friends, family, the school musical, and this huge secret? More importantly, can he do so, while winning over Blue? 

For Delaney, this story meant a lot, due to her own high school experiences. "As a closeted teen I read most of my LGBT+ books secretly, either not mentioning the plot at all or shuffling the novel amongst the straightest YA fictions you could find," she told me. "In fact, Simon vs. The Homosapiens Agenda was the first LGBT+ book I’ve read since coming out. I can easily say I was not disappointed. The plot was juicy, well thought out, and came from a place where, while I knew the author herself was straight, I trusted her with the characters." 

Beau was a lot more new to the sub-genre, but still went in with high expectations. "While I've read books with LGBT+ characters before, they've never been contemporary or romance... if anything, almost all have been in the fantasy category. I read Simon vs. Homosapiens Agenda because it came highly recommended by both of my sisters, and I wanted to read it before seeing the movie. I really loved the characters, because they were very realistic, and it was funny, emotional, and very dramatic, and overall, a good, solid read." 

Notes from the Field (courtesy of my siblings)

• Delaney hates it when teen-speak is incorporated into YA novels, especially when it comes to things like Internet slang or social media-specific lingo. Understandably, it was important to the plot - as the school's gossip Tumblr, creeksecrets, plays an important factor - but that doesn't stop the language itself from being somewhat cringe-inducing. 

• In fact, Delaney couldn't help but flinch at some of the email conversations between each chapter from Blue and Simon, "not because they weren’t as valuable as the story itself, but because they reminded me too much of my own relationships and conversations in high school, and it honestly made me uncomfortable. " 

• Beau just scoffed at the idea of lengthy chains of email responses back and forth. "There are plenty of other ways to message people." 

• Beau thought some of the pop cultural references were well-integrated into the plot, but others were awkward, and even automatically dated the novel. "Some, like Harry Potter, will stand the test of time, but others that are really funny now, might not last as long." 

THE MOVIE

The movie follows the same plotline as the book, to a fairly impressive degree, in terms of a film expectations for an adaptation of a YA novel. They were especially successful is maintaining the sense of personality that Simon imbues throughout the story, as well as creating realistic characters portrayed with emotional depth. However, the changes that were made, were definitely noticed. 

Delaney said that overall, some of her favorite moments of the movie involved Simon's parents, played by Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel. "I thought they captured Simon’s parent’s reactions beautifully in the movie... I could feel such sincerity in both of their small scenes individually addressing Simon’s coming out. I will always see Jennifer as my second mom." 

One of the other elements of the movie that my family really enjoyed included the depiction of the various emailing sequences throughout the movie. Depending on which person Simon was currently guessing at being Blue, the actors playing the mysterious correspondent rotated, all with a blue filter saturating the screen. Delaney said, "Using the Blue filter over our mystery email boyfriend adds a sense of mystique, especially when partnered with the changing characters filling the screen and voice over as Simon’s suspicions change." 

Additional elements that generated rave reviews? The addition of Ethan, an out-and-proud boy at Simon's school, as well as the inclusion of some of Simon's quirks from the book, like his affinity for Oreos. One of the funnier family conversations we had in anticipation of the movie, was whether they'd have anything Harry Potter-related in the film, which generated even bigger laughs when they actually did. 

Of course, they can't all be positive. Certain changes were made to the movie in order to generate a different thematic tone than what was possible through a movie, versus book, translation. Emotional responses were bumped higher and bigger, the cast of characters was streamlined or changed, and plot points were exaggerated or blown to a larger scale in order to convey a grander sense of drama. 

Personally? I missed the Tilt-a-Whirl ending, and it's clear from my conversations with my siblings that I'm not the only one. In the movie, the entire climactic action - of Simon meeting Blue for the first time - was made much more public and "celebrated," which was probably a deliberate tonal cue the movie wanted to hit, being that it was intended for teens... the problem is, the ending in the book is much more subtle and personal, and reflected more of the interiority of Simon that we get from his firsthand narration. Have a crowd of kids below him on the Ferris Wheel, watching him as he waited, and putting a lot of pressure on his Blue, just didn't hit that emotional point for me. 

Notes from the Field 

• No one warned me that this soundtrack is so good. Like, it's really good. As in, something we all talked about after the fact. 

• Great casting choices all around, but mainly in Nick Robinson, who plays Simon, and - of course - the always-glorious Jennifer Garner. Both pulled significant emotional weight through some of the film's most vital moments, and conveyed sincerity and authenticity in a narrative that really warranted it. 

• All of the characters in this film must be loaded, because these houses are positively huge... particularly Simon's, whose digs look like the setting for a West Elm catalog photoshoot. If you're a fan of immaculate home sets, you'll be in heaven. 

• The school musical has been changed from Oliver to Cabaret. Beau thought that change was not only a little unnecessary, but also highly unlikely, as a school would rarely actually elect to put on something as risque and subversive as Cabaret. It was like they wanted something that screamed "musical theater" more, and their eventual pick was a super unlikely one. 

THE VERDICT

Despite the fact that all of us siblings truly enjoyed both the book and the movie, and understood the necessity of the alterations made between the various mediums, at the end of the day, we couldn't help but feel one tells the story just a little bit better.

As Delaney put it, she prefers the book to the movie, "because of its ability to deepen the plot in a way that the movie isn’t able to. I like the dynamic of his family a little better in the book, maybe because it more closely reflects my own."

However, she insists on emphasizing that the movie is incredibly important viewing. "In no way is this the best movie you will ever see, but I’ll be damned if I’m not exceedingly happy that I’ve seen it. Whether you are LGBT+ or straight, you will see a bit of Simon in yourself, and that relatability is what helps make this movie so personal. While it is no Brokeback Mountain or Moonlight, Love, Simon owns what it is - a little silly and a lot heartwarming - and that is why it now owns a part of my soul."

For Beau, the changes between the two ended up being the deciding factor. "Both the movie and the book follow the same general plot, however the movie made several changes... and these changes are probably my biggest problems with the movie as I felt they were unnecessary, and even detracted from the plot." 

However, like Delaney, he also really enjoyed the film. In fact, something else the two both agree on, is what order in which to take in these two story mediums: Delaney recommends reading the book first, then seeing the movie, like all three of us did. "In the case of having already seen the movie first, then you should still read the book!"

"It’s a positive way to see each form of content as a separate interpretation." 

Regardless, we hope it's clear that this is a story we all truly enjoyed and loved, and the likes of which we hope to be seeing grace the big screen again soon. Only, after we read the book, first! 

Which do you prefer, the book or the movie? When did you see Love, Simon in theaters? Have you read any of Albertalli's other books? Let me know, in the comments below!

Bits of Books: Enchantment of Ravens, The Magician King, Lost Boy

If you're going to settle down to the task of reading a great deal of books, you have to accept the reality that some of those books are going to be better than others. Some might be a total dumpster fire. Some might be a slightly smaller kitchen fire that someone started when they got a lighter too close to a potted plant. And even more so, some of those books are going to be... completely mediocre. You know, okay. Maybe even a little more than okay. Maybe even "perfectly fine."

But you can't just give a two word review like "Perfectly Fine." Instead, that's why I have room for mini-reviews of recent reads, in Bits of Books! 


An Enchantment of Ravens, Margaret Rogerson

An Enchantment of Ravens is the first novel for Margaret Rogerson, and follows a young painter, named Isobel, whose Craft attracts patronage from many of the fair folk. However, while she frequently finds herself in the company of these unique and dangerous subjects, she makes a crucial mistake when depicting one of the most powerful of all: she paints mortal sorrow into the Autumn Prince's eyes. Now she must travel with him to the Autumn Court and await trial for her crimes.... if they manage to get that far.

The story itself didn't exactly distract me, so much as leave me waiting for it to develop further. There were kernels of interest, new and exciting ideas, that appeared every once in a while, and parts of description where Rogerson really shined; however, too much of it was built on YA genre tropes for me to really grab hold of the narrative without thinking, "I've seen this too many times before."

Even worse, some of those belonged in the more annoying hallmarks of YA, such as insta-love, a regular person who is the chosen one for fairly achievable talents or personality traits, and the typical trappings of an immortal and ageless prince falling in love with a literal teenager.

The world-building felt lackluster, like every time the ideas started to develop outwards more fully, it fell short a couple steps before actually making the journey into a new concept. It was so close to so many different things, that could have been really cool or new, but never quite made it all the way there.

I'm not about to blame my dissatisfaction on the genre, either, as I've read some pretty remarkable fairy-based fantasies recently. Still, while it's easier to take stories about comprehensive high fantasy communities and multiple groups inter-working in one universe, the idea that all fairies exist in this one concise radius, know each other, and interact throughout the courts regularly, seemed a little claustrophobic, as well as unlikely.

All in all, definitely not a great read for me. However, the cover is stunning... and I was interested in enough of the minor nuances of the story concepts that I might be tempted to pick up one of the author's future reads. Maybe.



The Magician King (The Magicians #2), Lev Grossman 

The Magician King, by Lev Grossman, is the second installment in the popular The Magicians series. Once again following Quentin, Elliot, Janet, and Quentin's long-ago classmate Julia, the journey starts in Fillory, where Q finds himself wrapped up in an uncertain quest. Seeking a key at the end of the world, his journey takes him back to Earth, to the canals of Venice, and farther beyond the reaches of Fillory than he even accounted for. His magical education at Brakebills can't help him here... but Julia's unbridled street-learned abilities might just be the thing that takes them home.

In terms of second books that really feel like second books, this is very much a continuation, and in a lot of ways, specifically felt like a bridge for Quentin. The story was much more about Julia, who I enjoyed getting to know better, especially because of how much she'd been sidelined in the first novel. In fact, I still wish her story had been amped up even more.

Additionally, if the series does a great job of making settings feel like characters themselves, and if the main characters in the first book included Brakebills and Fillory, then the second book was oriented more towards Earth - specifically, the safe houses - and Outside-Continental-Fillory. Each place the characters traveled to carried its own distinct ambience and sense of construction.

I almost appreciated being on Earth more, because the narrative couldn't get away with deus ex machina conventionality so much. With Fillory, it often feels like things just happen due to "magic" and it's used as a brush-away excuse, but when confined to the limitations of Earth, even magic is forced into some form of confine that gives it a greater shape and depth.

I'm not terribly satisfied with the ending, but I suppose that's one of the great things about reading a series after its finished. I mean, I can just run out to Barnes and Noble this weekend and pick up a new copy. The same, however, cannot be said for those who read it in the time of its publication... in which case, how did you guys stick through it?



Lost Boy, Christina Henry

Lost Boy, by Christina Henry, is a retelling of J. M. Barrie's classic Peter Pan, told from the viewpoint of Captain Hook, long before he became captain. Before he joined the ranks of the Neverland pirates, and before he ever lost his hand. Back when he was Peter's first and favorite friend, and more often than not, the only thing standing between the other lost boys and some of the more unsavory parts of the island. When he thought that he'd never, ever grow up.

In the scope of adult-oriented fractured fairy tales, it's yet another Peter Pan retelling; this time, courtesy of the Captain. Among the various choices for narrator of various forms of this many-times-fractured tale - Wendy, Peter himself, Tiger Lily, Tink - those featuring the viewpoint of James Hook have always struck me as the most interesting... probably because, like him, I don't particularly care for Peter Pan, either.

It's not that I don't like the original narrative, it's that its a great story with just too many elements within it that rub me the wrong way. The good thing about Lost Boy, is that it adapts to this problem, both honing in on some of that difficulty in order to make it a central conflict, or zapping it out of the plot at all.

For instance, the brutality of Neverland - the endless cycles of violence, especially between boys and pirates, being depicted as fun and games - and the status of each Lost Boy as being someone shucked off by society in the real world, both come into direct conflict with the unbothered, unbloodied boyishness of Peter. These tragic status symbols that are widely brushed over in the original works, are made into plot fixtures in this one: Were the Lost Boys ever really that lost, unwanted, or forgotten? Was it really the children who demanded so much bloodsport? 

Other plot elements, like the problematic depictions of "Indian" tribes in Neverland that have plagued pretty much every adaptation of this story ever, are taken out entirely, and replaced with the antagonizing force of the "Many-Eyed," which are basically giant spiders. While these new creatures could just have been made to be an example of one of the Island's many beasts, they were completely central to the plot, and the tribe was not mentioned in the narrative whatsoever.

The book was okay, and more than that, it was exactly the kind of book I would have loved when I was younger, especially in how it runs up against other Peter Pan adaptations I've loved in the past. However, this book just didn't feel like it went that extra mile in making the story something more than itself. And when you try to retell a story as iconic as this one, you want to make sure the narrative soars all the way to that second star.

Have you read any so-so books recently? Do you have any book reccs for me? Let me know, in the comments below!