Tying the Leaves

Tying the Leaves is a 2019 young adult novel by June Toher. It was published by Toher’s Tales in October of 2019. The novel is concerned with the subjects of climate change and environmentalism with elements of magical realism. I was provided with a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Tying the Leaves follows a timid Virginia boy named Jamie and his three friends, Tony, Raj and Keisha. After they travel seventy years into the future, they are horrified to find the Earth devastated by climate change and dirty energy pollution. They return to the present, determined to make sure that the future they saw doesn’t come to pass. They launch an international online kids organization to save the planet, team up with a U.S. senator on a controversial environmental bill, and fight the fossil fuel industry. All the while, the same industries the kids are fighting are contributing to air pollution that threatens the life of Jamie’s little sister.

Overall, I liked the novel. I found Jamie and his friends to be very well-written. Jamie begins the book as a shy twelve-year-old who lacks self-esteem, is struggling with grief and is terrified about his asthmatic sister’s health. In the process of trying to get others to pay attention to climate change, and trying to get others to listen and care about what’s happening, he becomes a much more confident person. The other three kids, Keisha, Tony and Raj have their own character arcs which center around other coming-of-age issues such as parental acceptance. Additionally, this story has an antagonist that’s incredibly realistic, in the form of a lobbyist for the fossil fuel industry.

While I liked the characters, I enjoyed the plot more. The story is told in a very up close and personal way. The kids journey from learning about climate change in school, to traveling to the future and upon their return, founding CAPE, Children Against Polluting Earth. The story depicts the trials and tribulations of starting an organization like that and trying to affect change. The kids don’t go from one high point to the next high point, there’s struggle and conflict, which adds an element of realism to this novel that not all young adult novels have. The conclusion of the story doesn’t show every problem being fixed, but instead focuses on things being on track for a better, brighter future. The struggles they face, and the main ideas about climate change and environmentalism are very topical right now and I feel like those issues and the arguments surrounding them were dealt with rather well in this story.

Tying the Leaves is a book with a very clear message, and that is what sets this novel apart more than characters or plot. Toher clearly did an extensive amount of research about climate change, renewal energy and other environmental issues in the process of writing this novel. It shows in the writing how knowledgeable she became about these topics, given that she’s able to display how the issue of climate change will affect the world as a whole, as well as its impact on individuals, as seen with Katie’s asthma and other lung problems. The issue of climate change is something she feels passionately about, which is reflected in her writing. She did a wonderful job of giving vivid detail to both the future Earth, ravaged by climate change, and the present Earth, in order to contrast the two. I enjoyed the imagery and the atmosphere of this story.

While I liked the plot and the characters as a whole, there are a few things about Tying the Leaves that didn’t quite work for me. None of them are major problems, but in order for this to be a balanced and honest review, I do need to address them. There are some stereotypes that are used that I wasn’t the biggest fan of, but those stereotypes were mostly to make characters have dimension and personality, so they didn’t take away from the story, but I did feel a little weird about them. Sometimes, the dialogue was a bit clunky or didn’t seem realistic. This mostly happened in regards to slang people were using, but there were other situations where the dialogue drew me out of the story. Some elements of the plot, especially around the climax, felt a bit unrealistic for an otherwise very realistic story. The antagonist does a few things in an attempt to stop the kids that don’t make sense with the rest of the story.

Typing the Leaves is a novel with a very important message. June Toher delivered that message perfectly. While it’s not perfect, the novel is good. This is a book that I think most young adults should read, mostly because it provides information about climate change that might be inaccessible to younger readers. It explains aspects about environmentalism in an easy to digest way. To any reader who is interested in fictional stories about the environment, I’d say to give this book a shot.

Rating: 3.6 Stars

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Let's Talk About Romantic Subplots

So, romance, its a thing. Not only is it a genre in its own right, it's also a trait that a lot of stories share. High-fantasy can have romance. Mystery can have romance. Adventure can have romance. In any fictional genre, you can find romance. However, just because romance can fit into the story doesn't mean that it should be in the story. I'd like to discuss my thoughts on romance, more specifically romantic subplots. (If I was slightly more organized, this post might've been up right after Valentine's Day. but I wasn't, so it wasn't, so I'm talking about it now.)

First, let me just say that I don't have anything against romances in general. I'm not a huge fan of the genre, but I'm not going to tell an avid romance reader that they're wrong or have bad taste. You read what you want, and I'll read what I want. I've actually read books with great romances and relationships that I liked. And, I've also read some where the romantic subplot was boring, or felt unnecessary or took up too much of the book. Now, I think I can divide my negative opinions about romance and romantic subplots into three categories: overdone, unnecessary and just problematic.

Overdone
I know a lot of people love Romeo and Juliet but I'm not one of them. I'm tired of books being adaptations of the play. Some retellings have been done very well, but there's an over-saturation. I like star-crossed lovers just fine, but star-crossed lovers where one or both have to die in order for the story to stick with you? It's been done to death, and I hate it. If you want your romance to be broken up because there needs to be some type of sacrifice, it doesn't have to be death. Imprisonment, exile, and even plot devices like "if I ever see you again, the world will explode" make the two characters splitting up much more impactful than one or both characters dying.

Also in this category, love triangles. There doesn't need to be one in every YA series. If yo're going to write about Girl Character not being sure if she wants Boy A or Boy B, fine. But the "triangle" can't just be the fact that both boys like her and she doesn't want to choose. Show why she's torn between Boy A and Boy B and why she should and shouldn't chose each one. Also, please don't make Boy A a childhood friend and Boy B a handsome new kid, because we know what's going to happen there. The reason why I don't like love triangles is that, if the book is not categorized as strictly romance, it can rob the story of its impact. For an example, The Hunger Games is about overthrowing an oppressive regime that forces children to fight to the death, but too many people turned it into Peeta vs. Gale.

Unnecessary
As mentioned above, not every story requires a romantic subplot. And, even if there is romance in the story, it doesn't need to be a huge focus. My favorite book on Earth is The Hobbit. There is no romance in The Hobbit because the story doesn't need it. The Harry Potter series has romantic elements sprinkled throughout, but you could cut out, or skip past those scenes, and it doesn't effect the story.

I've read so many books where 2/3 of the way through, I was enjoying the book, and then all of the tension turned from "stop the bad guy", "solve the crime" etc to whether or not two characters would get together and the main plot was shunted to the back. That ruined those books for me. I would also put last minute coupling in this category. If the main conflict has been resolved, and the rest of the book is just Character A and Character B admitting their feelings, I don't really need it. Especially if, prior to the conversation where they admit their feelings, there's been no indication that either character felt anything stronger than friendship for the other.

Problematic
I know a lot of people cringe at the term problematic, but romances that fit in this category make me cringe, which is why I'm using it. Some of these tropes are fine, just not my taste, while others I find very troubling.

First, the "not my taste" ones. I hate the trope of male characters that are jerks to their own love interests. I don't mean ones where they butt heads at first, or don't like each other at the beginning but slowly get closer and dislike turns into friendship and then love, by the way. I mean ones where the guy is a huge jerk, he stays a huge jerk, but his love interest still wants to be with him. Or thinks she can change him. Or knows that he's actually just damaged and that makes him act this way. Not a good romance, actually really toxic and I don't like it. To a lesser extent, this includes the "I was mean to you as a kid because I had a crush on you" plot, because again, that doesn't excuse the behavior.  Insta-love is another one that I'm just not a fan of. If I'm going to be invested in a couple, I want to actually see their relationship develop, not just read "he saw her and knew she was the one. The end".

Now, to the romances that I think are very troubling. One: killing off one or both members of the only gay, lesbian or bisexual relationship in the story. If you do that, you brag about how representative your story is, because its not. In a similar vein, if you write a bisexual character and they end up with someone of the opposite gender, that doesn't make them straight, so don't treat it like it does. (Basically, write happy, healthy non-straight relationships, okay?) Two: romanticizing abuse. I shouldn't have to explain this but there are still people who think the Joker and Harley Quinn dynamic is "goals". Emotional abuse, physical abuse, manipulation, its not cute and it's not romantic. Lastly, relationships involving one adult and one character who is not an adult. We have a word for that, and it's not romantic. Some might argue this one saying that "Character A is 15 and Character B is 18-21, its not that bad". No, it is. Because the author chose to make the characters those ages. They could've both been in their 20s, or both been teenagers, but they chose to have one be an adult and one be underage. Maybe it wasn't intended to be predatory, but it easily comes across that way.


Romance when written well adds a layer to the story being told. Sometimes, that simply raises the stakes. In other scenarios, it brings about a form of character growth. The problems arise when romance isn't handle well. If it's shoehorned it, or it distracts from the main story being told, then I take issue with it. As I said earlier, I don't have a problem with romance in general, just it being misused.

The Good Reading Habits Tag

I love doing book tags and I like getting tagged by other book bloggers in tags. I want to thank Mackenzie at Lit Lemon Books for tagging me.

Rules:

• Pingback to the creator’s post
• List some of your good reading habits, the things you think you do well
• Nominate some of your blogging friends

My Good Reading Habits

Setting aside reading time

This might sound like something that should be given, but I feel like I’m able to read as much as I do because I make a point to set aside time to read everyday. Not only does it make it easier for me to meet my reading goals, but it also means I have enough time to really read books as opposed to trying to rush through them.

Planning my reads

When I finish a book, I always know what my next read is going to be. This means I don’t waste time debating which book to read next or procrastinate on making a decision. This doesn’t always work out exactly as planned, but more often than not it does. It also makes me way less stressed because when I don’t have a plan, I tend to freak out.

Reducing my purchases of new books

This is a fairly new good habit I’ve picked up. I’ve focused on reading the books I already own as opposed to buying new ones. I’ve also taken advantage of my local library and services such as Kindle Unlimited to reduce my spending. In reducing the amount I spend, I’ve ended up reading a number of books I’ve owned for years but hadn’t “gotten around” to reading yet.

Those are my good reading habits. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

I Tag:

Leah at Leah’s Books and Cooks, Krista at The Bookish Hedgemom and anyone else who wants to give this tag a try!

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Children of Blood and Bone

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Children of Blood and Bone is a 2018 young adult fantasy novel by Tomi Adeyemi. It was published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers and was the author’s debut novel. It is the first book in the Legacy of Orisha series. The novel debuted at number one on The New York Times best-seller list. The film rights were sold to Fox 2000 prior to the book's publication. Children of Blood and Bone can be purchased here from Bookshop.org 

The novel takes place in the land of Orisha, which is home to two distinct groups of people: diviners, who have the potential to become the magical maji, and the non-magical kosidan. Eleven years prior to the start of the story, Orisha’s king, Saran, discovered a way to render the maji powerless and ordered the slaughter of many defenseless diviners, including the mother of Zelie Adebola. Since that time, diviners have been severely oppressed and without hope. While in the capital, Zelie, a diviner, and her brother Tzain encounter a rogue princess, Amari, who has discovered a way to give magic back to the maji. They are pursued on their journey by the crown prince Inan, who is determined to eradicate magic for good.

As with any novel, there are many memorable characters, but I don't have time to talk about all of them, otherwise this review would be two or three times the length it currently is. Instead, I will focus on the five characters most crucial to the plot. Zelie is the heroine of the story, a maji with the ability to call forth the spirits of the dead, referred to in-universe as a Reaper. Having been ostracized and oppressed for most of her life because she's different from most of those around her, she welcomes the chance to resort magic to Orisha and give her people a way to protect themselves and fight back against their oppressors. I liked Zelie and her arc as a character. She's uncertain of herself, she struggles with her abilities and several times, wonders if she's able to fulfill the task that others say she's desperate for. Tzain is Zelie’s brother, who is one of the kosidan. He comes with her on her journey at their father’s request and serves as a voice of reason. Zelie can be brash and impulsive and he is usually the one who convinces her to find better solutions to a given problem. Amari is the princess of Orisha, who's escape from the palace with a magical artifact sets the story into motion. While she has been raised her whole life to be scared and wary of the diviners, she clearly doesn't believe that they're the monsters others say that they are.  She's a compassionate person, which many others see as a weakness, but her compassion is what drives her to join Zelie on her quest and try to make things better for the diviners. Amari begins the novel appearing to be very weak-willed and underestimated, but through the journey she takes with the Adebola siblings, she comes into her own and learns how to be comfortable with who she is. Inan is Zelie’s older brother and the heir to the throne. He's a very difficult character to talk about without spoiling a few things in the book, but let's just say he's an antagonist mostly just by circumstance. He's pursuing Zelie, Tzain and Amari on his father's orders. He wants to eradicate all magic because he's been told his whole life that if magic is allowed to exist, it will be the end of the kingdom and his family. It isn't until very late in the story that he is given a reason to want the things that he wants. I'll be honest, I spent a decent amount of the book annoyed at Inan because he was acting against his own self interests and, had he gotten what he wanted, he would suffer as a result. Lastly, there is the main antagonist of the story, King Saran. He makes very few appearances in the story, at the very beginning and in the climax. Other than his few appearances, most of his char activation comes from what's said about him by other characters. There isn't really much depth to Saran, no nuance to his goals. He hates the diviners, he hated the maji and wants to completely eradicate them altogether. He's a very simple villain and there's no attempt made to lessen how evil he comes off as. These five characters drive most of the plot and the dynamics between them created an engaging story. 

One of the aspects of this novel that I liked the most was the sources of inspiration the author drew from. While some of the sources she used are standard in fantasy, such as Harry Potter and An Ember in the Ashes, it was the inspiration derived from West African mythology and Yoruba culture that made this story and this world unique. It made the story refreshing. This was the first fantasy novel I read that had taken inspiration from West African mythology, or really any mythology that wasn't European. Adeyemi’s novel brings a new perspective and new ideas to the fantasy genre, which is never a bad thing. Fantasy, as with any genre, needs a wider diversity of storytellers.

This book delves into a number of complex themes, some of which I haven't read in fantasy before. One of the most obvious ones is its exploration of race. The maji are darker skinned than the kosidan. Given that the kosidan have enslaved parts of the maji population, it would be difficult to miss the message regarding how race and class can be used to divide a nation. Another theme regards the connection between power and brutality. By virtue of simply being the king, Saran already has power, but that's not enough for him. He feels the need to oppress and enslave the maji because he fears if they aren't oppressed, he and the other kosidan will lose control of the nation. Another recurring theme is characters’ responses to oppression. Zelie, as a result of watching her mother die and living every day in fear for her own life, is determined to resist and overthrow the current order that oppresses her. Another maji character doesn't want to overthrow the system, but use the eventual return of magic to unite the two groups and create a more peaceful country. Lesser themes include identity and the struggles with transitioning from adolescence to adulthood.

I don't have very much to say about the plot itself or the pacing of the story. I normally only talk about those things when I feel there's an issue with how the story unfolds or the speed at which it unfolds. The plot is solid, the elements that invoke foreshadowing do it deftly and it was easy to follow. The pacing was perfect, with scenes that needed to feel a little longer doing exactly that, while other, shorter scenes were given enough length without feeling rushed. The conclusion was amazing. I loved Adeyemi’s writing style itself and she's clearly a talented storyteller.

While I was a fan of the book as a whole, there is one aspect I didn't like. I wasn't a big fan of the romance between Zelie and Inan. The romance was the one aspect of the story that felt a little rushed. It felt a lot like “insta-love” in my opinion. I could see where it can be seen as following the “enemies to lovers” trope, but I don't think it really works here. Zelie develops feelings for someone who, at the beginning of the book, tries to kill her  and does a number of horrible things to people she cares about. It felt weird and contrived to me, so I find myself skimming through their romantic scenes in an effort to return to the parts of the story I did like. I might be the only one who didn't like this romance, but it really just didn't sit right with me.

Children of Blood and Bone is an exceptional story. Tomi Adeyemi is a wonderful writer and she deserves all of the praise this book has gotten. I haven't read the second book in this series, Children of Virtue and Vengeance, but it is definitely on my TBR now. I'd recommend Children of Blood and Bone to any young adult fantasy fans.

Rating: 4.8 stars

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Rapid Fire Book Tag

I was on Twitter the other day, and saw that The Bookish Hedgemom did this tag. I decided to do it because this tag looked fun and I've been trying to do more book tags. So, without further ado, I'm going to start doing the tag.

E-Books or Physical Book?

I like both, but I prefer physical books because I can bookmark certain parts easier. Also, I can be forgetful and my Kindle is usually dying because I forget to charge it. If I know I'm going to be travelling or spending a lot of time sitting around and waiting, I'll read an ebook, but if I have to choose, I'll pick a physical book every time.

Paperback or Hardback?

While I love hardbacks, most of the books that I own are paperback. I love hardbacks, mostly because I don't have to worry as much about keeping the book pristine, Hardbacks are harder to damage than paperbacks.

Online or In-Store Book Shopping?

Online shopping because it's easier to find what I'm looking for than in a physical store. There's also the fact that online stores will recommend other books based on what you search. Some books stores will have something similar, but I like that feature online.

Trilogies or Series?

I don't really have an opinion on this one. They're kind of the same thing in my mind. especially considering that most trilogies end up having other books added once the initial series ends. Series that have 47 books aren't my favorite, but trilogies, quadrilogies and pentologies are all the same in my mind.

Heroes or Villains?

For books, I have to say heroes. With other media, my answer would be different, but for books, I need to like the hero because if I don't like the hero/protagonist/POV character, I probably won't care enough about the story to have an opinion about the villain. The exception to this is the anti-hero.

A book you want everyone to read?

This could turn into a long list. If I have to pick just one, I'd say The Hobbit. Since a lot of people have read that, my next choice would be Where the Crawdads Sing

Recommend an underrated book?

I'd say Gathering Blue. The Giver is heavily praised, but I feel like Gathering Blue also deserves more recognition than it gets. Also, The Power by Naomi Alderman.

The last book you finished?

At time of writing, Eve: The Awakening by Jenna Moreci.

The last book you bought?

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman, because Norse mythology has apparently taken over my life, seeing as I've read a lot more Norse myths and Norse myth-related content in the last few months than I have in years.

Weirdest thing you've used as a bookmark?

A bag of M&M's. Other than that, I usually use receipts, sticky notes or pieces of paper. The bag of candy was only because I literally had nothing else on hand to use and didn't have time to find something better.

Used books: Yes or No?

Yes. I don't buy very many used books, but that's because I tend to read books that are self-published or newer releases. Still, I support buying used books and sell a lot of the books that I declutter to used books stores.

Top Three Genres?

• Fantasy
• Science Fiction
• Literary Fiction

Borrow or Buy?

Buy because I'm bad at remembering to return things. And I tend to procrastinate about heading to the library to return books.

Characters or Plot?

Honestly, both. A book needs both. If a book is entirely character-driven and has no plot, I won't like it. If a book has a great plot, but I don't care about any of the characters, that's also a problem. If I have to pick one, I guess I'd say plot because I want to be interested in the story and whether or not I like the characters can come second.

Long or Short Books?

Long books. I've got nothing against shorter books, but I love losing myself in a nice, long book.

Long or Short Chapters?

Long chapters. Short chapters make it feel like the story keeps stopping and starting while longer chapters give time for the story to progress.

Name the First Three Books You Think of?

Just in general? Okay...

• The Hobbit
• Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
• Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman.

Books That Make You Laugh or Cry?

Books don't really make me cry. I think the last time I cried was after Dobby died in the last Harry Potter book.

Our World or Fictional Worlds?

Fictional worlds. I have to deal with reality enough.

Audiobooks: Yes or No?

I support audiobooks in theory, but they don't really work for me. I find the narration to be a bit too slow and it's hard for me to pay enough attention to what's being read aloud. Every audiobook I've tried, I forget what's happening soon after it happens. I want to like audiobooks, but they're not for me.

Do you ever judge a book by it's cover?

I do sometimes. The saying is nice and all, but if a book has an interesting cover, I'm more likely to consider buying it than if it's boring or simple.

Book-to-Movie or Book-to-TV adaptations?

It really depends on what's being adapted. Trilogies with short books work as films, longer books/series work as TV shows. I've seen plenty of book-to-movie adaptations that work, and plenty that don't. Same for book-to-TV adaptations.

A movie or TV show you preferred to its book?

I can't really think of one. I almost always say the book is better, so the only one I can really think of is Breaking Dawn, and that's only because the ending of the book is incredibly anticlimactic.

Series or Standalones?

Again, I can't really pick one. For fantasy and science fiction, I like series. For literary fiction, I think standalones are better. It honestly depends on my mood.

I tag: Anyone who wants to do this tag. (I'm bad at tagging people, but if you come across this and want to do it, go nuts!)

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Eve: The Awakening

Eve: The Awakening is a 2015 young adult science fiction novel by Jenna Moreci. It was the author's debut novel. She self-published the novel and her follow-up was the acclaimed fantasy novel, The Savior's Champion. I became aware of this novel due to the author having a YouTube channel where she discusses writing and gives out writing advice.

The novel follows a teenager named Eve who is a chimera, meaning she has telekinetic abilities, along with a few other physical attributes, which separates her from the rest of humanity. After years of being an outcast and hated due to her abilities, Eve begins college at the esteemed Billington University, fully-prepared to reinvent herself and live as an ordinary human being. But things at Billington aren’t as they seem. In a school filled with prodigies, socialites, and the leaders of tomorrow, Eve finds that the complex social hierarchy makes passing as a human much harder than she had anticipated. Even worse, Billington is harboring a secret of its own: Interlopers have infiltrated the university, and their sinister plans are targeted at chimeras—like Eve. She must decide if she's going to stay in the shadows or rise up and fight.

I feel like I should start off this review by discussing the characters within the story. There is Eve, the title character and protagonist. I felt so-so about her to be honest. She had personality, and attitude, but at times, it just didn't make sense to me. She would easily brush off some things people said or did to her, but become enraged over other, less serious, events. Speaking of the way she was treated, all chimeras are feared by most of humanity because they aren't understood and because they have this innate power. Eve is no exception and, after her status as a chimera is revealed, people at the college start treating her poorly and for the most part she does nothing about it. She doesn't argue back, she doesn't fight back, she just lets it happen. While I can understand the "don't sink to their level" argument, it made me start to dislike her character. On her journey, Eve makes a number of quirky and interesting friends. The thing about them though, is that they have exactly one thing about them that makes them unique. Sancho is a pyromaniac. Percy is flamboyantly gay. JJ is a hacker extraordinaire. They're all quirky but one-dimensional. There are Madison, Heather and Hayden, the stereotypical mean girls who serve as Eve's "friends" early in the story, only to turn on her later. Lastly, there are the Interlopers, who serves as a faceless army of evil aliens and don't have much personality. They have an evil plan, details about that plan don't really seem to matter, but they're evil and they need to be stopped. 

I love science fiction. I especially love sci-fi that takes place on Earth rather than on some far-off planet. When I read the blurb for this book, I thought it would be right up my alley. It turned out that I was wrong. While the story had potential, it was bogged down by a number of problems. One issue I had was with the amount of filler within this book. There was a lot more filler than was needed, which led to side storylines never going anywhere or not having a real conclusion. In a story about people with superpowers being targeted by aliens, Eve dealing with a math teacher who hates her feels out of place. There's also a storyline that's problematic, for lack of a better term, because a character is nearly assaulted and nothing ever comes of it. There are no repercussions, no consequences, the assault is stopped and that's it. The fact that these plotlines are in the story and don't really have a purpose indicates that maybe, they should've been omitted entirely. Another issue that I had was with the way the plot progresses. This novel isn't a character-driven story, but I wouldn't say it's plot driven either. It kind of straddles both methods and it suffers because of it. It feels like Eve is being dragged through the story half the time and pulling it along the other half. I didn't hate the novel, but the filler and lack of clear direction made it difficult for me to fully enjoy.

Finally. let's discuss the plot itself. Due to some of the filler element, it does move rather slowly. Once the plot starts, important events come in fits and spurts. As with most novels, there's more action and activity in the second half of the story than in the first half, and once the plot starts moving, in earnest, it moves rather quickly. Some of the fight scenes I found engaging, while others didn't really excite me due to the pacing being a little inconsistent. There's a romantic subplot that takes place, which to be honest didn't interest me, but it also didn't detract from the story. It was just sort of there, kind of like Eve's love interest to be honest. Then, comes the plot twist, which I won't fully delve into but I do want to mention. Some stories have very obvious or heavy-handed plot twists; some have more subtle or "gotcha" ones. The plot twist in Eve:The Awakening is neither, but it's supposed to feel like the second one in an attempt to not be the first. The issue is that there isn't any kind of foreshadowing for the twist to make sense and the world's own internal rules are broken in order to make it work. There was a lot of potential here, but the potential wasn't met.

I don't want to make it sound like I completely hated this novel, because I didn't. The core idea Moreci had is fascinating. The detail she put into the world-building and explanation of chimeras was fantastic, it just got bogged down by the college drama and filler. This book does more showing than telling, which is good. I liked her writing style overall, and good for a first novel. She clearly has talent as a writer and some of the mistakes she made in this novel, she learned from and remembered while writing The Savior's Champion. She had a lot of talent, but fell into some of the pitfalls plenty of debut authors do. The only solution to that issue is to keep writing and improve her skills, which she has done. 

I wanted to like Eve: The Awakening, but to be honest, it just wasn't right for me. It's not a terrible book, but I didn't really enjoy very much of it. There were too many extra elements that weren't needed, too many side plots which took me out of the story. Considering this is Jenna Moreci's debut novel, I wouldn't say that it was bad, just a bit disappointing. Perhaps I set my expectations too high going into this novel.

Rating: 2.3 stars

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Five Worst Book to Film Adaptations

Last week, I discussed some of my favorite film adaptations. Today, I'm going to discuss the five worst adaptations I've seen. Some of these are bad altogether in my opinion, while others are good movies but bad adaptations of the books they're based on. In order to be fair, I'm limiting the list to books I've actually read and the subsequent film that was made adapting it that I've seen. 

I asked people on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook for their feedback, and there were a few honorable mentions: The Shining, the 1984 adaptation of Dune, The Magicians and assorted Harry Potter films after Prisoner of Azkaban.

With the honorable mentions out of the way, here's my list of the five worst book-to-film adaptations:



5)The Hobbit

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love the book The Hobbit and I love the The Hobbit films. However, as an adaptation of The Hobbit, the films aren’t great. The book itself is a very short story and there is no reason why a book that’s under 300 pages needed to be adapted into three 3-hour-long films. A trilogy made sense for Lord of the Rings, it didn’t make sense here. Padding the runtime led to introducing unnecessary subplots and dragging things out longer than they needed to be.



4) The Giver

I really can’t explain why happened here. I think this movie was only made because YA dystopias were so popular. Now, The Giver is a classic book and an adaptation done right could’ve been great, but that wasn’t allowed to happen here. instead of focusing on the Community and its dystopian elements, the film shuffled those ideas off to the side and instead went for set pieces and action sequences. A lot of the “magic” of the story was lost in translation and the film is worse for it. This is a story with a conflicted protagonist and a layered issue at its core, but none of that appears in the film.



3)My Sister’s Keeper

My Sister’s Keeper makes this list for one reason and one reason alone: they changed the ending. Unlike some films where the book ending doesn’t make sense for the way the film is telling the story (i.e. The Shining), it wasn’t a case of the book ending being a problem. One of the major themes of the novel is how fragile life is and the ending cements that. In the film’s case, changing the ending makes it much less poignant and reduces it to just another chick flick, made to make you cry.



2) Percy Jackson and the Olympians

A lot of the magic of this story was lost in adapting it. Some of it was due to unnecessary changes, like ages and the way the rules in this world work. Some might be due to having not enough runtime or some form of studio interference. The story has no depth. The characters aren’t 1/5 as interesting as they are in the books and after rewatching the film, it feels like no one seemed to care very much. It feels hollow, like the studio using the popularity of the series as an easy cash grab and not caring about how well they managed to adapt the story.



1) Eragon

This is the best (worst?) example of why studios shouldn’t adapt novels if they aren’t going to put the effort in to do it properly. This movie could’ve been Lord of the Rings, but for a younger audience. It could’ve spawned a franchise in the same way that Harry Potter and The Hunger Games did, but in order to do that, the film would need to actually be good. The film has the basic plot outline of the novel- a boy finds a dragon egg and goes on an adventure- but strips away everything else that made the story unique or even slightly interesting. There’s no emotion, no wonder and no depth. I loved this series, so I was excited when this film came out. This movie was a huge disappointment and to date, Eragon is the only film where I walked out of the movie theater halfway through. (I watched it on TV months later, just to be sure I didn’t miss some significant tonal shift or improvement. I didn’t.)

I don't blame the actors or the authors here. Some stories are naturally easier to adapt than others. The problem is that most of the movies I've listed failed to capture the magic and depth of the books they were based on. Or they created the right world, but missed the theme or purpose of the story. The book is always better, but if a film makes me stop liking the series its based on, because of how badly the adaptation was handled, I get really upset.

Those were my least favorite book-to-film adaptations. What are some of yours?

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Children of Dune

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Children of Dune is a 1976 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert. It's the sequel to Dune Messiah and is the third book in the Dune saga. It was the first hardcover science fiction book to become a bestseller. It was nominated for the 1977 Hugo Award. Dune Messiah and Children of Dune were adapted into a Sci-Fi Channel miniseries, titled Children of Dune, in 2003 and received positive reviews.  This novel was the last of Frank Herbert's novels to be serialized prior to publication. My reviews for Dune and Dune Messiah are linked here. Children of Dune can be purchased here from Bookshop.org or here from Amazon. 

Children of Dune takes place nine years after the ending of Dune Messiah and its story centers around twins Leto and Ghanima Atredies. They are the children of  the Emperor Paul Muad'Dib, who disappeared into the desert wastelands of Arrakis shortly after their birth. Like their father, the twins possess supernormal abilities—making them valuable to their manipulative aunt Alia, who rules the Empire in the name of House Atreides. Facing treason and rebellion on two fronts, Alia’s rule is not absolute. The displaced House Corrino is plotting to regain the throne while the fanatical Fremen are being provoked into open revolt by the enigmatic figure known only as The Preacher. Alia believes that by obtaining the secrets of the twins’ prophetic visions, she can maintain control over her dynasty. But Leto and Ghanima have their own plans for their visions—and their destinies.

I feel like I should start off by saying that I liked this novel a lot more than the book that preceded it. I found the twins, Leto and Ghanima, to be fascinating characters. With Muad'Dib dead, one of them will lead the Imperium when they reach adulthood. The enemies of House Atredies don't want this to happen. Alia doesn't want this to happen and the twins don't even want it to happen. Yet, they know that nothing they do can change the fact that one of them will become the next emperor; they can only change the circumstances of their ascension. A common question in the story revolves around whether or not they're completely human. They were "pre-born" as Alia was and can access the memories of past generations. The twins are also aware of the future, much as their father was, and know the outcome of events that haven't happened yet. This means that, much like with Paul in the first book, they know what's coming and have to wait for everyone else to catch up. This means that, rather than Children of Dune focusing on the twins' attempts to achieve a goal, it depicts them trying to create the ideal environment for the inevitable outcome to occur in. Neither child seems like a normal kid, but they aren't supposed to. Some readers might find it hard to connect with them, but I didn't and this is mostly because I've come to the conclusion that the Dune series should be read for the plot and world first and the characters second.

Not counting the twins, there are three characters that really shape the plot of this book: Alia, Jessica and the mysterious Preacher. In the nine years between Dune Messiah and Children of Dune, Alia has served as Regent for her niece and nephew, running the empire until they come of age. She has gotten used to the power she wields and feels threatened by anything that could interfere with her ruling. She also struggles with an addiction to the spice melange and her exposure to the Water of Life while in the womb and that giving her too much knowledge and memory for any person to reasonably handle. These factors all combine to create a brilliant spiral into insanity and devolution into the very thing she fears becoming. Jessica left Arrakis after the events of Dune and has returned at the behest of the Bene Gesserit to test if Paul's twins are human. Any sympathy I had for Jessica in Dune was erased over the course of this book. She's conceited, conniving and has this holier-than-thou attitude despite being responsible for numerous events that led to the events in this book happening. I'd be fine with that if she seemed to have a shred of self-awareness or guilt, but she doesn't and continues to act as if she's done nothing wrong. Lastly, there is The Preacher. By Dune Messiah, Muad-Dib was already seen as a god  and deified. He's the focal point of his own religion. The Preacher appears, walking out of the deep desert, and lectures the waiting pilgrims about all of the failings of Muad'Dib's religion. The meanings of Paul's teachings have been forgotten, the people he sought to protect and empower have lost their way. It seems like The Preacher's sole mission is to tear down the religion and empire Paul had built before his demise. The Preacher's character arc, and his connection to the overall story, is tied heavily with the themes about religion, mob mentality and loss of narrative control I mentioned when discussing Dune Messiah. The Preacher is by far the most nuanced character I've read in this series and once his motivations become clear, it's difficult not to agree with him.

One of my major complaints about Dune Messiah was that there isn't much plot for the length of the novel. I referred to it as being a very transitional book. The scope of the story is bigger in Children of Dune, Herbert was willing to take more risks and the plot is a lot more cohesive. Much like the original novel, all of the plotlines converge together towards the end of the book. There was also a much larger degree of world-building in Children of Dune although the aspects that are expanded upon appear to be about minutiae at first. With all of that being said, there were still some pacing issues. All three books in this series that I've read so far have the same problem: great beginnings, great endings, but middles where not a lot happens. This story did drag in the middle as events needed to happen to bring characters together that were separated and push the plot along. When I was discussing this book with my dad, the only person I know has read the whole series, he admitted that the middle of the book is somewhat of a bore. While I wanted to see more of the Dune universe, including other planets, most of what happened off of Arrakis was boring. People talking about events happening on Arrakis or scheming about future events to happen there. Pages of conversations and plotting with no action slowed the story down.

As I mentioned above, my dad is the only person I know who's read the entire series. When I told him I was about to start Children of Dune, he said he was jealous because I was about to experience the story for the first time. You can read a book several times, but you can only read it for the first time once. He told me, without giving anything away, that some of the events of the book are "completely insane". Obviously, this intrigued me and the story had a lot to live up to. It certainly fit his description, as anyone who's read Children of Dune knows. As a rule, I don't spoil books. I bring that up whenever there's a big plot twist or reveal I want to talk about, but can't. I'm not going to spoil what happens in this book and anyone who's thinking of reading it absolutely should fight the urge to search it on Wikipedia. All I will say is this: as I was reading, I was trying to figure out where the plot was going. (I feel like most readers do that, but just stick with me for a second.) There were a few plot elements that I guessed, or had an idea about. There was one that I didn't see coming at all. Never in a million years did I see that particular plot twist coming. I thought the relevant foreshadowing was moving in a completely different direction and I was wrong. The twist surprised me in a way no other twist has. Every other plot twist will be measured against this one. Now, I need to read the next book God Emperor of Dune, because the twist in Children of Dune makes me want to know where the story is going to go from there.

Children of Dune is overall a good book. It built upon its universe in a new and unique way. It had a number of surprises within its story and set up a sequel with nearly endless possibilities. There are some pacing issues and some characterization problems. As mentioned above, I've figured out that what I like about the Dune saga is the overarching plot and universe, not necessarily the characters. This book might not be for everyone, I know some people who claim the series is a little too "out there" for their tastes, but I think anyone who likes the original Dune should definitely read Children of Dune, even though it does mean having to push through the second book. I liked the book overall and because of how this one ended, and the plot twist that completely floored me, I'm definitely going to read the next book in the series.

Rating: 3.9 stars

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Five Best Book to Film Adaptations

Film adaptations of books have been around ever since the medium of film has been around. Prior to film adaptations, there were stage plays based off of books. In fact, there seems to be a belief that an author has only truly "made it" when one of their works is adapted into a film. In the last few decades, the number of film adaptations has increased exponentially, but just because more books have been made into films doesn't mean those films are entertaining or good adaptations of their source material.

Today, I'm going to discuss the five best adaptations I've seen. In order to be fair, I'm limiting the list to books I've actually read and the subsequent film that was made adapting it that I've seen. For example, I haven't read the series that The Golden Compass is based on, so I can't really talk about how bad of an adaptation the 2007 film is, but I've heard its not great.

I asked people on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook for their feedback, and there were a few honorable mentions: The Martian, Moby Dick, Fight Club, Get Shorty and No Country for Old Men

With the honorable mentions out of the way, here's my list of the five best book-to-film adaptations:




5) Sense and Sensibility

I know this might seem like a random first choice, but this movie got right what many other period pieces, especially adaptations of period novels, get wrong. The characterization, especially of Eleanor and Marianne Dashwood, is consistent. The relationship between the two sisters is captured and translated beautifully. The film works because it translates the story into a different medium without losing the atmosphere.

4)  To Kill A Mockingbird

This film is kind of the perfect storm of amazing screenwriting and phenomenal casting choices. Gregory Peck seemed to be almost born to play Atticus Finch. The key thing that makes this film so effective, and such a good adaptation, is that it doesn’t try to shy away from the subject matter. It doesn’t try to minimize the injustice and, given the period when the film was made, that very easily could have happened.



3) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

I don’t really have a ton to say about this one. the book is an exciting spy thriller and the film is as well. There were some changes, but those changes were minimal and are more for clarity than anything else.



2) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

While later films caught flack for omitting characters and storylines, or changes in characterization, the book reads almost identical to the screenplay. Very little is changed between book and screen, very little is omitted. The production encompasses the wonder of the world of Harry Potter in a way that later films seemed to waver on.

1) Lord of the Rings

They said it couldn’t be done. For years, people believed Tolkien’s opus was unadaptable due to the sheer size and scale of the story. It wasn’t possible to do in one film, but three films were a much different story. Peter Jackson also managed to do this without making too many changes to the source material either. Some characters feature more in the films than in the book, simply to avoid introducing a character only to have them drop out of the story after doing one or two things. Yes, Tom Bombadil is absent from the story entirely and yes, the Scouring of the Shire is only seen as a vision, but for the most part, the story is exactly as Tolkien wrote it. Additionally, there’s a level of sincerity that other films, which were released after Lord of the Rings was so successful, lack. The people making these movies loved the source material and wanted to give it the best possible treatment for the silver screen.

This is my list for the best book-to-film adaptations. My list of the worst ones will be coming soon, but I wanted to start out positively. What are some of your favorite adaptations?

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Until All Curses Are Lifted

Until All Curses Are Lifted is a 2019 young adult epic fantasy novel by Tim Frankovich. It was released in August of 2019 and published by Warpsteel Press. The author provided me with a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The novel takes place in a fantasy world where the law is imposed by magic. If a person breaks the law, they’re cursed in one way or another. The only exception to this rule are the reigning six Lords of the world, Antises, who figured out a way centuries ago to bypass that particular rule. The story follows two protagonists: Marshal and Seri. Marshal was born cursed as punishment for the crimes of his father. He discovers that he’s heir to immense magical power and this leads him to flee for his life because his half-brother wants the power for himself and hires an assassin to pursue him. No one has ever escaped a curse, but Marshal, his mother Aelia and another boy from their village named Victor, journey to lift Marshal’s curse so that he can truly be safe. Seri, meanwhile, wants to become the first female mage and the most powerful mage in history. The magic that holds Antises together is failing and no one knows why. While the ground itself shakes, someone starts murdering mages. In danger from all directions, Seri must learn how to use her unique abilities before everything falls apart. As both Marshal and Seri go on their respective journeys, neither knows they’re being watched from another realm.

Marshal might be the first main character of his kind that I’ve read. As explained above, Marshal is cursed due to the actions of his father. His curse is that he’s unable to communicate. He can’t speak, or make any type of sound, he can’t use a form of sign language and the only way he can get any information across is by nodding or shaking his head, and that’s only if he remembers what each gesture means. This means that, while the reader sees things from Marshal’s perspective through his narration and thoughts, we’re the only ones who know what he’s thinking, the other characters do not. Since he can’t speak, many characters believe he isn’t aware of what’s going on or doesn’t fully understand things happening around him, but he does, he just can’t express that. At the beginning of the novel, Aelia, Marshal’s mother, is the only person who seems to care about him. Everyone in the village, and the world at large, loathe people who are cursed, even children who were born that way. Aelia is the driving force behind Marshal’s story and one of the strongest, most complex characters I’ve read in a while. She doesn’t care where she has to go or what she has to do, she’s going to get Marshal’s curse lifted. At the same time, she’s never willing to tell anyone much about her plans, keeping things very close to her chest. Seri is the other main character and she is committed to not only being the first female mage, but also the greatest mage of all time. She arrives at Zes Sivas, where mages are trained, to learn magic as magic is causing the world to fall apart. Seri and her fellow acolytes are the highlights of the chapters taking place at Zes Sivas. They’re dripping with personality and agency. One of my favorite traits of Seri’s is how curious she is about what’s going on around her and how tenacious she is about finding answers. Everyone else just wants to stop the world from falling apart, while she wants to understand why it’s falling apart to begin with. There’s a whole host of other characters, both good and bad, that I enjoyed in this story, and it would take me forever to run through all of them. Frankovich did an excellent job writing interesting and unique characters.

One of my favorite aspects of this book is the way the alternating POVs is used to tell the story. Marshal’s journey shows the reader the world in the way an average person would see it. His group travels to different lands, meets people of different cultures and gives a more down-to-earth perspective of things. Seri’s story, meanwhile, reveals information about Antises in a broader sense. Through her studying magic, the reader learns how magic works in this world. Through Zes Sivas preparing for an annual ritual, the six different lands are explained, including current tensions between the lands. Seri and Marshal’s stories do overlap, but not until close to the end of the novel, which I liked because it gave both storylines a chance to breathe and develop without the plots contriving to bring them together. The story ends exactly where it needs to, and concludes enough of the story to be satisfying while providing the framework for the sequel, which according to the excerpt at the end, is titled Until All Bonds Are Broken.

This book surprised me. I feel like a lot of young adult fantasy, including young adult epic fantasy, tends to shy away from some of the more nitty-gritty aspects of life.  While there isn’t gratuitous violence, Until All Curses Are Lifted doesn’t shy away from it either. There’s a fair amount of violence, bloodshed and death. The same is true for discussions of sex and other topics some books like to gloss over or pretend don’t exist. While I found those aspects of the story refreshing, what really surprised me was the themes of this story and how deep some of those themes run. One of the major themes is about power and how it corrupts those who wield it when left unchecked. That theme isn’t uncommon, but here it’s shown, both literally and figuratively, and runs through multiple storylines, not just one. There’s also something to be said for its message about fear of the unknown or unfamiliar. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by this book.

While I enjoyed Until All Curses Are Lifted, I do have some criticism to share. The pacing is a little strange. Obviously, a fight scene or scene with a lot of tension is going to feel more fast-paced than just two people talking, but there were parts of this story where the pacing of a scene didn’t make sense for what was happening within a scene. Likewise, the way the story is broken up into chapters felt weird to me. There were a few instances where two consecutive chapters could’ve been one single chapter instead. There are 430 pages in the book, and it’s 83 chapters when it could’ve been closer to around 50 if some of the chapters had been combined. I know it’s not a huge deal, but I did find that choice to be a little odd. While I enjoyed the story overall, and the ending, I do think there could’ve been a little bit more foreshadowing about some of the revelations at the end, but I can understand why Frankovich might be holding off until the sequel to delve into some of those things. I have some complaints about the novel, but they didn’t distract from my enjoyment of the book.

Until All Curses Are Lifted is a solid epic YA fantasy. The characters are well-written, the world is fascinating and the story is refreshing. I look forward to seeing more of it in the sequel when it’s released. I would recommend it to any epic fantasy fan, both teenagers and adults. It would be especially enjoyable for readers that like hybrid magic systems.

Rating: 3.9 stars

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