Ballads of Suburbia

Warning 1: This book should be read near a radio and a collection of 90’s cds and tapes.

Warning 2: This book SHOULD NOT be read in a fragile state of mind.

Warning 3: This book might induce drug-taking and self-injury in teenagers.

Warning 4: And, it might also induce purple-hairdying impulses in near-thirty-year-olds

“I have all these leftover insecurities from grade school, I guess”, I told my brother. “I automatically assume people won’t like me, so I don’t talk to them unless they approach me first. I can’t become part of a crowd because I can’t get past that feeling that I don’t belong”.

- Kara

I cried. A lot.

I read it in four busy days (a reading feat I hadn’t accomplished in a while).

And I—well, cried, and sighed, and cringed, and laughed, and was generally emotionally impacted.

Stephanie Kuehnert is good- really good- but this book surpasses even “I wanna be your Joey Ramone” (which I also loved, btw). This woman knows me- she knows my life- my tastes (the main character’s favourite singer is PJ Harvey)- she knows me.

But that’s the point, right? Even though “Ballads of Suburbia” tells the story of nine highschool punk kids in Chicago, it really tells the story of any teenager- especially those who were teens in the 90’s.

Through the music of my generation- and also my older sister’s generation- she tells the story of Kara, a shy and slightly awkward teenager whose life suddenly spins out of control. And I guess that is the point: Kara’s problems aren’t that big, but she feels them as huge, and the decisions she makes in order to escape those problems wind up driving her down a very familiar-looking path.

Nope, I was never into drugs like Kara ended up. But that isn’t the issue. It’s the silences, the escapism, the anger that Kara and her friends experience that is universal. In another time (and, perhaps, if I had stayed in my own suburb) I could have ended up like Kara. The first few chapters could have been written by me (and I’m guessing by lots of other kids), but then the story takes a turn into the “downward spiral” and goes from familiarly sad to shocking, scary and pathetic (did I mention this book is not for the weak hearted?).

Kara’s relationship to her little brother Liam reminds me so much of my relationship with my sister Angi that it is probably the one thing that impacted me the most about the book. How they got closer through music, how they fought, and trusted eachother, and took care of eachother. Kara’s need to protect Liam, and her clinging to memories of him as a little kid, and Liam’s dependence on her older sister. It got to the point that a certain fight scene with the remote made me have to stop reading.

While Liam is my favourite, all the characters in “Ballads” are memorable: Adrian, the adopted, promiscuous junkie; Quentin, his kind and equally addicted best friend; Christian, the hopeless romantic with a temper; Cassie, the girl with the crazy mom who tries to take care of everyone; Maya, the one with the dead mom, who can’t even talk about her problems; Stacey, the childhood friend gone slutty; Kara, the self-injurer writer; Liam, the abandoned little brother.

All these kids have problems, which are crystallized in a “Ballad” a là Johnny Cash: a story written by each one over the years in a spiral notebook, and headed by a quote from everyone from Tori Amos to Rancid. And while their problems really do suck, and really made me feel bad for them, they don’t in any way excuse the bad choices they make to escape them.

This is a good book, it goes into my favourites list, but I don’t think I would have recommended it to myself as a teen. Today, I can read it with nostalgia, empathy and relief—back then- and to my very malleable teenage brain- it might have just been a bad influence.

Silence is Golden

If I am silent then I am not real

If I speak up then no one will hear
If I wear a mask there's somewhere to hide

Silence is Golden
I have been broken
Safe in my own skinSo nobody wins

-Garbage-

There are some pains too deep to speak about. Some wounds, some h

urts so cutting that even thinking about them is not a possibility. They lie there, at the back of your mind, untouched but always present. So you tip-toe through life, afraid of thinking, of feeling, of remembering, because you know that any wrong move might set them off and those pain-bombs might burst and cause havoc on your fr

agile being.

This is what both “So Much to Tell You” by John Marsden and “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson are about. It was a coincidence that I read these two books one after another, but they are really both very very similar. They both deal with girls who have gone through great trauma, who have been hurt by others and must slowly rebuild their trust in others, in themselves, and in life.

“So much to tell you” is based on a true story- which is just too dreadful to think about. Marina is a girl who has stopped speaking after something terrible happened to her. She has been shipped off to boarding school, in the hopes that she will start reconnecting with others. The book is her journal, handed to her as an English assignment. Through it, we meet Marina’s roommates, family and teachers. I like that the way the journal is written is not very eloquent or clever: it’s written just like your average 14-year-old would write. Marina at times seems a little naïve- her self-loathing makes her admire the other girls in a way that perhaps is a little unmeasured. I believe, however, that this is because her pain is so deep. Unlike Melinda in “Speak”, Marina never really had a sense of normalcy and belonging. She isn’t quite as well-developed as other girls her age. However, she’s witty, perceptive and smart in her own way. Throughout the book, we’ll see how she starts coming out of her shell, becoming less and less invisible to others, and to herself.

While “Speak” is not based on a true story, it may very well be. The event that changes Melinda’s life is something that, unfortunately, happens a lot to teenage girls. Unlike Marina, Melinda doesn’t stop speaking entirely. She just draws into herself and starts speaking as little as possible. While in her book Marina begins to slowly start communicating in alternative ways, in “Speak” we see Melinda draw into herself more and more. Things get much worse before they get any better. It doesn’t help that everyone in her school is mad at her, and that none of the teachers understand her trauma. In Marina’s case, people know her story and feel pity. In Melinda’s, no one knows and no one understands. Melinda, however, seems to be much stronger than Marina. She is very very witty, and (even though deep down she really wants friends), she has enough sense to hate everyone back. The humour with which she describes the nuances of high school made me laugh out loud a few times. The ending of the book made me cry- and I almost NEVER cry with books.

The two books are incredibly similar. They are both about 14-year-old ninth graders. Each of them has a favourite and helpful teacher. Each of them watches her classmates try out for the musical/play. Each of them is screaming though no one can hear. I can’t help but wonder how different Marina and Melinda’s stories would have been had they had a chance to meet. Would Melinda teach Marina not to be so hurt by everyone, and to laugh at them instead? Would Marina show Melinda the hidden kindness in others? But that is the point, isn’t it? Even if these two girls had gone to the same school, they probably wouldn’t have noticed each other. How could they? Neither of them speaks.

The Demon's Covenant

Hahahaha!

Now that I’ve ruined the book with that song (which, unfortunately was playing in my head through-about-the first 80 percent of the reading), I’ll tell you all about “The Demon’s Covenant”.

This book is the sequel to the fun fun “Demon’s Lexicon” and it happens to be even better than the first book. I’m not going to discuss much of the plot, since I don’t want to spoil anyone who hasn’t read “Lexicon” (and if you haven’t, please, please got out and get it RIGHT NOW. In fact, stop reading this and run off to the bookstore. Shoo, shoo).

Sarah Rees Brennan is young- but she sure is a better writer than many of the YA authors out there. In fact, she may have just overthrown Holly Black in my mental throne of “what every YA author should aspire to”. “Covenant”, just like “Lexicon” is hard to get into at first, but once you’re hooked, you won’t regret it.

Brennan has the three elements I think are most important in any book (or any book that I’d like to read, anyway): believable characters, interesting plot, and humor.

First, characters. There are four main characters, but I think every person/demon that crosses “Covenant” is just as well-developed, original and believable. No YA archetypes here! Her characters are funny without being annoying, good without being unbelievable and flawed without being villains. They just are- people. It amazes me how someone as young as Sarah (she’s a few months older than me) can have such a good grasp on what it means to be human: all of our nuances and insecurities and feelings. Brennan’s knowledge of how different people function not only allows her to imagine up very real teenagers, but also to dissect and strip every one of those human elements in order to present someone that lacks them. Her characters are people: the way they move, the way they talk, the way they feel, the mistakes they make. They aren’t by any means perfect or simple. They lie, they pretend, they cheat and they have about a million opposite feelings at once. X will loose his humanity in the same degree that Y will gain it and- in the end- you realize that for all their differences they pretty much stand on the same step of the moral ladder.

Then, there is plot. I won’t go on about this because I don’t want to spoil anything. Suffice it to say that there are multiple climaxes (and that is good in any context, hehe). I thought I saw the end coming, but didn’t. This is a total page-turner.

Finally, there is humour. Sarah is one funny funny Irish gal, and thus, all of her characters have a sense of humour (as varied as those senses of humour may be). On the one end, there is Nick with his sardonic one-liners, on the other there is Jamie, whose elaborated wit is usually aimed at ridiculing himself. I like Jamie and Nick’s relationship. The way they make each other laugh. It kind of reminds me of M. and me, or my sisters and me. I think all relationships- all GOOD relationships- should be based largely on humour. I like the way Brennan displays her wit because it is so very very believable and young.

Anyway, not much else can be said without spoilering those who haven’t picked up the series, so I’ll just end with the song that is really the one that belongs with the book (just so you can forget about that first one, he).

13 Books in under 20 words.

I want to start writing reviews for the books I read again, but I can’t do that without reviewing the 13 (yes, 13, could it be I’m actually on schedule with the 26 books a year goal?) I have read so far—I feel bad for not reviewing them, haha. So, here is the blurb on all of them.

(Incidentally, this is not the order in which I read them—I can’t really remember that now).

1. Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace by Mary Janice Davidson and Anthony Alongi: I had low expectations- I was definetly wrong. Fun, funny & surprising. It cheers the spirit.

2. Franny & Zoeey by J.D Salinger: My fav. book of all time. Everytime I read it, I discover a whole new meaning.

3. David Cooperfield by Charles Dickens: Funny, terrible, and basically very Dickensian, haha. A hard read, but worth it.

4. Artemis Fowl and the Artic Incident by Eoin Colfer: Colfer rules. Period.

5. Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr: *Sigh* Great ending for some of the characters. Some plot points needed more development, but overall it was great.

6. Emma by Jane Austen: Such a girly book, hehe. Predictable, and not my fav. Jane Austen so far.

7. Mitos y Leyendas de la Zona de Chanquin y Cucao, Parque Nacional de Chiloé by Jorge Negrón Vera: Very informative. Great to see how myths repeat themselves in different cultures.

8. Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens by James M. Barrie: Extremely cute and a bit pathetic (as always, with Peter). Glad I went to Kensington Gardens bf. I read it.

9. The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman: ADORED it. Very smart book with amazing characters. So much better than the first one.

10. The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman: The end of the trilogy was carried out well. I laughed, I cried. Not perfect, but almost.

11. Graveminder by Melissa Marr: Cute, but disappointing. There was no real conflict or climax. It was an interesting world, though.

12. El Reves del Alma by Carla Guelfenbein: Soo not my style. Unrealistic dialogue and annoying characters. Still, she managed to capture my interest near the end.

13. The Ice Dragon by George R.R Martin: Fun children’s book. The MC was scarily selfish, but it was still had an interesting and classic plot.

Ash by Malinda Lo

I’ve been looking forward to reading “Ash” for a long long time. Mostly, because it was recommended by Melissa Marr. Also, I love retellings of Cinderella and I love faeries, so this was an obvious choice for me. Ash was this month’s pick for the Rather’s Book Club, so a lot of what I’m going to say here I’ve already shared on the site.

At first, I had a very hard time getting hooked into the book. Ash felt distant and sad. She had the Tara Effect** and I felt pity, rather than a connection to her. Her life sucked. Yea… And? What was she doing about it? Very à lá Cinderella: nothing much, other than wait around to be rescued. In her case, she didn’t much care for Prince Charming. Rather (and perhaps even worse, IMO), she was waiting for Sidhean: an aloof, mysterious and quite possibly dangerous faery to come and take her away. This, despite all the warnings she had received her entire life regarding the untrustworthiness of faeries. Pathetic much? Yes.

However, “Ash” is no “Twilight”, and ultimately it is a story about overcoming difficulties, and about women power. At first, this is evident only in other characters. Women play a fundamental role in this world, having important jobs in society such as the greenwitch and the King’s Huntress. I really liked that their importance was seen as something natural (yes, the King’s main hunter is always a woman… and?), and not something extraordinary like in “Graceling” or other books about strong women. No one question’s these women’s roles—particularly because their character leaves no room for doubt. Even Ash’s stepsister, Ana, whose life’s sole objective is to find a good catch, shows strength: she isn’t shallow. She knows a good match is the only way she can help her family, and she is willing to fall in love with a man twice her age because it is her duty. Clara, Ash’s younger stepsister, is also a particularly interesting character: she is not cruel like Ana, but she shows intelligence and perception that makes me want to read a book from HER point of view- even if we don’t see much of her.

As I said, however, Ash starts off being quite disappointing as an MC. She waits for Sidhean- whom she, and the readers, pretty much know nothing about (Sidhean is surprisingly absent for a main character, and I would have loved to see more of him) to take her away not to happiness but to OBLIVION. What the fuck is that? However, things start getting interesting when Ash and the King’s Huntress, Kaisa, start falling in love. Kaisa is everything Ash isn’t: strong, opinionated, and active. It is Kaisa that teaches Ash that when the world is shit you have three options: 1) accept it as it comes 2) Wait for the faeries/death/superman to take you away miraculously and 3) DO something about it. Dude, why on earth are you waiting for prince charming? Why are you waiting for the world to suddenly realize it is being unfair, apologize, and change? It just isn’t going to happen. Your destiny is in your hands, and your hands only. It is only when Ash learns this that she becomes an interesting character. It is only when she starts taking risks, when she starts going for what she wants, that she shows strength. That is why the Foo Fighters song is so appropriate for this book: you can either be abused, or resist. If you are taking that first option, then fine, but shut up and stop complaining. If you decide to actively resist: kudos to you.

On a different note, I want to talk about the sexuality in the book. Basically, I’m going to repeat two things I said on the Rath:

1) I like how alternative sexualities are portrayed as natural in a middle grade book. Here you love whom you love and nobody raises an eyebrow at it. There is no coming out of the closet (as when homosexuality is mentioned in most YA – or even adult- books), no whisperings, no need to point out "THEY ARE GIRLS". I liked the naturality of it. I think that the less fuss we make about stuff like this, the faster we will get to acceptance in society.

2) On the other hand, there is a scene that deeply disturbed me: when Ash first meets Sidhean. She is 13, very immature and innocent, alone in the world, and when this strange man puts his hand to her face... Man, all I wanted to do was pull her away from the Dirty Old (Faery) Man. It is a very sexually charged scene. I thought I was being paranoid, but this is confirmed when Sidhean says he fell in love with her the first time he saw her. I know it's supposed to be romantic or something, but for me it was just WRONG. Of course, Ash’s adolescence passes in what is a blink of an eye for an immortal like Sidhean. Still, she is human, had a whole portion of her life to grow through before being legal, and it just gave me the creeps.

Anyway, "Ash" turns out to be a page-turner, and I'd recommend it to anyone who cares to challenge the notion of a heterosexual faery godmother. =)

*TARA EFFECT: Clo and I feel the same way about Tara in “True Blood”: there is only so much crap you can lay on your character before an audience starts loosing interest and begins feeling only sorry for the person. Putting your character in a tight situation? That is plot building. Taking away every slight sliver of hope and happiness from their world? That is just drama.

Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

I read this book almost by accident. Basically, I was at M’s place, I had finished “Ash”, and I had nothing to read. I read the edition in Spanish, which usually means I take forever in reading, but this was actually a pretty fast read. The book contains four stories (or well, three stories and one very short novel): “The Suicide Club”, “The Bottle Imp”, “Olalla”, and “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”.

Rather than talk about each story in particular, I’m going to talk about the author’s style of writing as a whole: basically, I swallowed the book really really fast. However, it wasn’t only that that left me with a strong impression: it was the fact that, from the very first page, the book not only provoked in me a desire to keep reading, but also to write. At first I didn’t know what all this was about, but the desire was there and kept increasing the more I read. Finally, I realized what it was. These stories don’t have great literary embellishments. The language has the natural elegance of 18^th century literature, but there are no remarkable descriptions, no witty word uses, no poetic stanzas. There is also no great symbolism: I wrote 1300 words about James M. Barrie’s plays, and immortality, and women, and bla bla bla, but Stevenson has no such depth. And there isn’t any great characterization. No onion-like characters that you want to peel and dissect. What is it then? Basically: this book is pure story telling. It goes back to the basics: creating an ambience, giving you characters, but mostly, giving you plot. He could just as well be telling you these stories over a fire on a cold night in Scotland. Honestly? It’s refreshing not to have to think so much. All you want is to know what happens.

At first I was thinking that a book like this could in no way survive nowadays. The tendency lately seems to be an emphasis on world-building and character construction, where plot is usually sacrificed. Just off the top of my head: Maggie Stiefvater’s “Ballad”, Melissa Marr’s “Ink Exchange”, Malinda Lo’s “Ash”, and Neil Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book” all have amazing characterization, language use, and world-building, but have strong plot issues. However, looking back to my teenage years I recalled a successful author who seems very much in the legacy of Stevenson: Stephen King. King doesn’t go about with unnecessary pretties. He basically creates page-turning mysteries. There is a reason why “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is so short: it doesn’t have a word it doesn’t need.

Of course, characterization, and depth, and morality, and language, and all those things are important—and having the whole package, including plot (Holly Black!) should be your goal. I’m not discrediting those who focus on these—after all, one of my favorite books is “Franny and Zooey” by J.D Salinger, which is full of fabulous language, and wit, and characterization, and symbolism—but in which nothing really happens. However, reading Stevenson makes me remember that if your creative resources are limited, it is the plot that you should probably be focusing on.

Peter Pan and Other Plays

There is a quote in Anne Rice’s “The Witching Hour” that goes something like this:

“Out of innocence, and out of time, the dark-haired girl stared back at him, caught forever in her brief and desperate girlhood -- fledgling witch and nothing more”.

That is the exact sensation I was left with after finishing “Peter Pan and Other Plays”, the Oxford University Press’ collection of James M. Barrie classics. This edition has five plays: The Admirable Crichton, Peter Pan, When Wendy Grew Up, What Every Woman Knows, and Mary Rose.

I’m a big fan of Peter Pan (no, duh) so I was quite excited to see what off-Neverland adventures Mr. Barrie had to offer. I was not disappointed.

Now, I’ve read the novelized version of Peter Pan about a million times, and I was in a high school performance of the play. However, the text chosen for this specific edition, with the added footnotes*, and in the context of the other works, brings Peter into a whole new light. Yes, it is as magical, and dark, and pathetic, and funny and sad as ever. However, put against “Mary Rose” and her sinister island, and “The Admirable Crichton” and his life-altering island experience (yes, Barrie had a thing for islands: those isolated places, where anything and anyONE can happen), Neverland takes a few hundred more layers. Perhaps Neverland is Mary Rose’s island (as it was originally meant to be), perhaps it is also Critchton’s. After all, Neverland is different according to every child (or adults!) own mind.

What layers does this island of a book possess? Layers that fight each other. Layers that are two sides of the same quarter, much like Peter Pan and Hook: the contradiction of youth against adulthood, innocence against wisdom, man against woman, immortality against mortality, rich against poor. Barrie presents all these struggles and comes to the following (uneasy) conclusion: none of these is superior- each of these states is both desirable and tragic.

Let us look at the happy tragedy that is Peter Pan. As a children’s play, the full darkness of his plight cannot be explored to the extent that it is in "Mary Rose". Both of these characters have been taken (by faeries, of course, for they are amoral) into a timeless island: a place that freezes their innocence and will not allow them to grow up- a place akin to death. "Peter Pan", for all its references to the Llewyin-Davies children, is really about Barrie’s older brother, killed in an accident on the eve of his 14^th birthday. Barrie said: “he stayed forever a child of 13, while I, at six, became an adult”. Similarly, Mary Rose came after World War I, when so many parents were left childless. Barrie’s oldest adopted son was also killed in the War. These children are forever caught in that frame—they can’t grow old, but they can’t grow. The tragedy of Peter Pan is not that he is immortal- it is that he is timeless. He has no past, and without a past, he can have no future. He is the epitome of “living in the moment”, and while this is a lesson that perhaps we should all learn (and keep forgetting the older we get!) it is also unsustainable. We don’t hear about Peter’s happy thoughts—for how can he be happy when he has forgotten every friend, every enemy, every victory? Perhaps it is this realization that finally made Hook surrender into the jaws of the Time Crocodile. Similarly, Mary Rose is the only woman in these plays that does not appear as superior in wisdom than the men: she has not had her time to bloom, and thus she is more fragile than her adult counterparts.

Another surprising element in these two plays is the amount of sexuality that rides the pages—there is constant sexual tension in both “Mary Rose” and “Peter Pan”, even though both of these plays are about eternal children. Both Mary Rose’s husband and Wendy (and Tiger Lilly and Tinkerbell, for that matter), demand sexuality out of their loved ones, but these don’t understand it, and so they can’t offer it-- which makes them even more sexual (I can just imagine Humbert Humbert licking his lips somewhere).

As for the battle of the sexes, it is clear whose side Barrie is on: women are those superior goddesses that he never came to understand. Oscar Wilde, take that. Wendy and Mrs. Darling in “Peter Pan” and “When Wendy Grew Up”, Mrs. Moorland in “Mary Rose” and Maggie in “What Every Woman Knows” are the epitome of the woman who knows more than men, but will keep quiet for his proud sake. It may be aggravating to some to see these women stand by and help out the men in silence when they KNOW they know better. However, it is this selflessness that also gives them a moral superiority. A little too idealistic and chivalrous? Yes, perhaps Barrie makes darling mothers of us all- but we must also remember that most of these plays were written BEFORE the War, before the women’s rights movement, and so, in his own visionary way, he was giving women the place that it took decades for them to actually win. Perhaps the sole exception (aside from sexually-asexual Mary Rose) is Lady Mary in “The Admirable Crichton”. Of all the horrible people in “The Admirable Crichton”, the hardest to forgive is Lady Mary because, unlike all others, SHE KNOWS BETTER. It is her innate superior morality that makes her guiltier than all the men. It is also in “The Admirable Crichton” where we find the most equality of sexes: Crichton is the only one of the men in all the plays who is not 100% a child (however bearded others may be) and 100% foolish. Therefore, his faults, his acceptance of social differences, his acceptance of being kept at a lower status by those stupider than him, makes him more reprimandable.

Another thing must be said for Barrie as opposed to Wilde: his use of irony is much subtler and therefore much more effective. While Wilde’s characters (which are usually himself with another name) give off witty remark after witty remark, Barrie’s characters never make a joke: everything they say is in all seriousness, and this makes them even more ridiculous and funny. Barrie was VERY demanding about underplaying. No line, not the corniest, the funniest, the wittiest, could be overdramatized. There is no Wildesque third party looking on and laughing at others. The effectiveness of Barrie’s plays lies in that the characters take themselves seriously: it is the audience who is given leave to laugh at them. Only in this way could he feed to the respectable rich English society such unfashionable topics as the equality of men and women, the equality of rich and poor, the pride of the Scottish, and the sexuality of children. Of course, this demanded infinite skills from Barrie’s actors, and his prose-style stage directions, with impossible to perform character thoughts and descriptions, help readers to perceive what the actual theater experience would have been like. This is much appreciated: without talented actors (or proper stage notes!), the plays would loose their meaning. It is only when you don’t take the words at face value that you really can capture the genius that is James M. Barrie.

*A Footnote about footnotes: Even if you have read all these plays before, I would suggest reading them in this particular edition. The information about the development of the plays through time, of Barrie’s constant editions of them, of the connection of them to his personal life, of his intentions with every line, really help to enrich the reading experience. Of additional interest (at least to me) was the definition of some of the words used: I can’t believe that in only 100 years so much of the English language has gone into oblivion!

I'm back!

So, I haven't updated in ages. Mostly, life has been crazy and I didn't want to stress out... Plus, apparently, planning a wedding takes up all of your free time =)

Anyway, I'm back in Santiago, feeling healthy, and normal (well, as normal as I'll ever be =P), and sane.... and also very very happy =) I don't want to jinx anything, but, coming back from England, everything has just been... Well, PERFECT.

A LOT of good things have been happening this year... and even this month, so I'm choosing to focus on that instead of on the bad things (like my poor fiancé getting intoxicated and in the E.R =(). Some of the good things:

1) The AWESOME trip I won at the ESU English Writing Competition: it not only allowed me to see England and meet a bunch of nice people and see a lot of cool places, it also allowed Mauri and me to have the PERFECT early honey moon in England and Ireland =)

2) The fact that we won Gardner Hamilton's Cost-Price Wedding Photography Contest. Gardner was the photographer at my sister's wedding, and we really wanted him bc he's so amazing, but couldn't afford it (we didn't even consider him bc he was so out of budget), so when I got to be his friend number 1000 on Facebook, it made our, like, year

3) Dave Matthews Band! I've always wanted to go to a DMB concert. It was in my top 5 "concerts I have to go to before I die" list. We couldn't afford VIP tickets, so we were in about the third section. However, due to my shortness and some nice guards, I ended up not only in VIP, but right at the front row, by the stage. Eventually, M. got there too, so it was just perfect =) (Also, right at the concert, I was able to buy the DMB t-shirt that I had saved as "order at some point")

4) Despite the no-work, I've had had some work: doing translations and helping my sis with some stuff... This has helped me to save some money for the wedding and has also allowed me to buy...

5) Pretty clothes!

Actually, the list goes on, but I'll stop it here =)

So anyway, yes, I've been remiss with the updating... But I AM planning on hopefully getting back on track.

In order to reopen the blog, I'm going to start by talking about my favorite thing in the world: Books!

Here are the books I've read since I last updated:

I was hoping to review this at some point, but now I don't know if I will =P

- Clockwork- Phillip Pullman: Scary, scary, dude. Also, the notion that the evil aren't always punished and the good aren't always rewarded, is quite refreshing in YA books.

- Frankenstein- Mary Shelley: Good, but dark and frustrating

- Nineteen-eighty-four – George Orwell: Yes, a classic... Yes, brilliant... But also no, not something you should read when you've been having a not-so-good-for-the-mental-health year

- Persuasion- Jane Austen: I love Jane's subtleties. This book is emotionally stirring without the effect-ism we find in current romance.

- Eat, Pray, Love- Elizabeth Gilbert: Changed my life! This book is the reason for my new-found chillness. I bought it at the airport with the idea that I would throw it away when getting to England, bc it was "So not my style", but it really really is something someone should read when they are overcoming a nervous breakdown :P

- The Poison Eaters- Holly Black: Holly Black is GOD. She knows how to mix wit, folklore, feelings and sex perfectly.

- Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister- Gregory Maguire: It's Maguire. 'Nuff said (ok, more specific: I love his aesthetic, I love how his books keep you surprised at every turn, I love how his characters navigate the gray of morality, etc etc). I told the story to my mom and she really enjoyed it and was all "Oh no!" and "I can't believe you!"

- The Forest of Hands and Teeth- Carrie Ryan: This book is AMAZING. Other than scaring me out of my wits and frustrating me to no end with... well, I won't spoiler. It is very well written, it made me cry, it is real, it has zombies, it has action, it has emotion... It's just an overall great read.

- The Graveyard Book- Neil Gaiman: This book is so cute that even my parents liked it =) (I would read it to them when coming back from the gym). It really is a nice, cheerful book, and a great way to chill after reading something like "1984"

- I also reread Wicked Lovely

Here are the books I bought in England and Ireland:

Dude! Books are so cheap over there! (Or, well, they are so expensive over here =P). Anyway, a lot of them are used. I went into this used bookstore were everything in the very disorderly basement was 1 pound. I got some awesome old editions.

- Peter Pan and other Plays- James M. Barrie: I am currently reading this one

- Peter Pan and Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens – James M. Barrie

- I, Lucifer- Glen Duncan: Has been on my TBR list forever!

- The book of fairy and folk tales of Ireland- W.B Yeats

- The Neverending Story- Michael Ende: Also from my TBR

- The Selected Poems of William Blake

- The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson

- Ash- Malinda Lo: Will probably be my next read, as it is next in the Rathers Book Club

- Linger- Maggie Stiefvater: Also on my TBR

- Shiver- Maggie Stiefvater: Also on my TBR

- David Copperfield- Charles Dickens: Very pretty old edition

- Le Morte D’Arthur – Sir Thomas Malory: Also a very pretty two-volume edition

Book Gifts:

- I wanna be Your Joey Ramone- Stephanie Kuehnert: My good friend Aine sent me this book, AUTOGRAPHED, along with some other goodies =) It's been on my TBR list for a really really long time, so, Yay! Stephanie was the first (and only =P), author to participate in Razor Thoughts**

The Book of Witches- Tim Dedopulos: My sis Claudia sent me this for my B-day, and I've been reading it slowly. It has a lot of interesting bios from everyone from St. Germain to Willow from BtVS =)

That is all for now! =)

Reading and stuff...

I love this whole “being able to read again” thing =)

Submerging into other worlds through words should be mandatory. People would be so much happier and chill =)

Close up with the happiness of reading a book is the joy of getting a free book. In celebration of RT Book Lover’s Convention, my smart and good friend Andrea is giving away a bunch of books by RT authors. I’ve read several of them (one of them is getting a review below ;) ), and some of them I haven’t. Aside from our love of all things faery, Aine and I share a love for books, and she is awesome for wanting to give them away =)

The books she’s giving away are: WICKED LOVELY by Melissa Marr, THE SUMMONING by Kelley Armstrong, MY SOUL TO TAKE by Rachel Vincent, JENNIFER SCALES AND THE ANCIENT FURNACE by MaryJanice Davidson, VALIANT by Holly Black, CITY OF BONES by Cassandra Clare and VAMPIRE ACADEMY by Richelle Mead.

You can check out Aine’s Give-Away here.

Now, going on to the reviews:
My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
La Loca de la Casa by Rosa Montero
El Violinista de los Brazos Largos by Ana María Guiraldes

Review: My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

I must say, I had VERY high expectations of this book because so many people, including Melissa Marr, had recommended it. So, basically, take everything I’m going to say with bountiful pinches of salt :)

The first few chapters of the book provoked similar emotions in me to reading Twilight: I didn’t know if I should be bored to tears, or choking on the corniness. O.K, I’m probably exaggerating. Unlike in Twilight, there IS a lot of action going on from the start. However, I just COULDN’T connect with the teenage characters* and the description of yet another “perfect-and-hot-boy-who-for-some-unknown-reason-decides-to-pay-attention-to-the-plain-uncool-girl” was a total turn-off. There was a bit of sense of humor, but a lack of wit… and wit is something that most authors CANNOT afford to ignore.

However, I was patient… and it paid off. I’m not going to say this is the deepest and most surprising book in the world (I had figured out “who did it” way before the end). However, Vincent DOES manage to create several interesting characters. Kaylee and Nash are the two main ones, but they have clichéd enough personalities to be unworthy of description. The interest lies in the people that surround them: Kaylee’s uncle and aunt, Nash’s mother, and, of course, Tom, that sardonic, cool, and slightly pathetic grim reaper who has Nash fuming and Kaylee being fun for a change. In fact, I’m guessing I’d be much more interested in reading a book with Tom’s POV than the actual sequel to “My Soul to Take”.

Once thing that IS appreciated, though, is the use of folklore—and, more specifically, of banshees. I’m not sure if I hate or love the “twists” Vincent has done to the beansidhe mythology. Perhaps a bit of both. I love beansidhe’s, so I was happy that she used them, and I was happy that she thought of a more interesting role for them than just wailing uncontrollably. However, I don’t think I appreciated the moralistic aspect of that role. Like, “beansidhe’s are good creatures who actually help out human beings and their souls”. I firmly believe that the human soul doesn’t have all that much interest to anyone other than humans.

Anyway, My Soul to Take is a quick read, it has its fun moments (particularly towards the end) and I would recommend it without going as far as saying, “Read this NOW”.
* And no, this isn’t because I’m not a teenager. I read plenty of YA, and even in my late 20’s, I’ve connected with plenty of teen characters.

La Loca de La Casa by Rosa Montero

Three words: Read this NOW.

If you love literature, if you have ANYTHING to do with literature: as a reader, as a writer, as an editor, as someone who writes about writers, this book is highly recommended.

Part autobiography, part essay, part fiction, this book has enough twists and turns to get you hooked. I mean, it is not a novel, and yet you can’t put it down until you finish it.



Montero mixes parts of her own story (although you never know what, if anything, of what she is telling you is true), with the biography of great authors like Tolstoi, Stevenson, Marquez, Mary Shelley, Austen, and others, to speak about the act of writing, the act of reading, and the imagination that is necessary to do both things.

I can’t tell you how many times during the book I’ve (literally) cried out “Yes! That happens to me too!” Montero explains to us the passion for reading, she tells us why some writers never get around to writing their best work, she describes the fears of someone with too much imagination, the fickleness of memory, the uncertainty of reality, the difficulty that women authors face—and all of this with enough wit to make Oscar Wilde proud. There is enough food for thought in this short book to feed 10.000 conversations. In fact, you can probably feed a couple hundred on each chapter alone.

It’s hard to put all the wonders of this book into words, so I’m going to list a couple of the things Rosa says:

- Why is it that when a male author writes, everyone assumes he is saying something about humanity, but when a female author writes, everyone assumes she is saying something about women? Rosa complains about those people who believe there is such a thing as “female” literature. Gender is not the only thing that influences how someone writes. For example, she believes she has more in common with a man her age, living in Madrid, and who has lived under Franco, than with a black, South African, 80-year -old woman who has lived through the apartheid.

- Rosa talks about the fear of authors. How, on some days, you feel like everything you are writing is perfect, and then, on other days, you hate all you say and think you should have chosen a different career path. She says that many times authors don’t put their best work on paper: it stays in their head. While in their imagination, the story is perfect, it is the best, most enlightening work ever written. However, once you start putting it down on paper, you know you will screw it up. No matter how much you work, it will never be perfect. The fact that a novelist has to spend the whole afternoon just writing a person leaving a room makes the work clumsy. Suddenly, your lack of talent has tainted your masterpiece—and so, it takes much resolution and character to decide to write your best work.

There is much, much more in this book. I can’t possibly describe its awesomeness. I’ll just have to repeat what I said at the start: read it!!!

El Violinista de los Brazos Largos by Ana María Guiraldes

I guess this could be considered a children’s book, but I’m more inclined to believe it is an ageless book. “El Violinista” tells the story of violin-player Josefo, who one day unexpectedly begins to grow taller. His good friend, the old doctor Dulcelino, sets out on a mission to discover the nature of his illness and the way in which he can stop it. As Josefo- very painfully- becomes a giant, he and Dulcelino will meet the wickedness of ignorant prejudice, of scientific coldness, and of selfish fear.

I loved this book. It is short, and sweet, and I read it in one morning. The characters are charming. Even with all the horrid things happening around them, Dulcelino and Josefo (and a couple of other misfit friends), manage to create a pocket of warmth and love. In the end, it is not Josefo who needs a cure for his tallness; it is the world that needs to be cured of its blindness in order to accept a man of real stature.

Hey remember that other time when I would only read the backs of cereal boxes?

"Listen. You know those days when you've got the mean reds?"
"Same as the blues?"
"No," she said slowly. "No, the blues are because you're getting fat or maybe it's been raining too long. You're sad, that's all. But the mean reds are horrible. You're afraid and you sweat like hell, but you don't know what you're afraid of. Except something bad is going to happen, only you don't know what it is. You've had that feeling?"
"Quite often. Some people call it angst."
"All right. Angst. But what do you do about it?"
"Well, a drink helps."
"I've tried that. I've tried aspirin, too. Rusty thinks I should smoke marijuana, and I did for a while, but it only makes me giggle. What I've found does the most good is just to get into a taxi and go to Tiffany's. It calms me down right away, the quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there, not with those kind men in their nice suits, and that lovely smell of silver and alligator wallets. If I could find a real-life place that made me feel like Tiffany's, then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name."
- Breakfast at Tiffany’s, by Truman Capote

Well, these have been a strange couple of months. I was going to talk about that—life, earthquakes and all that. However, how dull and depressing is that?

So, I decided to talk about something that makes me very very happy: books! For me, bookstores are MY Tiffany’s. They are the places where I am calm, and happy, and satisfied.

A bunch of really fun books came into my possession recently :) Of course, due to health issues, my brain has been functioning at about 2% of its usual capacity, so I’ve had a TOUGH time reading. Mostly, I like watching TV, because it doesn’t imply any effort on my part. However, I HAVE had more time, so that means more reading :)

I’ve read different kinds of books. After skimming my sister’s copy of “1001 books you should read before you die”, I’ve decided to interlace my normal reads with classics. So, basically, my purpose is to read one YA/Fantasy/Paranormal followed by a book that is either a) a classic, b) in Spanish (or French) or c) both.

So, without further ado, here is my “in my mailbox” or whatever the kids are calling it these days…

1) Radiant Shadows by Melissa MarrThe lovely Melissa Marr sent me this ARC a few months ago :) It is autographed and everything. Unfortunately, with the earthquake, it also disappeared behind my friend Clo’s giant book shelf. =(
Anyway, RS is AMAZING!!! I wasn’t particularly impressed by Fragile Eternity (as is denoted by what Melissa wrote in my book :P). However, RS redeemed the series completely in my eyes. First off, it has the greatest technical achievement of the series so far. In previous books, I’ve had issues with pace (basically, the build up takes forever, and the resolution is rushed). However, RS is fast-paced from the beginning, takes the correct pauses, and, basically, is impossible to put down.
The plot itself is awesome. The main characters are all lovable, sexy, interesting and strong. Ani really is an awesome chick. The resolution is surprising, the climax riveting… basically, it leaves you on the edge of your seat and begging for more. Unfortunately, since RS hasn’t even been released yet, we’ll have to wait another year for the last installment of the Faery Court Books (currently named “Darkest Mercy”).

2) The Summoning by Kelly Armstrong
I was able to catch this one while it was still legally available online for free. There is nothing that I like more than free legal books :)
“The Summoning” wasn’t even on my TBR list. Mostly, because I thought the plot seemed a bit banal, and because ghost books scare the crap out of me.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I’m not going to say it was the most profound book in the world, but it was a fun read. It was a fast-paced and easy read. Predictable enough to not complicate you, twisty enough to not be boring. I’d recommend it for when you don’t want to think much and want to immerse yourself in another world for an afternoon. The characters weren’t exactly spell bounding, but they were nice enough and not annoying (which, IMO, is hard to find in current supernatural YA). The ghost stuff wasn’t an issue, because, other than one scene, the book isn’t scary at all… And that scene probably scared me only because I read it at a time when EVERYTHING scared me. It is the first book in a series, so it DOES leave you hanging, and the sequels ARE now in my TRB.

3) The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
I borrowed this one from Clo (in exchange for the RS ARC). It is the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of “The Summoning”. I had a really really hard time getting into DL at first. Yes, partly due to the fact that my brain was working at 2%, but also because it is much more complex than “The Summoning”, both in plot AND in character development. However, this book DOES trap you and it does AFFECT you in a way that “The Summoning” doesn’t. I started off by hating the MC (Nick). However, I ended up not only liking him, but feeling identified with him. The plot is surprising, twisty, and unpredictable. There is such good world building that when you reach the last page you hate having to close the book. So, I recommend this one all the way :)

4) Desayuno en Tiffany’s (Breakfast at Tiffany’s) by Truman Capote
Mauri and I bought this one as part of our plan to include more “classics” in our literary diet. Basically, we went to Feria del Disco and picked out the cheapest classic that we could find. I had read a couple of Capote books before, but this one is completely different than what I had read. Despite the ridiculous Spanish (as in from Spain) translation, I really enjoyed it. The edition has four stories, including Tiffany’s. They are all very real, a little sweet, a little pathetic, a little ironic, and a little sad. However, it’s not the sort of sadness that made me want to stop reading (like when I tried to read Oscar Wilde’s complete short stories). It is a sadness that makes you love the characters and, as a result, love people a bit more. Tiffany’s is NOTHING like the movie, and Golightly is NOTHING like Hepburn. The aptly named Golightly of the book starts off as charming, then gets annoying, then becomes a heroine, and then you just feel sorry for her, and feel like giving her a hug. Basically, this is great storytelling.

5) Vivir sin Miedo by Warren Manell and el Humano Amenazado by Sergio Zamora

The first book, bought for me by my daddy, and the second book, written and given to me by my shrink, both deal with the issues of anxiety and fear. Out of respect for my shrink, I’m not going to rant about grammar and book edition. However, there is one thing I learnt from skimming through both these books: the best way to overcome anxiety is NOT to read books about overcoming anxiety, because all they do is make you think about it more.

6) My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
I got this one, as well as “Confessions…” from my sis Angi :) She sent them to me from Australia, and I opened them the day after the earthquake :) Both were in the infamous Amazon Cart, which has now been edited to erase them. I am reading “My Soul to Take” right now. So far, it is an easy read. The characters are annoying me, but characters always annoy me at the beginning of YA books. Since it has Melissa’s recommendation, I’m hoping my POV of them will change.

7) Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire
I’ve wanted to read this for so long! I’m so happy to finally see it on my shelf!

8) El Violinista de Los Brazos Largos by Ana María GüiraldesAlso lent to me by Clo. It is her fave book, so I’m really looking forward to reading it. It is the next one on my list, after I finish “My Soul to Take”.

9) El Reloj Mecánico ( Clockwork) by Phillip PullmanSpanish edition bought for me by my daddy (along with Vivir Sin Miedo). I still have to finish reading the “His Dark Materials” trilogy (I have the Omnibus, but have only read book one). However, I really like Pullman.

10) El Libro del Cementerio (The Graveyard Book) by Neil GaimanYay!!! I’ve wanted to read this a long long time. My friends (Jorge, Myriam and Clo) got it for me for my birthday J I’m really hoping the Spanish translation won’t spoil Gaiman.

11) The Poison Eaters by Holly Black
I won this ARC from Ms. Black herself =D It is signed and everything. Unfortunately, because of the earthquake, mailing took so long that by the time the book got here it was no longer an ARC. However, I love love love love LOVE Holly Black, so I can’t wait to read it.

12) The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
This is another book that I’ve been wanting to read for ages and that was in my Amazon Cart. This one was sent by Angi and Marcelo for my b-day. I actually am leaving this one on hold for a bit: I’ve wanted to read it for so long, that I don’t want to rush through the excitement. :P

13) Unknown

Alas, the birthday pack sent to me by my sis Clau disappeared in the post-earthquake mail =(. I DO know it included a book and I am hoping to get it someday. *Crosses fingers*

The Book of the Dun Cow: Failure, Faith, and Frailty

I first read Dun Cow when I was 12, and have read it several times since then.

What is it about? In short: there is a Chauntecleer the Rooster, leader of a Coop, the surrounding land, and its inhabitants. And then there is Wyrm and his minion Cockatrice, evil incarnate, ready to take over the world. It is an epic tale of good versus evil, played out by animals.

But, oh, this book is so much more than that!

Walter Wangerin Jr. is a Christian author and his fantasy is embedded in Christian themes: faith, evil, guilt, and forgiveness. As a child, I was also a Christian, and all of these themes struck me to the bone. Oh, how I understood the close relationship between Chauntecleer and his God!

Then, as time went by, both my faith and my life transformed. I explored many many religions, I became an atheist, I went back to believing in God, and then I decided to stop thinking about the issue altogether.

However, The Book of the Dun Cow never stopped having its impact on me.

Why? Because what Wangerin wrote is in no way an allegory, it is in no way a moralizing book, it is, above all a HUMAN book. Not one homosapiens crosses its pages, yet the full range of human emotions is incarnated in the animals of the Coop.

Who has not wanted to sit on top of a pile of mud on a rainy day and mope? Who has not, like Chauntecleer, raised his fist at the universe and asked “Why?” Why am I here? Why are these things happening to me? Why should I go on?

Wangerin knows human emotion to perfection, and shows it in all its filthy detail. The Book of the Dun Cow has been compared to The Lord of the Rings, but I must say, the comparison doesn’t do it justice. Where Tolkien painted a black and white picture of good versus evil, Wangerin recognizes many shades of gray. Where Aragon is ever the honorable and brave leader, Chauntecleer is as flawed as any real leader would be. In fact, it is refreshing to find that the main character of the book is also the most flawed. He feels lonely, he feels unjustly mistreated, he throws tantrums and is selfish and proud—and yet, despite all this, despite all of his flaws, he does what he has to do. This is a Rooster we can relate to, and in that relation we can find hope. Hope that we too, despite loosing Faith (be it faith in God, the universe, life, our loved ones or ourselves…), can move on.

This lesson we learn through the Odyssey that Chauntecleer and his animals have to go through. The book is full of humour and ridiculous moments. It opens up with a snoring rooster and a bunch of scared chickens. Yet, Wangerin soon shows war in all of its brutality: here we have children dying, here we have hundreds of hens being brutally raped in public, here we have cruelty and murder-- and here we also have kindness and laughter.

Ever truthful, Wangerin shows us the REAL DEAL.

And from this truth we can find satisfaction. Whatever battles we fight, whether they be giant monsters living under the earth, or the petrifying knowledge that you have to get on the subway every morning, they CAN be fought, and they can be fought by any regular nincompoop, whether his name be Chauntecleer, Dusty, or you.