Ask Wednesday, August 15

What book(s) are you excited to read next? 

It’s that day of the week again! The day I ask you guys a question. It can be any book — a book that you’ve owned for a while & haven’t gotten around to reading; a book that hasn’t been released yet; a book you keep eyeing at the bookstore or library, but just haven’t quite reached for yet.

Here is a book I’ve seen around the Internet and at the bookstore and have heard mentioned in others’ conversation at the bookstore. (I eavesdrop on the booksellers, what can I say?) It’s one that isn’t on my immediate to-read list because I’m determined to read every unread book in my apartment before acquiring new books (with the exception of books-as-gifts). But it is a book I really want to read and it’s a book that’s pushing me through my aforementioned read-all-the-books-I-own challenge.

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

From all I’ve gathered, this isn’t exactly a retelling of Peter Pan but more a reinterpretation of Peter Pan. This novel is — as you can guess from the title — told from the perspective of Tiger Lily, the Indian princess in the original tale (though from reviews, I also understand that in this novel she isn’t an Indian princess but the daughter of the medicine man).

I seek out retellings and reinterpretations of classic tales, the ones we all grew up with, as often as I can and in all forms of media. I prefer reinterpretations, though. I like the freedom an author takes with a classic story, and I like to see how that story has twisted inside another person’s head. Because every time I do reread a classic story — Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan and others — I realize how much I change it in my own head. There are bits of those stories that exist in my head that aren’t actually in the books themselves, but over time my own imagination and others’ interpretations have altered how I remember these tales. I think it’s interesting how we each can read the same story and certain things stand out, and certain things change slightly, and certain things become forgotten.

 

Days without Internet

So I’ve been without Internet for 5 days. Sort of.

I’ve been without Internet at my apartment for 5 days, and it’s not just me: it’s the entire apartment complex. I no longer live in a small complex, either. I traded my small apartment community for a rather large apartment community (though I maintained the small community feel because the buildings are set up in little pentagons and I never have to leave mine except to pay rent), and to have so many buildings lose Internet access completely for five days is just absurd.

But the complex is being told by the service provider that “our Internet is being upgraded.” To me that sounds like, “We broke your Internet and haven’t figured out how to fix it yet.” My Internet connection better be amazing when it comes back — oh, and the service provider still has no rough estimate on when the connection will be back online. So yeah.

So in five days, it’s probably reasonable to assume that I did all kinds of writing because while the Internet has been out, it’s also been storming and sudden rainstorms have been frequent. Totally reasonable to assume writing has happened, and completely wrong. I haven’t written a word in five days with no Internet connection. So what did I do?

Well, I played sand volleyball (which was fun) but I also got a dozen fire ant bites from the same event (less fun). I played a soccer game (which was fun) but we lost pretty  badly (less fun).

Mostly, though, I read books. I read The Stolen and The Chosen by Liz Braswell, which are books 2 and 3 in The Nine Lives of Chloe King series. Those were about what I expected: relatively mindless, a hint of action-y, and several doses of PG kissy face-y. I bought the big volume a few weeks ago to have something to read while soaking my legs in Epsom salt baths; a big paperback volume I wouldn’t cry over if I dropped it in said Epsom salt bath.

On Sunday afternoon, though, I read an ARC that’s been sitting atop my knitting basket: Secret Letters by Leah Scheier. Secret Letters is about a girl named Dora who dreams of meeting her biological father, Sherlock Holmes, and becoming a respected female inspector. When her cousin’s reputation and marriage are threatened by blackmail, Dora sets off to London to hire Holmes for the case, but when she arrives, Holmes is dead. Dora must rely on her own investigative skills, and the help of a rather dashing, much younger detective to protect her cousin.  Really, I think my tweet about it yesterday afternoon sums it up best:

So here’s my official recommendation: if you like strong-willed heroines, Victorian London, mysteries & mayhem, and really, really sexy Victorian banter between inspectors, then definitely grab a copy of this debut YA novel by Leah Scheier. And here’s the cover, because I also really like the cover, and I think it just adds to the appeal:

This week there will be an update for Noveling through Summer for #thatghoststory, and fingers crossed that it’s a very productive update. This afternoon, though, I’m focused on using my Internet in the office productively so maybe tomorrow morning I can write without panicking about all that’s been left undone and unanswered online.

Smart Chick Spotlight: Gaia Moore

Smart Chick Spotlight

 

Smart (adjective)

Definition: intelligent

Synonyms: agile, alert, bold, brainy, clever, crafty, fresh, good
ingenious, keen, knowing, quick, resourceful, sassy, sharp, wise

 

As a reader, I love books with female narrators / main-protagonists. I love when girls and women kick ass and takes names and don’t care whether or not the boys are watching to be impressed. (Though, it’s totally OK if the boys are watching and are impressed.) I’m kind of an obnoxious Girl Power, yea! reader when it comes to literature — and my friend & critique partner L. has started doing a Femme Fatale Friday post where she gives the spotlight over to her favorite leading ladies in contemporary YA and Adult fiction. I’m joining L. in her efforts to give tribute to some of the best girls and women in literature every other Friday.

This week the Smart Chick Spotlight shines on Gaia Moore from Francine Pascal’s Fearless series. Now I know when most people hear Francine Pascal’s name, they think of Sweet Valley High. I should probably just mention now, I never read SVH and while I’m sure it’s great because it is Francine Pascal, I fan-girl over Gaia Moore — the girl who can’t feel fear and who gallivants around New York City being a teenage vigilante. But let’s turn to Overview from Barnes & Noble, shall we?

Gaia is a brilliant, beautiful girl who is trained in three kinds of martial arts, has a reflex speed that’s off the charts, and can climb mountains, box, wrestle, and break codes in four languages. She has no trouble throwing a grown man over her shoulders. She doesn’t care what people think of her, and she’s never scared…

Because she is missing the fear gene.

In this action-packed bind-up, Gaia makes her way through the treacherous halls of high school and is forced to come to terms with herself, the boys in her life, and her completely MIA family.

But she can handle it.

She is….Fearless.

There are 36 books in this series, and I cannot honestly tell you if I’ve read them all. But regardless, Gaia Moore deserves today’s Smart Chick Spotlight because, quite frankly, you have to be one smart chick in order to survive being fearless. What I love most about Gaia, though, is that she is all kinds of smart, and different levels of smart, and she just gets smarter as the series progresses. Sure, she can crack codes and knows all kinds of martial arts — those are just required when you (a) can’t feel fear and (b) your family is missing, but once was CIA.

She also spends a lot of time being a bit of a vigilante, which is decidedly not smart, and what’s most interesting about Gaia is that while she can’t feel fear, she can feel adrenaline, and when the latter comes without the former, it can be the ultimate high. For a while Gaia can’t help running after trouble, inviting it into her life, and it’s definitely stupid. But her early vigilante work is what makes her story, and her growth as a smart chick, so much more interesting.

And finally, Gaia begrudgingly learns quite a bit about family, friendship, love and loss, and that the terrorists are always going to kidnap the people who have the tightest emotional tie to you.

She’s one smart chick, and she can kick a boy’s butt, which is precisely how I prefer my heroines.