Stephen King and Warm Weather

I don't know what it is about warm weather that makes me want to read scary books. I don't know if I'm braver when the days are longer, or if it's because of the summer after my senior year when I read The Stand, Cujo, and Misery. I didn't read them one right after the other, but I still think of that summer as the Stephen King summer.

Because the weather is warming up now, I'm craving those thrillers again. I even thought about rereading Cujo, for some deranged reason. That was my least favorite Stephen King book, and I won't watch the movie. Maybe I will someday, but I doubt it. The trailer was enough to remind me why I didn't like the book. I remember when I was reading it, I lay in my bed that night staring at the ceiling, regretting my decision to pick it up. And then I woke up the next morning and practically tore through the house looking for it so I could find out what happened. I loved it as I was reading it, but the ending left a bad taste in my mouth.

The Stand was probably my favorite Stephen King book. I loved the battle between good and evil, and the Biblical parallels. I think it's interesting that it starts as an apocalyptic pandemic, but before too long it has shifted to a classic story of how no matter what happens, there will always be good left to fight the deep evil in the world. The miniseries is well done, even if some of the acting is bad.

As a writer, Misery is probably my worst nightmare. For a long time I swore I would never read it. But somehow, it was still the first King book I read. I borrowed the ebook from my library, and I can still remember sitting curled up in the corner of my couch, clutching my iPod and reading certain scenes in horror. Even though it completely terrified me, I thought it was a great read, and I've watched the movie twice. I have yet to reread it, though.

I just finished reading The Running Man, which was a really interesting story. It wasn't as scary as some of King's other books in that it's not horror, but it was scary because I can see some of the things described happening in our own society. The dystopic world Richards lived in, in which the air is polluted and millions of people are trapped in crippling poverty rings very true to our own society. I enjoyed the book, but I didn't like the main character very much. It's hard for me to enjoy a book if I don't like the main character.

Right now I'm reading 'Salem's Lot, but it's going slowly because I don't read it at night. I'm not quite 100 pages in, but I'm definitely hooked. I can't wait to find out exactly what goes down in the little town.

I'm a fan of Stephen King, but every time I look at his shelves at the library, I lose count of how many of his books I don't want to read. The number of books I do want to read is far outnumbered by the ones I don't. He's an interesting man, that Stephen King. I wonder what it's like to live inside his head.

The Problem With "The Cursed Child"

So, before we jump in, warning here: MAJOR HARRY POTTER SPOILERS. IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS, SKIP THIS POST.

I know, I know. Harry Potter and the Death Hallows came out in 2007, and the last movie came out in 2011. But there are still people reading the books or watching the movies for the first time, and they might not want to be spoiled.


Another caveat: This is just my opinion. If you are completely excited about The Cursed Child, that's awesome. I just have a lot of thoughts on it, and I'm putting them out there.



Okay, let's do this. Brace yourself -- this is going to be a long one.


If you know me, you know what a huge Harry Potter fan I am. My mom read me the first book when I was six/seven, and I have loved it ever since. I've been to movie and book premieres and dressed up, I went to Wizarding World a few years ago and almost cried having breakfast in the Three Broomsticks. I have written thousands upon thousands of words of HP fanfiction. I own a replica of Hermione's wand. I still have multiple HP posters on my walls, and I still buy shirts. So you can imagine how excited I was when I found out that J.K. Rowling was writing something new, something about Harry.

I eagerly read all the news about it, all her tweets and comments. I was so excited that she was writing something new. Everyone assumed it was going to be about Harry pre-Hogwarts, and I was no different. I was hoping for some magic adventures, turning teachers' wigs blue... all that good stuff from the first book that is mentioned, but never seen.

Then she announced the plot line.

And I'll admit, I was kind of devastated.

If you haven't read the summary of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, you can do so here. At first, I was just kind of in shock. I thought J.K. Rowling would never tell another story about Harry's children; I thought she would leave it with "All was well," but I guess I was wrong. After I read the summary a few times, I began to slowly feel disappointment, and then more and more my feelings veered toward being upset.

I just finished a reread of the whole series, and when I reread it, something in me changed. Before, I was dying for just one more story, something about Albus and Lily and James. But when I finished rereading Deathly Hallows, when I wiped my tears and looked at the page, at those words, I realized I was satisfied. I loved "All was well." I loved that she ended the story that way, with those three simple words.

But not anymore.

Now, all of a sudden, everything is not well. Something happens that changes that beautiful peace Harry has spent his entire life trying to achieve. Something, as it seems, that comes from within his own family. That's just not fair. Harry has lived with abusive relatives, been tortured, possessed, dealt with chronic pain from his scar, struggled with PTSD from watching the deaths of people he loved, and was even killed himself. But finally, at the age of seventeen, he ended all of that. And nineteen years later, he had a beautiful family, peace reigned in the Wizarding World, and his scar had stopped hurting. All was truly well, until apparently a few months or possibly years later.

I don't know exactly when Harry Potter and the Cursed Child takes place, but it can't be too long after Deathly Hallows. So what happened to "All was well"? What happened to change that? If my interpretation of the summary of the new story is correct, then Albus is the Cursed Child, the surprising place darkness comes from.

Really? The child of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley? The child of the boy who was brutally tortured and tormented, and who remained kind, the boy who sacrificed his own life so that the people he loved could live. The child of the girl who went to the Yule Ball with Neville because it was the kind thing to do, who stood by Harry even when it was breaking her heart, and who was one of the three facing down Bellatrix in the final battle. This child of these two wonderful people has darkness in him? This is something I can't even begin to understand. This is the same child who was afraid of being in Slytherin. What could possibly happen to turn this precious child toward darkness?

And that's where another problem comes into the light. I may never know what happens to Albus, because this story isn't being released as a book, or as a movie. No, it's being released as a play in London, with expensive tickets and a limited run. The eighth Harry Potter story is being released to a certain group of people: those who can afford to pay for it.

I don't like that the eighth Harry Potter story is only available to those who can afford tickets/travel. One of the reasons Harry Potter is so important is because it was a story that reached millions all across the world. There's no way I would be able to afford to travel to London, buy tickets for parts 1 and 2 of the show, and I don't know a single person who can afford that. I don't understand why J.K. doesn't understand why this is a problem for people.


Yes, I do understand that these are J.K.'s characters, and this is her world. As a writer, I totally understand this. But at the same time, the stories have been over for years. I'm not saying I've moved on, or grown out of Harry Potter. I'm not saying I'm boycotting The Cursed Child, or that I'm not curious or excited at all. Because I am very curious, and it is more Harry Potter. What I am saying is that I find the plot to be problematic, because it undoes the ending of the original stories. I find the way the story is being put out there to be problematic, because only a limited number of people will get to experience it first hand.

I'm still Harry's girl, through and through. Always will be. But this story doesn't seem to fit in with the Harry I've known and loved since I was six years old. And that, to me, is problematic.

Last Night...

Last night was devastating. Not just for Paris, but for Japan, Lebanon, and Mexico as well. Lebanon, like Paris, experienced bombings, and Japan and Mexico both had earthquakes.

Pray for Paris.

Pray for Japan.

Pray for Lebanon.

Pray for Mexico.

Places

Today I'm writing in my basement.

I've written most of my book so far in the upstairs of my house, so I decided to try for a different perspective, see what that does for my writing.

I always try to write wherever is the most appealing... sometimes that's in my room, sometimes it's in the recliner in my parents' room, and sometimes it's outside on my trampoline. Today, the spot that seemed the most appealing was outside, in the middle of street, among the blowing leaves.

I decided to write downstairs instead. It seemed safer.

So...

So, I guess tomorrow is November 1st. And I guess that means NaNoWriMo starts, or something like that. I don't know, I haven't been paying attention.

Oh, who am I kidding? I've been counting down the days for weeks.

I remember when I first heard about NaNoWriMo, I thought my friend was crazy for doing it. Turned out he wrote a pretty cool novel, and I ended up doing what seemed impossible and writing a novel in November, too. It's so weird to look back on Novembers before 2011, and to think about a time when I wasn't completely obsessed with the same set of characters for thirty day. It's weird to remember not looking forward to November. I don't really remember what it feels like for it to be December 1st, and to think "I'm ready for next November."

NaNoWriMo even provided me with my final essay for my English Comp Class freshman year of college. I had a list of essay ideas to choose from, and I was able to use one of them to write about writing, and my feelings about my own writing.

NaNoWriMo has boosted my confidence about my writing so much. When I dove in and wrote a novel in a month way back in 2011 when I was practically a child, it shot my confidence through the roof. I had done it! I had written the longest thing I'd ever written! And I'd written it in only like 27 days! And it was totally amazing!

Okay, so maybe that last one wasn't completely true upon looking back on some of my cringe-worthy lines. But I don't even care. I had so much, and it launched me into a world of writing a novel a year. This is my fifth year, and I can't wait to see what kind of adventures it brings me.

Book Review: Imaginary Girls

Title: Imaginary Girls

Author: Nova Ren Suma
Number of Stars:  2 and 3/4 (of 5)

Summary: Imaginary Girls is a supernatural story about two sisters. The older sister, Ruby, is beautiful, funny and powerful. Chloe is less beautiful, less funny, and less powerful. But when she's with Ruby, she forgets that she isn't as beautiful and powerful. When she's with Ruby, people pay attention to her. Chloe adores Ruby. When the girls are nineteen and fourteen, they are having a party at the reservoir in their town. Ruby and Chloe decide to convince their drunk friends that Chloe can swim across the reservoir and back. Chloe swims out into the dark water, and comes across a small rowboat. Inside the rowboat is her classmate, London. And London is dead.

Flash forward two years, and Chloe has been living with her dad, hours away from Ruby. Chloe has become very apathetic towards life, and toward Ruby, who she has barely spoken to over the last two years. Then suddenly Ruby forces her way back in Chloe's life, and Chloe returns to their small town with her sister. But things are not as she remembers; they are very different, and very sinister.

My Review:

I'll start with the good. First, I devoured this book in two days. I was desperate to figure out what was going on. I love a good mystery, and this one delivered. As a mystery, but not much else. The tone reminded me of The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman. It had the same kind of dark, sinister tone where you know something is wrong but you can't quite put your finger on it.

I also really enjoyed the writing. Nova Ren Suma is a good writer, despite the problems I had with the book. The characters are interesting, and for the most part the story keeps you reeled in and wanting to find out what happens. I was fascinated by Ruby, even as I disliked her more and more. As it became more and more apparent that everything was not what it seemed in this town, I wanted to reach the end as quickly as possible so I would finally have all the answers.

One last thing I really liked was the mystery of the drowned town, Olive. Ruby and Chloe are obsessed with the story of Olive, a town that was flooded when the people refused to leave for the reservoir to be built. Ruby always says that the townspeople are still down there, living their lives at the bottom of the water. The subplot of Olive becomes more fascinating as the story goes on.

But unfortunately, that's where the good stops. I did have some problems with this book, the main one being that it was just too long. Neil Gaiman had it right when he wrote The Ocean at the End of the Lane as a novella, instead of 350 pages, which is about how long Imaginary Girls is. I expected my curiosity to be satisfied by the end of Imaginary Girls, but it just wasn't. It's never really explained what's going on, and that disappointed me. With Neil Gaiman's book, when you don't get any solid answers, it's okay because the book is short, and it feels like a snippet of a longer story. But with Imaginary Girls, it just feels like a letdown.

My other problems were small, like the side characters being flat and uninteresting, and scenes that didn't move the story along, or hold my interest. The second of these contributes to the unnecessary length of the book.

When I first finished the book, I didn't really know how to feel. I was disappointed, yes, that there were no real answers, but at the same time I could not stop thinking about it. And I still can't. I keep turning the story over and over in my head, thinking about the characters, and the plot, and what the heck was even going on. The book didn't quite live up to its potential, which is too bad. It could have been amazing, but instead it was not quite good.


Next up on my To Be Read Pile: The Accident Season, by Moira Fowley-Doyle

  

Update, and a New Feature!

It's been ages since I blogged. I've been busy with school and writing. But I am really going to try to blog more often, and one thing I'll be doing to make that happen is adding a new feature: Book reviews! I've been thinking about doing this for ages, and I finally decided to do it. My first review will be posted later today, a review of the book Imaginary Girls, by Nova Ren Suma.

Update time! I'm doing NaNoWriMo again this year! I'm planning to write a continuation of Hansel and Gretel, and I'm very excited about it. I can't wait for November 1st to come.

I've also been working on the second draft of my last NaNo novel, and I'm almost done with that. I was hoping to have it finished before NaNo this year, but I'm not sure that's going to happen. But I still have a week to finish it! And it's the first week in ages that I haven't had a major unit test to prepare for.

Until next time! Ttfn.