Allegiant by Veronica Roth, a Woeful Tale of Author Lost

So many bad reviews for an author who was adored by so many loyal fans! This book was literally flogged for weeks on Facebook creating a frenzy of anticipation. I really think that Ms. Roth has misjudged her fan base, this is a YA book defined as younger teens up to about 17 years old -- adults can read and appreciate the trilogy but the true fans are the young ones, primarily female, who closely identify with Tris, her tender attraction to Four, her coming of age, her budding consciousness of her physical and spiritual powers. The point of the trilogy is to show how experience changes people, for better or worse, makes them grow and develop and gives them the power to forgive and accept. I really think that Roth's fans would have forgiven her even if she had put Tris or Four into wheelchairs, or blinded them for life, or any other such horrible fate, but to kill of the character with which her readers identify and whom they cherish and emulate, well that is really unforgiveable in a book written for this age group. It is a violation of trust. And I think it is an exceptionally bad message considering the group she is writing for -- To sacrifice yourself for another is an adult decision to be made by adults -- it is a dangerous decision to be handed to susceptible teenagers. Ms. Roth is a young and inexperienced writer, most of her characters are flat and speak with the same voice, her plots are uninflected, monotonous bordering on incomprehensible ( except in the first book, Divergent, which was a brilliant idea), but she created a fascinating dystopia and a vivid, endearing relationship between two exemplary teens and then she just gave it all up in exchange for what? -- to be judged as a bold, innovative author? -- death and suffering are common, teens don't go to fiction of this kind to repeat what is going on in their own reality, they go there for hope and pleasure -- to be excited and to dream about the future of their beloved characters and their own lives. I simply think that Ms. Roth should have considered who she is really writing for -- not for the odd adult who happens to like teen dystopian fiction, but for the very vunerable young person for whom these books are major milestones, highly anticipated events and beloved memories.

Review your other purchases

Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different. C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian

I have enjoyed and learned a lot from this exercise. Most basically, it  has helped me in word processing ( I do not use it much in my library work, so the mechanics of the blog were relatively challenging to me at the beginning.) Writing book reviews has been a great joy, it has improved my critical skills and forced me to consciously evaluate the quality and content of my creations throughout various revisions. The information about review sites, booklists, critical sites was extremely valuable and helped break me out of the usual places I go to find information about media. Reading other librarian's blogs was a real eye opener --how differently we all view and respond to the same question! Just when I thought I had a most ideal response to a question, I read somebody else's blog which had an equally legitimate, and completely different answer -- this really has expanded my knowledge and added to my respect for my colleagues. It has also forced me to think about divergent ways to learn and create and how important these are to younger readers who are growing up in an almost 180 degree different learning environment from the one I experienced . Although we all have a structurally similar brain,  our view of the world, our methods of creating and disseminating information, the very structure of our thoughts has been completely transformed by the computer- this is the most basic difference among  the generations at this time and that revelation is one of the keys to providing excellent customer service.

If children are our future ( which they obviously are) then book trailers are also part of the future of  book marketing.  I read a lot of online news sites and lately I have been noticing that story links are starting more and more to lead to videos. This is intensely annoying to me because I tend to view reading and watching as two different and separate entities -- this is one of the reasons I have so much trouble with foreign films, I simply cannot coordinate reading the subtitles and watching the films effectively -- it results in a very unpleasant viewing experience for me. This is also why I have so much trouble with graphic novels. But I am old and was not brought up to be visually oriented -- we did not learn visually when I went to school, we learned by reading and discussion-after we read and discussed, then visual reinforcement may have been added as a treat -- so evidently my brain has developed differently from today's people. Young people today are intensely visual, therefore we are getting more visual links on news sites, critical sites, blog sites. I viewed a few book trailers from popular teen books, Warm Bodies, Divergent, Poison Princess. They all had a high viewership ( not viral, but high). Warm Bodies and Divergent were extremely professional productions -- WB had striking and stark visuals accompanied by reading and written reviews, Divergent's was only about 45 seconds long, totally symbolic and visual with very powerful music. I also often view short book trailers on television and, I have to admit, sometimes the production does at least pique my interest in the book. I don't think that at this time book trailers are making a huge impact but I predict that they certainly will in the future simply because our new adults are innured to the visual in their learning process. That is why the young adult trailers are more popular than the adult trailers, different ages, different brains. I cannot see these advertisements as being particularly useful for RA. They certainly are not balanced criticisms of the book and the very, very visual ones do not convey much about the plot or characters. The book trailer for Poison Princess, however, was quite helpful in elucidating plot and characters because it was just a straight discussion by Kresley Cole about the origin and import of different plot elements -- so I guess it depends upon type of trailer, the ones which are purely visual or musical are of no help but author discussions and online critiques can be of value.

Pain, Parties, Work Sylvia Plath in New York, Summer 1953

Just to be up front, I personally do not like Sylvia Plath, her abandonment of her children and disdain for her family turn my stomach a little. I very rarely make judgements about authors and I don't know why I make the exception for her -- maybe it is because so many young women view her as some kind of role model and I think that is misguided-- no matter how good your poetry is it does no good for your children if you choose to commit suicide when they are toddlers -- and maybe it is because I have  gained some perspective and learned to prioritize because I have been fortunate to live much longer than she did. Nevertheless, I like The Bell Jar . That metaphor for depression is absolutely spot on  -- certainly we have all felt that heavy, airless, suffocation that clots the mind and slows the body . It is the mental equivalent of  iron deficiency or an asthma attack. The lack of oxygen darkens and narrows the vision.  This book is a memoir of the Plath's life during the time in which the The Bell Jar takes place. It is based on the memories of the other ladies who joined Sylvia as guest editors for Madamoiselle magazine in 1953. Sylvia, the brilliant young writer on the cusp of a magnificent career, decked out in  fifties glamor, the full, ballet length dresses with cinched-in waists, which exaggerated and enhanced the female form,  the intensely red lips and nails which advertised  female sexuality, the smooth pageboys , the mandatory gloves, matching hats, bags and shoes-- combine this plethora of clothing and cosmetics with a small, airless , broiling hotel room in one of the hottest summers in memory and you have your  bell jar, the physical setting  of Sylvia's most exciting summer . The fifties -- glamour - a wonderful time to be a woman -- well, no, because by and large no matter how brilliant and creative and excellent you may have been, the expectation for all women was full time wife and motherhood -- and  this dip into exciting careerism in New York's publishing industry only sharpened that dichotomy between desire and ultimate duty providing for some pretty intense internal pressure. Sylvia's colleagues relate the externals of Sylvia's journey in The Bell Jar, her hard work with interviews and articles, her photographic shoots for the college issue, her bout with food poisoning, her poisonous dates, her male admirers, her final evening, throwing her New York wardrobe off the high-rise roof, feeding it to the night. That hot, high, fast summer of the Rosenbergs. The book is a perfect companion to Sylvia's memoir, the same progression of events from two points of view, theirs objective, hers slightly crazy, intensely subjective. Not all the memories are good ones, though, for Sylvia disappointed many with her fictionalization of them in The Bell Jar. Upon reading that book, a few discovered what Sylvia really thought of them back then and it was not pleasant to learn- they felt cheated, exposed and misrepresented. Sylvia herself swore that her characters and the events portrayed within the book were fiction, based on reality, but really, the events, the people, the setting, they are all the same viewed through the prism of Sylvia's intense and sometimes harsh judgement. Yet all of the ladies interviewed confessed deep admiration Sylvia' s originality and energy and none of them judged her negatively for her final decision. This book is a short, sweet read for Sylvia admirers and those curious about the facts about that memorable summer.

When Ann Rule wrote her first book The Stranger Beside Me, she was a former cop, a writer of true crime for pulp magazines, a struggling divorcee with five young children and a volunteer for a suicide hotline. Her fellow hotline volunteer just happened to be Ted Bundy, serial killer extraordinaire, whose subsequent kills, arrrests, escapes, trials and execution resulted in a spate of books, character studies and psychological debates. But Ann's was the first study and , really, the most intimate, because she actually knew Bundy in real life, followed his activities over many years, chatted with him over lunch, commiserated with him over his legal entanglements, wrote him letters in prison, conveyed messages to his girlfriends all the while trying to convince herself that he was innocent -- simply a victim of circumstance. Ann Rule is a calm, clear, laconic writer balancing fact and supposition, thoroughly researching the circumstances and the victims of each of Ted's atrocities. She is particularly attuned to the tragedy of the victims and the unending anguish of their families -- she avoids the dehumanizing details of each crime and presents Ted's victims as complete human beings, gracious and lovely young ladies on the cusp of adulthood and all the exhilarating adventures that would bring. Her newest redaction of this iconic work is particularly interesting for she presents letters and conversations with young women who were almost Ted's chosen -- ladies who by fate or grace managed to escape. There are many such testimonies in the book -- well, Ted was a busy boy as we all know. This book is really an icon of early true crime -- an absolute must read for anybody who follows the genre -- the subject is dark and horrific but Rule's writing is full of grace and compassion for the lost women. In subsequent books by other authors, the true sick and vile horror of the monster that was Bundy is revealed. Ann Rule does not dwell on these disgusting details, I think, out of respect for the victims and their loved ones. I admire her for this because it elevates the genre of true crime which, at times, reads like a  gross violation of the dignity of the murdered. Rule's books never make the reader feel dirty or invasive because she herself does not exhibit these traits. Her work is a serious investigation of a very, very sick person. She never drags the reader down to the level of her repellent subject. For fiction I may recommend Defending Jacob. 

To complete this assignment I wrote comments to Brice and Monty.

John Krakauer's first book Into the Wild is the story of sensitive, reclusive Christopher McCandless, who abandons his family and future to live his own particular adventure as Alex Supertramp, walking, hitching, and jumping freight trains in pursuit of the elusive existential journey of self-discovery. Through his letters and journals, observations of his fellow tramps and occasional employers, anguished memories of his parents and sister, we follow him from his affluent home in suburbs of Washington DC, to the wheatfields of South Dakota, the rubber tramp camps of the southwest and finally to his cherished goal, Alaska. This book is more than a character discovery, however, for Krakauer leads us through the history of these one man odysseys, from Everett Ruess, to Jon Waterman and introduces us to a bevy of Chris's fellow travellers, the lost and forgotten, their back stories and memories. Chris's places and literal journeys are important, but his effect on people and their subsequent influence on him are the crux of this book. There are a lot of opinions about Chris -- the young view him as some sort of existential hero, the old and more experienced as an arrogant fool blinded by the romance of the road and the solitary life. Krakauer acknowledges these disagreements and , at the same time, presents a full and compassionate portrait of a very young and struggling soul whose illusions are gradually stripped away leaving him truly naked and defenseless. I recommend this book for adventurers, philosophers, spiritual travelers, parents and young people. It is a deep study of a fleeting moment in a young man's life, his great and absolute joy of discovery and his terrible final fear of the consequences of his enthusiasm. For fiction, I would recommend Jack London's short story "To Light a Fire".

Non Fiction

1. True Crime is primarily in 364 although some is in biography as well. I would recommend Erik Larson's Devil in the White City (364.1523L) or Ann Rule's newest edition of Stranger Beside Me (364.1523 R)

2. The classification of non-fiction travel narrative depends on the country or countries visited.  Paul Theroux's Dark Star Safari (916.04 T) is classified in African travel while Tahir Shah's Caliph's House is classified in 964 D, the history and culture of Morocco.

3. Biography can be included in the Bio section, History , Sports, Business -- that classification for which the subject is noted. Thus John Krakauer's Into the Wild, bio of doomed Alaskan adventurer Chris McCandless in Bio Mcc and President in the Family about Thomas Jefferson by Woodson in 973.46 W.

4. Disaster Narratives -- classified depending on what kind of disaster it is. -- if it is about mountain climbing such as Krakauer's Into the Thin Air, 796.522 K, or The Graves are Walking by Kelly (941.5081 K) classified in the history and culture of Ireland - about the Irish Holocaust- or Enron, the  Smartest Guys in the Room (333.79M) by McLean, in the business and finance section.

Since I have gotten a whole lot older than I ever thought I would, I have been tempted by many things that were forbidden to young Catholic ladies back in the day and , I must admit, I have been acting out a bit in both thought and deed. I have been immersing myself in paranormal fantasy books, staring at HBO and Showtime  late night fare with my jaw dropped and dreaming of just walking out, leaving everything, pets, kids, responsibilities, huge collections of things and moving to Morocco or Uzbekistan ( I'll take my husband with me) The idea of a garish tattoo dedicated to some long dead pet has crossed my mind and I sometimes imagine myself with a turquoise streak in my hair.. Now what is this all about you ask?  In spite of my efforts to evolve and taste new experiences,there are some things I will never be able to do. I will never be able to get my nose pierced or actually enjoy and understand  Manga or really, really find any motivation to spend enormous amounts of time blogging or reading blogs on Tumblr. I finally signed up for a Tumblr account today in order to examine  the Cassandra Clare blogsite -- actually there is a lot of blogging and reblogging and fansites and artsites, and Twitter chatter about Cassandra, most dealing with the newest entry in her tarot series (little did I know how popular tarot is amongst adolescents!). Tumblr is very broad and very shallow and there is just too much multi-tasking involved for me to actively enjoy or gain anything useful from this particular site. Tweets in particular nauseate me, I mean how self-involved can you get? I will continue to view this site ( at least a few more times) but I doubt that I will revise my opinion- I mean it makes Facebook look like the Encyclopedia Britannica.

On the other hand, Stacked, quite obviously a project of love by two librarians, draws me in and involves me immediately. The reviews are delightful book talks which spark the imagination and leave you begging for more information. The reviewers are deeply knowledgeable about young adult literature and are able to offer constructive criticism and historical perspective to the works they write about. In addition, they offer suggestions for further reading. The site is a serious and substantial contribution to readers advisory and yet, it does not take itself seriously. The essays are light and easily digestible despite their thoughtful and complex content. Because it is written by only two librarians (it does take contributions under advisement), it is cohesive, offering insightful commentary, comparing and contrasting various books. So Stacked --adult site, Tumblr-- teen site. Stacked is deep and linear, Tumblr appears shallow and all over the page. I am going to persist on Tumblr however since maybe I am just hitting the wrong blogs -- I have lots of different interests so, perhaps, I will find something that excites me if I investigate further.

I examined Harper Teen and LB Teen

Harperteen is a very thorough site which advertises and updates works by some of the most significant Y writers, notably Veronica Roth of Divergent , the prolific Avi, Kathryn Lasky, Meg Cabot,Walter Dean Myers and Terry Pratchett. It features book reviews, interviews (written and visual), links to newsletters, official websites and blogsites, movie tie-ins, live chat. The content is not particularly  deep or analytic or memorable, but it is not supposed to be -- this a news site updating teens on media and popular culture.

LB teen deals primarily with books, less with the cultural phenomena that stems from the books -- The list of authors is impressive, though not so much as Harper. Cornelia Funk, Darren Shan, James Patterson most notably. Live chats with authors are advertised and older chats are presented in archive. There are some meatier offerings to teachers and librarians on the site, educator guides, book talks, ways by which books can be found by theme. This website is less visual, colorful and ADD than Harpers-- less attractive, I think, to teens, more attractive to the adults who recommend the books to teens -- the colors are more sedate, there are fewer funky links and less teen language used.

What I gather from both these sites and simply from my own observations is that  many, many of new YA books are written for young ladies by female authors. They feature the strong, quirky female character facing real life or dystopian challenges which by and large she overcomes via her special abilities (innate abilities, sometimes magic--but usually abilities which come from within as opposed to learned skills). Most of them are narrated by the major female character. Many seem to be written to empower teenage girls and make them more aware of their ability to influence their environment. I think that is all well and good although, , as an adult, I have to acknowledge that hard earned useful skills combined with a positive attitude are much more vaulable to our world than magic or lore. But I am old-school, more Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Diary of a Young Girl, than Gossip Girl or Wither. I positively enjoy reading many of these books, but they are not books that I would return to read, they do not build character -- They are written for immediate pleasure, not lasting thought. What I don't understand is why more books are not being written for young men --maybe it is because young men simply are not as attracted to fiction  as the ladies. I have to say, though, that those books which feature male characters are far more thought provoking and long lasting than teen girl reads. Walter Dean Myers, Gary Paulsen, Orson Scott Card, S.E. Hinton, Andrew Horowitz, Neil Gaiman-- better writers, deeper message, more enduring and complex, less self involved and self serving -- books that can be read by all genders and ages.I have to ask myself is this plethora of dystopian girl lit really doing a disservice to teen girls-- either that or underestimating them. The good thing is that teens read all kinds of books -- by and large do not limit themselves to one type of read and they also are able to weed out the good from the bad , the fad from the enduring classic.

Assignment 7

This dystopian flowchart is just down my alley -- It will help me choose more books.. I have  read a lot of the more notable dystopian works. I have tried to read quite a few more of them but many are poorly written, improbable or contain worlds which just bore me to death and I do not continue. The other day I was scanning the new Y fiction and noticed that probably a good half of it was either dystopian, paranormal romance  or paranormal fiction. (Privately, I think this is an unfortunate trend -- People can profit from reading about real world problems and solutions as well -- of how all age groups can contribute to a less dystopian world. But it is the market right now.)  So far, for me, aside from the Hunger Games, the best dystopian reads have been Shusterman's Unwind series, Divergent series by Veronica Roth, and the Shipbreaker series by Bacigalupi. I have not enjoyed any of the strange "world without love" or arranged marriage series such as Matched, Wither or Delirium. I have also just finished the 5th Wave which received excellent reviews but, for me , was just meh -- I am just not that invested in the characters. 


I have a lot of reservations about New Adult as a distinct category -- I have read a little of it and it is basically just  poorly written fiction about young adults. People 18-24 are fully capable of reading and comprehending any books that older adults read -- they can also  appreciate and criticize and learn from these books -- Books are our extensions into worlds, ideas, emotions, solutions, etc, which we have not yet nor may  ever experience. New Adult fiction does not provide this very special leap into the unknown--it does not particulary inspire deep thought nor does it broaden our experiences and open new worlds. There is nothing wrong with New Adult books, but there is nothing particularly special that I can see about them either--As reads they are usually well below a young adult reader's capabilities, but all of us read below our levels at times. I guess carving out a category for them is a good marketing technique and is a good way for authors and publishers to make extra money.It is possible to write absolutely brilliant young adult books-- but, I think, by definition, the New Adult category is just too poorly defined and  written to order to ever produce absolutely inspirational literature, full of new experiences and ideas to ponder. It falls more into the genre of Romance or cozy Mystery or not so good fiction. (btw,in response to the last paragraph of this article,  I do not think that John Green's novels should go anywhere near 50 shades or NA fiction -- I mean he is an excellent writer,  his dialog is stunning , his characters are superbly defined; nor do I think that NA fiction should be thrown into the same dump as 50 which is rather shoddily written erotica. Throw all the poorly written erotica together with the paranormal romance. All this being said about NA, it is a perfectly legitimate genre to write and read -- kind of like first chapter books for adults.

An excellent book is an excellent book no matter for whom it is written. So why shouldn't adult readers want to read excellent young adult fiction which is full of imagination and ideas? It is great escape reading , big concepts are usually simplified, characters less complex and subtle and ,very often, the best of these books transcend  young adult cliches -- eg the last volume of the Hunger Games, the whole Harry Potter series, the first volume of Shipbreaker. So we have books that overlap  age categories -- it has always been true. Dickens can be read by young and old alike, as can Milne , or Mark Twain or C.S. Lewis, or Roald Dahl.

I have been scanning Tor for the past few weeks -- I have to admit here that my patience for this type of book has begun to wear thin, how I can be tired with paranormal lore , hybrid monster characters who all look like ravishing 18 year old humans ( except they are immortal and usually scantily clothed) , and marathon sexual escapades, don't ask me, but I have been reading outside my genre lately ( and really enjoying it). Nonetheless, for afficionados of these books, Tor fulfills it's purpose -- to keep fans informed about new releases in paranormal romance, paranormal fiction, science fiction and genre benders -- all minor works in what I consider minor genres. There is also a place for new cover art, which is important to this particular type of book (some of the art is quite striking, especially the science fiction art), there is a place for blogging, and there is a message board containing conversations different events, art and books. Both the blogs and the message boards are up to date indicating that this is an active site. Current fan events, relevant television, movies are also present. It serves a very useful purpose to its participants.

The Prezi chart is certainly ambitious ( I would never think to come up with something like this unbidden). I have lots of issues with it, however, I respect the author for his efforts. My first issue lies with the science fiction area. Personally I think that both science fiction and fantasy should stem from a new category, Speculative Fiction which is a broader term encompassing any works which are fantastic, supernatural or futuristic. Science fiction should be just that, books based on science or technology - real possibilities not leaps into the fantastic. I don't think that fantastic, superhero, strange monster fiction should be included in this category. Nor should dystopian fiction which is not based on technology be included. Fantasy and science fiction are equal and distinct categories.Next,most magical realism is literary fiction, not fantasy. Many works of contemporary fiction contain elements of magical realism.John Fowles, John Barth, Salmon Rushdie, Lionel Shriver are not fantasy authors, they convey complex human conditions in realistic terms including fantastical elements. They border on the crazy and the surreal, sometimes because of the narrator's unique point of view. By and large they transcend most sci fi and fantasy. Personally, I think that some of the southern gothic writers , Faulkner, Carson McCullers, Flannery O'Connor fall into the magical realism category -- certainly not as a subset of fantasy. Perhaps this particular type of fiction should be considered coequal with sci fi and fantasy under speculative fiction. Or, perhaps it needs its own free standing category under a new category of literary fiction. Finally, I disagree with classifying animal mysteries, culinary mysteries as subgenres of mystery -- they are all cozies and that is where they belong -- there is an endless list of special audience mysteries--plus size, antique store, scrapbooking -- and they all belong under the cozy category. These criticisms are easy to make, it is always easier to criticize than to create so I commend the author for his efforts, it has given me lots of insight into the world of fiction reading.

My first subgenre is Tart Noir, a new detective genre derived from the hard boiled or noir stories which  began in the early twentieth centuries with Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade, and Raymond Chandler's Phillip Marlowe and continues to this day in the works of Michael Connolly ( Harry Bosch) and James Lee Burke (Dave Robichaux). Like their male counterparts, tart noir heroines are tough and tender, possessed of fierce morality and a deep sense of compassion for the underdog. These stories also contain a fair amount of violence, sex and deep cynicism. One of the major authors is Lauren Henderson who wrote Dead White Female , Too Many Blondes and a host of other  mysteries featuring tough lady Sam Jones.   Probably the most well-known tart noir heroine is Steig Larsson's Lisbeth Salander, although his work could not be classified as tart noir -- it is just too complex and well written.I also think Janet Evanovich's number series is humorous tart noir.I did not find a website completely dedicated to this genre but I found a great description and history at this site http://www.crimeculture.com/21stC/TartNoir.html. The appeal of this fiction is self-evident -particularly for the female reader- fast moving plots featuring powerful women caught up in the action of pursuing criminals and dishing out justice..

My second subgenre is Paranormal Romance, a wild and sexy plunge into the intimate relationships of vampires, werewolves, succubi, you name it -- if it is immortal and feeds upon strange food then it can be included here.  These works are basically romances ( as born out by the cover art -- young men with bared chests, some in kilts -- because paranormal men look basically like very young men with fabulous physiques).  They pursue various ladies of the paranormal persuasion -- strong young ladies who take a whole lot  of  persuasion in the form of terrific sex before they can finally be claimed as mates . Sometimes the ladies are physically stronger than the men, sometimes weaker, but the paranormal heros are completely subjugated by them because of  genetic predestination. Everybody has his own true and eternal mate and once you find her, you'd better corral her because there will not be another.Kresley Cole is one of the major writers of this genre -- her Immortals after Dark series presents the adventures of any number of immortal lovers chasing each other throughout the major cities of the world only to find endless passion in each other's arms  (or whatever passes for arms)-- sometimes, the possibility of offspring is  introduced ( naturally born offspring are hard come by in this world since most of these lovers are mismatched by species -- for some reason vampires keep falling in love with amazons and werewolves with fairies - opposites attract very strongly here and that makes conception a little tricky -- sort of like mating cats and dogs.) Conventional morality also reigns supreme despite the violence and hanky pank that occurs in the books. J. R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood is also a popular choice. Cynthia Eden also writes hot paranormal romance. Some of her books include a little mystery and detective work but that plot element never threatens to overwhelm the lovin'. The website http://www.vampiresrealm.com/ contains some excellent information and recommendations for lovers of this creepy romance.

My final subgenre is Urban Fantasy, there are paranormals here but the plot lines are a little stronger -- less smooching and more storyline. The setting is contemporary urban environment. Probably the best example of this type of story is the Twilight series -- girl meets and loves and ultimately bears child for vampire but in the meantime,important choices are made, friends and relatives are saved from destruction, anti-abortion and pro-marriage messages are sent, etc, etc. So lots and lots goes on before during and after the highly anticipated virgin bedding. Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series and Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse are more current examples of this subgenre. It is interesting to note that these books, as well as the other subgenre books I have written about, are usually produced in series -- which leads me to suspect that they are not all that difficult to write -- the authors absolutely produce masses of them -- chock full of strange creatures coexisting with us pitiable humans, living by dark and mysterious laws of the lore  and finding solutions to some of our most difficult problems. Shall we say, then, that they all provide  adolescents and over-stressed ladies escape from the dreariness, routine and obligations of our mundane lives. http://urbanfantasyland.net/about-u/ looks like an excellent fansite with lists of books and authors and some reviews.

I found sites for these books via google -- none of them had blogs, but I noticed that for both Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance there were active groups, recommendatiosn,etc. on Goodreads and Amazon both of which offer excited and breathless five star reviews as well as a plethora of criticism and snarking on these types of books.

My first cross genre book is Veil of Lies by Jeri Westernson which is described as a medieval noir - a cross between historical fiction and noir mystery which is shelved in the mystery area of our system. Her protagonist is Crispin Guest, a detective with the personality and methods of the noir heroes of Chandler and Hammett, in a detailed and authentic medieval setting.

My second suggestion are the Sister Fidelma mysteries of Peter Tremayne, again historical mysteries set in medieval Ireland. These are complex and scholarly mysteries, drawing deeply on Irish history and folklore and the Catholic religion. We go back in to the time when women were extremely powerful in society -- Sister Fidelma is a judge who is called to solve crimes and pass judgement on the criminals. A lot of Gaelic is used in these books and the mysteries being solved are historical and complex -- they are challenging.

I love Lionel Shriver -- I love her compromised and vunerable characters, beset by inner demons, selfish desires, dark, dark motives that the best of them overcome. Few of her characters are good, virtuous, exemplary, -- They are very,very human, exhausted, unattractive, insecure,  hiding their inner turmoil. They are  literally given trial by fire, incrementally and inexorably tortured by unbearable situations that anybody in real life may find themselves in, terminal cancer, bankruptcy, endless care of a damaged child,profound fear of the future. Some of them thrive and some of them fail -- not through any special attributes or help from God- but by a strange mixture of chance, choice and determination and a healthy dollop of character acquired through suffering. Her people remind me of myself and constantly make me count my blessings that I have not been tested so severely . The book which brought her to my attention was, of course, the famous We need to talk about Kevin -- Kevin is a true monster, but his genetic propensity can be traced to the narrator of the book itself, his mother, whose destructive intelligence and lack of insight interfere with her ability to save her family -- and whose lack of empathy is reflected in the dead eyes of her damaged son. She is a jumble of good intentions, sly condescension,shallow and self serving cover my butt excuses -- and, she knows it, which is what makes most of the main characters in Shriver's books so appealing, they know what they are, they do try, but so often they just fail to control all that dreck inside.  Shriver has a new book coming out in June, Big Brother- dealing with morbid obesity which, unfortunately touches her and my family history .
 I am looking forward to it and am rereading another one of her books So Much for That -- a book which received both criticism and praise for  insight into the failure of the American medical insurance system. I really don't think it is about the medical insurance system at all -- at most peripherally -- it is about the strength of love and obligation in families- member to member- in the face of horrifying disease and potential bankruptcy. How each member of the two families fulfills these obligations, despite their dark despair, immature impulses and insane feelings   brought on by stress , is the crux of the plot. Two families are confronted  with death sentences, one wife faced with  incurable mesothelioma, another  child suffers minute by minute with a horrifying condition, familial dysautonomia, which shrinks and twists her body and soul-- a genetic disease for which her parents are ultimately and innocently responsible. Those of us who have been lucky enough to escape these circumstances,  cannot conceive of the pain and guilt and horrible anger these people may feel inside,  just brimming over yet not spilling out -- and yet we all probably sit back and think about how we would react-- Shriver lets her characters react -- and their reactions are scary and powerful , not virtuous, not touched by angels, just very, very human. Some of them rise to the situation, despite their frailties, others fall by the wayside, but everybody is emptied and refilled. Shriver reminds me very much of Patricia Highsmith-- she writes about our worst nightmares made real -- gives her characters choices, rationalizations, good and bad intentions and lets them tell their own stories. Her books are not for the faint of heart -- but not for the despairing either. There is hope - compromised, damaged, in shreds just like so much of human endeavour.
 

Today I went to Early Word and put two Y books on reserve which may be of interest to me, the first is Wild Awake by Hilary Smith which has been compared to Catcher in the Rye ( with a girl as major character) and the next is Code Name Verity. I am looking forward to reading them, especially the former which is not yet out. As far as my urban fantasy addiction, I went to the Tor site and chose Tarnished by Rhiannon Held.

I have been following Tor -- Fiction Affliction. I have used it to get a few titles to read for this summer -- escape reading, urban fantasy, written from a very youthful viewpoint. This fiction could also be described as mindless,  semi-pornographic, fantasies for people who are in serious need of stress relief. It depends on your purpose and viewpoint. I like to think of them more positively since there is some excellent writing style and imagination presented albeit in a rather sensational, sexy and sometimes shameless package (  it is a little cheesy,too, but that didn't start with an S). What I have learned by briefly perusing this site is that there is an endless amount of fiction and an enormous number of authors that I have never experienced and will probably never experience again. We are all very caught up in our warm little reading worlds dictated by our comfort zones, habits, obsessions, which grow narrower and narrower by the year. Now, I could have broken out of my comfort zone by starting to read lady literary fiction-- but, really, I am in serious need of relaxation and just in no mood to read anything remotely intellectual or challenging (or pretentious), so here I am at the urban fantasy page of Tor -- and it's not such a bad place to be right now.

It is more difficult now for me to track reading tastes at Catonsville since a lot of the reserves are made online. Most reserves I make are for New York Times best sellers, from authors that I have been placing on reserve for years. I am also asked a lot about women's literary fiction and popular Y fiction. Of course this is just the surface --most Sci Fi, Romance and Mystery readers go straight to the shelves -- as do a lot of the Y readers and graphic novel afficionados. We have had fewer juvenile and classic  reserves lately -- perhaps the schools just aren't requiring as many specific titles as before -- or perhaps the titles have changed altogether and people are finding them without our help. My Early Word discovery of the day was a mention of a relatively new phenomenon -- fiction for young people between the ages of 17-25 called New Adult fiction. It is contemporary and sexy -- oriented toward the challenges of becoming a fully functioning adult. ( oh, if they only knew how boring fully functioning adulthood is, they wouldn't even bother) A lot of it is the result of internet self- publishing and shows up in downloadable form before book form.  ( sort of like Fifty Shades which was originally on the Fanfiction website -- lots of fanfiction is now becoming downloadable from Amazon). I am now engaged in reading a title of this NewAdult fic , Hopeless, by Colleen Hoover. So far, it is palatable and rather astonishing ( high school sure has changed!) and I have only read a couple of chapters -- We shelve it with Fiction. Apparently there is a lot more explicisity ( a new word which I have coined to go with the NA fiction -- pick your category here, sex, violence, emotion, ) than in Y fic. It has been written about in the New York Times and is included in their Y book  best sellers. Sometimes the books are offered in two forms --unabashedly sexy internet downloads and censored paper copies. As if our Y kids cannot figure out how to download  -- Well, this stuff  doesn't stimulate  brain cells but could do the job on some  other parts -- and that is all well and good. Safe to say, that this is the new gold mine for publishing and more established authors who have kind of run out of steam in other endeavours. It will be interesting to follow the completely downloadable  trend here, to see if established authors begin to offer their works exclusively in this format.

The first book I have chosen for this assignment is Lauren Oliver's Requiem which is the  final entry to her Delirium trilogy. This very fact will make it a highly anticipated book --  the common Y threads are all present - first loves, first choices, teen rebellion against repressive government, strong and highly desireable female central character, extremely youthful viewpoint. Oliver's books, in general, are not as action packed and fast paced as others of the same genre, Hunger Games, Matched Trilogy, Divergent -- she writes more for young girls, she is a slower, more contemplative read, more consumed by relationships and feelings. I believe that Shusterman's Unwind series is better suited to both boys and girls ( it is also superior  to any of the other offerings, broad and deep, offering plenty of adult conundrums which ultimately are unsolveable). The Delirium trilogy is also going to be made into a movie which will further increase customer interest.

 My second selection is Elizabeth Winder's Pain, Parties,Work...Sylvia Plath's New York Summer, 1953, that short slice of Plath's life on which the Bell Jar was based. As painful as Plath's later life was to be, this was a relatively carefree and joyous period - a time of firsts, first time away from home in the big and vibrant city, first opportunity to stretch her wings as a writer and critic, first exciting dip into the mysterious sea of sex and relationships. It draws on interviews with the people surrounding her at the time. Plath is a very appealing figure among young women ( forgive me, I know not why -- she committed suicide by gas with her two toddler children in the next room. She wrote a book in which she ragged on the mediocrity of her mother and her values- her mother being the lady who had to get up every morning to go to work to support Sylvia's brilliant creativity -- but I digress) and most biographies written about her are extremely popular. Even I intend to read this book and, as you can see, I am not a fan. Booming, stylish, creative, crazy New York during the fifties-- that is just where I would have wanted to be at Sylvia's age> I think I could have made better use of the experience though.

Today I went back into Goodreads. I changed my profile, uploaded a profile pic, added about 10 books, created three shelves and updated some of the selections I had already included. It was a bit easier to negotiate the site so perhaps practice will make perfect.

I just explored Goodreads again. I have used it, minimally, for quite some time. I find the lists useful for customer recommendations. -- and, to some degree, for recommendation for personal reading. I sometimes read reviews to choose books to read or to elucidate my own opinions about specific books. I actually prefer Amazon for browsing and review reading because I can easily sort there by favorable and unfavorable reviews and I tend to read the negative reviews before the positive ones. I find Goodreads extremely hard to negotiate and, for this reason, do not use it as much as  Amazon, it seems extremely awkward and unwieldy to me. I also usually choose books for reasons other than what my colleagues or friends are reading, occasionally I will take suggestions, but I have extremely specific interests in both fiction and non-fiction and usually can find what I need directly without going to a huge recommendation site. I also don't particularly need to divide my books or reading desires into some kind of detailed virtual shelving arrangement -- I just don't like fooling around on the site enough to do this. I do not write written reviews for each book either, although I do mark with stars but most of my books are either 4 or 5 star books because I don't bother including books which I consider terrible. I prefer to write longer, more thoughtful reviews and reviews which deal with my own impressions of books based on life experience -- In general, I don't like this site, it is massive, hard to negotiate. I did recommend a book to Bryce Rumbles as per the assignment -- one that he had not listed as read, but I could have just told him about the book a lot more easily than going on this site and writing out the rec.

I am just finishing up on my first ever book of Urban Fantasy, the genre I   chose to read for this exercise. It is called Generation V by M.L. Brennan and contains a hefty serving of modern vampires, both American and European, garnished with a few elves, witches, strange little fox shape shifters from Japan called kitsumes. I have to emphasize that in general I hate fantasy, even as a child I preferred the realistic Little House books to anything that EB White wrote, I literally start falling asleep the minute an animal starts talking, but I thought that the  placement of fantasy in a modern  city may be of interest to me -- so here I am reading about American vampires in Providence Rhode Island. I am having a bit of a problem figuring out which demographic this book would appeal to, certainly not to mine since I did not know what Generation V was until I looked it up ( it is the vegan generation and this is about a literally vegan young vampire who works in a run down coffee shop) -- so, therefore, it must appeal to a very much younger reader. It is categorized as Science fiction fantasy, although there is nothing science about it and I cannot understand how anyone browsing the science fiction collection would even bother to pick it up at all. It may appeal a bit to romance readers -- that mainly because of the cover, a hot, handsome young vampire man in a tight black tee and blue jeans ( that certainly is what originally drew me to it), but there is no romance in it whatsover, in fact the opposite of romance, so I am still wondering how people who might like this type of fiction ( whoever they may be ) would ever find it or identify it as likeable. The vampire legend goes back a long time both historically and in literature -- but it is important to note that vampires and their habits of feeding off of young ladies originate in basic sources of terror for older generations -- those being sex and the power of sexual feelings and, most importantly, the loss of the soul via the all too human's tendency to forget God amidst the various pleasures that the earth provides us with, be that sex, food, money, anything else.  As that legend has been written about again and again, this profound meaning has been replaced by silly stuff, adolescent first times, the depiction of vampires as teenagers and babies, and on and on because we have culturally journeyed away from profound ideas and have basically pulled God and vampires down to our own rather infantile level. We no longer fear sex ( although perhaps we should think about the deep emotions and ties that  sexual feelings can bring, particularly in teenagers) and we either no longer believe in God or we think of him as some kind of neighbor that we can go couponing with every week. ( I am no better than anybody else in this regard -- here I am reading vampire literature instead of Pilgrim's Progress) This book is, to some degree, the very furthest away from the original vampire legend. Our almost vampire hero is a 26 year old film major who can only find a job in a run down coffee house, who is alienated from his extremely powerful vampire family because he objects to their savage indifference to the suffering they may cause human beings, and is basically an attractive, loser pushover -- cheated on by his girlfriend and used by his roommate as a source of cheap accomodation.  The vampire mythology in this book is, to some degree, unique-- older vamps are soulless and horrible and commit unspeakable crimes against innocents. This is one thing that makes me extremely uncomfortable about this book -- it juxtaposes relaxed humor and raucous banter against pedophilia and child murder -- the tone is light but the crimes are profoundly horrific. I don't know if the author intended the bouts of stomach churning that jokes and implied child rape within one paragraph can cause, but I don't think I would be unique in judging this particular quality of the book as unsettling. There is no graphic violence or explicit sex in the book -- everything is implied, but anybody with even a second rate imagination can kind of grasp what is going on. Our young vampire hero pals up with a wise cracking fox shape shifter ( her alternate shape is a beautiful young lady who likes to wear thongs) in order to stop the unspeakable crimes to which I have just referred. As the book progresses, he matures a bit and starts taking the lead in both attaining and using his vampiric powers for good ( sort of a new vampire super-hero -- I mean how far away from the original legend can we go?) Surprisingly, apart from the repugnancy of the humor and one liners mixed with the reality of the rape of innocents, I really do not have to hold my nose to read this book and I did not fall asleep. It is kind of like watching television and switching from one station to the next every five seconds - something I am very proficient at. The vampire legend presented is detailed and original and there is a lot of clever banter -- new to me because being old I don't banter anymore and I am not able to discern what is old, new, original or used insofar as modern banter is concerned -- so it all sounds clever to me. So, this exploration into this genre has not been too horrible and I may even read the second part of this American Vampire series, just to check up on the hero and see how he progresses -- who knows maybe he will progress in the right direction toward the original intent of vampire literature -- something which terrifies us onto the straight and narrow path toward heaven -- talk about strange juxtapositions, that -- vampires and heaven. Oh well, we shall see.

The age of this patron is very important since vampire sagas are written for both teens and adults. I am assuming that this customer is an adult who does not like Bella's relatively immature first person narrative and wants  adult vampire books with more meat, energy and passion. I may first suggest Ann Rice's Vampire Diaries. She is basically the creator of contemporary vampire legend. Her books are rich in every sense of the word - they also made her very rich -- her characters complex and setting luxuriant. If her books pose too much of an angst issue with the patron, I would suggest the quirky, erotic, violent and surprisingly humorous Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, lots of meat in those books and so, so many for the Sookie fan to read. Combined with the True Blood tv series, this may prove successful. Another great read is the Anita Blake series by Laurell Hamilton with a true female heroine vampire slayer and lots of adult action. For a truly dark and apocalyptic view of vampires -- and this viewpoint is currently a popular one as illustrated by AMC's Zombie apocalypse Walking Dead, I would recommend the Strain trilogy by Guillermo del Toro which narrates the end of the world via vampire virus in New York City. This series is more scientific in nature dealing with the biology and development of the vampire.

There have been some fascinating contemporary books written about previously obscure historical events recently which may be of interest to this reader.  I would probably first recommend Caroline Hamilton's book Endurance about Shackleton's adventures in the Antarctic and his crew's subsequent stranding on Elephant Island. This book combines a detailed and absorbing narrative with pictures taken by the icebound ship's photographer. Shackleton himself is a really real superhero,  so obsessed with and desperate to save his crew members that he embarks on a suicidal journey in a small boat to escape the island and, at last, bring help. The portrait of a true leader and exemplary human being. I would also recommend the deeply researched and finely detailed books of Erick Larson, Devil in the White City and Isaac's Storm. Although both books describe real events, they are not mere recitations of fact, -- They are exciting narratives with animated and powerful characters -- they represent the quintessential spirit of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the United States. The first, of course, deals with the coincidence of the Columbian Exposition in Chicago with the machinations of a serial killer and the second deals with the single most horrific weather event to date, the Galveston hurricane of 1900 and the inception of the U.S. Weather Service.I might also recommend Drennan's Death in a Prairie House which recounts the shocking massacre of Frank Lloyd Wright's mistress and  children at Taliesin -- a little know event in the life of this universal genius (and badboy). All these books are exciting, fast paced, highly informative, absorbing -- and revelatory of events which are easily forgotten amidst the clamour of war and politics.

I am not good at women's contemplative fiction and non-fiction because I have really only started to read it, but here goes. I am going to assume that this reader's needs do not just encompass travel fiction but also include revelatory and confessional fiction which contains multiple topics for book club discussion. My first suggestions would include classic, contemporary travel fiction. Travel and residence in countries not our own throws us into a cultural childhood combined with adult perception. We are open to experiences because they are totally new to us, we transcend habit and preconception and our minds literally begin to churn and change and grow. Travel books, while not a substitute for real travel, provide us with the same opportunities for spiritual growth. Such books as the Caliph's House by Tahir Shah, Nothing to Declare, by Mary Morris, Under the Tuscan Sun by Mayes, or a Year in Provence by Mayle, would be logical suggestions. Nonfiction books which provide insight into daily life of other cultures are also relevant. One of the best of these is Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo, a stark and disturbing look at the underclass of Mumbai which reads like fiction and reveals the astonishingly complex lives and thoughts of people who barely have clothes to wear and often live in cardboard boxes. Another would be a classic, Spirit Catches You Fall Down by Fadiman, an examination of family, tradition and values and how they conflict with our own in the death of a child. This patron may also want some fiction which provides food for thought for a book group -- since she mentioned Oprah's books. Two outstanding examples of this type of book is Moyes' Me before You and Erdrich's The Round House. The latter may be an ideal choice for a book group because it presents a coming of age story overlaid by complex cultural conflicts.

I chose Claire Ramirez to share suggestions with. I suggested the book the Pioneer Woman Cooks, because we are always talking about recipes. The author is Ree Drummond. I also suggested the Kashmir Shawl, wonderful historical fiction set in post WWII Kashmir by Rosie Thomas.

 A Short Book Review


A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole


Ladies, ready for some hot paranormal romance while tanning on the beach this summer? Well then relax and savor Kresley Cole's, Hunger like No Other,first volume of her Immortals after Dark Series. Paranormal romance is not a new genre, after all Count Dracula expressed his desire to possess Mina back in the nineteenth century, but it  has rapidly developed into a major component of both romance and teen fiction. This story of the Werewolf king Lachlain's unrelenting and genetically driven pursuit of his predestined mate Emmaline, who happens to be the offspring of a powerful vampire and Helen of Troy ( the back story here is fascinating as well) is definitely NOT for teens as the explicit sex and violence are quite mind-numbing (sometimes in a good way). Cole's paranormal world really makes no sense whatsoever, but that fact is attenuated by the angst, joy, lust presented within and the  curiosity inspired by this strange relationship as the characters pursue and are pursued through New Orleans, Paris and Scotland. Cole excels at creating passion driven characters at the mercy of their physical and psychological needs and secret pasts. As unconventional and dark as these creatures are, her books contain extremely conventional morality, which can be quite a comfort to the reader as the strange plot winds down. A fun read, no concentration required, stess relief and escape from the normal rat race to the odd and very randy paranormal race.

 Short Book Review

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Louisa, a 26 year old working class girl is hired as carer for adrenaline freak Will, upper class former captain of industry now rendered a quadriplegic by random accident. She is cheeky, chatty and desperate to raise his spirits and save his soul. He is deeply depressed, suicidal , seeking relief from his prison of a body. Oddly enough, the vast majority of this book is delightful, spiced with dry humor , eccentric characters and downright slapstick as Louisa strives to involve Will in life outside his castle. But darker themes unrelentingly prevail and dominate as the plot moves forward. Louisa's family is absolutely refreshing and original , yet hints of deep dysfunction are embedded in their relationships. Will's family is basically dysfunctional, sunk in upper class stereotype, yet his up-tight mother secretly nurtures the deepest love for and insight into her wounded son. An excellent book club choice, provides endless food for thought, this is one book that many people like to re-read because it's characters and humor delight and its plot and inevitable denoument confound and make them really think about life's gifts, promises and value.

I chose Early Word. I like the format- easy and breezy like Facebook - it deals with fiction and non-fiction, movies and news about books in a very accessible manner.

I chose Tor - Fiction Affliction. I don't read Sci Fi or Urban Fantasy at all at this time. This will encourage me to do so.

For the Sporcle site -- 19 out of 24 for adult and 16 out of 20 for children's

Book Review Poison Princess by Kresley Cole ( Arcana Chronicles 1)

Why does a 67year old librarian positively enjoy reading and reviewing the deceptively sweetly entitled YA book Poison Princess by Kresley Cole, is it to relive her angst-filled teenage years , well, er , no since at no time in my teenage years was I ever offered the possibility of reading material in which various bad boys were beaten to living pulps by the hero, or innocent girls wearing rusty iron collars and filthy rags were imprisoned next to corpses in secret basements-well I guess I could go on ( did I say the title was deceptive) - the closest thing, I guess, was Catcher in the Rye -- or maybe a particularly violent Shakespeare tragedy , and they are not in the same ballpark or the same universe, for that matter. Well, now that I think of it, maybe that is precisely why I do read these post apocalyptic tales, because of my complete lack of access to them in my teenage years and they touch precisely upon all those forbidden sights, sounds, thoughts and curiosities that all teens have. Teen books are kind of like graphic novels for adults -- only the graphic parts are in your head ( much more interesting and less intrusive than all of the chaos presented in the little boxes) and the written part is just much more satisfying to read. They offer additional benefits -- they teach valuable lessons to teens despite their violence, explicit sexuality, and mind boggling angst. Kresley Cole is a wordsmith -- her sentences are lyrical, her vocabulary is rich, she is able to conjure magic and desire . She also understands some of the fundamental problems that teenagers of any era have -- the scary search for identity and the scary coming of age , who am I, who should I choose to love, am I at all loveable, how can I be all things to all people -- well we all know about them, we have all lived them.
 The premise of this post-apocalyptic novel is rather ridiculous at best -- it will certainly not appeal to anybody with the least knowledge of science -- The earth tilts, or the sun comes too near, we know not how, and the world lies in waste, crops burned, the oceans sucked dry, people turned into liquid filled zombies searching for any moisture, militia groups wander the countryside searching for food, weapons, and any available young girl, a class of cannibals arises as the food supplies dwindle. Amongst the survivors is Evangeline, by day, before the Flash, a high school glamour queen trying to please everyone to the highest level, angsting over holding on to her boyfriend by giving up her" V card" to him , and by night a crazy, hallucinating Cassandra, envisioning the apocalypse. Into her life cycles the delicious Cajun bad boy Jackson ( Jack to his friends) Deveaux. He is by far the most appealing and best written character because he is real and tangible and lets his feelings all hang out .He is a survivor of brutal poverty, child abuse, prison, physical and emotional starvation and disillusion -He solves problems over and over again with his fists and his feigned disdain for his "betters". His mother is an alcoholic , his home a desolate shambles, yet of all the other teenage characters, he exhibits the most passion and lust for living - a brilliant star among the other teens beset with such problems as what should I wear, who should I sleep with and am I getting good enough grades to get into that college ( no disrespect to teens here, this is how the other teens are written, not the way real teenagers are) After the Flash, he literally drags Eva away from her house and , through skills in hunting, evading, hiding and killing which have gotten him though his life, saves her from vile zombies, truly terrifying militias, he feeds her, protects her, and loves her in his own rough way, because he does not know how to court her. In the meantime, Eva is acquiring the characteristics of the Empress, one
of the powerful members of the arcana ( hence Arcana Chronicles) in Tarot -- the powerful mother goddess who can command plants to grow, flourish and kill, whose claws are tipped with deadly poison. To me this tarot conceit is rather far fetched and strange -- in their odyssey ( how I love the symbolic and real journeys of characters ) Jackson and Evangeline meet other teens in varying states of transition and learn about the immense battles to come amongst the Arcana. What is most wonderful to me, is that all this forced arcana nonsense can be read on different levels which, I , as a old person, find myself wanting to
do since people with super powers hold absolutely no appeal for me whatsoever. We see Eva and the other arcana members hiding behind their powers,fearing their destinies, wearing masks -- much as teens may do themselves because the whole idea of self-actualization, of becoming a whole person is so difficult in those years when you are overwhelmed by sensation and expectation. We see them act in remarkably immature and selfish ways-
-Eva gains her power (very much against her will) but in doing so loses the trust of Jackson her passionate protector who only wants to take her back south where they can live a real life, where she can be his. The thought of a man loving and possessing a woman both literally and figuratively is evidently as frightening today as it was  appealing 50 years ago. Perhaps this is because of the plethora of choices young people have today. What was once considered normal human behaviour pales before the glittering possibilities. But sometimes the glittering lures deceive. So Jackson loses his ability to protect Eva because she no longer needs his skills. He needs to accept, change, develop in order to pursue her. And so the book ends - it is hoped, however, that, like the Hunger Games trilogy developed, that this one will succeed in teaching the characters that masks and superpowers and violent , endless conflict, adventure and death, are no competition for simply being human, knowing your own limitations, acquiring useful skills and loving relationships and gratitude for those who deeply love you and sacrifice themselves for you -- in short, it is Jackson, and not the phony masks and powers of the Arcana, who  triumphs.