North Carolina

I was next. I was next, and my heart was in a million places at once, and my mind was struggling to run through the hundred million things I wanted to say. How do you summarize a lifetime of admiration and respect into a single, three-minute interaction?

*Record scratching*

Yep, that’s me. I bet you’re wondering how I got myself into this situation.

Our story begins somewhere in the mid-2000s. Without a bookstore to sustain her, Yours Truly was scavenging the library shelves, reading anything and everything she could possibly get her hands on. Moving on from the Junior Fiction section to Young Adult felt like a rite of passage, and it was there that I found Sarah Dessen.

I latched onto her books in a way that I still can’t quite understand. Even now, as a Grown-Up reader drifting farther and farther from the core YA demographic, I find myself growing the Dessen collection on my shelf with every book she releases. Every time I think I’ve moved on from the young adult section of the bookstore, she drags me back, and I find myself once again invested in a teen summer love story. She shaped my adolescent reading habits and set the standard for the contemporary styles I still enjoy to this day. Her books have been a solid constant for more than half of my life.

More than that, though, she came to be a role model of sorts. She was so honest about the writing process and how hard it was. I would grow to appreciate this more than I initially realized; when I struggled with my writing, when it became so hard and scary that I doubted whether I had it in me to keep going, I would see photos of her own abandoned projects, see her tweets about her doubts and frustrations, and I would sink in relief. I wasn’t alone—the struggles and doubts were a normal part of the process. Sarah showed me that writing was allowed to be hard.

Fast forward to summer 2017. I packed my entire life—or at least, all that would fit—into a suitcase and flew down to Orlando in May. I got to live my dream of living in Disney World, making magic, meeting amazing people, and going to the parks on almost every day off I had. In fact, there were only three instances in which I didn’t spend my day off in the park: 

1) When I went to the beach and got horrendously sunburnt, even though I put on sunscreen. Twice.

2) When I flew home to surprise my sister for her high school grad, immediately after getting horrendously sunburnt. (Even though I put on sunscreen.) (Twice.)

3) When I took an overnight train to travel through four states to Raleigh, North Carolina, for what amounted to a 12-hour day trip.

Here’s the thing about living in Canada: nobody comes here. Sure, select cities may see a few tour stops from popular bands, but anyone living outside the GTA knows the pain of being skipped over by their favourite artists, musical or otherwise. This is most prevalent in places like southern Manitoba, a location which Taylor Swift has skipped during her last TWO (2) tours. The closest any of the authors on my shelf have ever gotten to Manitoba is Toronto—which is to say, not very close at all.

But as luck would have it, my Disney internship wasn’t the only thing that was happening that summer. In June 2017, Sarah Dessen would be releasing her then-newest novel, Once and For All, followed up by a book tour in select cities across the United States. For the first time, I felt like I had a real chance to actually meet her. Then in May, the dates dropped: 11 stops across six states, and guess which city didn’t make the cut?

So I did what any sane person would do—I looked up every city on the map, found the closest stop to Orlando, and booked a nine-hour train ticket to Raleigh, North Carolina.

The plan was simple: stuff a backpack full of essentials, save money on accommodations by sleeping on the train, successfully meet one of my biggest creative inspirations, and arrive back in Florida in time for work the following evening. All I had to do was get one of my shifts covered, and I was good to go.

I made it to the train station in downtown Orlando with little excitement and fanfare. The station was busier than I expected, filled with families carrying armloads of plastic Disney park bags—a hallmark of the ending vacation. I had travelled by train only one other time in my life. The car then had been barren, but this time the train was packed. “I’m visiting family in Raleigh for the week,” the man sitting beside me said. “What about yourself?”

I told him that I was only going up for a day, for a book signing.

“You wrote a book?” he asked, and he sounded so impressed that I almost didn’t want to correct him. The truth was far less exciting.

Even I had to admit that the whole adventure seemed rather crazy—coming all this way for such a short interaction. But I also knew that I couldn’t miss this opportunity. There was this weird sense of urgency attached to the trip; it may not be my only chance to meet Sarah, but it would definitely be my first real chance, and it would almost certainly be my best chance. Because even when Sarah did make the trek to Canada, she was always farther from me there than she was now, this faithful summer.

Which brings us back here—to me, standing in a bookstore in a city that I hadn’t known existed until a few weeks prior. I could never hope to express to Sarah just how important her writing has been to me, and I certainly couldn’t do it in such a brief encounter. I’m not even sure I remember what I said in the end. Something about being from Canada, but also somehow Orlando, about the long and complex journey I had taken to find myself standing in front of her—the journey I had hardly expected to take at all. 

And then, it was over. I was ushered along, dazed and jittery, to make room for the next reader.

The sun was already setting by the time I boarded the train back to Florida. The lights in the car were dimmed, other passengers more tired and wary than I hunkering down to get some sleep. I knew that I should probably be doing the same—I had to work the next day, after all, and who knew how much time I’d have for sleep by the time I got back home. But when I curled up in my seat, I instead pulled my new book out of my bulging backpack, tracing over the signature on the first page, revelling in my proof that this whole thing had happened. 

Plus, the whole trip counted as my monthly “cultural activity,” as required under my J-1 work visa. So y’know. Two birds, one stone, etc.

Until later,

- Justyne

Magic

I am not a Harry Potter fan. I tried—I read the first book, I’ve seen many of the movies. I gave it every chance I could. It’s not even that I dislike it, really. It was just...never my thing. And when I announced such a confession on Kilimanjaro Safaris in Animal Kingdom, the woman in front of me whipped around so fast that I thought she was going to throw me straight into the lion pit. Forgive me, book community, for I have sinned.

But despite what any Buzzfeed article may lead you to believe, not every avid reader was born a Potterhead. While Harry Potter may have been the gateway to the Magical World of Reading™ for many people, for me, that gateway was the Baby-sitters Little Sister series by Ann M. Martin. I’m not sure why. All I know is my mom gave little seven-year-old me secondhand books from a garage sale, and next thing I knew, I was getting my first library card and powering through six books a week like I was getting paid.

Reading is more than a source of distraction; it’s experience-sharing, an “act of empathy,” as John Green puts it: “an imagining of what it’s like to be someone else.” I read for the opportunity to discover new places and new people, to see new worlds through new perspectives. As I started venturing into telling my own stories, I became fascinated by the mechanics of it all—the narrative, the structure, the very words themselves. For me, it was never just about reading at all, but about the magic of storytelling itself.

I wholeheartedly believe that books are magic—or at least, the closest to thing we have. Let's break it down. All books are a collection of lines marked on slices of dead tree, bound together with glue. They’re all made the same, they all look the same. But those lines form letters, and words, and sentences, and paragraphs, all arranged in such a way that anyone who understands the language can share an understanding of the text.

Intertextuality is the relationship between texts, the way the content of one book interacts with the content of another. Language forms the basis of intertextuality, a common thread of what would otherwise be an unfamiliar collection of symbols. When the alphabet is rearranged in a careful, deliberate way, it can transport a reader somewhere beyond reality. That’s beyond just art or linguistics. That is straight up magic.

Go to your nearest bookshelf and grab two books. Read or unread, long or short, it doesn’t matter. Open one to any page and start reading. Now open the other and do the same. You can jump between them, one page at a time, and travel across continents and universes to find yourself surrounded by completely new people, without ever leaving your couch. It’s like a movie in your head. If that ain’t magic, I don’t know what is.

Books contain whole other worlds. By learning the art of writing, I was learning to transport people beyond the ink printed on the page to a place that is as real as it is fictional. The point of fiction is to make things up, yes, but to do so in a way that speaks to readers on a deeper level, in a special way.  Anyone who has ever gotten lost in a good book knows how magical stories can be. By learning the art of writing, I was learning how to make magic. 

There will never be anything more thrilling to me than flipping through an old journal. Looking at pages and pages filled with my thoughts and my words and my ideas fills me with a sense of unending pride and glee. Even if it’s all awful, every word, they are entirely mine, made by me alone. And isn’t that magical—the fact that I took a blank page and made it mean something, if only for a little while?

Some people needed that belief that a letter would arrive on their doorstep, or that a magic wand would select them out of so many others as worthy of its companionship. But I never needed a boy wizard to show me that magic exists. I suspect I never needed a Baby-sitters Little Sister, either. Discovering the magic of words and falling in love with it was inevitable. 

And now, I can make all the magic I could ever need.

Until later,

- Justyne

The Literary Canon is BALONEY

In my final year of university, one of my biggest assignments (we're talking, like, 50% of my grade) was to make a documentary. In my frantic search for B-roll material at 2am, I discovered a video criticizing the lack of required courses for the "literary greats." As an example, they referred to UCLA, whose English Literature program requires a selection of literary courses around topics like gender, race, critical theory, etc....but "not a single course in Shakeseare."

I had two problems with this:

1) I studied a different Shakespeare play in every year of high school, plus his sonnetts in my Intro English 1 class at university—there is definitely no lack of mandatory Shakespearean studies in the academic world.

2) Putting all issues of racism, sexism, and politics aside: who decides the literary canon? And who the hell decided it was so important?

(It's also worth noting that UCLA does require one course in each of four different historical periods, one of which will almost certainly cover Shakespeare, so the reliability of this creator is....questionable, at best. But I digress.)

In case you've forgotten: I was an English major. I didn't like English at first; we read Beowulf, sonnets, Shakespeare, and all the other old and stuffy material that is consistently considered part of some overarching and universal "Literary Canon." I hated the literary canon. It was boring, it was hard to understand, and—no matter what my high school English teacher said—I just couldn't see how studying stuff written over a hundred years ago could possibly help my writing skills in the present day.

But in the latter half of my studies, I started taking courses studying things like fairy tales, graphic novels, Disney movies. Almost immediately, I started enjoying my studies more. I was also frequently met with incredulous expressions and questions of amazement whenever I detailed my academic escapades. And I'll admit—writing a research paper analyzing themes of romance and sacrifice in Tangled and The Little Mermaid hardly felt like "real" school.

One of my absolute favourite courses in my degree was called "Popular Literature and Film." My professor emphasized, over and over, that you can do a close reading analysis on anything—anything. We started with Inside Out and The Marvelous Land of Oz, and worked our way to Carrie and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The point of the class was to see that there is meaning in everything, not just in "literary" media.

Really, all you have to do is take a step into any fandom community to realize the true magnitude of this lesson. Fans notice everything—every pause, every miniscule action, the implications of every editing choice or cinematographic element. Have you seen those Taylor Swift easter egg articles? This one opens with an analysis of a music video release date. Fans dig deep.

But they dig deep because they care. They're motivated, they're interested, so they huddle over media over and over and over again, looking for any scrap of meaning they can find.

I think sometimes people are hesitant to extend media and literature studies beyond the accepted literary canon because there's this ongoing perception that entertainment is incompatible with artistic integrity. Or that there's a departure in quality between "good" (ie: "conventionally literary") books and stuff designed to entertain the masses—like the difference between an indie, avant-garde film and a blockbuster action flick.

But you can read something BOTH for its critical, thought-provoking content AND still read it as simply enjoyable. I learned more about how to think critically when I was thinking about media that I enjoyed, rather than media that came with a Spark Notes study guide. In fact, I'd argue that learning to think critically about media you enjoy at face value can be far more beneficial than looking for the same Great Gatsby symbolism that everyone else has already found.

I think it's increasingly important that we don't start with the stuffy, the hard, and the boring; we should be focusing on the light, the fun, and the interesting. All throughout high school, I think I studied maybe one book that I liked. And don't get me wrong, university had more than its fair share of bad books—but I also had the priviledge of both finding and studying books that I genuinely enjoyed, which ultimately resulted in papers that (now, outside of the bleary, nocturnal habits of a procrastinating student) I'm actually kind of proud of.

ENGLISH CLASS CAN BE FUN! It doesn't have to be about interpreting character emotions through curtain colours. It can be about interpreting new symbolism from your favourite movie, or discussing performative ghostlore in a Shane Dawson video and a 4chan thread. (I would know; I wrote that paper.) How am I supposed to know if a program is a good fit when the first thing we study is a text so old that it has to be translated to English...from English.

This is, of course, not to dismiss or diminish the actual important of the older works that make up "the literary canon." The stuff we write today is influenced, however subconsciously, by all that stuff written 200 years ago. And the canon hasn't stuck around for no reason, either; the stories and themes continue to be relevant and relateable. They speak to us and appeal to us, and thus continue to be important. But, if anything, this makes it all the more valuable to study the canon alongside the more "popular," the more "modern," or any other works that we often exclude form the literary canon. Studying both allow us to notice the similarities and trends and to more fully understand why the older texts are important in the first place.

But to assume that the literary canon is the only source of valuable and critical interpretation is...well, ignorant. And boring. Not to mention kind of gatekeeper-ish. I promise, there is just as much academic benefit in studying recent Canadian graphic novels as there is in any Charles Dickens book you throw at me.

Until later,

- Justyne

Every Book I Read in 2018 (aka The Most Subjective Ranking Ever, with No Explanation)

I stopped doing book reviews for several reasons, but the biggest reason was time: I lacked the time both for the reviews themselves, and the time to actually read the number of books necessary to maintain any form of consistency.

So instead, for 2018, I kept an ongoing document of every book I read throughout the year and rated them in order from my most favourite to my least favourite. For the most part I rated them as I finished them, but I also went back and reordered them after reflecting on them further. I didn't really have any sort of system for rating these books--they're based mostly on how much I enjoyed them, because I find that my subjective enjoyment is the only real way to compare a poetry collection to a historical fiction to a microfiction collection to a YA rom-com to a--well, you get the idea.

For added fun, I also decided to colour code them! Purple is for pure leisure reading, green is for mandatory uni reading, and blue is for books that weren't assigned for uni, but that I read to fulfill some sort of class assignment.

We're starting from the bottom-up, with #23 being my least favourite and #1 being my absolute favourite. A poor ranking does not necessarily mean it was bad, but that other books were better.

(I mean, some of them were bad, but I'm not here to spill tea.)


23. Fox by Margaret Sweatman (1991)

22. All That She Can See by Carrie Hope Fletcher (2017)

21. Rosie Dunne (also published under the name Love, Rosie) by Cecilia Ahern (2005)

20. Girls Like Us by Gail Giles (2014)

19. How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon (2014)

18. Seen Reading by Julie Wilson (2012)

17. He Said, She Said by Kwame Alexander (2013)

16. Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart (2006)

15. Waking in Time by Angie Stanton (2017)

14. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (1991)

13. That Inevitable Victorian Thing by E.K. Johnston (2017)

12. The Wars by Timothy Findley (1977)

11. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (2007)

10. Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee (1997)

9. The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter (1979)

8. A Million Worlds with You by Claudia Gray (2016)

7. Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston (2016)

6. Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes (2015)

5. Hamilton: The Revoltion by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter (2016)

4. Fan Art by Sarah Tregay (2014)

3. Ash by Malinda Lo (2009)

2. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (1908)

1. The Princess Saves Herselve in This One by Amanda Lovelace (2016)


Book reviews were fun for a while, but going forward I hope to focus on improving my Friday and Monday content. (Y'know, when school isn't beating me over the head with a flaming stick.)

Until later,

- Justyne




(I'm sorry I meant to post this a whole lot earlier.)

Review: Shoplifter by Michael Cho

"What will you do now?""I'm not sure. Whatever it is, I know I have to find it, instead of waiting for it to fine me." - Michael Cho, Shoplifter

Hello, friends! Book Review Wednesday returns with another mandatory school reading! (Hip hip!)

When Corrina Park finally got her English degree, she had a plan--move to the city, get a day job to eliminate crippling debt, and write, write, write, until she becomes the author she always wanted to be. Five years later, though, she's still working at the same ad agency, no real friends, no romance on the horizon, and she hasn't written a real word since graduation. Bored, tired, and frustrated, she starts shoplifting from the local convenience store to shake things up. Soon, she develops the perfect strategy, and slipping magazines between the pages of her newspaper soon become the highlight of her days.

Petty theft is far from the meaning she's looking for, but how can one find themselves when they're lost in the crowd of a big city?

First of all, it was really, really hard to disassociate this book with my future. Notice the keywords--crippling debt and English degree and author...I mean, good 'ol Cho here is basically acting as a mystic determining destiny. It is very, very easy to picture myself falling into this same trap, which is utterly terrifying and also somewhat comforting, considering that she ends up in some form of inner peace by the end of it. (Uh...spoilers?)

I think, out of all the books I've been reading for my Canadian Comics class, this one (along with Two Generals) had some of my favourite styles in it. I loved the two toned look, the "lost line" style, and just the way he drew the city scape in general. (I'm writing my end-of-term research paper on Shoplifter's city setting, so that last bit isn't really all that surprising.) It was just very aesthetically pleasing to read, especially compared to some of the other, more disorienting styles I've encountered in the course.

One of my biggest problems with this read, though, was that the resolution seemed almost...too quick? Her frustrations took an almost 180, resulting in a very neat and tidy resolution that didn't really...fit with the way the rest of the book had gone. I did like the ending, though, and how open and hopeful it felt. I thought it left Corrina in a very good place, far enough from where she started to give us a good resolution (even if it did feel sudden), but not far enough that we were introduced to too many different plot points.

Final rating: 3.5/5.

Until later,

- Justyne

Experiences

I always hear the advice to, "write what only you can!" To write the story that only you can tell, the story that's deep inside your soul and just begging to be told. To write the story that you would want to read.

I love this advice; I think it's valid and helpful because writing something you're interested in and passionate about will always turn out better than writing something that you think others will want to read. That's what brings diversity to the realm of stories--if we base our writing on what we think (or know) others already read, then every book would just be the same.

HOWEVER. While I'm all for writing the book you'd want to read, sometimes...I don't want to. I just want to cut to the reading part.

Now, I like reading and writing about the same amount. (Actually, scratch that. I like reading more because it's less work and the gratification is more instant.) I will happily work to write more stories about things that I find lacking in the ones that are already around. But writing a story myself doesn't provide the same feeling as reading one by somebody else, y'know?

Writing and reading are both about discovery--but reading is about discovering something that's out there, the thrill of finding something that you never knew existed. Writing is more about discovering what's inside you--the aforementioned "story that only you can tell."

Does any of this make sense? (I'm trying, here.)

Writing is more about getting the story right. You have this story, this idea, this sliver of a universe in your mind, and you have to do it justice. You have to. And so this results in a lot of trial and error, as you work your way through and learn more about this world that you've created and these characters that you've invented to live there.

Reading is about finding what already exists. Someone has--hopefully--already gotten the story right. If they have, it's like a friend on your couch with a warm cup of coffee in their hands, telling you about all the crazy shit that went down in the last couple weeks. They pull you in and make you care, and on their best days, they give you something to relate and identify with.

With reading, the excitement comes from following an unfamiliar path. Someone else did all the hard work, so now all you have to do is stroll on down and enjoy what they've done with it. With writing, you're the one doing all the hard work--and that's the exciting part. You choose where the path goes, and if you pick a route that doesn't work, you block it off and change course. You choose what the hiker sees, what exists for them to explore. And by the end of it, you know the whole place backwards, forwards, inside out and upside down.

So sometimes, I'm feeling adventurous. I want to put in the work, I have a decent strategy to do it, and I'm excited to turn everything in my head into something more concrete that can be enjoyed.

And other times, I just want talk the easy road and enjoy someone else's story.

As a writer, my first instict is to fill a void in the literary world myself. I notice something missing, so I immediately think that I should be the one to fill it. But at the end of the day, I get a different kind of satisfaction from finishing a story than I do from reading one--and, understandably, I don't get the same kind of satisfaction from reading my own stories.

Ah, the struggles of a writer.


Until later,

- Justyne

Review: Two Generals by Scott Chantler

Hello, friends! Today we continue the streak of readings taking straight from my course syllabi with Two Generals.

Based on journals the artist found among his late grandfather's things, Two Generals is about Law Chantler and Jack Chrysler, two officers in the Highland Light Infantry of Canada. In 1943, the two friends sailed the Atlantic to fight with the Allied forces in WWII. Primarily a story of friendship, it tells the untold story of two unknown men, the tragedy and trauma of war, and the brief glimmers of light they managed to find along the way.

I'll be real with you, guys: I almost cried reading this book. It wasn't the book I was most excited for going into my Canadian Comics class, but I'll be damned if it's not one of my favourite titles coming out of it.

While this is a story set in war times, it is not a story about war. (Does that make sense?) There's a lot less emphasis put on the actual fighting, leading the focus more towards the characters just being people, as opposed to fighting in the war. In fact, everything is more or less quiet and uneventful until the final act, leading to one big, huge, and tragic climax. It's very well paced, and gives the reader a better sense of the characters' personalities without being too caught up in the excitement of battle.

Chantler also makes good use of colour throughout, drawing emphasis towards trauma and significant events using a powerful red. The rest of the book uses a more sepia tone, almost reminiscent of an old photograph. The art style itself is super simple, but still effective--he doesn't skimp on the details when needed.

As serious and tragic as the overall situation was, it wasn't all bad. Chantler chooses to emphasize the light hearted, even funny moments throughout his grandfather's experience. Things like the entire infantry adopting a crew of farm animals, or realizing that half their group never learned how to ride a bike. The absurdity in something so real is refreshing and I found myself giggling from start to finish.

Until, y'know, everything went to shit and I almost cried.

I have no major complaints with this book, to be honest. Final rating: 4.5/5.


Until later,

- Justyne

Why I (Almost) Never Read Adult Fiction

If you've been paying attention for the last, oh, almost two years or so, you'll probably notice that most of the books I read are YA. I can count on one hand the number of times I've read books that classify as adult fiction (not including classics, or books read for no other reason than a school curriculum) on one hand. In fact, I'll list them for you right now:

1. Pinch Me

2. How to Fall in Love

3. Attachments

4. Landline

5. On the Other Side 

6. Maybe Someday

7. November 9 

8. The Help

9. Heat Wave

...Okay, so maybe I require slightly more than one hand. But still, compare these 9 books to the other 192 on my Goodreads read list. Statistically, I tend to lean towards the YA spectrum. There is a reason for this: 99% of every adult fiction book I've pulled off the shelf has been about a character who is 30-ish years old, facing Real Adult Problems surrounding marriage, kids, careers, etc--things that I can't really relate to, because I'm a forever single 22-year-old who can't even be trusted to make a proper dinner once a week (let alone every day).

Now, I don't want to say that I'm "growing out of" YA. That statement implies that, as a Certified Grown-Up™, my interests and I are somehow above the level of YA fiction. I don't believe that this is possible. I remain firmly behind the stance that anyone can enjoy YA fiction, or middle grade fiction, or children's picture books, and I also firmly believe that anyone who thinks otherwise is a condescending a-hole who can put their equally condescending opinions in a certain place where the sun don't shine.

But I digress.

I may not be growing out of YA, but lately I've been struggling to find books that follow characters closer to my age range. I've been sticking to the older end of the YA protagonist spectrum, but the oldest character you're likely to find headlining a YA novel is 18--19 tops, if you're lucky. But I stick around, because that's still closer than the 30-and-up protagonists that plague every other corner in the bookstore.

It is, of course, entirely possible to enjoy a book, regardless of the protagonist's age. Most of the time, it doesn't really matter--all I care about is that the tone of the book fits in with the mood I'm in. And I'm not less likely to enjoy adult fiction. Look at Rainbow Rowell--she wrote both Fangirl, a YA novel, and Attachments, categorized in adult fiction. I read both, and enjoyed both equally.

But I'll be damned, I want more books about 22-year-olds! I want more books following university and college students! I want books about people in their fourth year realizing they've hated their major this whole time. I want books about people who go on gap years, who go on vacation and just never come back, because who really needs responsibilities, anyway? I want books about people who genuinely have no career plans, and people who are just flying by the seat of their pants, because sometimes that's an okay thing to do. I want more books about people my age.

Maybe I'm not looking hard enough.

Until later,

- Justyne

Review: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

"I think we ought to live happily ever after." - Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle

I was introduced to this story first throuh the Studio Ghibli animated film. Although confusing at first, it's earned its place in my heart as one of my all-time favourite movies. Once I discovered it was based on a book, that got added to my TBR so freaking fast, and after putting it off for forever, I finally got around to buying it and giving it a readthrough.

Howl's Moving Castle follows Sophie, a young hat maker who gets cursed by the Witch of the Waste and is turned into an old woman, unable to tell anyone she is actually under a spell. After running away from home, so as not to cause confusion or fear, she turns to the mysterious moving castle, and the wizard Howl who owns it. There, she strikes a deal with the demon Calcifer--break his contract with Howl, and he'll break the spell the Witch put on her.

Although Howl is well known for eating the hearts of young girls, Sophie soon learns the rumours running wild aren't as true as she believed--but his contract with the fire demon is much more complex and mysterious than she originally anticipated. On top of it all, things are never very ordinary around the castle--from a door that opens to four different places, to a magic scarecrow following them across the hills of Ingary. Sophie must navigate through this world of magic, spells, and curses, if she ever wants to return to her true self.

The problem I have with any book-to-movie or book-to-TV adaptation is that I have a big tendency to prefer the version I experience first, and Howl's Moving Castle seems to be no exception. One of the only reasons I kept reading was my love for the movie. (Another was that I was too far into it and didn't have time to read through another book before my review was due WELP.)

Don't get me wrong, though--the world was just as magical as the movie portrayed it, for which I was grateful. They don't often go into too much detail or backstory about the world, and just sort of let you take the reigns and run with it. Heavy world building is what normally turns me away from the fantasy genre, so I like that a book with a premise so highly dependent on fantastic elements is able to make the world come alive without having to go into the whole history of how it all began. That much, at least, the book did right.

This version of the story failed me, though. The things that I found most interesting--namely, Howl's history and background in Wales--wasn't explored anywhere near as much as I thought they should have been. I wanted to know how he found Ingary, why he left Wales, what form magic takes in our world. Instead, we got no explanation--we just had to accept that that was Howl's history and move on, with little more detail or answers. 

Meanwhile, my favourite bits that were included were sort of left up in the air until the last minute. Sohpie and Howl's relationship barely seemed to progress at all until the final few chapters, until suddenly Sophie was jealous and they were in love. I got absolutely no indication of Howl or anyone knowing of the curse, and quite frankly the appearance of her family towards the end was just kind of random. I did love Michael's relationship with Martha, and enjoyed watching as that progressed on the sidelines. But that was about the only saving grace for me.

I don't know. I feel like this book had so much potential, but as much as I loved the movie, the book just didn't give me the same feeling.

Final rating: 2.8

Until later,

- Justyne

Review: On the Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher

"I've never been able to figure it out, but your mother had a word for it.""And what was that?""Magic."- Carrie Hope Fletcher, On the Other Side

Evie Snow is 82 when she passes away peacefully in her sleep, surrounded by her family and loved ones. When she wakes up, she's 27 again, and the door to her apartment--her own personal heaven--is locked. To open it, she has to lighten her soul of the burden of a lifetime's worth of secrets she's kept hidden from her children over the years. Revealing these secrets from the Great Beyond, though, means revisiting one magical year where everything was perfect--and the man that she was never meant to be with.

I reviewed Carrie's first book, All I Know Now, shortly after its release last year. Since that one was nonfiction, I had no idea what reading this book--her first work of fiction--would work out. It sounded intriguing, and I was very, very excited to read through it!

If there was ever a book that best encompassed the concept of magical realism, it's this one. The supernatural elements of this book are sudden and spaced out in such a way that it never fails to catch you off guard, even as you reach the finale. The sentences that start out as metaphors end up being literal, which make for a very quirky fantasy. There often seems to be no rhyme, reason, or rules to how this magic works--like Carrie summoned her imagination and let it take the reins whenever it had the urge. It's not a method I would recommend, necessarily--but I didn't dislike it. It gave the story a certain unique charm that I don't normally see in the books I pick up.

Carrie has stated herself that she made an effort to create a timeless setting. She avoided mention of any technology beyond the realm of cars and animated movies. I can see the longterm benefit of this decision, but I honestly feel like she could've benefitted more from picking a timeline and identifying it from the beginning. It would've given the setting a lot more character--because as it stands, the setting is just a dull backdrop behind extraordinary characters.

Speaking of--Carrie is very good at portraying her characters fully in fewer words. She did a lot of backstory, though, which wasn't always needed, and was written in a way that sometimes just dragged the story on longer than necessary.

Overall, the story was imaginative, quirky, and full of wonder--much like Carrie herself. It's not necessarily a story that I would read again, but her voice and style are solid in her first novel.

Final rating: 3 stars.

Until later,

- Justyne

Micro Fiction Monday: Weakness

“Need any help?”

I closed the book as I looked up, careful to keep my finger between the pages. “No, thanks, I’m good!”

The employee looked at me warily. “Okay. Let me know if you do.”

I nodded and smiled, turning back to the shelf as though I was still contemplating my purchase. “Absolutely!”

He stuck around a little longer this time. I ran my fingers across the spines, even pulled out another book and compared it to the one I had. As soon as he was out of sight, I shoved it back into place and opened the one I had spent the last hour and a half reading.

I don’t normally do this, I swear. But the library waiting list was like a mile long, and payday wasn’t for another week...I had every intention to buy the book. Just, y’know. After I had spent numerous hours reading it in the store.

Pretending not to read, though, is really, really hard when it’s a very, very good book. I tried to move around inconspicuously, but it was never long before an employee turned up, eager to make a sale. The last one—a boy with shaggy hair and a silver earring his left ear—had already approached me three times. 

“Hey.”

Make that four. I flushed and slammed the book shut again. “Sorry, I was just—“

The employee shook his head and thrust a slip of paper at me. I blinked. It was a receipt.

“Take this with the book into the coffee shop,” he said. “Quick. Before my manager sees.”

I took it slowly. “Wow. Um. Thanks.”

He smiled. “Just let me know what you think when you’re done. I’ve been wanting to read that all week.”

He walked away, leaving me stunned in the mystery section.

Review: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

"Write about what disturbs you, particularly if it bothers no one else." - Kathryn Stockett, The Help

Set in Mississippi in the 1960's, The Help follows three women--Skeeter, a recent college grad; Aibileen, a coloured maid specializing in raising white children; and Minny, Aibileen's best friend, who is as great at cooking as she is bad at keeping her sassy mouth shut. Inspired by advice from a New York publishing house, Skeeter approaches the two maids with a project--a book written from the perspective of black women working for white families. The idea is to portray the good, the bad, and everything in between in as honest a fashion as possible.

I normally try to avoid stories with more than two narrators. I've found that any more than two can cause confusion if not done properly, but Stockett does an excellent, excellent job of setting each character apart from the other, and switching between the three in a smooth, unjarring way. Their voices were very distinct, and each character brought a unique perspective to the story that made it as great as it was.

One of the few complaints I have about this book is that I found that it dragged on a bit at times. It took a solid hundred pages before the idea of the book was even brought up, and more still before anyone even agreed to working on it. The book is a whopping 522 pages--it's a beast. I enjoyed it, but I definitely think it could have shortened down by a bit.

That being said, in comparison to the movie (which I watched once a couple years ago, and again after reading the book), I did enjoy the extra details that the book gave to the characters involved. It showed alternative sides that the movie never got to explore, gave more mystery to characters like Celia Foote before giving away all their secrets. Sometimes, though, there was almost too much mystery, and the story dragged because of it. 

Overall, the characters are phenomenal, but it definitely could have been taken down a hundred pages or so. I can understand a lot of the things the movie cut back on to save run time. The movie didn't suffer from what it ommitted, and I'm sure the book wouldn't have, either, if it received the same alterations.

Final rating: 4 stars.

Until later,

- Justyne

Review: Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Ah, Just Listen. A personal favourite.

This week's read follows Annabel, a model who went from having everything to nothing at all. After a scandolous party mishap sparks rumours abound and ends her friendship with Sophie, she finds herself on the literal outskirts of her school's social circles--and the cafeteria. There, she meets Owen, who has his own rumours circling the school. Music-obsessed, unbelievably honest, and with a rough past of his own, the two begin an unlikely friendship that gets the school talking more than ever.

As the two tread further into each other's lives, Owen teaches her the importance of listening--to music, to others, and to yourself.

A problem I sometimes find with Dessen's books--as much as I love them--is that the minor characters often end up outshining the main protagonist. In truth, all of Dessen's characters are great, but sometimes I end up caring more about the best friend than the main character. Just Listen is one of the exceptions, as I think Annabel shines out just as brightly among the likes of Mallory, Owen, and Rolly.

I also loved the sisters' ongoing storyline, and their relationships with each other. Each of them had their own lives, their own problems, their own ongoing stories, and yet they all somehow came back around and connected with each other. In a way, they all learned the same lesson, in a variety of different ways.

There were times when Annabel's behaviour was frustrating, but her reluctance to tell her mother the truth about modelling was warranted, understandable, and overall relatable for myself and for others, I'm sure. The idea of speaking up about anything is easy, but actually doing it is another matter entirely.

And finally, at the center of it all, was the relationship between Owen and Annabel. Dessen's characters always have great chemistry, I find, and these two are no exception. Their conversations seemed effortless, and their shift from friendship to something more was a lot more gradual and easy than some of her other books.

Overall, I don't really have any complaints about this one! It's a solid read, although I personally think that some of her other work outshines this one.

Final rating: 4 stars.

Until later,

- Justyne

Review: The One by Kiera Cass

"Break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break anyway." - Kiera Cass, The One

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BOTH THE SELECTION, AND THE ELITE. (AND ALSO MINOR SPOILERS FOR THE ONE BUT I MEAN THAT SHOULD ALMOST BE OBVIOUS.)

Hello, friends! As mentioned in last week's review, this week's won't be as detailed as I might like, simply because it's been a full month since I read the two books back-to-back, and they kind of almost blend together. If you haven't already read the review for The Elite (or for The Selection, for that matter), you can do that here and here. Otherwise, buckle up for the ride!

America Singer almost got herself kicked out of the Selection--but she's back, and she's not ready or willing to lose to anyone. It doesn't matter that the king is out to get her, or that Maxon might have finally lost patience with her, or that she has suddenly found herself competing furiously with another girl for his love. She has made her decision. She is determined to win Maxon back.

But the country is getting restless, and with rebel attacks becoming more frequent and more dangerous, it's not just her heart on the line anymore--it's her life.

Probably my biggest source of relief for this book was that America finally chose a guy. Hallelujah! Now, the fact that she took the entire book to inform a certain someone of her decision was still frustrating--but it was a new frustration, so I'm okay with that.

I loved meeting the rebels in this book, and learning more about the differences between the two different rebel groups. The problem is, I don't think this book was really long enough to properly delve into it--I don't think we got the full potential of what could have been done with those story lines, and I'm really disappointed that the rebel characters didn't have more of an impact on the story.

ALSO. I was all for the four Elite girls becoming BFFs, but I felt it all happened rather...quickly. I loved Celine's change of heart, and getting to learn a little more about her as a character. But the shift that started slowly was rushed to completion halfway through, and I couldn't really appreciate the otherwise fantastic bonding scenes between them quite as much as I would have had the shift been more consistent throughout.

Overall, I loved a lot of things about this book, but none of them were done as well as I thought they could've been. I still gave it a solid 5, simply for its inability to be put down--and also the epilogue.

Final rating: 5 stars.


Until later,

- Justyne

Review: The Elite by Kiera Cass

You know that you’ve found something amazing, and you want to hold on to it forever; and every second after you have it, you fear the moment you might lose it. - Kiera Cass, The Elite

ALRIGHTY SO HERE'S THE DEAL. This book, along with its successor, may not contribute as detailed reviews as I would like. Why? Because I read both of them almost a full month ago, back to back, in like one day, so they almost kind of blend together.

So Justyne, why drag this out into two reviews? Why not just condense them and save us time and you effort? 

Because, dear reader of mine, they both have completely different ratings for completely different reasons, so shut your trap and let's get started.

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE SELECTION. 

When America Singer entered the selection, she was still heartbroken over her first love, and completely set against marrying into Illéa's royal family. She never thought that she'd make it into the Elite, the final six of the competiton. She never thought that she'd actually find herself falling for Prince Maxon. She never thought that Aspen would wind up working at the palace, begging for forgiveness, and presenting her with an impossible choice.

The moment that America's decision seems obvious, tragedy strikes that forces her to see her future, and her options, in an entirely new light. With fewer girls competing, the stakes are quickly rising, and her chance to choose is about to slip between her fingers. 

What you'll quickly notice about the first three books in this series is that it does a very low dip--I rated The Selection five stars last year, and (spoiler alert) I rated The One five stars, as well. It's not that this one wasn't good, it was just...frustrating.

So here's what I liked, in a nutshell: I thought it did a decent job of spreading out in the world, of giving a new light to the royal family and their history, as well as giving a better insight into how the societal system was created in the first place. In that regards, it did a good job of expanding on the foundation the first book laid out.

What I didn't like, however, was the complete and utter indecisiveness of our main protagonist.

This is a common complaint, from what I've heard, and it's one of the reasons I was almost scared to continue with the series. She flip flops from one guy to the other so fast it gave me whip lash, and I honestly felt that she was often being unfair to Maxon, and not giving him any of the time or patience that he's always been so willing to give to her.

She also made some VERY QUESTIONABLE DECISIONS about who she spent her time with and what she told other people, which lead to some VERY AUDIBLE SCREAMING on my part, because far too many people were lacking common sense in this novel for my liking.

And yet, I still jumped immediately into the next instalment.

Anyway. Final rating: 3 stars. Stay tuned for the next one!

Until later,

- Justyne

Review: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

“Just because you'd left something behind didn't mean that it had gone anywhere.”  - Morgan Matson, Second Chance Summer 

 

Another Morgan Matson book! This one made me cry like a baby, so y'all already know this is gonna be a good one.

This week's book follows Taylor, a girl who's downright infamous for running away when things get tough. As her family makes their way to their house in the mountains--their first summer there in five years--Taylor is forced into the realization that she can't run away from everything. Not her former best friend and first crush, both still hurting over their last summer together, and certainly not her father's recent diagnosis, which is quickly tearing her world apart.

I'm going to repeat myself, because I feel like this is worth mentioning twice--DO NOT PICK UP THIS BOOK UNLESS YOU WANT TO CRY. This book saw me sobbing for a solid fifty pages straight. These pages will forever be stained with my tears. If you're looking for a summer read, THERE ARE MUCH, MUCH BETTER CHOICES.

That being said, this book was good. In the ranking of Matson books, I'd probably rate Since You've Been Gone at the top, followed by this book, and then Amy & Roger's Epic Detour. Her characterization remains excellent--her characters are varied, flawed, and real. Her portrayal of family life, especially the relationship between the three siblings in this story, are especially great.

There were certain things in her writing, though, that started to catch my eye as I made my way through the story. I don't know if it wasn't present in her other books, or if I just never noticed it before, but I started to pick out phrases that bogged the story down unnecessarily. Statements that were over-explained, references to previous points in the text that were spelled out, to ensure that the reader didn't miss it. They started to distract me from the story, as I picked out every phrase that could be reworded or taken out entirely.

But here's the thing...I make the same mistakes. All. The. Time.

Never in my entire life as a writer has this ever happened, but all of these errors or flubs that I plucked out of the story, I immediately thought, "I would have done this." It sounded almost like I was reading my own story, a book I forgot I wrote, picking out all the mistakes that I never notice until my seventeenth runthrough. It was a little comforting and very weird--but also interesting. 

Aside from that, though, Matson's book--while somewhat predictable, in more ways than one--was a beautifully tragic tale that I couldn't put down. (I only did once, by force, because I was an idiot who forgot my copy at work once. Way to go, self.)

Final rating: four stars.

Until later,

- Justyne

Review: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

"The best discoveries always happen to the people who weren't looking for them." - Morgan Matson, Amy and Roger's Epic Detour

This wasn't my first Morgan Matson book, but it's the one that I've owned the longest. I've heard many, many, many good things about this book, but never actually got around to reading it.

But now it's summer, and since Sarah Dessen doesn't have a new book coming out this year (//sobs quietly in corner//), then I have to start picking up other contemporaries. Enter: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour, stage right.

After Amy's dad died in a sudden and tragic accident, a lot of things changed--her brother Charlie went into rehab, for one. Her mother decided to move the family across the country, for another. And now, her mom wants her to drive the family car to their new home, and enlists family friend Roger to drive, giving them the itinerary and the funds to get on their way.

The itinerary, though, is....lacking. (In interest, adventure, and fun....pretty much everything you'd want from a road trip.) So instead, Amy and Roger take a detour--and a big one, at that. The two of them each have baggage that extends beyond the trunk of their car, and each new stop brings them each closer to coming to terms with it--and closer to each other. 

What to say about this book? Well, for starters, it made me have an intense and dire need to go on a road trip of my own. (My bank statement doesn't agree with this, nor does the fact that I don't actually have a car. Or a driver's license. Or anyone who's willing to do all the driving for a cross-country adventure.) But that's okay, because it broke my dreams in a very well-written way!

One of the things I really like about Maston's book is the way she paces them. This book, in particular, framed much of their journey in a sort of literary montage, formed by snippets of conversation as they made the long trek from California to Conneticut. It was something that I don't normally see, as most books normally skip through the boring bits and cut straight to the action. But these snippets provided great insight to the progression of their friendship, without dragging the story on. It sped up the narrative without rushing it--a difficult balance, sometimes, but a rewarding one.

The thing with this book, though, was the Big Tragic Thing that was alluded to throughout the story wasn't as shocking as she might have hoped it would be. It was very, very easy to pick up on and guess what it was, long before the flashabck that expalined it, and that almost took away from the story in a way that doesn't normally happen. I don't care about being caught off guard, necessarily, but it was just so painfully obvious what had happened that it was almost frustrating that we didn't find out what it was until almost the end of the story.

Also--and this is extremely shocking for me--I didn't find myself caring a whole lot about the romantic attraction between Amy and Roger. Their friendship was great, and I enjoyed the way they got to know each other and interacted throughout their journey. But I feel like the chemistry between them was rather lacking, which is something I don't often (or ever) find myself saying about a rom-com contemporary. Normally I hop on board the ship right away, but no matter how far their feelings progressed, I just wasn't feelin' it. (This can't be said for any other of her books, though, which I am grateful for.)

What I did love, though, was the slew of characters we met as they travelled from state to state on their detour. I loved the snapshots of the lives we saw, how it compared and contrasted to our main characters. More importantly, I love how each location brought Amy a step closer to where she needed to be, teaching her the things she needed to learn and showing her how to move on from the grief that was plaguing her at the start of the novel. 

All in all, it's a fantastic summer read, and I would definitely recommend it--although you may find yourself planning a grand adventure of your own afterwords.

Final rating: four stars. (Maybe 4.2, even!)

Until later,

Justyne

Micro Fiction Monday: Sunken Memories

The smell of campfires hit me in the face as I turned the page. Not literally, because I was in my room in the middle of the afternoon, and in no way remotely close to a bonfire. But this slightly dented hardback, its pages already creased from the dog ears of another read-through, was one I bought last summer. The first time I read it was by the light of the fire pit outside our tent, and the smell came back to me now, as though the pages had absorbed the smoke when I was reading.

~~

The next book I read brought a cool breeze to my cheeks, and though the air was silent, I could hear the jingle of holiday songs. I closed my eyes and saw soft yellow lights among thick green branches, could feel the satisfaction of wrapping paper tearing beneath my fingers, revealing the cover that I was now holding in my hands. The first time I read it was that afternoon, during the peaceful quiet of a holiday.

~~

I crack open my new book as I exit the bookstore, the rush of a new addition to my collection still fresh in my bones. The air has a chill to it, and I quickly zip up my jacket, tugging my silk scarf farther up my face. My eyes drift over the new, unfamiliar words as my boots crunch through the dead, fallen leaves.

And like every book I’ve read before, this memory will soak itself into the pages of this book, only to be released when I start the story anew. 

Review: Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

"Sometimes in life, we need a few bad days in order to keep the good ones in perspective." -- Colleen Hoover, Maybe Someday

Do y'all remember when I did a review on November 9? Do you remember how much I loved it?

WELL BUCKLE UP CUZ WE'RE ABOUT TO GO DOWN THAT ROAD AGAIN.

It is becoming quickly evident to me that I am absolute Romance Novel Trash, which I feel like I've always known but never wanted to admit. (I haven't started buying books with half naked guys on the cover yet, though, so progress??) Anyway, this book follows Sydney, a 22-year-old college student who comes home from work on her birthday to discover that her best friend / roommate has been cheating on her with her boyfriend for lord-knows-how long. She throws a punch, grabs her stuff, and moves out...only to quickly find herself homeless in the rain, because she actually doesn't really have anywhere else to go.

Enter Ridge, her neighbour from across the apartment courtyard. He offers to let her live in their apartment, rent-free, if she agrees to work with him writing songs for his band. She agrees, and the two quickly form an attraction--which is a problem, because he has a girlfriend, and Sydney absolutely refuses to let what happened to her happen to another girl.

My favourite thing about this book is the absolutely refreshing honesty that was present throughout their relationship. It often feels like the conflict in just about any romantic comedy / drama / subplot in an action movie derives from an utter lack of communication between partners. Sometimes it's warranted, sometimes it's not, but either way it is utterly overdone and frustrating every time it arises.

Good 'ol Sydney and Ridge, though, are completely upfront and honest about their feelings for each other. They know that they are mutually attracted to each other, and instead of trying to ignore it or deny it, they put all of their feelings on the table and c o m m u n i c a t e. They express themselves, they explain and understand why they can't pursue these attractions, and it feels SO GOD DAMN REFRESHING. All of their conflicts arise from outside sources, not from screts between them. This only strengthens their relationship, too, because they learn to rely and trust one another in ways that a lot of fictional couples don't in romantic plots. WRITERS EVERYWHERE, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TAKE NOTES.

That being said, though, I got a little frustrated with their actions throughout the story. Like yeah, being honest is good, and it definitely helped avoid a lot of would-be issues, but...come on. ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS, GUYS, REALLY.

I was also a little let down by the bonus playlist. Basically, the book contains a QR code that leads you to a free online playlist of the songs that Ridge and Sydney wrote in the book. It was an excellent concept, to give the reader an actual song to listen to along with the lyrics instead of creating some bad makeshift version in their mind, but I feel like it could've been done a little better? For example, I found myself wanting to listen to the songs as they were sung in the book, right? But I was a little disappointed to find that all the songs were sung by the same guy--even the ones that Sydney was singing in the book. I just think it would've been cool to get another, female artist to step in and sing the songs that Sydney was singing in the story. Granted, I wasn't a huge fan of the songs in general, so that didn't help, either.

Anyway. That aside, Hoover's writing was super vivid and well done, her characters well developed, and the plot caught me off guard a number of times--which, I think I've mentioned before, is really hard to do. And the concert scene at the end? A. DOR. A. BLE. I almost died.

All in all, I give it a solid five stars. (Or at least like 4.8)

Until later,

- Justyne

Review: Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray

Stop measuring yourself against us. It’s not the right scale. You have your own gifts, your own talents. Show the world everything you’re capable of, Marguerite. You don’t even see how amazing you are. - Claudia Gray, Ten Thousand Skies Above You

Look, another sequel! Read ahead at your own risk!

Guys. THIS BOOK. Do you remember my review for the first one? Do you remember how much I loved that one? This one was just as amazing, if not moreso. CLAUDIA. GIRL. YOU KNOW YOUR WAY AROUND A SEQUEL.

Literally everything I loved about the first book was present within these glorious pages. The well-placed flashbacks, the pacing, the Russiaverse. GUYS. I almost wanted to cry from the sheer joy and surprise of returning to the setting of my favourite arc from the first book. And, unlike the first book, the climax and ending caught me completely off guard. That's hard to do, guys, trust me. I ask a lot of "what if" questions.

Ten Thousand Skies Above You came out back in November. I bought it almost the day it came out, but for some reason that I can't even comprehend, I waited until just last month to read it. In retrospect, this was probably a good idea, because the idea of waiting until NEXT NOVEMBER for the conclusion seems absurd, and at this point, it's less than six months away. I JUST CAN'T WAIT THAT LONG, OKAY. I JUST CAN'T.

Probably my favourite part about this book--and about 75% of the reason I say my girl Claudia knows her way around a sequel--is how she took the themes of the first book and expanded on them so freaking well in this one. In A Thousand Pieces of You, Marguerite explored the concept of destiny, of being meant to be with someone over and over again in a hundred thousand lifetimes. She saw how similar she and her family and friends were across dimensions--how her parents were always drawn to science, her sister to adventure, herself to the visual arts. At the beginning of this book, she believed that a fundamental part of a person's soul remained the same over dimensions, that each Paul or Theo or Marguerite is the same person. Then she discovered that that's not really the case--each version of someone is their own person, with their own life, their own memories, their own feelings. They can't be held to par with a different version of them, because they're just not the same person.

Marguerite had her beliefs going into this new adventure, and with each dimension she visited, she found herself at odds with them. Things weren't as simple or as black-and-white as she thought or wanted them to be. And I just loved how Gray took this concept that seemed so obvious and crystal clear and showed that it really wasn't. It was extremely well done.

I also loved how she started to dive into the ethics of inter-dimensional travel. It's a fun thought, the idea of being able to jump into another dimension and live another life. But revisiting the Russiaverse allowed Marguerite to see the real consequences of her visits, of what these other versions of her go through both while she's borrowing their body and after she leaves. Is it really fair to use the body of another for your own purposes, even if they live a dimension away?

ANYWAY. Y'all can bet that I'll be buying the finale the second it comes out. (The title alone makes me want to cry because EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS SERIES IS WONDERFUL.) Finales are often hard to execute, especially when the rest of the series is as well done as this, but I have the utmost faith that Gray can pull it off. (CLAUDIA, YOU'RE MY GIRL. I BELIEVE.)

Five stars to you, Claudia Gray. Five hundred million stars, one for every world that a Marguerite lives on in.

Until later,

- Justyne