Tag: words

book club

STORK, review

abby mumford

Stork by Wendy Delsol. Candlewick, October 2010. 355 pages.

here’s the deal: “Katla is a true California girl. She lives for fashion and she hates the cold. So when her parents get divorced and she moves to her mother’s hometown in Minnesota, Katla’s sure that life’s going to be a drag. The town doesn’t even have a Starbucks!

But soon after Katla arrives in Norse Falls, strange things start happening. She discovers that she’s part of an ancient order of magical women, the Stork Society, who guide undecided new souls to their mothers. And Katla meets Jack, a handsome senior to whom she’s inexplicably drawn. As Katla gets to know her place among the Storks and gets closer to Jack, she’ll figure out the truths that have been hidden from her.”

here’s my opinion: the premise of a person who guides “undecided new souls to their mothers” is new (to me) and i thought it was well done and really interesting. i read a lot of paranormal books, so this felt fresh and new. the whole stork and ancient magic and norse mythology were pretty awesome and when combined with a spunky main character, that’s a recipe for fun. katla is a great character to root for. she’s strong and individualistic and unique and real and funny! i laughed.

(a side note about her name. it bugged me, but only because i’ve previously read and intensely loved two other books with similarly named main characters: katniss from HUNGER GAMES trilogy and katsa from GRACELING).

the relationship between katla and jack was well drawn out and had just the right amount of teen angst that flowed into the all encompassing first love. and jack. woowee. wendy desol did a fabulous job with him. athletic? check. smart? check. ambitious? check. a good, caring, devoted guy? check. a real, live good guy. (well, you know what i mean). now THAT is refreshing.

there were all those good parts, but then, there’s the pacing of the book. and i didn’t like it. the book was moving along at a slower clip and was introducing a lot of pieces, but then the end came crashing down and fumbled its way towards a resolution while opening even more doors and loop holes and options. i didn’t realize this was to be a series, until i set to writing this review, so i guess that clarifies why the ending was the way it was, but the first book in a series needs to stand alone and honestly, this one doesn’t.

that said, i’m excited to learn that these characters will be continuing on. i’ll definitely make it a point to pick up the next book in this series, FROST (september 2011).

FTC Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher.

general

anticipation-ville

abby mumford

i was going to call this post great expectations, but it turns out i’ve already written a post entitled that. not to mention, there’s a very well known book by that name. so instead of plagiarizing myself* and that book, i called this masterpiece anticipation-ville.

and that’s today’s theme.

anticipated event: the release of MOCKINGJAY, the third book in the hunger games trilogy.

payoff: i know there are people who haven’t yet read it, so i’m not going to spoil anything, don’t worry. i will say that an interesting thing happened while reading it. usually when i read a book, it’s just me and the pages. and sometimes i think about the author and why they chose to go this way instead of that way with the plot, but usually, it’s just me and the characters. but this time, i wasn’t alone. i knew that everyone and their mother and their mother’s cousin’s twin’s stepsister’s brother was reading it and i couldn’t stop wondering what everyone else was thinking when they had read this chapter or that passage. it was weird in the sense that it felt like a house guest who isn’t taking the hint and leaving, but also, kind of nice in a “if-i-need-to-talk-about-the-ending-i-know-i-have-half-a-dozen-people-i-can-count-on-to-talk-to-me-about-it-right-now.” and trust me, you’re going to want to talk about this book.

anticipated event: joining twitter and gaining access to hollywood by following celebrities’ comments and quotes.

payoff: today, almost a year and a half later, twitter continues to surprise me, as we have an entirely different relationship now. the only celebrities i follow anymore are those of the authorial variety. that’s authors for the laymen. i’ve joined a book group. i’ve gotten to know friends of friends better. i’ve gained a vast amount of knowledge about publishing, querying, and writing. i’ve encountered support groups and cheerleaders and allies all associated with writing. i’ve found new favorite authors. i’ve added to my TBR list so much that if i had each of those books stacked on top of each other, it’d reach the moon. (hey, i’d like to visit the moon, maybe i should look into this stack-able walkway. and spacesuits. and time travel. and, anyways…) i’ve learned more about the city i live in. i’ve found new restaurants to try and bars to hit up and stores to shop in. i’ve had my ego boosted. i’ve laughed. i’ve been blessed to have the kindness of people on twitter leap off the interwebs and land in my real life.

anticipated event: upgrading my normal phone to a smartphone.

payoff: after going into the store to have them activate my new DROID, i was very confused for about a week. and unable to properly answer the phone. i still have trouble with the phone portion and usually answer with a tentative “hello?????????” but i’m getting it. i am. except for the part where i am very upset i’ll have to buy a bluetooth as my hands free device. it’s impossible to hear people on those things, but long car rides are a part of life when you live 300 miles away from your closest family members and talking during that drive makes it bearable. on my previous two phones, i had a plug-in head set (sassy, i know) but now, they’re funneling me down the path of a bluetooth. i must resist. actually, it’s really easy… anyways, ANYWAYS, two weeks into my new phone? now i’m a whiz. well, more of a whizlet. i’m still learning. but i am getting to know little tricks and tips and how to conserve battery life. but the best part? other than the first weekend i got the phone, i’m not nearly as addicted to it as i thought i would be. i can still go about my life and interact with human beings and look around and enjoy the sights. but, if there is no one nearby or nothing good to look at, i have the option to explore the digital world that’s in the palm of my hand, yo. cause that’s how i roll. nowadays. i am so hip to getting jiggy with it. yeah, just like that.

does verizon offer a monthly plan for maturity upgrades?

*is it still plagiarizing if you are copying something you yourself wrote? or is it just lazy?

book club

BOOK HUNGRY: hunger games

abby mumford

who says you have to be crowded into the living room/kitchen/dining room to hold a book club? we are ladies of the 21st century. we don’t need no stinkin’ couches. so pull up a blog and join in the conversation.

the founding members of the BOOK HUNGRY are (alphabetically): patty blount, kelly breakey, karla nellenbach, alyson peterson, cynthia reese, elizabeth ryann, and myself. here’s the deal. we pick a book to read. we discuss via email. we post a review on our individual blogs on the same day (3rd thursday of the month). we link to each other. done. i know, genius. click on each one of their names (above) and it’ll take you to their review. browse. enjoy.

side note to all readers: if you’ve read the book, jump in on the conversation. comment away. if you haven’t read the book, go out and buy a copy, you ninny. and then come back and comment. if you’d like to become a full time BOOK HUNGRY member, contact one of us and we’ll get you set up. no need to have a blog. we can post for you. it couldn’t be easier. and it couldn’t be more fun.

and now, the inaugural selection of the BOOK HUNGRY is:

HUNGER GAMES by suzanne collins.


there’s really only one this to say about this book. IT’S AWESOMESAUCE with a side of geniusbutter.

i’m not a person who likes to read spoilery reviews, so i’m going to do my best not to write one. it’s a good thing this book is so very easy to talk about in general terms. the overarching themes of rebellion, submission, individualism, reality, romance, team work, technology, and survival are so effortlessly incorporated into the plot and the characters that one can’t help but talk and talk and talk some more about katniss and Panem and peeta and gale and haymitch and cinna and effie and rue and thresh and cato and the arena and the muttations and and and…

the world building is so full and rich and believable and scary and real that it’s easy to dive into the story and swim around in it. the districts. the Capitol. the laws. the people. the audience. the families. the friends. the employees. the leaders. the rebellion. oh yes, there are hints of it. you just have to listen carefully for the whispers.

then there’s the romance…if you can call it that. it’s more of a very tangled relationship that might or might not involve one or two boys (peeta and gale) and one very determined young lady (katniss). suzanne collins handles the budding love story with ease. nothing ever feels forced or unnatural but all very real and confusing and complicated and exactly how relationships in real life unfold. even though they’re surrounded by horrific events, this tiny thread of love floats along complicating things. again, how very lifelike that is. what starts as a crush ends up becoming a power play between katniss and the capitol. i mean, come on. as if just talking to boys when you’re a teenager isn’t hard enough, but being stuck in a place where every single person is ultimately trying to kill you (on national TV) and on top of that having to deal with do i like this guy or that guy? and yet, collins stays true to katniss and to the story. the romance aspect is never overpowering for the sake of drawing in a particular type of audience.

and, in fact, the unusual thing about this love triangle is that while i know people who are team gale and others are team peeta (me), pretty much EVERYONE falls under the category of team katniss. she’s so strong and vivid and awesome that, honestly, she’ll be okay no matter which boy she ends up with. or, even if she ends up alone.

one of the things i find most fascinating (and slightly infuriating) about this book/series is that everyone has the same initial reaction upon hearing the premise (futuristic and dystopian and gladiatorial) and/or seeing the jackets. “ugh” or “are you sure it’s good?” or “that sounds terrible.” or “no thank you.” to which both elizabeth and i have said “Do you trust me? Am I not smart? READ THIS. NOW. Don’t hesitate.” and every single person who’s picked up this book has been blown away by the writing, the characters, the intensity, the reality, the plot, the love, the horror, and the drama of this time, this place, this world, which fuels real life emotions and THAT’S what everyone can relate to. and then that person will recommend it to a friend who says, “ugh, that’s so not my thing.” and the cycle continues. happily.

well done, suzanne collins. well done. i’m so glad you were flipping channels that day and got stuck between the news covering the war and a reality TV show. thank you for your imagination and writing skills and this book, this series.

note:

is the second book. and it’s available now.

is the third and final installment and it hits shelves on August 24th. that’s in, like, 5 days! excuse me while i go set up my tent outside of the bookstore.

p.s. to all my loyal readers, YES, this is taking the place of my normal friday post. unless something grand happens. in which case, there shall be a post. it’s ONE BIG, GIANT SURPRISE. will i post friday? won’t i? you’ll have to check back and see. *insert evil laughter*

//

general

write on con

abby mumford

i know, i KNOW, it’s thursday and i’m posting. it’s practically illegal, but i felt compelled to write because there’s some amazing stuff going on in the kid lit community and i wanted to express my gratitude (in a manner that’s longer than 140 characters).

even if you’re not part of the kid lit community (and i mean, i’m only a peripheral part), please join me in extending a HUGE thank you to the founders of WriteOnCon: Jamie Harrington, Elana Johnson, Casey McCormick, Shannon Messenger, Lisa and Laura Roecker, and Jennifer Stayrook for providing this amazing opportunity for all writers.

note: click on picture for instant access to amazing advice, talks, seminars, and vlogs.

the gist is this: these ladies gathered the most fantastic and smart and funny and influential and talented people in the industry to provide talks and speeches for an online writer’s conference. and the best parts? because it’s online, it’s FREE and there weren’t any room reservation squabbles or bad hotel coffee or flight delays. all you had to do was pop over to the blog (august 10-12), as each “seminar” and “keynote speech” and “talk” was posted there. oh, and also? everything is archived on the blog, so if work was too busy or you got sick or your kid turned into a butterfly and you had to chase him across the neighborhood or your car broke down or you fell asleep or you converted the time zone difference wrong, you didn’t miss anything! you just have to click and bam. instant access to a vast array of literary and humorous treats.

judging from the fact that i find it difficult to plan dinner 7 nights a week not to mention it takes me about 5 hours, i can’t even begin to imagine how much time it took to plan something of this magnitude. which is why i am SO grateful they did. because i’m a prime target of a conference like this. i am on the bottom rung of the ladder and the only way to climb is to learn. and one way to learn is from the benevolence of others donating their time and wisdom. and to think so many people offered to do just that? well, i can’t help but thank them and slurp up all the goodies that are flowing out of their brains.

that makes me sound like a zombie.

trust me. i’m not.

yet.

so before the zombies attack, get thee over to writeoncon.com and partake in the literary feast.

general

blogging 101

abby mumford

i’ve been doing a lot of forward thinking lately. (forward in the sense that i’m thinking of the future, not that i’m working out the complicated math problems teachers leave up on their chalkboards overnight.) this thinking has lead me to make changes in both my blog and twitter sites. most of these changes involve my name because that’s the most simple step i can take right now and, after all, doesn’t a journey begin with a simple step (after you’ve showered, dressed, eaten, and put on your shoes)?

what’s my journey? the path to publication.

which is why i’m known as myself on twitter and now, here, if you look up at the URL, what does it say? yup, abigailmumford.com. i did have to give that one a little thought because since i’m now known as abby everywhere on the interwebs, should i have made that domain name? well, my thought was this: IF i ever reach that elusive holy grail of publication, i’m going to use my full name. the name my parents bestowed upon me when i was a wee tot. (and boy, do i mean wee. i was premature and weighed in at a mean fighting weight of 2lbs, 6ozs.) so anyways, that’s why i registered my blog as abigail. but don’t be skird, just because my blog is getting all dressed up and looking spiffy doesn’t mean it’s going to be all serious and stuffy and boring. just sometimes. when necessary. but not usually.

another thing i can/have begun to change is the content. i’m sure you’ve already noticed the differences (what? you’ve haven’t read EVERY SINGLE POST from 2003? i’m shocked.) so, umm, for the laymen, i originally started cataloging my digital thoughts as a blahg. (a what?) (oh, sorry, read this post by kiersten white, which includes a very important quiz about one’s blogging style). so it started as superficial, but when i moved the O.L.D over here to wordpress, i started to whip it into shape. to whittle its waist and fine tune its tummy so that when it steps on a scale, BLOG is the read out instead of blagh. i’m not entirely sure i’ve always been successful, but what rookie is?

and so the research continues. and since i’m nice and stuff, i figured i’d share my findings with you:

*how to get more followers

*every post by tawna fenske from the week of August 6, in which she celebrates her 6 months of blogging by telling all us schmucks how she’s so darn successful. except, she does it in a much nicer and yet, dirtier, way: friday. thursday. wedneday. tuesday.  monday.

*make sure you create signature content by giving your readers YOURSELF. cause there are a lot of blogs out there, but only one YOU. so infuse your blog with eau de ME (except the me isn’t me, but you, you know?)

*natalie whipple’s take on HOW TO for social media (blogs are a part of that, you know).

in semi-related news (the news referring to growing up and stuff), i got an email from a friend (hi, hoss!) who is preparing to change apartments. she’s moving into a place where she’ll be living on her own. a very adult move, if you ask me (and her). but the most awesome part? how she ended her email:

“i hope you are well and on the verge of a life upgrade yourself.”

a life upgrade. i like it. and, you could say, i’m working on it.