ship of souls

I like reading in my comfort zone.   And my comfort zone usually means strong women in fantasy.  However, I also try to stretch myself, to read something that will introduce me to an unfamiliar culture or experience.  Zetta Elliot’s Ship of Souls seemed to be the perfect compromise – a fantasy featuring a young black boy, set in (of all places) Brooklyn. 

When Dmitri, an 11-year-old bird watcher and math whiz, loses his mother to breast cancer, he is taken in by Mrs. Martin, an elderly white woman. Unaccustomed to the company of kids his own age, D struggles at school and feels like an outcast until a series of unexpected events changes the course of his life.

First, D is asked to tutor the school’s basketball star, Hakeem, who will get benched unless his grades improve. Against the odds, the two boys soon realize they have something in common: they are both taunted by kids at school, and they both have a crush on Nyla, a beautiful but fierce eighth-grade girl. Then Nyla adopts D and invites him to join her entourage of “freaks.” Finally, D discovers an injured bird and brings it home from the park.



D is stunned when the strange bird speaks to him and reveals that she is really a guiding spirit that has been held hostage by ghost soldiers who died in Brooklyn at the start of the American Revolution. As Nuru’s chosen host, D must carry her from Brooklyn to the African Burial Ground in lower Manhattan, but the ghost soldiers won’t surrender their prize without a fight.

With the help of Hakeem and Nyla, D battles the Nether Beings who lurk underground, feeding off centuries of rage and pain. But it takes an unexpected ally to help the trio reach the ship that will deliver the innocent souls of the dead back to Nuru’s realm. An urban fantasy infused with contemporary issues and historical facts, Ship of Souls will keep teen readers gripped until the very end. 

D has been on his own since his mother died of cancer.  But being a math geek in New York City and trying to navigate school, a foster home and a new baby foster sister doesn’t leave much room for healing and hope.  D eventually makes friends with some of his schoolmates, but then his life is interrupted by the appearance of a white bird that is more than it appears.  It asks him an important question, and his answer takes him on the adventure of a lifetime, and through the historic past of the city he calls home.

First, let’s do the positive: for the first thirty pages of Zetta Elliott’s Ship of Souls, I was hooked.  Here was an urban fantasy, featuring a black male protagonist, and his world and grief were vividly described.  My sympathies were engaged, I was interested in the great characterization of the three teens at the focal point of the story, and I kept thinking to myself, “Oh, this is good,” with a little bit of relief, and a lot of anticipation.

Then a white bird showed up, and my main reaction to the rest of the book was “Umm…?!?”

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what, exactly, went so wrong.  It was more than the inclusion of fantastic elements, because some of those worked, and worked well (the descriptions in that final scene underground were rather glorious).  I think, and this is totally subjective, that there were two major issues.  The first was uneven, stilted dialogue.  The story was at its strongest when told in D’s head, from his personal point of view.  It faltered numerous times when the reader was supposed to gather information and see plot movement solely through the medium of dialogue.  In this case, not enough was SAID or added to the context of spoken words to make sense of scenes, characters, and swift plot changes. 

Second problem: flat secondary characters.  Elliott made D, Keem and Nyla real in the mind of the reader and each of these had different, understandable and complex motivations for his/her actions.  On the flip side, the secondary characters, such as Nuru, Nyla’s mom, the soldiers and D’s foster mother, served only to point out character quirks and reasoning of the main characters.  And yes, I said even Nuru.  Billy, I give a free pass.  Main lesson?  Wherever characters-as-plot-devices go, disappointment is sure to follow.

While not without merit, this book could have done with more: a) developed dialogue, b) fantasy and history world-building, and c) secondary character development.  Final verdict: Ship of Souls will leave the reader confused by its split personality, disappointed by its spoilt promise, and wholly underwhelmed.  Want a second opinion?  The Book Smugglers posted an extensive (and much more positive) review. 

Recommended for: those interested in an urban fantasy featuring a POC main character and the ghosts of New York City, and anyone willing to take a chance on a short, uneven and non-traditional tale of redemption and friendship.

waiting on wednesday (31)

I’m participating today in "Waiting On" Wednesday. It is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, and its purpose is to spotlight eagerly anticipated upcoming releases.

First, before you do or think anything about the book I’m going to mention, look at its gorgeous cover art.  Possibly sit and drink it in, if you have the time.  Okay, done that?  Well, I don’t see how you could NOT want to read the book.  However, if you haven’t fallen under the sway of the cover... I shall parade a few facts!  Middle Grade.  Fairy tale.  A story within a book that changes as it is told—or acted out.  Dragon.  Clever, reckless princess.  My dears, this novel sounds lovely and a bit like Catherynne M. Valente’s Fairyland books.  Which are some of the best children’s books ever.  I can tell this story and I will get along like a house on fire.  Or possibly like a clever princess and an unusual dragon.  Iron Hearted Violet by Kelly Barnhill will be published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette), and releases on October 9th, 2012.

The end of their world begins with a story.

This one.

In most fairy tales, princesses are beautiful, dragons are terrifying, and stories are harmless. This isn't most fairy tales. 

Princess Violet is plain, reckless, and quite possibly too clever for her own good. Particularly when it comes to telling stories. One day she and her best friend, Demetrius, stumble upon a hidden room and find a peculiar book. A forbidden book. It tells a story of an evil being—called the Nybbas—imprisoned in their world. The story cannot be true—not really. But then the whispers start. Violet and Demetrius, along with an ancient, scarred dragon, may hold the key to the Nybbas's triumph…or its demise. It all depends on how they tell the story. After all, stories make their own rules.

Iron Hearted Violet is a story of a princess unlike any other. It is a story of the last dragon in existence, deathly afraid of its own reflection. Above all, it is a story about the power of stories, our belief in them, and how one enchanted tale changed the course of an entire kingdom.

What books are you waiting on?

author interview and book pre-order giveaway – meagan spooner

Skylark, Meagan Spooner's debut, is one of my most anticipated releases of the summer (you may have noticed my WoW featuring it last week?).  It just so happens that this talented author calls the DC metro area home, and she’s mega-cool.  Proof that Ms. Spooner is indeed made of awesome: she’s here today with an author interview.  If you’re interested in winning a copy of Skylark, stay tuned until the end of the post – there’s a pre-order giveaway.  Because: why the heck not?!  Happy Monday!

Meagan Spooner grew up reading and writing every spare moment of the day, while dreaming about life as an archaeologist, a marine biologist, an astronaut. She graduated from Hamilton College in New York with a degree in playwriting, and has spent several years since then living in Australia. She's traveled with her family all over the world to places like Egypt, South Africa, the Arctic, Greece, Antarctica, and the Galapagos, and there's a bit of every trip in every story she writes.

She currently lives and writes in Northern Virginia, but the siren call of travel is hard to resist, and there's no telling how long she'll stay there. 

In her spare time she plays guitar, plays video games, plays with her cat, and reads.

She is the author of Skylark, coming out August 1 from Carolrhoda Lab/Lerner Books. She is also the co-author of These Broken Stars, forthcoming from Disney-Hyperion in Fall 2013.

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[Note: the bold italics indicate my question, normal font is Meagan’s response]

The world in which Skylark is set has many unique and interesting features, but one of the most important to the plot is the way technology is 'powered.'  Can you share your inspiration for that element of the book (if you know it)? 

The world was actually the first fragment of an idea for Skylark to come to me. Everything else came later. I was in my car driving home and listening with half an ear to a piece on NPR about the energy crisis, and I started thinking (rather pessimistically) that even if we had it to do all over again, if we had a brand new power source to draw from, we'd likely mess it up again with our greed and impatience for power. I think most people would think things like "solar," "wind," "nuclear"--I, being a huge fantasy geek, thought "magic." And so this world just unfolded in front of me while I was driving, one ruled by magic, where clockwork machines walked up and down the streets and people sailed by in carriages driven by magic. I imagined what it would be like, the day the magic in that world ran out--and that's what led me to the post-apocalyptic-yet-magical world Lark lives in. Magic is a limited resource, one the city's rulers are willing to kill for--and worse.

You're a world traveler. Is there a particular place you have visited or lived that inspired the setting of Skylark?

The city Lark lives in (and escapes from) in Skylark is actually based off of Washington, D.C., where I've lived almost my whole life. Originally the book was set in a future version of our world, but in revision it quickly changed to its own unique fantasy world, a sort of alternate reality version of D.C. Although the city is never named, its streets and buildings are based on streets and buildings in the actual D.C. The Institute where Lark is taken in the beginning is based off of the buildings of the Smithsonian Institute on the Mall. And when she escapes, the forests and countryside that Lark travels through are based off of suburban Northern Virginia--a lot of the same plants and geographic features. 

I see that your college major was playwriting.  How do you think that has influenced your prose?

I think studying playwriting was one of the better things I ever did for my writing. Not only does studying plays (and how to write them) improve your sense of dialogue and rhythm, but it gives you a sense of dramatic structure that, for some reason, is much harder to conceptualize with novels and the study of literature. Every book I write has three acts--and I think of them very much like acts in a play, in terms of what they need to accomplish for story, character, etc. I also studied acting as part of my major, which was tremendous in terms of learning to develop characters. When you act, you spend a huge amount of time getting to know the character you're playing, reading between the lines of the script, even making up elements backstory that never appears in the play just so that YOU know it, so that your character can be a fully fleshed-out person that leaps off the page (or the stage). I'm constantly doing this for my own characters. I have tons of information about them that will never make it onto the page--but maybe I'll get to post them someday as sort of "DVD extras" for the books!

Do you have any hidden (or not-so-hidden) superpowers?

My secret super power--or perhaps my secret villain power--is that I kill houseplants just by thinking too hard about them. It doesn't matter how much (or how little) I water them, they always kick the bucket sooner or later. I have one philodendron given to me by my mother as a housewarming present that is still alive, ten months later. I'm pretty sure it knows how many of its cousins I've killed over the years, and it's just biding its time, waiting for me to let down my guard. So it can avenge its fallen brethren. 

You know, I might have a bit of a thing with plants. It would explain a certain scene in Skylark in which... well. Let's just say there's scene with some scary plants. >_>

If you could invite literary characters to a dinner party, who would be sitting around the table, and what would you serve?

Oh, goodness, let me see. I think I'd invite a handful of villains (or antagonists, shall we say), because I find complex anti-heroes to be fascinating. I'd invite Mrs. Coulter (His Dark Materials), Lady Macbeth (Macbeth), President Snow (The Hunger Games), Professor Moriarty (Sherlock Holmes), Tom Riddle (Harry Potter--pref. before he became Voldemort, back when he was a bit more complex as a student!), Javert (Les Miserables), and Iago (Othello). Just about everyone in my books tends to be a villain in some way, so clearly I have an unhealthy obsession with them. It would be fantastic research.

So yeah--I'd get all those guys in a room, and then I'd serve Chesapeake Bay blue crabs in the shell. Partly because they're delicious, but mostly because it's absolutely hilarious to watch people eat them. There's just no way to do it gracefully! And it amuses me to think of a group of scary BAMFs trying to eat crabs in a dignified manner. 

What books are on your nightstand (or wherever you keep your 'read next!' pile) right now?

The Goddess Test, by Aimee Carter

Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo

What's Left of Me, by Kat Zhang

For Darkness Shows the Stars, by Diana Peterfreund

Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor

...and those are just the ones I can read from here, from my stack! My TBR pile right now is absurd, especially coming off of BEA. 

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Thank you, Meagan!  I am even more excited to read Skylark now… if that is possible (it’s really not).  Oh!  And move For Darkness Shows the Stars to the top of your pile – that is one fantastic book.

Meagan Spooner's debut YA novel will be released on August 1st, 2012 from Carolrhoda Lab.  Want to win a pre-order of Skylark?  Simply fill out the FORM.  One entrant will win a pre-order from either Amazon or The Book Depository.  Giveaway open internationally, will end on July 9th, 2012 at 11:59pm EST.  Winner will be notified by email.  Good luck!

Vis in magia, in vita vi. In magic there is power, and in power, life.

For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley waited for the day when her Resource would be harvested and she would finally be an adult. After the harvest she expected a small role in the regular, orderly operation of the City within the Wall. She expected to do her part to maintain the refuge for the last survivors of the Wars. She expected to be a tiny cog in the larger clockwork of the city.

Lark did not expect to become the City’s power supply.

For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley believed in a lie. Now she must escape the only world she’s ever known…or face a fate more unimaginable than death.

peanut butter and honey cookies

I had an epic baking fail this week.  Trashed three trays worth of cookies fail.

This is not one of the 'fails.'  It's a perfectly delicious Peanut Butter and Honey Cookie.

It was a coworker’s birthday, and for favorite coworkers I will bake (note to everyone: if i like you, i will bake. that’s how you know.).  I asked what he liked in the way of baked goods.  He said peanut butter cookies.  I thought to myself ‘Perfect!’  Then I looked at my staples (sugar, flour, so on) and realized that I was out of white sugar.  No problem, right?  I’ll just substitute…something.  Turns out I had a jar of molasses.  Well, that’s easy!  Just find a peanut butter recipe that uses molasses! 

THESE are the failed cookies.  They seem innocuous...

So I found a recipe.  And I made it.  And those cookies look good, right?  Well…they tasted like hell.  And by that I mean they tasted like SULFUR.  I had a whole batch of Peanut Butter Molasses Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks, and they reminded me of fire and brimstone and spoiled eggs.  Why?  Apparently the fancy, expensive organic molasses I bought was blackstrap molasses.  And that stuff is only decent in VERY small quantities.  I should have used refined molasses.  NOT GOOD.  I was so disappointed I threw out the whole mess.

To recap: I wasted all that time and still didn’t have white sugar or cookies to show for it.  %&$^!!!  Desperate times call for church cookbook recipes.  You may not know this about me, but I was raised Southern Baptist.  In Seattle.  Yeah, figure that one out (i still haven’t).  But back to the matter at hand: those church ladies are SERIOUS about their cookbooks.  I pulled out the most recent (my mom gave it to me for Christmas a couple of years back) and looked up peanut butter cookies.  And… there it was, an easy peanut butter recipe with honey – no white sugar or butter needed.  Amen. 

Peanut Butter and Honey Cookies (modified from recipe in From Our Kitchen to Yours)

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil)

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 egg

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine honey, oil, peanut butter and eggs in a stand mixer and beat on low until combined.  You can also mix by hand or with electric mixer on low setting until smooth.  Pro tip: spray your measuring cup with baking spray before you pour in the honey and peanut butter.  This will make it much easier to get your ingredients into the bowl later!

Whisk dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, and add in two parts to the honey mixture, blending well after each addition.  Roll dough into walnut-sized balls and place two inches apart on the parchment-lined cookie sheets.  Flatten with a fork and place on middle rack in the oven.  Bake for 10 minutes and take out promptly – you don’t want to burn the bottoms!  Yields 18 cookies.

As you can probably tell, this is a Very. Easy. Recipe.  I would recommend it to beginners without a qualm.  It’s worth it to note that it is also a sugar-free and butter-free peanut butter cookie recipe.  That has to count for something, right?   We’ll pretend it’s healthy.  Oh, and coworker?  Pleased to bits.  Sweet success.

Recommended for: peanut butter lovers, the baking beginner as well as the veteran, anyone looking for a sugar-free peanut butter cookie recipe, and those experimenting with delicious oil-based baking projects.

Interested in other food-related posts?  Check out Beth Fish Reads’ Weekend Cooking.