Author Spotlight: Brandon Sanderson

If you're into fantasy, you may recognize Brandon Sanderson as the author who finished the Wheel of Time series after Robert Jordan passed away, if not, then you're in for a treat. I absolutely love Sanderson's writing. 

I suggest, if you're just getting into Sanderson's books, that you start with Elantris. I actually just gave this book to my brother for his birthday and I hope he reads it! 

It's about a prince who wakes up dead. Yeah. Dead. Whoa, trippy, right? But awesome. Seriously, the premise of this book is wildly imaginative and spectacularly written.

Next, I would suggest Warbreaker. This book came out after his Mistborn trilogy, but I personally like it better. It's about two sisters. The oldest, whose been preparing her whole life to marry the prince or whatever and the youngest, whose not. But guess who marries the prince? 

And finally, there's the Mistborn trilogy (Sanderson has other books out there but I'm not even going to get into The Way of Kings cause it's beyond complicated). This trilogy is about a young woman who discovers that her weird abilities to control and manipulate the elements around her are more than unique; they make her exceptionally important and exceptionally dangerous. 

Seriously, if you're interested in a good scifi/fantasy novel, check out Brandon Sanderson. For those who scoff at the scifi/fantasy genre, those YA novels you read? Yeah, the majority of them are science fiction and/or fantasy. So, suck it up buttercup and go over to that section in Barnes and Noble where all the nerds hang out. You know the one. Where the graphic novels are. And get yourself one of Sanderson's books. You won't regret it!

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Veronica Roth's Divergent is the first in its trilogy. It is also Roth's first novel; a glimpse at the great things to come from this young writer. If you like survival stories such as Hunger Games then you'll really like Divergent.

Beatrice's world is separated into factions: Amity, those who value peace; Candor, those who value honesty; Erudite, those who value intellect; Abnegation, those who value selflessness; and Dauntless, those who value courage.

Born in Abnegation, Beatrice has spent the first sixteen years of her life learning to be selfless, but at the age of 16 each person gets to choose which faction they wish to live the rest of their lives with. Beatrice never really felt she belonged with Abnegation and therefore chooses to become Dauntless.

The Dauntless are a group of thrill seekers whose idea of courage usually coincides with stupidity, and Beatrice must prove herself by letting go of her rigid upbringing.

What I love about this book is that the heroine is tough, genuinely tough. She is smart, quick, and willing to do what needs to be done. Roth does not play around, the world Beatrice chooses to live in is gritty, and unforgiving. The decisions Beatrice must make, and her experiences develop her into a thoroughly fascinating character.

Now, I'm off to buy the sequel, Insurgent, with my birthday Barnes and Noble gift card from my older sister, Auralea. Thanks sissy!

Enjoy!

Books to Avoid

I was thinking and I realized that you are going to want to seek out your own books on occasion. So, instead of giving you ideas on good books, I'm going to name a couple that you should avoid if you're on a solo hunt. These three books are ones I purchased and have regretted; hopefully, I can save you the time and money by telling you about them.


Death Watch by Ari Berk

The premise of this story should have made this book interesting if the author hadn't give into hyperbole and metaphor so much. It's like reading an 8th grader's attempt at fiction, only instead of using the thesaurus to come up with "cool" yet unnecessary words, he uses excessive (and I mean excessive) metaphor. I almost made it through the first book but couldn't take it anymore. It was almost painful. It was also dreadfully boring. The characters are poorly developed, the story falls flat, and you find yourself - after reading 524 pages - wondering if anything of interest happened or if you were asleep the whole time.

 The Hollow by Jessica Verday

While this is a YA novel, and therefore catered to a younger, more adolescent audience, I couldn't get over how immature this book was. It was like reading a 13-year-old girl's journal. If I was 13 maybe I would have better appreciated it - although I'd like to think otherwise - I just couldn't make it past the first chapter without wanting to gag.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

I probably didn't give this book enough of a chance. There are several more in the series, which leads me to think it wasn't as bad as I remember; however, it was so so boring it was almost impossible to get through a chapter without falling asleep. 

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Looking back on these novels I foolishly spent money on, I am reminded why I read at least one paragraph, if not a whole page, of a book before I purchase it any more. You can usually tell if you like the author's writing by then, or if the story is worth your time. Hopefully, I have helped you in your quest to finding good books. 

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare is an excellent writer, and I love her novels. The Infernal Devices series of which Clockwork Angel is the first, is kind of a prequel to her first series The Mortal Instruments. While The Mortal Instruments is set in modern America, The Infernal Devices is set in Victorian London. Both series deals with a group of angelic warriors known as the Nephilim who police the unseen world of demons, faeries, vampires and the like.

What I love about Clockwork Angel is the heroine is like-able. At first she is naive and innocent, completely human, but as the novel progresses she becomes stronger and impressive. A non-static protagonist is a welcome relief from novels such as Twilight (although I have read and enjoyed that series) where the main character is a slightly obnoxious, prattling self-centered beast. 

The love story involved (as all good Young Adult (YA) novels have) is well written and keeps you interested. It also gives you that lovely feeling of falling in love yourself, which is my personal reason for reading such novels. 

I have just finished the first book in this series and am looking forward to reading the others. The other novels in the series are Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess.  

I also mentioned The Mortal Instruments series, which is also an excellent read. However, without spoiling anything for you, there is an element of the series that will most certainly make you want to stop reading. Many of the people I've recommended this series to have expressed their discomfort. It may disturb you and turn you off off, but I promise it is worth finishing. If you do start reading this and find yourself with this dilemma, keep reading!  I promise you won't regret it.

Author Spotlight: Mary Higgins Clark

If you're just looking for a good book that will entertain you and won't take too much of your time you should consider one of Mary Higgins Clark's mystery novels. 

The first time I ever read one of Clark's books was when I was living in Magna; I was only in grade-school, so didn't really understand all that I was reading. The book was large and tantalizing to my 4th grade eyes. I remember climbing, flashlight in hand, into the pink cupboard in my room, looking for privacy to read All Around the Town.

Unfortunately, this is one of Clark's darker novels and so was especially difficult for me to get into. As a nine-year-old I wasn't too familiar with psychology, and found the novel bizarre and unfamiliar. I just remembered the part where the young woman as a child was kidnapped and forced to endure terrible things, such as having her baby chick killed right before her eyes, with the warning that the same thing would happen to her if she ever told anyone about the man and woman who had taken her. 

I still have that same book today, sitting on my bookshelf, only the second time I read it it made lots more sense. 

The first time I read one of Clark's novels and actually understood what was going on was three years later, in the 7th grade. I was a bit of a bookworm even back then and would spend lunches in the library. I loved my middle school library. It was there that I picked up Loves Music, Loves to Dance and fell in love with Mary Higgins Clark. For the next two years, she was practically all I read during my lunchtime library sessions. 

Everyone has heard the name Mary Higgins Clark, everyone knows her as the mystery queen, but if you haven't read one of her books, or haven't read one recently, I suggest that you do!