Review Time! (Yay!) - After Tomorrow by Gillian Cross

Title: After Tomorrow

Author: Gillian Cross

Genre: Kids, Dystopian

Amazon: UK - USA

A few starting notes:

I wanted to read this because the premise seemed so relevant at the moment given the mass migration problems, and the amount of refugees coming into Europe right now.

I thought it would be interesting to see how the topic was handled - particularly in a kids' book - and I can remember reading a few Gillian Cross books when I was a kid, and finding them different to a lot of other stuff that's out there.

She's usually not afraid to look at things from a different angle - and we all need that every now and then.

Premise:

Matthew and his little brother, Taco, make the dangerous journey across the channel to France, and a life away from the starvation and violent raids of the UK.

France, though? Not quite the new start they were hoping for.

Instead, they have the camp of Les Mondieux (or Lemon Dough, as it's known by the Brits,) and a whole new set of challenges to face.

Best bits:

The worrying thing about this book is that it's the location (leaving the UK,) that makes it dystopia: otherwise it would be contemporary.

This sort of thing is happening - right now, in Calais, people are living in The Jungle migrant camp, and hoping to find passage to the UK. People who, through no fault of their own, have had to leave their homes and everything they've ever known.

So the fantastic thing about this book is that we get to see the proverbial shoe on the other foot - these are British kids making the same desperate journey that thousands of kids are trying to make every single day.

This book is a great way of re-packaging a problem which no-one seems to want to own - making it more relatable and (hopefully) fostering more empathy and understanding.

I also appreciated that the parents didn't just sit there and do nothing - although they did have moments of uselessness, it was all pretty understandable within context. It's refreshing to see any kids book which allows parents to be parents and do their best for their kids.

Not so great bits:

Matthew - the character whose point of view we follow - is quite a blank character.

In some ways, this is good, because it allows the reader to react more naturally to the situations Matt finds himself in, and to imagine themselves and their own feelings in that situation. But I personally would've liked just a touch more depth to the character.

The plot was perhaps a little slow in places - but not really to any hugely noticeable degree.

I also found the dénouement (check me out with my fancy words! :P ) a bit less dramatic than I was expecting given the uber-dramatic build-up. 

Verdict:

A thought-provoking book shining light on a subject that needs to be talked about, in a way which is accessible to kids and adults alike.

It's probably suitable for kids around the age of 10+.

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA – Goodreads – Author's Site

Liked this post? Try these:

• Reviewing the Evidence - Angelfall by Susan Ee
• Review Time! - Midnight by Jacqueline Wilson

Friday Fics Fix - Vampirelock!

I've been reading a lot of Sherlockian fanfiction.

I'm not entirely sure which way is up any more, and have seen some things that might require some repressing/hiding in the corner for a very, very, long time.

Let's be honest: I'm probably going to hell :) Yay.

Still, this is just one of the ways we in maniacal-laughter fandom-land keep our insanity up to a certain level (that level being pretty damned high, thank you very much!)

Over the past week I think I've read about John and Sherlock doing it (along with the occasional example of Sherlock and Moriarty doing it, and Mycroft and Lestrade doing it,) in pretty much any way you can possibly imagine.

And probably a lot of ways that no-one should've been able to imagine.

(I love you, dear fandom, but you are mega-warped. And most of you are far too young to know the level of sexual detail that you write about.)

Eventually though, after my traipse through so very many warped fics, I discovered one that I can recommend to you.

It's not completely free of the sexy-times though.

So, in the spirit of your parents and guardians not yelling at me, I will once again point out that this is 18+ only.

Fanfiction is, at it's heart, shameless wish-fulfilment - so are these your wishes? -

Want some Johnlock?
Vampires?
Shameless smut?
John Watson taking care of an injured Sherlock?
A dash of humour with our dear Lestrade?

Then my fair Sherlockians, you will like:

A Compelling Argument by MerKat

It's a little clumsy and/or clunky in places. And there are the normal typos and spelling/grammar issues that you learn to live with if you read fanfiction.

But it's light, it's fun, and it has a combination of Sherlock and a vampire John Watson.

I repeat: THERE IS SHERLOCK AND VAMPIRES. THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!! SEXY VAMPIREJOHNLOCK!!!

Phew. Sorry.

Being Sherlockian does things to a girl sometimes. But then, if you've read this far than you probably damn well know that.

I'll see you next week. If I haven't ended up in fandom-induced hysteria by then.



Like This Post? Try These:

• Friday Fics Fix! - A Cat's Tale
• Friday Fics Fix! - On a Scale of 1 to Sherlock... 

Comics Wrap Up - I'll be Your Detonator

Film Trailers

Ohmygosh!!!! The X-men Apocalypse trailer!!!!

This looks like it's going to be super-cool guys - I mean just look.

Apocalypse is a major storyline in the X-men comics, and I'd be worried - if we hadn't just come off the successfully handled 'Days of Future Past.' I think Bryan Singer can handle it. I think it's alllll gonna be great! :)

And there is Nightcrawler. Therefore awesomeness.

Other Stuff

I came across the exceptionally talented Jessi Sheron on Twitter - you can check out her amazing artwork here.

She writes a mermaid web-comic called The Sea in You.

-0-

 

Johanna over on Comics Worth Reading talked about the Sherlock manga being released in English. I can't wait!



Like This Post? Try These:

• Comics Wrap Up - The End of the World
• Comics Wrap Up - Put on Your War Paint

 

The 10 Stages of Writing A Blogpost

Just a short list-post about my 10 stages of writing a blogpost - these are the main stages, I'm sure there's stuff in between/stuff I skip out/stuff I do in a different order.

But I figured I'd give you all a glimpse of my blogging processes ;)

1. The light-bulb - ooh! I could do this! Now I have something to write about! (This is less of a problem when it comes to reviews, because I already know what I'm supposed to be writing about.)
2. The blank page - why won't you have writing on you: why?!
3. The writing stuff - normally I just throw my brains onto the page and hope for the best. Sometimes I'll write out the main points I want to make - because otherwise I have a tendency to forget them. Usually though, it's straight from brain to keyboard.
4. The re-reading - when did I write that?! That doesn't even make sense! (Bashes head against laptop.)
5. The formatting - any pictures, links, font styles, etc., which I haven't included as I was going along need to be chucked in here.
6. More re-reading, more formatting - I normally tweak little things for a while: things I'm not happy with, things I forgot to put in, etc. And getting the images to line up right with the text is the bane of my existence.
7. The scheduling - I always schedule my posts, because then even if I'm busy I know they've gone out when I wanted them to. I also add labels/tags. Sometimes I'll go in again and edit something before the post goes live.
8. The posting and linking - the post has gone up! Now it's time to link to it on social media so that people can find it. I do this quite a bit because otherwise I don't think anyone would ever read my posts.
9. The paranoia - I'm always convinced I'll have written something that annoys, offends, and/or bores people. In short, I always worry that people won't like my posts, and by extension won't like me (depression/anxiety, you gotta love the way it f**ks with your head.) Even when people say they like the post, I assume they must be humouring me.
10. The relief - eventually, I accept that the post is OK/might even be good. And then I start all over again with another post.

Like this post? Try these:

• The Writer Diaries (or, Blogging is a Fickle Mistress)
• Blogging Insecurities

Mini-Review (Poetry Edition!) - The Zoo Father by Pascale Petit

Title: The Zoo Father

Author: Pascale Petit

Genre: Poetry

Amazon: UK - USA

Verdict:

This is not an easy book to read; it's a dark book, a book of poems filled with the confused aftermath of violence and abuse.

Much of the imagery is dark and uncomfortable. The relationship between the poet and her parents - particularly the relationship between herself and her father - is laid painfully bare.

These aren't the most captivating poems I have ever read: I have read many more which spoke more to me personally. Poetry can be funny like that - uniquely subjective in a way almost no other medium is.

Still though, this is powerful poetry - poetry with its roots entangled in pain and reality. You can't help but feel the truth in the words.

And for anyone to write such raw truths - imaginatively, carefully, questioningly - must be admired in a way that is reserved for those who have given part of themselves to the world.

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA – Goodreads – Author's Site

Liked this post? Try these:

• Review Time! (Oh Yeah!) - Straight James/Gay James by James Franco
• Review (Poetry Edition!) - Today Means Amen by Sierra DeMulder

Nerd Church - The Pottermore Controversy

UPDATE May 2017:

My thoughts on this topic keep changing quite a bit.

I've edited this post more than once, and instead of stressing about changing it again and again to keep up with my views, I've decided to just leave it as is, and point out that my opinions on this are ever-evolving.

I would also like to point you to Debbie Reese's round-up of Native individual's responses to the Pottermore controversy, since their voices are the ones that count here.








Note: There will be no yelling, screaming and/or shouting, on this blog.

I know that cultural appropriation and diversity are very sensitive topics. But on this blog everyone is going to play nice and respect each other.

Got it? Play nice.

The Situation...

Okie dokie then, in case you haven't heard: J. K. Rowling released short essay-style pieces on the History of Magic in North America on Pottermore - the Harry Potter extended content website.

This is kind of a promo-style tie-in with the upcoming 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' film.

So, part 1 discussed magic in North America in relation to Native American peoples. And then some corners of the Internet exploded a bit into various directions of verbal (is it still verbal if it's through a keyboard? Not sure,) shrapnel.

The main issues that people seemed to have with the depiction of Native peoples in this writing were:

• The lumping together of all Native American peoples as one people and one culture.
• The perceived 'Euro-centric' nature of the piece and the perception of the piece as presenting Westerners, Europeans, etc. as superior. (European wizards have wands, Native American wizards do not.
• The use of tales and customs indigenous to some Native American peoples, with little to no understanding of their meaning to the tribes who believe in them.

This last point seems to be the most important - and the one which needs most urgently to be fixed.

Cultural Appropriation



Is it OK if people take an aspect of one culture and transplant it into their own? Like, by using it in books, films, music, etc... Sticky subject.

I personally think that it's not offensive to use aspects of different cultures in your own - as long as you try your best to be respectful and understanding within that.

Key word: RESPECTFUL. If people from that community feel they've been disrespected, please listen to them.

I think it's important to understand that people express themselves through a variety of different aspects of different cultures - and not just those they grew up in. But, I think it's also important to understand that cultural symbols (etc.) have importance embedded in them from their origins.

Maybe that sounds a little contradictory, or a little vague, but there you have it. Honesty is often wibbly-wobbly and vague.

Obviously, I understand if people do take offense to the Pottermore stories. As I say so often that I may as well record it and play it back to myself: we all have different opinions.

Otherwise we'd all be the same person - which would be pretty weird, and completely impractical. All of us with the same name in our undies? Not going to end well.





Diversity



Honestly, I get it that people are pi**ed off at this. They feel that they've been misrepresented, and that sucks.

But is there a danger that this will put authors off from including characters who are not of their own culture? The fear of 'getting it wrong' could mean we don't end up 'getting' any characters who aren't white, heterosexual, able-bodied, without mental health problems, etc. etc.

We want diversity in literature - in comics, in YA, in fantasy, in everything!

That means that there are going to be some moments where we don't agree with the representation being put out there.

Discussion is fine, of course - that's the way forward, the way to end up with fair representation for everyone. We can shape stuff together if we just discuss things calmly.

And yes, damn straight - that means that if you are offended, you SAY IT.




Keep it Civil

But people can get overly-aggressive.

If you express your anger as disappointment, in a reasonable way, you are more likely to find people accommodating than if you eff and blind at the world (or worse - guys, we've all seen what the internet can do.)

Righting Red's post 'Magic & Marginalization: Et Tu JK? :(' is a fab example of how to put your views across eloquently, strongly, and without acting like a jerk.

All sides of all debates have people who find their anger slipping into their fingertips, and then onwards to the keyboard keys. Then, before you know it, the button has been pressed, the message is out there, and the damage is done.

I personally prefer civil and respectful discussion.

But then I'm not going to judge people who this affects directly, and who feel genuine hurt at this. PARTICULARLY since they still haven't had the apology they deserve.

If they wanna shout, that's none of my business (but no threats are ever warranted guys.)

I'm not telling you that you can't shout - I'm just saying that often the best results come from not shouting.




In Defence of J. K.



Let's be open here: I seriously doubt that J K Rowling was being malicious or in any way purposefully disrespectful. It just doesn't seem like something she would do. Which means that this was a mistake.

It shouldn't have happened. She should apologise.

But at the end of the day, this was an unintentional offence. She didn't mean to upset those who have been upset.

Again though, an apology would be good.

If anything, (and contrary to the vibe from some on the ever-flammable Internet,) she meant only to include and acknowledge Native peoples in her Wizarding World - not to use them as a means to further her profit (why the hell would she need to increase her profit by taking advantage of the cultures of Native peoples? In case you hadn't noticed, she has a lot of profit already.)

And, I'm going to say this, even though I know it annoys some people: J K Rowling's world is not our world.

This world may have a huge resemblance to our own - but last I checked we don't have Wizarding schools. So it's got to be a world that's just a little bit adjacent to ours. That means J K Rowling has authority to use that tricksy little thing that is artistic licence.

That said, fiction does have a huge bearing on events and attitudes in our own world. And authors need to be aware that's 'it's fictional' isn't a get-out-of-jail-free-card - what you write will affect people's perceptions of things in this world as well as in yours.

So...

There's lots of opinions on this (again, that's fab! Opinions are great. Just don't act like a jerk.)

If you want to see some views of people from various different Native American communities, then check out American Indians In Children's Literature's post 'Native People Respond to Rowling.'

This is a great post that collates a variety of opinions from people who are clearly a lot closer to this issue than I am - so give it a look-see.

Seriously - look at the views of Native American peoples. Because I'm not even American, and this post is basically just me trying to make my own thoughts make some sort of sense (which maybe they don't, who knows.)

So, to summarise: I think it's ok to use other people and cultures in your book, but you have to DO YOUR RESEARCH, AND BE RESPECTFUL. And people from those cultures? They have the right to feel however they want about this.



Nerd Church is a weekly post where I discuss various 'issues' of different sorts. Feel free to continue the discussion, but please link back here. :)



Like This Post? Try These:

• Nerd Church - A Rant Of Moral Magnitude
• Nerd Church - Care Some
• Nerd Church - More Tolerance, Please?

Review! - The True and Splendid History of the Harristown Sisters by Michelle Lovric

Title: The True and Splendid History of the Harristown Sisters

Author: Michelle Lovric

Genre: Historical Fiction

Amazon: UK - USA

A few starting notes:

I've read two Michelle Lovric books before - The Book of Human Skin (UK - US) and Carnevale (UK - US.) (To read my review of Carnevale, click here.)

Lovric's books are usually pretty damned entrancing and thought-provoking. So I decided to try this one too.

Also, the blurb said that it was about girls with uber-long hair. I have some uber-long hair myself (though not as long as theirs!) and wanted to see where this was going.

This is a relatively long review - because I clearly had a lot to say about this book. :)

Premise:

Manticory Swiney (I know, that's a fab name!) is one of seven sisters - herself, Darcy, Oona, Enda, Berenice, Pertilly, and Idolatry (known as Ida,) - living in poverty in the rural Irish village of Harristown.

Their way out seems clear to the ambitious Darcy - they have only one thing going for them: their exceptionally long and thick hair.

And so the Swiney sisters become a stage-show. And learn the terrible price of fame and fortune.

Best bits:

As ever, the high point to any Michelle Lovric book is the louche and sinuous prose - it's rich, it's beautiful, it carries you along with the sensuousness and the decadence of it all.

This book has a real gothic vibe to it - and I love me some gothickyness! (Yes, I invented a word - shush.)

Between nineteenth century Ireland, and Lovric's beloved Venice (I have yet to find a Lovric book without Venice in some capacity,) my gothic-thirst was well and truly sated.

I also loved the way that 'modern' topics - celebrity, journalism, commercialism - are handled in a nineteenth century setting. It's fascinating.

And, of course, the hair.

I can vouch for the fact that sometimes people think of you as somehow being public property when you have long hair.

This can be sweet (like the little old lady behind me at the bank who just had to touch my rain-speckled hair because it was 'like diamonds,') or down-right creepy (for example, the middle-aged guy who stood behind me at a concert, and every so often gave the strands of my hair a sharp little tug, then acted innocent whenever I turned around to glare at him.)

And of course, there are plenty of people in between who think it's ok to twirl it around their fingers and paw at it in random places. Sometimes it is ok. Like, if I've ever actually met you before. Or if you ask, not just grab.

Lovric definitely captures the creepy - though not so much of the sweet.

Instead, the girls' hair seems a burden, weighing them down both literally and metaphorically throughout the book - which fits in with all the gothic stuff anyway I suppose.

Manticory is a really sympathetic and relatable narrator/character - and she's a bit bookish, which I always like to see.

A quick word about Darcy - she's just brilliantly psychopathic, and I love the way she provides such a manipulative influence on all the girls' lives, which they find themselves unable to break because of the ties of blood and family.

Not so great bits:

This book might be distressing to some people (I say this a lot - is it just me? Is my taste in reading particularly warped or something?)

There's some gore, violence, and a bit of general warped disturbing-ness.

There is some sex, as well as some sexual assault on a child early on (which luckily isn't written overly-disturbingly, but obviously is still pretty unpleasant to read.)

It's also not a quick read - it's not that it drags, it doesn't - but, somehow, I just didn't get through it that quickly. Maybe it's the style or the fact that there's so much going on.

Verdict:

This was a great book with a gothic-atmosphere and a lot going on. I really enjoyed it, but it's not the quickest read - more of a marathon than a sprint. But worth it.

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA – Goodreads – Author's Site

Liked this post? Try these:

• Review Time! (Yay!) - Carnevale by Michelle Lovric
• Reviewing the Evidence Again! - The Book of Madness and Cures by Regina O'Melveny