A Second Opinion: My Reread of DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth

Release date: May 3, 2011
Author info: Website | Twitter | Facebook
Publisher: Katherine Tegen books
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Technically, this wasn't a reread, since I listened to the audiobook, but close enough! When I originally read Divergent, sometime around its release, I liked it, but I didn't think it was terribly extraordinary. THEN everyone began to wax poetic about it and I just didn't get it. For the past couple of years, that is how I've thought. But, with the movie coming out in the next year or so, I decided it was time to re-evaluate the book. Here we go!

I had very little recollection of Divergent going in. I didn't remember who most of the characters were or details of the plot. As I listened, certain things came back, but it was almost a new experience, which was good. I absolutely did not remember how fast-paced and action-packed it was. I also didn't remember enjoying the interplay between the initiates so much, and I didn't remember liking Four and Tris together as much as I did.

When I originally read the book, I was not reviewing books like I do now, nor did I read as much as I do. I hadn't read the slew of dystopians that I have now either. I can now identify the problems I had previously. They're the same I have now, and, really, the same others have. The world-building is lacking and there are holes everywhere. I'm not one to complain about either on the regular, but they're noticeable even to me.

To keep this short, Divergent absolutely exceeded my expectations. It is heart-poundingly fun to listen to (and, I expect, read) and I am now excessively excited for the movie (and Allegiant!) I'll be rereading Insurgent next. :)

Towering by Alex Flinn

Release date: May 14, 2013
Author info: Website | Facebook
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 293
Format: Egalley
Source: Publisher provided through Edelweiss
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository

At first, I merely saw his face, his hands on the window ledge. Then, his whole body as he swung himself through the window. Only I could not see what he swung on.

Until, one day, I told my dream self to look down. And it was then that I saw. He had climbed on a rope. I knew without asking that the rope had been one of my own tying.

Rachel is trapped in a tower, held hostage by a woman she’s always called Mama. Her golden hair is growing rapidly, and to pass the time, she watches the snow fall and sings songs from her childhood, hoping someone, anyone, will hear her.

Wyatt needs time to reflect or, better yet, forget about what happened to his best friend, Tyler. That’s why he’s been shipped off to the Adirondacks in the dead of winter to live with the oldest lady in town. Either that, or no one he knows ever wants to see him again.

Dani disappeared seventeen years ago without a trace, but she left behind a journal that’s never been read, not even by her overbearing mother…until now.

I've read a lot of fairy tale retellings, but I'm not sure if any have disappointed me as much as Towering. I have read all of Alex Flinn's previous retellings and generally enjoyed them--though not Cloaked all that much--but I just don't know. There was a lot of promise at the beginning, but Towering suffered from too little plot and, frankly, not enough imagination.

Rachel has been locked away in a tower for half of her life. The only person she's ever met is "Mama", who isn't even her real mother. She spends her days reading and singing, imagining the world outside her small tower. She knows she is destined to great things, but she doesn't know what they are. When Wyatt comes to town, he starts to hear a girl's voice, one that no one else can hear. At first he thinks he's crazy, but soon he learns of weird disappearances in the town and starts to draw conclusions. When his and Rachel's worlds collide, the two begin to pull the pieces together and unravel a mystery that's been plaguing the town for thirty years.

Towering has such a promising start. It's got a great eerie, gothicy feel, which works perfectly for Wyatt's arrival and his first night in town. I loved the Wuthering Heights references and knew his experience in Danielle's room was pulled from it before it was mentioned. Sadly, the tone is not sustained.

The book quickly loses the feel that pulled me in originally and never gains it back. It becomes sloggish (which is a word I just made up) and ordinary, with Wyatt going into town and asking too many questions of suspicious people and Rachel moping about in her tower. Once it lost that hook, I was really uninterested and had to force myself to finish the book. I honestly didn't pick it up for days, and I considered just not finishing it

Another problem I had was that certain aspects just reminded me too much of Disney's movie Tangled. The description of Rachel, her personality, how she spends her time, and her "magical powers" were just all too similar. I kept wishing that I was watching the movie, rather than reading the book.

I hate writing reviews like this, but I found it hard to like much of anything in Towering. At times I liked Rachel and her way of speaking, but I also thought she never appropriately reacted to anything. I liked Wyatt when he told Rachel about his best friend Tyler, but aside from that he's uninteresting. And HOLY INSTALOVE. If you don't like instalove, absolutely steer clear of this one. I wish I had better things to say, but if you're looking for a fairy tale retelling, look to almost any of Alex Flinn's others, Juliet Marillier's excellent Daughter of the Forest (adult, based on the not-so-well-known Seven Swans story), or Marissa Meyer's Cinder.

This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Waiting on Wednesday: Shadows by Robin McKinley {2}

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly awaiting!!

Title: Shadows
Author: Robin McKinley
Release date: September 26, 2013

Maggie knows something’s off about Val, her mom’s new husband. Val is from Oldworld, where they still use magic, and he won’t have any tech in his office-shed behind the house. But—more importantly—what are the huge, horrible, jagged, jumpy shadows following him around? Magic is illegal in Newworld, which is all about science. The magic-carrying gene was disabled two generations ago, back when Maggie’s great-grandmother was a notable magician. But that was a long time ago.

Then Maggie meets Casimir, the most beautiful boy she has ever seen. He’s from Oldworld too—and he’s heard of Maggie’s stepfather, and has a guess about Val’s shadows. Maggie doesn’t want to know . . . until earth-shattering events force her to depend on Val and his shadows. And perhaps on her own heritage.

In this dangerously unstable world, neither science nor magic has the necessary answers, but a truce between them is impossible. And although the two are supposed to be incompatible, Maggie’s discovering the world will need both to survive.

Basically, if you've read my blog before, you know Robin McKinley is kind of akin to a god in my mind. The woman does no wrong. I've read all but two of her books--both of which I own--and adore them all. I've loved her for years and years, so anything she writes is going to be at the top of my list. Easy as that! Plus, this reminds me more of her old books than her newer ones. Her older books--The Hero and the Crown, Rose Daughter for example--are my favorites, so yay!

So what are you guys waiting on this week?

Teaser Tuesday: Seraphina {25}

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Title: Seraphina
Author: Rachel Hartman
Release date: July 10, 2012
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Pages: 451

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

In her exquisitely written fantasy debut, Rachel Hartman creates a rich, complex, and utterly original world. Seraphina's tortuous journey to self-acceptance is one readers will remember long after they've turned the final page.

My teaser, from page 153 in the hardcover:

I clapped a hand to my mouth, horrified. I had felt the shot coming; I hadn't realized the bow was loaded with this very quarrel, perfectly calibrated to hit him hardest. What part of me had been studying him, stockpiling knowledge as ammunition?

I bought this one a month or so ago and have been wanting to read it since. I think it's going to happen once I finish trudging through Towering. Doesn't that teaser make you want to as well?

If you leave me a link to your post I am definitely going to be visiting back, it just won't be until late in the day today since I'll be at work till 5. Have a lovely Tuesday!

Audiobook Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Release date: September 18, 2012
Author info: Website | Twitter | Facebook
Publisher: Scholastic Audio Books
Length: 11 hours
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. >br />
But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

I've never been one to listen to a lot of audiobooks. In fact, I think I can count on one hand the books I've listened to completely. But, with my internship being on the opposite side of New Orleans from where I'm living, I'm finding myself in the car for about an hour and a half every day. That is precious time, and I realized how productive I could be if I listened to audiobooks! (Plus my library has the thing online where you can download them, so they're free!) Anyways...

I love me some Maggie Stiefvater writing. That is a given when I come to one of her books. She's only disappointed me once (Forever, anyone?) and that didn't have to do with the writing itself. It's lyrical and there's an almost magical feeling to it. Maggie knows how to write a story. Hands down, her writing style is one of my favorite that I've ever read.

At first, listening to the audiobook, I was not a fan of the narrator's voice. I don't know what it was, but he quickly won me over. Previously, I had begun listening to the audiobook of Silver Linings Playbook but stopped because I couldn't stand how the narrator did the women's voices. Here, though, the narrator brings his timbre up just a little bit, but really differentiates characters by the style in which he speaks, not the tone. This was infinitely preferable, and by the third chapter or so, I loved his narration--apart from his pronunciation of "human" without the h.

Aside from the audiobook itself--which, by the way, includes the music Maggie wrote for the book, which is beautiful--I quickly became obsessed with the story. I needed to find the ley lines and Owen Glendower just as badly as Gansey and company. I loved how everything tied together, how each character clearly had their own motive towards all they did. I also just loved the wide cast of characters! From Persephone to Ronan to Noah to Callah (I'm guessing at that spelling, since I've not seen the name in print), there's such a fun and intriguing mix of personalities.

Sometimes there are characters you just attach to. I am not guilty of this very often (It's the same with people, actually.) but I absolutely and wholeheartedly fell in love with Gansey almost instantly. He was easily the highlight of the book for me and I waited for him to show up when he wasn't around. I loved him for his deeply hidden vulnerability that only appeared when he thought no one was looking. I loved him for his attachment to those who needed a friend, someone to guide them and let them know someone cares for them. I loved that he needed those friends as much as they needed him. There's something to be said for someone who is given everything they could need and want but who still has that deeply rooted drive to do something worthwhile.

The absolute most compelling part of this novel lies within the characters relationships with one another. The romance aspect--normally what I focus on--really takes a backseat to the dynamics and intricacies of relationships in a family and in a friendship. Gansey's relationships with Ronan, Adam, and Noah are so complex and so integral to their characters that one can't separate them from that friendship. I like the idea of Gansey's choosing his friends and the odd choices he made, since there's that saying, "You can't choose your family but you can choose your friends." The repercussions of Ronan's interactions with his brother and Adam's situation with his parents are both interesting to look at in contrast to Blue's home life, to see both the good and the bad sides of family.

If you can't tell, I adored The Raven Boys. I've loved a few books already this year, but I don't think I've loved any as much as this one. This is one of those occasions where you need a distinction higher than five stars, but you don't have one. Suffice it to say, The Raven Boys will most likely be one of my favorite, if not my favorite book of the year and will probably remain a favorite for a long time to come.

Stacking the Shelves {18}

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where we get to share the books we've bought, been gifted, or received for review!

How was everybody's week? I had a good one! :)

For review:

 Three (Legends of the Duskwalker #1) by Jay Posey, to be released July 30, 2013 by Angry Robot (ARC)
The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu, released April 30, 2013 by Angry Robot (ARC)
The Age Atomic by Adam Christopher, released March 26, 2013 by Angry Robot (ARC)

Library:

 The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater  (audiobook)
Divergent by Veronica Roth (audiobook)

Purchased:

Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales

A recap of the week here on Paper Cuts:
Monday - I reviewed The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey.
Tuesday - I teased from Towering by Alex Flinn.
Wednesday - Was my 2 year blogoversary! To celebrate, I'm hosting a giveaway for a book of your choice.
Friday - I reviewed Suddenly Royal. by Nichole Chase.
Saturday - I discussed my internship more and how I got it.

Books I read this week:
Suddenly Royal by Nichole Chase
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (Technically, I listened to it!)

I'm currently reading:
Towering by Alex Flinn

So that's been my week! I got a mystery package this week, which is where the ARCs came from. I loooove mystery packages! Thanks to Osprey Publishing for them! The library at school also has an online database of ebooks and audiobooks and I raided that this week, and I'm completely in love with it. :) Anyways, I'd love to see what y'all got, so leave me links! I'll be visiting about in just a little while. :) Have a lovely Sunday and a fabulous week!

Life as an Editorial Intern: Week 2 (Or How I Got My Internship)

So some of you may be wondering how I got my position as an editorial intern.

This is a pretty easy question to answer. A family friend mentioned to my mom that she thought there was a publishing company based in New Orleans. Since we live just over an hour from New Orleans, I figured that would be a perfect place to intern, so I looked them up. Pelican's website was straightforward, with a spot on the sidebar that read, "Intern Guidelines". I applied.

The not-so-easy part of getting this internship came with the application process. First, I had to submit a resume, cover letter, information regarding a start date and completion date, a note from my parents stating their awareness of the company's location, and a two page writing sample. Once I was in contact with the editor-in-chief, she requested that I take a timed, proctored proofreading test. Then I was at their mercy. Luckily, they were in contact with me quickly and the news was good. :)

When it came to my application, what worried me the most was my writing sample. Someone telling you they want a two page writing sample is very vague, and it's especially hard to know when you're applying for an editorial internship, when the most complicated original writing you're doing is probably a manuscript evaluation. Since I am an undergraduate student, I figured (and Google agreed) that a sample from a paper I'd written for a class would be fine. (The one I used was from an honors American Lit class on Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark.") I picked out what I considered to be the best paper I'd written in college and took the strongest section of it. I included my thesis and what I'd written the paper for, as well. This is definitely not the way to go for all writing samples, but I think most people will understand if you're an undergraduate student applying for a first internship. They just want to be sure you're writing is up to par.

If you're actively looking for internships, I recommend you check out the aptly named BookJobs.com. They're list is easily the best I've been able to find online. They've got a great list of companies actively seeking interns. Some of the listings are old and the dates are wrong, but, from what I've seen, they're looking for interns. (They've also got regular jobs, but I'm just talking about internships.)

I hope this has been at least vaguely helpful! If you have any questions (or suggestions for me, honestly) let me know in the comments! :) Happy Saturday--also, Happy June!