Review: The Summer of Skinny Dipping

Title: The Summer of Skinny Dipping

Author: Amanda Howells

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Pages: 295

Author's blog: Amanda Howells

Summary (from book cover): Sometimes I still wake up shivering in the early hours of the morning, drowning in dreams of being out there in the ocean that summer, of looking up at the moon and feeling as invisible and free as a fish. But I'm jumping ahead, and to tell the story right I have to go back to the very beginning. To a place called Indigo Beach. To a boy with pale skin that glowed against the dark waves. To the start of something neither of us could have predicted, and which would mark us forever, making everything that came after and before seem like it belonged to another life. 

My name is Mia Gordon: I was sixteen years old, and I remember everything.

-----

Initially, The Summer of Skinny Dipping came across as book full of stereotypical characters with a narrator who lived in a vicious cycle of feeling sorry for herself because she didn't fit in with her cousin and her cousin's friends, then trying to fit in with her cousin by acting like she knew what was going on while feeling out of place, then saying she couldn't believe she was acting like that instead of just being herself, then being jealous of them, and feeling sorry for herself all over again. After a few chapters of this, I thought, I hope the entire book isn't like this; if it is, it's going to be a looong and probably boring read.

Lucky for me, The Summer of Skinny Dipping doesn't stay in that cycle and once it moves on from that, it becomes amazing. There are so many things I love about this novel. The characters, despite my first (and incorrect) impression, is one of them, especially their relationships. I loved Mia's relationships with her parents. Her relationship with her mother was rocky at best; her mother is the type of always finds fault with Mia and tells her things like, "Honey, snacking between meals is not the way to slim down," when Mia's dad asks who wants to stop for ice cream during their road trip to Southampton. Mia's mother is like that throughout most of the book, telling Mia all the reasons why she's not good enough, and while it makes her mother almost unbearable, it also explains why Mia thinks about herself the way she does: for a good part of the book, she believes the things her mother says about her. Her relationship with her father, on the other hand, is entirely different. Mia's parents play favorites. Her mother's favorite is Mia's sister, Eva. But Mia is her father's favorite, and their relationship is fantastic. It's honest, open and caring.

Aside from the characters, The Summer of Skinny Dipping is beautifully written. Some of my favorite passages:

"Corinne still had those flashes of lightheartedness that appeared every so often, that sparkled like the bits of sea glass we used to collect as kids. I hoped she'd hang onto them and throw me a few more this summer." (Page 27)

"Because nothing can spoil the color of the Atlantic Ocean right there on that shore: it goes from navy to slate, from green into blue. It's all of those colors, and then sometimes it's almost colorless, see-through." (Page 23)

"Moonlight reflected off the dark water, like glitter on a sheet of black velvet." (Page 133)

"The pond water was still and beautiful. After the pounding surf of the Atlantic, swimming in Georgica would be like lying down on a cool, round mirror. But I liked the quiet of it, the flat calmness stretching out beyond and around us, rimmed by trees that camouflaged mansions. Ahead, sailboats bobbed lazily. From across the water came the jagged drone of a motorboat. A water-skier trailed behind, crisscrossing the pond's surface. Everything was baked gold by sunlight." (Page 180)

I could keep going with passages I loved. There were so many. I think Melissa de la Cruz's statement of what The Summer of Skinny Dipping is sums it up perfectly: "Like the best summer vacation--sweet, sultry, and filled with unexpected surprises." The only thing I would add to that description is that it is also heartbreaking. And what I really loved is that it's not a shallow book filled with Gossip Girl-type characters. There's so much going on in this book emotionally and psychologically, and it makes for a fabulous read.

I'm really excited because it turns out The Summer of Skinny Dipping is the first in a trilogy. You can find out more about the second novel on Amanda Howells' blog. I can't wait for it to be released. Amanda Howells is definitely a new favorite author of mine.

Rating: 5/5

2011 Debut Author Challenge

Next year, I'm participating in the Debut Author Challenge, which is hosted by The Story Siren. For details on the challenge, and to sign up, check out The Story Siren's 2011 Debut Author Challenge page. I didn't participate in this year's challenge, although technically, I had time (and I think I might have read somewhere around 12 debut authors this year without meaning to). Needless to say, I am really excited to participate in next year's challenge. I've barely started thinking about what books I'm going to read for the challenge, but here's a few that I've come up with so far:

XVI, by Julie Karr
Ten Miles Past Normal, by Frances O'Roark Dowell
Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys
The Lipstick Laws, by Amy Holder
Awaken, by Katie Kacvinsky
Moonglass, by Jessi Kirby
Die For Me, by Amy Plum

And that's all I've decided on for now, but Kristi at The Story Siren posted a list of 2011 U.S. debuts, most of which I haven't heard of, so I'm going to spend a lot of time looking into the books she listed.

Check out the challenge and join! It's going to be loads of fun--one of the best things is discovering new authors, after all!

In My Mailbox: 13

In My Mailbox is a fabulous meme hosted by The Story Siren. She started it with some inspiration from Alea at Pop Culture Junkie. The purpose of IMM is to encourage blogger interaction as well as add new books to your TBR lists by sharing with everyone else the books you got in the mail, purchased, borrowed from the library, etc. Anyone can participate, so for more info, head over to The Story Siren's site.

This week, I only got one book:

Cracked Up to Be, by Courtney Summers.

I have Courtney Summers' other books on my TBR list. I actually forgot about this one until I saw it at Borders, but I remember originally hearing about it last year and wanting to read it, then promptly forgetting it existed (that was before I started keeping a TBR list). I haven't decided yet if I'm going to review it, but there's a good chance I will.

Slow week compared to last week, but with Christmas coming up, I figured I should go back to checking books out from the library instead of buying them, and I haven't been to the library since my vacation started last weekend.

What did you get this week?

Review: Crescendo

Title: Crescendo

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 427

Summary (from book jacket): Nora Grey's life is still far from perfect. Surviving an attempt on her life wasn't pleasant, but at least she got a guardian angel out of it. A mysterious, magnetic, gorgeous guardian angel. But despite his role in her life, Patch has been acting anything but angelic. He's more elusive than ever (if that's possible) and what's worse, he seems to be spending time with Nora's arch-enemy, Marcie Millar.

Nora would have hardly noticed Scott Parnell, an old family friend who has moved back to town, if Patch hadn't been acting so distant. Even with Scott's totally infuriating attitude, Nora finds herself drawn to him--despite her lingering feelings that he is hiding something.

If that weren't enough, Nora is haunted by images of her murdered father, and comes to question whether her Nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death. Desperate to figure out what happened, she puts herself in increasingly dangerous situations to get the answer. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything--and everyone--she trusts.

-----

Oh, boy. What can I possibly say about Crescendo, other than it was completely and totally amazing? I wasn't planning on reading it straight through when I curled up in my bed to read it last night, but that's exactly what happened. I think I put it down maybe twice, for only a few seconds. I kept telling  myself, just one more chapter. Yeah, right. Like that was really going to happen.

Crescendo is suspenseful. The suspense is seriously incredible. There are some twists and turns (if you want to call them that) in the novel, and I loved them. A lot of the times, when suspense novels have twists and turns, I often end up feeling like they were only there for the shock value, which means it usually comes only at the end of the story, and they don't really work. In Crescendo, they work. They aren't there to shock you. They aren't there to make you say, "I never saw that coming!" They are there because they're supposed to be. They are there because Becca Fitzpatrick knows her who her characters are and what they are capable of. She knows what they would do in any given situation. She uses that to create pleasant little twists throughout the novel. You don't go through Crescendo thinking one thing and then BAM! Turns out you were completely wrong because it wasn't the butler who did it, it was the maid (weird analogy? Maybe, but I bet you get the point). The twists and turns in Crescendo aren't completely predictable, but they don't come out of the blue, either. If you pay attention, you might be able to figure out what's going to happen. Or maybe not. But when it happens, it is so good.

Crescendo was emotionally intense. I felt every emotion Nora did--her sadness, fear, anger. Whatever she was feeling at the time, I was feeling it, too. I don't often get too emotionally invested in novels, even the ones I really love. But with this series, I am definitely emotionally invested, just as much as I'm emotionally invested with, say, the Harry Potter series. It's kind of hard to write about how emotionally intense this book is without giving anything away. 

I don't know how in the world I'm going to wait another year for the third book in the series, Tempest, to come out. I am not patient with this sort of thing. I guess it's a good thing I can re-read Hush, Hush and Crescendo until I practically have them memorized, because I really might do just that. I'm not ready to leave Nora and Patch's world yet. It's too good.

Rating: 5/5

In My Mailbox: 12

In My Mailbox is a fabulous meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. Head over to to the official details at her IMM page. She was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie. Here's what I got this week.

Purchased:

The Last Good Place of Lily Odilon, by Sara Beitia: I was really excited about this one. I love the cover. I had actually forgotten about this book, though, until I was browsing at Borders and saw it on the shelf. You can read my review of it here.

Along for the Ride, by Sarah Dessen: This is my favorite Sarah Dessen novel, I've been wanting to buy it for a long time, and I finally decided to order it from Amazon. And the copy I bought has "new bonus material." It sounds so exciting. The bonus material is more biographical-type info about Dessen and the playlist for the book. I haven't read any of the bonus material yet, so my descriptions are probably lacking. Oh, well.

Hush, Hush, by Becca Fitzpatrick: So here's the thing. Last week, I got Hush, Hush from the library. I read it and loved it. I wanted to read Crescendo immediately. Problem: my library doesn't have Crescendo yet. Solution: I would have to buy it. But I'm the type of person who can't buy one book in a series and not buy the rest, especially if the book I'm planning on buying isn't the first book in the series. So of course I had to buy Hush, Hush, too, which is fine, because it's definitely one of my favorites, and the covers are amazingly gorgeous.

Crescendo, by Becca Fitzpatrick: I am so ridiculously excited to read this.

The Summer of Skinny Dipping, by Amanda Howells: To be honest, I have no idea what this book is about. I think I read the cover synopsis before I bought it, but I really don't remember anything about it. I do know that I love the cover and I like what Melissa de la Cruz said about it ("Like the best summer vacation--sweet, sultry, and filled with unexpected surprises"). With that kind of description, it has to be good, right?

Smile for the Camera, by Kelle James: This one is actually a memoir, so I was surprised to find it in the teen fiction section at Borders. I've already read it, and I liked it, but I'm not sure if I'm going to review it. Reviewing memoir doesn't necessarily seem like the best idea to me, but maybe I'll do it, anyway. Any thoughts?

I also got two books from the library this week (not pictured): The Fortunes of Indigo Skye and The Nature of Jade, both by Deb Caletti. I've never read anything by her before, but I've heard good things about her, so I figured I might as well check these two out.

That's all I got for this week. What did you get?

Review: The Last Good Place of Lily Odilon

Title: The Last Good Place of Lily Odilon

Author: Sara Beitia

Publisher: Flux
Pages: 301

Summary (from the back of the book): Abducted? Runaway? Murder victim?

Lily Odilon, local wild child from a middle-of-nowhere town, has vanished after spending the night with her boyfriend, new kid Albert Morales. Suspected in her disappearance, Albert sets out with Lily's prickly younger sister, Olivia, to discover what really happened to Lily--and to keep the promise he made to her late one night.

-----

Before I really get into my review, I have to say that I love it a good Stephen King reference when it shows up in the book I'm reading. Blame it on the fact that I'm a huge Stephen King junkie. Sara Beitia has written one of my favorite Stephen Kin g references in The Last Good Place of Lily Odilon. For those of you who may have missed it, it's on page 84:

"The whole thing reminds him of a story he once read about a guy--his own age, he seems to remember--who entered a walking race. The rules were simple: whoever kept walking the longest, won. Anyone who stopped walking was shot or killed or something. He can't remember what the point of the race was--why the kid had entered the race in the first place, what prize made it worth the danger. But once you were in the race, the point was incredibly simple: to keep walking to the end, or else. There was no turning back, or backing out."

I was ridiculously excited when I read this. It's a reference to a novel Stephen King wrote under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. The novel is The Long Walk, and it's one of my favorite Stephen King novels. I love it that Beitia mentions this one, because usually when people mention Stephen King in their books, they mention his more popular books, like Carrie and The Shining. They don't mention the ones that aren't as well-known, like The Long Walk. The fact that Sara Beitia mentions a lesser-known Stephen King book makes me a huge fan of hers.

Moving onto my actual review, I really loved The Last Good Place of Lily Odilon. The characters were fantastic. I loved the relationship between Albert and Olivia. They had the same goal, but they didn't always see eye-to-eye. The tension between them was fantastic. I also loved Olivia's relationship with Lily, which is seen through a few flashbacks, but mostly through Olivia's determination to find Lily. I loved it that she always defended Lily, even though her relationship with her sister was complicated and not always happy.

The suspense in the novel was amazing. It started out great and continued getting better as I got deeper and deeper into the novel. By the end, it was overwhelming. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen and how the story would end. I could not put this book down. There was never a dull moment.

The only thing I wasn't sure about was how the book jumped around in time. It's not unusual for books to jump around in time, but when they do, they usually switch between the past and the present. In The Last Good Place of Lily Odilon, Beitia actually moves us around in three places in time instead of the standard two: the present day, with Olivia and Albert searching for Lily; the past, when lily and Albert first meet; and the night of Lily's disappearance plus the events that lead up to the present, with Albert and Olivia searching for her. It was weird for me to jump around among three different points in time instead of the typical two. It wasn't distracting and it didn't take away from the novel, but I did think it was strange, and I do think it might have been somewhat unnecessary. We could've just had the past tense, when Lily and Albert first meet, and how their relationship progresses up until the night of her disappearance, combined with the present tense, which could have been the events that led Albert and Olivia to start searching for Lily, along with the actual search (if any of that makes sense).

Still, The Last Good Place of Lily Odilon was a fantastic debut. I can't wait to read more of Sara Beitia.

Rating: 4/5

In My Mailbox: 11

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. She was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie. For details about IMM, head over to Kristi's blog.

So, I only got one book this week from the library:

Hush, Hush, by Becca Fitzpatrick (which I've already read and reviewed).

I should have more goodies coming up in the next few weeks, though, since I ordered some books online last night, and I'm going to Borders later today.

What did you get this week?

Review: Hush, Hush

Title: Hush, Hush

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 391

Summary (from book jacket): Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see insider her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nor's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those who have fallen--and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.

-----

I almost decided not to read Hush, Hush. When it first came out, a former co-worker of mine decided to read it. I asked her to let me know what she thought of it, so I could decide if I wanted to read it or not. She basically told me it was awful. She said it was not worth reading. Since I had plenty of other things I wanted to read, I decided to hold off on reading Hush, Hush. I wasn't sure I'd ever get around to it, especially after what my co-worker said about it (although, she never actually told me what she thought was so horrible about it).

Needless to say, I'm glad I finally read it. I completely disagree with my former co-worker's opinion. I love Hush, Hush. It's one of my new favorite novels.

The characters were fantastic. I loved all the scenes in Nora's biology class, especially in the beginning, when the class is going through the sex ed unit. I thought those scenes were perfect. Fitzpatrick's depiction of the biology teacher, who is also the varsity basketball coach, was dead on. The scenes were funny and awkward and totally believable. I was cracking up when I read the first sex ed scene.

And of course, there's Patch. It's not often that I have crushes on fictional characters, but I'm pretty sure I have a major crush on Patch. It's pretty hard not to. How can you not have a crush on a guy who's part bad boy but also the only one who can truly protect Nora? Let's face it, Patch is sexy. And the scene where he and Nora almost kiss for the first time? I think that's probably the sexiest scene I've read in YA fiction.

Hush, Hush was intense. It was enthralling. I could not put it down. The suspense was great, the pacing was good. Really, I couldn't find anything wrong with this book. It's easily one of the best books I've read this year. I can't wait to read Crescendo (but unfortunately for me, I have to, since my library doesn't have it yet and I ended up ordering it online, since it's cheaper on Amazon than it is at the local bookstore). I don't normally like to say things like this in my reviews, but if you haven't read Hush, Hush yet, you're really missing out, and you should read it as soon as you can.

Rating: 5/5

Review: Shiver

Title: Shiver
Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Publisher: Scholastic

Pages: 390

Summary (from Good Reads): 

the cold. 

Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why. 

the heat. 
Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now. 

the shiver. 
For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human—and Grace must fight to keep him—even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future

-----

I've never really been a big fan of fantasy or paranormal novels (with the exception of Stephen King, I suppose, although I've always just considered him to write horror novels, not fantasy or paranormal). In general, I just prefer realistic fiction.

But, there are some fantasy/paranormal novels that I do like, mainly because they have a very realistic aspect to them. (In other words, they take place in our world, with fantastical elements added to them. Does that make sense? If not. . .oh, well. It makes sense to me.)

Shiver is one of those realistic paranormal novels that I like. (Realistic paranormal novels? Is that possible?) I liked the characters. I especially liked the tension between Olivia and Grace early on in the novel. I can understand Grace's wanting Olivia to let their friendship be about Grace, when it's often about Olivia and her photography. I also understand Olivia's frustration and annoyance with Grace's wolf obsession, and her desire for Grace to grow up. I thought the interactions between Grace and Olivia were fantastic. They had the perfect amount of tension, and I sympathized with both characters.

There were a couple scenes that I loved more than any other scenes, as well. One is the scene where Sam takes Grace to the golden woods that she's always dreamed about but didn't think existed. The descriptions were great. And if I remember correctly, there was a moment in that scene where Sam caught a falling leaf and said that when you catch a leaf, you get to make a wish. I can't remember for sure if that's how things went, since I don't have the book anymore (I had to take it back to the library), but if I do remember that right, I was blown away by it. I love the idea that for every falling leaf you catch, you get to make a wish.

The other scene I loved was when Sam took Grace to the candy shop and had her experience it only by her sense of smell. I thought it was a great scene that explored only one of our senses. Stiefvater did a wonderful job describing all the things Grace smelled. I don't think enough writers have scenes that focus only on one sense. I love it that Stiefvater includes this.

The only thing that didn't leave me feeling satisfied was Grace's relationship with Olivia's brother. At one point in the book, the two flirt like crazy, and Olivia is not happy about it. Later on, the only other interaction Grace and Olivia's brother have is when they run into each other in town, when Sam and Olivia are with them. That scene is about Grace and Olivia more than anything else, so even though it's made clear that Grace is dating Sam, there's really nothing else there about Grace and Olivia's brother. That disappointed me, because after the scene where they flirted, I really wanted to see their relationship play out in the novel. I knew Grace wasn't going to end up with Olivia's brother, but I thought there was more that needed to be said about their relationship, especially since Olivia was so unhappy about it.

I liked Shiver, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the trilogy. It's good stuff.

Rating: 3.5/5

The Dark Tower. . . movie?!

OMG, OMG, OMG. I am so excited right now. I was just checking out Stephen King's site for the latest news and guess what I found??? The Dark Tower is going to be a movie!!!!

I have been waiting for this for a really long time. The last I'd heard, there were no plans for the series to be turned into a movie (or movies), because it's a series of seven novels, it's complicated, and blah, blah, blah.

So I was really surprised to see that The Dark Tower film and TV projects are FINALLY happening. It is going to be awesome. Now, I have to start thinking about who I want to be see cast as the main characters. It's not going to be an easy decision, and I hope whoever's in charge of casting really takes their time with it.

Visit the news release on King's site for more info. The first film is scheduled to be released on May 17, 2013.

NaNoWriMo and Maggie Stiefvater Follow Up

So, last night I posted a huge response to a blog Maggie Stiefvater posted about why she doesn't like NaNoWriMo. Today, when I started through the comments on my post, guess what I found? Maggie responded to what I wrote. Here are some of the things she said:


"I wish that you would have read the follow up blog post to my NaNoWriMo post which was posted later that same day -- also, I think the comments to the original post would also clear up a lot of your dissatisfaction. 

I totally agree with this: "What they need is more people to encourage them and to believe in them." That's what is on my blog 12 months out of the year -- you can click out on the "how I write" tag on my blog to see evidence. 

I have to say that normally I don't reply to blog posts that pop up on my radar, good or bad, but to be told that I'm not encouraging to writers? That really gets my fire burning."

"And yes, I think all writers scrap huge amounts of writing. I threw out an entire draft of my last book and wrote it again, but that's my point. There are bad drafts that you can work with, and bad drafts that are useless. I wrote that post after haunting the NaNo forums and seeing a bunch of posts about ways to fluff up your word count: adding in song lyrics and spelling out numbers instead of using numerals. I thought, this isn't about the writing at all."

I'm really glad Maggie commented on my post, because now I understand her perspective better. I've read her follow up post, and I was glad to hear that she sees the positive aspect now. It's good when you can see both perspectives, and now I definitely see and understand Maggie's perspective better than I did before. The one things she said in response to my original post was about seeing the NaNo forums and how people posted about ways to fluff up word counts by adding song lyrics and whatnot, and how she though, "This isn't about writing at all."

That really, really struck a chord with me, because in that aspect, I agree with her 100 percent. When all you want to do is hit the 50,000 word count by doing things like adding in song lyrics, lines of poems, whatever, it's not about the writing anymore, it's about the word count. And now I think that maybe there are more people than I realized who for them, it's about the word count and not the writing. That doesn't mean that it's not about the writing for everyone, though. It all depends on each individual participant.

And finally, I owe Maggie a huge apology. I said some things that were in the heat of the moment and that were not fair of me. Things like, she doesn't encourage writers, and that she doesn't know or doesn't care that people for write for different reasons. It was judgmental of me and uncalled for, especially since what I said was based on one post, and one post does not accurately portray the type of person Maggie is. I should have thought more carefully about what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it before I posted. So Maggie, I'm sorry. I hope you don't have a horrible opinion of me now, because I do respect you and think highly of you, and I do think you're a fantastic writer (I really did like Shiver!). And thank you, Maggie, for responding to my original post and presenting your side of things again. It really opened up my eyes to not only your perspective on NaNo, but also to how I should or should not respond to blog posts in the future. And that is one of the best (and maybe hardest) things a blogger can learn.

NaNoWriMo and Maggie Stiefvater

Today, I came across a blog Maggie Stiefvater posted about NaNoWriMo. And I have to be honest. What she said in her blog really pissed me off. That's why I'm blogging about. And I'm letting you know now, it's probably going to be a lengthy post. Go here to read what Stiefvater has to say.

One thing that really jumped out at me was Stiefvater's belief that NaNoWriMo "encourages crappy writing and superficial novel-ing." How does she define what is crappy writing and what isn't? That's so subjective. And what the heck does "superficial novel-ing" even mean? One definition of superficial is: shallow, not profound or thorough. NaNoWriMo novels are supposed to be first drafts of novels. First drafts are never profound or thorough; that's why they're first drafts. And not all published novels are profound or thorough, either. It's obviously not the goal of NaNoWriMo participants to write a perfect first draft. NaNoWriMo doesn't encourage bad writing; it encourages people to accept sometimes, they will write bad things. What a first draft looks like does not speak for what the final draft will look like. I've read many poorly written first drafts and their final drafts, which turn out to be wonderfully written.

Stiefvater also writes about how many people feel like if they didn't have NaNoWriMo to give them a goal and deadline, they would never get to the end of their novel. She talks about how writers don't NaNoWriMo to get the end; they just need a deadline, one they set themselves. She says one month is not enough time to write a novel, and that three months would make it more doable. Two things about this: First, some people thrive on tight deadlines, and would set a one-month deadline for their first draft whether or not they were participating in NaNoWriMo. Second, obviously novels aren't written in one month. A first draft might be, but you have to revise, often more than once, and edit, and do so many other things that no one actually expects to write a publishable novel in one month. Few, if any, published novels were written, revised, edited and published within one month. One month for a first draft might work great for some people, while three months might be better for others.

Also, when it comes to getting to the end, this is my first time participating in NaNoWriMo, and I think it is going to help me get the end, because I have a deadline and to reach that deadline, I'm setting smaller goals for myself. This may be my first time participating in NaNoWriMo, but it is certainly not my first time writing a novel (or, attempting to write a novel). I can think of three novels I've started and never finished. And the reason I couldn't get to the end with any of those novels is because I was too hard on myself. I didn't like what I was writing or the way I was writing it. I didn't like my characters. I didn't like anything about what I was working on. I didn't want to spend time and energy on something I didn't like writing, so I gave up. That is why I didn't get to the end. Participating in NaNoWriMo, where I've been given permission to write crappy things and accept it, has encouraged me to write and to finish what I'm writing, even if I don't like it. Because the thing is, it's a first draft. I know that once the first draft is done, I will eventually revise it (if I think it's revisable, that is). That's the whole point of a first draft: to get the words on the paper so you have something to work with during the revision process. The revision process is more important than the first draft. With the first draft, you write what you need to. With revision, you refine what you're written, and make it better. That is part of the process and craft Stiefvater thinks people need to learn about and focus on.

Another thing Stiefvater said that really stood out to me: "By forcing yourself to do it (write) at gunpoint, it seems to me that you're taking away the reason to write in the first place."

No one is forcing NaNoWriMo participants to write "at gunpoint." We made the choice to participate, knowing we have one month to write 50,000 words. People have free will. What we're doing is exercising our free will. If we decide that we want to quit, we can. Writing 50,000 words in one month certainly is not a life-or-death situation.

Besides, just because I have one month to write 50,000 words take away my reason to write. It gives me more of a reason to write. Stiefvater also says, "Writing a novel is supposed to be about reflection and entertainment and introspection. What about NaNoWriMo encourages that?"

Well, what about NaNoWriMo doesn't encourage reflection, entertainment and introspection? Again, it's objective, not subjective. I am thoroughly entertained by my current NaNoWriMo writing. I am enjoying this process more than I enjoyed writing the last novel I was working on, which is now shoved in a box in my closet because I stopped enjoying working on it. As for reflection, I'm maybe 40 pages into my NaNoWriMo novel, and it's already taking a different direction than I thought it would. I had no idea it was going to go in the direction it has, but I like where it's going. The story going in a different direction forces me to reflect on what I'm writing. I'm also reflecting on what high school was like for me, since it's a YA novel about high schoolers. That means I'm also doing a lot of introspection on who I am today and what I wish high school would have been for me. Paired with a recent situation with an ex-friend from high school and an old high school acquaintance, I'm doing a lot of reflection and introspection, some good and some bad.

Stiefvater either doesn't realize or doesn't care that everyone who writes does it for a different reason. Some do it because they want to be published. Some do it as a hobby. Some people never show their writing to anyone. Some people do. It doesn't matter. What matters is that many people love to write and there's no right or wrong reason to write. What matters is that the people who do NaNoWriMo do it because they love writing, no matter what their reasons for writing or what their goals all. What matters is that many people who participate in NaNoWriMo don't do it because they want their NaNoWriMo novel to be published. Not everyone wants to be published. What matters is that someone writing a NaNoWriMo novel with the goal of publishing it is not a bad thing. Losing Faith, by Denise Jaden, is a NaNoWriMo novel and to be frank, I thought it was a much better novel than Stiefvater's Shiver.

People participating in NaNoWriMo for the sheer pleasure of writing, or because they want to be published, or for any other reason, is not a bad thing. Anything that encourages writing, in any shape or form, is not a bad thing. Should creative writing classes not have five, ten, fifteen minute writing exercises during class (as many of my college creative classes did) because it encourages bad writing? Of course not! The purpose of writing exercises is to practice and learn. That's one of the purposes of NaNoWriMo, too. The more a person writes, the better that person becomes at writing. It's called practice, and people have to practice writing the way they have to practice playing soccer or piano. NaNoWriMo is another way for us to practice writing.

I'm really disappointed in Stiefvater. I feel that in bashing NaNoWriMo, she was being condescending to writers, especially those who participate in NaNoWriMo. She comes across as a writing snob. I feel like, perhaps as a result of her being a published author, Stiefvater thinks she is better than other writers, when she isn't. I feel like she thinks her writing process is the only writing process, and any other process a writer might have is the wrong one. I understand if she doesn't like NaNoWriMo because it's not a writing process that works for her, but she should have presented her opinion in a better way. As it is, she's just being condescending, negative and discouraging, instead of encouraging people who love and enjoy writing. Writing is not easy. Getting published is not easy. Writers don't need more discouragement. What they need is more people to encourage them and to believe in them. NaNoWriMo provides that for a lot of us. Stiefvater is only taking it away.

I don't want to speak badly of Stiefvater. I just really disagree with how she presented her opinions and the things she said. I fully realize that one blog post does not fully indicate the type of person or writer she is. But at the same time, I couldn't let this go. I felt that it was important for me to express how I feel about what she said.

Review: The Facebook Effect

Title: The Facebook Effect

Author: David Kirkpatrick

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 335

Summary (from book jacket): In little more than half a decade, Facebook has gone from a dorm-room novelty to a company with 500 million users. It is one of the fastest growing companies in history, an essential part of the social life not only of teenagers but hundreds of millions of adults worldwide. As Facebook spreads around the globe, it creates surprising effects--even becoming instrumental in political protests from Colombia to Iran.

Veteran technology reporter David Kirkpatrick had the full cooperation of Facebook's key executives in researching this fascinating history of the company and its impact on our lives. Kirkpatrick tells us how Facebook was created, why it has flourished, and where it is going next. He chronicles its successes and missteps, and gives readers the most complete assessment anywhere of founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the central figure in the company's remarkable ascent. This is the Facebook story that can be found nowhere else.

How did a nineteen-year-old Harvard student create a company that has transformed the Internet and how did he grow it to its current enormous size? Kirkpatrick shows how Zuckerberg steadfastly refused to compromise his vision, insistently focusing on growth over profits and preaching that Facebook must dominate (his word) communication on the Internet. In the process, he and a small group of key executives have created a company that has changed social life in the United States and elsewhere, a company that has become a ubiquitous presence in marketing, altering politics, business, and even our sense of our own identity. This the Facebook Effect.

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The Facebook Effect isn't a teen novel (obviously), but it sounded really interesting, and considering the huge role Facebook plays in the live of teens, I figured I'd review it. Based on the summary, I really expected the book to be about a brief history of the company and how it started, and that it would focus heavily on the social implications Facebook has. Turns out I was wrong. The book focuses heavily on the history of Facebook, primarily the financial history. And while there were interesting tidbits here and there in the financial chapters, I found those chapters to be dull, because I don't really understand business stuff like investments and stocks.

That said, there were some things I liked about the book. The best chapter was the one that focused on Facebook and privacy. Facebook has gotten a lot flack in the media for not protecting users privacy and blah blah blah. After reading The Facebook Effect, I really feel like all those negative news reports have really misrepresented Facebook. It's not that Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, don't care about the users' privacy. The opposite is actually true. Zuckerberg cares greatly about users' privacy. After all, look at all the privacy controls available on the site. It's really the users who do or do not care about their privacy; it's up to them what information they post and what they allow people to see. Three quotes that really stood out to me in this chapter was from Zuckerberg: 

• "You have one identity."
• "The days of you having a different image for your work friends or co-workers and for the other people you know are probably coming to end pretty quickly."
• "Having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity."

I thought it was really interesting that this chapter discussed the effects of what people are willing to post on Facebook. One person, an employee of a bank, asked his boss for a Friday off because he needed to attend an unexpected family matter. Later, someone posted a picture on Facebook of him at a party the night he was supposed to be attending the unexpected family matter. His boss found out about the lie. A political candidate in Canada withdrew from his race once a newspaper published a picture from Facebook, in which two people were pulling on the candidate's underwear. Companies reject applicants due to things they find on social networks, and colleges now also look at social networks when they make admission decisions. Another social aspect: if you "friend" your co-workers and/or boss, what is the proper etiquette if you are fired (or, if you're the boss, you fire one of your employees)? I wish these social implications and the social psychology aspect of Facebook had been discussed more.

Another thing I really enjoyed was reading about how certain changes came about and why--changes like the decision to open Facebook to high school students in addition to college students (and eventually to everyone) and the decision to add the News Feed. I found these sections particularly interesting because I've been on Facebook since 2005 (it was founded in 2004), and I remember when these things happened. I remember how pissed off people were when Facebook was opened to high school students. It seemed like an outrage to a lot of people at the time. I also remember when Facebook added the News Feed. I honestly didn't like it at first because, as was common criticism at the time, it did make it feel like it was easier to Facebook stalk people and be Facebook stalked. I remember the protest groups (I think I might have actually joined one, although I left it later on), and I remember how angry people were. Now, I really like the News Feed, partly because I understand the purpose of it now, whereas before I didn't, and because like everything else in life, it was just a change that I had to adjust to. So I liked these parts of the books because it made me feel like I was actively involved in history.

Overall, The Facebook Effect was a great, interesting read.

Rating: 3.5/5

NaNoWriMo 2010: Day One

It's that time of year again: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)! I love NaNoWriMo. I signed up for it last year, but then I didn't actually participate, but I am determined to participate this year, and to hit the 50,000 word mark.

NaNoWriMo is seriously awesome. It's fun, there's no stress involved since no one's expecting you to write a perfect novel for it, and it brings writers together. For more information, go here.

Denise Jaden's Losing Faith (which I've read but have yet to review) is a product of NaNoWriMo, which I think is fantastic, and for me, a huge inspiration to really participate in NaNoWriMo this year.

I may or may not have a weekly post about my NaNoWriMo journey this year. I actually did sit down and write this morning. To hit the 50,000 word mark, I need to write at least 1,700 words a day. Today: mission accomplished. I actually wanted to keep writing more, but I also want to read, so I can't decide what I'm going to do.

Is anyone else participating in NaNoWriMo this year? Or have you participated in it before? What are your thoughts on it?