I don't think I'd ever say I've grown out of YA because I don't think it's possible to grow out of a genre that isn't meant for just teenagers/young adults anyway. I'm 23 now. I might not be as young as I was when I was 17, but I certainly still think of myself as a young adult rather than an old one.
But I'm absolutely rubbish at keeping up with the latest trends and newest releases in YA, and over the past couple of years my tastes have simply meant that I've been reading more adult books anyway. There are YA releases from two years ago that I still haven't gotten around to reading - never mind the ones from this year! - so as the end of the year approaches, here are some pieces of YA I'd like to try and cross off my TBR before 2015!
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater: This is the book I'm most eager to cross off my TBR. It feels as though every single book blogger I know has read and loved this series, and frankly I'm tired of feeling left out. I've actually already started this book, and enjoying what I've read so far, so with any luck I'll have it under my belt soon!
Half Bad by Sally Green: I love stories about witches, and I've owned my copy of Half Bad for a while now (though not as long as another book on this list) so it's really about time I read it, especially with the second book in the trilogy, Half Wild, being released in March!
Red Rising by Pierce Brown: In all honesty I initially had no intention of reading Red Rising when I first started seeing it popping up all over the blogosphere, but lately I've been hearing so many great things about it that I want to check it out for myself. Not only that, but lately I've also been getting into sci-fi - a genre that used to intimidate me hugely - so I'd love to expand my sci-fi knowledge just a little bit. I've seen a copy of this in my local library, so with any luck I'll be able to read it soon. Plus, like Half Bad, the second book in this trilogy, Golden Son, is due to be released in early 2015!
The Host by Stephenie Meyer: Behold, one of the longest unread books on my shelf. My sister bought me a copy of The Host when it first came out - I was still a Twilight fan then and I wanted Meyer's new book badly - then I got my wake up call that Twilight is actually a pretty dangerous series, because if you don't just laugh it off and decide to take it seriously what it's really saying is 'you are worth nothing without a boyfriend'. After that I felt less inclined to read Meyer's other book, but even friends of mine who despise Twilight have admitted that The Host isn't half bad (ha, see what I did there?). Ultimately I've owned this book for six years and I really need to read the poor thing.
Do you have any end of year reading goals?
Showing posts with label half bad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label half bad. Show all posts
Tuesday, 16 December 2014
Friday, 21 March 2014
Why Witches?
Most of us don't believe in magic, and yet it constantly bleeds into our stories, and has done for as long as we've been telling them. So what is it about witchcraft that still fascinates us? Why are we still reading - and writing - about it?
Even now there's still a stream of new releases either inspired by witchcraft or featuring witches. Books like the Harry Potter series and Laura Powell's Burn Mark have brought witches into modern day Britain, as has the newly released Half Bad by Sally Green, which came out just this month.
Or if the Salem Witch Trials are of more interest to you, July will see the release of Katherine Howe's Conversion, and last year saw the premiere of American Horror Story: Coven.
Or if you'd rather not read something set in the modern day, this month will also see the release of Paula Brackston's latest novel, The Midnight Witch.
As someone from Britain, I whole heartedly believe that witchcraft is a big part of British culture. That may sound odd. I'm not trying to say that the population of Britain is sitting around performing the odd magic spell while their neighbours aren't looking, merely that it's an undeniably huge part of our history, and so it should be. During the witch hunting frenzy of the 16th and 17th centuries, 40,000 people were executed for witchcraft in Britain alone. If we look at how many people populated Britain's largest cities in the early 17th century, then the number of people executed is the entire population of Newcastle four times over.
In hindsight we know now that the witch trials in Britain came about because of superstition - particularly after England broke away from Rome and adopted Protestantism over Catholicism - and fear. Fear quickly turned into hysteria, and hysteria turned into slaughter. It's worth mentioning that throughout the rest of Europe there was a fairly even split between men and women who were executed for witchcraft, whereas in Britain over 90% of the victims were women.
These were independent women - in the sense that they often lived and worked alone, making it easier for their neighbours to turn against them - many of whom were practicing an early form of science. In a society ruled by men, religion, or a combination of the two, these women were a threat to the social norms, and to the immortal souls of the other townspeople.
As I mentioned in a previous post, Historical Fiction is often used as a way to say something about the present; it appears as though it's talking about a time long ago, and then suddenly you find yourself discovering echoes of the story, and of whatever time period you were reading, in the world around you. It's clever that way.
Though, as I said, men were accused of witchcraft, it is a predominantly female thing, and in a lot of fiction I think we can view it as a metaphor. In a way magic is representative of the repressed potential so many women have inside them, and how they were unable to convey this potential in an era of history ruled over by a superstitious and sexist patriarchy. Essentially, they were women before their time.
After all, not only were women accused of carrying out the devil's bidding, but also of sleeping with him. So not only had these women dared to have sex - for pleasure - outside of marriage, they'd done it with the worst imaginable creature.
Perhaps one of the most famous examples of a woman ahead of her time is Anne Boleyn, the second, ill-fated wife of Henry VIII. Whether you believe she was a whore, a martyr, or you don't care all that much, there's no denying that she was fiercely intelligent and ambitious, and ultimately her ambition cost her her life.
The crimes for which she was executed? Adultery and witchcraft.
We might not like to think it, but there are echoes of this kind of behaviour even now. How often are women shamed for wanting a career over wanting children? How often are women made to feel ashamed of being aware of their own sexuality, by men and even by other women, and of happening to enjoy safe sex with as many partners as they choose? More often, I imagine, than we would like to admit.
Obviously feminism has come a long way since the 16th century, but it still has a way to go. That, I believe, is one of the reasons why we still read and write stories about witchcraft today. It's about giving women their power back, and giving them voices that matter.
Magic is power, and so often in stories we like to see power reside in the hands of those who most deserve to wield it.
Thanks for reading! J.
Even now there's still a stream of new releases either inspired by witchcraft or featuring witches. Books like the Harry Potter series and Laura Powell's Burn Mark have brought witches into modern day Britain, as has the newly released Half Bad by Sally Green, which came out just this month.Or if the Salem Witch Trials are of more interest to you, July will see the release of Katherine Howe's Conversion, and last year saw the premiere of American Horror Story: Coven.
Or if you'd rather not read something set in the modern day, this month will also see the release of Paula Brackston's latest novel, The Midnight Witch.As someone from Britain, I whole heartedly believe that witchcraft is a big part of British culture. That may sound odd. I'm not trying to say that the population of Britain is sitting around performing the odd magic spell while their neighbours aren't looking, merely that it's an undeniably huge part of our history, and so it should be. During the witch hunting frenzy of the 16th and 17th centuries, 40,000 people were executed for witchcraft in Britain alone. If we look at how many people populated Britain's largest cities in the early 17th century, then the number of people executed is the entire population of Newcastle four times over.
In hindsight we know now that the witch trials in Britain came about because of superstition - particularly after England broke away from Rome and adopted Protestantism over Catholicism - and fear. Fear quickly turned into hysteria, and hysteria turned into slaughter. It's worth mentioning that throughout the rest of Europe there was a fairly even split between men and women who were executed for witchcraft, whereas in Britain over 90% of the victims were women.
These were independent women - in the sense that they often lived and worked alone, making it easier for their neighbours to turn against them - many of whom were practicing an early form of science. In a society ruled by men, religion, or a combination of the two, these women were a threat to the social norms, and to the immortal souls of the other townspeople.
As I mentioned in a previous post, Historical Fiction is often used as a way to say something about the present; it appears as though it's talking about a time long ago, and then suddenly you find yourself discovering echoes of the story, and of whatever time period you were reading, in the world around you. It's clever that way.
Though, as I said, men were accused of witchcraft, it is a predominantly female thing, and in a lot of fiction I think we can view it as a metaphor. In a way magic is representative of the repressed potential so many women have inside them, and how they were unable to convey this potential in an era of history ruled over by a superstitious and sexist patriarchy. Essentially, they were women before their time.
After all, not only were women accused of carrying out the devil's bidding, but also of sleeping with him. So not only had these women dared to have sex - for pleasure - outside of marriage, they'd done it with the worst imaginable creature.
Perhaps one of the most famous examples of a woman ahead of her time is Anne Boleyn, the second, ill-fated wife of Henry VIII. Whether you believe she was a whore, a martyr, or you don't care all that much, there's no denying that she was fiercely intelligent and ambitious, and ultimately her ambition cost her her life.
The crimes for which she was executed? Adultery and witchcraft.
We might not like to think it, but there are echoes of this kind of behaviour even now. How often are women shamed for wanting a career over wanting children? How often are women made to feel ashamed of being aware of their own sexuality, by men and even by other women, and of happening to enjoy safe sex with as many partners as they choose? More often, I imagine, than we would like to admit.
Obviously feminism has come a long way since the 16th century, but it still has a way to go. That, I believe, is one of the reasons why we still read and write stories about witchcraft today. It's about giving women their power back, and giving them voices that matter.
Magic is power, and so often in stories we like to see power reside in the hands of those who most deserve to wield it.
Thanks for reading! J.
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
My Most Anticipated Releases of 2014!
Happy New Year!
Yesterday I gave you my Top 13 Books of 2013, and today I am here with the seven books I am most looking forward to this year. Seven's kind of an odd number (I'm so punny), I know, but there aren't a heap of books I'm super excited for. There are a lot of trilogies ending this year - Michelle Hodkin's Mara Dyer trilogy, Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me trilogy, and Veronica Rossi's Under the Never Sky trilogy just to name a few - but I'm very behind on my YA series and haven't read any of these.
I loved my time at university, but studying English Literature really made me fall back on my reading so I'm not as 'down with the kids' as I used to be. Not to mention I already have a huuuuge pile of unread books on my shelves that have been waiting there for years. What I'm basically trying to say is don't expect to see all of the 'obvious' releases in this list.
Let's start off with three books that are all the third installment of a series.
Yesterday I gave you my Top 13 Books of 2013, and today I am here with the seven books I am most looking forward to this year. Seven's kind of an odd number (I'm so punny), I know, but there aren't a heap of books I'm super excited for. There are a lot of trilogies ending this year - Michelle Hodkin's Mara Dyer trilogy, Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me trilogy, and Veronica Rossi's Under the Never Sky trilogy just to name a few - but I'm very behind on my YA series and haven't read any of these.
I loved my time at university, but studying English Literature really made me fall back on my reading so I'm not as 'down with the kids' as I used to be. Not to mention I already have a huuuuge pile of unread books on my shelves that have been waiting there for years. What I'm basically trying to say is don't expect to see all of the 'obvious' releases in this list.
Let's start off with three books that are all the third installment of a series.
by Marissa Meyer
Expected Publication Date: 4th February, 2014 by Feiwel & Friends
Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard.
In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.
Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.
When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.
by Maria V. Snyder
Expected Publication Date: 3rd January, 2014 by Harlequin (UK)
Avry knows hardship and trouble. She fought the plague and survived. She took on King Tohon and defeated him. But now her heart-mate, Kerrick, is missing, and Avry fears he's gone forever.
But there's a more immediate threat. The Skeleton King plots to claim the Fifteen Realms for his own. With armies in disarray and the dead not staying down, Avry's healing powers are needed now more than ever.Torn between love and loyalty, Avry must choose her path carefully. For the future of her world depends on her decision.
by Moira Young
Expected Publication Date: 13th May, 2014 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Saba is ready to seize her destiny and defeat DeMalo and the Tonton...until she meets him and he confounds all her expectations with his seductive vision of a healed earth, a New Eden. DeMalo wants Saba to join him, in life and work, to create and build a healthy, stable, sustainable world…for the chosen few. The few who can pay.
Jack’s choice is clear: to fight DeMalo and try to stop New Eden. Still uncertain, her connection with DeMalo a secret, Saba commits herself to the fight. Joined by her brother, Lugh, anxious for the land in New Eden, Saba leads an inexperienced guerilla band against the powerfully charismatic DeMalo, in command of his settlers and the Tonton militia. What chance do they have? Saba must act. And be willing to pay the price.
To be honest I think everyone is anxiously awaiting the release of Cress, the third book in Marissa Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles; the series that has given the Grimms Fairy Tales a sci-fi twist as Cinder (Cinderella), Scarlet (Little Red Cap) and Cress (Rapunzel) fight against the Evil Queen, who just so happens to live on the moon.
Both Taste of Darkness and Raging Star are final books in their respective trilogies: with the Healer trilogy Maria V. Snyder, known for her Study series, took us to the fantastical land of Kazan where a plague has ravaged the world and turned everyone against the healers. The Dust Lands trilogy on the other hand is a dystopian/post-apocalyptic series which follows angry, honest Saba, who finds herself battling against a sinister group of people known as the Tonton.
Now I have to admit something a little naughty: so far I've only read the first book in all three of these series. So why are they on my list? Well I'm hoping to read the second installments of each of them soon - Scent of Magic and Rebel Heart are two of the books on my shelves waiting to be read, and it won't be long before I get my hands on a copy of Scarlet. Not only that, but I thoroughly enjoyed Cinder, Touch of Power and Blood Red Road; in fact all of them were listed in my Top 13 Reads of 2013.
Now for two brand spanking new novels!
by Emma Pass
Expected Publication Date: 24th April, 2014 by Corgi Childrens
The Fearless. An army, powered by an incredible new serum that makes each soldier stronger, sharper, faster than their enemies. Intended as a force for good, the serum has a terrible side-effect - anyone who takes it is stripped of all humanity, empathy, love. And as the Fearless sweep through the country, forcing the serum on anyone in their path, society becomes a living nightmare.
Cass remembers the night they passed through her village. Her father was Altered. Her mother died soon after. All Cass has left is her little brother - and when Jori is snatched by the Fearless and taken to their hellish lair, Cass must risk everything to get him back.
Cass remembers the night they passed through her village. Her father was Altered. Her mother died soon after. All Cass has left is her little brother - and when Jori is snatched by the Fearless and taken to their hellish lair, Cass must risk everything to get him back.
by Sally Green
Expected Publication Date: 4th March, 2014 by Viking Juvenile
In modern-day England, witches live alongside humans: White witches, who are good; Black witches, who are evil; and fifteen-year-old Nathan, who is both. Nathan’s father is the world’s most powerful and cruel Black witch, and his mother is dead. He is hunted from all sides. Trapped in a cage, beaten and handcuffed, Nathan must escape before his sixteenth birthday, at which point he will receive three gifts from his father and come into his own as a witch—or else he will die. But how can Nathan find his father when his every action is tracked, when there is no one safe to trust—not even family, not even the girl he loves?
Let's face it, Emma Pass's The Fearless just sounds cool, doesn't it? Pass's first novel, Acid, was released in 2013. I haven't read it myself and it's hard to tell if I'd enjoy it if I did purely because there are so many mixed reviews on Goodreads. The Fearless, however, really interests me. What's exciting about it is that it's a standalone (currently - perhaps that will change in future) and YA dystopia is severely lacking in its standalones. Everything's a trilogy nowadays, and while a good trilogy is brilliant I love a good standalone just as much.
Sally Green's debut novel Half Bad, on the other hand, is the first book in the Half Life trilogy, and it sounds like an interesting concept. In some ways it sounds a little similar to Laura Powell's Burn Mark - one of the books I received for Christmas - in that both of them centre around witchcraft in the modern day. One of the main reasons Half Bad is on my list is because, as a writer, I'm a firm believer in reading what you want to write. Not everyone agrees with this idea, and that's fine, but I find it really useful; the novel I'm currently working on for my MA is a piece of historical fiction which deals with the subject of witchcraft, so I love seeing how other authors write about it. Reading a wide range of what I call 'witcherature' (I'm pathetically proud of this name) not only prevents me from writing the same story as someone else, but also inspires me when I'm lacking in witchy inspiration.
Finally, two books which unfortunately still don't have covers just yet...
by Sherry Jones
Expected Publication Date: October, 2014 by Gallery Books
He is the most famous philosopher in the world, the arrogant headmaster of the Notre Dame Cloister School, and a poet whose songs and good looks make women swoon. She is Paris’s most brilliant young scholar, beautiful and wry, and his student. Forbidden by the church and society to love each other, Heloise and Abelard defy the rules to follow their hearts, risking everything that matters to them — including each other. An illicit child, a secret marriage, an abusive uncle: nothing, it seems, can come between them — until a vicious attack tears them apart forever. Or does it?
by Garth Nix
Expected Publication Date: September, 2014
What can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic who loves history, so Sherry Jones's The Sharp Hook of Love was bound to have a place on this list. Those of you who are unfamiliar with the story of Abelard and Heloise are missing out on a story that rivals Romeo and Juliet.
One of the most exciting things about this release is that it's the first novelisation of Abelard and Heloise's story since the discovery of 113 "Lost Love Letters" in 1999 which the pair sent to one another. This should hopefully mean that the novel is going to include excerpts from the letters themselves, which in turn suggests what I love to see in historical fiction - historical accuracy! Needless to say, I'm excited!
As you can see Clariel doesn't even have a blurb or an exact expected publication date yet, never mind a cover, so whether it's actually going to be released in 2014 I don't know. But I can hope! The Old Kingdom series is one of my favourite fantasy series out there, so when Garth Nix announced he intended to write Clariel - a prequel which was originally titled Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen - I was very excited. It feels like one of those novels that's been in progress for years, but according to Garth Nix Clariel is currently in progress and will take place a few centuries before the events of Sabriel.
So those are the seven new releases I'm most looking forward to this year. I'm currently in North Yorkshire, celebrating the New Year with my best friend, but when I return to my parents' house in South Wales I might just treat myself to a copy of Taste of Darkness which should be in shops from this Friday!
I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! I'd love to hear which releases you're most looking forward to this year, so feel free to tell me in the comments!
Happy New Year! Let's hope it's a good one!
J.
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