niori_1709

A little child cries
Sometime in the night,
Where all this evil
Blocks out the light.
The child’s cry
We will not hear,
And of the child’s sorrow
We’ll shed now tears.
The child will live
Sad and alone,
And for the sins of his father
He will atone.
In a world
Where no one cares,
In this world
That isn’t fair.
This child
We will ignore,
Like all the children
We have before.
In a world
Where babies die,
And in the ground
Children lie.
A little child cries
Somewhere in the night,
Where all this evil
Blocks out the light.

When I first saw the movie trailer for the movie The Lightning Thief, I was super excited; I have a love of mythology, especially that of ancient Greece (Thank you Xena!). When I found out that the movie was actually an adaptation for a book, it got even more exciting (I’m the kind of person that has to read the book before they see the movie). While the movie sucked, I’m glad to report that the book was as amazing as I wanted it to be.

The Lightning Thief is book one in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The book revolves around Perseus Jackson (named after the Greek hero), a twelve-year-old boy who turns out to be a demigod (who has a mortal mother and father who is a god). Now, if you know anything about Greek mythology, you know that the gods having children with mortals was far from rare (the Greek gods were far from models of good behaviour), so there’s plenty of other half bloods around. What is rare about Percy, is that his father is Poseidon, god of the sea (the three big gods –Poseidon, Zeus and Hades- all swore not to have mortal children after WWII, so Percy isn’t supposed to exist). Not only is Percy in trouble for being born, but he had also been accused of stealing Zeus’s master lightning bolt. He has monsters coming at him every which way, including harpies, chimeras and gorgons, and in order to prevent a war from breaking out amongst the gods, he has to go on a quest to find who really took the bolt and return it before the solstice.

The Lightning Thief is brilliantly written, the epic Greek adventures mythology into a modern setting. Even though it’s based in the US, the traveling of the heroes is no less than ancient Greek heroes sailing across the Aegean Sea. Having a working knowledge of mythology is a plus, but you don’t need it to enjoy the book- enough of the 5 W’s (who, what, when, where, why) are explained to give you an idea what’s going on. The book also gives a great twist ending, which as someone who enjoys mysteries, was a great addition to the plot. It also sets up the basis of the rest of the series, which had me intrigued from the moment it was set up. The movie might have been awful, but I still thank it for leading me to this amazing series.

Halloween is upon us, and with it of course comes our need to find ways to scare ourselves. There are so many wonderfully creepy things to seek out, from horror movies to scary games, each one a bit more frightening because of the season. It’s the perfect time to curl up in bed, blankets pulled up tight, lights bright to chase away any monsters in the shadows, and tell yourself a scary story. Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is one of the best examples to go for.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a collection of twenty-nine of the creepiest short stories aimed at a younger audience that I’ve ever read (and some of the creepiest illustrations aimed at any generation). There are haunted houses, escaped criminals, killers on the loose, magic, the supernatural, and fatal mistakes. One story, The Red Spot, still makes me shudder when I think about it, and I read it years ago. It was my worst childhood fear made real on the page, and it shows just how effective Schwartz’s writing is that it still freaks me out today.

Each story in the book ties into urban legends, the modern-day folklore, that will be familiar to many. Schwartz took some influence from other well-known authors that people have definitely heard of and mixed them into a spookily atmospheric tone that will send shivers down your spine. I have always been fascinated by urban legends, because they are modern day mythology. It tracks the way urbanization and the easy access of culture has influenced the way we tell our society wide stories. We have gone from the epic poems to ‘it happened to a friend of a friend of mine’ and how that reflects on the way the world has changed. This is the kind of thing that gets me excited, but I’m aware that not everyone is a nerd like me. Even if you’re not, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is an excellent read, spooky and close to haunting. It’s a good scare, whether or not you’re doing it for the Halloween season (though I do highly recommend it for then. Just saying).

Laughter surrounds her
She jokes it away,
Not showing a soul
The price she has paid.
Cheerful on the outside
Screaming on the in,
Waiting always
For the pain to begin.
A big red smile
Hiding the fear,
Sparkling green eyes
Hiding a tear.
She wears her mask well
Never letting it crack,
Knowing if she does
He’ll go on the attack.
She can’t show the world
What exactly he’s done,
Can’t tell her friends
He considers hurting her fun.
She’s considered the worst
But she just can’t go through,
The ultimate escape
She just couldn’t do.
She considers taking her life
Instead of her own,
But she stops herself short
For that sin she couldn’t atone.
So she’ll continue to laugh
To joke and to smile,
Just praying to God
It will end in awhile.

Out of all the women in Greek mythology, Helen of Troy ranked fairly low on the ones I was extremely interested in. I loved Homer’s The Odyssey and I like the myth of Troy, but beautiful, docile Helen was far from my favourite character. I felt bad for her the poor woman -she was a prize given to a spoiled prince by an even more spoiled goddess, a political pawn, and the reason that launched a war that destroyed a civilization- but really didn’t put much thought towards her. That said, Esther Friesner’s Nobody’s Princess still appealed to me. I enjoy it when authors take mythology and write it as historical fiction. That’s what Friesner does, and she does it very well.

Helen is most famous for being Helen of Troy, but before that she was Helen of Sparta, and that’s the story Nobody’s Princess tells. The story isn’t Helen’s abduction and the fall of Troy, but Helen’s life before that. The story begins in Sparta where Helen is a princess. This Helen is a lot more interesting than her mythological counterpart. As a princess and a woman, Helen is supposed to act a certain way and have a certain future, but Helen is having none of that (probably helped by the fact her parents let her get away with it for so long). She’s fiery, rebellious, and adventurous (basically, my kind of girl). Helen seizes her freedom whenever she can, and it’s especially seen when Helen leaves Sparta. Helen becomes a major player in some other Greek myths, the most obvious being the Caledonian Boar Hunt. She’s given a part in the events without completely changing the myth itself. She meets other mythological figures, including Atlanta, who is one of my favourite mortal characters in Greek mythology.

Friesner mixes mythology and history wonderfully. The book is far from historically accurate (a note- ancient Sparta was nothing like portrayed), but Friesner still takes the myths and makes them realistic. Greek religion plays a part, but it’s just that- it’s religion, not absolute truth. Gods are mentioned, but never make an appearance (or are even shown to be truly real). Helen meets an array of other mythological characters and they are too made real (one of them even admits that the stories going around –i.e. the myths we know- are a bit of an exaggeration). Nobody’s Princess gives Helen of Troy a personality worth rooting for and brings some of the myths of ancient Greece to life. It’s not only Helen that gets this treatment, but all the other characters as well. For anyone who is a fan of Greek mythology it’s definitely a fun thing to read.

When done well, I am a big fan of books written in journal form. They can be a fascinating way to read characters and an excellent way to tell a story. One of those books is Witch Child by Celia Rees. Not only is it a journal book, it’s one of the literary equivalents of a found footage film. In this case, pages of the diary of a girl named Mary are found hidden in an old quilt.

Mary is a witch. That’s the declaration she makes in the first few lines of her diary. The year is 1659, and in England, it’s a crime that will get you hanged. That happens to Mary’s grandmother and Mary barely manages to escape being accused and meeting the same fate. With help, she ends up on a ship to the New World, but it’s not long until the same paranoia, dread, and hatred that took her grandmother begins to hang over Mary, ready to destroy her in the same way.

The best part of Witch Child is how amazingly Rees describes the Puritan way of life, especially the darker parts that brought the witch trials full force. The religious totalitarianism and fervor are stifling and frightening. One wrong word, one false accusation from a jealous neighbour, and someone faced the noose. It shows how the mistake of one person can destroy a whole family, and how the lives of women were so confined that the only power they could get was who they married. It shows how closed minded they were, calling Native Americans the devil despite how much they helped the settlers who were way out of their depth. It shows how a witch hunt can snowball until it becomes another Salem. Rees is a master at portraying all this. Witch Child is one of the best YA journal books I’ve gotten my hands on. It told an interesting story, had spectacular characters, covered a fascinating time period, and captured the horror that was the witch trials perfectly.

When I was scared
You took away my fears,
When I was hurt
You dried up all my tears.
When I was sick
You'd stay up all night,
When my heart was broken
You said it'd be alright.
When I'd lost hope
In all of my dreams,
You'd bring them all back
No matter the means.
You've been there for my good times
And even my bad,
You love me no matter what
Though I often make you mad.
Someday I hope
I'll be a mother like you,
And my future children
Will love me that much too.
With you my dear Mother
I'm never a zero,
I love you so much
'Cuz you are my hero.

To call me a feminist just might be an understatement. I’m all about the strong female characters; Mulan is the best Disney girl and Eowyn is one of my fictional heroes (and not only because both those women kick butt. They have depths that are profound). So when I came across Tamora Pierce’s Alanna: The First Adventure, about a girl who wants to be a knight so disguises herself as a boy to do it, I knew it would be for me.

Alanna is the daughter of a wealthy noble in the magical land of Tortall, and despite what her father wants, does not go away and learn how to become a lady. Instead, she takes her brother’s (who wants to become a wizard, not a knight) place and heads off to knight training. Defying a genre trope, when Alanna arrives there, she isn’t the best page. One of the best parts of the story is that Alanna is far from the best. She’s small and understandably weaker physically, so that means that she both has to work harder and is a bully magnet. Yet she doesn’t give up, which is always a good lesson you want to teach. And what kind of adventure story would this be if there wasn’t some type of villain she has to go up against in the end?

This is one of those books that all girls should read (though it is geared towards a younger audience) should read to see just how kick butt female characters can be. Even more than that, it’s one all boys should read for the very same reason. It’s a book that can challenge stereotypes that society teaches all genders, and that’s important. Take it from me- that’s something there can never be enough of.

V C Andrews is one of my favourite authors. In fact, I own a good chunk of the books she’s written, including those written by the ghostwriter after her death. Unfortunately, most of her books cover some pretty taboo subjects that I understand will not be for everyone. That’s why I’m usually fairly hesitant to recommend her books (and always add a lot of trigger warnings when I do). I still really like them, so it makes me happy that
my favourite series isn’t as risqué, which makes me feel it’s not as much of a risk to recommend it to everyone.

Ruby is the first book in the Landry series. It takes us down to the Louisiana bayou, where Ruby lives with her conniving grandfather and kind grandmother. Her mother died giving birth to her, but there’s more to the story than Ruby has ever been told. On her deathbed, her grandmother tells Ruby that she has a twin sister. Their father was a married man who took one baby, while Ruby’s existence was kept a secret and she was left behind. When Ruby finds out another shocking secret concerning her boyfriend Paul, she goes to find her long lost father. The glitzy world that she finds herself in is nothing like she expected. Her stepmother hates her, he twin Giselle is cruel and hateful, especially when her boyfriend Beau begins to fall for Ruby.

Out of all of V C Andrew’s memorable characters, Ruby has always stood out to me. She is the most intriguing of them all (and V C Andrews has a lot of characters). You feel her whirlwind journey and it touches your heart. The setting itself, especially the bayou, is great. The culture of Louisiana, both the rich and the poor, is something we’re given a fine taste of. We also get a little bit of voodoo thrown in, and that’ll make any tale that much better. I’ll caution that the books does contain some pretty mature subject matter, thus is not for everyone. That said, if you’re feeling like a more adult book that touches on some heavy subjects and has an awesome storyline, then definitely look at getting your hands on a copy of Ruby.

I look in the mirror
And what do I see?
A girl that I wish
Just wasn’t me.
The appearance I have
Is much too grim,
And the battle of looks
I’ll never win.
I want to be like
All the other girls I see,
Like the girls on the magazine covers
God I wish that was me.
My family and friends
They beg me to eat,
But I just shake my head
‘Cuz I won’t admit defeat.
I’ll lose all this weight
I swear that I will,
But first I must stop
Eating my fill.
I swear that someday
You just wait and see,
One of the girls on those magazine covers,
Yes that’ll be me.