Review + Guest Post: Rage by Jackie Morse Kessler

Today I am participating on a blog tour for Jackie Morse Kessler's latest book, Rage, the second book in her Horsemen of the Apocalypse series.

Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Book 2
(Book 1: Hunger review here)

The books are part of a series but need not be read in order. My review contains no spoilers for Hunger or Rage.

Tags: YA, magical realism, bullying, self-injury

Summary

Melissa “Missy” Miller feels like her life is spinning completely out of control as her boyfriend dumps her, then humiliates her in front of their entire class by showing the world her scars. To deal with the pain, she cuts more and more, until she cuts too deep and is offered an ultimatum by the Pale Rider, Death: die forever, or accept her new role as the new War, the Red Rider of the Apocalypse.

Missy’s new “job” puts her in contact with not only external battles but internal ones as well. For War is very persuasive and is always trying to convince Missy to let go and unleash her fury on all those who have hurt her and deserve to be hurt in return. To tame War and herself, Missy must come to terms with what is out of her control…and what is.

Review

I was really impressed with Hunger, the first book in this new series that combines mythological influences with serious modern issues. However, I have to be honest and say that the second book, RAGE, didn’t work for me quite as much.

I cannot say anything bad about this series’ intentions. These issues—anorexia and self-injury, body image and bullying—should be taken with the utmost seriousness, and yet Kessler uses such a wonderfully unique way to talk about these issues, which might have been beaten to death in more academic or psychological fields. The idea of these new Riders having to overcome their own issue in order to fully embrace their role and help out others is wonderful. Throw in some persnickety steeds and a wry-voiced Death, and you’ve got an utterly cool blend of the magical and the all-too-real.

RAGE didn’t quite fulfill its mission for me, though. For some reason, I found it really hard to connect with Missy. Not that her situation does not provoke sympathy, for it does, oh it does. But she was so defined by her pain, by her humiliation, that she felt less like a real person and more like a literal “poster girl” one holds up to a crowd of bored “at risk” high school students and says regarding her, “YOU SEE WHAT CAN HAPPEN? YOU DON’T WANT THINGS TO TURN OUT LIKE THIS.” Not a very effective teaching strategy by any means.

RAGE felt, to me, like it was concentrating much more on the message it was trying to send and less on developing unique characters or a compelling plot. Supporting characters were flat and not very convincing: for example, I knew I was supposed to feel angry at Missy’s bullying classmates’ words and actions, but at the same time I felt it was more for show—kind of a “this is what bullies are supposed to do and sound like” act. The message got in the way of the story, I guess.

If you read and enjoyed Hunger, I encourage you to give RAGE a try. Perhaps it’s been a while since I’ve read Hunger; perhaps you will find less issue with RAGE than I did.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - Graphia / April 4, 2011 / Paperback / 228pp. / $8.99

Sent for review by Blue Slip Media.

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Jackie's author guest post:

Stories and Actions

Stories can be powerful. And at their best, stories can help change the world.

If there's a unifying theme in the Riders of the Apocalypse books, it's how we choose to destroy ourselves -- and how we choose to save ourselves as well. That's where charities come in.

When I was writing HUNGER, my goal was to get people to start thinking about eating disorders. I used to be bulimic, and I still have self-image issues, so this was a very personal issue for me. By the time I was done writing the book, I decided that I would donate a portion of proceeds to the National Eating Disorders Association, a terrific organization that provides support for those affected by eating disorders. (For more about what NEDA does, check out the organization's website.)

Then I started working on RAGE, which looks at self-injury. This was a completely new topic for me; while I've experienced emotional overload, I haven't self-injured (well, other than the bulimia, but that was about food and control, whereas self-injury is more about emotional control). After doing a lot of research, I started writing the book -- and I thought about donating some of the proceeds to a different charity. The problem was, I had no idea which charity to consider.

outsidervocals.com

And then, serendipity: my critique partner mentioned the organization To Write Love On Her Arms. So I checked out the website and I was amazed by what I saw. TWLOHA helps provide support for people who are wrestling with self-injury, addiction, depression, and suicidal thoughts. And that's when I decided that part of RAGE proceeds would go to TWLOHA.

If you've bought HUNGER or RAGE, thank you so much for helping to make a difference. Because it's not just stories that can help change the world; actions do too.

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Thank you for the guest post, Jackie! TWLOHA is an organization that has personal meaning for me and some of my friends. If you haven't heard of them and what they do, I encourage you to check them out. It might bring tears to your eyes.

And if you're still with me...

Riders of the Apocalypse giveaway!

Three lucky winners will receive one copy each of HUNGER and RAGE along with postcards and a mini-poster! To enter, send an e-mail to RageGiveaway@gmail.com. In the body of the e-mail, include your name and e-mail address (if you're under 13, submit a parent's name and e-mail address). One entry per person and prizes will only be shipped to US or Canadian addresses. Entries must be received by midnight (PDT) on 4/30/11. Winners will be selected in a random drawing on 5/1/11 and notified via email.

Jackie's next stop is Mundie Moms at http://mundiemoms.blogspot.com/.

Waiting on Wednesday (103)

Paradise by Jill S. Alexander

Paisley Tillery is the drummer for a country rock band. If they can make it to the stage at the Texapalooza music fest, then Paisley will be closer to her dream of a career in music and a ticket out of her small Texas town.

Drumming and music are what Paisley has always wanted. Until the band gets a new lead singer, the boy from Paradise, Texas. With Paradise in her life, what Paisley wants, and what she needs, complicate her dreams coming true.

I adored Jill Alexander's first novel, a sweet and unfortunately little-known book called The Sweetheart of Prosper County. It reminded me of the Catherine Gilbert Murdock's Dairy Queen books, which are some of my favorites. I can't wait to read her upcoming book, to see if it has the same small-town, country-girl charm as her first one did.

No real fan of that WTF cover though.

Paradise will be published in hardcover by Feiwel & Friends on July 5, 2011. 

And just because I can, have a look at the hardcover vs. paperback covers for The Sweetheart of Prosper County:

Which do you like more? I think I still love the idiosyncracy of the hardcover. It makes me giggle every time I look at it. The paperback's...okay, but doesn't capture the quirkiness of the book for me.

Author Guest Post: Sherry Shahan

Today I have on my blog Sherry Shahan, who is guest posting about her new book, Purple Daze, and celebrating the power of poetry, as April is National Poetry Month. Welcome, Sherry, to Steph Su Reads!

It’s 1965: Do You Know Where Your Country Is? 

“Talk About a Revolution” The Beatles 

While cleaning out my office one day, I found an old shoe box filled with letters. Most of them were written by a friend who was in Vietnam during the late 1960s. I’d kept his letters nearly 50 years, carting them with me every time I moved.

I spent hours rereading Bill’s (Phil in the novel) gut-wrenching account of his daily hell. I began to reminisce about my wild high school days.

Don't tell my two daughters, but like the character Cheryl, I used to sneak out in the middle of the night to meet friends. There’s a poem early on where the characters drive to downtown Los Angeles during the Watts Riots. They’re searching for a break in the National Guard barrier, hoping to experience things firsthand. In another poem, the characters head to Skid Row at 3 a.m. That’s the kind of crazy stuff we did!

“A Change is Gonna Come” Sam Cooke

People often ask my why I decided to tell this story in verse. I wanted to be inside the heads of each character to explore their innermost thoughts and feelings -- I used journal entries, letters, free verse and traditional poetry. To me, verse mirrors the pulse of adolescent life. Teens are emotional and self-absorbed. Condensed metaphoric language on a single page reflects their dramatic, tightly-
packed world.

Here’s a piece from the viewpoint of Ziggy. She’s one of the most troubled characters.

Fat tits + quick wit
does not = stupidity
if that’s what you think.

I think this three line poem sums up her emotional state better than if I’d written a full paragraph in margin-to-margin prose.

The following two-line poem is written from the point of view of Phil. At this point in the story, he’s been in Vietnam nearly a year:

Pages of the new testament fill my pillow,
gospels on a recon in search of a soul.

“California Dreamin’” Mamas & Papas

Once I began writing, memories assaulted me twenty-four-seven. It wasn't until a later draft that I began adding descriptive accounts of historical events, such as the Students for a Democratic Society’s (SDS) first antiwar demonstration and the FBI’s all-out war to discredit Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. These entries are juxtaposed against narrative pieces about sixties rock music.

This entry was added during a late draft:

Norman Morrison
(December 29, 1933 -- November 2, 1965)

A devout Quaker and father of three young children pours kerosene over his head and sets himself on fire outside Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara’s office at the Pentagon in an act of self-sacrifice to protest United States involvement in the Vietnam War.

I’m still so very sad when I think about Norman Morrison -- that he chose to give up his life, thus abandoning his children to protest the war. The raw facts say so much about the state of our country at the time. I didn’t have to do any more than set them down on paper. Simplicity can sometimes say volumes.

Writing in this form made me aware of ‘white space’ and its importance in theme and subtext. That’s something I never thought about before. Most of my poems in Purple Daze have more white space than text. Negative space plays an important role in other art forms as well. Isn’t that what makes an object in a picture more prominent? The more negative space, the more the object stands out. A ballerina’s breathing is her white space. It’s the same way with poetry.

Sherry Shahan is the author of more than 30 books, including adventure novels “Frozen Stiff” and “Death Mountain.” When not snorkeling with penguins in the Galápagos, or riding horseback with
zebras in Africa, she can be found studying ballet at a local dance studio.

Purple Daze (Running Press Teens) is her first verse novel. Set in 1965, Purple Daze is a story about a volatile cultural revolution -- war, riots, feminism, racism, rock ‘n’ roll, love and friendship -- as experienced by six high school students. The themes are as relevant today as they were 50 years ago.

Visit www.SherryShahan.com.

Advance praise for Purple Daze:

"Shahan's Purple Daze puts us on the front lines of funky times, from Los Angeles to Da-Nang. A far out, implosive, psychedelic trip that ends in indictment. This is spectacular." -- Rita Williams-Garcia, author of One Crazy Summer, National Book Award Finalist, Newbery Honor, Scott O'Dell Historical Award, Coretta Scott King Author

"A raw and stunning portrait of the 60’s. For those who lived them, Purple Daze will bring your past to life. For those who didn't, this story will make you feel as though you did." -- Catherine Ryan Hyde, author of 14 novels, including Pay It Forward

Review: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

The Inheritance Trilogy, Book 1

Tags: fantasy, political conspiracy, gods, POC

Summary

19-year-old Yeine Darr is content being the leader of her father’s people in the High North country. But her Amn mother’s assassination draws Yeine into the politics of the Arameri people. At the palace of Sky, Yeine is, shockingly, named an heir to the Arameri throne, a decision that makes her enemies and will most invariably cut her life short. As she navigates palace life, she also forms a tentative alliance with the Enefadeh, former gods enslaved to the Arameri as the result of losing an ancient battle between the gods eons ago. Her Amn family, the Enefadeh…everyone seems to want something from Yeine, and all of them could cost her her life.

Review

THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS, first in a new trilogy, is first-class fantasy world-building. It’s luscious, dangerous, and impressive as hell, if occasionally dragging in pacing. Still, it is a must-read for high fantasy fans.

My favorite aspect of this book was by far the world-building. N.K. Jemisin succeeds in creating a thoroughly three-dimensional fantasy world, from its religion to its poisonous political factions. And all of this is nestled in the delectably increasingly claustrophobic setting of Sky, the castle-city in which all the shenanigans go down.

I struggled a bit with some characterization and the writing style at some points. I think Yeine is supposed to channel the strength and likability of memorable fantasy heroines, but for the most part she simply doesn’t do much to inspire such regard. She is a political pawn, lacking in agency, so I understand that she is limited in opportunities in which to impress, but I still wish there had been more in-the-moment action and a little less reflection on Yeine’s part. My favorite characters were Nahadoth and Sieh, both gods and both stronger personalities than Yeine, and thus interesting to read about whenever they were granted story space.

Additionally, Yeine’s internal speech felt frustrating to me at times. I also understand that this was what had to happen (but I can’t tell you why, since that would be a spoiler), but the more experimental narrative parts are rather jarring if one expects the traditional chronological narration that most high fantasies employ. Likewise, I’m not sure if the experimental narration completely succeeded with me.

Overall, however, I was super impressed by THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS, and will not hesitate to read Jemisin’s future books even despite the elements of this book that didn’t entirely work for me (because I know that that is very subjective nitpicking). Definitely a great book if you’re a fan of high fantasy!

Cover discussion: This cover kicks BUTT. The furiously golden tone, the translucent face, the creepy power of Sky... luuuuurve.

Orbit Books / Feb. 25, 2010 / Paperback / 427pp. / $13.99

Personal copy.