The Blue Mirror

The Blue Mirror by Kathe Koja

So my sister bought some discount books for a dollar each at Books-A-Million the other day, and one of them was The Blue Mirror.

Here is the book's synopsis: Some guys are more than bad news.  Sixteen-year-old Maggy's life consists of trying to be invisible at school, taking care of her alcoholic mother, and spending all the time she can at the Blue Mirror, a downtown cafe. She can lose herself there for hours with a cappuccino and her sketchbook, in which she creates a paper world she calls "The Blue Mirror." But everything changes when she meets Cole, a charismatic runaway. Maggy is intrigued by Cole's risky life on the streets and by the girls who follow him, childlike Jouly and strange Marianne. And when Cole says that he loves her, Maggy comes alive. But as Maggy becomes more entwined with Cole and looks at him with all her heart, she sees something far more dangerous than she may be capable of handling…

In poetic and evocative language, Kathe Koja draws us into the haunting, passionate world of The Blue Mirror.

Ok, so this book starts off kind of like every lonely girl's fantasy. She is having trouble at home, hates school except for art since she loves to draw, and just feels out of place everywhere she goes. So she goes to a cafe called The Blue Mirror, where she is friends with a guy on staff there and she feels like she belongs there. She has a booth by the front window she always sits in to look out the window and uses what she calls her z-ray to seeing the world outside the window. She draws what she sees in her sketchbook and calls her sketchbook “The Blue Mirror”. Now this right here is where I got a little thrown off. Why call the sketchbook the same names as the cafe? I think this story might have gone a better way if the cafe was called something else, and she called the sketchbook The Blue Mirror because the glass had a blue hue to it to keep out sun rays or what have you, and looking through the window the saw a world that mirrored our own. It's just how she made it in the book, it just kind of seems cliché to me.

Anyway, in the opening of this book, she sees a cute guy hanging out outside that was brought to her attention by a scene she saw when she first walked into the cafe. She thinks he is just amazing and rushes to draw him but he and his friends disappear before she can. This leads the story on to her coming back the next day to see him, sees him walking by with his friends, they come into the cafe and sit down with her. Here she learns they are homeless teens on the street, which in turn turns into a whole homeless community in the downtown area that this girl hangs out. She gets swept up by the attention her new guy friend is giving her and these leads her into a roller coaster of events she does and doesn't want to happen. In the end she is able to get away from Mr. Hunk by showing him who he really is and how everyone views him as.

Now this story is still very confusing to me because it is never really revealed who the guy is. He seems to be a normal guy who is homeless on the street just looking for the next girl he can use, but he also seems to have supernatural powers. But supernatural powers aren't really discussed in the book, she just kept focusing on how he held a sort of lusty power over her, but that made me think more of teen cravings than supernatural powers. So I'm not sure if the author meant for him to be supernatural or what. Another thing that made me wonder about the supernatural part is a lipstick he gives to all the girls he likes. It stains their lips blue, and it stays for a long time and has to wear off if you are with him and use it long enough. It just doesn't make sense.

I think this story has some good bones, but I feel like it was rushed and not thought out completely. The author is award winning for some young adult novels, so maybe I need to try reading some other ones before I decide completely if this author is not for me. Right now, it's standing at a no. But I'll try another book by her. Maybe this was just a one off.

So on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest I give this book a 4. It has some strong bones, but it just fizzled out in the middle and end of the book. Another reason for the 4 rating is I hated how the dialog was written. It just did not flow well and I had to sometimes pause to figure out who was speaking. That's not something I want in a book. I want smooth reading to keep me in the moment. So yeah, like I said, strong bones, not enough meat. I would say if you want to read this story, go to the library, or try to get it super cheap second hand or at Books-A-Million if they have it at yours for a dollar. I think you will feel cheated if you spend the 7 dollars it originally cost. Unless you are a fan of the author then you may feel differently. Both my sister and I felt that the plot was good but the story was seriously lacking. But I think I may try reading the author's novels Buddha Boy or straydog. I hear they both are good. So we'll see.

Writing away,
M.

Dead On Town Line

So I’ve been trying to decide if I want to do my own personal book reviews anymore since I do want to eventually start actively looking for an agent and trying to become a published author.  But right now since my life is at a point where I am focusing more on my health and still working on my manuscript, I feel I will go ahead and do my reviews.  I might delete them later if it’s suggested to me when I do start looking for an agent, but for now I just want to get my thoughts out there for my own personal use to reflect on what I like about stories I read and what I don’t like.

Also I plan to make a page soon with cover pictures of the books I’ve read so I can keep a tab.  I’d get one of those bookshelf widgets but some of my books are really old and a lot of those widget places don’t have cover pictures on file for them and I really want them all to have cover pictures because I will be getting rid of some of the books I don’t see myself ever reading again.  I’m thinking about holding on to some of them and offering them as a giveaway on my blog in the future.  Still deciding on that.  But for now, on with the review.  Enjoy.

Dead On Town Line by Leslie Connor

Here is another one of the novels my sister picked up for a dollar at Books-A-Million. So this story was written in a very interesting way. It's completely in prose, as in poem. Each poem is a new chapter of the story. This story reads super fast, like a hour tops for fast readers.

Here's it's synopsis: Of all the revelations her afterlife brings, perhaps the most startling thing Cassie Devlin discovers is that being dead isn't being done. Murdered by a classmate, Cassie finds herself stuck on the edges of the world she once knew and a realm whose tug she feels but can't quite find her way to. And . . . she is not alone.There's another like her, who arrived earlier and who, like Cassie, has some unfinished business.

Beautifully crafted in electrifying free verse, Dead on Town Line offers teens an emotionally provocative, can't-put-it-down reading experience that will linger long after the last page is turned.

So I like the plot of this story. It does become easy to figure out who killed the main character in the story pretty early on, but it's still worth sticking to the story to find out how the murder was pulled off. The main character starts off the story dead, retelling her story from a while back. She explains what happened to her and why she is currently dead. However, along the way in her story she jumps back to present time as she and her new friend, an also dead girl who's mystery is unsolved, try to find ways to get the living's attention so their bodies can be found and they can move on. They practice using ghost tricks to try to make this happen.

This story kind of read like a Lifetime or after school special movie for me. There's the drama of past events that leads up to the person wanting to kill the main character, to the assumed and expected ending. It really wasn't a bad story. I dare to say I might be tempted to read it again some day.

So on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being best I give this story an 8. It was a decent little story with an interesting plot and decent ending. It's not the best story out there, but I find a story being told in prose very interesting. It makes me want to experiment with my writing and perhaps try writing a novel in prose to see how it turns out. If you can find this book in your local library or used for super cheap or have a Books-A-Million close by, totally pick this one up. I think you will find it very interesting. I am curious to read more books by the author to see how I like them. The hunt is on.

Writing away,
M.

Barnes & Noble: A surprise.

So today I got a surprise in the mail from Barnes & Noble.  A 5 dollar gift certificate.  I was confused on why I got it until I saw in small letters that it was from their refund department for the e-book that I mentioned about a few posts back.  I was in shock.  I didn’t think they would actually do anything to sort the situation out and I am completely shocked that they did.  I am allowed to use the card at an actual store and online as well as for e-books.  I am not sure which I will do.  My mom says I shouldn’t use it online, but I’m not scared off of using their online store just nervous that I will be paying the right price or getting the right book or what have you.  I see through this experience that online things can go wrong, but I’m willing to try again.

I think I will go to the store and get a book in person.  I haven’t bought a tangible book in a while, but I don’t know which book to get.  There isn’t really any out that I really want.  But I will head down there in the next few weeks to take a peek and see what they have.  Haven’t been in B&N in forever, but I love going in there.  Maybe I will get  Nook cover instead of a book.  I need one and 5 dollars off would be nice.  Hummm, I’ve got time to think about it.

But I just wanted to update to let you know that B&N did make things better, and I have nothing but respect for companies that will admit they made a mistake want to make amends.  Like I said I am not one to make a big huff about things businesses do to me, I know I’m not the only one that is screwed by companies, but the last two issues I’ve had with companies just got my feathers all fluffed up.  But both Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble have renewed my faith in them.  Now I’m not encouraging people to go out there an make a stink about every single thing a company does bad because not all things are worth the dust you’ll kick up, but if it’s something you feel strongly about then you should say something and if a company respects their customers then they will try to work things out for you, and if they don’t then you don’t need to deal with them any more, there is to much competition out there to let one company stress you out.  And that is all there is to say about that.  ;-)

Well I’m off, just wanted to update you about what happened.  Can’t wait to go shopping, I’m really thinking about getting a Nook cover, see B&N was smart.  They send me a 5 dollar gift card and I will end up spending more.  But I want to because the renewed my faith in them.  I know, I’m sad.  LOL!  Ok, talk to you all later.  Bye for now.

Writing away,
M.

Barnes and Noble: E-Buyer Beware!

Ok, so last Friday I was on the Barnes and Nobel website looking for some free e-books to download to my Nook. I got one a couple of months back and I am still trying it out. I hadn’t bought a book until recently because I was nervous on how the whole thing worked. The transaction on the site worked nicely and I had planned to purchase another book that was coming out this month to my Nook from the site. Now my funds are budgeted so I can’t go buying a ton of books. I have to pick and choose what I order or buy. So the event that happened on Friday got me ticked off.

I am a “fan” of Nook on Facebook and they mentioned free classical book downloads. So I went to check them out and downloaded them. Then I went to look at the other classical book downloads and saw some of them where free. I saw Sleepy Hollow was free so I clicked on the link for it. The page came up and it said to click for the free download. I clicked it, downloaded it, and then it went to the next page where it said I’d bought the book. I was confused on this. It said it was free everywhere, so why was I charged?

From the email I got from Barnes and Noble, there is a Sleepy Hollow sketch book that is free to download and not the Sleepy Hollow novel. Well the webmasters must have accidentally listed Sleepy Hollow as free and then caught it and fixed it after I downloaded and made my complaint to B&N. They sent me an email basically saying I was wrong and had the wrong book. Umm, no, I had the right book. I just feel like I was being called a liar in this situation. Usually I try not to make a stink about things and just assume it was my stupidity, but here lately I am just tired of companies getting one over on me. I sent B&N and email backing telling them that I was not in the wrong and I was furious at being called a liar by them and that I won’t be using their website again. I will use my local store still for tangible books since I can talk to actual people, but I won’t use the website for buying e-books. I learned of another place that I can get e-books for cheaper so I will use them. I wanted to use B&N to support the company because I saw them as a quality company. But I’m one to like things simple and I like good customer service. Even if they had given me an online gift card for 10% off a future purchase instead of a refund, it would have been “something” to let me know they understood me and were sorry for the situation. I hate companies that put the blame on the customer when the company is to blame. In all fairness I know they have tons of people trying to rip them off in similar situations and they ruin it for everyone else, but it doesn’t make me feel better when they are in the wrong and basically called me a liar.

I’m just lucky the money wasn’t much, but when you are on a budget every little bit counts, even what is considered pocket change to big corporations. I hope the book is good and worth the money and irritation it put me through. So word of the wise, if you purchase from the B&N website, make sure the item you are downloading is the right price or you may be seriously paying for it in the end. I am really let down by them, and I had plans to get some Nook accessories from them for my Nook since it needs a cover and some other things, but I will go to Amazon for that and call it day. I don’t know, I guess I’m just sad that I wanted to support the company even though they cost more than most places and in the end it feels like they don’t care about those who do want to support them. Meh, I’m just being a hormonal so and so today. I’ve had all weekend to calm down about the money and it’s gone now so I will deal. Just think their customer service sucks old musty book pages. Maybe that’s why they are so bitter. Oh well. I just wanted to tell you guys about my situation and what happened and how it turned out. I expect it to turn out this way too, but at least my piece was heard…kind of.

On a good note, I had a problem with Amazon sending me a book with a deeply cut cover and they are in the process of fixing the situation. I had posted this on craft blog I had, since it was a craft book, but since I closed it I will post about it here. I need to go double check to make sure it still going as it should. But the funny thing is the money I saved on that book I ended up spending a book that was suppose to be free. Irony, eh? *sigh* Oh well. Ok, I’m off. I need to relax my elbow, I believe I banged it in my sleep and now it’s in pain. I do have another post to make about my novel Jumper…I wonder what it would be called if it was published? But yeah, I have decided something big on it. But I want to work on it a little more before I make my final choice. More to come later on that.

Writing away,
M.