Book Review: Storybound -- Marissa Burt

Storybound, by Marissa Burt, was another book I read for the 2012 YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge. I loved the premise; I think every reader/writer has dreamed about being pulled into a storybook world. In Storybound, that’s exactly what happens to Una Fairchild.

                “When Una Fairchild stumbles upon a mysterious book buried deep in the basement of her school library, she thinks nothing of opening the cover and diving in. But instead of paging through a regular novel, Una suddenly finds herself Written In to the land of Story—a world filled with Heroes and Villains and fairy-tale characters.

                But not everything in Story is as magical as it seems. Una must figure out why she has been Written In—and fast—before anyone else discovers her secret. Together with her new friend Peter and a talking cat named Sam, Una digs deep into Story’s shadowy past. She quickly realizes that she is tied to the world in ways she never could have imagined—and it might be up to her to save it.”

                I really liked the idea. I still do. And it was fun to see characters walking about, from many different genres, going to classes like Advanced Heroics, Villainy, and Backstory as they figure out what kind of tale they’d like to be in. As a soon-to-be college freshman, thinking about potential careers, I really connected to this concept.

                Unfortunately, I didn’t really connect with some of the main characters. They were amusing at times, and I liked certain qualities of each. But some just didn’t quite ‘pop’ for me, and I ran into that accursed disconnect that I get when I just don’t understand what’s going through a character’s head.

                When the summary says that Una ‘thinks nothing’ of diving into a storybook world, they mean it. Cloaked figures in her school basement? ‘No big, just find another corner to read in.’ Waking up on a stone dais, in strange clothes, with no idea how she got there? ‘Must’ve found a secret passage. Whatevah.’ The moods – of Una and other characters – flip flop occasionally, like, they’re mad, and then cheerful, with very little transition between.

                I liked the academy in Story. It almost gives off a Hogwarts kind of feel. And yet sometimes, the school and standard classmate-related conflicts seemed to overshadow the Uber-Important Events that are supposed to be going on.

                Like, when Una first appears in Story, her ‘new friend Peter’ spends at least eleven pages thinking Una is a student, even after she gives him every hint that she is not supposed to be there. Then, instead of leaping into action and ‘digging into Story’s history’, etc… he goes to check if he just failed his exam. Then we actually sit in on a few classes, and they still don’t do a whole lot of ‘digging’. Even when they (mini-spoiler) go to find some all-important books to try and figure out how and why Una was brought to Story, Una thinks something about how ‘she’s never gone so long without reading an actual book.’ Like, the act of reading is more important to her then figuring out what the heck she’s doing in Story.

                To paraphrase Ron Weasley: “These guys need to sort out their priorities.”

                The action picked up a lot toward the end, almost to the point where things moved so fast that it was hard to understand. It cuts off in a weird place too. Things are kind of resolved, but it leaves a very major strand of the plot dangling. It’s a cliff-hanger, but it’s a cliff-hanger that we last heard about several chapters from the end. Then it was never mentioned again. By the time the last page rolled around, I’d almost forgotten about it—not good, considering it left some of my favorite characters of the book in danger.

                Bottom line, I wasn’t really pulled in by the characters, and some of the pacing seemed off. However, it’s an alright, fun little read, and younger readers will probably enjoy the Hogwarts-y feel, and descriptions of the characters in Story. Writers will also appreciate the references to things like dialogue and backstory, I think.

                I just wasn’t pulled as deeply into the world of Story as Una was, I suppose.

                Have you ever imagined being pulled into a storybook world? Have you read Storybound yet? If so, did my observations line up with yours? If you haven’t read Storybound yet… Will you?

Review: Above World, by Jenn Reese

Title: Above World
Author: Jenn Reese
Genre: Fantasy (+ a quite healthy dose of scifi. Or vice versa)
Back-of-the-book Blurb:
"Thirteen-year old Aluna has lived her entire life under the ocean, just like all of the Coral Kampii in the City of Shifting Tides. But after remaining hidden from the Above World for centuries, her colony is in trouble, its survival in doubt: the tech that allows the Kampii to breathe underwater is beginning to fail, and many Kampii have already died. Yet the colony's elders, including Aluna's father, are unwilling to venture to the dry and dangerous Above World to search for answers.

So it's up to Aluna and her friend Hoku to face the terrors of land to find a solution. Once in the Above World, Aluna and Hoku learn that their colony is not the only one struggling to survive -- so are others in the skies and in the deserts. Will Aluna's warrior spirit and Hoku's intelligence be enough not only to keep themselves safe but also to find a way to save their city and possibly the world?"

The plot summary of Above World intrigued me. And the plot itself is intriguing. Far into the future, after overpopulation crowds humans out of their usual dwelling places, they transform themselves into beings based on mythical creatures (mermaids, harpies, centaurs, and so on) capable of living in other ecosystems – the ocean, high altitudes, the deserts, etc.

First of all, I love the concept. The world-building was rather good, with noticeable distinctions in culture between the Kampii (mermaids), Aviar (harpies), and all the rest. There was no shortage of action. The fight scenes were rather exciting, and detailed (the author studies martial arts, so…. There you go).

There’s an interesting blend of fantasy and science fiction here. It’s the kind of thing I would write. I’ve actually already written about bird-people and fish-people…

…which is what made it so disappointing when I could not bring myself to fully love this book.

I never really was engrossed in it, perhaps because that action-packed, exciting pace is so fast. Things move so quickly that certain areas weren’t developed as much as I would have liked.

Right from the beginning, things got a little Tell-y. The information was usually interesting; the placement just didn’t feel natural. Characters talked too long about things that should’ve been common knowledge to them. While reading, I thought more than once, “This book is mainly about showcasing the world and/or technology.”

Character motivations were sketchy in places. They flip-flopped – made rather dumb decisions on one page, then berated themselves for it (literally) two pages later. While some of the characters were interesting at first, I couldn’t truly like them because of their nonsensical actions, or actions that were out of character.

Out of character. That’s another thing I wasn’t thrilled with. I ask you, how can two Kampii children (who to our knowledge have never left the water before) pull themselves onto land for the first time and immediately recognize the smell of smoke? The word ‘smoke’ shouldn’t have even been in their vocabulary. Little things like this were scattered throughout the book, just noticeable enough to distract me and make me question the narration.

For instance [Minor Vague Spoilers in this paragraph, but not too big because it all happens within the space of a few pages anyway] in a colony of all females, where reproduction takes place in a nutrient bed  (In other words, no males required) and a couple-in-love from another colony is something to gossip over… In about two pages a girl from this colony begins a relationship with our male main character. This colony began as enemies, not entirely trusting, holding our MCs captive, as prisoners – and then again, two pages later, they’re all grand friends. *sigh*

Maybe a younger reader would be more entranced by Above World, but the logical inconsistencies and the info-dumps within the narrative made it hard for me to really get into this book.

Goals for a New Year

I am a bad, bad blogger. My first post of 2012, which was supposed to be so big and profound, and wonderful, and original…

                Is just late.

                *sigh*

                So, I suppose my first resolution should be:

1.       Keep up with the blog. And blog well.

                My second resolution is the resolution I’ve made for a couple years now, and haven’t yet achieved, despite the best of intentions.

2.       Lose weight. Finish polishing a novel (to the point where it is ready to submit somewhere, or at least be seen by someone other than myself).

                I have so many rough drafts, guys. Some worse than others, some that deserve to be burned in a fiery pit of fire… But I’ve made rough drafts. I’ve planned series, and written the first books…

                But I still have not bolted myself down to the revision table and finished anything. Which is a problem. Especially when this year will also see the start of college, where I will have about as much free time as a person with no free time.

                By the end of the year, I want to at least be ready to maybe think about starting to look into querying. Maybe.

                Another thing I’m going to do this year is…

3.       Keep track of the books I read.

                I have been reading for a long time. I have loved more books than a person who loves books (don’t I make the best comparisons in the late, late evening?) and yet whenever someone asks for recommendations, all they get is a blank stare, and if they’re lucky: “Oh, there was this great book, about a thing. But I forget the title and author… But the cover was green. I think.”

                I plan to remedy this in 2012.

                Using a handy, color-coded spreadsheet.

                Here I planned to include a screenshot of the aforementioned spreadsheet, but unfortunately such a thing would not fit in this post, so instead I’ll just say that it includes columns for:

·         Date I Finished

·         Title

·         Author

·         Genre

·         Where I got it (own it, library, school, etc.)

·         Additional Thoughts (things I liked, things I didn’t like, etc.)

                And, to make it pretty, varying shades of green, yellow, and red will show whether I loved the book, hated it, or didn’t care either way.

                The thought of this excites me immensely. 8]

                What are you doing this year? Any goals, for writing, reading, or otherwise? And what were your favorite books of the year?