Review of: Linger, Wolves of Mercy Falls

Front Flap Summary: (from Amazon.com)

the longing.
Once Grace and Sam have found each other, they know they must fight to stay together. For Sam, this means a reckoning with his werewolf past. For Grace, it means facing a future that is less and less certain.

the loss.
Into their world comes a new wolf named Cole, whose past is full of hurt and danger. He is wrestling with his own demons, embracing the life of a wolf while denying the ties of a human.

the linger.
For Grace, Sam, and Cole, life is a constant struggle between two forces--wolf and human--with love baring its two sides as well. It is harrowing and euphoric, freeing and entrapping, enticing and alarming. As their world falls apart, love is what lingers. But will it be enough?

Amy's Review:

I love Maggie Stiefvater's writing. If you've never read anything by her, go pick up "The Scorpio Races" -that's my Stiefvater favorite right now. She has this weird style of writing, like everything is a musical poem. Most books in first person "speak" as if the character is talking to you, but even through the multiple views that The Mercy Falls books take us through, there is the rhythmic quality that makes the writing beautiful.

As for the plot of this book, it moved a little slowly. There was a lot of exposition from two previously secondary characters (Isabel and Cole) that was, plot-wise, next to useless. It interrupted the flow of action between the main characters, Grace and Sam, and made the book seem a lot longer than it needed to be. The first 200 pages moved a little slowly because we had to be introduced to Cole St. Clair and his moody, depressing and drug-filled rock star background, but I would have appreciated more about his relationship with his ex-girlfriend and his best friend and bandmate, Victor, whom he also had made into a wolf -"for the high of it." More details on these characters and Cole's relationships with them would have made me feel more sympathy for Cole later on in the story. The story following Grace and Sam moved a bit faster, especially because Sam had to rediscover all of the possibilities life can now offer him and his wolf-less state. Grace's parents needed more of a reason to dislike Sam (at least before they found them in bed), and more of a reason to become so overprotective and authoritative. Also, Grace's illness/the wolf's death at the beginning needed more connection. The reveal at the end that they went hand-in-paw was a little far-fetched because in 300 pages it wasn't brought up after the initial discovery of the dead wolf.

The emotional impact of this book is powerful, especially if you've been with Sam and Grace since Shiver. I found myself crying at the end in a few places, mostly when Sam couldn't bring himself to change back into a wolf to be with his Summer Girl. Stiefvater definitely knows how to squeeze a few tears out of a reader, and she did it well in the conclusion of this book.

Overall, I give Linger, Book 2 of the Wolves of Mercy Falls 3 out of 6 stars. Despite its slow beginning and questionable attempt at a connection to science, the characters of this world have intricate and beautifully tragic personalities and lives, and the musical quality of the writing kept me reading until the end. I will most certainly be picking up the final book in the series, Forever, to see if Grace and Sam can be together for, well...forever.

Thank you for reading.

Help Me Get Some Writing Done

Hello All,

So it seems like my biggest problem with writing is that I'm easily distracted and start working on another project just as I start growing bored with the one I'm working on.
So I need some help.
I'm going to introduce you to three different characters from three different novels. One is from a possibly trilogy, a "journey" story, and the other two are fairytale retellings.

Tell me what you think when you:

Meet Maya:

She's wanted for a crime she didn't commit.

She's trapped in a castle with a self-loathing monster.

She's timid and loyal to a fault.

She will risk her future, her life, and her love.

She can see beyond the exterior and understand a person's true soul.

She will be forced to choose between being with the one she loves, or allowing him to live.

Meet Maya Frye, a beauty stuck in a beast of a situation.

Meet Phyre:

She's a princess, with a dangerous secret:

She's a fire weaver.

All of the weavers of the world have been killed because they are too dangerous for normal society, especially the fire and earth weavers, who have the ability to cause so much destruction.

She's been sent on a mission to save her people and her kingdom.

She's on the brink of losing everything.

She's scared, but she keeps moving forward.

She is in a lot of danger if anyone finds out what she is, and who she is looking for.



Meet Phyre, the Valley Princess of Fire.


Meet Cordelia:

She's looking for her sisters and trying to break a curse that she's lived with all her life

-she turns into a swan.

She knows her father isn't quite what he seems, but she never thought it could be as bad as it is.

She knows she shouldn't trust anyone with her secret.

She knows her father will be furious when he finds out what she's been doing.

She knows the woods are dangerous, but
she also knows that Samuel will die if she doesn't help him find his way out.

She doesn't know that she's falling in love, and
that's the most dangerous thing she doesn't know.

Meet Cordelia, the Swan Princess.


So what do you think of these lovely ladies? I know it's not much to go on, but I can't reveal much more of their characters without divulging too much of their stories and plots, and I don't want to do that just yet.

So please please please! Comment or FB or Twitter or Tumblr message me what you think of my girls, so I can pick a story to stick to this summer!

Thank you for reading,
Amy Liz

Absence...

Hello All,

Sorry I've been a little absent lately, but you see...I made a tumblr. 

It's mostly about what I love best about Disney with some splashes of whatever I'm currently obsessing over at the moment, like Legend of Korra, Smash, and stuff like that.

Also, the semester is almost over, so there's been a lot of homework and a lot of projects, finals to get ready for, and my shows are closing up, not to mention the literally CONSTANT search for an internship that won't completely waste my time this summer.

Another thing consuming my brain-space is the thought of what I'll be doing next semester in terms of working at school with the Emerson Channel. 

My friend Tara and I have pitched a show and we don't know if it's getting picked up or not and it's been like two weeks since we've heard anything, but we keep hearing rumors that we're not sure we can trust but how freaking AWESOME would it be to produce our own show?!?

Also, even though I've been on the show since forever, I always get nervous at the end of a semester about my status on Good Morning Emerson. I love this show and would literally sell my soul to the devil to keep working on it, and I always pray that the new producers won't be like "well, we should give someone ELSE a chance to work on this show," so there's that stress. I eventually want to senior produce the show with Tara, but right now I'm still figuring out what that might entail, so I'm working on just taking on more responsibilities and learning more about all of the different positions and stuff.

Which brings me to... figuring out what I want to do for OTHER shows next year.

I am 1000% positive that I never ever EVER want to segment produce again, because it is the most annoying job in the world and I have so much respect for people who do it over and over again.

I really want to get into technical directing, which can be super difficult because you work with this:

SO

MANY

BUTTONS!!!

I know a lot of people really respect a good TD, so I'd like to be one of those. Or a good director, but idk if I have the attention-span for that kind of work. 

So yes, I hope to be getting back to blogging very quickly, now that things are winding down.

Thanks for reading,

Amy Liz

Also,

WATCH THE 31ST ANNUAL EVVY AWARDS

10 Reasons to Read The Iron Fey

Hello All,

So clearly I failed at my drawing challenge (saddest day ever), but it was because I was just so distracted all during February...and March! Mostly with homework and midterms, but I have also been completely wrapped up in this new-to-me book series called The Iron Fey, by Julie Kagawa.
If you haven't heard about The Iron Fey, or if you have and you, like me one month ago, don't think you like books about faeries, you need to take a look at my list of 10 reasons why you should read this series, or at least give the first book, The Iron King, a fair and unbiased shot.


Reason #1: A Strong, Relatable Heroine
Meagan Chase is the main character in this series. At first she seems like any other ordinary teenager, unpopular, totally in love with the hot-shot jock, and a goofy best friend by her side...until her little brother is stolen from their home and Meagan starts seeing crazy magical creatures all over the place. Suddenly Meagan's world is turned upside-down as her best friend turns out to be the most infamous trickster faery in the world and her search for her brother takes her into the beautiful and dangerous world of the Nevernever, the feary world, too dangerous for mortals.

DeviantArt user: http://skellingt0n.deviantart.com/art/Iron-Fey-196138057

Meagan is an awesome heroine because she has no idea what the heck she's doing, and that fact is completely believable to the readers. It's also great to find a girl who is so determined to reach her goal that she's willing to do anything, even if that means traveling to a poisonous world where no one can protect her! Meagan is clumsy, strong, full of love and passion, and totally and completely believable.

Reason #2: Comedy
These books are hilarious. That's not to say that there isn't a lot of action and drama happening, but the tension is often broken up to let the reader breathe during these high intensity moments -like right in the middle of a life-or-death battle!
Most of this comedy is brought on by Meagan's best friend, Robin Goodfellow, aka Puck from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" aka the most awesome MoFo ever. He has some of the best one-liners in these books, tossed out so non-chalantly in the middle of a serious moment that you HAVE to laugh out loud...even if you're in the middle of your Psychology class -oops!

Reason #3: Grimalkin
The coolest cat you will ever read about in your life. A mix between the Cheshire Cat and (am I crazy?) Professor Snape, he is wise and more than a little blunt. He is an essential character to each book's story arc, because without this feline, Meagan and crew would be stuck chasing their tails, so to speak, never getting anything done. He has a nasty tendency of disappearing at the slightest hint of danger and not returning for some time, but he really does know everything, and grows a reluctant fondness for the heroes of these stories -but he'll never admit to it.

Reason #4: Literary Antagonists
We've all read Shakespeare, some more eagerly than others, so readers should recognize King Oberon, Queen Tatiana, and Queen Mab of the Feary Courts in the Iron Fey series. Mab, mentioned in "Romeo and Juliet," is the cold ice queen of the Unseelie court, the icy, heartless and cruel fey who are constantly at war with the Summer court, where King Oberon and Tatiana from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" rule the Seelie fey, who are equally cruel, but take great and obvious pleasure in tricking and riddling their prey. The two Queens are definitely not Meagan's allies throughout these books, for a multitude of reasons, and Oberon isn't always on her side, either, but he's more "lenient" -if that's what you want to call it -with her than the others. It's really cool to see these characters and their larger-than-life personalities brought to light out of their original stories, especially when Kagawa alludes to their well-known histories in Shakespeare's works.

Reason #5: A Real Sense of Danger
I won't reveal any major plot points here, but just know that all of your soon-to-be-favorite characters are going to be in serious, life-threatening danger in these books. And each book raises the stakes of that danger just a bit more, bringing more tension and urgency to each chapter. Come prepared with a box of tissues and an oxygen tank, for when you start hyperventilating.

Reason #6: A Menagerie of New Magical Creatures
If I tried to name all of the faery creatures in these books, I think this post would be as long as its own novel. Basically every faery-related creature you've ever heard of makes at least a basic appearance in one of these stories. Some of these things include giants, trolls, goblins, wood nymphs, satyrs, unicorns, sirens, kelpies, redcaps, and even The Big Bad Wolf -that's right, THAT one. These creatures are all characters in themselves and often move the plot along or turn it around in a new direction. Otherwise they paint a very colorful backdrop to this already technicolor story.

Reason #7: The Hot Guy
Ash.
'nuf said.
Once you read the books, you'll understand. Strong, beautiful, hiding a dark and brooding past -love him. You'll have no choice.
(Team Ash)


Reason #8: The Forbidden Relationship
Meagan's a human, Ash is an Unseelie prince. All the rules of nature and the Nevernerver say it's impossible for them to be together. What better reason to try it? Love, duh. I love these two together, and screw everyone and anyone who tries to tear them apart! I died a little inside every time Ash had to push his feelings for Meagan away and pretend like it didn't matter! (But not in a Twilight-y way, more like a more intense and they-will-actually-kill-us-if-we-do-this kind of way).
Thank Goodness for The Iron Knight. It restored all of my faith in princely heroes, long nearly unattainable quests, and the possibility for happily ever afters -not that they belong in every story, of course.

Reason #9: The New Enemy
Everyone who reads faery folklore knows that the fey can't stand the touch of iron. Well what could possibly be more dangerous to a world of fey than an enemy made completely out of iron and as powerful as the imagination can dream? No one has ever thought to create this kind of bad guy, and it puts a very interesting twist into the storyline of these books. It makes winning for the good guys ten times as difficult as it would have been, and it puts an extra edge of tension to every encounter with the antagonists.
A brilliant idea for a new twist to the folktales.

Reason #10: A Fun and Easy Read
I hate it when teachers try to make you read books, because those literary fiction novels are so hard to read through with a looming deadline. For those kind of books, you need to be in a specific state of mind and have oodles of time to slowly absorb the atmosphere that the literary fiction is building. I have a short attention-span, and I don't have time to wait for that atmosphere to build.
That's why I like YA so much. It lays out an entertaining story very simply, so you can get lost in the story, not the words.
You will get lost in the Iron Fey. There's no question about it -the descriptions are too vivid and the characters are too lifelike for a reader to remain firmly planted in the real world. The action of the story takes you away from your reading room and into the Summer Court, or the through the halls of the icy palace of Tir Na Nog. There is no escape -once you're in, you'll Never -never! -come back out.
And you won't want to, either.

Thanks for reading,
Amy Liz


pictures courtesy of: 
DeviantArt user: http://skellingt0n.deviantart.com/art/Iron-Fey-196138057
Fanpop.com
NewBookReleaseDates.com

Days 11 and 12 Drawing Challenge

Hello All,

So, I pretty much failed at my Drawing Challenge, as you can see in my utter lack of producing new pictures every day. But I will be completing the challenge (obviously out of the time limit) hopefully over the next month.

So here is Day Eleven of the Challenge:
A Turning Point in my Life.

The turning point that I used for my life is my admission into Emerson College.
I have learned a lot in my short time at Emerson, and I hope to continue learning in the time I have left.
I don't know how to convey exactly what I've learned, other than the vague idea of 'how to be an adult.'
But obviously I'm still in school, and I'm clearly not enough of an adult to be financially stable on my own, or to know how to rent an apartment without my parent's help, or all of those other things that parents just apparently know how to do, like taxes, and ...stuff.

I know that college seems like a cliche to use as a turning point, but that's because it really is a huge change in a person's life. It takes the familiar atmosphere of learning in a classroom/controlled environment, but it also takes the next level of learning by placing a person in a new city/state and living with people they have never met and they are expected to thrive by taking care of themselves. It's a huge difference between living with their parents taking care of them and being out on their own.

Day 12: Most Recent Accomplishment

My most recent accomplishment is my new position on Good Morning Emerson, Production Supervisor! I'm so happy to be learning more in producing and learning more about this wonderful and fabulous show. I've worked on GME since my very first semester at Emerson. I started out as a lowly little teleprompter, and I worked my way up to a year of associate producing, which was taken over by my brilliant friend, Tara, this semester, who is just so amazing and smart and knows how to do, I'm pretty sure, EVERYTHING that's involved in television.
My job this semester includes building "the rundown" for each episode. A rundown is a second-by-second outline of the entire show, and it changes for every episode, depending on what the hosts and correspondents are talking about and which videos they decide to use during the episode, and which guests we have on the show, too. If the rundown is built just right, we get a show that looks like this!

Don't forget to press PLAY!

So that's all I've got to give today, and I'm so sorry I haven't been updating regularly.
I'll work on that.

That's all for now.
Thanks for reading,
Amy Liz

Days 9 and 10

Hello All,

So I've been really behind on these drawing challenge posts, but I've been swamped by life lately, so I figured no one really minded all that much if I settled those issues first.

Day Nine: Favorite TV Show:

I don't know what my favorite show of all time is, but right now in this 2011-2012 season, my favorite show is "Once Upon a Time."
I love it, it's got so many layers and story lines going that it's just complicated enough to keep you interested while still being simple and engaging enough to understand on a week-to-week basis.
For those of you wondering, my new favorite character is Mr. Gold/Rumplestiltskin, because of the episode "Skin Deep," a spin off of the Beauty and the Beast tale. I love him and my heart breaks for him and now I am completely convinced that the Evil Queen is a cold-hearted bitch and she must be defeated! Emma and Henry need to get back on track with having these characters remember who they are and NOT have some tragic heart-attack making us cry two weeks before Christmas (RIP Sheriff Graham!)

Day Ten: Favorite Candy

There's really not that much to say about this one. Chocolate. Peanut Butter. What more could Heaven give us to tell us there is a Paradise?


So I guess that's about it for today. I actually have the pictures for Days 11 and 12 completely finished, but unfortunately my scanner is being lame, and I can't figure out how to work it out right now, so all you guys get is 9 and 10.



Thanks for reading!
Amy Liz

Day 8 of my Drawing Challenge

Hello All,

I'm still a few days behind, and probably will be for the rest of the month, but here's day eight's picture:

Day Eight: Favorite Animated Character

My favorite cartoon character has always and most likely will always be Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid. Whenever I was in the pool, or when we went to the beach, I always pretended like I was Ariel and started singing "Part of Your World" out of no where, often scaring and just as often annoying the people close by. I mean, who else but a lunatic six-year-old suddenly starts singing Disney songs at the top of their lungs out in public?

So yes, Ariel. I think the actual drawing of her came out fine, I just wish I was a little better at drawing water and the waves. But I'm not usually a stickler for background details, so I also didn't really try very hard to get the waves just right.
For those of you who haven't seen the movie (for some ridiculous reason), this is the scene when she is singing the "Part of Your World Reprise" after saving Prince Eric from drowning. It's, like, the most epic of all final notes, and the waves are all cool and crashing around the rock she's on, so it's basically awesome embodied in about 15 seconds of animation.

That's it for today.

Thanks for reading,
Amy Liz