Category: musings

musings

Author Spotlight: Meg Cabot

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

So I’m pretty sure you know who Meg Cabot is, right? Like, I grew up on her books so she’s pretty important in my pages. Aha.

But, in case her name still doesn’t ring a bell, I’m sure you indirectly know her. I will now commence in giving you prompts to jolt your memories.

Exhibit A)

Her 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series was made into an old TV show in the ’90s known as – well – Missing.

Exhibit B)

Disney has crafted her standalone novel Avalon High into a movie starring Britt Robertson (like, who doesn’t adore that girl-next-door kinda face?)

And lastly, if I have to come to Exhibit C for you to understand the vastness of her great works, I’m starting to think you don’t love YA as much as you think you do 😉

Exhibit C)

Meg Cabot started the very popular series The Princess Diaries, which as you guessed it (hopefully), has become a movie series as well starring none other than Anne Hathaway.

Now, I’m hoping this jogged your distant and vague memory of who she is because none of the above series/books are why I’m starring this Author Spotlight for her. Growing up, I adored her Mediator series about a girl, with the most hilarious sarcastic humor, who could see ghosts. And her job was, well, to mediate for them onto the afterlife.

No? Not jogging your memory because this series wasn’t made into a TV show/movie? Well, here’s the blurb for book 1.

shadowland -meg cabot

There’s a hot guy in Susannah Simon’s bedroom. Too bad he’s a ghost.

Suze is a mediator – a liaison between the living and the dead. In other words, she sees dead people. And they won’t leave her alone until she helps them resolve their unfinished business with the living.

But Jesse, the hot ghost haunting her bedroom, doesn’t seem to need her help. Which is a relief, because Suze has just moved to sunny California and plans to start fresh, with trips to the mall instead of the cemetery, and surfing instead of spectral visitations.

But the very first day at her new school, Suze realizes it’s not that easy. There’s a ghost with revenge on her mind… and Suze happens to be in the way.

As it is, Cabot’s Mediator series ended with the 6th novel, Twilight, back in 2005. To my utter amazement, drum roll please, a book 7 has been published this year that continues several years after the events of Twilight (which were satisfactory, don’t get me wrong – if Cabot had left me in a bind of a cliffhanger all these years, I would’ve stalked her down). And hence, for all you fans who loved Susannah Simon’s crazy ghost antics and her beloved ghost Jesse, I am pointing you all to Meg’s latest and probably, actually her last book in the Mediator series. (You’re welcome).

remembrance -meg cabotTHE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED RETURN OF MEG CABOT’S BESTSELLING MEDIATOR SERIES FEATURING FAN-FAVORITE GHOST WHISPERER SUSANNAH SIMON

You can take the boy out of the darkness.
But you can’t take the darkness out of the boy.

All Susannah Simon wants is to make a good impression at her first job since graduating from college (and since becoming engaged to Dr. Jesse de Silva). But when she’s hired as a guidance counselor at her alma mater, she stumbles across a decade-old murder, and soon ancient history isn’t all that’s coming back to haunt her. Old ghosts as well as new ones are coming out of the woodwork, some to test her, some to vex her, and it isn’t only because she’s a mediator, gifted with second sight. 

What happens when old ghosts come back to haunt you?
If you’re a mediator, you might have to kick a little ass.

From a sophomore haunted by the murderous specter of a child to ghosts of a very different kind—including Paul Slater, Suze’s ex, who shows up to make a bargain Suze is certain must have come from the Devil himself—Suze isn’t sure she’ll make it through the semester, let alone to her wedding night. Suze is used to striking first and asking questions later. But what happens when ghosts from her past—including one she found nearly impossible to resist—strike first?

If at the end of this blog and you still haven’t an iota of who the heck Meg Cabot is and her books, I do not judge you (much). The following link is to her Goodreads page and her website where you can browse through the multitude of books that she’s written in the last decades and learn more about her.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11654

Website: http://www.megcabot.com/

Now, if you really need a recommendation for where to start among all these books, as a girl who grew up on all her books, may I suggest the Mediator series? (totally not a biased suggestion here).

musings

Author Spotlight: Maria V. Snyder

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Hello, lovelies.

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything beyond book reviews. Since I’m currently procrastinating from things that “actually matter”, I have decided to start a new series where I put some of my favourite authors in the spotlight. In celebration of the recent release of Night Study, I have chosen Maria V. Snyder for my first post.

Maria V. Snyder has been one of my favourite fantasy authors since I first read her debut novel, Poison Study, way back in 2010. Here’s the quick blurb from Goodreads about it.

poison study -maria v. snyderChoose: A quick death…Or slow poison…

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She’ll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly’s Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can’t control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren’t so clear…

Poison Study was a fast-paced, high-action novel that held me at the edge of my seat. It’s one of those novels that I go back to every once in a while because this is what I compare other books to in the fantasy genre. It has set the bar, threshold and goal for any book that wishes to get a 5 star rating in this category.

Besides the enthralling plot as a new life as the Commander’s food – er, poison – taster, there has never quite been someone like Yelena, in my opinion. Celaena Sardothien of Sarah Maas’ Throne of Glass series probably is the closest comparison, with their strong personalities and ability to take care of themselves. However, that’s where the comparison ends. Yelena comes from a crazy background of abuse and torture, almost dying for a crime that was really more self-defense than murder. Upon her deal with the Commander’s assassin to be the new taster, life gets crazy for her from there.

From action to the wittiest friends (in the form of two soldiers named Janco and Ari) to her sweet and unexpected romance with Valek, Maria V. Snyder set the world afire in 2005 as readers from all over the world found themselves enthralled by the militaristic world of Ixia.

As with all good series, the following novels Magic Study and Fire Study were amazing additions to Yelena’s adventures as she dives into her newfound abilities. Unfortunately, they weren’t as heavily steeped in romance as I would’ve liked it – my only criticism as Valek always shows up so late into each book – but Maria had created a world that no fan could quite forget.

And from the urgings of these said-fans, a new trilogy has sprung up continuing Yelena’s adventures with Valek and Ari and Janco, along with a new cast of amazing characters set in a world you didn’t quite wanna escape from.

Shadow Study came out last year in 2015, and now, its sequel Night Study has just come out in stores.

 

For those who haven’t read any of these books, I urge you from the deepest part of my heart to give them a try. You won’t look at fantasy in the same ever again. This is my golden standard for fantasy books.

Besides the Study series that propelled her to fame, Maria V. Snyder has also written a companion Glass series following a character from the original Study trilogy. (Personally, this was the one series that didn’t sit well with me from her, for which I’m sad to admit.) Along with that, her Healer series (Touch of Power, Scent of Magic, Taste of Darkness) has all your characteristic Snyder fantasy elements but set in a totally new world that captures you as much as Ixia and Sitia did.

To read more about Maria V. Snyder’s works and read about the latest things going on with her, below links you to her website and Goodreads account where she actively updates with blogs.

Website: http://www.mariavsnyder.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/445303.Maria_V_Snyder

I encourage you to explore the worlds in which Maria V. Snyder has created. Happy reading, my fellow bookworms!

musings

Jesus Style – Part II – How to Love

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

jesus style -gayle D. erwinI wrote in Part 1 that this isn’t necessarily like a traditional book review, which is why I placed it under the tab Other Musings. Although it’s only been about two months since I wrote Part 1, so much has happened since then.

In this smaller blurb to conclude the book The Jesus Style that I’ve read and discussed alongside with others in my small group, I learned a whole lot of what it truly meant to love someone this summer.

First off, this novel is great when it comes to application. Gayle Erwin writes in a manner that sounds like he’s speaking to you. Sure, that style may not be for everyone, especially for the people who do prefer the scholarly type of writing that truly analyzes the fine details of everything. However, it was exactly what I needed this summer. Broken down into small chapters that centred on one trait he took out from Jesus’ life, it was made understandable how we, as normal and mundane people, can figure that trait into our absolutely boring lives.

And let me tell you, when you try to look for opportunities to love people, those opportunities will come knocking on your door. Trust me.

To not go into too many personal details and into an absurdly long story of how my summer unfolded, the bottom line is that I actually found someone to love. Now, love comes in many forms. The kind that you hear most about is, of course, your lovey-dovey OMG I’m in love kinda love. However, the ones that aren’t covered as much in our movies and books include  platonic friendship love, and brotherly love, to name a few.  I’m not saying which kind of love this was, but the important part is that there is lots of love for this particularly individual. When I least expect it, I found a person who I, for God knows what reason, do love. That’s not to say it was easy or that the individual was all that accepting of it. It makes it that much harder when it’s not reciprocated.

But this short conclusion to this book that became so applicable at the exact right moment is to underline that it’s not because they love you back that you care for them. It’s regardless of what you receive in return that makes your love a love that demonstrates Christ.

Now, I’m not trying to preach here. That is not the sentiment and purpose of such a post. This was to share my experience with the book and to share a piece of my life as I do with all the books and musings I post here. I still struggle to love someone in such a manner, but there is also a lot of joy in doing so. Joy has so wrongly been conceived as something that only occurs when one is happy. But no, joy can still occur even when one is even a bit sad.

Joy is not an emotion or simply a feeling. It’s a state of being. It doesn’t just come when there is reason to be happy. Whether one is feeling sad or feeling glad, joy is consistent through the seasons.

~Sonia Lee

I am also not encouraging the kind of unrequited love in a not-so platonic/romantic feelings that come with that kind of love. This kind of love looks at a more selfless perspective. It doesn’t love to gain anything from that person (i.e. to get them into a relationship with you). It loves just simply because that person matters and you want the best for them. It is more others-focused and not so me-focused.

With this particular person that I’ve found this book so applicable, it’s still an ongoing process and journey. It takes energy and it drains you to give time and effort for someone who takes even without knowing it. That’s where the joy comes in. I don’t focus so much on how little they are giving, but on trying to be a blessing in their life. I may not see much result yet, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect them. I get bummed out when they shut me out, but pushing too hard will get me nowhere. I love them simply because they matter to me and that should be enough.

I am sharing this snippet of my story in hopes of encouraging those who find themselves in a similar bind. Love doesn’t necessarily get easier with time. But here I found the source and example to which I follow in how to love someone like that. If you ever want to hear the full story, send me a message and I’d be more than happy to share life with you too.