When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin the perilous descent from 29,028 feet (roughly the cruising altitude of an Airbus jetliner), twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly to the top, unaware that the sky had begun to roil with clouds...

In this definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest, Jon Krakauer takes the reader step-by-step from Kathmandu to the mountain's deadly pinnacle, unfolding a breathtaking story that will by turns thrill and terrify.

This is a true story.

I had to read this for school and wasn't expecting much. The general attitude of most adolescents is that nonfiction isn't supposed to be cool, right? But this was beyond... anything I've ever read. It's a captivating and achingly descriptive account of a jarring tragedy.

The impartial, journalistic tone used throughout the book was superb, and really assured me that I was reading the truth and nothing but.

It's a very moving, powerful book filled with symbolism and shattering truths.

Just read it.

I know this is a brusque review, but EEK I'm behind and I need to get moving. I'm requiring you to read this one. Seriously.

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Artwork! My first real photomanipulation! Yay! Made using these three images:
http://pixabay.com/en/eagle-nebula-ic-4703-fog-11174/
http://pixabay.com/en/necklace-fence-clock-time-garden-19133/
http://funnybunny-stock.deviantart.com/art/Cliff-stock-112478017
along with PicMonkey and Pixlr Editor.

I think this kind of captures the essence of my novel The Universe Quilt (look at the "Long Term Projects" page.) Is it good?

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pic from the Barnes and Noble page

WARNING: If you haven't read The Girl of Fire and Thorns, DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW. There are spoilers.

In the sequel to the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns, a seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny.

Elisa is the hero of her country. She led her people to victory against a terrifying enemy, and now she is their queen. But she is only seventeen years old. Her rivals may have simply retreated, choosing stealth over battle. And no one within her court trusts her - except Hector, the commander of the royal guard, and her companions. As the country begins to crumble beneath her and her enemies emerge from the shadows, Elisa will take another journey. With a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa crosses the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone's power. That is not all she finds. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume in the Fire and Thorns trilogy.

Wow. Oh my gosh. Oh my GOSH. Okay so you may remember a few months ago I did a review for The Girl of Fire and Thorns. (That's here: http://lifeisinexpressible.blogspot.com/2012/07/book-review-girl-of-fire-and-thorns-by-rae-carson.html). You may also recall that I said I would hunt down this, the next book. Well, I did. And OH MY GOODNESS it was just as amazing, if not better.

So Elisa is back and as kick-butt-AWESOME as ever. She's more confident, which is refreshing, and she is a great politician, it turns out :D But anyway, she's just the kind of girl you want to HUG sometimes, you know? I swear she is SUCH a good protagonist. OMG OMG OMG.

Um so I know that we're all still teary about Humberto's death. Yes. BUT... dun dun dun... he has a replacement! An amazing REPLACEMENT! Okay, so I thought it was kind of weird that Elisa was able to replace Humberto so quickly, but it wasn't a very progressed relationship, I guess. SO BEFORE YOU READ ON MAKE SURE YOU'RE OKAY WITH A TEEEEENNY SPOILER.

Or not so teeny.

The replacement is - Hector! I know, right?! And like the whole time I was like, "But how old is he?" Then it turns out he's only a little older than Elisa. Then through the whole book I was like, "KISS HER ALREADY!" You know that feeling? But anyway, he had so much more of a backstory and feelings and GOOOOSSSSSHHHHNESSSSS and when I finished, I decided that I like Hector better than Humberto. Just saying. (Does anyone else dislike the name Humberto?)

Now I have to gush about the setting of the whole series again. I mean, it's like, Spanish! And so richly cultural and *a moment of fangirling*.

The one thing that got me a little about this is that she kind of is losing her focus. What is her main goal? I thought it might be defeating the Inviernos and stuff but it's also about fulfilling her destiny so... but you know what? I'll just shut up.

I know this is a completely random, all-over-the-place review, but just read it, you know? Then you will get me. COMPLETELY.

One last thing: The next book is called The Bitter Kingdom. It's expected to come out on August 27, 2013. And just LOOK AT IT (not sure whether this is the final cover though):

pic from Goodreads

I just looove the covers for this whole series! Isn't it pertty? Anyhow, that's Starry signing off on this review. :)

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Why don't I make a list? These are my holds at the library, basically, because I want them. Now. With summaries, too, so that you can see what they're all about. :)

Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.

As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.

This is a sequel, to Cinder. I read Cinder a while back and posted a review on this blog. You can read that here: http://lifeisinexpressible.blogspot.com/2012/07/book-review-cinder-by-marissa-meyer.html.

So basically I loved Cinder and am coming back for more, I suppose. As you can tell, this one's based on Red Riding Hood. YAY.

June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request—-June and Day must assassinate the new Elector.

It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long.

But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and vengeance, anger and blood—what if the Patriots are wrong?

Another sequel. The first book is called Legend. I wrote a review for that as well: http://lifeisinexpressible.blogspot.com/2012/07/book-review-legend-by-marie-lu.html. As you'll read in the review, it's based on Les Miserables. I watched the movie and I caught the bug baaaadddd. So yeah, which makes me appreciate this even more.

Still loving all these sequel covers. LAAAA. LA LA LA.

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Now, this is obviously the sequel to Divergent. And really, do I need to talk much about that at all?

It's just. So. Amazing. GAAAHHH.

So that's Starry, signing off for now.

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THE MYTH: Alice Liddell was an ordinary girl who stepped through the looking glass and entered a fairy-tale world invented by Lewis Carroll in his famous storybook.

THE TRUTH: Wonderland is real. Alyss Heart is the heir to the throne, until her murderous aunt Redd steals the crown and kills Alyss's parents. To escape Redd, Alyss and her bodyguard, Hatter Madigan, must flee to our world through the Pool of Tears. But in the pool Alyss and Hatter are separated. Lost and alone in Victorian London, Alyss is befriended by an aspiring young author, to whom she tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Yet he gets the story all wrong. Hatter Madigan knows the truth only too well, and he is searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland so she may battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.

Pretty good overall, considering that there aren't many re-imaginings of  Alice in Wonderland around, really. This book really takes liberties with some of the concepts in the classics, like the Millinery (an elite force of bodyguards, of which Hatter Madigan is a member) and the ranking families (there are four suit families: the Clubs, the Diamonds, the Hearts, and the Spades).

Throughout the book, I could kind of feel the effects of its moderate pacing. There was a little too much backstory, although as I read it seemed necessary enough. Even the fight scenes felt somewhat sluggish, which takes skill. I mean, who can write sluggish fight scenes?

Still, the premise was fascinating, and well-done for its genre. The characters varied - some were amazing, some were too stereotypical. Alyss, for example. She wasn't flawed enough to be likable, to me. She was too inherently good, and her full power was a little - no, okay, a lot - unfair. She could do anything that she imagined. What kind of advantage is that? Okay, so Redd can do the same, but it's obvious that Alyss is the more powerful one.

Dodge, on the other hand, was a very interesting guy. I needed to know how such a cheerful young boy had grown up into such a reserved, hateful man. And yet he still harbored that love for Alyss... I wanted to know what made him tick.

All in all, Wonderland has been transformed, and not too badly. The Looking Glass Wars turned it into a realistic world with realistic problems, which also brings to mind the transformation of Oz in Wicked (great book; you should read it). If you're looking for a fresh series - yes, the next book is called Seeing Redd - then by all means pick it up. I'm worried that my review sounded too disparaging... it's really not that bad. Just read the first few pages, I guess :D

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pic from goodreads.com

Plum Coyle is on the edge of adolescence. Her fourteenth birthday is approaching, when her old life and her old body will fall away, and she will become graceful, powerful, and at ease. The strength of the objects she stores in a briefcase under her bed —a crystal lamb, a yoyo, an antique watch, a coin —will make sure of it. Over the next couple of weeks, Plum’s life will change. Her beautiful neighbor Maureen will begin to show Plum how she might fly. The older brothers she adores will court catastrophe in worlds that she barely knows exist. And her friends, her worst enemies, will tease and test, smelling weakness. They will try to lead her on and take her down. BUTTERFLY is a gripping, disquieting, beautifully observed coming-of-age novel by an acclaimed author at the top of her form.

Amazing book. This is an Australian novel (which is sooooo cool OMG), which lent it a really awesome feel.

The descriptions were creative and spot-on, and the third-person present-tense narration made it seem detached and just so... perfect.

Look, this is really short, and I'm sorry, but you should seriously read this. Now.

Seriously.

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That basically says it all. I really want to thank everyone for reading this humble little blog. 2012 has been a wonderful whirlwind of a year!

Happy holidays to all of you and a happy new year! Stay tuned for more blog posts!

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from indiebound.org

In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

Wow. Just... wow. This book was so deep and powerful that I cannot say anything. And yet I must. For the sake of my readers... or lack thereof.

Ender - it's impossible to describe Ender. I don't want to say that I love him, or pity him, or hate him, or anything. I just connected with him so well that I can't say anything but that - I am Ender. Everything he felt in the book, I have felt, maybe less drastically but still, at one time in my life. Orson Scott Card has truly done an amazing job at creating a person who is so like a person that it made my heart just.... ache.

The premise is also very well-done. I mean, it's creative, even by today's standards! The Battle Room was an amazing thing to imagine and... wow... I mean, it's serious. Seriously amazing. Awesome. Whatever.

I'm on vacation so my brain has been turned off, pretty much. One thing - read it now, please.

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Peter is thrilled to join his parents on an expedition to Greenland, where his father studies global warming. Peter will get to skip school, drive a dogsled, and - finally - share in his dad's adventures. But on the ice cap, Peter struggles to understand a series of visions that both frighten and entice him.

Thea has never seen the sun. Her extraordinary people, suspected of witchcraft and nearly driven to extinction, have retreated to a secret world they've built deep inside the arctic ice. As Thea dreams of a path to the earth's surface, Peter's search for answers brings him ever closer to her hidden home.

I read When You Reach Me first. First Light has the same element of science mixed in with a realistic setting, a really nice read.

The story was very well-plotted, though I couldn't help liking Thea's world, Gracehope, a little better. It has a very interesting matriarchy that I think is really creative. A lot of symbolism is involved, as well as some intricate more fantasy elements.

The bonds of friendship across such impossible boundaries were very powerful. The alien aspects of each new world were extremely well-written, and the way the characters adjusted together in each new situation was very heartwarming. Overall, I liked When You Reach Me better, but this is definitely worth reading for anyone who's looking for something decidedly new. :D

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So this is a two-piece package post, of two photo edits that I did on PicMonkey.

This is "In Fear of the Witch". The look is partly inspired by Elphaba in Wicked - which is a great book, BTW. The I made it using this picture on deviantART - http://crushedovernight.deviantart.com/art/fawn-30631646.

On that note, I have a dA now! Check it out at http://epicalnerdybunny.deviantart.com/. It's a stock account and I'll be posting backgrounds and such.

And the next one:

This one is a bit more creepy, I guess. This one is called "Demon Witch". It was made using this stock image on dA - http://liam-stock.deviantart.com/gallery/11244543#/d24uozr

Hope that was good!

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This is another bunny piece. That's a very intrepid news reporter right there :D

Art policy is the same as always, though I would love some feedback!

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This is more surreal, and it's hard to tel what it is at a glance. But I think it turned out okay.

Remember, whatever you use it on, abide the Creative Commons rules. Writing prompts and art prompts - go for it!

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