Monument 14

I just finished reading Monument 14 per a co-worker's recommendation and I loved it. It's definitely not a book for younger teens, but I would recommend it to anyone 15 and up. If I had to stick it into a certain genre though, I'm not sure what I would choose. It's sort of apocalypic, but not fully.

Monument 14 Summary:
Your mother hollers that you’re going to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don’t stop and hug her and tell her you love her. You don’t thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother. Of course not—you launch yourself down the stairs and make a run for the corner. Only, if it’s the last time you’ll ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you’d stopped and did those things. Maybe even missed the bus. But the bus was barreling down our street, so I ran.

Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong. In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

Monument 14 Review:
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were all vastly different, which gave the story a type of variety that I usually don't see in YA books. Not to mention that the main character's voice was intriguing fun. I've been told that I have a dry sense of humor so my opinion might be biased, but I personally loved the protagonist's sarcasm. Although I will say that it took me at least 15 pages to figure out that the main character was a boy. The description doesn't let on, and we didn't hear his name until quite a few pages in (at least not that I saw).

I couldn't put this book down. In the beginning they were trapped in the store and I thought that the story would be sort of stagnant, but then the author threw in a bunch of other variables that made the story fresh and interesting. Personally, I'm not to fond of Dean's decision at the end of the book, but I'm looking forward to the sequel coming out next June. It should definitely be interesting.

Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff that Made Me Famous

A couple of weeks ago I attended a webinar that provides authors with tips on writing query letters, and came with a critique from an agent that I'm excited to hear back about. I'm beginning to feel like I'm almost ready to send Desiderium out to agents again. As always, it's a lot better, but who knows if it's getting close to where it needs to be. Wish me luck!

In other news, I'm working on outlining an idea for a stand-alone novel that I'm really excited about. It's a story I'm itching to tell, and I'm hoping that moving on to another book will bring me more luck with Desiderium. Only time will tell though. Onto the review...

Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff that made me Famous Summary:
Can a spot on a teen reality show really lead to a scholarship at an elite cooking school AND a summer romance?

Sixteen-year-old Sophie Nicolaides was practically raised in the kitchen of her family’s Italian-Greek restaurant, Taverna Ristorante. When her best friend, Alex, tries to convince her to audition for a new reality show, Teen Test Kitchen, Sophie is reluctant. But the prize includes a full scholarship to one of America's finest culinary schools and a summer in Napa, California, not to mention fame.

Once on-set, Sophie immediately finds herself in the thick of the drama—including a secret burn book, cutthroat celebrity judges, and a very cute French chef. Sophie must figure out a way to survive all the heat and still stay true to herself. A terrific YA offering--fresh, fun, and sprinkled with romance.

Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff that made me Famous Review:
First of all, let me start off by saying that the title is indeed a mouthful, but charming no less. At first I was reluctant to pick this book up because it was only 230 pages, which is rather short, but I was sold on it after reading the first couple of pages. This author's voice was incredibly engaging and fun.

I have a couple of protests about the ending, but I have to say that I loved this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a fun read.

Something Strange and Deadly

Sorry it's taken me so long to get around to writing this post. I've been busy with revisions, and I'm polishing my query letter, and trying to spiff up my logline to enter a contest later this year. A logline is supposed to be a one or two sentence pitch to let readers know what the book is about and hook them in. You may be thinking, it's just one or two sentences...piece of cake! Oh contrare. It's some of the hardest one to two sentences I've ever written. When I'm happier with it, I'll post it here. Anyway...

I recently finished reading Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard, which is a change from the types of books that I normally read.

Something Strange and Deadly Summary:
The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

Something Strange and Deadly Review:
Let me just start off by saying that zombies usually aren't my cup of tea, but I thought I'd give this book a try. After reading 100 pages or so, I was hooked. It wasn't super scary or gory, and I liked the plot. It was engaging, too, which is always a good quality to have. But then it all went downhill from there. It was as if the author stopped trying halfway through the book. The writing and the character got cheesey, and the plot became rather stale.

Not to mention that the ending was such a downer. I get that it's a zombie book, and lots of people are going to die, but not only did everyone die, the guy she was falling in love with throughout the whole book told her he didn't love her at the end and went off to go to Chicago, never to see her again. Sorry for anyone who was going to read this book, but I had to get that off my chest. Overall, I probably wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. Sorry Susan Dennard.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Not much new to report on Desiderium. Revisions are still under way, but I have to say that I feel like I might be getting close. I hope I didn't just jinx it by saying that. Depending on how much time I'm able to devote to my revisions, I might be able to send it off in a month or so to test the waters. Cross your fingers for me! Now, onto the review...

I just finished reading Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. I actually purchased this book because  with my discount at B&N I was able to get it for $3.70, and I really liked the Unearthly series so I decided to buy it. Here's a summary of it.

Hush, Hush Summary:
A SACRED OATH
A FALLEN ANGEL
A FORBIDDEN LOVE

Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.

Hush, Hush Review:
This book felt a lot like Twilight. Except with angels. Girl meets dark, mysterious boy at school who is clearly dangerous. Boy stalks girl. Girl doesn't think anything of it. Girl starts to wonder if boy may not be human after all. Girl does Google search on a hunch and is able to figure out what he is. Girl's life is in danger. Boy saves girl. Boy and girl enter into blissful relationship which will undoubtedly be put to the test in the sequel.

That being said, I thought that Becca Fitzpatrick had a great writing style and did a gread job of keeping the readers hooked. We gave this book away at the library to teens who read 20 hours over the summer, and quite a few of them are hooked. I made the comparison to Twilight to one of the boys who loved Hush, Hush, and he freaked out and refused to see the similarities. Aside from the unoriginal plot, the writing was enough to carry me through to the end and make me consider picking up the sequel. Happy reading!

Mistwood by Leah Cypess

Sorry for the delay in posting. I've been working diligently on my first two chapters. I think I'm finally starting to get them right where I want them, so now I just have to play the waiting game to see what some of my beta readers think. For anyone interested,  you can find a very recent version of my first five pages here. I get one more round of feedback from the creators of the blog and guest author Leah Cypess. I also have my first five pages out in the YALITCHAT community now, so I'll hopefully receive more feedback soon.

But on to the review. I recently finished reading Mistwood by Leah Cypess. Many of you may remember that she did an interview for the blog a couple of months ago, and that she is also the guest author for the workshop I'm doing. Coincidence? No, not really. I had met Leah Cypess a  year or two ago, and loved Nightspell. I never got around to reading Mistwood though until recently.

Mistwood Summary:
The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwod.

But when she is needed she always comes.

Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have.

Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty—because without it, she may be his greatest threat.

Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can't help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court . . . until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them.

Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart . . . and everything she thought she knew.


Mistwood Review:
Let me start off by saying that this book was excellent. Leah is a phenomenal writer, and she always does an excellent job with surprise twists. I have to say that I think I liked Nightspell better than Mistwood, but I definitely liked Mistwood. I won't spoil it, but I will say that there is definitely a surprise twist there that I have to say I didn't see coming. She kept hinting at something, but I was unable to put the pieces together until she revealed them.

The idea for this book was definitely original. My only complaint is that for reasons that are revealed later in the book, the Shifter can't shift and she doesn't know why. It would have been cool to see the shifter get to shift into anything that she wanted, but that would have ruined the storyline. Overall a great read.

Shadow and Bone & Other News

I just submitted my revision for the First Five Pages workshop, so it should be posted here on Monday. As always, I feel like Desiderium is getting better, and I long for the day when someone says it's good, not just better. If it ever gets here.

I just finished reading Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. A co-worker of mine recommended it to me, and although I was a little skeptical based on reviews, I have to say that I liked it a lot. I definitely give the author props for coming up with an origianl concept.

Shadow and Bone Summary:
Alina Starkov doesn’t expect much from life. Orphaned by the Border Wars, the one thing she could rely on was her best friend and fellow refugee, Mal. And lately not even that seems certain. Drafted into the army of their war-torn homeland, they’re sent on a dangerous mission into the Fold, a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh.

When their convoy is attacked, all seems lost until Alina reveals a dormant power that not even she knew existed. Ripped from everything she knows, she is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. He believes she is the answer the people have been waiting for: the one person with the power to destroy the Fold.

Swept up in a world of luxury and illusion, envied as the Darkling’s favorite, Alina struggles to fit into her new life without Mal by her side. But as the threat to the kingdom mounts, Alina uncovers a secret that sets her on a collision course with the most powerful forces in the kingdom. Now only her past can save her . . . and only she can save the future.

Shadow and Bone Review:
Alina, although weak at times was an excellent main character. The concept behind the Grisha and the Darkling and the Shadow Fold was well crafted and original. The author even did an excellent job of making the reader sympathize with Alina all throughout the journey, and did an even better job of hiding the book's secret from the reader. All too often the reader knows it's coming, but I thought this revelation had a nice element of surprise to it.

The one thing that irked me about this book was that her best friend Mal would hook up with all these women, but the first time she kisses someone else, he makes her out to be the worst person in the world. It was very annoying, but at least the main character called him out on it. The ending of the book was a little bit of a let down, but I have high hopes for the two sequels. I would definitely recommend this book without reservation.

You Have Seven Messages by Stewart Lewis

Today's blog is going to be about You Have Seven Messages by Stewart Lewis, but before we get to that, I entered Desiderium into a First Five Pages Workshop, in which a couple of authors and anyone reading the blog can provide constructive feedback. If you have any interest in following along, you can read all about it here. I've been focusing on the revisions for the first five pages via a different YA publishing community, so I'm hoping this workshop will be just what it needs to grab the attention of an agent. Cross your fingers for me. Now, down to business...

You Have Seven Messages Summary:
It's been a year since Luna's mother, the fashion-model wife of a successful film director, was hit and killed by a taxi in New York's East Village. Luna, her father, and her little brother, Tile, are still struggling with grief.

When Luna goes to clean out her mother's old studio, she's stunned to find her mom's cell phone there—charged and holding seven unheard messages. As Luna begins to listen to them, she learns more about her mother's life than she ever wanted to know . . . and she comes to realize that the tidy tale she's been told about her mother's death may not be the whole truth.

You Have Seven Messages Review:
From the very first page of this book I fell in love with the author's voice. The male author did an excellent job of portraying the 15-year-old female character, and gave her a very unique, authentic voice. I'm not usually drawn to books about loss, but the original spin on the premise caught my attention. I thought Lewis did an excellent job of creating very real characters and did an excellent job transitioning Luna into adulthood despite the fact that she was only 15.

My only complaint about the book is the love interest. All of a sudden Oliver stops talking to Luna and starts going out with her old best friend, who coincidentally is just trying to get his attention to prove a point. And then all of a sudden he realizes the friend was a fake and wants to get back together with Luna. I liked the forgiveness aspect of the situation, but I thought Luna was too quick to jump back into things with Oliver. I would definitely recommend this book, and it definitely doesn't hurt that it's such a quick read.

Review: Fire by Kristin Cashore

Fire is the second book Kristin Cashore wrote. It's a companion book to Graceling. I recently read both Graceling and Bitterblue, and loved the former so I decided to come back to this book. Once again, Cashore does a great job of painting a wonderful world to get lost in for a few hours.

Fire Summary:
It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. The young King Nash clings to his throne while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves and lawless men.

This is where Fire lives. With a wild, irresistible appearance and hair the color of flame, Fire is the last remaining human monster. Equally hated and adored, she had the unique ability to control minds, but she guards her power, unwilling to steal the secrets of innocent people. Especially when she has so many of her own.

Then Prince Brigan comes to bring her to King City, The royal family needs her help to uncover the plot against the king. Far away from home, Fire begins to realize there's more to her power than she ever dreamed. Her power could save the kingdom.

If only she weren't afraid of becoming the monster her father was.

Fire Review:
Overall I would say that this book was pretty great. It was roughly 460 pages, which was about 100 pages less than Bitterblue. It didn't feel nearly so long though. At the same time though it wasn't nearly as quick of a read as Graceling, and I would probably rank it as my second favorite of her three novels so far. I thought that Fire's character was very likeable and interesting, and each of the characters were unique in their own ways.

I really liked Prince Brigan, the romantic interest, but the two of them finally getting together was very anti-climatic. Cashore didn't even mention their first kiss. Usually authors will describe it and it's considered to be one of the more significant points in the book, but she glossed over it. Nevertheless I was rooting from them. The one thing I didn't like about the book was that at some points Fire was really strong (although nothing compared to Katsa from Graceling), and at other times she was completely helpless. I guess we all have our strong and weak moments, but this seemed to be taken to an extreme. Regardless, don't let that deter you from reading this book.

As far as Desiderium goes, I've been taking a little bit of a break from it. There are some revisions that have to be made to it, but as of yet I haven't figured out exactly how to address them. I'm still mulling them over, but I'm hoping I'll work up the gumption to take a stab at it this weekend. I don't think most people understand the amount of revision that goes into writing a book. You don't just write it and then poof it gets published. I finished my first draft almost a year ago and spent 8 months revising it on my own. Now I'm revising it with the help of some online writing groups. I guess the good news is it's always getting better. Although to be honest, I'm beginning to hate the word better. I can't wait for the day when my book is good and not just better. Cross your fingers for me.

Review: Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Last year, I read Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan and thought it was so-so. There were things I didn't like about the book, but overall I liked the plot and the characters. At least enough to read the sequel that just came out. Overall, I would say that Spark was pretty good, and definitely much better than Glow.

In Glow, the Empyrean, the space station that Waverly, Kieran, and Seth live on with their family and friends, gets attacked by their sister ship, the New Horizon, and all of the girls are kidnapped and taken to the New Horizon. Through an unfortunate series of events, many of the adults end up being held captive on the New Horizon, and the girls end up escaping, unable to take the adults with them. When they return the Empyrean, they find that almost all of the adults have died, and those that did survive are in intensive care, leaving the boys to run the ship. As the book ends, the kids and teens set out to try to rescue their parents.

Spark Summary:
Waverly and Kieran are finally reunited on the Empyrean. Kieran has led the boys safely up to this point, and now that the girls are back, their mission seems slightly less impossible: to chase down the New Horizon, and save their parents from the enemy ship. But nothing is truly as it seems…Kieran’s leadership methods have raised Seth’s hackles— and Waverly’s suspicions. Is this really her fiancé? The handsome, loving boy she was torn from just a short time before? More and more, she finds her thoughts aligned with Seth’s. But if Seth is Kieran’s Enemy No. 1, what does that make her?

In one night, a strange explosion rocks the Empyrean—shooting them off course and delaying their pursuit of the New Horizon—and Seth is mysteriously released from the brig. Seth is the most obvious suspect for the explosion, and Waverly the most obvious suspect for releasing him. As the tension reaches a boiling point, will Seth be able to find the true culprit before Kieran locks them both away—or worse? Will Waverly follow her heart, even if it puts lives at risk? With the balance of power precarious and the clock ticking, every decision counts… every step brings them closer to a new beginning, or a sudden end...

Spark Review:
The action in this book was pretty good, although there were times when I found myself counting pages as I went through it. The book is told from the point of view of three different people. I don't know if he was supposed to be, but I found Kieran to be a completely unlikeable character. The book made a number of valid points about what power and the struggle to attain it can do to you, but I felt as if many of the characters' decisions were irrational. At one point, Seth, who is imprisoned by Kieran and disliked by everyone but Waverly, begs Kieran to talk to him so he can warn him that the ship will blow up, and Kieran doesn't even give him the chance to speak. He just walks away. Big mistake. I felt when I was reading it like there would be no reason for Kieran to ignore him, but to each his own I guess.

The description focuses a lot on the love triangle between Waverly, Kieran, and Seth, but the book didn't really have a lot of this. We know Seth likes Waverly, and in this book Kieran and Waverly hate each other, but throughout the entire book, we receive no mention of how Waverly feels about Seth. Kind of weird.

Then there's the end. I'll try not to spoil it, but one of the characters makes a mysterious decision at the end that I'm not too sure about. I think I know what he's planning to do, but it was purposely left open to keep readers guessing until the next book comes out next year. I guess it worked since I'll be reading the third one when it comes out. Happy reading!

Review: There is No Dog by Meg Rosoff

This blog will be short. I'm 60 pages away from being done with my current revision, so I haven't had a lot of time to read. I did, however, make the mistake of picking up the book There is No Dog by Meg Rosoff. I absolutely hated it. All too often I pick up books and stop reading them partway through because I don't care for them, so I resolved to not do that very much anymore. Needless to say I picked a bad time to start.

There is No Dog Summary:
Meet your unforgettable protagonist: God, who, as it turns out, is a 19-year-old boy living in the present-day and sharing an apartment with his long-suffering fifty-something personal assistant. Unfortunately for the planet, God is lazy and, frankly, hopeless. He created all of the world's species in six days because he couldn't summon the energy to work for longer. He gets Africa and America mixed up. And his beleagured assistant has his work cut out for him when God creates a near-apolcalyptic flood, having fallen asleep without turning the bath off. There is No Dog is a darkly funny novel from one of our most delightfully unpredictable writers.

There is No Dog Review:
I absolutely did not like one thing about this book. The main character is 19-years old, and since he's God, he's supposedly been around for millions of years, and yet he's completely selfish, self-absorbed, and lacks any sort of maturity what-so-ever. Completely unbelievable. After millions of years, wouldn't you tend to mature at least a little? Needless to say every single one of the characters was unlikeable, the writing was vulgar and just plain terrible. And the boy spends the entire book trying to woo this attractive girl he saw, and once he does he doesn't even recognize her when he sees her. Then he makes fish fly and he leaves Earth, leaving his 50-year-old immortal assistant in charge of Earth. This book has no redeeming qualities, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Review: Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

So, after finishing Unearthly, I might or might not have stayed up until 4:00 a.m. finishing the sequel a couple of days ago, so I haven't made much progress in the way of my own book, but I do intend to devote my free time tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday to editing my own book. Ideally.

Alright, without further ado, let's get down to the summary of Hallowed:

For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought.

Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

Hallowed Review:
I think the fact that I was up until 4:00 in the morning says a lot about what I think about the book. It's very gripping and kept me on the edge of my seat, but I would definitely read Unearthly before reading this sequel. I thoroughly enjoyed Clara's character, and she did have a legitimate love triangle decision to make. Oftentimes when a girl has two choices, one choice is either a jerk or posessive, so the decision isn't really all that hard, but at times I found myself torn between the two. I'm personally rooting for Tucker in the next installment, but I could see why she would choose Christian.

Overall I would say that this book had two big secrets, and both were fairly transparant. One of them I was able to guess halfway through Unearthly, even though it wasn't revealed until the end of this book, and the other secret started seeming obvious about 60 pages in. So in that respect it was fairly predictable, but at the same time I enjoyed the ride. This book brought tears to my eyes for completely different reasons than the first book. It had more of a sad undertone, but I'm hopeful for the third book coming out next year.

Hopefully it'll be at least another week or two until I review another book, but I'll try to keep you guys posted on my editing process. Happy Fourth!

Review: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

To begin, sorry it's been so long since my last post. I've been busy revising and reworking my query letter in a vain attempt to make it perfect...or at least seem like the story is more original and exciting than my last pitch did. I'll include it at the bottom of this post for anyone who would like to read it/comment on it. I always love to hear suggestions! Anyway, onto business...

So I'm ashamed to say that the main reason I picked this book up was because of the awesome cover. I've never branched out into books about angels before, because I've heard some terrible things about some of the books out there, but this one actually got good reviews. So I picked it up. Usually an author's first book is no more than 350 pages, but this one was a hefty 450 pages. More on that later.
Unearthly Summary:
In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly Review:
Overall, I would say that this book is excellent. The plot wasn't very original, but the story was excellent, and the characters really came to life. This was the first book in the trilogy, and was 450 pages long. To be honest it felt a little too long, and a lot of the first 200 pages could have been edited out. But the second half of the book was phenominal.

There's a little bit of a love triangle going on, but the author even jokes in the book about love triangles being overplayed in literature. Respectable. And one thing that I really liked about this book was that with the main love story, she didn't just decide that she liked him and fell madly in love with him. It was only after talking with him and being friends with him for a while that she realized she liked him. And I hate to admit this, but the first time they kissed even brought a tear or two to my eyes. The writing was just that good.

My only complaint other than the first half being too long is that the climax was sort of anti-climatic, but it set the stage nicely for the sequel. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes romance novels or angel stories.

Desiderium Summary:
If she could, seventeen-year-old Rhiley Winters would wish to be a normal high school student who doesn't have to work three jobs to support herself. But to want anything is illegal. With the world at the mercy of one person's desires, the government uses chip implants to monitor citizens’ desires in a race to suppress and track those of  the unknown Desiderium—the one individual who unknowingly has the power to make anything happen by desiring it strongly enough.

Preoccupied with concealing that her parents abandoned her, Rhiley has no trouble suppressing her desires until she falls in love with Isaak, the son of a past Desiderium who makes her question everything she’s ever been told about desire. Then when a six-year-old Desiderium is killed for bringing dinosaurs back to life, children and teenagers become the target of society’s suspicions. As her life unravels, she begins to wonder if the new Desiderium could be someone she knows. Together, she and Isaak must either comply with the government’s stricter demands and never learn the truth about the Desiderium or outwardly defy them and spend years in prison.

Bitterblue Review

I am happy to say that I have finally finished reading Bitterblue, the sequel to Graceling that I mentioned in my last column. Sorry it took so long! I think the first book was roughly 400 pages, and it didn't take quite so long to get through because it was more action-packed, but the sequel was 550 pages full of very little action so it took forever to get through. I've you've never read Graceling by Kristin Cashore, I definitely wouldn't recommend this book, but if you loved Graceling I would recommend reading it.

Bitterblue Summary:
Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck’s reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle—disguised and alone—to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.

Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck’s reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn’t yet identified, holds a key to her heart.

Bitterblue Review:
Overall, I would say that Bitterblue was good, it was just incredibly dragged out. The author definitely could have been heavily edited without the book losing much. It's sort of sad that after 550 pages I don't have a whole lot to say about the book. I really enjoyed Bitterblue as a character, she just didn't really do much. Her advisors keep her in the castle all day everyday and in 8 years she never ever leaves it...seems a little bit unrealistic if  you asked me. Then one day she just randomly decides to sneak out on her own in the middle of the night. Seems implausible.

Not to mention that throughout the entire book the author teases the reader with a potential love triangle, so for 500 pages you're waiting for something to happen, and then when something finally does happen it's completely unsatisfying and leads nowhere. I won't spoil the ending for any YA lovers out there considering reading this book, but I will say that the ending was altogether unsatisfying and depressing. The journey was slow, albeit somewhat interesting, but the end was totally not worth it.

At any rate, I'm onto bigger and better things (in the YA world at least), so hopefully my next review will be more positive. More to come!

Everneath Review

After completely reworking my pitch I just submitted it last night. Nothing is likely to come of it, but it was a good exercise, and I think it made my query letter stronger. Now I just need to finish my new round of revisions, and then I'll send it off again. I'm still working on finishing Bitterblue, the sequel to Graceling which I reviewed a few days ago, so hopefully that will be up soon. In the meantime, I recently finished reading Everneath by Brodi Ashton. Overall, I would say it was pretty good, but nothing to swoon over. It left on a cliff hanger, so I'm assuming there will probably be a sequel, but I'm still not sure if I'll read it or not.

Everneath Summary:
Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

Evernath Review:
The premise of this story was only somewhat unique, but the plot was pretty good. It held my interest until the end, even though the main character was far from loveable. Her whole reason for going to the Everneath in the beginning was because her mom recently died, and she began to doubt that her boyfriend, Jack, was being faithful to her. Overall those didn't seem like very logical reasons for her to make such a drastic choice and give up her life--especially since her boyfriend didn't actually cheat on her.

The first few chapters were confusing, but in a good way. They kept me wondering what exactly was going on in Nikki's world. After that though the plot started to slow down. She had six months to say goodbye, and she spent the first four months doing a whole lot of nothing...just going to school and not making any attempt to make headway on her relationships with her dad, brother, best friend, and ex-boyfriend Jack. There's nothing like a whole lot of wasted time in a book.

The rest of the characters though were pretty good, and had a lot of depth. Nikki just didn't seem to have much to her. If you're an avid YA reader, I might recommend this book, especially if you like stories of the Underworld, but if not, I probably wouldn't recommend it.

Happy Monday everyone!

Graceling Review

I want to start off today by thanking everyone who continues to return to my blog. Your readership is greatly appreciated! I'm steadfastly working around the clock to revise Desiderium, but I've recently been a little sidetracked. I'm going to be entering Desiderium into an online pitch slam, in which authors use no more than 6 lines to pitch their books to a few select agents. Needless to say I'm having a little trouble cramming everything into 6 lines, but here's what I have so far. I'm not satisfied with it yet, so please let me know what you think.

Desiderium Pitch:

To protect society from the one person who has the power to turn desires into reality, desire is illegal. The government uses chip implants to monitor citizens’ desires in an effort to identify and kill the Desiderium, but the ability is always unknowingly passed onto another as soon as the Desiderium dies. Like everyone else, Rhiley Winters refuses to let herself feel desire until she meets Isaak and time literally slows down around them. Then a six-year-old is killed for bringing dinosaurs back to life and everything changes when the government reveals that the ability of the Desiderium is always passed onto someone under the age of 18, and Rhiley begins to question everything she’s ever been told.

Graceling Review:
Alright, onto Graceling by Kristin Cashore. I checked this book out weeks ago, and just lately got around to reading it. I would highly recommend it to just about anyone who loves to read. In Barnes & Noble it always appears on the "If You Like the Hunger Games" endcaps, and I would agree that if you like the Hunger Games you'll probably like Graceling, but this book his its very own unique premise.

Here's a little blurb about it: Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug. When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

Here's my take on it: I LOVED this book. It started off a little slow, and I don't even think I really got into it until I was 70 pages in, but after that I was completely sucked in. Cashore does an excellent job of creating an awesome world that I fell in love with, and her main character is very likeable--not to mention a strong, independent woman, and I think the literary world needs a few more of those. One thing that irked me a little bit was that the main character, Katsa ends up with Po, and knows that she loves him, but has no problem spending months away from him at a time. In the sequel, eight years later, which focuses on a different character, it's mentioned that Katsa and Po are still together, but haven't seen each other for months (again). Maybe it's just me, but you would think they would want to spend a little more time together if they were really so in love.

One of the reasons why I think it took so long to get into this book, is that the book is written in third person. My personal preference is for first person narrative, but obviously that didn't stop me from reading this amazing book. Cashore's writing is very eloquent, and I can't wait to keep reading the sequel, Bitterblue later tonight if I have any time after I get off work at 11 p.m. and spend some time working on my own book. More reviews to come.

Revised First Five Pages of Desiderium

I do have a couple of YA books I just finished that I need to review, but today's post will be dedicated to the new revised first five pages of Desiderium. I've made a lot of changes to it, and I'm much happier with these revisions. Please let me know what you think in the comments section! All right, here goes...

Chapter 1

The deadbolt of my front door clicks and the door creaks open, urging me to move faster. More time to get ready would be nice. As soon as I think it, I squeeze my eyes shut and try to distract myself. I can’t want that. I can’t want anything. Not if I don’t want to end up in jail.

My bracelet blinks yellow for a few seconds and then stops. I heave a sigh of relief. If the light turns red, it means the amount of dopamine in my blood is over the legal limit and the government will know about my desire. It’ll be a matter of minutes before the government officials show up. I know they’re just trying to protect us from the Desiderium, but an official knocking on my door is the last thing I need.

“Are you ready to go, Rhiley?” My best friend JM wanders into the living room and plops a copy of my house key onto the coffee table.

“Only if I can study in the car,” I say as I throw my hair into a sloppy bun and jam my books into my bag.

“You do know you can take a break, don’t you?” he asks as he topples onto the couch and sinks into the worn-out cushion.

“I don’t have time for a break.” I don’t have time for much of anything. I wince as soon as I think it.

“You might very well be the only 17-year-old workaholic in the world,” he smiles as he tosses a pillow at me.

As I gather the rest of my things, I can’t help but notice the concerned look on his face. His chocolate colored eyes always reflect a hint of worry whenever he gives me some variation of the “you work too much” speech.

JM hauls himself off of the couch and reaches for his key.

“You know I don’t have a choice. And if we don’t hurry I’m going to be late for class.”

I shove him towards the door, but he doesn’t budge. He chuckles and shakes his head in amusement as he steps outside. I shoot him a reprimanding look, but his smile forces a grin onto my face. JM and I have been best friends for ten years and I don’t know what I’d do without him. He’s the only reason I feel anything since my brother died.

JM leans against the side of the house as he offers me his copy of my house key. I shoot him a playful glare and lock the door. He grins and jumps off the porch. I chuck the key at him, but he turns just in time to catch it. He waves the key tauntingly and jogs over to the car. I shake my head as the gravel crunches under my feet.

JM climbs into the driver’s seat and reaches across to open the passenger door for me. I toss my bag onto the floor and hop in. His car whispers to life as JM flicks on the radio. The blaring music makes me flinch. I roll my eyes and reach over to turn it down. JM smiles and shakes his head as he backs the car out of the driveway. For the rest of the ride, he hums to himself while I try to study.

Before I know it, the Central Washington University sign whirs by us as we approach Bouillon Hall.

“Thanks for the ride,” I say as we pull into the crowded parking lot and I jump out of the car.

“No problem. I’ll see you back at the high school,” he hollers after me.

Frantic students brush past me as my legs glide across the floor. Once I reach the secluded classroom, I slide into an empty seat in the back with just enough time to cram in one final minute of studying.

“Good morning class,” the professor says, interrupting my thoughts. “Please put everything under your desks except for a pencil. For those of you who have just been added to the class, you will not be required to take the quiz but you will be responsible for the material. For everyone else, you have exactly ten minutes.”

Students are always adding and dropping classes in the first couple weeks of the quarter, but there’s always the slightest chance I’ll see somebody from the high school. There are a few of us who take advantage of the Running Start program that lets high school students take college classes for free.

Most of the faces in the room seem familiar. I’m about to look away when a student a couple of seats to my right catches my attention. He brushes his curly amber hair out of his face to reveal startlingly deep blue eyes. He doesn’t look much older than me, but I don’t recall seeing him around Ellensburg High School. I definitely would have remembered him.

His eyes catch mine and something sparks inside of me. He raises his eyebrows, adding a sense of mystery to his subtle smile. A deep breath brings me back to my senses. My lip twitches into a smile and I convince myself to look away. It isn’t easy.

Someone jabs me in the shoulder and shoves the stack of quizzes in my face. I slide one off the top and notice the new student doing the same. My pencil slides across the paper until all of the questions are answered. With two minutes to spare, I flip my paper over and lay my pencil on the desk. Everybody else is still scribbling away at their quizzes. Maybe I could just sneak one more peek at the new student.

His quiz is already flipped over. His eyes find mine and hold my gaze. My eyes glide across his face. His eyes do the same to me and I can’t help but wonder if he sees the same green-eyed girl with curly hair and tiny ears that I see when I look in the mirror. My stomach ties itself into a knot. I wish I knew more about him. As soon as I realize what I’m doing, I have to regain control of my thoughts.

My bracelet blinks an annoying shade of yellow.

My eyes dart around the room, searching for something to distract me. Whatever I do, I cannot let myself feel desire. The chips embedded into our forearms monitor the level of dopamine in our system, which is the government’s way of monitoring our desires. Trace amounts will make the bracelet turn yellow. An abundance of dopamine will turn the bracelet red.

People tell me I won’t even be tempted to feel desire anymore when I’m older. It’ll be nice. Then I won’t have to worry so much about setting off the red light on my bracelet or letting the words want and desire slip out of my mouth.

The door slams open behind me, forcing my head to whip around. Two police officers barge into the room trailing a uniformed official. The official passes the professor a respectful nod.

I subtly glance down at my bracelet and heave a sigh of relief that it isn’t red. It isn’t even yellow anymore.

“Samantha Jones,” the official’s voice booms.

All eyes shift to a girl in the front of the room.

“Yes?” she stutters.

The police officer slides out a pair of handcuffs.

“The levels of dopamine in your system have exceeded the legal limit. You are under arrest.”

The solid red light on her bracelet gives her away.

“No, you don’t understand,” her voice shakes.

The officer yanks her out of her seat.

She screams.

Before anyone can realize what’s happened, the girl’s elbow smashes into the police officer’s nose. Blood trickles down his face. The desk crashes to the ground. The room erupts into confusion as she makes a break for the exit. The second police officer stumbles after her. Just a few feet from the door, the official reaches out, his face expressionless, and shoves a black object against the girl’s side.

Her body convulses as she tumbles to the ground. The official slides the Taser back into his pocket and waits as one of the police officers slides the handcuffs onto her wrist. A tear streams down the girl’s cheek as the officer jerks her up off the ground.

“Sorry for the interruption,” the official passes another nod to the professor as they lead the girl out of the room.

The professor nods in return. “Back to work everyone.”

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Cinder Review

First off, let me say that this cover is completely awesome. I was intrigued by the concept of the book, so I picked it up off the shelf.

Cinder Synopsis
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, the ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness.

But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

The Verdict
I would say that overall, this is a solid read, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a good cyborg story, but this book wasn't something I would consider to be absolutely amazing by any means. The plot was interesting, but there was nothing driving me to get to the end of the book. This book took me almost a week to get through. I don't have a lot of reading time, but believe me, when there's a book I like I will make time for it. This one though was just kind of there.

One thing that really irked me about it was that it had this huge secret that anyone could see coming from the first third of the book, and it was sort of annoying that it never even occurred to any of the characters until the end of a book. Don't get me wrong, a twist at the end is nice, but not when you see it coming a mile away and it's not even that twisty.

Kudos though to the author for giving the classic Cinderella fairy tale a more female-empowering premise and protaganist. And even more kudos for the cliff hanger ending that has most likely convinced me to read the sequel.

Overall a good read, but nothing all that special.

Leah Cypess Interview

I have no good news yet to report back on finding an agent for Desiderium. Although my brother helped me come up with an idea that I think will make the book a lot stronger, so I'm really excited about it! On to other things...Leah Cypess, author of Mistwood and Nightspell has agreed to do an interview for us. I met her once at work years ago, and then decided to give her books a try. They are both excellent, and I'm really excited that she was willing to do this. For anyone who likes YA books, check out her website. She also has a trailer for her first book on Youtube. Now, onto the interview!

First off, I would like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. And congratulations on your new book deal!

Thank you! I'm hugely excited about it.

As a mother of three children, how do you find time to write? It’s hard enough when you don’t have any children!
True; I sometimes remember how hard it was to find time before I had kids and wondered what on earth I was doing with myself back then. But the simple truth is, I did plenty of stuff that I don't do anymore. I used to love finding new recipes and cooking new concoctions for dinner every night. Now, I do that perhaps once a month. I used to make all my baked goods from scratch - ha! I used to get 8 hours of sleep a night. I used to... okay, you know what, I never used to keep my home clean. But maybe it was a little less out-of-control messy than it is right now.

So basically, my answer is that I find the time by giving up a lot of other things that would eat up my time. I never sit and watch tv (I do watch tv, but only while I'm folding laundry or exercising or cooking), I don't shop for clothes, and when I get invited to a party, my first thought is what excuse I'll use to get out of it. Luckily, I love both being with my kids and writing, so giving up the other stuff doesn't seem like that big a sacrifice.

Both Mistwood and Nightspell feature strong female protagonists. Who do you identify with more—Isabel or Darri?

That's a hard question! The flip (although true) answer is that I identify most with the character I'm writing at the time. There are aspects to each of them that are very similar to me, and also aspects that are very different.

The worlds that you’ve painted in Mistwood and Nightspell are absolutely spectacular. How did you dream them up? Thank you! The larger world in Mistwood is mostly based on a combination of the standard high fantasy landscape and my knowledge of early modern castles -- the legend of the Shifter, however, I made up on my own. (Although in retrospect, I realize that its roots in my subconscious had a lot to do with The Last Unicorn by Peter S.Beagle.) Nightspell had a more original setting and that world was therefore more difficult to write. I did some research, mostly reading about Byzantine courts, but in the end it was mostly a lot of thinking about how that world would work, much of it spurred by hard questions from my fabulous editor.

My absolute favorite scene from Nightspell was when Darri threw the silver at Callie and realized she was a ghost. Did you picture revealing that information to the readers in that particular way when you first wrote Nightspell?
That just might be my favorite scene too. I don't remember when exactly I wrote it, but I do know that it was in the very first draft of Nightspell and changed very little over the five plus rewrites I went through. So it was imbedded into the book very early.

Nightspell ends with the uncertainty of whether or not Callie will make it home alive (for lack of a better word). Did you originally see it ending differently?

No, I wrote that ending in the first draft too (although the wording and situation of that scene actually changed quite a lot during revision, the essence remained the same).

In your mind, did Callie make it home “alive”?
No, I think she passed into true death when she rode over the border. (Normally I'd say I want to leave it to your imagination, but I actually tried to indicate it strongly in the book -- apparently not so well!)

What is the hardest part of the writing process for you? The planning, the drafting, the revising, or the publishing?
Without question, the publishing. All the rest of it is at least somewhat under my control, even if it sometimes doesn't feel that way. But as a writer, there is very little I can do to affect anything that happens to my book during the publishing process or afterward. Half the time, I don't even know what's happening.

Many of us are eagerly anticipating your new duology. Where are you in the process of writing Deathsworn?
The first draft of Deathsworn is done (by first draft, I mean pre-revisions with my editor - it's already gone through four or so drafts on my computer). I'm currently working on the first draft of the sequel while waiting to start revisions.

Will Deathsworn be anything like Mistwood and Nightspell?
In many ways, yes; it features a young girl in a dangerous situation, surrounded by people with secrets, who will be forced to uncover the truth and make a very difficult moral choice. But my protagonist is very different from either Isabel or Darri (in ways that make her much more difficult to write!), the setting and mystery are very different, and the choice she faces is of a different nature entirely.

Thank you again for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this. We wish you the best of luck with your two new books!

Thank YOU! You ask fantastic questions.

The Battle of the Query Letters

The query letter is the first thing the agent sees when you ask them to consider your book. There are a few different parts to the query letter, but I especially need help deciding on the summary portion of my query letter that tells the agent what the book is about. So far I have two options, and I would really love to hear what you guys think, so cast  your votes at the bottom of this post. Right now, I think I'm leaning towards option #1, but I could really use a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. opinion. And as always, if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Summary Option #1:
Desire is illegal. People don’t need food to survive. No one can have more than two children. Some can fly. Others have special abilities. All because of the Desiderium. The Desiderium always appear to be perfectly normal—until they desire something with every fiber of their being and it actually happens. Then they’re killed.

Like everyone else, Rhiley Winters refuses to let herself feel desire until she meets Isaak and time literally stands still around them. After one remarkable night together, she blurts out the secret she’s been guarding for years—the secret that could have her thrown in jail. Then the Desiderium is killed and everything changes. As Rhiley struggles to survive in a world in which husbands and wives, fathers and sons, and brothers and sisters turn on each other at the slightest suspicion, she begins to realize that things aren't always what they seem.

Summary Option #2:
DESIDERIUM takes place in a world where one person has the power to change anything by simply desiring it with every fiber of their being. Society will stop at nothing to be protected from the Desiderium, who they fear more than anything. After all, the ones they've already killed were responsible for strictly controlling people’s weight, how many children they can have, what kind of businesses they can run, and what kind of cars they can drive.

Like everyone else, Rhiley Winters refuses to let herself feel desire until she meets Isaak and time literally stands still around them. Rhiley is desperate to figure out his secret, but can she bear to tell him hers? Especially with the government monitoring their every desire. Can she survive in a world in which husbands and wives, fathers and sons, and brothers and sisters turn on each other at the slightest suspicion? As she struggles to survive and keep her secrets from the government, she begins to realize that things aren't always what they seem.

Desiderium: The First Five Pages

I'm about to start reading a new YA book, but I've been so caught up with the first couple chapters of my own book that I haven't had a chance yet. So instead I'm posting the first 5 pages of Desiderium for anyone who wants to read them. Some agents request 5 pages, and some request 10, but either way the first few pages have to be the best they can be, so if you have any suggestions or comments about the first 5 I would love to hear them. Please be honest! Even if you don't have any comments, I would love to hear if you find it interesting, or if it loses your attention at any point. This information would be especially helpful in knowing where to speed up the action. Thank you so much in advance for all of your feedback.

Alright, here goes...

Chapter 1

The deadbolt of my front door clicks and the door creaks open, challenging me to move faster. More time to get ready would be nice. As soon as I think it, I squeeze my eyes shut and try to distract myself. I can’t want that. I can’t want anything. Not if I don’t want to end up in jail.

“Are you ready to go, Rhiley?” JM wanders into the kitchen.

“Only if I can study in the car,” I plead.

“You do know you can take a break, don’t you?”

“I don’t have time for a break,” I brush it off.

“I think you might be the only 17-year-old workaholic in the world,” he smiles reservedly.

As I gather all of my stuff together I can’t help but notice the look on his face. His chocolate colored eyes always fill with worry whenever he gives me some variation of the “you work too much” speech.

“You know I don’t have a choice. And if we don’t hurry I’m going to be late for class.” I use all my force to push him through the door but he doesn’t budge. That’s one of the downsides of having a best friend who spends so much time working out. He doesn’t even have to flex to be able to resist all of my force.

He chuckles quietly and shakes his head in amusement as he steps outside. I would be mad if it weren’t for his smile. It has a strangely powerful effect on me.

I follow him wordlessly to his car and try to hide the smile that is threatening to escape my lips. I don’t know what I’d do without JM. He says he needs me more than I need him, but I don’t believe it.

“Have you heard the rumors?” JM asks as his car quietly hums to life.

“What are you talking about?” I ask absentmindedly as I pull out my textbook.

“The Desiderium,” he says pensively.

I stop in my tracks as a shiver travels down my spine.

“What about the Desiderium?”

“People are saying they found him. He’s dead.”

My eyes bore into his as the steady rhythm of my heart is disrupted.

“What happened?” my voice shakes.

“I don’t know,” he shrugs. “It’s probably just a rumor.”

“Probably,” I say uneasily.

I take a deep breath. Nothing about my life feels different. Not yet.

I tune out the soft hum of the radio and try to focus on studying for my math quiz. It was just a rumor. It would be silly to worry about it. When I look up, we’ve already passed the Central Washington University sign and are quickly approaching Bouillon Hall.

“Thanks again for the ride,” I say hurriedly as we pull into the parking lot.

“No problem. I’ll see you in sixth period,” he hollers after me.

Safely inside, I slow down to a walk and check the time as I turn the corner. Once I reach the secluded classroom, I slide into an empty seat in the back with just enough time to cram in one final minute of studying before the lecture.

“Good morning class,” the professor interrupts my thoughts. “Please put everything under your desks except for a pencil. For those of you who have just added the class today, you will not be required to take the quiz but you will be responsible for the material. For everyone else, you have exactly ten minutes.”

Students are always adding and dropping classes in the first couple weeks of class, but there’s always the slightest chance I’ll see somebody I know from the high school, even though there aren’t very many high school students who take advantage of the Running Start program that lets us take college classes for free.

I recognize most of the faces in the room from the first week of class. I’m about to give up when I spot a student a couple of seats to my right. He brushes his curly amber hair out of his face to reveal startlingly deep blue eyes. I’ve never seen anyone with eyes that blue. He doesn’t look much older than me, but I don’t recall seeing him around Ellensburg High School. I definitely would have remembered him.

As if somehow able to sense that I’m staring, he slowly turns in my direction. Almost instantly, his eyes catch mine and a jolt of adrenaline courses through my body. There is something about the way his eyes lock with mine that’s incredibly exhilarating.

He raises his eyebrows, adding a sense of mystery to his subtle smile. My lungs suck in extra air, slowly bringing me back to my senses. My lip twitches into a smile and I convince myself to look away. It isn’t easy.

Someone jabs me in the shoulder and shoves the stack of quizzes in my face. I slide one off the top and notice the new student doing the same. Maybe he transferred from a different section of the same class.

My pencil moves steadily across the paper until all of the questions are answered. Two minutes to spare. I flip my paper over and place my pencil gently on the desk. Everybody else is still scribbling away at their quizzes. One more glance wouldn’t hurt.

His quiz is already flipped over. His eyes quickly find mine and hold my gaze. I’m beginning to feel like an idiot for getting caught staring at him so many times. Although it is a little strange that he always seems to know when I’m staring at him—unless that’s not why he’s staring back. His expression doesn’t give anything away.

I wish I knew what he was thinking. The thought starts to form into a desire and I have to quickly regain control of my thoughts. It would be nice to get to know him. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. A feeling of resentment creeps up at the thought of not letting myself get to know him, and I realize my desire hasn’t been fully squashed. I’ve never had this much trouble controlling my desires.

I continue to fight against it and force myself to focus on something else. My eyes glide across his face and I try to memorize everything about it. His eyes do the same to me and I can’t help but wonder if he sees the same green-eyed girl with curly hair and tiny ears that I see when I look in the mirror. Our eyes find each other again and another deep breath brings me back to my senses. It feels like an eternity has passed since I finished my quiz.

My eyes flicker over to the clock on the wall.

8:08.

I do a double take. Impossible. I finished my quiz at 8:08. It might not have been an eternity since I finished, but it has definitely been at least three or four minutes. There’s no way not even a minute has passed. Concern creeps onto his face and his eyes flicker to the clock then dart back down to his desk.

I glance back over at the clock to make sure I wasn’t imagining things.

8:10.

I think I’m definitely starting to lose it. There is no way more than a couple of seconds have passed.

His eyes stay glued to his desk. Is it possible that he was somehow aware of how slowly time was passing around us? Or was everything all in my mind? Maybe JM is right about me working too much. Maybe I’m going crazy. I cringe at the thought.

“Pencil’s down,” the professor breaks the silence. “Pass your quizzes to the front of the room.”

Once the professor has everyone’s quizzes he jumps right into the lecture. My hands copy everything he writes on the board as I steal occasional glances at the new student. His eyes don’t budge from the front of the room.

After what feels like only 20 minutes, the sound of zippers overpowers the lecture. There’s no way 40 minutes have already passed. I look up at the clock just to make sure.

8:49.

Without questioning it, I toss my notebook into my book bag, pull out my Creative Writing notebook, and try to blend in with the crowd of students flocking to the door.

Once I’m safely concealed by the crowd, I peer over at him one last time. As the rest of us scuttle out the door he waits calmly to step out of the room. It’s as if he has all the time in the world.

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