Writing
After NaNoWriMo ended I told myself I didn't have to do any more writing on Follow the Raven in the first week of December if I didn't want to. As it turned out I did end up writing another 2,000 words a few days after the finish line, so the story is currently sitting at 52.2k. I optimistically hoped I could finish the entire thing before the New Year, but obviously that didn't happen. I don't have much left to write; that will have to be done in 2018 at this point. Regardless, I'm very proud of myself for having rewritten 95% of it and thus completing 95% of my 2017 New Year's Resolution. It's a huge accomplishment for me, and I'm (mostly) looking forward to the editing/revision process during the "Now What?" months, which I plan to participate in for the first time starting in January.
As for Wattpad, I am very happy to say that I've successfully released a chapter a week since my newest story's initial release in late November! "The Dimension Keepers" has taken off in a way none of my previous stories on Wattpad have before; my readers seem really excited about the new direction I'm taking Kay's journey. I can't wait to see their reactions to certain upcoming events next month. My current stats for this latest book are 242 reads, 33 votes, and 15 comments.
Reading
While November is primarily focused on writing, December (for me) is primarily focused on reading. I managed to finish six books this month - just in time for 2018 - which makes 50 books total for the year! For the first time ever, I completed my Goodreads reading challenge! I told you all this was the year! I did it! :D
- Psion by Joan D. Vinge
- Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
- A Hero for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi
- Lock and Mori: Final Fall by Heather W. Petty
- What Light by Jay Asher
- A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
**Spoilers Ahead**
Considering the amount of praise Everything, Everything has received, I expected much more from it than what I got. The story sounded promising in the beginning. It was a unique concept: A girl allergic to life outside her home falls for the boy next door and risks everything to be with him. Only...not. Because as it turned out, the whole premise was one big lie to both the protagonist and the readers. The author chose such a cop-out ending for the story. I was so disappointed that she felt the need to have a happy ending rather than continue down the dangerous road she had previously set up for her main character. What began as a YA romance that promised uniqueness ended up being exactly the same as the rest of its kind, and I just don't understand how so many people can give high praise to an ending that makes it feel like you as the reader were lied to as well. I'm not really inclined to read this author's other book because of this.
Considering the amount of praise Everything, Everything has received, I expected much more from it than what I got. The story sounded promising in the beginning. It was a unique concept: A girl allergic to life outside her home falls for the boy next door and risks everything to be with him. Only...not. Because as it turned out, the whole premise was one big lie to both the protagonist and the readers. The author chose such a cop-out ending for the story. I was so disappointed that she felt the need to have a happy ending rather than continue down the dangerous road she had previously set up for her main character. What began as a YA romance that promised uniqueness ended up being exactly the same as the rest of its kind, and I just don't understand how so many people can give high praise to an ending that makes it feel like you as the reader were lied to as well. I'm not really inclined to read this author's other book because of this.
The long-anticipated ending to the Lock and Mori trilogy was finally released in late November, which meant my library got it in early December for me to start reading. I was so excited going into Final Fall; I couldn't wait to find out how everything went down and how loose ends would be tied up and whatnot, since this was only meant to be a trilogy. So you can probably imagine my surprise when I held the book in my hands for the first time and discovered that it was only 200 pages - shorter than either of its predecessors. I had no clue how the author was going to fit everything there was to fit in 200 pages, especially once I started reading and Mori was still imprisoned 70 pages in. I really shouldn't have doubted, though, because if I've learned anything about Heather Petty as an author it's that she knows what she's doing. Mori resolved her evil father problem halfway through the book, and the other half was about her trying to get the heck out of London while avoiding the police and Sherlock himself, as he finally began to turn on her once he saw who she was becoming.
There were a lot of things I really appreciated about this book. First and foremost being that Sherlock and John Watson (who only made cameos in the first two books) FINALLY began to hang out together. That happened at some point during the five months Mori was away, and I cannot tell you how much I fangirled when she realized Lock was spending time with John in her absence. Another thing I appreciated was how much we really began to see the classic Moriarty in Mori with this book. Not only that, but we got to see how and why she became such a bad person by the end of it all. And what she did to Sherlock in the end! Man! I never saw that coming. Lock, too, really began to become the true Sherlock Holmes by the end of the series; I even noticed that as things became worse between the two of them Mori stopped referring to him as Lock and began to call him Sherlock again. I don't know if that was intentional, but either way it was expertly done.
However there were a couple of things I didn't care for with this novel as well. First being that - as I mentioned before - so much of the first half of this book was Mori imprisoned, being snarky to her captors, and trying to find a way out. She didn't actually escape until after 70 pages of what I felt to be unnecessarily drawn-out content. Then when she did finally get back to London, she solved her evil father problem almost immediately, without really having to fight him much. I thought that was a bit anticlimactic, given the plots of the first two books. I also didn't care for how much back and forth internal dialogue was going on with her. I could understand why some of it needed to be there - I think she realized she was becoming the person she hated but knew it had to be done - but she would have her mind made up about something and then two seconds later she'd read a postcard and suddenly she was changing her mind again. Her internal dialogue just felt confused and unnecessary most of the time.
Finally - and seriously, I think this is the biggest thing that stands out to me right now - there was a line in this book that was never explained. Like, a really, really important, you-cannot-overlook-this line concerning John Watson. I don't want to give too much away, but Mori mentioned that as it turned out she would have to apologize/answer to every citizen in London for making Sherlock who he was, except for John. And that was never explained! By the end of the book there wasn't even an epilogue detailing what happened to her after she did what she did in the end. If this was only meant to be a trilogy, considering how different the Sherlock/Moriarty rivalry is in this alternate universe where Mori is a female AND when their rivalry begins when they're teens instead of adults, you can't just assume your readers are going to know what that means. Of course I have an idea of what she meant by that line - I'm a Sherlockian, after all - BUT it was so massively important that I seriously think that Heather Petty needs to write one more book just to explain what she meant by it. It implies so many things about what became of Mori after the trilogy ended that I just...I need an explanation! Please!
Despite these complaints - and my desperate desire to see what became of these two after this trilogy ended - I really, really enjoyed Lock and Mori. I reread the reviews I wrote for the first two, and I think it's interesting that I didn't think Sherlock was really in character way back in the beginning. Of course he wasn't - nothing had happened to make him the Sherlock we know yet. By the time all three books were over I think we got a really great look at how things would be different for Sherlock and Moriarty had one of them been female instead, and I absolutely loved this series. I want to own these books. I want them on my shelves. Without a doubt, this was the best young Sherlock I've read to date. Well done, Heather Petty.
There were a lot of things I really appreciated about this book. First and foremost being that Sherlock and John Watson (who only made cameos in the first two books) FINALLY began to hang out together. That happened at some point during the five months Mori was away, and I cannot tell you how much I fangirled when she realized Lock was spending time with John in her absence. Another thing I appreciated was how much we really began to see the classic Moriarty in Mori with this book. Not only that, but we got to see how and why she became such a bad person by the end of it all. And what she did to Sherlock in the end! Man! I never saw that coming. Lock, too, really began to become the true Sherlock Holmes by the end of the series; I even noticed that as things became worse between the two of them Mori stopped referring to him as Lock and began to call him Sherlock again. I don't know if that was intentional, but either way it was expertly done.
However there were a couple of things I didn't care for with this novel as well. First being that - as I mentioned before - so much of the first half of this book was Mori imprisoned, being snarky to her captors, and trying to find a way out. She didn't actually escape until after 70 pages of what I felt to be unnecessarily drawn-out content. Then when she did finally get back to London, she solved her evil father problem almost immediately, without really having to fight him much. I thought that was a bit anticlimactic, given the plots of the first two books. I also didn't care for how much back and forth internal dialogue was going on with her. I could understand why some of it needed to be there - I think she realized she was becoming the person she hated but knew it had to be done - but she would have her mind made up about something and then two seconds later she'd read a postcard and suddenly she was changing her mind again. Her internal dialogue just felt confused and unnecessary most of the time.
Finally - and seriously, I think this is the biggest thing that stands out to me right now - there was a line in this book that was never explained. Like, a really, really important, you-cannot-overlook-this line concerning John Watson. I don't want to give too much away, but Mori mentioned that as it turned out she would have to apologize/answer to every citizen in London for making Sherlock who he was, except for John. And that was never explained! By the end of the book there wasn't even an epilogue detailing what happened to her after she did what she did in the end. If this was only meant to be a trilogy, considering how different the Sherlock/Moriarty rivalry is in this alternate universe where Mori is a female AND when their rivalry begins when they're teens instead of adults, you can't just assume your readers are going to know what that means. Of course I have an idea of what she meant by that line - I'm a Sherlockian, after all - BUT it was so massively important that I seriously think that Heather Petty needs to write one more book just to explain what she meant by it. It implies so many things about what became of Mori after the trilogy ended that I just...I need an explanation! Please!
Despite these complaints - and my desperate desire to see what became of these two after this trilogy ended - I really, really enjoyed Lock and Mori. I reread the reviews I wrote for the first two, and I think it's interesting that I didn't think Sherlock was really in character way back in the beginning. Of course he wasn't - nothing had happened to make him the Sherlock we know yet. By the time all three books were over I think we got a really great look at how things would be different for Sherlock and Moriarty had one of them been female instead, and I absolutely loved this series. I want to own these books. I want them on my shelves. Without a doubt, this was the best young Sherlock I've read to date. Well done, Heather Petty.
My Top Books of 2017
And now for the moment you've all been waiting for! Below is a list I've compiled of books I chose as the best of the bunch I read in 2017. I will say before you read the titles that this list was way harder for me to put together than last year's. In 2016 six books managed to get a 5/5 star rating from me, which made the list obvious and easy. This year only two books managed that, while there were 15 runners-up that got a 4/5 from me. I had to narrow down my options quite a bit, and it was not easy, but after contemplating it for several days I am satisfied with what I've chosen. They all earned their place at the top, that's for sure.
(Note: I have not listed the Skulduggery Pleasant books I read this year - the first of which gained a 5/5 while the others got 4/5 - for the sake of discluding the obvious. But I did definitely enjoy all of them!)
The first two on this list are the 5/5 star books. I also decided to count the first three books of The Selection as one since they are part of the original trilogy, I read them so close together, and I gave them all the same rating.
(Note: I have not listed the Skulduggery Pleasant books I read this year - the first of which gained a 5/5 while the others got 4/5 - for the sake of discluding the obvious. But I did definitely enjoy all of them!)
The first two on this list are the 5/5 star books. I also decided to count the first three books of The Selection as one since they are part of the original trilogy, I read them so close together, and I gave them all the same rating.
- The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi
- One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
- Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven
- The Selection #1-3 by Kiera Cass
- Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
- Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
- A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Of these seven books, the ONE that I believe is the best book I read this year is One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus. I can't even put into words how brilliant this book is. It captures such real, raw emotion and made me so angry on behalf of each of the four main characters for completely different reasons, as they were all so different from each other. I think the best part about it, though, was that the answer to the mystery was staring us all in the face the entire novel, but it wasn't until the author chose to reveal said answer that it all became clear. The title of the book is on point, and it is absolutely, 100% fantastic.
My Goodreads Reading Challenge for 2017 - as with the two years previous - was 50 books. And ladies and gentlemen, I JUST made it to 50 this year. I did it! I finally, finally did it! I am so proud of myself for having made it happen this time around. I knew I would reach the goal sometime! That said, though, I'll be changing up my game plan a little bit in 2018 in terms of reading, for various reasons that I'll detail in another post coming soon. For now, suffice it to say I could not be happier with how 2017 turned out for me, both in reading and writing, and I can't wait to try new things in the New Year!
I'll see you in 2018, everyone. Big things are coming your way! Happy New Year! :D
No comments:
Post a Comment