On YA Fiction: Political Messages

Recently, I've been noticing a trend in Young Adult, particularly in Science Fiction and its sub-genres Dystopian/Futuristic Fiction. There seem to be more and more books that revolve around a central political idea: over-reaching government.

Take Matched by Allie Condie, Possession by Elana Johnson, The Giver by Lois Lowry, The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien, Delirium by Lauren Oliver, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, Gone by Michael Grant, Little Brother and For the Win by Cory Doctorow, The Tomorrow Code by Brian Falkner, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and I could come up with others if I had more time. I'd also mention Divergent by Veronica Roth and Wither by Lauren Destefano, since they seem to be political based on their blurbs, but I haven't read those yet so I can't say for sure.

As you may have noticed, many of those are quite popular (*cough*The Hunger Games*cough*), and in addition, many of them seem to be rather anti-government. The Giver by Lois Lowry seems to be the exception, though it could still be taken as anti-government, since POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT one of the central characters is influential in preventing pain within the city--this, of course, also leads to more control, but everyone besides a certain few are oblivious to suffering.

Another element that repeats itself is revolutionaries/the resistance. In almost all of the above books, the main character joins or helps an organization (whether paramilitary or not) that, in turn, has some kind of showdown with the omnipresent government.

Now, while I don't mind politics in books, the constant battering of "Government Is Evil!" is beginning to make me wonder why it's cropping up so often.

Is it the political climate today, with a bad economy, constant protests, the Arab Spring, the war in Afghanistan and very recently Iraq? Is it a response to the perceived "rise of China" and Communism, the nuclear capabilities of other countries that might not have the Western world's best interests in mind?

Or is that reading too much of it, and it's just an attempt to appeal to teenagers that feel oppressed by their peers, their parents, society in general? But then again, it's not just teenagers reading YA; it attracts a wide range of readers.


What do you think?

And do you mind politics in the books you read? Is it something you're attracted or repelled by, in general?


-----The Golden Eagle

An Update: Poll Results, Writing, And Random Stuff

I haven't done one of these kinds of updates in a while. Here we go:

As for the poll "Do you think people will ever live someplace other than Earth?" I had up for July, here are the results, out of a total of 62 votes:

Yes--and I think it's important that we do (17 votes, 27%)
It's possible (28 votes, 45%)
No, not really (12 votes, 19%)
No--and I don't think we should (4 votes, 6%)
I don't know (1 vote, 1%)

Thank you for voting, to the readers who did--62 is the most votes a poll on my blog has ever gotten.

I hadn't expected so many of you to think that moving off of Earth was important. Personally, I agree with the majority--I do think it's possible (even likely) that humans will be living on other planets or in spacecraft or in orbit; and in the very, very long-term (should an asteroid hit Earth or there's some kind of other disaster which is not impossible), yes, moving off the planet might be a good idea. Someday. But regardless, should technology reach that point where we can move elsewhere, I hope to be around when we're traveling to new frontiers.

*********

I started a new novel on Monday.

It's going well so far, and I've got the plot for the story set out from beginning to end. I'm excited about the project, since it's in first person, present tense, something I haven't tried before. And in case you're wondering, it's SF, Young Adult, and the main character is a girl. The antagonist is a tyrant who took over the city in a coup de tat over twenty years ago and now aims to control the planet.

Yes, he's just a lovely fellow.

I want to finish this novel by November, so I can start something brand new for NaNoWriMo. (Hey, it's only three months away! Not too early to start planning for it . . . right? I have even come up with a potential idea for that story.)

(SOURCE)

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The grass is probably thanking the sky right now. It's been hot and dry and hot and sunny and also warm for the past week(s), and it's finally cloudy and rainy, so the water doesn't just run off without being absorbed.

(SOURCE)

*********

Well, at least the stock market went down only 500 points. It wasn't the enormous percentage drop that happened in 2008 . . . though it came pretty close. Thank you, Washington D. C., for stalling until the very date USA was set to default on its 14+ trillion dollar debt. It certainly helped the stability of things. Not.

**********

I have decided I really like Blogger's new format. It's faster and sleeker than the old one, and while I sort of wish there were scroll bars in the Post Editor, I do like that the edges shift as a part of your window does. The old one didn't go anywhere. I keep forgetting to add tags, though, since they're over to the right and not below anymore.

**********

So: what do you think of the idea of living on another planet, or in space? How's your writing going--have you got any new projects in the works? Is the economy getting better, or do you think we're going into a double-dip recession? What do you think of Blogger, now that it's been around for a while?


Finally, have you done anything exciting lately? :)


Hope you're all having a great weekend, bloggers!


-----The Golden Eagle

Awards and Miscellany

First, I have three awards to accept:

The Summer Blog Award from Carol Kilgore at Under the Tiki Hut:

It's such a summer-y picture, and a great award to receive--especially because it's cold outside! Thank you, Carol!

The Fearless Follower from Carolyn Abiad at Serendipity:

Thank you so much, Carolyn! (If you aren't following her blog, I highly suggest you do! Her posts are always fascinating.)

The Versatile Blogger Award from Misha at My First Book:

Thanks, Misha! I do love the look of this award, with the flower on the side and the words in the background. :)

I'd pass them on today, and I want to pass them on to you lovely bloggers, but I've got ground to cover and I don't have the time--nor will I have time later to visit the rest of your blogs. The rest of Life, you know.

*****

Speaking of life, we lost power on Monday. I was online, commenting on blogs, and suddenly it tells me I have no Internet connection. The power company got the electricity back on within two hours or so, but apparently it affected over a thousand people in the area.

(Of course, if houses were self-sufficient with solar, wind, and/or hydrogen, this wouldn't have been an issue. Thousands of people would not have lost power, and the power company would not have had to go out and mess with all that wiring.)

*****

Did you hear Richard Holbrooke died? He was the former Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

It's sad because a) it's sad when anyone dies, and he did a lot of work, in many different things. b) because this probably will affect the USA relationship with Afghanistan and Pakistan, which is not the best it could be right now. He helped it along.

*****

Fractal awesomeness:

Watch the full episode. See more NOVA.

*****

I just realized how ridiculous it is that in the 2007 Beowulf movie Beowulf is the dragon's dad. And that Hrothgar is Grendel's dad. All courtesy of the seductive, evil water-demon of course (AKA Angelina Jolie.)

Ha. Har. Hrm.

I usually like what Neil Gaiman does, (he co-wrote the screenplay) but the plot does not follow the book at all, except in the loosest sense. I don't think I'll be watching it--I prefer it when the movies stick to the books! (Unless they do a spectacular job of making a new plot, which does not often happen.)

*****

Excellent writing day on Tuesday. I managed over 5,000 words and I got through a tricky spot. One character isn't quite in the right place, but that can be fixed so that she is in the right place or that she doesn't go there at all.

I hope you all have great writing progress yourselves, and I hope that there isn't too much snow to be shoveled on your sidewalks . . .


-----The Golden Eagle

The Answer! (Plus: Award, and Other Miscellany)

The moment has arrived! I shall now reveal who exactly the kind of person it is in the Through the Keyhole Blogfest entry I posted on Monday.

First off, most of you who guessed said that you thought it was a male widow.

Partly right, although not completely. I wasn't aiming for anything so tragic.

He--and yes, it is a he, you were right on the gender!--is a traveling writer, doing research for his book, going to conventions/meetings, and the computer is what he writes on; the CD-RW has his files burned onto it. The green string is indeed a luggage tag, a remnant of his last trip to the airport. The picture of the couple is an image of him and his wife, but they're not divorced/separated, and there's no sorrowful backstory--he's just traveling abroad, while his wife stays home. They're a happy couple. :) The picture is a reminder . . .

*****

Now, L'Aussie awarded me the Fair Dinkum Award.

So, I'd like to give L'Aussie a big THANK YOU! and  *hug* for awarding me. :) It is much appreciated!

Me being American, I'd never heard of a Fair Dinkum before--L'Aussie apparently anticipated that, and told the award-ees to guess what they thought a Fair Dinkum was. (Read my comment HERE.) Hopefully, I got it at least somewhat right. :P

I also get to pass it on, too, and here are the people I'm awarding next with the Fair Dinkum Award (trying to be sure that no one's nabbed 'em before me . . . LOL):

Robyn Campbell
Brian
Sangu Mandanna
Madeleine
Dominic de Mattos

. . . and there are many others out there--Blogger seems to be a Fair Dinkum melting pot!

*****

Have you heard that the US Department of the Interior wants to strip Northern Rocky Mountain wolves of their Endangered Species status?

Now, look: I have absolutely nothing against saying that they're not on the brink of extinction. Hooray for that, actually. But LET'S NOT HUNT THE WOLVES. Please. If they're going to take wolves off the list, DON'T let them be hunted back onto it!

Remember what happened last time the wolves were killed, and there weren't enough of them out there? The ecosystem collapsed. Deer populations, (which are still issues in some parts of the country) went wild, eating, then starving themselves out as they ate everything, killing their food supplies due to lack of control by predators. We NEED the predators!

*****

You know that site that's been circulating for the past few days, every since Jen posted that awesome interview with Miranda Dickinson? Authonomy.com, set up by Harper Collins? It sound like an awesome site, and a good opportunity for getting your work out there. Publishers, agents, and other people like that will be able to read it, and you get exposure. People get to read your books and comment on them. Publishers have actually published works by the authors there.

Well, apparently you can't use it unless you're over 18.

*sigh* I don't happen to be over 18, which means that option's out the window. What's with the rule, anyway? Doesn't make sense to me.

*****

You may have noticed that I took down the Other Blogs page I had up, with all you bloggers' buttons. I don't hate your buttons--in fact, many of them are quite nice, and I make those kind of images myself--but the format was acting up giving me tons of white space, and it's easier to just add people to the blogroll on my sidebar. So, if you were on the Other Blogs page, rest assured that you are on the blogroll. :)

(I might set up one of the moving, repeating sequences of buttons, if I can figure out how . . . or I may just put up the page again in the future.)

*****

It snowed ALL DAY yesterday. Non-stop. There are several inches on the ground right now, and it's supposed to snow more this week--hooray! Not that I get snow days, being homeschooled and all . . . but it's the symbolic aspect. Plus, I love snow.


-----The Golden Eagle

Book Review: The Kite Runner

Cover of The Kite Runner

Title: The Kite Runner

Author: Khaled Hosseini

Publisher: Riverhead Books

Genre: Realistic Fiction/Contemporary Fiction

Page Count: N/A

Rating: 4.8 out of 5

Cover Rating: 4.7 out of 5. I like it--it looks like Afghanistan, and it has a nice nostalgic feel to it. Plus I like the cover scheme.

Inside flap:

Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is an unforgettable, beautifully told story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Raised in the same household and sharing the same wet nurse, Amir and Hassan nonetheless grow up in different worlds: Amir is the son of a prominent and wealthy man, while Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant, is a Hazara, member of a shunned ethnic minority. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them. When the Soviets invade and Amir and his father flee the country for a new life in California, Amir thinks that he has escaped his past. And yet he cannot leave the memory of Hassan behind him.

   The Kite Runner is a novel about friendship, betrayal, and the price of loyalty. It is about the bonds between fathers and sons, and the power of fathers over sons--their love, their sacrifices, and their lies. Written against a backdrop of history that has not been told in fiction before, The Kite Runner describes the rich culture and beauty of a land in the process of being destroyed. But with the devastation, Khaled Hosseini also gives us hope: though the novel's faith in the power of reading and storytelling, and in the possibilities he shows for redemption.

My expectations: Since this book has been on Banned Books lists, I expected there to be at least some graphic violence/language/etc. (I was prepared to stop reading it if it got too bad.)


There was little that could be called really explicit, and my expectations were very much exceeded.

About the book: The Kite Runner is a beautiful story. It was well-paced, well-written, and realistic. Khaled Hosseini's writing is amazing, and that in itself hikes my opinion of the book greatly. The description is wonderful, and the way things are presented is believable, unlike a lot of literature these days. I felt for the characters, understood their feelings, and nothing felt forced or artificial. The events, people, and the world of Afghanistan--and, later, America--were real and just there in a way that takes excellent writing to accomplish.

• Plot:

Excellent. There were twists and turns to it that sent the story forward, but without rushing anything. There's a big secret that comes out later in the book, which was surprising and a little shocking, and I loved that aspect. The ending was great, too; I won't say anything for fear of giving it away, but it made me a little sniffly. I felt like hugging the book afterwards (which, believe me, is something I do only for books I've really enjoyed).

• Characters:

Amir was mixed character; a complex one, more diverse, a person that you really can't pass judgement on without knowing the entire story and the circumstances--those are the best kinds of characters. I was fond of him, frustrated at his actions, and enjoyed reading about someone who wasn't a stereotype, cliche, or an otherwise-repetitive character.

Hassan, a Hazara, is Amir's family's servant. Hazaras are considered lower-class than the higher-ups such as Amir's family's ethnicity, which is Tajik. He's loyal to Amir's family--sometimes I felt like shouting at him to stand up for himself, against what was happening to him, but it was understandable; he would only have been punished, mocked, etc. I loved him as a character.

Amira's father, Baba, wasn't quite a stereotype, although some of the things he did could fall into that category. I wouldn't call him a cliche though, since he still had depth and importance. I didn't like him, but the interplay between him, Amir, Hassan, Hassan's father Ali, and the people he met in America was interesting to read.

• Setting/Elements:

There are practically no books set in Afghanistan, at least in the USA (I'm sure there are books on it in other countries--like, well, Afghanistan), so it was fascinating to read it just for that fact. It was another perspective into the lives of regular Afghans, the social structure, and it was a look at Kabul before the wars began, before the Soviets, and before the USA stuck its big head in. The world was depicted well, in the writing; I could see the city clearly in my mind.

Other: There is rape, but it's not nearly as graphic as some people seem to be making it out to be. It mentions blood, (after the rape) but it doesn't go into the details--the other character is running away from the scene as it happens, and there is no head-hopping into the victim, or the ones committing the crime. There are references and some language, and a scene ends as two characters are about to have sex (there is no description during that part, though). Some violence; mentions of war, physical attacks, attempted suicide.


I want to see the movie! Hopefully they didn't butcher it, like they do with some really good books; it would be interesting to see how they incorporated the Afghanistan part of it. There certainly aren't many movies out there that involve Afghanistan.

Do I recommend this book? Yes. Absolutely.


-----The Golden Eagle

Book Review: Dragons Of Darkness

Title: Dragons Of Darkness

Author: Antonia Michaelis

Translated By: Anthea Bell

Publisher: Amulet Books, imprint of Abrams

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure

Page Count: 548

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Cover Rating: 5 out of 5. *cover-induced drooling* You couldn't make a better cover for the book! And besides that, the dragon is simply gorgeous. Not all dragons are illustrated that well! I love it even more than Tiger Moon's cover, the other book she wrote. I would definitely want them doing my book cover . . .

Inside flap: 

Beautiful yet menacing dragons have come out of the mountains . . .

With an appetite as sinister as theirs, nothing--and no one--will be spared.

Christopher doesn't have much in common with Jumar, the prince of Nepal. He's not even sure how he ended up trekking across the mountainous country in the prince's strange company. But one thing is certain: someone must help fight the deadly dragons and other, even more dangerous forces that plague the land.

   The dragons are like something out of a fairly tale, draining all the color from the world and turning anyone caught in their shadows to metal. Defeating the dragons will take Christopher and Jumar on a journey deep into the heart of Nepal, and deep into the secrets of their own hearts. What they find there will make all the difference.

My expectations: Average. I expected an interesting fantasy read, maybe a little more like MG than YA.


This book falls pretty strongly into the YA category, and the mix of what's in this book . . . I seriously have never read anything like it!

About the book: The synopsis does not do this book justice in the least! The book is a wild ride, with invisible princes (yes, invisible!), to Maoist insurgents, to dragons that drink color and turn people to metal, to German boys thrust into the political conflict either by magic or because they traveled there to do aid work, to a queen frozen in time.


I loved it, all except for a few parts that I found a little strange. But there were a lot of good things, too. The political, communist aspect was a surprise--not many books, especially ones in the USA, are written that include Communism as one of its central points. Dragons Of Darkness incorporates the politics into the story well--it's not unrealistic or unbelievable, despite the circumstances that the characters are in.


The overall writing style, while translated, is very good. I love Antonia Michaelis's writing, part of the reason I snatched up this book after having read Tiger Moon. I wonder what it's like in the original German.

• Plot:

Fast, complicated, and little surprising. I didn't expect the characters to do what they did, nor did I ever completely anticipate what was going to happen next. The politics, magic, fantasy, characters, and the setting worked well together, although you might not think they would.

• Characters:

I really liked Christopher as a character. He was determined and a good person, and considering he was thrown into Nepal via magic and ran into an invisible prince without warning, he took everything in stride rather well. I grew fond of him.

Jumar was different, not only because he's invisible. He's also determined, although for different goals--he wants to rescue his kingdom, Nepal, and topple the Maoist insurgents who are attempting to take over the country. I like Christopher better, but Jumar was still an attractive character.

Niya was different from everyone. She was strong, fiery, and had amazing spirit, considering what she'd been through. I liked her sureness, and her strong-as-steel attitude, although some of her decisions made me blink. But she was a good character.


All the other secondary characters are equally as good, with people from all over the spectrum, from kings to monks to the insurgents.

• Setting/Elements:

The military aspect--the Maoists--surprised me at first. The title is Dragons Of Darkness, after all; it sounds like High Fantasy, or something like that. I hadn't expected to read so much of their political ideas, although I have to say that it was an interesting take on their principles and why they do what they do. It was also a glimpse of Nepal, and not many books have their setting in that country.

Other: Violence, and sex. The sex kind of threw me--these people are barely teenagers, yet they're having sex. Good grief.

I would love to see this book made into a movie. There's plenty of action, and with graphics where they are right now, I'm sure someone could do an epic job with the dragons.

Do I recommend this book? Yes!


-----The Golden Eagle

Random Things

Quinn at Seeing, Dreaming . . . Writing awarded me! Thank you so much, Quinn!

It is the Versatile Blogger Award, and the rules are to list 7 things about yourself and pass it on to 7 other bloggers.

Now, I've already received this award before and answered the questions, but I've decided to list another 7 things about myself as the Random Things from the title. Hopefully I won't bore you to death.

1. I don't write emotions fluidly. At least, I don't when it comes to the characters I'm currently working with. The emotions that I type out just don't feel right now of the time . . . or they're too important or they seem false. (Do you have this problem?)

2. NaNoWriMo, I am going to get you! I passed the 10,000 mark yesterday, but I know compared to some you that's not much! I've seen numbers in the 20,000-40,000+ range. Wow. Those are a lot of words, people! Keep it going!

And for a bonus, this is me right now:

(Meter HERE)

3. You know that post, "How To: Beaming Someone Up Into A Spaceship"? I've got something like that planned for tomorrow, too; I'm interested in seeing how it's going to go over.

4. Don't forget to switch your clocks this Saturday night! Daylight Savings Time. I don't like DST much. Too much hassle, and not all countries observe it. (If you want a really good site that tells you all about DST, go HERE. I love those nodes.)

5. So the Republicans took over the House of Representatives. I'm ecstatic, everyone. Extremely happy with the direction the government is taking.

*sighs* I can't really say I'd be ecstatic with the Democrats, either. No one really wants bipartisanship where they're not trying to destroy the other's agenda and no one really wants to collaborate. At least, they seem pretty darn stubborn to make things as difficult as possible.

6. I have 180 Followers! 180! That's . . . awesome, everyone. Thank you, all of you, for following! :)

7. I'll be sure to check out you fellow Crusaders soon! I signed up for the Writer's Platform-Building Crusade yesterday, (see below post) and I have to get started on that list. :)


So. Now that all is said and done: Thank you for awarding me once again, Quinn! (You really should go check out his blog. Go on. *nudges* Come back once you've followed.)

Now, for those I am going to award . . . I'm going to do what the lovely Jules (you should go check out her blog as well, everyone) decided to do, and award the followers in the first 5 rows on the Follower gadget. (If you see yourself there and get shoved back by newer followers when you come back later . . . well, consider yourself awarded anyway. :))

Have a great Friday, everyone!


-----The Golden Eagle

The Beginning

Tis the beginning of November!

Several things happen this month:

NaNoWriMo and its accompanying frenzy. I am participating HERE, although the site's down and I can't access it. There are just too many writer's trying to get on, I guess. But that's better than just a few, lonely participants. :)

Voting on November 2nd. Unfortunately, it's all "this candidate did this!" and "that candidate did that!" and blame, and guilt by association, and attack ads, and "I'm mad as hell" (seriously, I visited one site and the person running actually appeared on the screen and said it. Right. Uh-huh. Integrity, please!). There are few to nil "I am going to do this when you elect me" or "I am pledging my support for that" which is extremely dismaying--and all these newcomers don't have a record you can follow.

The Thanksgiving holiday. I'm not the hugest fan of Thanksgiving, although I do enjoy the purpose of the holiday. We really should be giving thanks--much more often than we do. Plus, there are the family get-togethers for a lot of people.

Did I mention frantic writing on the side of NaNoWriMo? Yes? Oh.


I will try to keep up my blogging, and I will post book reviews sometime--I haven't done one in a week, and I've got several sitting in my Draft pile. There's just too much to post about 'round here! I didn't have that problem before, but it's a good one to have at any rate. ;)

I wasn't very present on the blogosphere today, either; I'll be getting to you peeps tomorrow.

Finally, I'm also going to say: "Have a great month!" before I forget it, and really, I hope you do.


-----The Golden Eagle