Books: Book Reviews: Wildwood

Hello, Bookworms!

Today, I want to tell you about Wildwood, by Colin Meloy.

Prue lives in Portland, right on the edge of the Impassable Wilderness. She has an ordinary life, ordinary parents, an ordinary baby brother. Until, one day at the park, Prue's brother is kidnapped by a murder of crows and taken to the Impassable Wilderness. Now, Prue has to get her brother back,
and a bothersome classmate, Curtis, keeps trying to help her. Once they are in the Impassable Wilderness, though, they discover it's not impassable at all. Creatures of all types live in North Wood or South Wood, many birds live in the Avian Principality, and the stretch in between, an untamed, dangerous place, is called Wildwood.

I gave this book three stars.

Pros:

Setting

All of the different areas in the Impassable Wilderness are so different, yet extremely believable, and the setting/scenery is incredibly rich. Also, talking animals is somehow magical.








Commentary

Meloy was trying to comment on some issues, one of them being that individuals' concerns often aren't heard in large governments, and I think this had the ability to be done very well.

Promise

So many things were promising about this book. The story was there, the commentary was there, it just needed more work.

Cons:

Characters

Although I liked Prue, at first she was quite mean. We didn't know why she was mean, she just was. She did become nicer by the end of the book, but it would've been nice if she was more rounded and had more of a character arc and motivations.

It Needed More Work.

I loved the idea, the story, the commentary was great, the setting was great, everything had tons of promise. But the pacing was off, the sentences were all structured pretty much the same, things weren't described in an engaging way. . . Like I said, it needed more work.

The story has so much potential, but it makes me sad to see this as the published copy. I'm not trying to be mean; I just think this book would easily be one of my absolute favorites with a little more work.

Have you read Wildwood? What do you think of it?

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://www.amazon.com/Wildwood-Chronicles-Book-1-ebook/dp/B004QWZC9W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532639036&sr=8-1&keywords=wildwood

Creative Complex: Fire

Hello, Friends.

Today, we have a story starter. Enjoy!

The fire is dancing, turning, writhing. It has a strange lure, almost like the push and pull of the Sea. It has a strange energy, almost like the wrath of the North Wind. It has a power, almost like the might of Time.

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://pixabay.com/en/fire-flames-bonfire-sweden-night-123784/

Mental Library: Poetry: Types of Poems-- Acrostic, Free Form, Sonnet

Hello, Friends!

Today concludes our poetry series. There is tons more to talk about with poetry, but I'm just providing a basic overview. I enjoy poetry, just not as much as other types of literature. :)

Last week, we looked at a few different types of poems, and this week, we'll finish that. There are millions of types of poems, so these past two poetry posts are not complete at all, but these are just a few I've come into contact with.

Acrostic

Basically, acrostic poems use adjectives starting with the letters in a word. Here's an example:

Charismatic
Agile
Terrific

The first letter of each adjective spells the word "Cat." When I was little, I made acrostic poems for my parents using their names. :)




Free Form

Free form poetry is anything you want it to be. This is fairly self-explanatory, so I'm not going to give you an example.

Sonnet

Hurrah! Sonnets! Sonnets are tricky.

First, there are three stanzas of four lines each. These are called quatrains. After these, there is a couplet. The rhyme scheme is: abab cdcd efef gg.

To make it more complicated, sonnets have to follow a specific foot pattern. Feet are made up of stressed and unstressed syllables (if you do not know what these are, please see here.) Sonnets use iambic pentameter, which means five feet, each consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. A famous example from Shakespeare says: (U = unstressed, S = stressed)

Shall I comPARE thee TO a SUMMer's Day?

      U   S  U      S     U     S   U    S        U     S        

Have you heard of any of these before? What type do you prefer to write? What type do you prefer to read?

Spruce Nogard

Source: http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/sonnetstyle.html

Attributions: https://pixabay.com/en/cat-kitty-kitten-feline-animal-2858906/

https://pixabay.com/en/summer-background-trees-day-walk-3529798/

On My Mind: West Side Story (and Gun Violence and Immigration) {Part 2 of 2}

Hello, Friends.

First, please, please, please read part 1 of this. I clarify some things, and this post will not make any sense if you do not read part 1. (Part 1 released on Wednesday, so just scroll down a little more. You'll see it.)

And so. I am going to write.

In an interview with the choreographer, Maija García, she was asked: What do you hope audiences take away from this fresh retelling?

And her response blew me away. She said:

“I hope the audience is inspired to look deeply at our world, especially our youth, and resolve to     listen more and feel more. I hope they connect with all the characters and consider the plurality of their experiences. I hope they reflect on the epidemic of gun violence in our country, on institutional

racism and on the criminalization of urban youth. I hope they are inspired to invest in the arts that seek to impact and transform communities. And I hope they see good kids with good hearts who are searching for family, community and acceptance like all of us.”

Ms. García summed the messages of the play up perfectly. She also made this problem about all of us, not just “those naughty kids, “those people who don't do anything,” “those politicians who don't care”. . . The problem is about all of us, and we all have a role to play in it.

School shootings and mass shootings litter the news like garbage litters our streets. At first, when I heard about a school shooting or mass shooting, I was horrified. That was so sad, and why? Why is our world so broken? And now, I hear about a mass shooting or school shooting, and blink and say: another one. Not again. And I move on. Gun violence has become commonplace, and that is unacceptable.

We must do something about shootings and gun violence. In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Junior explains time is neutral; It is what we do with time that matters. It's

frustrating that there is evidence that tighter gun laws lead to fewer mass shootings, but we still just say “sorry. That's too bad that happened.” and don't do anything about this issue. I have a very strong and detailed opinion about gun laws, but in the end it comes to this. I am in high school. There have been a sickening number of school shootings in the United States this year. Sometimes, I'll catch myself thinking, What would happen if there was a shooting at my school? And I have to stop that thought, because I don't want to panic. There are ways I can advocate for safer schools, but, I can't vote. Many others can. If you can vote to make our country safer, and make schoolchildren not have to worry about their safety, please do. Because, if we can save lives, we should.

If you would like more information, here is a link to March For Our Lives' mission statement. This link includes specifically what they are fighting for, and some information about them. Here is a link to sign the petition. (I included it because it had really clear guidelines of what they stand for.)

Thank you for reading all this. Please pray for these people. Please pray for our country. Please support children and families any way you can.

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://pixabay.com/en/rose-white-rose-white-red-love-1392458/
https://pixabay.com/en/martin-luther-king-jr-i-have-a-dream-393870/

On My Mind: West Side Story (and Gun Violence and Immigration) {Part 1 of 2}

Hello, Friends.

Wait, wait, wait! Here are two mini notes, and then I have two actual notes, which you need to read (even if you aren't going to read the whole post.) Mini notes:
#1-Sorry this is a long post.
#2-This is the first part of two parts, which is why I posted on Wednesday, not Friday. Part two will come out on Friday.

So, when you saw the title of this post, you may have been surprised. You may have panicked. I'm sorry about that. In light of this, here are two notes before we start.

1. I do not want to and have no interest in talking about politics on this blog. I do have political opinions, but I believe it is important to have spaces where we do not have to think about politics, both online and in our real lives. However, when our country has problems like these, I believe we should speak about them. Because they are things worth caring about. I know there are many political views on these, but before these were political problems, they were, and are, humanity problems. People are dying. Children are dying. Families are being separated. No matter what we as a country think should be done about it, this is the reality. If we can prevent more school children from dying, or keep immigrant families together, we should.
   
   
2. If this stresses you out, or you would prefer not to read this post, I will not hate you. I don't watch or read the news because there are so many sad things going on in this world, and I just can't, for my emotional well-being. It still makes me sad that all these things are happening, but I can't subject myself to them constantly. Also, If you have different opinions than me, I will not hate you. I hope you can still read and enjoy my blog, and we can set aside our differences in favor of the things we love.
   

All right. I started writing this post because something needs to be done about these issues. People are dying, families are being separated, and they are people, not some complex political problem.

Then, our sermon at church on Sunday was about just this. Actually, it was about Romans 13, and how the way it has been used to defend the immigration law was completely erroneous. God, in fact, does not call us to submit to government. (Here is a link to the sermon if you want to know why.) Our pastor talked about how no matter what we think should be done about immigration, it is horrible to separate children from their families. We all need to see these immigrants as people, just like us. Because, we are called to love others, and love them always. We need to work to get children and their families back together. Whether that means writing about the immigration law, voting, marching, supporting organizations that are working to reunite families, being open to meeting new people in our neighborhoods, etc., we need to do something about it. We all have different views on what should be done on the political side, and that's fine. Our views can vary, but we can still resolve to see people as humans and love them as humans above all.

A few days later, I saw West Side Story in the theatre with my mom and my sister. It was brilliant. If you haven't heard of West Side Story before, West Side Story is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, but in the 1950s on Manhattan's west side. Instead of two warring families, there are two warring gangs. Of course, the whole love part is kind of dubious and not actually love (at least, at first), but there are many brilliant messages in this play. A lot of the messages pertain to the gun violence happening across the country today. A lot of the messages pertain to the issue of immigration in today's society. So, here we go.

*Note: This post contains spoilers, but they're not too bad because West Side Story is based on
Romeo and Juliet.

A giant, upside-down Statue of Liberty sometimes appeared in the background.

West Side Story was reimagined, and the choreography was redone for this specific performance. The Sharks are from Puerto Rico, and in this retelling, the Jets represent Americans. (The Jets are more diverse than in the movie version.) Police officers often discriminate against the Puerto Ricans horribly. At one point, the police officers kick the Sharks out of Doc's drugstore. As the Sharks leave, they whistle “My Country, Tis of Thee” (“Sweet Land of Liberty”). At the end of the play, right before Maria (Juliet) runs off (in this version, she doesn't die, just Tony (Romeo) does), she stares back at the Statue of Liberty in the background.

At the end of the play, right after Tony is shot, Maria grabs the gun and asks (something like) “How many? How many can I kill?” She also says, “We all killed [Tony].”
Her words emphasize the problem in our society today: that when people are killed, others want revenge, kill more people, and the violence just keeps escalating. Killing more people doesn't solve the problem. It makes it worse.

Violence is not the way to solve anything, ever.

Bernstein's silence at the end.

Leonard Bernstein wrote the score for West Side Story. Bernstein was musically brilliant, and worked with music in a wide variety of ways. He composed in multiple genres, including theatre, orchestral, film, etc. He also did tons of other amazing stuff, so please look him up and read about him.

In any case, about West Side Story. For the last scene, when Tony has died, and everything else happens, there is silence. No music. None. Bernstein did not offer us nice, tragic music to go with a beautiful tragedy. He did not offer us hopeful music, because maybe the gangs were reconciled now. (After all, they both helped carry Tony's body off the stage.) He did not offer us nice music to end a play, because it was a story, and a story meant for our enjoyment. He gave us silence. And his silence practically shouted. Through his silence, I clearly heard: And what are you going to do about it? This is the question he asked us by not having music at the end. Silence. I said something in my head like: Dang. (I can't remember what I actually said.) Because that was such a powerful question, to end such a powerful play, and one I couldn't simply shove out of my mind.

And so. I am going to write.

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://pixabay.com/en/adult-art-group-hands-paint-1846428/

https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2018/01/18/20/43/love-3091214_960_720.jpg 

https://pixabay.com/en/rose-white-rose-white-red-love-1392458/

Fairy Tales: Modern Fairy Tales

Hello, Friends.

Sorry this is late! Today, we are talking about modern fairy tales. Fairy tales appear in many more places than we think, and archetypes can reduce pretty much anything to basic fairy tales.

However, our society still loves fairy tales, despite that they're centuries old. Disney's first movies were fairy tales, like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella. Recently, live action versions of these movies have been made. Books have been based on fairy tales, or if not based on fairy tales, contain some hint of folklore. The Shadow Queen, by C.J. Redwine, the Lunar Chronicles, by Marissa Meyer, and Uprooted, by Naomi Novik are some of them. The Shadow Queen is a retelling of "Snow White," with a few embellishments and characterizations. Cinder, the first book in the Lunar Chronicles, is a retelling of "Cinderella," but set in the future, and although you can clearly see the story of "Cinderella" through the book, the fairy tale is twisted into something completely new. And Uprooted has hints here and there of fairy tales, but doesn't follow one specific tale.

Once Upon a Time is a TV show based on fairy tales. (My mom and sister watch it; I can't. It's too stressful. It's basically fairy tale soap-opera.) George Lucas claimed Star Wars was a modern fairy tale.

What are some modern fairy tales you like? Why?

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://pixabay.com/en/castle-france-le-mont-saint-michel-1149756/

Creative Complex: One

Hello, Friends!

Today, I have given you a writing prompt. Go do what you want with it. :)

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/09/18/15/38/moon-2762111_960_720.jpg

Mental Library: Poetry: Types of Poems--Concrete, Diamante, Haiku

Good day, Friends!

Last month, we learned about rhyming patterns in poetry. This month, we are learning about some common types of poems.

Concrete Poetry (Shape Poetry)

This type of poetry uses a shape as an outline. You can really pick any shape. The only confines are the shape you pick. Usually, the shape has something to do with the topic of the poem.

Diamante Poetry

This kind of poetry is similar to concrete poetry, but has more specific rules. The first line is a noun, the second line is two adjectives describing the noun, the third line is three verbs describing the noun, and the fourth line has a short phrase about the first noun, and the last noun [line 7]. From there, it's just like a mirror. The bottom line is a noun opposite to the top one, and right above that are the two adjectives describing the last noun, and it continues. Here is an example. (I just made it up now, so it's not the greatest. Also, I'm thinking of the sea. I just read a book about pirates. . . :) )

Sea

Calm, wild

Roaring, churning, bellowing

Untamed glory, Quiet monotony

Living, growing, submitting

Awe-inspiring, dull

Land

Haiku

Haikus have five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third. Here's an example. (Again, I just made it up.)

The tiny mouse runs.

My cat pounces on his prey.

A playful game starts.

Here are a few types of poems. Next month, we'll talk about even more types of poems! Do you have a favorite type of poem? Why?

Spruce Nogard

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamante_poem

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_poetry

Attributions: https://pixabay.com/en/water-sunrise-ocean-island-sea-1641780/ 

https://pixabay.com/en/cat-mouse-catch-hunting-play-396535/

On My Mind: Books with Powerful Messages

Hello, Good People!

Before we start, this post is about books with powerful messages, as I'm sure you guessed from the title. :) If you do not like reading summaries of book messages, just go read the books. Skip this post. You'll see what I mean once you're done reading them.

As you know, I love books. I love many books. I love a variety of books. We all do. But today, I want to talk about books with powerful messages. What does that mean?

"Powerful" means compelling, soul-wrenching, making you think, life-changing.

"Messages" are themes, morals, ideas, the author is trying to convey (intentionally or unintentionally.)

Many books have messages of some sort, and most authors are trying to say something through their work, but some books have particularly strong messages. These books stay with us forever, and change us. These books (and movies) help heal us, show us truth, help us believe again. Here are some:

A Tale Dark and Grimm (Also, I reviewed this series here.)
A Tale Dark and Grimm, and the rest of the series, helps heal. There are very few people in the world who actually believe in the power of children, and Adam Gidwitz is one of them. Not many people are willing to believe children and trust that children are often wiser than adults, and not look down on children. Even I struggle to do this. Adam Gidwitz trusts children, believes in them, and listens to them. It's hard to explain.

Also, the way Adam Gidwitz writes makes you gasp with wonder. I can read the A Tale Dark and Grimm series more than once, and find beautiful things. I'm not going to ruin it for you, but read this series more than once, and pay attention. Adam Gidwitz is beautifully gifted, and captures the hurt so well. If you want to know more about this (sorry, I am being rather cryptic :) ) this article and this article are great.

Uprooted (For a full review, click here and here.)
Uprooted is a fairy tale-esque story. The messages in this book are so strong and so powerful, but not overshadowing. I really can't say much without spoiling everything. Just go read it. :) It's about love, though. Not romantic love, which is generally the first thing we think of, but loving others. It's about how sickness in our minds (don't worry--it's not psychological, it's very much fairy tale) makes us and others act differently, out of character. It's about how we are not seeing the person, we are seeing the manifestation of the sickness. Maybe that person chooses to try to get better. Maybe they don't. That is definitely their decision, and they are harming themselves and others if they choose not to get help, but it doesn't mean they aren't suffering, too. They are still sick.

Uprooted teaches you to look past the sickness, to ask: What would this person without this sickness look like? And suddenly you can see them truly, how they were meant to be.

Go read beautiful books, beautiful people.

What books have you read that have strong messages?

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://www.amazon.com/Uprooted-Naomi-Novik-ebook/dp/B00KUQIU7O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1529601259&sr=8-1&keywords=uprooted+naomi+novik

https://www.amazon.com/Tale-Dark-Grimm-Gidwitz-2014-03-06/dp/B01K9290RC/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529601420&sr=1-4&keywords=a+tale+dark+and+grimm

Dragons: Mythical Creatures Spotlight: Breathe

Hello, Friends.

Today, we are starting a new series. In these Spotlights, I will ask you questions about a mythical creature, the different ways that specific creature can be used in writing, and dynamics of that specific creature. I will not go as in-depth as I did with dragons, however. At the end of this (or, after we have a healthy arsenal of mythical creatures) we can put these into practice in writing or imagining. We can make these creatures 3D, and avoid cutting corners like some authors do. At least, this will get you thinking.

But before we start looking at specific mythical creatures, I just want you to open your mind and breathe. Think about aspects of mythical creatures. I've outlined a lot of dragon aspects, and this is kind of what I'm going to do in condensed version in the Spotlights. Think about creature relations. The ecosystem. Advantages of different creatures. Disadvantages. Whatever else.

Most importantly, though, remember this is for fun. The goal of the spotlights is to expand your mind, to get you thinking in new, different, and creative ways. The goal is never to overwhelm you, to make you focus on detail so much that you start to dislike writing, or make you perfectionistic.


Let your mind imagine things. :) Have fun with this!

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://pixabay.com/en/city-float-floating-city-airship-563171/

Creative Complex: The Forest Comes Alive

Hello, Dryads.

Today, the forest comes alive. What does this mean? What happens next?

Spruce Nogard

Attributions:

https://pixabay.com/en/trees-fir-forest-nature-conifers-3410830/

Book Reviews: The Princess Bride

Good Day, Friends!

Okay, so I'm assuming you have seen The Princess Bride and know what I'm talking about. If not, shame on you. Go watch it right now. In any case, for Christmas, I got the 30^th Anniversary Edition of the book The Princess Bride was based on. (The book is also called The Princess Bride.) I just wanted to share my thoughts on it.

I gave this book 4.5 stars. I like the movie better, but there were definitely nice things about reading the book.

Pros:

• We got to read Inigo's and Fezzick's backstories! It was so fun to see where they were coming from and what made them who they are.
• Buttercup is sensible and practical! (Well, a little.) "Oh, the boys!. . . I do not care about 'the boys.' Horse loves me and that is quite sufficient, thank you."
• Humperdinck's Zoo of Death
  • This adds another trial/layer to the story, and it adds a good amount of depth to Humperdinck's character. However, it is cruelty to animals, so if you're sensitive to that, beware. (I do not like that part.)

Cons:

• The characters didn't have much more depth than they did in the movie. This doesn't seem like an issue, but usually, even though we don't realize it, book characters have more depth than movie characters, because we can't read movie characters' thoughts like we can in books, and movie characters have much less time to develop a well-rounded, not flat character. Therefore, the amount of depth a movie character has in order to seem realistic is much less than the amount of depth a book character has to have. So, it was kind of disappointing when the book characters in The Princess Bride were not more well-rounded and did not have more depth than the movie characters.
• Fezzick was portrayed as quite dumb and childish, which I didn't like.

Another note: The author has some. . . interesting commentary. You'll have to read it and research it yourself to get what I mean.

That's all for today!

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://www.amazon.com/Princess-Bride-Deluxe-Gift/dp/B000YE1808/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1529370642&sr=8-6&keywords=the+princess+bride+book

On My Mind: **Important Updates**

Hello, Friends!

Okay, today, I have two things to talk about. First, I am sorry about not having a normal Friday post. On that note, I am going to be a little looser about my blog schedule as of now. I am also getting rid of the Gardening and Recipes sections of my blog, as well as the "Topic of the Month" subsection. Although I like gardening and recipes, I find I much prefer doing those things instead of just writing about them. Both gardening and recipes are great, however, and I know plenty of other people love writing about them. Good for them! As for me, I'd prefer to stick to books, dragons, and writing. The "Topic of the Month" subsection of the Writing category was a little dull, because after a while, there are only so many genres, and so many topics. I am sure I could think of more, but it's easier not to have them. I will still have On My Mind posts, though, so I might share recipes or gardening or book-related topics in those sometimes.

As a result, my blog structure is changing. I used to post three times a week, but because I am deleting some of the categories, I will now be posting two times a week. Here is what my new schedule will look like:

Week 1:
Mon-Mental Library
Sat-Creative Complex

Week 2:
Mon-Fairy Tales
Sat-Creative Complex

Week 3:
Mon-Book Reviews
Sat-Creative Complex

Week 4:
Mon-Dragons/Mythical Creatures
Sat-On My Mind

Secondly, my blog is Copyrighted. This means you are not allowed to use, display, reference, etc. my work without my permission. If you would like to request to use my work, please email me. My email is available on my profile page. You can find the link to my profile on the left-hand side of my blog, under the "About Me" section. Thank you for making sure my posts, that I have spent lots of time, and energy on, and which I care about very much, are realized.

Thank you so much! I enjoy writing this blog immensely. :)

Spruce Nogard

Writing: Rimewhittling

Hello, Friends!

Today, I am sharing a short story I wrote with you. This story is flash fiction, which is a genre of short story that is 1000 words or under. I learned this from Rosalie Valentine, at Penprints. Penprints has a yearly challenge to write a flash fiction based on a prompt in three weeks. I decided to enter. :) In any case, here is the link to the picture prompt. (I didn't actually put the picture on my blog because I wasn't sure if it was public domain.)

*Note: My work is copyrighted, so please don't use it without asking my permission first, and please properly cite me. (If you want to ask my permission to use my work, my email is sprucehnogard@gmail.com) Thank you! 

By the way, sorry the font is small and black. I copied this from other places I had been working on it, and Blogger is being difficult.

Prompt

Rimewhittling

Mimi started. The words “We should talk” were written in snow on her windshield. Nothing like this had happened in a long, long, time. She furtively glanced around, then brushed the still-falling snow off her car. The frost stayed stubbornly attached to her windshield, as if sneering at her misfortune. What did it mean? Why now, of all times? She thought she had left all that behind long ago. How did he even find her? She groaned.

When she got home, a heavenly smell greeted her. Did someone make cookies? But the smell wasn't quite right. . . someone had made a whole dinner. Great. Mimi was hoping she would have at least a full twenty-four hours to recuperate from the shock of Jack finding her. But alas.

“What do you want?” Mimi crossed her arms. Jack looked the same as always, brown hair immaculately messy, and oddly pale blue eyes, which danced as if he held some hidden secret.

“Oh, I just had a conundrum I needed help with,” Jack replied.

“I left for a reason. Did you actually think I wanted to be involved in all your messes?”

“Dear. No, I did not, but that doesn't change the fact that I need help. You have a gift. I have not found such talent in three hundred years.”

Mimi sighed. “Why now? I just want to spend time with my family.” She circumvented Jack, surveyed the mushroom-goat cheese ravioli, and tugged on her braid. “This year, I'll actually get to be with my sisters for Christmas.”

Jack sighed. “I didn't have a choice. “We both know that. And the king will be in a towering rage if it's not completed on time. Remember what happened the last time we missed a deadline?”

“You missed a deadline? Yes, I remember,” Mimi looked up and closed her eyes as if she was in pain. Her heart twisted with guilt. “It can't happen again. Let me get my things.”

“Let's eat first.” Jack smiled. He had to awkwardly twist past the door frame to sit at the table.

Mimi sat across from Jack, and they began their dinner. Mimi's mind started to drift. Despite all the craziness of traveling to and from Byrne, she had missed Jack. The king might be mad, but Ella, Joseph, Lars, were all so caring. Come to think of it, all the people were kind. Unlike here. Everyone was always in a rush, wanting their own way. But the quiet magic of Byrne provided a breathtaking cocoon, as wondrous and stunning as any child's dream, if one could forget the king's shadow tainting the land. His power unfolded like a storm at sea, obliterating everything in its path. And he knew how to make people pay, too. Mimi shuddered. The last time he had been impatient. . . the last time, he had channeled his fury through the Gateway, into Mimi's hometown. Buildings had collapsed, earthquakes had wreaked havoc, and when that was done, fires had ravaged the rest, until what was left was a skeleton of what was before. Mimi struggled to shake the thoughts, but the roaring voice in her head wouldn't stop screaming, it's all your fault! It's all your fault!

“Hush. Hush. It's not your fault, Mimi. The king would have done something, to someone, eventually. Please come back.” Jack's eyes held a quiet sort of restless waiting.“The sculptures take me at least twice as long, sometimes longer, to get just right. The king is getting impatient; he wants something more magnificent than all his other sculptures. I'm scared, Mimi.”

Mimi took a few deep breaths. The sculptures she and Jack had created together were truly Mimi's favorite part of Byrne. Mimi had been blessed with the gift of Rimewhittling, or as Jack liked to call it, perfectionism. Many times, Mimi could somehow refine the statues in a way that didn't seem to alter the sculptures, but in reality caused a world of difference. Her work was much better than Jack's. Once Mimi's was done, Jack would breathe the spells to make the figurines come to life.

Jack grabbed the plates and put them in the sink while Mimi called her mom and left a message. She'd have to cancel tomorrow, but hopefully she would see them all on Christmas.

“It'll be faster if we fly,” Jack grinned, his wild eyes portraying the night sky.

Mimi's heart felt as if it had wings. “I had forgotten so much.” She opened the tiny window, and Jack squeezed out. She took Jack's hand. Mimi was the happiest she'd been in a long, long time, despite the cruel night air, despite the guilt locked away in her heart, despite even the sudden upending of her Christmas.

Mimi and Jack swiftly climbed through the Gateway. Neither stopped to enjoy the view, instead traveling straight to Jack's workshop. A giant wolf sculpture as tall as Mimi stood waiting for them.

“She's tricky for two reasons: One, she's a spirit wolf; two,” Jack dropped his voice to a whisper, “she can help us depose the king.”

Mimi sucked in her breath.

“The ice isn't pleased, but I can't figure out what's wrong.” Jack ran a hand over the wolf's back.

“More precision will help.” Without taking her eyes off the wolf, Mimi grabbed a carving knife. After an hour of cleaning up the statue, she stepped back. “There. She looks much better now.”

Jack shook his head. “I told you you were talented. I can't tell the difference.”

Mimi pursed her lips. Something was still wrong. “Her eyes!” Although the eyes were beautiful, they were not spirit eyes. Mimi started adjusting them. Mimi worked all day, and long into the night. By the time she was done, dawn was just waking the sky. She shook Jack. “Done.”

Jack's eyes fluttered open. He saw the wolf, and sat bolt upright. “Odin's ravens. She's beautiful.” Jack caressed the wolf's muzzle and whispered, “Breathe.”

The wolf shook itself awake.

Spruce Nogard

Creative Complex: Five Senses

Hello, Friends!

Today, remember to use all five senses in your writing.

1) Sight

It's easiest to describe things using sight. Here's an example: The blue sweatshirt brushed against the girl's brown hair.

2) Smell

Example: The smell of freshly baked cookies wafted into the room.

3) Hearing

Example: The sound of rustling filled the air as the bats flurried into flight.

4) Taste

Example: The cake tasted too sweet, like over-ripened berries.

5) Touch

Example: The kitten curled up on his chest, its purr sending warm vibrations through his body.

The more aspects of touch you use, the better. Pressure, pain, movement, and aching are some of them.

Now, write a description of something, a person or a setting, and use all five senses. Good luck!

Spruce Nogard

Attributions:

https://pixabay.com/en/cat-animal-cat-s-eyes-eyes-pet-1285634/

https://pixabay.com/en/cow-nose-mammal-nature-portrait-3350522/

https://pixabay.com/en/fuchs-puppy-young-curious-ears-3430373/ 

https://pixabay.com/en/labradoodle-schnauzer-labrador-3397769/

https://pixabay.com/en/baby-handle-tiny-father-family-428395/

Book Reviews: The Paper Magician

Hello, Friends!

Today, I'm going to review The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg. (P.S. I read it a while ago, so I might not remember all my pros and cons.) The Paper Magician is about Ceony, a student who has just graduated top of her class, but instead of working metal magic, the very reason she wanted to become a magician, is assigned to an apprenticeship in the dying art of paper magic. Ceony is crushed. However, as she begins to learn paper magic, she realizes it has much more to offer than she first assumed. One day, an Excisioner, someone who practices the forbidden art of blood magic, pays Ceony and her teacher, Emery, a visit. When the Excisioner leaves, she takes Emery's heart with her. Ceony must find Emery's heart and restore it to his body, before his body dies. However, whilst on her quest, she gets trapped in Emery's stolen heart. She must now not only figure out how to return Emery's heart to his body, but first must figure out a way to get out of it.

I gave this book four stars. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and it was different than the typical YA fantasy book in this day and age, so it proved quite nice.

Pros:

• I really liked Ceony. She seemed like a very real, very nice person. Not the type like Cinder, who I always wish would be my friend, but would never actually be. I feel like I could be friends with Ceony.
• The story was different from the YA fantasy stereotypical protagonist discovers he/she/they/etc. have special powers, go on adventure, have a love interest (or a couple), and discover they have to save their kingdom/country/world. Yes, the government had been trying to catch the bad people, but it wasn't like everyone anywhere knew who Ceony and Emery were, and knew what had happened to them.
• The view of Emery's heart was really unique. I really liked how Holmberg relates the flesh-and-blood heart to the spiritual heart. Each of the four chambers of the heart has a specific emotion attached to it. It's kind of hard to explain. This provides uniqueness to the story, as well.

Cons:

• I felt like we didn't get to see much of Ceony's family. She has a few siblings and loving parents, whom she seems close with, so it felt like she should have thought of them/mentioned them more, even if we didn't actually get to see them a ton.
• SPOILER ALERT: The relationship (as in Ceony likes Emery, her teacher) is a little weird because he's so much older than her. This didn't bother me too much, though.
• There were probably a few more small ones, but I read it a while ago, so I don't quite remember. If I can't remember them, they were probably quite minor. :)

Another note: The world was taken as granted. In other words, it was London, but with a magic twist. Magic was involved in the government as well. I can't say more than that, because I don't know. There wasn't much world-building; rather, things were brought up like someone would mention the two-party system in government here: like the reader already knew what Holmberg was talking about. This left a bit for the reader to imply, but I think that was nice, in some ways. The magic was what was important in the book, and because the book was one person's quest and two people's relationship, the government structure didn't really matter.

The Paper Magician had a really nice flavor. It's definitely magic, but there's a good bit of romance, too (and by that I mean not very much, just a very nice flavor of romance. I don't normally like the flavors of romance in YA fantasy books.) I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I have the second book, and I believe there are four. Also, thankfully, the series is done! Charlie N. Holmberg has other books too, though, which is nice.

Have you read The Paper Magician? What did you like about it? What didn't you like about it?

Farewell!

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://www.amazon.com/Paper-Magician/dp/1477823832/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1527386554&sr=1-1&keywords=the+paper+magician&dpID=41mKb72zJoL&preST=_SY344_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Fairy Tales: Thoughts on Disney's Beauty and the Beast

Hello, Mythical Creatures!

Today, I just wanted to share my thoughts on Beauty and the Beast, the Disney movie. I know there is quite a bit of controversy over this, but these are just my views. You don't have to agree with me. :)

First of all, Beauty and the Beast is my absolute favorite Disney movie.

I want to share my thoughts on why this movie was revolutionary and brilliant for its time.

I love that Belle doesn't fit in, is a reader, smart, and won't just marry some guy because he's cute.

Thankfully, this movie goes against many stereotypes, like women can't be smart, and can't or shouldn't read. Belle loves to read, and isn't a typical princess in need of rescuing. In fact, she does the rescuing: she rescues her father. That is brilliant, and upends so many stereotypes already.

Also, she's practical, and will stand up for herself. She will not marry Gaston, no matter what the town thinks of her, and no matter what he threatens. She wants to marry someone who is smart and caring, and she's not afraid to make that known. Gaston comes to propose to her, and she slyly throws him out.

Another thing that resonates with Belle for me is she doesn't quite fit in. She's not like the other girls in town, and no one really knows what to make of her. However, she doesn't give up her dreams, hobbies, or character in order to fit in. Despite all this, she is still a hero and celebrated as a Disney princess, which overturns stereotypes all over the place.

• Gaston, who's supposed to be the hero, is the villain, and the Beast, who is supposed to be the villain, is the hero.

Although this storyline seems familiar or common, it went against the stereotype of the handsome prince coming and saving the day, by killing the hideous creature. Although this storyline is extremely old as well, for whatever reason, in American society, it is less prominent. If you are interested in different versions of and stories related to Beauty and the Beast, I posted a couple posts on it. Here are the links: Part One, and Part Two.

In any case, the amazing thing about Beauty and the Beast is the Beast did not start out as a good character. He treated Belle terribly, had a horrible temper, and although he wanted to find love, it could be argued his main reason for wanting to fall in love (at least, at the beginning) was so he could have his human body back, because he hated his beast form. However, slowly, he grew to care for Belle, partially because Belle was honest with him. For example, she refused to come to dinner, and yelled at him to control his temper. By the end of the movie, the Beast transformed, physically, but also emotionally. He was able to care for someone else, learned to work through his problems instead of run away from them, and learned what the Enchantress wanted him to learn. In short, his heart changed.

Beauty and the Beast teaches the Beast, but also the children/people watching, in the Enchantress's words, that “Beauty lies within.” Truly. Beauty and the Beast accomplishes this so well by making the handsome man be the villain, and the horrific Beast be the hero.

In any case, these are some of my thoughts on Beauty and the Beast. However, I just wanted to mention one more thing. The Beast did not treat Belle well at all when she first arrived at his castle. I love this movie because the Beast's heart changed, not because he treated her so terribly.

Those are just a few of my thoughts, and why I love Beauty and the Beast so much! What's your favorite Disney princess movie? Why?

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: 

https://pixabay.com/en/nature-roses-romantic-nice-love-3061486/

https://pixabay.com/en/library-education-wisdom-3115371/ 

Creative Complex: Daring Escape

Good Day, Criminals!

You have just heard of a secret plan circulating through your prison block, and you are desperate to leave this horrid place behind. A guard shakes the bars of your cell. . .

Finish the story.

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://pixabay.com/en/human-rights-prison-jail-imprisoned-3251000/

Mental Library: Poetry: Rhyming Patterns

Hello, Friends!

Okay, so I haven't done much with this blog for, well, the whole school year. Sorry about that! I got really busy. I'm hopefully going to keep it up this summer, and I'll see about next year. I need to figure out what my school schedule looks like, and then I can figure out this blog. Sorry, everyone! Also, Happy Summer!

In any case, I'm going to continue a series I had just started before, well, not posting for a while. If you want to read the Intro to Poetry post, click here.

So, today, we're going to talk about rhyme schemes.

Rhyme schemes are basically the ways of identifying rhyming patterns throughout a poem. They are often labeled with letters. Let's look at a few examples:

“When the Dark Comes Rising” from The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper:

When the Dark comes rising six shall turn it back;-A
Three from the circle, three from the track;-A
Wood, bronze, iron; Water, fire, stone;-B
Five will return and one go alone.-B

Most of you probably learned this at some point in elementary school. However, rhyme schemes are nice to be able to recognise, and they can get quite complicated.

Here's another example: “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” by Robert Browning. (I've used this poem to analyze stressed and unstressed syllables in a previous post, so that's why it might sound familiar. :) )

Hamelin town's in Brunswick,
By famous Hanover city; -A
The River Weser, deep and wide,-B
Washes its wall on the southern side;-B
A pleasanter spot you never spied;-B
But, when begins my ditty,-A
Almost five hundred years ago,-C
To see townsfolk suffer so-C
From vermin, was a pity.-A

So, the rhyme scheme for “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” is a little more complicated, but a little less predictable. Rhyme schemes don't have to follow a pattern, although they often do. Browning's rhyme scheme for “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” used a little bit of a looser structure.

Rhyme schemes get even more complex, however, and actually, rap music is brilliant at rhymes. However, most rap music contains content I do not agree with. As a result, here is part of “Alexander Hamilton” from the musical Hamilton.

Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide

Left him with nothin' but ruined pride, something new inside

First of all, there are tons of really cool literary devises in this, not just the rhyming, but I'm not going to talk about those today. :) In any case, the lavender words all rhyme. At least, they sound very close to rhyming. The cool thing about this is phrases that are more than one word rhyme. This is harder to do, but also sounds amazing. Also, the rhymes are not always in the same place! I think this is fun. :) Rhymes in rap music can get much more complicated and brilliant than this, but if you want to find out more, you'll have to look it up. As I said, rap music often has material I do not agree with in it, so I did not add links to videos or anything.

What are your favorite poems? Why? Post in the comments!

Spruce Nogard

Sources:

https://genius.com/Lin-manuel-miranda-alexander-hamilton-lyrics 

http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/hameln.html#browning 

http://darkisrising.wikia.com/wiki/Circle_of_Signs 

Attributions:

https://pixabay.com/en/hamelin-the-pied-piper-of-hamelin-221448/  

https://pixabay.com/en/happy-fun-spring-spring-background-2220481/