Review: Richard Yaxley – The Happiness Quest

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The Happiness Quest
Richard Yaxley

Tillie is sad. Tilly doesn’t know why she’s sad. Tilly’s mum takes her to the doctor, who suggests exercise and healthy food. Tilly’s mum takes her to laughter group. Tilly’s best girl friend doesn’t understand her, but her friend Snake does. How will Tilly get happier?

I literally slogged through this novel. I feared reading it from the beginning, because I read Joyous and Moonbeam by this author and didn’t really enjoy it. Imagine my surprise… that I didn’t enjoy this novel either. It takes until the middle of this novel that Tilly starts getting closer to thinking about The Happiness Quest.

That ending. I think it’s cool and all that researching what makes other people happy could help you, but at the same time – clinical depression doesn’t tend to lift like that in my experience. The treatment Tilly received from both her doctor and her mother was pretty typical. I’d hate to think of someone reading this novel and blaming themselves or putting down medication as a treatment. Sometimes it is just the chemicals in your brain!

I think there are important things to be gained out of reading this novel, and it made me want to make notes about its teachings. But at the same time it was such a struggle for me to read it because the style was terrible. I’m sure it suits some people, but just not me. If this novel makes one young person with depression speak up or tell someone the way they feel, then the novel has served its purpose. 2 stars from me.

Scholastic | 1st August 2018 | AU$18.99 | paperback

Interview with Iván Brave

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Dragons, travel, and a whole lotta Yerba Mate with a Texan-Argentine: an interview with Iván Brave, author of the language-bending The Summer Abroad.

Who is your favorite dragon in literature?

Please help me remember the title of this children’s story, but I remember a chapter book that began with a young boy frustrated with school, walking home, and turning left on a street he had never seen before, where he comes across a curious antique store unlike any other. Inside, he finds a dragon egg! He asks the owner if it’s a real dragon egg. “Of course,” says the owner. “And it’ll cost you 25 cents.”

I swear, from then on in real life, for years actually, I carried around a quarter in my pocket. Because the egg in the story really was a dragon egg. And the boy and the dragon became best friends. (I have yet to come across a similarly curious antique store, but fingers crossed.)

Rose: Sadly I don’t know either! Can anyone help us out on this one?

Have you ever been to Melbourne?

Not yet. But c’mon, the Great Ocean Road? The skiing? I hear, also, that the music scene is really cool there. Some of my favorite bands are from Melbourne, in fact. Cut Copy, Miami Horror… let us not forget Men at Work.

What is the story behind your name?

I actually write about this on my Facebook author page. My last name is French, my first name is Russian. My family grew up in Argentina, and all over the world.

Over the years, what would you say has improved significantly in your writing?

Everything: dialogues, precision of speech, general vocabulary, a sense of freedom when I write (this above all else, if I had to pick, this has improved in my writing). But overall, there is no area I am not interested in improving, in not getting just right. I think this is something most writers share: the desire to improve — not only our writing, but ourselves as writers, ourselves as people.

Some authors are able to pump out a novel a year and still be filled with inspiration. Is this the case for you, or do you like to let an idea percolate for a couple of years in order to get a beautiful novel?

When I decided to make writing my career, I had this notion that I would complete an entire writing project every six months. I was on a roll for a while. I wrote a novella in the fall of 2013, a novel (available next week on Amazon paperback) in the spring of 2014, another in the fall of that year. But as the months went by, and the temptation to return to old projects crept up from under my desk, I slowed down. Now I’m sitting on four full projects, and I would like to see them each realized before drafting more.

This has been my mantra lately: “Better finished than perfect.” This has helped me, not just to go back and finish those early projects, but also to let them go. Hence the publication next week.

I have heard of writers that could only write in one place – then that cafe closed down and they could no longer write! Where do you find yourself writing most often, and on what medium (pen/paper or digital)?

My writing desk, at home. Right now it’s in my bedroom (thank you, New York sq footage). But I wouldn’t be opposed to separating my dream space from my work space.

I can write outside, I can write in public. I have even enjoyed writing in a car, in a train, on a plane. But my most comfortable, long-term, steady (it’s sounding like a relationship now) space is at my writing desk. It works for me, feels safe, plus I have all my knick-knacks and candles there.

I walk past bookshops and am drawn in by the smell of the books – ebooks simply don’t have the same attraction for me. Does this happen to you, and do you have a favourite bookshop? Or perhaps you are an e-reader fan… where do you source most of your material from?

I am on the verge of buying an e-reader. They seem useful for reading fast and keeping a large volume of text with you at once. But, like you, I am of the hard-copy kind. Smell, touch, bend, tear, underline, toss. There is something (many things) about the book that made me want to write books in the first place. I can’t forget it.

I shop at three places in New York City: The Strand on 14th St; McNally Jackson, also in Manhattan; and Word, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Of course I stop at every pile of books on any sidewalk I come across. Amazon is useful for sourcing books too, can’t deny that. If I need an obscure text on literary theory, and fast, chances are a local book store has already put it for sale online.

I used to find myself buying books in only one genre (fantasy) before I started writing this blog. What is your favourite genre, and have your tastes changed over time?

I. Will. Read. Anything. Right now I am finishing the Elena Ferrante Neapolitan novels. That’s about friendship, family drama, a series of novels. Next I want to read a memoir-response to a memoir I read recently. After that I want to read the Gospels (yes, the Gospels!) over the holidays, because I’ve never read them all the way through with a literary eye. After that I have three books of literary theory (one that a student of mine gifted me just today; boy, does the queue grow long, or what?) Before Ferrante I was reading a Spanish humorist, before that Argentine Sci-fi…

Basically, all over the place. And I think my writing reflects that. Never mind, I know my writing reflects that. I have an eclectic taste, I like it all, and, let’s just say, I like to mix paints when I color.

Tea, Coffee, or…

Tea weekday mornings, espresso when I travel, and coffee for special occasions. On weekends and on days when I feel especially myself, I like to drink Yerba Mate, an herbal tea from South America, where my family is from. To be honest, we drink a lot of mate. A whole lot. It’s almost a vice.

Where can we find a copy of your debut novel?

Right now for Kindle on Amazon. The print edition comes out in a week, for those of us who enjoy the smell and touch of books.

A Summer Abroad

Late May, 2013. Three rough and rowdy Texan boys embark on a summer long journey to Europe. Like most wanderlust youth fresh out of college, these best friends encounter twisted new characters, living proof of old stereotypes, and a string of hostels so bad that they are actually good. Unfortunately, such naivety leads to heartbreak and resentment among them. In the end, their friendship is strained, egos bruised, when the story’s narrator finds himself not where he started, but alone.

The Summer Abroad (or, in Spanish, El viaje de egresados), is a sonic adventure — at times fast and delirious — that explores the frontiers of language and a new American identity, one which is multilingual, multicultural, and, as the story puts it, “multiconfundido.”

Review: Victoria Schade – Life on the Leash

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Life on the Leash
Victoria Schade

Cora is a successful dog trainer who thrives on organisation. Her rescue pit bull counts as the man of her life, and she’s content writing a blog about best-practice training techniques. However a run in with an incredibly sexy client who she just can’t seem to say no to, as well as a dog-in-need with a cute guy in tow means that Cora is starting to rethink her priorities.

This is a lighthearted romance with a spot of dog-loving thrown in! Cora’s a likable enough character who creates laughter with her descriptions of dogs-gone-wrong. There are sad parts to the novel too, but nothing particularly cry worthy. If you’re looking for a beach-side read, this novel could be it. This novel is decidedly chaste, so don’t go looking for sex scenes.

From the blurb, I expected that this novel would be all about how Cora copes with being a dog trainer on TV, but it’s not that at all. Most of the novel is taken up by her escapades with her clients and her friendship with the irrepressible Maggie. When I tried to explain the plot to my fiancee I found myself struggling for relevant details of the plot – because normally I wouldn’t go for a romance that doesn’t have a unique protagonist (eg. The Kiss Quotient).

Go into this novel expecting a light read that will take you around 2-3 hours. You might even get some dog training tricks out of it – the author is a well known dog health expert, so you can trust what is written here. I’m giving this 3 stars.

Allen & Unwin | 1st December 2018 | AU$29.99 | paperback

Review: Jonathan Cranston – The Travelling Vet

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The Travelling Vet
Jonathan Cranston

Jonathan Cranston writes an interesting non-fiction book composed of short anecdotes from his years of veterinary practice both in Britain and in more exotic locations. Each chapter concludes with a fact sheet on the animal discussed in the chapter. I found out some very interesting facts; such as that a group of Leopards is a Leap and a group of Rhinos is a Crash!

Despite the somewhat gory descriptions of Rhino poaching, this book is definitely suitable for younger readers interested in animals. I’m going to try it for a 9.5 year old girl who is passionate about reading and David Attenborough films. It’s a great primer about both the glory and the boredom of being a vet in practice.

This is a very attractive hardback book that I felt proud to be carrying around with me (is it strange to say that?). My old James Herriot novels weren’t a matched set and were properly beaten up by the time I had read and reread them (I once upon a time wanted to be a vet). It begs the questions though: why are all vets with popular mainstream novels from Britain? Why don’t we have any Australian vets with great stories? I mean, I’m sure we do, but it hasn’t come to my attention yet.

I used this as light reading that I could dip in and out of before bed, and while travelling in the car. It’s not in my pile for rereading, but I think it has earned a place on my shelf as a modern veterinary book.

Allen & Unwin | 28th November 2018 | AU$35.00 | hardback

Review: Veronica Roth – Insurgent

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Insurgent
Veronica Roth

Tris has broken free from Dauntless and come into her own as a Divergent. She has her trusty Tobias by her side – but is there anyone else she can trust? Even as she protects others with her selflessness, Tris doesn’t know what to do next.

Tris seems to lack a survival instinct, as well as an ability to actually communicate with people! So much drama could have been avoided by ‘using her words’. The same goes for the rest of the characters – talking is a good thing, people! This frustrated me at times because it meant that the perspective was very limited from Tris and I thought there was so much more about this world that I could have enjoyed if I had been given a chance.

This is a plot driven novel, you won’t really find much character development here. Also, there is very little information for the reader to come to their own conclusions about traitors or not. I also didn’t feel very attached to the characters that died, and I think I wouldn’t have blinked too much if Tris herself was killed.

The ending of this novel is a real surprise, but given other novels I have read, not that surprising after all. Every author seems to want to jump into dystopian fiction (with all honesty, Roth was one of the first, given that Divergent was made into a movie released in 2014). The Red Queen by Isobelle Carmody comes to mind or 2094 for other similar novels if you want a more fantasy or adult slanted novel to read.

This was an engaging novel, but in my opinion it just didn’t have the same pizzaz as the first novel, Divergent. I remember finishing that novel and saying to myself – I have to get Insurgent right now! The feeling is not the same here, but as I have Allegiant sitting next to me, I’ll probably read it next. Stay tuned for my opinion on the whole trilogy.

Review: Brandon Sanderson – The Rithmatist

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The Rithmatist
Brandon Sanderson

Joel attends Armedius Academy, a prestigious preparation school for both rich children and the elusive and exclusive Rithmatists. Rithmatists can draw Chalkings and defend the lines against the wild Chalkings in Nebrask – a life that Joel wants for himself. When Rithmatist children begin disappearing, Joel is eager to solve the case and learn more about Rithmatics in the process.

Similarly to Elantris, Sanderson takes an otherwise unremarkable and normal character and devotes a whole novel to them that a reader will love. It’s not that Joel is the underdog – he’s not even one of the metaphorical dogs to begin with! Melody is certainly an underdog, but she’s proud to admit it.

Something that doesn’t ring true for me in this novel is the ages of Joel and Melody. For being 16 year olds, both are very childish and their interactions ring false. I find it difficult to believe that even a single-minded teenage boy like Joel wouldn’t notice how pretty Melody apparently is.

Only Sanderson could bring to life a novel that talks about Chalkings – who knew that reading about drawing stick figures on a floor could be so interesting? Certainly, the opening scenes of The Rithmatist are designed to pull out Joel’s passion and invest the reader in the novel.

Keeping in mind that I have only listened to the talking book and never read the novel, the pacing of the novel was quite slow. This was particularly apparent the second time around I still have a hankering to see the Rithmatic diagrams at the beginning of each chapter, and I’m certain that my desire to reread this novel will not wain.

Sanderson, if you (or your many worthy minions) are reading this review, pretty please write the next novel in the series? That cliffhanger was unfair and unjust and I have so many questions left. I fear that the sequel may be like Kathleen Duey’s novels – a sequel that is promised, but may never occur. It’s like waiting for The Red Queen from Isobel Carmody again!

Review: Shankari Chandran – The Barrier

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The Barrier
Shankari Chandran

Spy-come-virologist Noah Williams is on the hunt for a rogue scientist who wants to eliminate humanity by allowing Ebola to reemerge from its vaccinated hiding place. But as Noah comes to understand this once-proud scientist he wonders whether he’s chasing the right ghost – or whether the issue is closer to home.

Noah’s perspective is interspersed with his mentor’s and a potential love interest. This gives the reader a bit of variety, and also makes them feel Noah’s growing sense of horror as he realises what he and others have done in the name of safety. I wanted to be horrified when Noah tortured people, but I just wasn’t. I felt as numb as he did.

I loved how the author poked holes in the anti-vaccinators who don’t want their children to be immune to Ebola. The parallels with people these days who don’t vaccinate their kids against mumps or polio are clear. There are always going to be those people who want the right to kill their own children – but it shouldn’t be at the expense of others. *Deep breaths Rose, deep breaths.* I have little time for people who are so ignorant as to let deadly diseases come back because they don’t trust safe vaccinations or ‘believe’ in them.

I found it very interesting that the author chose religion as the cause of the world’s near-ending. Ebola just happened to be helpful in destroying the world and allowing religion to be removed. No mention of Australia in this one! I wonder if we survived the outbreak because people simply forgot about our existence again…

I agree with the author that viral/biological warfare will be the next World War and that it probably is only a matter of time before something goes wrong. This theme is one that is being extensively explored at the moment by novels including NK3 and Killer T. Others see the potential of science to heal such as Sapient and The Ego Cluster. Nevertheless, it’s inevitable, and unavoidable that eventually something like this will happen.

I’m highly recommending this novel for scientists and non-scientists alike. The level of biochemical detail isn’t too daunting, and hopefully some people will take away a positive message from it. 4 stars.

Pan Macmillan | 30th May 2018 | AU$29.99 | paperback

Review: Jack Jordan – Before Her Eyes

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Before Her Eyes
Jack Jordan

Naomi Hannah has been blind since birth, abandoned in a bus shelter and brought up in a loving family. She’s always felt alone, but at least safe in her little town. When she stumbles across a body in an alley, and the murderer caresses her, it starts a chain of reactions that steadily get more sinister. Who is leaving her alive at each crime scene, and why?

This novel put the creepy factor up high right from the beginning and it only got worse (or better?)! This is a true psychological thriller that caused me to shiver and make sure I had a good grip on myself (and my stomach). Some of the passages when Naomi were alone almost took my breath away.

Oh, the ending was perfect! I read the novel at a frantic pace for about two hours straight, holding out for an ending that would be satisfying and amazing. And it was everything I could have hoped for. Even possibly more than I could have hoped for. Go read it for yourself already!

This could have simply been a thriller and I would have enjoyed it, but having a disabled, black woman as the protagonist warmed this novel up from another run of the mill (but very good) crime novel to a great one with a diverse range of characters. Her unique perspective put me literally into her shoes. However, I could have had more insight into Lisa as the eventual explanation of her character didn’t exactly ring true for me.

Having finished the novel I can say that it was a totally engrossing read. Since I’ve read it, and I know the thrilling ending now I don’t think I’d reread it. But I think that if you’re a psychological thriller lover you are going to really enjoy this novel. 4 stars from me.

Allen & Unwin | 12th September 2018 | AU$29.99 | paperback

Review: Geek Ink

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Geek Ink

The World’s Smartest Tattoos for Rebels, Nerds, Scientists and Intellectuals! People don’t think of tattoo artists as ‘true’ artists, but it takes significant technique to do this level of detail on a living target.

It’s very difficult to review a book that is filled with images – you just need to see them for yourself. For example, there is an Escher tattoo and some visual puzzles that if the artist had gotten a tiny bit wrong, it would have been wreaked. There’s a kitten and a dinosaur, and you better believe every hair on that kitten is visible.

Some reviewers complain that not all of the tattoos are geeky, especially the plant and animal ones. Clearly, they have never met a scientist passionate about their work! I used to work with mosquitoes, and I can tell you that some of the people in my lab would KILL to get an ultra-realistic mozzie of this quality.

Speaking of killing, you’d probably have to kill someone if you wanted to get a tattoo by the 25 featured artists in the first half of the book. Some tattoos are weird and wonderful, some are just weird! This book reminds an aspiring tattoo owner to careful pick your artist before committing to an indelible ink.

I have a single tattoo of my own, and I’ve always wanted one or two more. I’m in the position where I’d like to have my old tattoo transformed into a dragon! This book had a couple of dragon designs, and I was particularly impressed by the watercolour designs. Most people see tattoos as black line art, but there is so much more out there to be drooled over!

One of the girls I went to high school with wanted to be a tattoo artist – she was a fantastic artist as it was. I’m not sure she ever got there, but Jaz, if you’re reading this, go get it sorted! Or maybe she can look through this first and read the fascinating stories of the artists that are featured – how they got into tattooing and their favourite works and techniques.

This could be a coffee table book, a Christmas present or just something to choose a tattoo from and pass it on. I promise that you won’t believe your eyes when you look at the talent in this book.

Allen & Unwin | 21st February 2018 | AU$32.99 | hardback

Guest Post: AJ Ponder on ‘The Subversive Act of Writing’

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The Subversive Act of Writing

Originally this article was going to include the idea best covered by a quote attributed to Pablo Picasso “Good artists copy; great artists steal.” The subversive act of taking ideas from other sources and making them your own. But great writers are not only thieves, they tend to be rule breakers.

We all know some rules are made to be broken, because they were poorly thought out in the first place, but many great authors have overturned the window of what is acceptable in writing by figuring out when a previously sacred rule should be broken. Now I’m not one of the greats, but I do love breaking rules. The minute someone tells me one I’m already wondering how I can break it. It’s a mini act of rebellion against the fusty old English teachers who tried to teach me grammar. I revel to know they’ll be turning in their metaphorical graves the moment I start a sentence with a conjunction, or use a sentence fragment. And yet it’s something that great authors do. All the time.

Not so long ago, I was teaching a class of young writers, and some of them started telling one of the more experienced students, “Hey, you can’t do that, it’s against the rules…” Ugh. Writers have one job, and that’s to tell our story the best way we can.

There is nothing else.

That means looking at our toolbox and finding the right tools for the job – not throwing out the wrench—or in this case, the first person point of view because somebody told you to only write in tight third person. (That’s writing in third person, but tightly within the bounds of a character’s perspective.) If everyone followed that “rule” the unreliable narrator would never exist.

There are hundreds more rules writers are supposed to follow, like:

  • Don’t use passive sentences
  • Don’t use filter words
  • Don’t bore your reader
  • Show don’t tell
  • Have a likeable character
  • Write what you know
  • Don’t use adverbs
  • Use proper spelling and grammar
  • Don’t get to the end of your story and have it all be just a dream

Every single one of them will have exceptions.

A famous example of blatant rule breaking is Iain Banks’ story Feersum Endjinn. Iain wanted to tell a story about a nearly illiterate character, so he did the unthinkable, he made his readers wade through pages of phonetic writing. And it worked. Even though many people really hated the book because of this choice, I believe it was the best way of presenting that character.

Instead of wading through examples, which you can look up with the magic of the internet, I thought you might enjoy a quick writing exercise.

Choose a writing rule that you would never, ever break. (It doesn’t need to be from the list above.) Take a moment to mull over why the rule is so important.

Now, what would it take for you break to that rule? Can you think of a story, or a paragraph, in which the rule must be broken to truly work?

Once you’ve done this exercise—or if you’ve already done a variation of it—you have become a subversive writer. You’ve looked at the world, broken down its rules and taken another path. A path less travelled. Do not be surprised if you start to see the world differently. The rules you live with every day may start to seem poorly thought out, or even designed to oppress certain people.

One of my favourite authors, Ursula K. Le Guin said, “There is no more subversive act than the act of writing from a woman’s experience of life using a woman’s judgment.” I would expand that to include any person who has truly thought about rules, and how they should be broken to make something better.

So go on, break some rules—be subversive with your writing. It’s a lot of fun. And it’s freeing. If you check out my blurb for Quest, it’s pretty clear I’ve broken at least three popular rules, and that’s without knowing that it has in fact been written by an unreliable narrator. Seriously, unreliable narrators may be tricky, but they are the most fun.

Or, now that you know how subversive writing really is, don’t break any rules. What do I know about your story? When it comes to writing, there’s only one rule that I consider unbreakable: Tell your story the best way you can!

About A.J. Ponder

Sir Julius Vogel and NZSA award winning author, A.J. Ponder has a head full of monsters, and recklessly spills them out onto the written page. Beware dragons, dreadbeasts, taniwha, and small children—all are equally dangerous, and capable of treading on your heart – or tearing it, still beating, from your chest.

Blurb: Quest

Sylvalla escapes Avondale castle, and the life of a princess, in search of the adventure she’s always wanted.

Once found, adventure bites back.

Fortunately Sylvalla is not alone – Unfortunately, her new-found companions are less than heroic. Jonathan would rather make money. Dirk would rather live a long and happy life. And at 150, Old Capro would rather stop gallivanting about and harangue unsuspecting students about his glory days over a nice cup of tea.

Quest has everything, heroes, monsters, chases, escapes and a complete lack of true love.