On Fanfiction...

Fangirl has been the topic-of-conversation on this blog for weeks now; and, at the moment, I have no plans for that to end. Throughout the book, snippets from Cath's fanfiction, called Carry On, Simon(based on the Simon Snow books by Gemma T. Leslie) are featured, which I really enjoyed reading. I couldn't help questioning why I had never read or even tried writing fanfiction. Thousands of teenagers use sites such as Wattpad to showcase their work, with an even larger number scrolling through reading what is posted.

However, I don't.

 

noun: fanfiction

fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from, a particular TV series, film, etc.

Before I begin trying to explain, I'd like to point out that, although I'm not involved in any form of the fanfiction world, I still love the idea. Those who adore a certain book or film are brought together and are able to communicate - it's really an extension of blogging - and it's almost certain to say amongst fans of franchises such as The Hunger Games and Divergent that I would fit in. However, fanfiction is not my 'cup of tea'.
 

 As writers of fanfiction create alternative endings for their favourite series, re-write scenes from a different perspective and change plot details, I know I'd be planning out new chapters too. The Reaping from Prim's perspective; the 74th Hunger Games from Peeta's point-of-view; Snow's thoughts as Katniss outsmarts the Capitol. Four's retelling of the fear landscape; how Christina felt during Dauntless initiation; Caleb's thoughts whilst in Erudite. Admit it: we're all curious. With fanficton, a story is not told once but multiple times. It never has to come to a close. I have so many ideas - yet, I can't bring myself to write them.
 

When I see 'THE END' appear, in block capitals, at the end of a book, I'm forced to accept that it's over. The characters, the storyline and the world are all done; nothing more will be heard about them for now. It's not easy  to come to terms with. Never is the ending tied-up perfectly like a present beneath a tree, though. Instead, there are countless questions, and despite not having a clear conclusion also being the bane of my existence, I like how it's up to me - as the reader - to decide on the answers. From turning the final page, what happens to the characters next is my choice. Fanfiction - and I do applaud it inviting more people to read and write - does take this away. Endings are rewritten; ideas revoked. Storylines taken apart and reassembled in a completely different way. Personally, I worry about my own ideas being tainted if I read something in fanfiction that is almost too plausible. That I can't see past. That is so believable that I can't help but wonder why the author didn't think to write it - and it lessens my love of the book. The ending I had imagined could be completely changed - when I'd rather cling to it.

As a book blogger, I read a lot. I don't read hundreds of books in a year, but enough that I find myself forgetting certain aspects. With fanfiction, I know I'd find it difficult to distinguish between what really happened in the book and what I read in an entry online. I'd be sitting there, waiting for the movie adaptation to start in the cinema(as the majority of fanfiction focuses on franchises), believing I was about to see certain scenes that never actually existed in the original series.  What I've noticed is that a large amount of fanfic focuses on what happened before we first meet a character in the book series but, I like to live out the mystery.  I don't read fanfiction because I'd soon find myself confused - and there's no time to reread.

When listening to the Superfans Unite! panel at YALC last weekend, I soon understood why fanfiction is so popular, though. You can continue with a story even though it has ended. You can hold on to that piece of your childhood and not let go until you're ready. Both Rainbow Rowell and Luxy Saxon talked about how they turned to fanfiction after the final Harry Potter film had been released. During the decade that the movies were being released and the books were becoming best-sellers, I was still reading my Jacqueline Wilson collection. I wasn't ready to read a huge fantasy series, and it took me until Year Seven to finally do so. I've never been a fan of a book/film series that has come to an end. Maybe, when I walk out of the cinema after Mockingjay Part 2 sobbing, I will need fanfiction. Desperately.

Do you read fanfiction?
If yes/no, why?
Should I try reading/writing it?

Tell me in the comments!

Opinion: "I Hate Twilight!"

Wait! Before you start firing at me in the comments! This is only something I hear a lot; not what I actually think.  In fact, I decided to write this post because of a discussion I had on Twitter last weekend about the teen romance-series by Stephanie Meyer.

 

I admit, I judged Twilight before I even read it; something I regret now. I thought it would be a silly romance story with glowing-vampires because, it seemed 'cool' to dislike it. This is a similar scenario as you would find in a school! Although - when I finally decided to read the novels last summer - I loved the whole series and immediately regretted the misconceptions I'd made. I understood why people liked this series, why people wanted to get involved in the whole 'Team Edward' or 'Team Jacob' debate and why it has such a huge fan-base.

 

Twilight receives a lot of criticism; all of which I feel is not thought-out before it is said. Just like every-book on the shelf at your local bookstore, there's a chance it will either enjoy it or it will fail to live up to the expectations you had when you first read the synopsis. The Twilight Saga got teenagers and young people reading, especially after Harry Potter came to the end or those readers were looking for something different. You can make any comments you want about how 'silly' Twilight is, or come to the realisation, like I did, that most of us bloggers are here today because of books like Twilight. These books saw teenagers hurrying to the library to grab copies, purchasing them at local shops and more than anything, supporting YA and making this genre popular.

 

The Love Triangle Begins(Eclipse)

One thing I find I spend a lot of time discussing is love-triangles, and whether you love or loathe them, Twilight was the book that started this era! I don't think any of us can resist the urge to pick a 'Team' and, in a way it's a guilty-pleasure of mine! When Stephanie Meyer started these novels, the 'love-triangle' was un-heard of in teen-fiction and when girls got their hands on a copy, they were excited! I even remember, when I hadn't heard of 'Twilight', seeing mentions of Edward and Jacob in magazines that I would read. If Twilight got people reading, it should be celebrated! I feel like it's stereo-typed and shouldn't be.

 

 

I mentioned above how it's seen as 'cool' to make jokes about Twilight but, I can't help but think about, "What if a person who wanted to read Twilight felt they shouldn't?" What if all books were made out to be one huge joke, when actually they're not that bad? Looking at how successful the books and movies have been, it makes you realise how many people have decided to read them - and as a book-blogging community, some of us may have gotten involved through the franchise.

 

This post isn't to say you can't have an opinion; we're not all going to love every book we read. Of course, I think as a reviewer I understand more than anything how important it is to respect another person's views - I can't count how many times I've read a review of a book where points I don't agree on completely have been made. Although, the book based in the rainy-town of Forks has lead a huge pathway for not only YA but other Vampire-filled pages(let's not mention Fifty Shades of Grey here!).  To sum my argument up, despite being full of 'sparkling-vampires', it got people reading! I, for one, will always appreciate Stephanie Meyer's imagination and work for that!

 

For the record, I am Team Jacob!

The World From YA Eyes #2 - Hidden Away?

The World from YA Eyes is posted fortnightly and discusses the latest world-issues threatening to change our world into one we would find in a Dystopia novel.

 

I'm one of these people that likes to know what is going on in the world. I like the know what's happening, who it's going to effect and why. I don't like to be hidden-away from that 'reality' and that it is a choice I make personally. I read the articles that appear on the internet, I listen to the hourly news that is live on the radio, I watch the television when I know the news report is on. There are constantly discussions over how much we should be able to see and whether certain things should be kept away from young people to protect them. It took a lot to resist the urge to put inverted comma's around protect, because is that what hiding us away will do? Keep us safe? At one point we have to go out and face the world. At one point school will end, and we will have to leave home and start discovering things for ourselves. If we don't know what can happen in society, It will surely be harder to navigate?

 

My parents did avoid watching the news when I was around when I was younger - it's only been during the last one or two years that I've really decided to take an interest in what's going on. I agree that this was the right choice: let children enjoy the mind-set they are in. Let them enjoy having an imagination, let them enjoy the world they are comfortable in. It's only as you get older you begin to want to know and when that happens, I think it's only the right choice to allow us to see what we want to. Of course, there are always limitations. If it's going to effect someone that clearly doesn't have the maturity to deal with the problems in this world, or that it is brutal and is still for older audiences: it needs to be explained in a way suitable to the person.

 

At fourteen, most people can decide what they want to see and what they don't. I feel like I'm much more mature than others around me so, am able to judge what I can handle. The thing is, when discussing hiding things away from children, you have to realise they can go and search for the information elsewhere. You can turn off the News Reports or tell us to go and do homework while you watch it: you can turn down the radio when you know a certain story is going to be mentioned, but we will only go and search the internet. We will only go and ask a friend. News is out-there for everyone to see. Even if you don't go looking for it, it soon finds you!

 

Of course, young children shouldn't be exposed to most of the events that take place: murders, wars, natural disasters, they are all hard to contemplate. If you are a child and seeing footage, only able to understand snippets, it is frightening. It's not right though, to deny a slightly older and maturing young person information they want. If they want to know what is happening, want to be able to understand and try to grasp the world they must grow to be a part of, information needs to be giving. Stopping young people seeing or reading the News is never going to be able to happen, nor should it. Not letting us have the information we need is like locking us away. Even if children don't ask, sometimes they need to be explained in a way they will understand. At a certain age, you need to begin preparing for the world you will have to walk on your own - imagine relying on what you think happens. Imagine relying on your own image of the world - possibly a perfect one.

 

This is why information needs to be shared. This is why despite they're sometimes being too much shown and shared, it still needs to be there. One day, people may just begin to notice how much of it shouldn't be happening and decide to make a difference. Narnia, The Mortal Institute and Hogwarts should be hidden, though!

 

What do you think? Do you believe there is a certain age when you should start getting answers to your questions? Do you like knowing what's going on in the world you have to live in? Just comment your opinion below!

 

YA Novels - The Do's and the Don'ts(Part 1)

This is a new feature I will be posting for the next few weeks about the latest popular features in Young Adult novels. This feature will discuss everything from swearing to adult content, and the types of characters you come across. Along with the discussion of dealing will illness in a novel. Latest success have provoked a huge amount of conversation on Twitter due to what is appearing in today's Young Adult novels. Swearing is a huge Don't for me in YA. I don't mind the odd word, but, I feel there is no need to have this type of language on every page.

In reality, swearing is something you can never seem to go a day without hearing. Personally, I try my hardest never to swear. The odd word may slip out but nothing offensive or hurtful, which I found has appeared in some books lately. Teenagers are known for being bad-mouthed and much more and in reality, many of us hate swearing. I wonder why people feel the need to use certain 'words' when truthfully, there is a much wider vocabulary out there to grasp. It feels unnecessary. Everytime I'm walking through the corridors or even scrolling through some of my feeds, I come across bad language. I don't know about you but, I hate to see it in books. I don't mind the occasional word, I sometimes feel it makes it more believable, but when it is filling most pages it makes me feel like making the book a DNF.

This discussion came into my mind after starting 'The Arrivals' by Melissa Marr. This is an adult novel so, it obviously has this rating for a reason. But, I was offered this for review and accepted it as the storyline itself sounded fantastic and truly is. This time, I can overlook the swearing as clearly it's an adult novel and has the right label but in YA it is one of my pet peeves when the storyline has everything but you find yourself reading swear words over and over again. I feel it can destroy fantastic literature - swearing never seems to fit.

My reaction when I come across when bad language.
An attempt to lighten up this post.

Some people never seem to mind swearing - since it's a part of everyone's daily life - but I love it when I see an author has pulled off a book without bad language. Sometimes, there's a bit here and there and I find it funny. It can add some sarcasm, help emphasise a joke and I think it fits. Although, sometimes it's forgotten we are only teenagers. I'm only fourteen but have probably read books set for an age much older than I am and people argue we shouldn't be 'babied' - sometimes laying back with the language in YA is for the best. Then, I guess our thoughts began to wonder into how we feel about it being in adult books. In all honesty, I still think swearing has been stylised. People think it's 'cool' when those words appearing in every sentence isn't seen like that most of the time. The latest craze seems to be bad language but I think there should be a limit to the amount of swearing in YA. Who knows, maybe this will be a short-lived time but, for know, I feel like some of the best books out there have no bad language so why is so much of it appearing lately? Let's think: The Hunger Games, Divergent and Twilight - no bad language. Book lovers look for a stand-out story and writing to capture you - swearing is not something that is important. There are smaller instances of words some people don't like to see such as "hell" but personally, I don't see there is a problem with this.

Does anyone else feel like if they don't like swearing,
they're not 'cool'

Although, swearing is a stereotype for a romance novel bad-boy. Is swearing a way of creating a fab new love interest in moments? I will admit to loving 'The Knife of Never Letting Go' and 'The Fifth Wave' despite the swearing. Maybe it was the fact there wasn't too much.

What do you think?
Do you prefer the bad-boy look that comes with swearing?
How about the new GIFS?

Why Book Bloggers are Important!

Recently, I have found myself reading articles on websites such as 'The Guardian' about book bloggers and how much criticism they can come under. Book bloggers are both seen as an important group of people who help keep the world of books alive and yet, unprofessional critics: we can be swayed by the latest book-hype and easily convinced to give a good book review by publishers.

 

Of course, I love receiving review copies of books. Not only are they free, but it's great to see a publisher giving you a copy because they want to read your thoughts. They trust you enough to make an honest judgement and not be swayed. If not to offer constructive feedback, why are we here? Not only to celebrate great books, but make good books even better. Bloggers are not meant to be professional but that also does not mean what we say should be over-looked. The thing that is great about all this is that our opinions are not. So, we do see reviews from 'The Telegraph' and 'The Daily Mail' on the covers of many books but you can also find reviews from bloggers there too. Writers for newspapers are professional and in many ways, so are we. Our reviews are honest, as many of our Review Archive's state that we take books in return for an honest review(This is what I say when I contact a publisher asking for an ARC) and we do all we can to spread the word about books. In all honesty, we're like free advertising. What publisher would deny that opportunity?

 

On the subject of publishers, we help them. I accept books from HarperCollins, a very well-known publisher company to Nosy Crow an independent yet confident publisher that I love to get involved with. Without bloggers, how would people find out about their company? Teens like to talk - and bloggers are no different!

 

Book bloggers are likely to be the younger generation, the next: authors, booksellers, publishers. We are the one's who will work in publishing as that love for books will always be there. There are so many projects set up to try and get more young people reading, as it has become 'un-cool' to enjoy a book. We are young people who enjoy reading yet, we're criticised for it? We shouldn't be. Bloggers are really important as we are a younger voice is publishing. We read books for our age group because who else can review Teen fiction like the teens? It is our thing to make reading fun. When you visit one of our blogs or scroll down our twitter-feed, all you can see is what is called book-hype. Us getting excited about a good book, involving the whole blogging-community in our chat and spreading links to reviews across Twitter. No one is more enthustiastic about reading than the bloggers. Who else jumps-up-and-down when they get a book-sized package?

 

 

 

I just sent a tweet talking about 'The Hunger Games' with fellow blogging- buddies:

 

"WHO IS HANGING OUT IN HAWAII WITH PEETA?"

 

Wouldn't you want to be involved in our conversation about books?

 

Bloggers are the reason many books make it from page to screen. People go out and buy the book, read it and may suggest it to a few friends but, young book reviewers never stop there. We post reviews, spend hours tweeting about it, write a blog post and through that, more people who are passionate about books go and pick it up. Once they've read it, they will then post their review. The blogging community is a big one, and the latest success has been 'The Fifth Wave'. After seeing a lot of positive reviews, I decided to go and buy myself a copy and I'm starting to spot it appearing on many bestseller lists.

 

The truth is, bloggers continue a positive love for books. Young book bloggers make their reviews understandable for their age group, their blogs interesting and eye-catching and make reading be the best thing to do on a summers day. We give all genres, within our age range a go so we do attempt to spread the book love everywhere and we have a community. All of us go to signings at different points or just have a quick chat on Twitter. Book bloggers are important because we are the next generation of readers and write age-appropriate reviews.

 

I'd love to hear your opinion on this! Comment!

Books I'd Like to see From Another POV

This is a post I really wanted to write since I'm on a night's break from Revision. I've been thinking a lot lately about what books I would love to see from another characters' perspective. I always seem to think, when a character makes a sudden reappearance, "Where have you been?" or "What happened?". Have you got any books you would like to see written from another point of view? I certainly do!

The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins(Peeta & Gale's perspective) This is a tough one, as I would like to see all of the books from different perspectives but, I think the main one for me would be to see Peeta retelling the tale of the 74th Annual Games. I would love to see how he was able to escape Cato, how much he loves Katniss and how he was able to camouflage himself in the mud. He has such a gentleness to him, I'd like to see his point of view of being chosen for the games.

 

 

As for Mockingjay, I would devour a book from Gale's perspective. For people who have read the series, wouldn't you want to know what part he played in the heart-breaking run-up to the ending? I still want to know what thoughts went through his mind, and if anything was it all his fault.

 

Small Blue Thing by S.C Ransom(From Callum's perspective) Small Blue Thing is such a beautiful romance story, and Callum(who is a Dirge stuck in a half-life on misery) would be a brilliant character to get to read about. I would love to dig-deeper into the world of the Dirge's. I found the whole concept so interesting throughout the series, I think being able to find out more about the secrets of St Pauls Cathedral would be amazing. What about the moment he realises Alex has found the amulet, and he has a chance of freedom? I want to read this!

 

Divergent/Insurgent by Veronica Roth(Jeanine Mathews Novella) I wouldn't like to read a whole book from Jeanine's perspective but, I'd be first-in-line to purchase a novella. Getting inside her mind and seeing why exactly she decided to control the factions the way she does would be so interesting. Or maybe the novel from Caleb's or Tori's point of view, I think they are such complex characters, I mean, why did Caleb pick Erudite? The mysteries of novels! Who knows, maybe we'll find out in Allegiant!

 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green(From Augustus Waters' perspective) It's hard to mention his name without feeling your eyes brim with tears but wouldn't a The Fault in Our Stars novella from his perspective be so touching. There is so much wisdom when it comes to Augustus and he can see the brighter side of everything. I'd love to read his words, they would be a masterpiece! And John Green I'm sure would be able to write this!

 

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (All with Ridley Duchannes) It would be difficult to have the whole plot told by her, but how evil(and I admit, fun) would it be to read from her POV. All the mischief and plans she makes. It would be a fast-paced, and slightly scary, but completely worth it read!

 

Geek Girl by Holly Smale(From Lion Boy's Perspective) Can you imagine how hilarious it would be to read Geek Girl from the boy Harriet meets under a table? His reaction when she started to try to explain herself would be priceless and have tears streaming down my face from the laughter and then the moment he finds her hyper-ventilating into a crisp packet. When you need a light-hearted and fun read this would be perfect. I completely fell in love with Harriet, Lion Boy and Toby of course and anymore I could grab from this cast would always be worth the read! Imagine if he felt as embarrassed as Harriet did!

 

What books would you like to read from anther POV?