Review of Sweetly, by Jackson Pearce

Release Date: August 23, 2011


Goodreads says: Twelve years ago, Gretchen, her twin sister, and her brother went looking for a witch in the forest. They found something. Maybe it was a witch, maybe a monster, they aren’t sure—they were running too fast to tell. Either way, Gretchen’s twin sister was never seen again. 

Years later, after being thrown out of their house, Gretchen and Ansel find themselves in Live Oak, South Carolina, a place on the verge of becoming a ghost town. They move in with Sophia Kelly, a young and beautiful chocolatier owner who opens not only her home, but her heart to Gretchen and Ansel. 

Yet the witch isn’t gone—it’s here, lurking in the forests of Live Oak, preying on Live Oak girls every year after Sophia Kelly’s infamous chocolate festival. But Gretchen is determined to stop running from witches in the forest, and start fighting back. Alongside Samuel Reynolds, a boy as quick with a gun as he is a sarcastic remark, Gretchen digs deeper into the mystery of not only what the witch is, but how it chooses its victims. Yet the further she investigates, the more she finds herself wondering who the real monster is, and if love can be as deadly as it is beautiful.

I say: 
Fairy tales are my thing. I love them. Hansel and Gretel isn't a story that's retold very often, so I was excited to read Sweetly. It's technically a sequel to Sisters Red, Jackson Pearce's previous novel and a retelling of Red Riding Hood, but I don't really think you have to read the first to understand the second. It would make sense without it. 


Sweetly is truly well written. The story kept me entertained, and the characters were incredibly crafted. The character of Sophia, in particular, was really enjoyable. She's believable and real, and of all of the cast, she was probably the one I liked the most. The talk of candy making was interesting and made for a good story. 


The southern feel to the novel, and the dynamics of the town also really added to the novel. Mixed in all together, it definitely makes the book worth reading. 


I felt, however, like some parts of the novel were a little bit odd; the monsters -- Fenris -- really didn't make much sense unless you've read Sister's Red, and even then, they seemed out of place at times. The novel had some of the epic qualities that Sister's Red possesses, but they were disjointed and mostly came at the -- granted, truly impressive -- finale.

I liked it, don't get me wrong, but the novel felt open ended. It's a solid 3 and 1/2 stars.

More later.

This Summer

Guys, I know I'm a bad blogger. I'm sorry. Seriously, I am. Very, very sorry.
But, um, I do have good news!
So, I entered for the chance to be in a writing camp back in Febuary. The camp looked seriously fantastic; awesome teachers, awesome people, chance of a lifetime, blah blah blah. Only problem? I've never written short stories; I've never written hard science fiction, which is what I would need to enter the camp. Competition to get in is relatively fierce, but I sent in a story anyway, figuring well, what the heck.
And. I. Got. In.
And guess what?
Tamora Pierce is one of the teachers.
Tamora. Freaking. Pierce.
Granted, all of the teachers are amazing. The link up above can show you them. Beyond that, I'll get to go to a writing conference. But the chance to meet -- and learn from!! -- Tamora Pierce?
I believe the exact response I have was acakasfalskfboasfasda.
My love for Tamora Pierce is probably unhealthy. It's been blogged about here and here.
And now I get to meet her.
Anyway. More later, promise. I just wanted to share my excitement. Also, poke in my head and promise that Chemistry might have swallowed part of my soul, but I am resilient and will always come back to blog.
(Yeah. We'll pretend that wasn't weird.)
Bye!

Cookie?

Hey, y'all. Guess what?
No, seriously, guess.
It's SPRING.

The weather is beautiful, there is rain that I can actually go run around in (shuddupIlikerainokayIknowI'mweird), and I can drive with my windows down with the music up and jam out while waiting at red lights act all mature and stuff with my driving-ness. School is winding down before winding up for finals, and that means I've actually read like, five books this week.
YEAH. I know. Isn't it awesome? Reviews up later, promise. I read Jennifer Brown's newest, and that'll be up, as well as a review of Wolfsbane, the sequel to Nightshade. Some other stuff, too. Promise!
But in celebration of spring and all the awesome it entails, I am sharing with you my new favorite quote. Yes. Shush. You'll love it. I promise. And if you don't, I'll give you cookies.
See, darling readers? I'm awesome. I know. Don't worry, you don't have to applaud.
-blinks- -feels obnoxious- -and really, really hyper-
Anyway. Quote time!

Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book. Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.

-smiles happily-
I love this so much it's not even funny. Except I want a guy that reads. Nothing against girls or anything, but you know. Guys look like this, sometimes.

He's pretttttty.

Anyway. Cookie?

More later!