Last year Rick Riordan announced that he was starting a new imprint to highlight diverse authors and diverse stories. His mythology based stories have made him famous. So far he has tackled Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Norse mythology but he often gets asked about exploring other culture’s mythologies as well. Being a while male, he has wisely said that he was not the right person the write about Mayan or Indian mythology however it did spark him to start his own imprint so marginalized authors can write about their own cultures. It was just announced the first three titles under Rick’s new imprint. Yoon Ha Lee, Roshani Chokshi and Jennifer Cervantes will author the first books. Yoon Ha Lee’s book Dragon Pearl will take on stories from Korean Mythology. Roshani Chokshi’s series, Aru Shah and the End of Time, is based off of Indian Mythology and Jennifer Cervantes’s book Storm Runner will have inspiration from Mayan Mythology. All three sound interesting and will be published in 2018. Adding all three to my to-read list.
EDIT: Rick went to his Tumblr page to give more details on his Imprint, his role and involvement with the books and more information on the authors and more indepth synopsis of Dragon Pearl, Aru Shar and the End of Time, and Storm Runner. I highly recommend checking out if nothing else for a tiny glimpse into the publishing world.
This book is surprisingly dark despite having a protagonist that is such a pure soul. I shouldn’t have been surprised since Laini Taylor’s previous series, Daughter of Smoke and Bone wasn’t filled sunshine and rainbows either but the when the backstory of Weep is revealed and you see the toll it has on the city is palpable. I’m not sure where to begin with this book. I feel that anything I say will not do it justice and I also don’t want give anything away either. Lazlo Strange is an orphan and a dreamer. He was raised by Monks and then reared by Librarians. He is fascinated by stories and in particularly the story of the lost city of Weep. A city that had so many treasures but 200 years ago was lost to the world and forgotten. Even it’s name has been lost. It’s now just a myth and a story to everyone but Lazlo. It’s his dream to find it. So he takes every opportunity to find out more about the city. He scours the library books for any scrap of information about Weep. One day out of nowhere, warriors from Weep lead by the Godslayer, show up in his town and he is appeals to them to take him with them. They need help and even though he doesn’t know how he can help he knows he just has to go. In Weep, Sarai is a Godspawn who lives in the Citadel above Weep without the City knowing. Fifteen years ago, the Godslayer and the people of Weep killed the Gods and Goddesses that had enslaved them, not knowing that five children still lived. Each of her siblings have special powers but only Sarai, the Muse of Nightmares, can truly see the City. Every night she releases her moths and visits the people of Weep’s dreams. Sarai may have skin the color blue and see people’s dreams but she is still a teenage girl. She is still has the same hopes and dreams as others her age but she also lives in fear of the people down below. She knows what they did to the other Gods and Goddesses and what they did to the other children who were not saved. She fears that if they ever found out about her and her siblings, that they too will kill them too. Things really start to pick up when Lazlo, warriors and the other foreigners come to Weeo. We see the true hurt and pain of both the people of Weep and the Godspawn. They both are justified in their anger and hurt. They both have reasons to fear the other. When it comes to fear, rational thought is not always easy as any of us can attest too. Lazlo is different though. He is truly a dreamer. He helps people because he sees they need help. He sees possibilities is things that most of us would overlook. He is Strange. When Sarai first visits his dreams she is taken in at how vivid it is but also that he can see her. She is not just a spectator or a manipulator, she is a participant in her dreams. An invited guest. They soon grow a connection and of course fall in love even though they had never actually met. Despite the uplifting and positive protagonists that lead this story the darkness is always seething around the corner of every page. You really can’t get around the sins of both the people of Weep and the Gods themselves and that’s the genius of the story. The beauty of it. It’s like an old Grimm’s fairy tale that underneath the glow and polish there is an undercurrent of darkness. A modern day fairy tale where the true villains are already dead but there are no one is truly innocent. Except for maybe Lazlo but even he will probably not stay innocent for long.
If you are not immediately charmed, heartbroken and uplifted after reading this then you should check your pulse. This is the perfect blend of romance, coming of age story and social commentary. It centers around a day in the life of Natasha and Daniel, two teenagers on the cusp of major changes in their lives. It also touches on the minor interactions that seem meaningless at the time but how that connection could and some times do change someone’s life. Natasha and her family are illegal immigrants from Jamaica who are being deported at 10 o’clock that night. She is trying to stop their deportation when she meets Daniel, a Korean-American boy who has the day off so he can prepare and meet for an interview for admission to Yale. From the moment they meet there is an immediate connection. They both share the immigrant experience of being from two places at the same time. Even, though Daniel was born in the US, he is often assumed to be from someplace else. He’s never Korean enough or American enough. Natasha was born in Jamaica but now has lived most of her life in the US. Her friends are here, her future is here she doesn’t want to leave. When they meet though, their futures couldn’t be different. Daniel’s life has already been planned out for him while Natasha’s is now unsure. Daniel’s parents are dead set on him and his brother to have a better life then they did, which means, Yale and becoming a doctor and marrying a Korean girl. Natasha, was planning on going to college and was going to be a data scientist and now all of that is uncertain. Anyway, they meet and while they don’t know anything about each other they know they have a special bond from the beginning. Daniel is a poet and romantic. He’s convinced that their meeting was fate. That they are meant to be. Natasha is a scientist and a realist. She doesn’t believe in love is real or anything that can’t be scientifically proven. As Natasha tries to kill time before she meets with an immigration lawyer Daniel convinces her to spend time with him to prove that love can be scientifically proven and so they go allover New York, getting to know each other and becoming first friends and then falling in love. They meet each other’s parents and face each other demons. While the story focuses on them, we get glimpses into the lives of the people around them. From their own family but the random people that they briefly come in contact with. The security guard that scans Natasha’s bag, the secretary of the lawyer. They all paint a picture of how we all relate to each other and how our decisions big and small can change a complete strangers life. It’s something to think about. It was talks about how racism presents itself in other communities. Daniel’s Korean parents own a black hair care store in Harlem but when his father and his brother meets Natasha they treat her in their shop. They own a shop that caters to black shopper and yet they can’t even hide their own negative biases. This was a beautiful novel that not only tells a perfect story of two kids struggling to figure out who they are while dealing with the forces outside of their control but also doesn’t shy from taking on tough issues of racism, immigration, depression and even family. You need to read this book is all I’m saying.
Waverly is perfect except so can’t sleep so she spends her nights running. Marshall is loser burn out, who spends his nights drinking and smoking pot. They have nothing in common and since they don’t run in the same social circles they have no reason to interact, until Waverly decides to try an experiment to help her sleep and ends up in Marshall’s room. I’m wrong they do have one thing in common. They both have terrible coping habits. Waverly has created this kind of ice princess persona. She is the perfect student, the perfect social butterfly, the perfect daughter and the perfect citizen. Since junior high, she has planned her and her best friend’s ascent up the social hierarchy. Now that she is there, she is trapped in this persona she has created and doesn’t know what to do with herself. Her own fears of people seeing through her carefully crafted facade keeps her up all night. She runs, she does homework, she watches horror movies late at night. Marshall is the opposite, he’s almost too open. He cares too much. His home life is a mess. He’s parents were going to get divorce but then his dad gets sick so they decide to stay together even though it makes them unhappy and everyone else unhappy. To deal with it he does everything to know the pain. He drinks until he gets sick. He smokes until his stoned. He makes out with a girl that he knows he doesn’t like but that she likes him. He rarely goes to class because what’s the point? He’s not going to college. Things start to change when Waverly magically appears in Marshall’s room. It’s weird and uncomfortable and awkward as neither of them know what’s going on and Marshall is the only one who can see her. To Waverly it’ a dream that helps her sleep but when she wakes up their remnants of the dream remain. She has leaves on her feet from walking outside or a gigantic hickey from last night’s make out session. At night they can be open and honest with each other but in the bright of day they can barely acknowledge each other existence. Marshall wouldn’t fit in Waverly’s world. However, they are just want each other needs. Waverly shows Marshall that he matters, that he could be so much more then what he is right now. And Marshall shows Waverly that she doesn’t have to be perfect all the time. I was really drawn into these characters and I wanted them to find a way to each other. It was satisfying when they both stood finally stood up for themselves to their various bullies. For them to both realize what was truly making them feel unhappy and finally doing something about it. At times I found myself identifying with both Waverly and Marshall. There are times in my life that I felt I had a certain ways to fit in with my friends, especially in high school. You say and do things that you know the other person wants to hear and do because it’s just easier to go along. I also know the feeling of just trying to numb the pain instead of dealing with it. I like to think that I have good coping mechanisms but not always. This book is just a reminder that sometimes the biggest obstacles to being happy is ourselves. Literature is great like that. It’s entertaining and full of life lessons.
2 Women, So Many Books 