My Writing Schedule (Method Mondays)

    There are so many resources one will find on "how to become a writer", but one of the most common (and unfortunately hardest to follow) is to just sit down and WRITE. If you're like me and get distracted super easily (phone, Internet, TV, whatever that sound just was what did the cats break this time?), sometimes that can be a bit difficult. What I find helps is setting out specific times throughout the day that you make a concentrated effort to sit down and work, whether that means research, planning/outlining, or actually writing. Having a dedicated task and a dedicated time to complete it, I find, is really beneficial to me and helps me be more productive. Everyone has different times they can work and different amounts of time at their disposal. I'd say, however, if you're really serious about writing, do your best to have an average of an hour of writing time a day. It doesn't have to be all at once; two half-hour blocks, a handful of 15- or 10-minute blocks. As long as you're getting your butt in the chair and putting some words down, that's what counts. This is just an example, but here's a simple calendar I'd use.

    This calendar, for the most part, doesn't really change from week to week besides the details of what I need to do, although I'm not afraid to admit I don't stick to it nearly as often as I probably should. You might notice that I don't have any time blocked in for Mondays, or that I only have a half hour planned on Saturday. Does that mean I absolutely won't do any writing on Mondays, or absolutely only a half hour on Saturday? Of course not. If I have spare time and I get the writing bug, I'll absolutely write in timeslots that aren't listed here. Sometimes I'm busy and miss a timeslot that is listed here. It happens.
    One of the most important things to do is not let yourself succumb to pressure. Push yourself to make a schedule that works for you and stick to it, yes, but don't neglect other areas of your life either. Work, family, friends, and self-care are all important as well. You're not a "bad writer" because you missed a day or two, or had to cut a writing session short because of another commitment. The point is that you tried, and whether you put down 20 words or 2000 in the time you wrote, that's still 20 or 2000 words that didn't exist before, that ONLY YOU could have written.
    Not everyone has the luxury of writing full-time. Not everyone wants to. The idea of being a novelist and dreaming of quitting your day-job is pushed hard and romanticized, but that's not what makes you a writer. Some people can't quit their day-jobs, either because of finance or family or other reasons, and some just don't want to. You can have a passion for your day-job and a passion for writing and do both. You may have to get up a little earlier, or give up a bit of free time in the evening, or find some other way to make writing fit into your life, but it can be done. If you dream of quitting your day-job, well, here's hoping someday you're able to. If you don't, don't let anyone tell you you should. If you're willing to make the time, you can still be a writer.
    "Writing" doesn't involve just writing, either. It also involves planning and research. Planning might just be thinking up a plot while you shower, or mulling over a character while you lay in bed waiting to fall asleep. Research could be online, or reading books or magazines, or talking to someone who has some expertise to share. If you have a long commute, download some writing podcasts to listen to, or if you take public transport rather than driving, maybe read something, either a book in your target genre, a magazine on writing or publishing, or some online resources.
    Here's a link to the blank calendar I used above, in case anyone would like a copy. Fill it in on the computer, or print it to fill out by hand. Maybe post it above your desk, or just keep it somewhere where you can check it easily before you start writing for the day.
   Here, also, are some good articles on writing without being a full-time writer. Disclaimer, though: I'm in no way saying any of these articles are perfect. All have good and bad points, but it's just some extra information from other sources to help you develop your own opinions on this idea. I'm also not affiliated with any of these blogs/sites, so I can't testify to the quality of their other content. I just liked these articles in particular.
http://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/debut-author-lessons-should-you-be-a-full-time-writer/
https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2017/01/11/full-time-writer-tips/
http://positivewriter.com/prolific-writer-day-job/
    Thanks for reading!

Characterization - Why I Love Dolores Umbridge (Method Mondays)

Yes, you read that right... THE Dolores Umbridge...

    I never thought "I love Dolores Umbridge" would EVER be something I would say, type, or be forced to write in my own blood. Too soon?
    In all seriousness, though, I really do love Umbridge. Well, I hate her, but that's why I love her. It's complicated, I'll admit it. While I do acknowledge that this type of post with Harry Potter characters is just about the most overdone concept ever, bare with me.
    The reason I chose to use Umbridge, and Harry Potter in general, is because I can use it to compare three "types", so to speak, of antagonists.

Type One: Hate to Love Them

    Many of you can probably guess who this example is going to be. (Hint: if you guessed Severus Snape, you're right.) BUT there's another character I want to use as a second example of this: good old Wormtail, Peter Pettigrew. I know I'm opening a literally massive can of worms by even mentioning either of these characters, and I'm sure many of you want to reach through your screens and yell "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING" at me right now. (Side note: please don't, that slideshow scene from It scarred me enough without it happening with my laptop).
    Let me start with this: Yes, both of these characters are flawed. Deeply flawed, in fact. But most people are in real life, and most of the best fictional characters are as well. That's what elevates them from a stock character to the memorable sort that sticks with you long after you put the book down.
    Lets start with Snape. Regardless of you feelings for him as a person, I think there are very few people who haven't felt some sort of pity or affection for Severus Snape, even if it was quickly squashed down. Was his obsession with Lily unhealthy? Yes. Did he bully Harry, Neville, and others for years? Yes. But I think that he honestly thought that was the best thing he could do to keep his status as a double agent.
    Motivation is what really makes a villain, and it's something I'll talk about a lot in this post. For Snape, his motivation was his belief that his actions were the only way to keep his double-agent status and protect those he needed to protect. For Pettigrew, his motivation was fear.
   Both motivations are in their own ways entirely valid. Does this mean that either of them are good people? No. Snape killed Dumbledore, and even before that tormented schoolchildren. Pettigrew betrayed his best friends and let two be killed, one be driven nearly insane in Azkaban, and one live a lonely existence thinking the people he cared most about were either dead or insane (I really feel bad for Lupin, can you tell?) Maybe I'm not making sense; I don't really know. But I do know that it's the motivation these characters had for their villainy that makes them complex and at times sympathetic characters, and not just mustache-twirling cardboard cut-outs.

Type Two: Love to Hate Them

    The second type of villain I want to talk about is the sort of villain that you despise, but also love because of how good a villain they are. I'm going to be using Voldemort for my example here.
   Obviously, no one looks at Voldemort and thinks, "WOW what a great guy! I'd love to hang out with him!" And if you do, well... Maybe you should rethink that one.
   Voldemort is a good villain because he is of course evil, but he's also somewhat sympathetic. He chases eternal life to fill the void left in him due to his inability to love. Like I said above, it's his motivation that makes him an interesting character. Voldemort is an extremely dislikeable character, but he isn't just evil for the sake of being evil, and that's what makes him a terrifying villain. A villain who is evil just for the fun of it may stop eventually due to boredom or because someone tried to stop them. But villains with a goal work toward it despite obstacles, and that's what makes them scarier and harder to defeat than a villain who's evil for the sake of being evil.
   In short, the second type of villain (ie. Voldemort) is a villain who made the conscious choice to become a villain, not out of fear or supposed necessity, but to accomplish a goal. They don't wake up one morning and think "let's go out and kick some puppies for fun", they think "let's kick some puppies because that will get me closer to my goal".

Type Three: HATE. HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE.

    Villain type three is the villain who DOES think "let's go kick puppies for fun". This type of villain is one of the rarest, because they're so entirely unsympathetic that readers will feel nothing but hatred for them.
    Now you may be thinking, but isn't the object of a villain to be hated? Why would I want my readers to be sympathetic toward them? I may end up doing another post more in-depth on this later, but let me sum it up here: if there's someone you can't stand in real life - they're a terrible person, and you feel they have no redeeming qualities or reasons to act why they do - how long would you hang around them? Only if you're forced to, right? So why would a reader want to read a book if they absolutely can't stand the villain?
    One of the few exceptions to this rule is, of course, Dolores Umbridge. Now, one could argue that she does have a motivation: her obsession with propriety and rules. But as the books go on, we see that that isn't really an excuse for her behaviour. Perhaps it started that way, yes, but it quickly spirals into, frankly, pure evil. The movies actually have a very interesting, subtle way of portraying this; if you pay attention, as the movies go on Umbridge's clothes become darker shades of pink, portraying her descent into madness.
   Umbridge is a rare type of villain, but it works. Any Harry Potter fan knows hatred of Umbridge is even more universal than hatred of Voldemort, so JK Rowling clearly did something (okay, many things. Pretty much all the things) right! She's so hateable and so unique in a slew of fictional villains that, as much as I despise her, I also love her just because she's able to inspire that kind of hatred in readers.


    So those are just three rather broad categories of villain. There's a lot more to talk about in terms of writing villains, but this is just a nice little introduction post I can refer back to later. Think there's one I missed, or want a more detailed post on something I mentioned here? Let me know on Twitter @victoriacbooks or here, in the comments! Thanks for reading!

How I Create Characters - Who Are You and Where Did You Come From? (Method Mondays)

    Sitting down to talk about creating characters, it was a lot harder than I realized to start. Like many writers would probably say, I've no real idea where my characters actually come from. Many of them waltzed into my headspace one day, kicked their feet up on the kitchen table and asked for a cup of coffee. To which the usual response is "okay, but first I need your name, approximate age, and your life story and the most intimate details of your personality." Some characters lean back in the chair and spew (why do I use that word?) detail after detail of everything I ask them and even some things I don't. Others give me the basics, smile enigmatically, and refuse to say another word until they've had their cup of coffee. After that, it takes anywhere between a cup of coffee and a few minutes to get them to tell me their stories, but some clam up entirely and it can take a 5-course dinner and days, months, or even years to get the full stories out of them. As much as I would love for this post to be, essentially, "You need a character? Great! Here's how you make one!", I'm afraid it will be more "You need a character? Great! I don't know how to help you." I am not an expert; I never claim to be one. All I am is a writer, sharing some thoughts and hoping they help some other people along the way.
    Some of my characters I've had for so long I don't even remember where or how they came about. Others I can trace back to one definite decision to create the character, or in some cases one conversation that brought the character about.
    The easiest examples to use are characters for my as-yet untitled WIP trilogy. One character in particular, Antonio, has been rattling around my head since the fourth grade. Over the years, he's spawned his own parents, an uncle, two older brothers, and a host of information both plot-relevant and completely random information. One thing I will say though, and this is one of my personal golden rules of writing:

No characterization is wasted.

    This rule will definitely be visited more in-depth in a future post, but let me clarify further: no matter how useless you think a bit of information you have about a character is, put it somewhere. If you can remember it, tuck it away in your mental files. If you can't, write it down. I try to keep files on each character I have (either in a word document or in my writing program WriteItNow4, which is the topic of another upcoming post), and I write down any tidbit I can. Will most of them be used in the novel? No. It's probably never going to be relevant to the plot that, for example, Miguel (Antonio's older brother) is allergic to strawberries? Probably not. But it will change how he interacts with the environment around him, and how other characters, especially his family, interact with him. It may be mentioned in the actual story sometime - who knows what he'll decide to talk about - but even if it isn't, I know it, and the characters know it, and that adds another layer to the never-ending onion that is a good story and good characters.

    Characters can come from anywhere. I remember creating an antagonist for my current WIP, and at the time I was on the phone with a former friend. I was struggling to name the character, to which she responded, "It should start with a D. Villain names start with D's." Her words, not mine. Her reasoning behind this was, at the time, she was reading the Gone series by Michael Grant, where one antagonist is named Drake. She also suggested the name Damien, which was at the time the name of a teacher at my school who I doubted would appreciate having an antagonist named after him. I, eventually, settled on the name Dmitri. What started out as the quintessential "school bully" antagonist with a twist, evolved into a (if I may say so myself) very complex and multi-faceted character. He actually was more of the catalyst for Miguel's appearance than Antonio was; somehow, he decided he didn't want to be a jerk on his own; he needed a "posse" for that. Somehow, Miguel grew from that, latched onto Antonio as his brother, and then produced a twin for himself. Eventually, an entire cast of characters found their way into the story, and Bob's your uncle, as they say (I don't know if anyone even really says that, I just like it).  

    I can't find the exact place where I read this anymore (if someone can, please feel free to Tweet it to me), but JK Rowling once said (paraphrasing of course) that Harry Potter "waltzed into (her) head one day, fully formed". For many characters of mine, something very similar has happened. But, like I mentioned earlier, sometimes it's a lot of work. I'm not sure I'd call it building a character, because I think oftentimes characters come fully built; it's just a matter of putting the pieces in the right places. The analogy I'd like to use, because it sounds cool and science-y, is unearthing a fossil. You start by hacking away the big bits with a pickaxe or something similar, but eventually it comes down to being on your hands and knees with a little brush, dusting away the tiniest, most insignificant bits. That analogy doesn't really work, though, nor is it very relatable. In terms of starting with large pieces and moving to little ones, it does, but I think a better one would be that creating a character is like putting together one of those complex Lego sets. You start off with the big base pieces, and then your put together smaller pieces, and stick those onto the bigger pieces in the right spots. Then, if you've done it right, you'll end up with something you never would've guessed would come from those little plastic bricks and fiddly little bits that go all over the floor and thank God they give you extra because how do I keep track of all of these and - I'm rambling again.

    I think this is a good place to finish off - with that image. Character building starts off with the big pieces - What's their name? Why are they in the story? What's their goal? and goes to the small - the little things that make a character seem human, rather than just words on a page. Those little pieces, those details, like Legos, turn a boring piece of plastic into something cool and fun to play with, and turn a flat, forgettable character into one who will worm their way into your readers' hearts and make them come back to your books time and again.





A Celebration of 20 Years of Harry Potter - My Top 5 Memories

    Like most people of my generation, Harry Potter has almost always been a part of my life. My older sister was obsessed with the franchise, so I always heard about it. I was really stubborn about reading the books, and I regret that because I love them so much. In honour of the 20th anniversary, I'm going to embarrass myself and probably my sister with my Top 5 Memories of the Harry Potter series (in no particular order)

The Harry Potter Website
    Hear me out about this one; I'm not talking about Pottermore, I'm talking about some ancient site I've never been able to find again. If anyone knows which one I'm referring to and it's still up, please send me a link I would love to see if I've outgrown my terror. Either way, in one of her attempts to convince me to read Harry Potter, my sister showed me this website. One feature of it was the Sorting Hat. I don't know what it did, if it sang or sorted you into a house or both, but I do remember it talked. When this animated hat opened it's mouth, I found myself gripped with UNRELENTING TERROR. I was absolutely horrified by this thing, and I can't for the life of me figure out why now. The Sorting Hat is kinda cuddly-looking to me now, but not younger me, oh no. Younger me was terrified for her life. My mother ended up having to ban my sister from the site (sorry about that Katherine) and pretend she had blocked it so I wouldn't fear the Sorting Hat for the rest of my young life (I was convinced that thing was coming for me). I learned just recently that she never really blocked it, but it was a necessary lie to spare poor little Victoria many a sleepless night in terror of the Sorting Hat.

GIF not mine, but a good representation of my reaction



My First HP Movie
    ...was actually The Half-Blood Prince. I know! I also hadn't read any of the books. Don't hate me! I was reluctant to read the books, but my sister invited me to watch the movie and I decided to give it a go. Even if major plot twists were ruined for me, I loved the movie, and as soon as I got home I stole my sister's copy of The Philosopher's Stone to read.

My First HP Book
    ... was indeed The Philosopher's Stone. I may be a Slytherin, but I'm not THAT evil. Despite the aforementioned spoilers, to say the series blew my mind would be an understatement. It was some of the richest world building, character development, and overall story I had ever experienced. I immediate understood what the obsession everyone seemed to have sprang from. I was addicted not long after. I burned through all the books in just a few months, and before long I'd read every bit of HP-canon material there was - Tales of Beedle the Bard, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Through the Ages. If it was about Harry Potter, I'd read it. I watched all the movies until I could practically recite them (side note: Alan Rickman is and always will be the perfect Snape). My  mother even had a friend from the UK send her a Dobby doll that couldn't be bought in Canada or the US for me as a Christmas gift. She knit me a scarf too - Gryffindor, because I still insisted I shared a house with the Trio in my early days of obsession. I still have the scarf - I use it on my nefarious Slytherin missions to spy on other houses. Okay so maybe I'd use it to steal desserts off the Gryffindor table instead (still waiting for that letter!) I also have a decal of the Dumbledore quote: "Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light." on my bedroom wall.

My First Hogwarts House
    Like I said, I self-identified as Gryffindor. Then I changed to Ravenclaw. I seem to remember being sorted into Hufflepuff on my old Pottermore account (mind you, I joined as soon as the beta was open and sadly cyberspace ate my account), but now it looks like I'm a Slytherin. I'll take it! My Patronus is a Python (stereotypical but the animation is SO COOL). As for wands, apparently mine would be 10 3/4 inches, larch wood, with Phoenix tail feather core and "surprisingly swishy" flexibility. In real life, I own an interactive wand from Universal Studios and Sirius Black's wand (which only works if you hold it a certain way, according to the friendly assistant at Ollivander's).

In The End
     Harry Potter as a series taught me so much about not only writing, although JK. Rowling's style is iconic and inimitable, but about life, friendship, bravery, and (although it's cliche) what it means to really belong somewhere. Harry Potter defines a generation, really, and it certainly played a huge role in my life as a reader and a writer. The characters were some of the most incredibly unique, distinct, and complicated characters I'd encountered to that point and they still are. I can't even put into words how much this series has affected me both as a person and a writer, so I'll end here with two quotes, one quintessential to a discussion of Harry Potter, and the other one of the more relatable quotes that I as a writer have ever seen.

"Hogwarts will always be here to welcome you home." -JK. Rowling

"Of course this is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it isn't real?" -Albus Dumbledore

September Book Review: How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather

Summary (from Amazon):
Salem, Massachusetts is the site of the infamous witch trials and the new home of Samantha Mather. Recently transplanted from New York City, Sam and her stepmother are not exactly welcomed with open arms. Sam is the descendant of Cotton Mather, one of the men responsible for those trials and almost immediately, she becomes the enemy of a group of girls who call themselves The Descendants. And guess who their ancestors were?

If dealing with that weren't enough, Sam also comes face to face with a real live (well technically dead) ghost. A handsome, angry ghost who wants Sam to stop touching his stuff. But soon Sam discovers she is at the center of a centuries old curse affecting anyone with ties to the trials. Sam must come to terms with the ghost and find a way to work with the Descendants to stop a deadly cycle that has been going on since the first accused witch was hanged. If any town should have learned its lesson, it's Salem. But history may be about to repeat itself.

Book Stats (from Amazon):

Hardcover: 368 pages

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (July 26 2016)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0553539477

ISBN-13: 978-0553539479

Amazon rating: 5/5 stars

Goodreads rating: 4.05/5 stars

    This is an incredibly unique book in my opinion. Not only does it focus on a subject I've never seen explored in fiction before (I'm sure there are other books on the Salem Witch Trials; I've just never personally seen any), it's written by an actual descendant of a real-life historical figure. I've always found the Salem Witch Trials fascinating, and so when I found this book at my local store I was bound to get it.
    I will admit, this book may not be for everyone. It does fall prey to the love-triangle cliché, but I didn't find this distracted from the main plot. One of the things I've found other people say about this book is that they find the main character, Sam, irritating, but I found her no more annoying than any other YA protagonist I've read, regardless of gender. In all honesty, almost any YA book you read reviews of, someone will say they find the protagonist 'whiny' or some other variation of that. If you ask me, Sam wasn't much whinier than one would expect given the situation she was in - without spoilers, dealing with a ghost, a curse, an extremely ill father, guaranteed enemies and uncertain friends.
    This book balanced spooky, dramatic, original, and fun perfectly. The characters were quirky and fun, the plot was riveting, and the historical context only served to make it even better. I have to say, I still can't think about this book or anything to do with the Salem Witch Trials without remembering the time I accidentally brought my t-shirt from Salem to wear for gym class at a very conservative school and had to wear it inside out to avoid the awkward explanation (probably an overreaction, but that's beside the point). I believe the shirt was from the prison in Salem; I remember it was dark red, and had a witch on it with the caption 'I did my time'.
    I'm not sure there's much more I can say about this book without spoiling it. I will say there are some extremely unexpected plot twists, and overall the entire book is a roller-coaster ride that's almost impossible to put down. I'd recommend it for anyone 13-14 and above, as there is some dark material within it, but as always it's up to you what you think you can handle.
    5/5 stars!

July Book Review: The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany

Book Stats

Hardcover: 336 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Inc; Special Rehearsal ed. edition (July 31 2016)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1338099132

ISBN-13: 978-1338099133

Amazon rating: 3.4/5 stars

Goodreads rating: 3.98/5 stars

Cover Blurb
The Eighth Story. Nineteen Years Later.
Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage.  The play will receive its world premiere in London's West End on July 30, 2016.
It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.
While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted.  As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

My Review
    I struggled with whether or not to write a review of this for a few days after I read it. To be honest, I'm certain this review is not at all objective. I love Harry Potter, and have since I was in elementary school - my sister tried for ages to get me to read it, and I wouldn't, until finally she brought me with her to see one of the movies in theatres (I did watch them out of order, I'm sorry!). I fell in love with the story and the characters and the world instantly, and devoured the books immediately afterward. As soon as I finished the seventh book, I was longing for a story about the next generation - was The Cursed Child what I expected? Not quite. Did I enjoy it? Yes.
    To avoid spoiling as much as possible, this story is probably not what you'll expect. The style itself is very different from Rowling's usual style, but that's to be expected since it's a script. The characters don't really behave like you might expect either (looking at you, Harry). The plot itself is complicated and has more than one 'oh what the heck' moment, but it's also very original and I found it interesting.
    I was surprised by how much I actually liked Scorpius Malfoy, as well. I thought he would be more like his father (or worse, his grandfather), and I was actually quite happy he wasn't. Albus Potter was a lot like I was expecting, however; he's a lot like his dad. Beyond the new generation, I was happy to see the other characters, like Hermione and Ron, in action as well. Finding out Hermione was Minister of Magic was awesome; it actually felt like seeing an old friend get a much-deserved job.
    My major problem with The Cursed Child is that there wasn't enough of it. I would have loved to see more of the other kids and learn more about them. Of course, if I had my way J.K. Rowling would write a seven-book series about every single one of the next generation, and maybe some spin-offs about other characters from the original series, and I'm sure many of my fellow Potter fans will agree with that sentiment. In a way, though, I think I understand why Rowling didn't include all of the characters in the play - one, the stage would be horrifically overcrowded and the plot was too convoluted, and two, this way it allows the fans to continue to develop their own theories and ideas about the characters without too much being set in stone.
    Overall, I enjoyed this story as a continuation to the Potter series. It wasn't perfect, of course, but I'm such a die-hard fan that almost nothing could be enough for me.
    4/5 stars!

June Book Review: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

 

Book stats (from Amazon):

Paperback: 512 pages

Publisher: Candlewick; 2 edition (July 22, 2014)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0763676187

ISBN-13: 978-0763676186

Amazon rating: 4.1/5 stars

Goodreads rating: 3.95/5 stars

Summary (from Amazon):
Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him -- something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.

    I honestly have no idea how this book was published all the way back in 2008 and I'm just discovering and reading it now. I absolutely love this novel. I was recommending it to a friend of mine, and the exact text I sent him was "so I'm reading this book called the Knife of Never Letting Go. It hurts my soul. You should read it." Having read that sentence, you could in theory click out of this webpage right now and still get the general gist of what I'm going to be saying about this book. I'd like for you to stick around for the rest of it, but in general that's what you need to know about this book. There will be minor spoilers beyond this point, but nothing that will ruin the story for you.
    This was one of those books that reminded me of the way I used to read when I was a kid, when I'd get totally sucked into a story and barely be able to put the book down until I'd finished it. When I finished this book, in fact, I went straight to the nearest bookstore only to discover they had a copy of the third book, but not the second. I could have just bought it on Kindle, but since I started the series in hardcopy I wanted to finish it the same way. Naturally, there was no other choice but to call my dad and get him to go to the bookstore near his office on his way home, and then drop the books off to me. Which he actually did, which was pretty awesome.
    This book is definitely a stay-up-too-late, reading-under-the-covers story. The plot is amazingly well-done, and I didn't find it lagged at any point. The Noise itself was an incredible addition to the story and both simplifies and complicates the plot. It's both fascinating and sinister, and overall incredibly fresh and original. The other worldbuilding, too, is masterful, and the backstory and information about the world is woven beautifully into the plot with very little info-dumping. And the plot twists. The plot. Twists. I saw the 'big reveal' coming ahead of time, but seeing Todd's reaction to it still crushed my heart. I have to fight to avoid spoiling right now, but in all honesty no matter how well you think you know what's coming and how well-prepared you think you are for it, nothing could prepare me for how much it would hurt to see Todd's world crashing down around him.
    Part of this attachment I quickly developed to Todd was, I think, due to the unique style Ness uses. Todd is a mostly-illiterate farmboy, with little knowledge of reading or writing, and this is conveyed well throughout the novel without being distracting from the main story. For example, creatures becomes creachers, and words ending with -tion end with -shun. I, for one, didn't find this at all distracting from the main story and I felt it added more to it. We truly see the story through Todd's eyes, and the unique spelling and grammar choices really draw the reader further into Todd's worldview.
    Todd wasn't the only character I found myself bonding with. Manchee was another, but he's an adorable dog so it's basically a given that I'd love him. To be honest, I didn't really even like Todd when he's first introduced. He was rude and gruff and mean to poor Manchee, but at the same time I found myself relating to him. His frustration and confusion is tangible and completely understandable, and his behaviour, while sometimes exasperating, makes sense for the circumstances. Todd is one of my favourite characters I've read in a while, and once Viola really develops more as a character later in the novel, she is also a very relatable and likeable character. Also, perhaps the unpopular opinion here, but for some reason I really love Cillian. I'm not sure why, but I took an immediate liking to him, which as I've said before, is like cheering every time your child is onstage in their school play even though their role is Tree #4. All of the characters in this book are incredibly lovable and relatable, and as a result they will all break your heart repeatedly.
    Overall, this story and the accompanying trilogy are all amazing book. The story will suck you in, completely crush you, and then scrape you up off the ground and force you to keep reading. They can be a bit dark at times, so I'd recommend it for someone 14 and up or a bit younger if they're mature and can handle it. Other than that, I recommend this series to anyone who loves good characters, an original world, and a whole lot of soul-destroying plot twists.
5/5 stars!