Book Review: Wolves, Boys, and Other Things that Might Kill Me by Kristen Chandler

I love a good title, and this book by Kristen Chandler has one of my favorites. From the first time I heard the title WOLVES, BOYS, AND OTHER THINGS THAT MIGHT KILL ME, I wanted to read this book. And it's a good one.


And no, it's not about werewolves.


Synopsis: When KJ Carson is assigned to write a column for her school newspaper about the wolves in nearby Yellowstone National Park, she’s more interested in impressing Virgil Whitman, the new kid in school and the photographer assigned as her partner, than in investigative journalism. But before long, KJ has a face-to-face encounter with a wolf that changes her and the way she thinks about wolves. With her new found passion for protecting these controversial animals, KJ inadvertently ignites the fuse of the anti-wolf sentiment in the community. First Virgil is injured during a town parade, and then her father’s store is set on fire in retribution. To stop the escalating violence, KJ follows Virgil to the cattle ranch of the most outspoken anti-wolf activists in town, against her father’s will. What she discovers there threatens everything and everyone she cares about.


In KJ’s fierce and funny attempt to make peace between the wolves and the people that despise them, she must first face her own long-held fears. It’s terrifying, but then, finding yourself always is.


1st Paragraph: Wolves don't actually howl at the moon. Mostly they howl at each other. I'm a girl, so I get that.


Review: There were many wonderful things about this book (the setting--including a place I used to live!, the voice, the distinct characters, etc.), but my favorite thing is how real this story felt. It honestly felt like the events that took place actually happened and that it is KJ's story. It's not something that could have happened to anyone, only to her. That's something I find hard to do and Kristen Chandler does an amazing job! 


What about you? What have you read lately that's impressed you? Why?

The Strangest Creatures

For the last few months we have been living in a somewhat rural area tucked up next to the mountains. We've had ample opportunity to observe all kinds of animals who come to visit the pond and the surrounding pastures. There have been deer, pheasants, wild turkeys, terns, geese, hawks, and calves. (Okay, the cattle aren't wild, but the calves have sure been fun to watch. Especially when they try to chase the geese.)

But the strangest creatures of all are the engaged couples.

For those who don't know, engaged couples are two beings with one beating heart between them. They are fond of cheese and posing for photographers. Since some of you might not be fortunate enough to frequently observe engaged couples in the wild, I thought I'd share some of my favorite stories and photo poses.

One of the couples posed with her standing on a ladder and him lying at the base and gazing up at her. It did make me wonder: Just what is he looking at . . . ?

Another couple decided that it would be romantic to hold hands and frolic barefoot in the lush green grass. The lush green grass of the cow pasture. Um, do they know what cows do in cow pastures? Because I do. That's why the grass is so lush and green. (That and the fact that's been pretty much constant rain for the last few weeks.)

Most recently, a couple arrived in rather vintage dress. He wore dark pants, a white shirt and suspenders. She wore a dress and obviously inadequate footwear because he insisted on carrying her around so as not to sully her feet. She did her part, though, and carried the umbrella over the two of them. After they reached the pond, he ferried her around in a canoe while she reposed delicately under the umbrella.

So, has anyone else had any strange wildlife sightings? Or seen any people doing strange and inexplicable things? Better yet, has anyone seen the sun recently and can assure me that it still shines somewhere in the world?

Obsession Confession

First of all, a HUGE congratulations to my friend Liesl who just announced that she has an agent! Wahoo! I had the opportunity to read an earlier draft of her manuscript and I loved it, so I'm super excited for her. Yay!!


I often find it hard to read in the genre I'm writing in, particularly if I'm revising. I find myself far too critical of the book and I don't enjoy it. But I still love reading and I still want something to read, so what to do?

Sometimes reading outside the genre works. And I don't mean going from YA paranormal to adult paranormal. It has to be more of a change than that. Lately I've been obsessed with enjoying some manga series. I guess it counts a different genre, but I love that I can read in genres I enjoy without setting off my internal editor. Plus, I've been surprised at how much I've learned about writing from reading them.

Seeing the story in a visual format has taught me a lot about pacing. It's a lot easier to see how lengthening a scene adds to its impact. It's also a lot easier to understand the "enter a scene late and leave early" thing. Rarely is there a lot of set-up for a scene and I've realized that the set-up isn't needed. As a reader, I get what's going on and I don't need it explained anymore.

I've also learned a lot about character development. I know it's easier to "show" something with a picture, but I'm surprised by how little it takes for me to get a clear idea of each character and what makes them different.

Action in a story is very important. I’m guilty of often having heads talking in a blank space. That’s not interesting. It’s much better to have characters doing things.

One of the other things I appreciate is that manga often sets up situations where tension is inherent. Like having a scholarship student at a very elite school accidentally break a vase belonging to the school's host club. The boys in the club make the student act as a host until the debt is paid off. The problem is that the scholarship student is a girl. (Ouran High Host Club) Or having a girl stay with three guys who turn into animals from the Zodiac whenever they're hugged by a member of the opposite sex. (Fruits Basket) Both of these stories have tension already built into the story because of the situation. 

Plus, manga is fun (at least the ones I like). Sure, there are serious moments, but they also poke fun at themselves and they make me laugh. And I like to laugh. For the most part, manga does a good job of balancing the serious with the silly and I really like to do better with that.

I also love the artwork. I shouldn't be so surprised by how much I like the pictures. After all, I loved The Last Unicorn as a kid and was, ahem, a little too interested in Dragon Ball Z for a while. I even dressed up as Vegeta for Halloween once, complete with spiking my long (at the time) hair. And, sorry, I can't find the pictures of that. Anyway, I'm surprised it took me so long to try reading manga.


And did I mention how nicely the books fit on my elliptical? Plus, they're the perfect length for me to read while I exercise. How can you beat that?

On a negative note (so you don't think I'm a totally obsessed fan-girl), I've realized how much I dislike flashbacks, especially long flashbacks. I understand that they can be necessary, but I don't enjoy them and prefer them to be as short as possible. Tell me the story that's happening now.

One note about manga. There is manga written for every age and every interest. Literally. So if you tend to be prudish (like me), just know to be careful. I pretty much stick to the stuff written for teenagers. It's what I like best anyway. 

Playing

I tried to blog last Thursday, but there were technical issues, as I'm sure many of you noticed.

Last night I finished a revision of my stepsister story. I meant to have it finished on Saturday, but as I neared the end, I realized that several scenes were out of order. It sounds simple enough. I mean, reordering cards is easy enough. Reordering scenes, though, especially when the scenes build on each other? Yeah. Not so much.

But really, the main reason I didn't finish was because I was playing. And it was worth it.

Friday, my husband and I went to see the movie Thor and thought it was tons of fun. It seems to have been the movie of choice for a lot of people last weekend, so I don't think the movie choice was that unusual. I do get the feeling that my choice for a favorite character from it is unusual. I liked Loki best. I mean, sure Thor was hot and all (and I totally expected his shirt to get strategically ripped off during one of the fight scenes, but it never happened), but his character and actions were pretty predictable. Loki was just more interesting to me. So there you go. I'd say more about it, but I don't want to spoil the plot. (No, no, stop looking at me and asking, "What plot?" I swear there was a plot there.)

On Saturday, I took my oldest two kids to see a production of Seussical. The plot was baffling (I spent a lot of time staring at the stage thinking, "huh?"), but the acting was fantastic. I didn't know it was possible for a human to move so much like a bumbling elephant. But, yeah, I'm still not sure about that plot. Since I tend to be a character person, this was a good reminder that it's important to have both strong characters and a strong plot.

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun? How is your writing going?

Finishing First

Sometimes I worry that I will never have another idea for a novel. Sometimes I have way too many story ideas. I keep telling my husband all the story ideas and finally he said, "Those are great. But why don't you finish the one you are working on first."

I know I'm not the only one who gets distracted by those Shiny New Ideas. It's hard when I'm discouraged by a revision and wonder if it's even worth finishing. But I'm going to finish this revision first. I promised. In fact, I'm going to finish it by the end of the week. It will still need some smoothing over, but the major things I plan to change will be done by Saturday night. 

I hope. 

How do you deal with those Shiny New Ideas? How do you keep working on a WIP when you're feeling discouraged about it? Any advice?

Decisions

I have been staring at the screen for about ten minutes and can't decide what to blog about. So I'm going to blog about making decisions.

I am terrible at making decisions. Going into a restaurant and looking at a menu is almost a traumatic experience for me. My mental dialogue is something along the lines of, "What do I want to eat? I don't know. Will I like this? I don't know. Oh, I like this . . . but will I like it at this restaurant? I don't know. And what about this? It might be better--I just don't know!!"

I have a sneaking suspicion that I might be overanalyzing things.

I have a story right now that I adore. At least I adore many parts of it. There are a few things that aren't working and I have to decide how to fix them. The more minor things aren't causing me that much of a problem. I can handle fixing those. There is one major thing though that I've been thinking about for a couple months.

The story has elements of a couple different fairytales that, in my mind, worked together. It's not so clear on paper, though, and I've come up with several different options:

1. I can split up the tales and make it two separate books.
2. I can split up the tales and change them a bit to make them more middle grade (it's currently YA)
3. I can try to strengthen the middle and make it a more cohesive story.
4. Cut out the first half entirely and focus on the second.
5. I can give up on it entirely.

I have decided to do most of these things at least once within the last week. So much for not second guessing myself. The thing is, I think any of these ideas would be good (except for giving up entirely). I can see it working well and picture the scenes and I like aspects of the way each of them would work out.

It doesn't make deciding any easier.

I remember a discussion I once had with and equally decisively-challenged friend on a writer's retreat. We came to the conclusions that it wasn't what was decided that was important, it was making a decision and sticking with it. Because, really, the choice between different story directions is often like choosing between spaghetti and lasagne (unless you're allergic to milk and then I don't know why you went to an Italian restaurant to begin with). Both are good options and you should choose the one you like best, not the one that you think someone else will like best.



(While typing this post, I came up with an idea that I think will solve some of my problem. I'm pretty excited about it. But, never fear, I'm sure I'll change my mind by tomorrow. Sigh. I think I need to give myself a stern talking to about sticking to my decisions.)

10 Things I Learned on Vacation

We are back from our excursion to San Diego where the weather was gorgeous, the wedding we attended was lovely, and we apparently missed out on quite a bit of snow.

I always seem to learn something new every time we travel. Here are 10 things I learned on our trip:

1. The best—and dare I say only?—color for a H3 Hummer is pink.

2. Any line that I get into will immediately stop moving.

3. The part in my hair enjoys getting sunburned and then peeling. I’d get a hat, but I come from a family of big headed people and I am no exception. Hats do not fit. Now, if only my brain was big enough to match . . .

4. If you want people to be relaxed and happy at your wedding, hire a comedy troupe to perform first.

5. Always carry food in my purse or else my 3-year old will start shouting during the wedding, “I’m hungry to death!” despite the snack he ate on the way.

6. The weather enjoys taunting me. We planned for only a couple hours at the beach. The weather was bright, clear, and sunny the entire time except for those two hours when it turned stormy.

7. Walruses, particularly the one at Sea World, are terrifyingly huge.

8. Beaches are made of sand. If you take small children to one, you will be bringing the beach back home with you. Seriously, how can so much sand attach to clothing?

9. If you’re standing on a cliff and say, “I should follow my dreams,” your dress will be ripped right off of you, but it’s okay because you’re wearing a wet suit. Or at least that’s what happened in the show at Sea World. I'm not sure I recommend that in real life.

10. Yellow yaks never yawn. At least not that we saw. Maybe you need a Yolanda for that to happen.

What about you? Did you learn anything new last week?