Monday, November 15, 2010
Introduction
Hey everyone! I'm a new blogger here, since my home base is usually livejournal. But I've recently come upon this site and I really want to extend my life rants here! Haha, I'm trying to become mroe open and clear minded when writing, and any writing opportunity to practice it and then be able to look back and read over it to improve myself will help me become a better writer. I don't ever intend on writing professionally, but it is an asset that I would love to have.
Touched Review
The following is my long intense review that I gave for Julia Dwi Fitri's original online novel, Touched. It's the review I gave her, so I'm sure you can find this on her tumblr, her facebook page, and more. You can find the story here: leahcurrantouched.blogspot.com/
What is there left to say? After reading the very first words of Touched (with title subject to change), I was blasted in the face with all the descriptions of… everything. And I mean that in the best, most awe inspiring way possible. The first person point of view fits this type of plot down to every fiber of being and the insight we see into the main character, Leah, is just astounding. We see her every important thought (that is given to us as readers, at least) so we get to see her one of a kind character. And Leah is not someone that can be passed by – her snarky dialogue and kick ass attitude make her very fun to read.
My favorite part? The way the story sucks you in the very first moment, literally. There was no warming up. The instantaneous feeling of being there the very moment you started reading it was so disconcerting that it felt good. That “different” was there in the preface and it’ll be hard to say that it’s not a great way to grab a reader in:
I blinked.
And the world blinked back at me.
To my eyes, the sky was a whirl of black dust and gray smoke with linings of luminescent red. I imagined that was how the sky should look…in hell.
So, besides the awesome way everything is descriptive and enrapturing, the second thing that I find very very very amazing is the character development. I haven’t seen much as of now, seeing only the very faint traces of development in the plot, but what I’ve seen so far is so good that I sometimes wonder why this is put up for free. We have Leah, whose quick thinking, fast acting, self-reliable, strong willed personality make her into a great role model. Save, perhaps, her precarious predicament, I’d love to be able to be what she is, which is totally what I am most definitely not. We always dream for what we don’t have!
And when other characters get introduced, the tension that unfolds is so thick for them, but like holy air for us. One word. Gabe. Oh my freaking god. Could anyone possibly imagine a better best boy-but-not-maybe-almost-friend? It’s like they’re lovers without actually being lovers but on the verge of being lovers and we see them acting like lovers but they’re not lovers so we’re dying to see them become lovers but it’s not happening so we die for more scraps of any development of them maybe becoming lovers. If Leah doesn’t want this amazingly considerate (if not a bit bossy and I-fly-solo guy) best friend, I’d gladly take him. Gabe is an amazing friend, but it is easy to sense a sort of mysteriousness about him that makes readers feel uneasy, especially since we know next to nothing about this guy. Fishy, fishy. His parents are never home, he goes AWOL all the time, he brings home girls – oh wait, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Ha, maybe Leah could start getting an idea about things. Gabe has so much potential to being fleshed into a deep character that readers would hate to part with. It’s definitely worth the wait to see how it turns out.
And among other characters are the family, the Triplets, Aunt Maggie (I like this name, haha), and Uncle Jim. Now there is a family that I would love to live with for a day. The Triplets do the crazy we-are-like-one-but-not-really sort of thing with their unique talents and total teamwork, Aunt Maggie is such a great motherly figure, and Uncle Jim is my hero with his job as a graphic novelist/incognito bad ass fighter. I’m imagining growing up in that sort of environment, and I’m imagining every day as an excitement. You’d never find a boring day with them, that’s for sure!
The actual plot of the story, or what’s seen of it so far, is just so unique, and it appeals to me in a way no other story has. The whole Angel Touched, Demon Touched, special skills concept was interesting, but then we hit the jackpot with Leah actually learning more about the overarching problem, now, that was the best part. Being a nonreligious person myself, the whole concept of religion as the perspective of each person really draws me in. The whole crew of Angel Touched that we’ve met so far each has their own distinct personalities that make them all loveable and hate-loveable at the same time, which tears me apart trying to know more about them and their interesting interactions.
My favorite parts of this story? The character developments and the plot, for sure. Each character is so unique and so interesting in its own right and with them interwoven into the plot, the story is a for sure to read.
What is there left to say? After reading the very first words of Touched (with title subject to change), I was blasted in the face with all the descriptions of… everything. And I mean that in the best, most awe inspiring way possible. The first person point of view fits this type of plot down to every fiber of being and the insight we see into the main character, Leah, is just astounding. We see her every important thought (that is given to us as readers, at least) so we get to see her one of a kind character. And Leah is not someone that can be passed by – her snarky dialogue and kick ass attitude make her very fun to read.
My favorite part? The way the story sucks you in the very first moment, literally. There was no warming up. The instantaneous feeling of being there the very moment you started reading it was so disconcerting that it felt good. That “different” was there in the preface and it’ll be hard to say that it’s not a great way to grab a reader in:
I blinked.
And the world blinked back at me.
To my eyes, the sky was a whirl of black dust and gray smoke with linings of luminescent red. I imagined that was how the sky should look…in hell.
So, besides the awesome way everything is descriptive and enrapturing, the second thing that I find very very very amazing is the character development. I haven’t seen much as of now, seeing only the very faint traces of development in the plot, but what I’ve seen so far is so good that I sometimes wonder why this is put up for free. We have Leah, whose quick thinking, fast acting, self-reliable, strong willed personality make her into a great role model. Save, perhaps, her precarious predicament, I’d love to be able to be what she is, which is totally what I am most definitely not. We always dream for what we don’t have!
And when other characters get introduced, the tension that unfolds is so thick for them, but like holy air for us. One word. Gabe. Oh my freaking god. Could anyone possibly imagine a better best boy-but-not-maybe-almost-friend? It’s like they’re lovers without actually being lovers but on the verge of being lovers and we see them acting like lovers but they’re not lovers so we’re dying to see them become lovers but it’s not happening so we die for more scraps of any development of them maybe becoming lovers. If Leah doesn’t want this amazingly considerate (if not a bit bossy and I-fly-solo guy) best friend, I’d gladly take him. Gabe is an amazing friend, but it is easy to sense a sort of mysteriousness about him that makes readers feel uneasy, especially since we know next to nothing about this guy. Fishy, fishy. His parents are never home, he goes AWOL all the time, he brings home girls – oh wait, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Ha, maybe Leah could start getting an idea about things. Gabe has so much potential to being fleshed into a deep character that readers would hate to part with. It’s definitely worth the wait to see how it turns out.
And among other characters are the family, the Triplets, Aunt Maggie (I like this name, haha), and Uncle Jim. Now there is a family that I would love to live with for a day. The Triplets do the crazy we-are-like-one-but-not-really sort of thing with their unique talents and total teamwork, Aunt Maggie is such a great motherly figure, and Uncle Jim is my hero with his job as a graphic novelist/incognito bad ass fighter. I’m imagining growing up in that sort of environment, and I’m imagining every day as an excitement. You’d never find a boring day with them, that’s for sure!
The actual plot of the story, or what’s seen of it so far, is just so unique, and it appeals to me in a way no other story has. The whole Angel Touched, Demon Touched, special skills concept was interesting, but then we hit the jackpot with Leah actually learning more about the overarching problem, now, that was the best part. Being a nonreligious person myself, the whole concept of religion as the perspective of each person really draws me in. The whole crew of Angel Touched that we’ve met so far each has their own distinct personalities that make them all loveable and hate-loveable at the same time, which tears me apart trying to know more about them and their interesting interactions.
My favorite parts of this story? The character developments and the plot, for sure. Each character is so unique and so interesting in its own right and with them interwoven into the plot, the story is a for sure to read.
LIFE
Ok, recently I've indulged myself even with school crunch going on by reading amazing books. I'm going to die due to overworking, even at such a young age, and it's all going to be my own fault, coupled with IB.
YES, IB. International Baccalaureate. Last week was ok, but prep for this week made it terrible. I had my Math IA due today, and I don't take IB math standard level (since I'm a junior) so I had to work through it without class/teacher guidance. I take Calc 2/3, way to go non-IB! Tomorrow I have to turn in my Statement of Intent for my IOP in English, and I have to still finish the book: Death of a Salesman. My friend is a total know-it-all braggart and told me that her topic is going to be about "remote places, and how they develop characterization in this play." And I'm stuck doing something generic. To make it worse, our English teacher, while amazingly brilliant at teaching and an amazing person, picks favorites so our grades kind of...reflect that.
Meanwhile, I have to study for physics, and my EE topic for IB is due this Friday and I have to make up the research log that should've been slowly filling up this past month. Sheesh, my life would be so much easier without IB!! To make it worse, I have to work on my science fair project that's due in the upcoming weeks because I'm collecting data on algae growth due to various pollutants. It's being measured at a local research institution with thousand dollar equipment; yay...
The whole distraction thing isn't working out, either. I'm growing ADHD, I swear, since I can't concentrate and I always start doing other things, like typing this up when I should be finishing up Salesman and writing my Statement of Intent. It's 10 PM exactly and I still have to work on stuff. A LOT of stuff.
I've been reading a lot of books lately, of which I wish I could review here if I had the time. I recently wrote a recc for an online friend of mine who is aspiring to be a published writer, but she lives in Indonesia where these opportunities aren't as open. Check out her original story called Touched here: leahcurrantouched.blogspot.com/ It's quite an amazing read, and you can find my recc in an upcoming post. It's grand, spectacular, and all around amazing. Um, other than that, I've gotten around to amassing a pile of books, all ready to be reviewed/read... so I guess, when Thanksgiving break rolls around next Wednesday, I can get something on.
YES, IB. International Baccalaureate. Last week was ok, but prep for this week made it terrible. I had my Math IA due today, and I don't take IB math standard level (since I'm a junior) so I had to work through it without class/teacher guidance. I take Calc 2/3, way to go non-IB! Tomorrow I have to turn in my Statement of Intent for my IOP in English, and I have to still finish the book: Death of a Salesman. My friend is a total know-it-all braggart and told me that her topic is going to be about "remote places, and how they develop characterization in this play." And I'm stuck doing something generic. To make it worse, our English teacher, while amazingly brilliant at teaching and an amazing person, picks favorites so our grades kind of...reflect that.
Meanwhile, I have to study for physics, and my EE topic for IB is due this Friday and I have to make up the research log that should've been slowly filling up this past month. Sheesh, my life would be so much easier without IB!! To make it worse, I have to work on my science fair project that's due in the upcoming weeks because I'm collecting data on algae growth due to various pollutants. It's being measured at a local research institution with thousand dollar equipment; yay...
The whole distraction thing isn't working out, either. I'm growing ADHD, I swear, since I can't concentrate and I always start doing other things, like typing this up when I should be finishing up Salesman and writing my Statement of Intent. It's 10 PM exactly and I still have to work on stuff. A LOT of stuff.
I've been reading a lot of books lately, of which I wish I could review here if I had the time. I recently wrote a recc for an online friend of mine who is aspiring to be a published writer, but she lives in Indonesia where these opportunities aren't as open. Check out her original story called Touched here: leahcurrantouched.blogspot.com/ It's quite an amazing read, and you can find my recc in an upcoming post. It's grand, spectacular, and all around amazing. Um, other than that, I've gotten around to amassing a pile of books, all ready to be reviewed/read... so I guess, when Thanksgiving break rolls around next Wednesday, I can get something on.
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