Review: The Anatomy of Curiosity (The Curiosities #2) by Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, and Brenna Yovanoff

First, I have to say thank you to the publisher, Carolrhoda Books and Lerner Publishing, for sending me an ARC of this when I emailed and requested it last spring.  At first I was feeling bad that I didn't get to it until right before it was going to be published.  But as I have been starting to prepare for NaNoWriMo, reading this at the same time was really helpful!  The writing tips that each author gave either with their stories, or in the in-between sections when they'd all chime in on some writing topic, were very useful and gave me definite clues on how to work on my writing this year.  While the first Curiosities book, had more stories in it, and this one only has three, one from each author, the stories are longer, and the way they are done is more helpful in seeing the process of writing.  Each of the authors chooses one aspect of writing that they feel they are the most comfortable with to talk about with their story.  And I definitely agreed with them for the most part, based on their books that I have read.

The first story in this book is one by Stiefvater.  Stiefvater's aspect is characters.  And as I end up loving all of her books because of the wonderful characters, usually as my favorite part, I will definitely agree that she is very strong with this.  Her story is about an old woman, who is something more than an old woman, something dangerous maybe.  The other main character is a teen girl who has been asked to go sit and read to the old woman, that it will make her happy.  Her daughters ask her to do this.  There is something strange about the whole situation, but the girl, Petra, feels very comfortable with the woman, Geraldine.  While Petra tries at times to figure out Geraldine's secrets, they stay pretty well hidden.  Until one day when there is another person in Geraldine's home, a boy, one that doesn't look a lot older than Petra, but still is a little older.  Petra has no idea why this boy is there.  He is just sitting by the door every times she shows up. Soon enough his presence will lead to secrets being blown out into the open, and Petra will learn about who she really is.  Stiefvater goes on to point out parts in the story and how they add to the character, and she will mention at those points what things could be done differently, and sometimes why she doesn't do them that way.  I'm so excited to try out some of her tips while I write my story this November. 

The second story is all about world building, and the expert this time is Tessa Gratton.  If you have read any of her books, I think you will definitely agree with this.  Especially her United States of Asgard books.  In fact, I'm hesitant to read Riordan's new book because of how much I loved the world Gratton built using the same types of myths.  Gratton's story has to do with a kind of alternate world where magic exists.  In this world there has been a war, and the terrorists are able to set up bombs using magic.  The world is so different from ours.  In one of the main character's worlds woman are in charge.  This is the world of Rafel.  He is in the military, and gets sent out to help find and defuse these magical bombs, and each person must work with one of the magic people of a tribe that lives in between the warring lands, and the person he gets matched up with is Aniv.  It is the women in Aniv's culture that have the magic and are able to do the defusing.  After working together, Rafel begins to have feelings for Aniv.  But Aniv has more of a secret, one that may change the way Rafel looks at her and change his world.  A beautiful world created here by Gratton, but I do have to point out that she also creates great characters.  One thing she does talk about with her characters in the little tips she puts throughout the story is how they will help promote the theme and build the world.  While I'm still a little unsure how to come up with such vivid worlds, I have some ideas now on how to use the other parts of my writing to help develop the world.

The final story is from Brenna Yovanoff.  She talks about ideas.  What to do with them?  How do her ideas start?  Are they the same in the final story?  Her section is done a little differently from the first two.  She doesn't just write the story and give us tips along the way.  There is a story, and it does have tips along the way, but she also does some different bits at the beginning.  Gratton talks about how something that happened to her when she was young has always kind of rolled around in her brain giving ideas about possible stories.  She shared an original type of story written about this experience, and throughout it pointed out things that she had changed and why or how she had changed them. Then we get the more final copy of the story, and after that she points out how the things were changed between the two, and why she feels the changes worked.  I feel Yovanoff's part may not have had some of the more solid tips about how to write specifically.  But, that doesn't mean her part was any less useful.  Reading how she went through the realization of an idea from start to finally getting it into the story, and all the different steps in between, that is very helpful.  Seeing her talk about how parts, big parts, were just completely tossed out and changed as she went through this story definitely helped me when I'm writing to know that I need to just get things down, and go back and then fix the things that don't work.  And that it's okay if parts don't work, that doesn't mean the whole story is bad and has to be thrown out. 

Such a great book for anyone who wants help with their writing or maybe gets what they feel is writer's block.  I will be sharing it with all my friends who are writers, as well as with students at my school who are writers themselves.

Waiting on Wednesday - The Strange Maid (The United States of Asgard #2) by Tessa Gratton

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.  The book I've chosen this week I didn't think I'd chosen yet, I hope not, so if I did, then here is a reminder about how much I'm waiting for it!  It is the sequel to The Lost Sun, a book that I really liked how it portrayed the United States if history had been a bit different in who found and started it (and if the Norse gods really existed).  And I think I just got an e-galley of this from Edelweiss!  Let me warn you that once again, I'm not a big fan of the cover.  Here is the blurb from Goodreads.com:

Fans of Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, and Maggie Stiefvater will embrace the richly drawn, Norse-influenced alternate world of the United States of Asgard, where cell phones, rock bands, and evangelical preachers coexist with dragon slaying, rune casting, and sword training in schools. Where the president runs the country alongside a council of Valkyries, gods walk the red carpet with Hollywood starlets, and the U.S. military has a special battalion dedicated to eradicating Rocky Mountain trolls.
Signy Valborn was seven years old when she climbed the New World Tree and met Odin Alfather, who declared that if she could solve a single riddle, he would make her one of his Valkyrie. For ten years Signy has trained in the arts of war, politics, and leadership, never dreaming that a Greater Mountain Troll might hold the answer to the riddle, but that’s exactly what Ned the Spiritless promises her. A mysterious troll hunter who talks in riddles and ancient poetry, Ned is a hard man to trust. Unfortunately, Signy is running out of time. Accompanied by an outcast berserker named Soren Bearstar, she and Ned take off across the ice sheets of Canadia to hunt the mother of trolls and claim Signy’s destiny.

I'm such a huge fan of this author, I even got to host her during the Authors are Rock Stars Blog Hop last year.  You can go read my interview with her HERE.  So what book are you eagerly awaiting this week?

The Lost Sun (The United States of Asgard #1) by Tessa Gratton

First, let me say that I got this ARC for free at the RT Convention Teen Day party at the beginning of May.  And second, let me say that if you are looking for an original teen book, I think this fits the bill.  Now, this book is quite a change from the other books I've read by this author, Blood Magic, and The Blood Keeper. While those were pretty much about magic, as you'd guess from their titles, this book is about viking mythology.  With the new Viking show on the History channel, that I hear is pretty good, this is the right time to bring out a book like this.
The main character is Soren Bearskin, and he was born to be a berserker like his father.  His father is famous for when he berserked in a crowded mall.  Soren doesn't know what set him off, and never will, because his father immediately ran into the guns of the police that were there when it happened and died.  So Soren tries to do what he can to keep the beserking from ever actually taking hold in himself.  Exercises, meditation, etc.  Even though he is now marked with a tattoo on his face so that everyone knows who he may become, he still wants to fight it.  A new girl comes to his boarding school, her name is Astrid Glyn and she is able to see the future, thanks to her gift from the goddess Freya.  And for some reason, she immediately connects with Soren.  Tragedy strikes their country when Baldur the beautiful, one of their gods, does not resurrect from his ashes as he is supposed to do every year.  But Astrid has a feeling, actually a dream that night, that made her believe he is alive somewhere.  And when the scientists find the evidence that those ashes were not Baldur's, a search begins.  And so Astrid takes Soren with her, to help ground her as she seeks the lost god.
I loved the take on this country that is basically America, but I'm guessing it is a bit of history retold, with the Vikings settling here and being more of the majority of people.  The names and sayings that are changed to fit the theme.  For example, the days of the week named after their gods, Tyrsday, Thorsday, Freyasday.  Instead of English, it is called Anglish.  And the names of places, South Lakota, Kansa, the White Hall instead of the White House.  Some of these were so clever I chuckled to myself as I read them.  There was even Christianity snuck in to the story/society in what was a very believable way in my opinion.  But along with the basic changes, there were still magical things.  The berserking, and future telling, and the fact that the gods were kind of real people, as well as that there are trolls in this world, those things kept it a magical new type of place to be, and kept the story interesting.
The only thing I kind of didn't like, is something I will agree with others on Goodreads about.  The cover.  I'm not a fan.  I'd rather see it more like the author's other cover for The Blood Keeper.  Maybe some kind of viking symbol or something.  But hey, the cover isn't horrible, just not what I'd pick first.  And even though I saw the author at the RT Convention, and got my book signed, I don't have a picture from then.  So I'll just share the picture of the autograph.