Mr. Darcy, Complete Bore

I think I've read my first and last modern adaptation of a Jane Austen work, Mr. Darcy, Vampyre. I picked it up for the most shallow reasons possible:  I love Pride and Prejudice and I love vampires. As I have seen with Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters and Android Karenina some mashups of old concepts with modern twists are not meant to happen.

austenprose.com

 I have so many complaints about this audio book, but this biggest one being that, it's boring. I found it very charming as Grange wrote a simplistic double wedding for Lizzie and Jane to Darcy and Bingley, respectively. In fact, I could picture in my head the sunlight streaming through the church windows, and I thought to myself, "Why isn't Darcy bursting into flames?". Once the wedding is over Elizabeth and company go on their wedding tour which takes them all over Europe visiting Darcy's VAMPIRE socialite friends, including a famous count who lives alone in a large castle, has villagers storm said castle occasionally, and cannot cast a reflection. I WONDER WHO THAT COULD BE?!

From here there are long arduous paragraphs about traveling, what the Darcys ate and how lonely Elizabeth feels because Darcy won't take her to bed and make her his wife. There is absolutely zero tension apart from an odd middle section where Darcy defeats an evil vampire of unknown origin whose mission is to BED EVERY
VAMPIRE BRIDE EVER MADE. Of course this would not do for Darcy so he comes to Elizabeth's rescue. Might I add that this "evil" vampire had made only two appearances before the final confrontation and did not pose a threat in any way that Darcy did not dispatch with a quick cane slap to the canines. BAD evil vampire! Naughty, wicked, bad villain!

The story concludes with a convenient quick and easy way for Darcy to dispatch himself of the vampire curse (SPOILERS:::: ****** true love and water******), for him to defeat the evil vampire dark lord, dispatch all the haughty socialite friends who disapprove of Elizabeth, bed his wife and return to England for more grand adventures filled with LOOOOOOOVE! Grange doesn't even add anything new to the vampire mythology except for the fact that love can defeat a vampire by giving him third degree burns to the face, vampirism can be cured, and vampire covens each have a unique thing that can harm them (crosses, garlic, sunlight) but never more than one. Nothing original is put into this adaptation, as I had hoped for.

Granted I did find the idea of Mr. Darcy as a seductive, brooding, Snape-ish if you will, vampire attractive. But...nothing happens in the novel! They go on tedious trips with tedious descriptions and meet tedious vampires and will probably go on to have boring children.

Verdict: Do not pick up. It's boring. Snooze fest. Stay away.

Try this instead, Vampire Darcy's Desire. I have no wish to repeat my experience with Amanda Grange but now I feel like I have to pick up this book out of morbid curiosity to see how well, or how badly they treat the vampire trope.

http://www.amazon.com/Vampire-Darcys-Desire-Prejudice-Adaptation/dp/1569757313

"Tormented by a 200-year-old curse and his fate as a half-human/half-vampire dhampir, Mr. Darcy vows to live forever alone rather than inflict the horrors of life as a vampire on an innocent wife. But when he comes to Netherfield Park, he meets the captivating Elizabeth Bennet. As a man, Darcy yearns for Elizabeth, but as a vampire, he is also driven to possess her. Uncontrollably drawn to each other, they are forced to confront a "pride and prejudice" never before imagined--while wrestling with the seductive power of forbidden love. Meanwhile, dark forces are at work all around them. Most ominous is the threat from George Wickham, the purveyor of the curse, a demon who vows to destroy each generation of Darcys."

Conclusion to the Vampire Saga: Vampires are Stalkers

I now present to you the last book I wrote about for my Young Adult Literature class back in the Summer of 2009. I began these posts back in August of 2010 and covered the various adolscent paradigms represented within young adult vampire literature (that ISN'T Twilight) published between 1991 and 1997. I'll relist them here.

Anderson, M. T. Thirsty. United States: Candlewick Press, 1997.

Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia. Shattered Mirror. New York: Delacorte Press, 2001.

Hauptman, Pete. Sweetblood. New York: Simon Pulse, 2003.

Marrona, Amanda. Uninvited. New York: Simon Pulse, 2007.

Rees, Douglas.Vampire High. New York: Delacorte Press, 2003.

Smith, L. J. The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening. New York:  Harcourt Press, 1991.

Of these titles, Smith's The Vampire Diaries, Atwater-Rhodes, and Rees have continuing books or have created a series around the books. The Vampire Diaries wins hands down for being the most popular series and most promoted within streams of social media. This is amplified and aided by the revamp (ouch) of the series due to fan demand, in which L. J. created another trilogy of books called "The Return". From this stemmed the TV show, "The Vampire Diaries" which is currently in its second season. By far these aren't the worst titles you can find amongst vampire young adult literature today and they all make valid points about the mythology that are both varied and unique. Throw in  a few psychological aspects such as vampirism as an allegory for adolescence and puberty, and you have a way for teens to relate to the material. I hope that you add these to your reading lists or recommend more vampire literature novels that teens (or myself) might like. I leave you, just a week or so before Halloween, with the final installment of the paper, Uninvited, which tells the story of Jordan and her recently dead boyfriend, Michael Green, who begins to exude stalker-like tendencies from beyond the grave.

                          Marrone, Amanda. Uninvited. New York:  Simon Pulse, 2007.

Jordan’s boyfriend Michael Green is the greatest thing to ever happen to her. The most popular new boy in school not only relieves her social anxiety, but also makes her feel that she matters and is loved. Unfortunately, the prospect of facing the entire student body with Michael on her arm is too much pressure for Jordan to handle, and she breaks up with him. Shortly thereafter, Michael Green is found dead and is rumored to have committed suicide. As Jordan copes with this loss through alcohol and drugs, Michael begins appearing at her bedroom window every night begging to be let in so they can be reunited. As his visits become more frequent and intense Jordan begins to suspect that her ex-boyfriend is not dead, but undead.

Uninvited is the best example of the renegotiation of power developmental task. Michael’s visits demonstrate immense power over Jordan by confining her to her bedroom. Readers should recognize the signs of stalking and abuse through Michael’s behavior: keeping Jordan constantly afraid to see her friends, meet new people, or venture out after sunset. At first, instead of confronting Michael, Jordan abuses drugs and alcohol as a means of denial and escape. However, Marrone highlights Jordan’s small victories like keeping Michael outside her window and emphasizes her transformation from victim to heroine when Michael threatens her best friend, Lisa. Ultimately, Jordan is a flawed yet appealing protagonist since she overcomes Michael’s controlling behavior, becomes sober, creates healthy relationships, and moves on.

In Uninvited, vampirism is a metaphor for suicide as well as avoiding conflicts. Both Jordan and her friend Lisa consider using vampirism to escape their problems: Jordan’s lack of self-esteem and parental guidance via absent parents and Lisa’s diagnosis of lupus. Because of the various references to unsafe sex, drug and alcohol abuse, attempted suicide, and other serious issues this book is appropriate for high school readers.



Vampires in High School Part V: Vampires are Closet Diabetics

Since I do want to try and wrap up this review of YA vampire literature in time for Halloween I'll go ahead and shuffle on in a zombie like fashion onto the fifth book of my paper, Pete Hauptman's Sweetblood. Fang you for your patience.

Hauptman, Pete. Sweetblood. New York: Simon Pulse, 2003.

16-year-old Lucinda Szabo has several identities: she is neither Goth, nor punk, but something. To her parents and teachers she is Lucy, to her friend Matt she is Skeeter, and to the online Transylvania chat room she frequently roams looking for “real” vampires she is known as Sweetblood. The catalyst of Lucy’s search for “a real vampire” is a paper she writes for class explaining her theory that vampires are actually diabetics suffering from a dangerous lack of insulin. As her search progresses, Lucy becomes less focused on school and her diabetes and more focused on exploring the vampire culture in her neighborhood which is filled with geographical references to Dracula: Seward High, Harker College, and Carfax Apartments.

Sweetblood is appropriate for middle and high school readers as there is very little sexuality but some instances of underage drinking. The presence of vampires here is more metaphorical and theoretical than fantastical. Outside the Transylvania chat room Lucy meets Wayne, who enjoys the guise of a vampire but does not believe they exist. Several of Lucy’s friends also participate in the goth culture but the book never reveals anyone to be a vampire.

Teens will relate to Lucy’s character who is not only trying to establish an identity for herself. Her screen name is significant because it defines her fascination with vampires and her diabetes, both important aspects of her identity. Lucy is a relatable character because she makes very immature decisions throughout the book that endanger her health and have serious consequences. In addition, Lucy’s rebellious attitude towards concerned adult figures such as her teachers, parents, and psychologist is readily identifiable to young adults. Hauptman’s metaphor for learning and growing during adolescence is portrayed through a monarch butterfly chrysalis which is given to Lucy her love interest, Dylan. Sweetblood is very character driven and relies on the interactions between the characters to show that Lucy is not alone as she believes she is.

Vampires in High School - Part IV

Not a huge introduction required for this book. This was by far one of my favorites to write about firstly because the protagonist is male and secondly because the book takes a fresh look at a teen boy's struggle not only to fit in at a school where he is the only human but also to befriend vampires and pull himself out of the spiral of mischevious behevaior he's been absorbed in. Rees brings a fresh, new look to vampires in high school. Think of Buffy if instead she befriended all the vampires and they attended high school together. Be sure to look for the sequel, Vampire High: Sophomore Year.

Rees, Douglas. Vampire High. New York: Delacorte Press, 2003.


Douglas Rees’ Vampire High is also set in Massachusetts in a world where vampires and humans co-exist but are segregated with their own stores, movie theatres, and school systems. After flunking out of public school fifteen-year-old Cody Elliot is sent to Vlad Dracul Magnet School in the hopes that a more prestigious and strict environment will curb his apathy and force him to graduate. However, on the first day of class Cody discovers that the majority of the students at Vlad Dracul are vampires.

Rees’ take on the vampires is both innovative and fresh. He creates his own terminology to differentiate between vampires, jenti, and humans, gadge, and also uses “Bram” and “Stoker” as insults. His additional vampire conventions also vary widely from most familiar conventions: vampires can eat human food and garlic, walk in the daylight, wear crosses, get sick, have children, and die. There are elements of romance between Cody and Ileana, a vampire princess, but Rees relies more on humor to entice the reader. One neat addition to this book absent from other vampire literature is a shape shifting librarian with perfect reader advisory skills.

The developmental task present in this book is renegotiating power among peer groups and adult figures. Cody must cope with a domineering principal as well as differing peer groups who refuse to interact. By keeping vampire and humans segregated at Vlad Dracul Rees illustrates how cliques may form with intimidating and harmful consequences, such as bullying. Cody serves as the bridge between the jenti and the gadge by selflessly donating blood to help his friend Justin, and also pursuing a vampire romantically. Cody’s desires to be with a girl, make friends, and have a reason to work hard and graduate are relatable desires for young adults. Vampire High is an excellent example of a light-hearted book about vampires and humans and is appropriate and appealing to both middle and high school readers.

When you fall in love with the undead - Part 3

Personally, I am a huge fan of Amelia Atwater-Rhodes ever since reading her first vampire novel, the second books of her Den of Shadows quartet, Demon in My View. Even from a young age of 14 she had published her first novel, In the Forests of the Night and her talent and prowess as a young adult, supernatural novelist has steadily exceeded since. This book is the third of the Den of Shadows quartet and follows a teen witch through high school as she battles her family's issues, her craft, as well as two vampire brothers who have suddenly shown up and begun to shake up her life.

This book falls under the second category of Overstreet's developmental tasks for adolescents within her
allegory of vampirism:  renegotiating relationships and power dynamics between teens, parents, and peer groups.

Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia. Shattered Mirror. New York: Delacorte Press, 2001.

Sarah Tigress Vida is a seventeen-year-old immersed in power, including magic from the Vida bloodline of witches, physical training as a vampire hunter, and the power of her overbearing mother, Dominique Vida. After a recent move to Acton, Massachusetts Sarah begrudgingly attends high school with vampires and finds herself befriending vampire siblings, Christopher and Nissa. By night she attends vampire “bashes” undercover to hunt the powerful vampire Nikolas, who murdered her ancestor. Soon Sarah discovers a connection between Christopher, Nissa, and Nikolas that will jeopardize her title as a witch, her family, and her life.

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes creates a brilliantly crafted world where vampires, witches, and other supernatural creatures are ruled by prejudiced beliefs. The idea of tradition is very strong within the story through Sarah’s character. She learns through her friendships with vampires, who she has been conditioned to despise and destroy, that perhaps they are not all murdering and soulless, but former humans capable of love and mercy. Her world view changes from being dualistically black and white to include shades of grey. This metaphor is emphasized through Nikolas, whose character, clothes, and home are illustrated in stark black and white.

The relationship between Sarah and her mother is another important part of the plot as well. Throughout the novel Sarah begins defying her mother’s authority through menial but astonishing acts like befriending vampires, attending a Halloween dance at school over a Samhain ritual, and developing feelings for the vampire, Christopher. Sarah’s defiance in order to enjoy normal teenage activities is important in the development of her own identity aside from her family and her vampire hunting renown. Shattered Mirror is appropriate for upper middle and high school readers as it contains several instances of violence. The sub-plot of romance and high level fantasy world will appeal to reluctant readers and appease vampire literature fans.

Look for the sequel to Shattered Mirror, called All Just Glass. You can find a preview and a description of the text here.

Growing Pains: Adolescents turning into Vampires

The second installment of the vampire paper I wrote last summer discusses M. T. Anderson's Thirsty, which chronicles Chris' difficult transition through adolescence, into vampirism.

Anderson, M. T. Thirsty. United States: Candlewick Press, 1997.

Anderson’s book takes place in an alternate universe, Clayton, Massachusetts, where humans exist alongside vampires, changelings, and shape shifters and arm themselves against the Forces of Darkness. The highlights in this small town are vampire lynches and the Sad Festival of Vampires, where the town conducts blood rituals to prevent an attack by the evil vampire lord, Tch’muchgar. The story’s protagonist, Christopher, is in high school and on the cusp of puberty. When an agent from the Forces of Light, Chet, comes to recruit Christopher or a secret mission, he can no longer ignore the fact that he might be turning into a vampire.

As the book progresses Christopher becomes more isolated as his transformation into a vampire becomes more apparent. This isolation represents how young adults may feel as they face puberty. Peer pressure is visible when Christopher is approached by a group of local vampire teenagers, who shun him when he refuses to take a human life and sate his bloodlust. Christopher’s only friends, Jerk and Tom, become distant and Christopher’s attempts to woo Rebecca Schwartz are inhibited by his massive canines, perhaps a metaphor for another uncontrollable physical response to girls in male teens.

In Anderson’s world vampirism is treated as a curse that can afflict anyone as early as birth. The allegory of vampirism representing adolescence is very apparent here as Christopher longs for someone to talk to about the overwhelming thirst and blinding rage he experiences. With no one to guide him Christopher becomes a very lost and sympathetic character. Readers will empathize with a young adult’s need for guidance as well as an adult figure they can trust, which Christopher attempts to find in Chet. The pace of the book is fairly slow, but a climactic buildup leads to a twist ending which will leave an impact on the reader. Thirsty contains some instances of violence and is appropriate for middle school readers.

Suddenly Last Summer - In which I wrote a paper about vampires.

To jump right into discussing popular theories about vampire literature and why it appeals to young adults, I bring to my defense my term paper for Deb Taylor's 2008 Young Adult Literature class. The final examination for this course was to pick a topic about young adult literature, flush it out, and find at least six - eight books to support your topic. You could write this paper in the style of a collection of book reviews or in the style of an analytical research paper. Being that it was the summer I chose the former option. My library school friend, April, chose "Hope in Suicide" for her paper topic a year later and read books such as Jay Asher's "13 Reasons Why" and Laurie Halse Andersen's "Wintergirls". I'll have more to say on that later, but this is just to give you an example. Another girl on my class did a presentation of books about boarding schools. Come to think of it, I just now thought of a trend in titles that I should probably elaborate on, which is the triptych of seemingly unrelated aspects of a character's life. For example Louise Rennison's "Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging", Carolyn Mackler's "The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things", Robin Brande's "Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature", etc.

But I digress...or rather, that is not the subject for this week's post.

I'll post the introduction to the paper and then refresh each point as it relates to the particular vampire book I'm reviewing, which will be posted in chronological order.

The first book up this week is L. J. Smith's first installment to her now epic 8 book series and CW series, "The Vampire Diaries". L. J. Smith began this series of books in 1991. At the insistence of her fans she "concluded" the series with the fourth installment, Volume IV: Dark Reunion. After the success of Twilight there was more fan demand to resurrect the series. And thus The Vampire Diaries: The Return was born. I do not believe the Television Series follows the books very closely, mostly because the main character is from Degrassi and looks nothing like the Elena described in the books.

Without further adieu, the appeal of vampire literature is relevant to young adults because of a theory upheld by literary scholars equating vampirism as an allegory for adolescence and puberty (De Marco 26). Considering the appeal of vampire literature to young adults and the appropriateness of the adolescence allegory, the focus of the stories accumulated for this bibliography discuss vampires in high school.

In her book Not Your Mother’s Vampire, Deborah Wilson Overstreet expands the allegory of adolescence and vampirism to include three categories which discuss developmental tasks adolescents must face and tally how often they appear in vampire literature for young adults. The first task is physical body changes during puberty and the search for identity, the second task is renegotiating relationships and power dynamics between teens, parents, and peer groups, and the third task is increasing sexuality and interest in pursuing romantic relationships (Overstreet 14-15).

Smith, L.J. The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening. New York: Harper Court, 1991.

Elena Gilbert’s diary entries help chronicle the beginning of her senior year at Robert E. Lee High School, beginning with the sudden death of her parents. When a mysterious Italian student named Stefan starts attending her school, Elena is determined to win his heart. Following Stefan’s arrival is a sudden spike of sporadic attacks where people are mutilated, seemingly by an animal. As the only vampire in town, Stefan cannot help but blame himself for these attacks though he cannot remember committing them. Isolating himself from his classmates and shunning Elena’s advances only increases her desire to pursue him, even at the risk of her life.

The Vampire Diaries fulfills the third developmental characteristic of developing romantic relationships and recognizing sexuality. The romantic pursuit and obtainment of a relationship between Stefan and Elena is the main focus of this book, the first in an ongoing series of seven. Foreshadowing is very prominent, even occurring from the first line, “Dear Diary, Something awful is going to happen today.” Smith uses a particular convention of vampirism as a metaphor for sex, illustrated through her intimate description of Stefan’s creation into a vampire, as well as his consensual exchange of blood with Elena.

Readers who love plot-driven series will be drawn to The Vampire Diaries as well as through the implied love triangle between Elena, Stefan, and his brother, Damon. Similar to Atwater-Rhodes’ vampires, Damon and Stefan Salvatore are described with opposite personalities: the former is the irreprehensible bad boy, and the latter is the sensitive, sympathetic vampire. Elena is a very weak heroine and portrayed as selfish, manipulative, and conniving. The rest of the cast embodies typical personality archetypes with strong secondary characters. The book’s appropriateness leans more toward upper middle school readers because of violent vampire attacks and the implied sexuality through the exchange of blood.

Supernatural Teenage Love

It's not enough for teenagers now to fall in love with normal, adolescent boys and girls. Not that this is a new thing but I've noticed a trend in Young Adult Literature where a girl falls in love with a supernatural being or vice versa. Libba Bray has a very nice exception in her Printz Award winning book, Going Bovine, where the main character falls in love with a punk rock angel who seems to be everywhere at once. In this instance, she doesn't seem to be used as a romantic trope but rather as an integral part of the Monty Python-esque nonsensical setting of the protagonist's, Cameron, quest including a neurotic, germophobic dwarf, and a Norse God trapped in the body of a yard gnome. Think of her as the Tin Man of "We're off to see the Wizard", only warped.

Young adult literature is expanding now from falling in love with just vampires. The most recent, but by no means groundbreaking, supernatural creatures to come onto the scene are werewolves and pixies.

Case in point:  "Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. In all the years she has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house, Grace has been particularly drawn to an unusual yellow-eyed wolf who, in his turn, has been watching her with increasing intensity."

"For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human... until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever."

I wouldn't describe the quality of this book as "fantastic" by any means. The writing style certainly draws you in and absent parents help Grace and Sam's relationship develop to nearly that of an adult level, at least intimately. There's a voyeuristic quality to their relationship as well as the need to save each other from constant dangers of wolves and from each other. Sam is very much a tortured soul having saved Grace once from being attacked by wolves when she was a child, and having to undergo his inconvenient transformations into a werewolf. On the bright side there's a strong heroine in this book, but she needs a few more friends.

I've just found out that not only has this book's rights been published to be turned into a film, but also that it's part of a trilogy continuing with Linger and concluding with Forever. For some reason this bring to mind not only Stephenie Meyer but also L. J. Smith's 8 books dedicated to the love between a girl and two vampire brothers. I'm not sure why these books need to be supported by a series. Perhaps the story really does need to be continued into 8 books (in Smith's case).

Carrie Jones' series, beginning with Need (the second book is pictured here), tells the story of Zara White. Zara suffers a traumatic event involving her parents, moves to a desolate northern state to live with a relative, goes to high school, becomes instantly popular, and discovers that she's in love with a boy who may or may not be a supernatural being. Stop me if this sounds familiar. I may sound a bit harsh here, but upon reading Need, Jones does work with the mold of a very overdone concept and take it to a completely new level involving....wait for it...PIXIES! (Oh, and werewolves or "shifters" as they're referred to in this series). Also a captivating series (mind the pun), I began reading it with no expectations. By the time I recognized the plot points I was too far in to put it down. I've made it through Captivate and am awaiting the third installment soon. Zara's biggest conflict is protecting her loved ones from pixies while trying to have a healthy relationship with her werewolf boyfriend who can't help but resent her a little bit for having ties with pixies, who are his immortal enemies. A big change comes in Captivate, fairly similar to a big change in Twilight: Breaking Dawn so we'll see how it ends.

Now that we're on the subject, why does the transformation from human to supernatural/mythical being have to be triggered by physical contact that's highly sexual? The transformation into a werewolf involve genetics or being bitten, vampires involve a ceremony which centers from being bitten and exchanging blood, and according to Jones' mythology, becoming a pixie happens when one is kissed, a process which they might not survive or at the very least be turned insane by. I just want to know what other people's thoughts are on this topic as it relates to enticing new young adult readers. I'm beginning to wonder if books on normal, human love are not enough for audiences anymore and that one must thrust themselves into universes of fantasy in order to be captivated by the simple story of one person falling in love with another. The fact that these are unobtainable relationships, because werewolves, pixies, fae, and vampires don't exist is what perhaps give young adult readers hope that they are more likely to find a normal relationship.

Recent Read

Having been an avid fan of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter Series I never hesitated to pick up and read her newest installments even in spite of the fact that I believe the series is taking a serious downturn by becoming more involved in metaphysical relations with several men at once and less on Anita's abilities to function independently as a necromancer. That aside I picked up Flirt at 11:30 pm and by 1 am I was finished. Laurell definitely has a gift for storytelling in that it's nearly impossible to stop reading her books because you're so eager to see what happens next.

The best part about Flirt wasn't the story, although that was good too. The best part was the after notes where Laurell explains not only her writing process for the entire book (why she stopped writing Divine Misdemeanors to bang this one out, what music she listened to, etc), but she also gives the inspiration for the story and the names of everyone involved. According to her Flirt was inspired by one scene which took place in real life while she and her husband, Jonathan, were visiting with THE Jennie Breeden, creator of the web comic "The Devil's Panties", and her husband. The four of them were at a restaurant and Jennie's husband accidentally began flirting with the waiter, which made Laurell wants to find out if the waiter responded to women as well. The result was a funny series of strips in the Devil's Panties web-comic as well as a familiar scene unfolding within Flirt. In the web-comic, Laurell makes a joke about putting the scene in one of the books. To see this amount of intimacy where a writer exposes part of her writing process and inspiration to the reader makes the reader really feel as if he/she is part of the author's world if only for a few minutes, as they recall their own misadventures in flirting.


On a bit of a downside, I did finally finish the loosely based trilogy penned by Lois Lowry: The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger. I have to say I was wholly disappointed with the final installment, especially with the ending. There were some loose ends tied up and some left untied. The narration did not seem to flow as well as the previous two books and I felt less invested in the characters and more interested in where the plot twist would be appearing. You're left disappointed. Stop at Gathering Blue and you'll get a good sense of fulfillment if not closure.