Mundie Moms

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Reason #101 Why I Love Cassie!

Early this week there was a firestorm over the reasoning why behind Tessa's win the Heronine Tournament vs Katniss. I'm not going to post links, but the girls who run YA Sisterhood, who created the tournament even came out and posted about it, which is sad that drama was caused over something that's supposed to be fun (yes I would have said that regardless of the outcome of that tournament).

Tonight while reading through Twitter I found a Q&A from Cassie via Tumblr and I just wanted to share what the question was and Cassie's well written response.

I noticed that more fans (based on the comments section anyway), voted for your "heroines" not because of the qualities they possess that actually might make them heroines, but because they like the one male character over another. Or because they want to see a kissing scene from one boy's point of view over another. Kinda cheapens the whole, "Clary's a true heroine" thing, doesn't it? Next time, maybe offer an incentive that's actually about the heroine, and not her boyfriend, SVP.

If that’s the case, perhaps you’d like to explain to me why Clary (who won the tournament) also got the most votes in the nominations round of the tournament when no incentive, spoilers, or free content was offered? Is it really all that much of a shock that the character that won more nominations that any other character when nominations were opened went on to win the tournament? If you look at the order of the nominations, they play out almost exactly how the tournament played out, incentives or not.

As for the rest — “heroines”? Yes, they are. Because of that, the books are primarily told from their points of view — these are, after all, Tessa and Clary’s stories — which is why the hero’s point of view is a change and an opportunity to see these smart, strong, powerful girls from the point of view of the men who love them; to see the reasons they love them at an emotionally charged and significant moment for their development.

I don’t think it has nothing to do with the heroine; I don’t think romance cheapens what it means to be a heroine, and — for instance — I would have jumped at the chance to see a scene about Katniss from Peeta’s point of view written by Suzanne because those books are told in first person from Katniss’ viewpoint and I’d love to see her from outside. Are you really telling me you wouldn’t?

“Next time, maybe offer an incentive that’s actually about the heroine, and not her boyfriend, SVP.”

There isn’t going to be a next time. As has been made clear already by the YA Sisterhood, characters who win one tournament are not eligible for the next one. While certainly Tessa will be eligible next time, she will have to fight it out without me, because if this round of events has been anything to go by, involving myself will subject me and my fans to harassment over an tournament whose prize is … an invisible internet pony? There’s no money or benefit at stake here; I made the offer to write the scenes because I liked the idea of celebrating heroines —they mean a lot to me — and because my readers mean a lot to me, too! And because they do, I have no real desire to see them get treated like punching bags for following the rules of a tournament as they were set out. I’ll find another way of involving them in games to pass the time and giving them free content. Suggestions welcome. :)

And now back to writing the greenhouse scene.


I'm turning the comments off with this post, because there's nothing more to say about it. Cassie said all there needs to be said about it. And GREENHOUSE SCENE! I can't wait to read that!!!

Speaking of tournaments, who did you vote for in the Clary vs Tessa one? I honestly coped out and didn't vote. I couldn't choose between the two of them.

In My Mailbox- The Clockwork Prince of Awesome Edition

Hi everyone! Welcome to this week's edition of In My Mailbox! IMM is a meme hosted by The Story Siren were bloggers post share the books and goodies they received this week to review, what they purchased, borrowed, were gifted or traded. Here's what arrived this week:


For Review:

* Hallowed by Cynthia Hand, published by Harper Teen, to be released on 1/17/12

* Forbidden by Syrie James & Ryan M. James, published by Harper Teen, to be released on 1/24/12

* The Vampire Diaries, Stefan's Diaries Vol. 5 The Asylum, published by Harper Teen, to be released on 1/17/12

* Darkness, The Brookehaven Vampires by Joann I. Martin Sowles, published by Brookehaven Publishing, to be released on 10/28/12

* The Veil by Cory Putman Oakes, published by Octane Press, released on 11/1/11


Mundie Kids:

* Scholastic Discover More: Planets by Penny Arlon, published by Scholastic, released on 1/1/12

* Scholastic Discover More: Ocean & Sea by Steve Parker, published by Scholastic, released on 1/1/12


Gifted:

* The Infernal Devices, Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare from Simon & Schuster, signed & personalized

* Shadowhunter posters (some have already been giving away and the others will be given away)


Pitch Dark Days info:




Thank you to: Simon & Schuster, Cassandra Clare, Harper Teen, Scholastic, Cory Putman Oakes, and Joann I. Martin Sowles for this week's awesome goodies! What goodies did you receive?

Blog Tour/Book Review: Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook


Published by: Simon Pulse
Released on: January 3rd, 2012
Source: borrowed ARC for blog tour
3.5 stars: It's A Good Read
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
Read the 1st Chapter

"Thrilling and creepy, super sexy, and so very hilarious." --Lisa McMann, bestselling author of the Wake trilogy

Isobel’s life is falling apart. Her mom just married some guy she met on the internet only three months before, and is moving them to his sprawling, gothic mansion off the coast of nowhere. Goodbye, best friend. Goodbye, social life. Hello, icky new stepfather, crunchy granola town, and unbelievably good-looking, officially off-limits stepbrother.

But on her first night in her new home, Isobel starts to fear that it isn’t only her life that’s unraveling—her sanity might be giving way too. Because either Isobel is losing her mind, just like her artist father did before her, or she’s seeing ghosts. Either way, Isobel’s fast on her way to being the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons. -quoted from Goodreads

What a fun, creepy, sarcastic, entertaining read! I was really surprised by how much I liked this book, and I think a lot of that had to do with the story's protagonist Isobel.

Isobel is one of those characters who's so easy to like and she's someone that faces everything head on. Plus she's a strong, stubborn, snarky character who provides the right amount of humor to this story's at times creepy plot line. Then there's Nathaniel, I won't give away too much about him as the relationship that both he and Isobel have is a bit unusual, but it's well written. I really enjoyed getting to know him, and I loved the scenes he shares with Isobel. Even though there were moments while reading this story I thought "I've read this one before" I'm glad I kept reading, because their relationship is unique, and it's one that I was intrigued with especially given the situation they're in.

The setting itself isn't just creepy, it's haunted. Unlike a few ghost stories I've read lately, this ghost is one I couldn't help but like. Her story is beyond heartbreaking, and one that ties into the story's twisted plot line. Despite being able to predict most everything that happens in the story, I did enjoy it. There's a lot of great elements that Eileen throws into the story that kept me wanting to read more. Her story is entertaining and she uses the right amount of creepiness, romance and humor to keep me engaged with it.

I will say the step-father still takes the cake for creepiness. He had my skin crawling and he's one of those guys I couldn't help by think "I'd never let you marry my mom or live in the same house with you", type of guys. I was so infuriated with how Isobel's mother treated her daughter and was so quick to marry a man she barely even knew. What's worse was all the typical signs the step father showed through out the story for the type of guy he was (turned out to be), and yet the mother continued to side with him and ignore her daughter. I couldn't get over the way she treated Isobel. Luckily Isobel remains as stubborn and strong as ever and gets through all she has to deal with, with her wit and Nathaniel there to help her.

If you're looking for a book with an entertaining story line that has the right amount of creepiness, humor and a touch of romance than I'd recommend picking up Unraveling Isobel.


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