I Can't Wait For... Blood Heir

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released.

When I first heard about this book I wasn't interested, now though it looks like it has gotten a plot makeover and now I'm definitely interested in checking it out...

Blood Heir

Blood Heir, Book One
by Amelie Wen Zhao
YA Fantasy
eBook, Hardcover, 496 Pages
November 19, 2019 by Delacorte Press


Blurb

This hot debut is the first book in an epic new series about a princess hiding a dark secret and the con man she must trust to clear her name for her father's murder.

In the Cyrilian Empire, Affinites are reviled. Their varied gifts to control the world around them are unnatural—dangerous. And Anastacya Mikhailov, the crown princess, has a terrifying secret. Her deadly Affinity to blood is her curse and the reason she has lived her life hidden behind palace walls.

When Ana’s father, the emperor, is murdered, her world is shattered. Framed as his killer, Ana must flee the palace to save her life. And to clear her name, she must find her father’s murderer on her own. But the Cyrilia beyond the palace walls is far different from the one she thought she knew. Corruption rules the land, and a greater conspiracy is at work—one that threatens the very balance of her world. And there is only one person corrupt enough to help Ana get to its core: Ramson Quicktongue.

A cunning crime lord of the Cyrilian underworld, Ramson has sinister plans—though he might have met his match in Ana. Because in this story, the princess might be the most dangerous player of all.

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What do you think? Will you be checking this one out? 

The 13 Reasons Why Phenomenon

The "13 Reasons Why" Phenomenon: Learning Tool To End Bullying or Glamourizing Teen Suicide?

You've seen it on Facebook News, Skimmed articles on Buzzfeed and Yahoo, Heard news reports and even heard Dr. Phil bash it: the Netflix Original Series, 13 Reasons Why based on Jay Asher's novel of the same name. 

But is 13 Reasons a haunting series about the consequences of bullying or a glamorization of teen suicide? Viewers are divided. 

 Do you want my honest opinion? Do you really? 

You do? Cool!  - I watched the show starting the night that it premiered on Netflix and continued by watching 2-3 episodes a night until I got to the end. And it hooked me. I had to keep watching to see what the next tape would reveal. Personally, as I also read the book after I watched the series, I liked the show better than the book. It had way more meat to it. The book was like an empty shell. 

But did the show make me want to commit suicide? I mean, I may not be a teenager anymore but 24 isn't that old. The answer? Hell no! To me, although yes, Hannah does commit suicide, the show wasn't really about suicide at all. It was about bullying. 

Maybe I saw it that way because I was bullied in my early teen years, but for that reason, the show spoke to me. Let me be straight with you, I have never been suicidal in my life. Never. Not one single thought of ending it all. I fit onto the other end of the spectrum, I fear death in a find-me-Edward-Cullen-to-bite-me-and-make-me-immortal type of way. I'm not kidding. I'm literally terrified of death - to the point that if I even think the word death for too long I start hyperventilating and having a panic attack. But enough about me. 

Here are a few reasons I think the "13 Reasons Why glamourizes teen suicide" notion is a bunch of b.s.:

1: The book first came out ten years ago. If it made it so glamorous to commit suicide as a teen, why has it been on and off the best-seller list for the past 10 years and nobody took issue with it before?

2: Anyone with half a brain could see that Hannah had issues long before any of the events listed on the tapes. The book and the show both hint at issues at her previous school and her family obviously was having issues too, so in a way most of the "reasons" she listed were nothing but excuses to blame someone else for her decision.

3. Tagging on point 2, none of the "reasons" Hannah gives (save for maybe tape 12 and even that isn't enough of a reason) are enough of a reason for me (remember me? fear of death girl?) for someone to kill themselves. Um, a guy said he felt you up to the guys at school? Another guy said you had the best ass in the class? You made out with a girl and some guy took a picture? A guy published a poem you wrote that he thought was great in his newspaper? Seriously? Even in my teen years, I would have laughed most of that crap off (or been flattered in the case of the poem). 

4. If Hannah's parents (or the critical parents taking issue with the show) had paid a little more attention to their child and found out what was going on at school - maybe taking the teachers/school/parents of classmates  to task when the crap was going on then their child wouldn't have thought the only solution was to commit suicide. I mean I'm not a parent, but come on. In this day and age parents aren't like how my grandmother raised me. They're not like the parents of my classmates when I was in elementary school. They're so preoccupied with their own crap - their search for a new man/woman in their life, drama at work, having time with their friends being priority #1, etc. that they really have no idea what is going on in their kid's life. And most of the time they don't care. And seriously, before you jump on me for that comment, I'm speaking from experience here. I've seen a lot of parents like that so I'm not making it up.

5. This isn't the only book with a teen suicide subject matter. In that case, you should probably go after Gayle Foreman's I Was Here and Albert Boris's Crash Into Me as well. 

***

I'm not trying to trivialize or downplay depression or suicide in any way. I'm really not. Someone very close to my heart struggles with both of those issues and my heart breaks for that person constantly. Loving someone that is depressed or suicidal is hard. You feel helpless like you're powerless to do anything except try to be there for them in any way you can. 

If you or someone you know battles depression or suicidal thoughts please, please consider seeking professional help or telling someone close to that person (a parent, teacher, loved one, etc) what's going on. They may be mad at you now, but it is the right thing to do. Through it all, remember that people do love you and would be devastated if you were no longer there and if it's someone you know is suffering make sure they know that every chance you get. 

You never know what may make a world of difference in a person's life. 

Crossing the Line: Book Controversies, Book Burning, and Book Bashing

As authors we're schooled in how to handle negative reviews: don't react badly, don't respond to the reviewer who gave you a bad review no matter what, and if you're still super bummed about it - go on Amazon and read some of the negative reviews on some of the most popular books out there / our favorites because hey, we all get bad reviews occasionally. Not everyone can like the same books. 

But what about book reviewer etiquette? What crosses the line? How far is too far? When do you go from explaining why you disliked a book in a tactful way to all-out book bashing? 

I've always thought there was a distinct difference between someone who reads a book and complains about the book for whatever reason in cruel, bashing ways and real book bloggers and reviewers, who may not like the book but don't try to be outwardly rude about it. Or maybe that's just the way I handle my book reviews. I may not like every book that I read, but I usually can still glean something out of the book that I liked - even if it is that I was thankful that the book ended. But if I outright hate a book? I probably don't even finish it, let alone write a nasty review about it. 

But the events of the past few days or so and the things I've heard through the grapevine from my blogger friends have me shocked and completely appalled at some small minded people's actions. 

Book Controversies:

With the demand for more diverse books to be written and the seemingly overly sensitive opinions of people nowadays books are getting nitpicked more than ever. Two books in a crapstorm of controversy over the past few months have been The Continent by Keira Drake and Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth, which people have cited as been stereotyping and racist. Now, I haven't read either book and I don't plan to because they're not the genre of books I find appealing (and I never even finished Insurgent by Veronica Roth), so I can't honestly give my opinion on the books one way or another. But I do think that people have to remember that these books are a work of fiction. They are not intentionally written to offend people of color, they're just books! Meant to be read for enjoyment. Don't want to read that sort of thing? Then don't! 

Book Bashing and Book Burning

That being said I am completely appalled after hearing that a book blogger / booktuber (whatever that is) lit fire to a copy of Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth then used the excuse that she had been intoxicated and was not in control of her actions, therefore should not be blamed or held responsible. 

Are you kidding me?!?! I'm not a drinker, have never been drunk at all in my 24 years of life, but I'm scrambling to figure out how someone, drunk or sober, could possibly think it was okay to burn a book just because they didn't like it. I didn't realize we were living in Nazi Germany. 

This goes back to my point above about etiquette. If you don't like a book, don't bash it! Just explain that it wasn't your taste of book and move on. Bashing a book to that degree - or dear god, BURNING a book - is uncalled for. Maybe it's the fact that I'm an author myself and know how much thought and hard work goes into writing a book followed by the guts it takes to put that project you've worked so hard on out for public consumption and criticism but I don't believe profanity, personal attacks on the author, excessively harsh comments, or physical destruction of any kind towards the book belong anywhere in a book review. 

I understand that it's called an "honest" review for a reason, but please, remember to have some class.