Creepy Painting

Hey, guys!

Sorry, I know I owe you guys a book review, and that's what I'm going to give you.

One of the library books I picked up and just finished reading is Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. I remember one of my teachers in high school had recommended it to me (either that or A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce . . . I honestly don't remember). Either way, I enjoyed Wilde's novel.

The three main characters that are most useful to know are Dorian Gray (duh), Basil Hallward, and Lord Henry (also known to his friends as Harry). Dorian is a young man, remarkable because of his good looks. Basil is a painter who is great friends with his model, Dorian.

Dorian's more than Basil's model; he's Basil's muse. Basil has the sense that all of his work became true art once his life was touched by Dorian Gray.

And, finally, there's Lord Henry, a cynical, narcissistic man who believes that youth and beauty (as opposed to goodness) are the most enviable qualities. That's why he believes that Dorian Gray should take advantage of life while he's still young. And when I say "take advantage of life", I don't mean in a good way.

So, after Basil finishes a beautiful portrait of Dorian Gray, Dorian remembers Harry's words and wishes that he would stay young and beautiful while the portrait grew old.

Wish granted.

Not only does the portrait bear the marks of age, but also the marks of sin. Thus, since Dorian is relieved of the burden of the consequences while the portrait stays hidden away, he takes Harry's advice and takes life for everything it has.

After briefly falling in love with an actress who turns out to be (in his opinion) a total disappointment, Dorian spends the next several years chasing every girl under the sun and evidently making frequent stops at opium dens along the way.

All the while, his portrait bears the mark of his shame while anyone who sees Dorian can't help but doubt all those crazy rumors.

But don't worry, Dorian will get his comeuppance.

After reading this book, I still have no idea where my sympathies lie. Harry is too heinous to evoke sympathy and Dorian too easily influenced to make me feel bad for everything that happens to him. I suppose I feel for Basil, but even though his work played such a huge role in the plot, he himself was only knowingly involved for a short time.

I guess with any of these characters, you want to feel bad for them, but they make it exceedingly difficult. Regardless, I enjoyed the book. Dorian's pursuit for beauty as well as his guilt make him very relatable because it speaks to the good and the bad that exists in every human being.

The one obstacle in this novel is the language because it was written a while ago, so you have to make sure to pay attention, but it is possible. I would recommend it to anyone in high school, college, or beyond.

Hope you enjoyed this review.

Happy reading!!

Writing Prompt: Time Machine Part 2

Hey, guys!

I thought I would build off of the writing prompt from earlier this week.

Imagine that you or your character finds a time machine, goes inside, and there is already a predetermined date and time for them to travel. So they do.

They go into the future, and when they get there they witness their own death. How did they die?

And naturally, they will want to go back in time and try to change the course of events to prevent their death? How do they do this? What are the consequences? Is it worse than their own death? Now what?

Happy writing!!!

Writing Prompt: Time Machine

Hey, guys!

Try to put Doctor Who and Back to the Future out of your mind for this writing prompt.

Imagine you have come across a time machine. You enter and manage to use the device in order to set it to a specific date and time. Where are you going and why?

Is it your birth? The day your parents met? A historical event? A certain time period that you are totally obsessed with? It can be anything! And it doesn't have to be you who uses the time machine; as always, you can create a character of your own for this prompt.

Maybe your character wants to go back in time to see a passed loved one when they were still alive. Maybe they want to go back in time to stop themselves from doing something (pulling a prank, going to a party, drinking underage, etc.) or to convince their younger counterpart that they should do something (ask their crush out, go on a trip somewhere, etc.).

And don't forget to include the most important (and arguably the trickiest) part of this prompt: what are the consequences of your character screwing with the laws of nature and travelling through time? How did their lives change in the present based off of what they did in the past?

Happy writing!!!

Writing Prompt: Books

Hey, guys!

I know that this writing prompt is a bit reminiscent of The Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osbourne or the Inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke, but bear with me on this.

For a story or a novel, imagine that you could enter the world of any book of your choosing. Which book would that be? What character would you want to meet most? Would you change anything about the book, such as killing a certain character, stopping the death of another character, or encouraging a romance between two characters who didn't end up together?

If you did make any changes like this, how did it change the outcome of the book? Is it better or worse? Do the characters accept you into their world or do they suspect that you don't belong? It probably wouldn't raise many eyebrows if it were a modern setting, but you might stick out like a sore thumb in Ancient Greece or in some jungle.

Happy writing!!!

Sequel to Ashes

Hey, guys!

Some of you may have read my review over the summer of Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick. Recently, I finished reading the second book in the trilogy: Shadows. For those of you who have not read both or either, there will be spoilers. You have been warned.

At the end of Ashes, Alex was banned from the town of Rule, which is basically one of many settlements established after the apocalypse. Most of the citizens are elderly because they are the majority of the population not affected by whatever it was that made adolescents into zombie things.

The rest of the citizens are called the Spared because they are adolescents who never changed. Yet.

There's a theory going around that maybe the Change (as it's called) is only delayed in certain youth, but that at some point, they will succumb. This causes some upset in Rule and also explains why there are huge rewards for any bounty hunters who manage to find any Spared who could be used for some malicious reasons.

Now, back to Alex. She was thrown out of Rule and collected by a gang of Changed. At first, we assumed they were zombies, but they've proven that they can learn - after all, these kids who take Alex are using guns, working together, and learned to have a few "unchanged" humans to follow them around so that they have food in the winter. Basically, Alex has become part of a cattle herd.

And with all of this going on, we also hear from a long-lost favorite character from book one (at least, he's my favorite). Tom the soldier was found by an older couple who nursed him back to health, but now he has to leave so he can find Alex and Ellie, the little girl that Tom and Alex were travelling with and protecting.

For those of you who don't know, Ellie was taken by some older adults, possibly bounty hunters, for reasons unknown. She may have been a brat, but she had it rough. Her father died and then lost her grandfather during the apocalypse. Like I said, she was a very difficult kid, but the reader should cut her a little slack.

So, what's going to happen to Rule? Will Alex escape the clutches of the Changed? Will Tom ever see her again? Read the book and find out.

Like book one, Shadows is fast-paced and hard to put down. My only criticism is that I believe the writing is a bit lacking. Certain descriptive words seemed a little out of place.

And, while I understand that Bick tries to make the thought process of her characters realistic in tense moments, it bugs me that Alex continually tells herself that she has to "go go go" or "move move move" or whatever it was she said. I could have forgiven this if it happened only once or twice in the book, but it happened often enough to drive me crazy.

The plot, however, helps make up for the flaws in the writing. If you're a fan of the first book, I recommend you continue the series, especially since it ended on a major cliffhanger.

Hope you enjoyed this review.

Happy reading!!!

Writing Prompt: Sticky Notes

Hey, guys!

Try writing a short story like this. Or try making this the beginning of a novel.

Imagine you woke up one morning with a sticky note stuck to the wall beside your bed, reading "Follow the arrows".

Then throughout your house, there are a ton of other sticky notes with arrows on them, pointing in a certain direction. Where do they lead? Why?

Do they want you to do something or do they lead to a surprise? Do some of them come with instructions (for example, "take this [insert object here] with you", "get in the car and drive to [insert location here]")?

Have fun!

Happy writing!!

Writing Prompt: Sick as a Dog

Hey, guys!

As some of you know, I was recently sick with a stomach bug, so with that in mind I've got a new writing prompt for you.

Think of the last time you were sick. It could be the common cold or something more serious that required hospitalization. It's entirely up to you. You could also invent your own character with their own ailment.

Now write about the caretaker. It could be a doctor, a nurse, a parent/guardian, or a spouse. What did they do for you? How did they take care of you in a way that was special to you? Did they reassure you or give you special attention? Did they make you laugh? Did they get a cold cloth for your forehead or make you some chicken soup from scratch? Did they stay home from work or school and risked getting sick themselves to help you feel better?

What did that mean to you?

Happy writing!!!