With A Book

An important story. A diverse cast. A fleshed out plot. 13 Reasons Why is the best book to screen adaption I have ever seen (and I’ve basically seen them all). In case you don't know, 13 Reasons Why is a recent Netflix adaption to a bestselling young adult novel of the same name by Jay Asher. It follows Clay Jensen as he receives 13 cassette tapes from a friend who recently committed suicide. The tapes go through the 13 reasons why she decided to take her own life. Each tape is a particular person who has also, or will also, receive the tapes.  This 2007 bestseller tackled important issues, had beautiful writing, and really connected to the young adult audience reading them. I would know, I was one of those young adults. I was in eighth grade the first time I read 13 Reasons Why. Now at 22 years old I'm blown away by the justice that Netflix, Paramount Pictures and Selena Gomez did to this heartfelt story.

Each episode focuses around one reason and one person. This allows for more expansive detail, more character development and just a raw emotional story arc with each episode. If Jay Asher fleshed out each character and reason as the show does, the book would have been 800 pages long. As a young adult book about suicide, no teenager would have picked it up. The TV show was able to do more than the book was, which is, honestly, a rare situation. With the new additions to the story line, the show does take liberties with the plot but each one was helpful and brought something new to the story without taking away from the original message. The other changes can't be talked about without spoilers, you'll have to watch and see for yourself.

One of my favorite parts of 13 Reasons Why is the diversity in the cast. There was racial diversity, body diversity, and even diversity in family structures. Some of this is from the source material but some of it is not. The high school environment, besides the slightly older actors, actually looked like a high school. Nothing was white washed, not all the kids looked like supermodels, and everything felt raw. The casting department did a superb job picking a talented and diverse cast to tell this tale without the feeling forced. I could easily see my high school in this cast, it just felt real.

Currently reading: When Dimple Met Rishi

A laugh-out-loud, heartfelt YA romantic comedy, told in alternating perspectives, about two Indian-American teens whose parents have arranged for them to be married.

Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?

Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.

The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?

The Wrath & the Dawn / The Rose & the Dagger By Renée Ahdieh Summary  of Book 1:

One Life to One Dawn.

In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all.

Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she'd imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It's an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid's life as retribution for the many lives he's stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?

Inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, The Wrath and the Dawn is a sumptuous and enthralling read from beginning to end.

***This is a review of both books! Don’t read any further if you haven’t read the first book, but I HIGHLY recommend the first***

These books filled me with so many emotions and I enjoyed every up and down I experienced. Sometimes I prefer stories told in first person, but third person was exactly what The Wrath & the Dawn and The Rose & the Dagger needed. It added a nice touch of dramatic irony, which I’m 100% a sucker for.

Shahrzad is SUCH a kickass character. She literally takes shit from no one. Her dignity, pride, and compassion for her loved ones just made me want to read about her forever. Any time another character disrespects her or tries to put her down, she fires back so fast. She’s just so smart and I want to be her (minus all the bad things that happen to her, thanks).

AND THE LOVE TRIANGLE. Though there’s really no competition, it’s just such a well-done love triangle. No cheesiness, no overly annoying moments between the three triangulated characters, just ...

And THEN! Diversity! I’m finally finding books where white people aren’t the main characters. Or even necessarily isn't the story at all. This duo takes place in the Middle East, with dress and names and food that transport me across the world. Like, not only is Shahrzad a badass heroine, she’s a nonwhite badass heroine and it freakin’ rocks. There’s only one character who could even be considered white in this story, and she’s Greek. So.

IN SUMMARY, my good people:

Blacksouls (Sequel to Backhearts) by Nicole Castroman  Release Date: April 11th, 2017 

Summary:  Nicole Castroman brings the dangerous pirate ports of the Caribbean to life in this vibrant sequel to Blackhearts—the reimagined origin story of history’s most infamous pirate, Blackbeard. Edward “Teach” Drummond is setting sail to the Caribbean as first mate on the most celebrated merchant ship in the British fleet—until he rebels against his captain. Mutiny is a capital offense and Teach knows it could cost him his life, but he believes it worth the risk in order to save his crew from the attacking Spanish ships. Sailing on the same blue waters, Anne barely avoids the Spanish attack, making it safely to Nassau. But lawless criminals, corrupt politics, and dangerous intentions fill the crowded streets of this Caribbean port. Soon, Anne discovers that the man entrusted to keep the peace is quite possibly the most treacherous of them all—and he just happens to hold Teach’s fate in his terrifying hands. Life and death hang in the balance when Teach and Anne are given a dangerous mission. It’s a mission that will test their love, loyalty and devotion, forcing them down a path neither one could have ever imagined.

Thoughts: WOAH. Blackhearts was just a book of world building to get to this perfectly action packed pirate adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed Blackhearts, but I fell in love with Blacksouls. This one starts off right where Blackhearts ends with Anne on the boat heading toward a new place. The action also starts right there. So many sea battles, sword battles, gun fights, basically all the action you would expect from a pirate novel. 

Teach and Anne’s romance was built in the last novel. It was exciting to see it go further in this one. Seeing them send time together and how they interact as a couple. That doesn’t happen to often in Young Adult. It’s usually the slow burn to see how they get together, then they break up, only to get back together in the next installment. I really enjoy reading couples together in books. 

If you liked Blackhearts, this sequel builds off of it perfectly. I highly recommend picking this one up. If you haven’t read Blackhearts yet, just pick up both of them you won’t regret it! 

(This is how I picture Teach BTW) 

Me after I caved:

Hello again! I haven’t updated you since the fall about what I’ve personally been doing with my life. As I mentioned in my last update, I was working at Penguin Random House as my first introduction into book publishing. It was a dream come true and I loved every second of it. Working with literature in any form has always been a dream of mine. 

I spent two semesters at Penguin Random House (Summer and Fall). They were both 10 week long internships. Currently, I’m interning at Simon and Schuster Children’s Department. This internship is only 8 weeks long but has also been such a fantastic experience. I love that publishing really treats their internships as a learning experience. I know so many people who can’t say the same about their industries.  

Anyway, I’m finishing up my internship at Simon in a few weeks. After that I’ll concentrate on my school work until I graduate in May! Kind of crazy to think I’m done with school in just a couple months. 

Alyssa is also graduating in a few months and while we both will eventually have full time jobs, I think this might free up more time for reading and posting in the future! Right now, I work during the day and go to school at night. So I fill in gaps with reading and homework. With a job I’ll be there 9-5 then actually have time to read at night instead of going to class (plus no more homework!) 

I like to give you guys these updates to be upfront that I work in publishing. That means I personally only post positive things I like in books or what I’m currently reading.  (refer back to this post for more information on that) However, Alyssa does not (but I’ll keep trying to convince her too, because publishing is the BEST) so she doesn’t have any conflicts of interest in her posts. Just something to keep in mind as you read our posts on With a Book. 

Thanks for reading my random update!

Blackhearts By: Nicole Castroman

Summary (Goodreads): Blackbeard the pirate was known for striking fear in the hearts of the bravest of sailors. But once he was just a young man who dreamed of leaving his rigid life behind to chase adventure in faraway lands. Nothing could stop him—until he met the one girl who would change everything. Edward "Teach" Drummond, son of one of Bristol's richest merchants, has just returned from a year-long journey on the high seas to find his life in shambles. Betrothed to a girl he doesn’t love and sick of the high society he was born into, Teach dreams only of returning to the vast ocean he’d begun to call home. There's just one problem: convincing his father to let him leave and never come back.

Following her parents' deaths, Anne Barrett is left penniless and soon to be homeless. Though she’s barely worked a day in her life, Anne is forced to take a job as a maid in the home of Master Drummond. Lonely days stretch into weeks, and Anne longs for escape. How will she ever realize her dream of sailing to Curaçao—where her mother was born—when she's stuck in England? 

From the moment Teach and Anne meet, they set the world ablaze. Drawn to each other, they’re trapped by society and their own circumstances. Faced with an impossible choice, they must decide to chase their dreams and go, or follow their hearts and stay.

Thoughts:

I’m a HUGE fan of pirate ANYTHING. I remember going to see Pirates of the Caribbean in theaters when it first came out. I actually saw it from the movie theater on the cruise ship. I think that added an extra connection to the movie. Feeling the boat slowly rock as I watched pirates sailing the seas. The characters, the action, the humor and the romance all created the perfect story. From that moment on I was addicted to anything pirate related. Honestly, I think that’s the reason I started fencing too (which I did for a couple of years).

Anyway, that’s why I was so excited about this book! A fictional origin story for the famous Blackbeard pirate!! While this book doesn’t have too much pirate stuff (yet), it builds up the world and the characters for the next installment. We really get to understand Teach and Anne. Both are extremely headstrong and interesting characters. They’re personalities and back stories are built beautifully in this book. There’s no insta-romance which is a nice change for YA literature. The relationship between them gets to slowly grow.

While Blackbeard was a real pirate, not too much is actually known about him in history. Castroman is able to take historical facts that are actually known, and build on them to make a plausible story. Of course, she takes a few liberties with the story, the history of the book is one of my favorite part!

I definitely recommend this one as you adventure get ready for the sequel and the POTC 5 coming out in May. So much to look forward too!

What is it like to be a publishing intern? I’ve gotten a few questions about that since my last post so I thought I would write a little bit about my experience as an intern! There are good sides and bad sides to being an intern in publishing. The bad side is how competitive it is. I applied for a good year and a half before I even got my first interview (trial and error on resumes and cover letters). However, that was also because I needed a paid internship.

 I commute to NYC from New Jersey and that’s expensive. I needed my internship to at least cover my train or bus costs. When the smaller literary agencies say they reimburse for expenses, they usually mean a metro card or 20 dollars a week. That wasn’t enough for me because I would have to quit my other job to be an intern. The large houses (Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, Hachette, Scholastic, etc.) pay at least minimum wage but are EXTREMELY competitive.Usually, someone interns at a smaller publishing house or literary agency and then applies to a bigger company. 

 Anyway, once you actually have an internship, it’s an amazing learning experience. Publishing isn’t like the TV networks or fashion magazines that mainly consists of running for coffee.

 Instead,your internship is treated as a learning experience. From HR to your supervisors and just people you run into, everyone is willing to take the time and teach you about the industry. Of course, I don’t have experience at every house, but from what I’ve seen and heard, publishing interns are almost always treated well in the companies they work for.

Summer internships are more in depth than Fall and Spring ones, and I recommend starting with one if you can. You’re there almost full time, if not full time. You really get to experience what it’s like to be an employee at the company you work for. It’s easier to make connections and really get to know your supervisors and fellow interns. I’m doing a Fall internship now, while it’s a fantastic experience, I miss working in the office every day. It can be awkward only working a couple of days a week because so much has happened on the days that you were out.