After I compiled my reading list for Horror October (of which I blogged about on my post about being a Cosy Horror Girl), I knew that I wanted to borrow this particular collection from my local library. The best resource I have always enjoyed in my life are local libraries, as they have a beautiful outreach for materials outside their collection through the ILL services they provide with other libraries. (I shorten “inter-library loan” to ILL) In my particular case, my local library is part of a consortium of libraries from a portion of the libraries within my state. This means that I can draw books out of collections from larger cities as well as from University libraries. I borrowed “The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton” and elected to blog my ruminations without any obligation to do so. The hardback edition arrived to me via a Community College library within the consortium via ILL.
Encouraged to Read By:
This was one of the novels that was compiled on the List I asked (Mr.) Gregory Fisher @ Riffle Horror to curate for me as a way for me to seek out the cosier side of the Horror genre. I have always had a pure fascination for ghost stories, as there is always such a curious route the individual writer can take as they yield to the supernatural and the presence of each ghost they bring to life on the written page. I personally have a preference for spunky & cheeky ghosts as much as spirits of the recently deceased who are in seek of help from living persons who can either aide them towards finding peace, redemption, and/or justice as a way to transition forward in peace. (I spoke more about this on my review of Lost in Thought)
I have been wanting to read more Classics since 2014 began, as I had all these wicked happy ideas of where I could soak inside the works of the writers’ who not only championed the cause for well-written fiction but who were dedicated to the craft of writing in such a way as to illicit immediate respect and admiration. When I was finally able to join tCC (the Classics Club : my List), I thought for sure each month I’d be reading at least two classic novels! Clearly my year did not pan out as I had forethought it would but that doesn’t discount the fact I knew during Horror October I could finally introduce myself to the writing style of Edith Wharton! As Wharton is already listed on my Classics TBR List due to my interactions with an after canon author during a 2013 blog tour!
The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton are a collection of Gothic Literature Shorts set around the parapsychological phenomenon of hauntings by way of ghosts & spirits who are attached to either physical properties, (i.e. houses) or living persons of whom the ghostly spirit has found an attachment. Each of the short stories transcends what is popularly disbelieved and unwilling to become accepted as bonefide fact that there are experiences past our vision of acceptance where the supernatural lies just outside the stretch of the living soul's observational mirror.
The setting of choice for Wharton to place these stories was inside three distinctly different locales: England, Normandy, & America. Her preference was for the inclusion of a family estate to be the central focus of where her characters not only interacted with the ghosts but where the action of the story itself takes place.
Illustrative plates are included per short story to help the reader fuse directly into the heart of where Wharton hoped to take her readers with the vision of the supernatural she wished to convey.
The following short stories are included in this collection:
The Lady's Maid Bell
The Eyes
Afterward
Kerfol
The Triumph of the Night
Miss Mary Pash
Bewitched
Mr. Jones
Pomegrante Seed
The Looking Glass
All Souls'
Other Works by Wharton listed inside the collection are:
The Moose Marathon
The Mudslipper (Children's Lit)
Mistress & Other Creative Takeoffs (Short Stories)
with Desmond Sim & Kwan Loh
This summary of a synopsis was written & composed by Jorie @ Jorie Loves A Story.
Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Aunt Lee’s Deadly Specials” virtual book tour through TLC Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the publisher William Morrow, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Setting into the environment of Aunty Lee’s Delights: Meet Aunty Lee!
( on my readings of the first novel )
Oh! it is the name of a cafe! The title is reminiscent of a delectable foodie haunt where traditional Peranakan cuisine was served as regular as hearty conversative gossip! The manner of how Yu writes her novel has a curious in-step where the pace and delivery reminded me of the long ago letters from my Singaporean friends. The delivery of the scenes was quite unique and brought me back to the beautiful conversations I had with my friends, shared through paper and pen! Every language has it’s own style, and thereby each writer has a distinction of voice that is individualistically unique. With this novel, it is twofold – I could see a reflection of my friends’ voices through the writing style of Yu!
I champion the inclusion of local customs, words and phrases whenever a story is set in a place outside a readily known locale. It brings the setting to the level of feeling local and intimately familiar; as if we were not visiting the locale for the first time. Yu does this in such a natural way, it befits not only her characters but the overall texture of her novels!
Aunty Lee is a flamboyant woman who adores her experimentation of cooking whilst cooking and creating traditional foods with a dedicated quality of ingredients. She has a comfortability of being in harmony with herself as much as with her living environment and city. She asserts herself in situations and circumstances where she feels she has the most to give as much as what she can gain through the experience of being involved as well. Her attention to tasks at hand are slightly off-kilter to her sensational interest in current events which parlay into murder; this concentrated effort on her behalf means far more to her than the placement of her knife in relation to her fingers and the vegetables she is chopping on the board! Thankfully, Aunty Lee had the wisdom to hire Nina, a ‘jack of all trades’ as she is part maid, part assistant in arms, and part sous chef; all knowledge of trade are in combination with the medical arts, thereby circumventing any horrific disaster that could befall Aunty Lee!
Aunty Lee is a bit excluded from her family, partially out of death (of her late husband, being his second wife) and have by the status of her inheritance of his wealth which did not pass down to his son and daughter. Of the two, the wife of his son found this most insulting of all, although the son found nothing wrong with the arrangement on principle. Aunty Lee has the charming grace to face facts whilst embracing life as it arrives. The most delish moment of her day is the prospect of a murder washing ashore and walking into her life; as what could be more alluring than a mystery of an unexplained death?
Rosie “Aunty” Lee, the feisty widow and amateur sleuth and proprietor of Singapore’s best-loved home-cooking restaurant, is back in another delectable, witty mystery involving scandal and murder among the city’s elite.
Few know more about what goes on in Singapore than Aunty Lee. When a scandal over illegal organ donation makes news, she already has a list of suspects. There’s no time to snoop, though—Aunty Lee’s Delights is catering a brunch for local socialites Henry and Mabel Sung. Rumor has it that the Sungs’ fortune is in trouble, and Aunty Lee wonders if the gossip is true. But soon after arriving at the Sungs’, her curiosity turns to suspicion. Why is the guesthouse in the garden locked up—and what’s inside? Where is the missing guest of honor? Then Mabel Sung and her son, Leonard, are found dead. The authorities blame it on Aunty Lee’s special stewed chicken with buah keluak, a local black nut that can be poisonous if cooked improperly. She’s certain the deaths are murder—and that they’re somehow linked to the organ donor scandal. To save her business and her reputation, she’s got to prove it—and unmask a dangerous killer.
Ovidia Yu is one of Singapore’s best-known and most acclaimed writers. She has had more than thirty plays produced and is also the author of a number of mysteries. She received a Fulbright Fellowship to the University of Iowa’s International Writers Program and has been a writing fellow at the National University of Singapore.
I am happily welcoming Cara Bertrand, the writer of the Sententia series to Jorie Loves A Story tonight as I decided to opt-out of reading her second novel “Second Thoughts” and host an Author Q&A instead — as if you read my ruminations on behalf of the first novel in this parapsychological series you will have noted my angst in finding such a confluence of frequency in regards to the strong words peppered throughout the text itself.
Take a moment to visit with us as we discuss the origins of the first novel as well as the parapsychological building blocks for the series overall! The topic is one that I have always keenly attracted to conversing about and therein lies the joy of hosting this Q&A!
She's going crazy. Everyone thinks she has severe migraines from stress and exhaustion. What she really has are visions of how people died - or are going to die. When doctors insist she needs a new and stable environment to recover, Lainey's game to spend two years at a private New England boarding school. She doesn't really think it will cure her problem, and she's half right. There is no cure, but she's not actually crazy.
Almost everyone at Northbrook Academy has a secret too. Half the students and nearly all of the staff are members of the Sententia, a hidden society of the psychically gifted. A vision of another student's impending death confirms Lainey is one of them. When she's finally getting comfortable with her gift of divining deaths, and with Carter Penrose, a recent Academy graduate and resident school crush, they uncover her true Sententia heritage. Now Lainey has a real secret.
Once it's spilled, she'll be forced to forget protecting secrets and start protecting herself.
Book Synopsis for Book Two of the Sententia Series:
The continuing adventures of an ordinary teenage girl with extraordinary mental abilities, perfect for readers who love books and series such as “Vampire Academy,” “Spellbound” and “Sweet Peril.”
Secrets, lies and looming deaths – all things Lainey Young deals with in a typical day of high school. In her senior year at Northbrook Academy – a New England boarding school where the majority of the students and nearly all the staff are members of the Sententia, a hidden society of the psychically gifted – Lainey has even more to worry about, things like classes, college, her boyfriend and, of course, the vision she glimpsed of her impending death. But to her surprise, Lainey finds one worry she can cross off her list, namely Sen. Daniel Astor, the leader of the Sententia.
After a shocking discovery when they finally meet, Lainey realizes maybe she was wrong to distrust the senator. She relaxes even further when he seems to accept her refusal to work for him after graduation. But with her secrets mounting and the time to solve them running out, there’s a final enigma Lainey hasn’t yet encountered: Daniel Astor doesn’t take no for an answer. Ever.
Author Biography:
Photo Credit: Vallarta Adventures
Cara Bertrand is a former middle school literacy teacher who now lives in the woods outside Boston with: one awesome husband, two large dogs, one small daughter, and lots of words. LOST IN THOUGHT is her first novel and was a finalist for the Amazon/Penguin Breakthrough Novel Award.
Your titling for ‘Lost in Thought’ is a bit of a play on words and eludes to the general notion that ‘thoughts are things’ and it is always a bit wise to be cautious where our thoughts can lead us. Especially when considering the differences between Light & Dark / Good vs Evil; did you originally seek out to have a title of a series start with a thought provoking impetus or did it naturally piece together as you wrote the story itself?
Bertrand responds: The title was, in fact, the most difficult and literally last thing I applied to the story. I wish I could say it was a grand design or an act of forethought (heh heh), but it was the product of a furious chat session with my best friend when I needed a title and didn’t have one. It’s an interplay of the concept of Thought—the power wielded by all Sententia—and a scene in the book where Lainey contemplates feeling lost in her new, unfamiliar world.
You have a very unique perspective on the parapyschological gifts your characters are given in ‘Lost in Thought’. Specifically what drew me into the background of how their gifts manifested was the consideration of whom the gifter of the gifts actually is. Did you intend to impart a sense of faith and centering on a celestially being to have an omnipresence in the background or was this a naturally line of thought woven into the sequences of how the story unfolded?
Bertrand responds: From the beginning, I knew the Sententia origins. What they can do is beyond science, but in the modern world we no longer call those things magic. There’s a higher power involved, something bigger and broader than all of us that connects all of us. The Sententia acknowledge this, but they don’t worship it. Sometimes they call this higher power God, but it’s semantic more than anything. The story is not rooted in faith in the Christian God or any particular god at all. Faith as a concept, however, plays heavily throughout the stories—faith in oneself, one’s choices, one’s abilities, faith in each other, faith in what we know of the world. Lainey’s faith in things is tested constantly, and she responds, sometimes well, sometimes not, to these tests. She learns.
Lainey has a very interesting take on the theory of the Grim Reaper, which I previously uncovered in a different spin in the BBC series Mulberry. I was curious how the plausible aspects of her talent for being in such a unique position was curated and if there was a lesson in of itself on the gift Lainey was given?
Bertrand responds: Being so intimately connected to death is a burden Lainey didn’t ask for and certainly doesn’t want. Throughout not just Lost in Thought but the whole series, she struggles to come to terms with what she can do. It’s a process, because that’s what life is. Self-acceptance is a tricky thing, and it can take years to accept parts of ourselves that we don’t like or don’t know how to focus. I wanted Lainey’s journey to reflect that. In Lost in Thought she makes a bold promise to use her abilities for good, and this is her struggle—to find a positive way to wield an ability that doesn’t seem to have any positive aspects.
What kind of research did you conduct for this novel as I was quite impressed with the accuracy of the parapsychological aspects of the backstories? Did you perchance contact the parapsychologists who are actively researching the same types of gifts featured in your novel? Or perhaps visit The Rhine (Institute for Parapsychology in Durham, North Carolina)?
Bertrand responds: The real question is will you be more or less impressed when I admit I did none of those things? Readers regularly ask me if I’ve had first-hand paranormal/parapsychological experience, and the answer is no. In fact, if pressed, I’d say that I’m barely even a believer. I think if I were, if I had been touched by the parapsychological, it would change my ability to write about it. I did very limited reading on different kinds of extra-sensory abilities, and the rest I let my imagination shape.
What was the impetus which gravitated you into writing? And, when did this occur? Who was your best cheerleader?
Bertrand responds: I wasn’t a creative writer until very recently, though I am a life-long reader and lover of stories. When I was young, I always thought being a writer would be great, but it was an idea not a goal. I never did anything more than dream about it. Instead, I did what so many lovers of words do—I became a teacher. Eventually I left the profession, but I never stopped reading. One day while in the car with my husband, telling him about whatever I was reading at the time—and I can tell you exactly where we were on the highway, though not what day it was, where we were going, nor even what book I was talking about—he said, “I’m surprised you never wrote a book.” I answered, “I don’t think I could finish one,” which, later, made me angry. See, I’d never tried writing a book, so how did I know if I could finish? So I set out to prove myself wrong. And I have, going on 4x at this point. That conversation was in the summer of 2010. Undoubtedly my husband was and remains my best cheerleader, but I couldn’t do this without the continued encouragement of my parents, my best friend and first reader, and the love and enthusiasm from the rest of my family and friends. And, of course, the readers.
What are your favorite tools to use whilst writing? And, where do you write to gain the most inspiration?
Bertrand responds: My tools for writing are: my laptop, a pair of wrist braces (an unfortunate necessity), and Scrivener. That’s it. Helpful additives are: sunshine, coffee, and time. I spend most of my writing time split between my home and my local coffee shop (where I pen this now!). I like to be by windows, so I can see outside. Or to be outside, if it’s nice enough. Lately, I write best first thing in the morning, though, honestly, that’s by demand not nature. For most of my life, I’ve been a night owl fighting to survive in a daytime world.
What do you foresee as the best takeaway a story set in this captivating world of ‘thought’ generating gifted souls could teach the minds of those who are seeking a different kind of adventure in Young Adult Fiction?
Bertrand responds: We spend a lot of time seeking adventure outside ourselves, or in books looking for mythical creatures and different worlds—and believe me, I’m no exception. So when I started writing, I wanted to go in a slightly different direction, to look inside rather than out, so to speak. There’s magic in us, too, hiding in our everyday world.
I found it beyond incredible to have learnt through this conversation with the writer herself that she is practically a skeptic of parapsychology and yet has such a curious ability to breathe truism into this aspect of her book series? It made me suspect that she is naturally aware of things that perhaps she has not yet chosen to accept as plausible because this was one part to the novel Lost in Thought that had me at ‘hallo’ as they say and pulled me into the theory of origins for the Sententia themselves. It was a very cleverly writ back-story and one that felt grounded and true to it’s own accord of perimeters to exist.
I was also struck with a bit of shock on the explanation of where the origins originated from for the Sententia, as I never read a story that evoked the name of God not to be a direct reference of whom we would all attribute the name to be referring to directly. I walked away with a different perception of understanding than what was revealed in this Q&A as I actually disagree with this as a reader from the point of view that I read something different in the pages of the book itself. Whether it was ever intended to have this reaction or understanding from a reader, I cannot comment on, but I can say, that where the book led me to alight my thoughts is now counter-current to where the writer intended me too. I also found it odd that it was referred that God is only related to Christianity whereas throughout all my readings of World Religions this is simply not the case at all. Nor was I referencing a connection to Christianity in my review, as faith and religion goes beyond denominations.
I think it was quite brilliant how her husband encouraged her to pursue something she did not entirely have the confidence to do without his inspiring words of motivation. We all need cheerleaders in our lives and people to rally behind us when our own confidence falters. I never fail to smile whilst reading the answers to this particular question I love to ask writers I interview!
I do agree with her sentiments on the last Question I asked, as sometimes the greatest journey we can all take is within us all along. I was simply a bit surprised by some of her replies, as I had alighted a different level of understanding on a few things, but I accept too, that she came from a different place of thought when she penned the stories. It is a direct instance of where once a story leaves a writer’s mind & heart, the readers who pick up the story will have their own interpretations of where the story takes them; even if where the reader’s mind goes is opposite of where a writer intended them to travel. Stories are constantly evolving experiences as they fuse and shape differently inside the mind of whom reads them and carries a different piece of their message as they are read.
I am thankful I could interview Ms. Bertrand and provide a bit of a back-story to the Sententia series for my readers & visitors alike! I do hope everyone has clicked through to the rest of the tour stops and enjoyed this introduction to Luminis Books!
I hosted two authors for the Luminis Books Blog Tour:
Happily click-through to visit each stop on the tour & leave a note behind for either myself or the two authors I happily hosted for Luminis Books! It was such an esteemed honour to have both of them on my book blog! It was a great experience to host a new Publisher I had not yet discovered and gathering a sense about the type of stories they are publishing under the umbrella of Children’s Lit!
Similar to blog tours, when I feature a showcase for an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog.
I positively *love!* comments in the threads below each of my posts, and as CommentLuv only requires Email to leave a note for me I cannot wait to see what starts to populate below! Kindly know that I appreciate each thought you want to share with me and all the posts on my blog are open to new comments & commentary! Short or long, I appreciate the time you spent to leave behind a note of your visit! Return again soon!
{SOURCES: The tour badge & Book Synopsis for “Second Thoughts” were provided by JKS Communications and used with permission. Book Cover Art for “Lost in Thought” & “Second Thoughts”, Author Biography & Book Synopsis of “Lost in Thought” were provided by the author Cara Bertrand and used with permission. Blog Tour badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets are embedded due to codes provided by Twitter.}
Today, I am welcoming to Jorie Loves A Story a New Adult novelist S.B. Alexander as I started to realise that the best way to understand the changing market of Young Adult & New Adult novels is to seek out writers who are penning the stories and thereby finding a way to understand how the market is continuing to yield to the demand for stories that relate to today’s youth and emerging adults during the University years as much as provide a positive contribution to the craft of stories for growing minds. What interested me the most about S.B. Alexander’s Dare to Kiss novel is how diversely unique her lead character Lacey Robinson is inside the story itself.
Alexander tackles the brutality of domestic violence and murder of loved ones whilst honouring the anguish of surviving through the loss by giving her character an upward climb back into her reality. PTSD is a living issue affecting so many people right now, that I was surprised that it is not spoken about more in today’s fiction, as it is not only limited to returning servicemen and women anymore. Extreme trauma and stress can affect anyone who is attempting to resolve what is unthinkable and unfathomable to accept. I appreciated seeing the bold choice in Lacey’s mental health affliction as much as the courage to show through the strength of a sport she was passionately a part of she could grow a bit of distance from what shattered her life, and fuse a period of re-building and grace out of sorrow.
I originally had planned to read this novel for review for the blog tour, however, a print edition was not available which is why I opted instead to host a Book Spotlight & Author Q&A. I regularly speak about how I applaud the continuance of Equality in Literature & Diversity in Literature and I believe the more realistic stories can formulate a bridge towards understanding, empathy, and acceptance of what people are facing in today’s world, the better chance we all have towards a healthier community of people who not only respect each other but can offer a kindness that might otherwise have gone unseen. We’re all a part of the living mecca of life on Earth, but there are times where I think sometimes our differences can overstep our ability to see how our similarities will always knit us close together and allow us to enjoy each others company.
Without further adieu, here are the Questions I elected to ask of S.B. Alexander on behalf of her writing style and voice as well as the story inside Daring to Kiss:
I love how your writing novels in different genres and not keeping yourself strictly inside the Paranormal & Fantasy genres but exploring another avenue such as New Adult. I have noticed that authors of New Adult are classifying their novels in this genre on two distinctive branches of the fold: either with explicit language included and stories without explicit language. As I am a reader who prefers less brass language, how do you approach the genre for those readers who enjoy reading Young Adult but do not want to read the coarse words often found in today’s modern Adult fiction? Do you temper how much you include?
Alexander responds: In the Young Adult genre I do temper the strong language. I limit it as much as I can unless a scene calls for an out of character moment or it reflects a character’s personality.
At the heart of the story is a girl who is attempting to understand and live with her PTSD after having lost part of her family from homicide – what was the kernel of inspiration to breathe life into a character whose anguish of loss gave her such a difficult path to sort through as she walked forward from the tragic death of her Mum and sister?
Alexander responds: I had a hard road growing up, and went through something similar to the protagonist. When I was five-years-old, my dad had picked me up for the weekend, and we were going to spend it at his best friends house. I was so excited to see his best friend that I tore out of the car and ran into the house. When I did I found the man, who my dad loved dearly, dead in such a way that I had nightmares for the longest time.
By focusing on a sport she has a passion for such as baseball, I could almost see how she could put the pieces of her life back together by fusing her focus with something altogether outside the deep layers of her grief. What connected Lacey to the game originally and do you share a similar passion for baseball as well?
Alexander responds: Lacey’s older brother played baseball, and he taught her everything about the game, from the positions to the pitches. They’d sit for hours, watching the Dodgers, talking about how to throw a curveball, a fastball and a slider. After so much talking and learning the game, she wanted to try her hand at pitching. Once she slipped her fingers into the glove and threw her first fastball, she was hooked.
Like Lacey, baseball has always been a sport I’ve loved. For me, as a little girl my nighttime prayers consisted of two things. I prayed for a better life, and I prayed that when I woke up in the morning I’d be a boy and not a girl. Sure, it was a crazy prayer or wish, but I hated when the boys in my neighborhood told me I couldn’t play baseball or any sport for that matter. “Go play with your dolls,” they had said. I didn’t want to play with dolls or dress up pretty. Nope, I wanted holey jeans, a T-shirt, a bat, a glove and a baseball. I wanted to get dirty, run around bases, hit a ball, and play the game. After all these years I’m still hooked on the game. My favorite team is the Boston Red Sox.
What kind of research did you conduct for this novel as it is a step outside your regular releases?
Alexander responds: As far as baseball, I know the game so well. Even though I’ve never had the luxury of playing baseball, I follow the sport religiously. So the sport aspect for me was easy. However, I did do a lot of research on PTSD.
What was the impetus which gravitated you into writing? And, when did this occur? Who was your best cheerleader?
Alexander responds: I’ve written in a diary since I can remember. I’ve always found writing cathartic, a way to release my emotions. Still, I’ve always had the story idea of a girl playing baseball in a male dominated sport. I tried several times to weave the idea together, but after a few attempts I shelved the story due to the career path I followed. It wasn’t until two years ago when I decided to get really serious about writing. An employee whom I managed at the time, his wife was striving to be a writer. Her and I used to talk about stories and writing. From those conversations, she motivated me to stop talking about writing a book and just do it. So I put all my effort into the learning the craft. I took online classes, and found an editor who loved my writing. She was my cheerleader as I began my writing journey, and still is.
What are your favorite tools to use whilst writing? And, where do you write to gain the most inspiration?
Alexander responds: I love to begin my outline and my first chapter the old fashion way—a notebook and a good pen. I’ll work this way until I have the plot somewhat worked out. Then I switch to my Mac. I don’t use any of the special software for writing. I use Microsoft Word for all my stories. I also keep a binder with character descriptions, themes and any research I do along with a summary for each chapter.
Most of my ideas stem from getting out of my office and not thinking about the plot or the characters. I find whether I’m in my car or on a plane an idea will come to me, especially if I’ve been struggling to figure out the next scene. I also find that sitting in front of the TV with my laptop works wonders for my inspiration.
As you have mentioned previously you write the story first and settle where the story fits on the shelf later, are there any stories you have yet to explore that are outside Young Adult & New Adult audiences?
Alexander responds: I do have a mystery lurking in the depths of my subconscious.
I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Second Thoughts” virtual book tour through JKS Communications: A Literary Publicity Firm. As this was the second novel in a book series, I was able to put in a request to receive the first novel Lost in Thought of which I received a complimentary copy of direct from the publisher Luminis Books without obligation to review. I received my complimentary copy of Second Thoughts direct from JKS Communications in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Inspired to Read:
I am a bit of a quirky bookish soul on the level of being attracted to a particular style of paranormal stories which may or may not fit into the norm as far as industry standard selections on a per annum basis might include. I am particularly particular in my choices of both vocal styling of characters within the paranormal genre and the nature of how the undertone of these types of stories will befall. I am a reader who has a penchant for light being a fuelled undertone to novels, and thus, I am forever and a half seeking out the few paranormal stories out there that match my idealistic impression of the genre and the reality of what is being written. I nearly tucked tail out of the paranormal genre completely due to my previous interactions with other Adult Paranormal stories which tipped the scale in an unfavourable way.
I decided to forego seeking Adult Paranormal titles for blog tours and/or off-tour reviews and focus instead on the YA portion of the selections being published quite readily. Even then, I find myself not attracted to the heavier end of the spectrum but rather the intuitive side of YA Paranormal Fiction. I have always amassed a certain propensity for parapsychological story-lines (in both books & tv series/motion pictures), but my inclination of what I elect to read or to watch are a far cry outside the ones you’d expect I would have been drawn to read OR watch. Part of my participation in Horror October (by Oh! The Books) will carve out the dance I walk on the fringes of a supremely popular genre.
What drew my eye immediately into this book series was the premise – as I have to admit I was the girl in the darkened front row of The Sixth Sense who had worked herself up into a bit of a panic frenzy of not being able to handle half of the film; untila kind-hearted young bloke next to me (of whom I never knew previously or had the chance to properly thank afterwards; he disappeared that quickly!) told me *exactly!* when to ‘watch’ and when to ‘duck your eyes’; he clearly had been a groupie of the film director’s having seen this particular release 10x within the first few days of it’s release! I, on the other hand was a causality of a last-minute duck & dive into the theater with my best friend and as ill planned as we were, the front seats were the very last available to be had. Aside from the wicked horror of seeing it too close to the screen, what I appreciated was the premise of the film (perhaps not the straight-up horror bits mind you!) as a thesis of a theory of what happens when people see the dead amongst us. It is a thematic I was attracted too most intrinsically as forementioned on my blog having a connection to a field close-to that of a medical examiner. (see review of Daughter of the Gods).
Death by nature is always presented either in the light of faith-based stories or the gruesome after effects of being newly deceased on medical examiner series and/or police procedurals or detective mysteries. It is quite rare to find offerings of where the dead are alongside the living in a way that is representative of who they are after they pass and in such a way as to honour the spirit of the person who had died. Hence why I positively love watching Ghost Whisperer via seasonal dvds I loan through ILL’ing at my local library. The curiosity was always perked to find stories and characters who walk amongst the dead and/or are in communication with the dead on a parallel plane of acknowledgement as I think it has a bevy of choice as to how to portray not only the characters speaking to the dead but how to illuminate the dead themselves.
Now imagine my excitement on having discovered the Sententia series!
And, the blessing to read the series from Book 1 straight into Book 2!
Lost in Thought : First Book of the Sententia
Lainey Young has a secret . . .
She's going crazy. Everyone thinks she has severe migraines from stress and exhaustion. What she really has are visions of how people died - or are going to die. When doctors insist she needs a new and stable environment to recover, Lainey's game to spend two years at a private New England boarding school. She doesn't really think it will cure her problem, and she's half right. There is no cure, but she's not actually crazy.
Almost everyone at Northbrook Academy has a secret too. Half the students and nearly all of the staff are members of the Sententia, a hidden society of the psychically gifted. A vision of another student's impending death confirms Lainey is one of them. When she's finally getting comfortable with her gift of divining deaths, and with Carter Penrose, a recent Academy graduate and resident school crush, they uncover her true Sententia heritage. Now Lainey has a real secret.
Once it's spilled, she'll be forced to forget protecting secrets and start protecting herself.
Cara Bertrand is a former middle school literacy teacher who now lives in the woods outside Boston with: one awesome husband, two large dogs, one small daughter, and lots of words. LOST IN THOUGHT is her first novel and was a finalist for the Amazon/Penguin Breakthrough Novel Award.
Teenagers are not naturally attracted to antiques?:
I was a bit surprised to read this sentiment being expressed in the opening bits of learning more of Lainey’s past, a smirk of a recognition seeing a bit of myself in Lainey, if truth be told. I fell in love with antiques as a young girl as I grew up in a home and family of whom appreciated unique pieces and aged eclectic finds. By thirteen I was attending auctions regularly and getting the feel for discerning what was worth bidding on and what was worth letting slide by. I always appreciated the subtle differences in glass, china, and dishware – not only for distinction of style but for the artistry of where the pieces originally came from. We even had a factory of sculpture straight out of Italy nearby from where I was attending high school, so you could say, I grew up not only surrounded by art, music, and cultural events but a proper sense of ageless curiosity about curios!
Wandering around emporiums of antiques in tucked away small townes is simply a day ‘out’ I can always drink in with a smile, a nod to the out-of-doors walking paths, and a happy spirit. I love the spontaneous conversations evolving around something I find my eye is drawn to learn a bit more about and how each antique shoppe has it’s very own unique way of putting everything on display. I love the photographs which are framed and hung on the wall as much as the shoeboxes stuffed to the gills with individual photos you can purchase in large batches or separately if you want to go for the ‘unfamiliar relations’ mosaic. The furniture of the 1800s is intermixed with pre-1950s and early 20th Century, and the moment of anticipation to check out the estate jewelry in the cases is always a bit of happenstance glowing excitement! Yet, it is the furniture and the kick knacks I personally adore the most (except for how my mind wanders about sorting through the ‘china’ room to percolate a personal style of ‘necessary items’ in the dining room), as you can find such an array of hand-crafted artisan quality separates! One of my favourite finds are the pull down drawer desks and of course, an armoire that can fit and bemuse a woman’s wardrobe!
Hmm, yes, I do suppose being into antiques is not fashionably akin to being a teenager, but then who says you have to lead a conventional life!? I love Lainey’s spunk and her individualism!
My Review of Lost in Thought:
Realising you have a gift (especially a parapsychological gift) is innocuous enough, but to fully fathom how to encompass the truth of how far your gift can take you is quite another matter entirely! The paradoxical internal conflict at the jump-start of Lost in Thought set me inside the head of Lainey and etched out a time vortex to be wholly absent from my own living hours for the duration of her story to be told. There is something alluring about murder mysteries and to have orientated her revelation to know the dead through an act of murder was quite an ingenious hook for a potential reader to find on page 1! Of course, to be truthful, the reader would have to be a life-long appreciator ‘of murder mysteries’ such as myself to become rooted in their chair!
We quickly shift directly into Lainey’s life as she starts to end her gypsy life with her Aunt and takes up residence at a boarding school to finish out her tenure of high school. We start to watch her blossom by being able to have a bit of a routine rather than an unorthodox existence of following her Aunt Tessa around as she tours the country as a professional artist. It is whilst she is starting to settle into the Academy as a student we start to see her develop more as a person who is not only curious about what caused her headaches originally but if there was any truth to the origins therein. Her doctors always felt she was living too much out of sync with the normalcy other teens experienced during adolescence but she was never quite certain if her doctors understood her as they never had the fuller truth of what caused her the most duress. Lainey is a girl on the verge of understand who she is and why she was endowed with the gifts she has inside her, but there is always a pinch of foreshadow inside the story — alluring to a bit of a darker truth outside of the light.
I appreciated seeing the central core of the Sententia having roots in spirituality and watching how ethically they were attempting to do what was right whilst walking the fine line between interference with free will and observation. The internal core of the novel reminded me a bit of the Prime Directive from Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek and seeing theology discussed inside the novel was an unexpected surprise as I personally appreciated of whom the credit was given for having given the gifts to the Sententia. Each world is built differently inside the Fantasy genre, but what drew me to appreciate the Sententia is how humanistic they were whilst they understood a higher plane of existence. They are a bit advanced at discovering natural bourne gifts and how to wield them; yet they are a bit of a mystery to the outside world at large. This brought together an interesting proposition to the story’s central threads as they (the Sententia) are a unique sub-culture of humanity living on the fringes of ordinary society.
Lainey’s best friend Amy (who is also her roommate at the Academy) reminds me so much of Kit from Pretty Woman because she has her energetic enthused way of celebrating her roomie’s life that made me flash to mind her persona each time Amy walks into view or is wrapped up in a conversation with Lainey; which points closer to how this novel read more adult to me than high school teen; a bit more college than secondary school at least. Lainey never had a grounding of a friendship with a peer before due to all her expeditions but what she was truly gaining was further insight into who she was as an individual and how she wanted to proceed forward into her future. She is at the age where being given a gift came with certain responsibilities and certain consequences and I appreciated seeing how she was trying to align the balance she wanted in her life. Balance between trusting those who knew more than she did about the Sententia and trusting her gut instincts about everything else.
The only thing I was truly disappointed about aside from the strong language is that the story took an unexpected turn from what I had originally felt it was being projected as going towards — as far as the dead and the living are concerned. This is a story that is about the dead but it isn’t about helping the dead as I first had perceived but rather a unique bent on another vein of thought that walks alongside the dead and a bit on the level of the theory of the Grim Reaper if truth be told. Yet that isn’t entirely what it is about either. It is a very interesting story-line threaded through parapsychological phenomena that doesn’t allow you to fully guess where this novel is taking you; even when you think you understand everything you need to know about Lainey and her friends. Bertrand weaves in a twist or two that you are not expecting nor do you fully understand as this first installment ends on the tip of a cliffhanger; but not one that is hard to swallow but rather one that is most foreboding in where we shall enter Lainey’s life in “Second Thoughts”; because the title of the series itself is a leading clue to what lies within.
On the writing style of Cara Bertrand:
Bertrand excells at painting a story that feels real and is lush on descriptive narrative as much as sense of place for Lainey and the other students at the Academy; straight down to the local haunt of the bookshoppe. She has a knack for carving out a setting that feels as real as breathing and gives the YA genre a solid footing as far as how to paint the whole of the world whilst developing the characters inside it. The only flaw I found was the inclusion of a brass word early-on when Lainey met her roommate which not only felt out of step with the rest of the story but was a deep disappointment for me, as I was thinking I had finally found a writer who had curbed using strong language and left the genre to stand on the merit of the story and their characters without falling into the pattern of where modern YA is taking younger audiences.
I personally do not consider any novel YA or for an audience of Children if it is going to include strong language. I am going to start to talk more about this on my blog as I index my reviews, but what is disappointing to me is why there appears to be such a need to include the words at all? Despite my grievances for the language choices within this novel, I did appreciate the story as the words were flittered about like those flies I mentioned on previous reviews and not the total distractment they could have become. Evenso, I would not be recommending this to a teenager as the language for me puts this firmly in the Adult Lit category; similar to how I have felt each time I pick up a (supposed) YA title and find the same inside their pages.
I’m disappointed writers feel they have to add these words in order to find an audience because to me literature should stand as an example that improves our lives rather than detract from the causal way in which language has become outside literature and school. It is sad to me because when I find a wordsmith who breathes such a breath of positive narrative prose into her books, I am regrettably saddened to see words flicker onto the page that make me inwardly cringe. Their absence would not deflect from the message of the story but their absence would be applauded for carrying a story without abrasive words to narrow the audience the story could have had. I truly love the way in which Bertrand writes her stories, and the few intermittently brassier words do not reflect her writing as a whole.
Especially considering how much effort she put into having ‘cursing’ occurring ‘off-camera’ in some instances and/or finding unique phrases to ‘cover-up’ a stronger explicit phrase. I was a bit confused why more than half the book is writ with a young mind in consideration and the other half letting certain words erupt onto the page? It was quite confusing to me as like I said, she has a singularly strong strength in writing the voice of a teenager and in evoking what a teen’s mind, heart, and process of thought will entreat whilst dealing with a personal crisis and a revelation of identity. To say reading this story left me betwixt reactions is putting it mildly; especially considering when the coarse words started escalating in both frequency of appearance and the choice of which ones would be included.
Fly in the Ointment : is it me, or are there two versions of YA?
Is it me or has the book world gone upturnt crazy, lately!? Now, I have already established I purposely stopped reviewing Adult Paranormal novels for my blog with the express reason to avoid vulgarity in stories yet what curious little word did you think I found on page 18? It wasn’t the worst of the worst (of which I have absolutely positively no tolerance for at all) but it was still a word I wasn’t expecting to find in a novel branding itself as YA! I mean, isn’t the point of being a Young Adult novel to adhere to a certain ground rule of exclusion for explicit vulgarity and violence? Am I missing the boat OR is literature becoming so muddled these days it is growing harder to know which way is up? Sighs. And, here I was thinking this would be the one book series I would not be composing a Fly in the Ointment on!
I run searches on this topic every blue moon as I had tonight to check to see if my definition had miraculously changed since I first picked up Young Adult fiction as a young adult myself over a decade and a half ago! The results of which run the full gambit of if your not exclusively akin to reading vulgar words in literature you are either: too sensitive, too prudish, too religious, or too blind to see where society has taken our youth. I do not concur with any of the statements, because of the mere fact when I was in high school (and quite frankly elementary & middle too!) we had our own set of perimeters on language. If you heard foul words flying out of the mouth of a classmate you knew to give them a wide birth and they were never one to emulate. I admit to overhearing teens in my own towne sporting words out of their mouths which make me wonder what has changed since I graduated, but that aside, my main concern is the habit of finding there is no longer a ‘filter’ for Children’s Literature and the young minds of whom pick up the books.
I read a comment tonight from a concerned reader (who sounded a lot like me; open-minded but with a conscience) who lamented about how the ‘age’ of who regularly reads Young Adult novels are not teens but rather graduating elementary schoolers and run of the mill middle schoolers. The teens already graduating into adult fiction and/or pursuing interests outside of literature completely. As a future parent I am finding more angst in finding vulgarity in Young Adult fiction than as a reader who has appreciated YA fiction for most of her life. I never ran into any of this in the 1980s through mid-1990s which begs the question: what exactly has changed and why are certain words so rabid inside modern literature? As a book blogger — I never fathomed I’d have to find over 30 ways to Sunday to opine my discontempt for vulgarity in literature!
I’d never advocate for banning books but I do advocate for books to be marked with explicit content for language as a method of understanding what we will find inside and therefore start to curb our disillusioned disappointment. If they can mark books for science fiction & fantasy as much as lyrics in music, I am thinking it is time to start marking books with ‘strong language included’ and ‘explicit violence’ if the case might be as well.
What was more puzzling for me is the mission of the publisher (Luminis Books) is to curate books which are meaningful as they are thought-provoking, yet how can a novel be meaningful if the language is brought down by the commonality of cursing and using abrasive words where they could have been tempered and softly spoken by more creative means? I am not sure I am appreciating YA novels being overrun with language that parents and teachers alike are trying so very hard to discern them from using on a regular basis. Even on my own behalf in the not so far off future, I am not going to allow my children to talk with such reckless abandon; it was not how I was raised nor is it how I will be raising my children. Teens can feel anger and they can feel vehemently overwhelmed, as who didn’t feel that way as a teenager? The anguish and angst of growing up is always deeply wrought and felt, but we were always told to use our words and to express our emotions by choosing words which helped to douse the flames of the fires we felt surging inside us. To find better ways to express what we wanted to say and to own who we were without muddling our speaking voices with the words of sailors as the saying used to go.
I am not certain what has changed or why certain books are being found with such inclusions, but I personally will rally behind each writer of YA who doesn’t use language in a negative way but rather uses language to teach a more appropriate way to understand our world. The stories with stronger language I will advocate for adult readers only.
Stay tuned!
Next I will be hosting an Author Q&A with Cara Bertrand:
I positively *love!* comments in the threads below each of my posts, and as CommentLuv only requires Email to leave a note for me I cannot wait to see what starts to populate below! Kindly know that I appreciate each thought you want to share with me and all the posts on my blog are open to new comments & commentary! Short or long, I appreciate the time you spent to leave behind a note of your visit! Return again soon!
{SOURCES: The tour badge was provided by JKS Communications and used with permission. Book Cover Art for “Lost in Thought” & “Second Thoughts”, Author Biography & Book Synopsis provided by the author Cara Bertrand and used with permission. Blog Tour badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Bookish Events badge created by Jorie in Canva. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets are embedded due to codes provided by Twitter.}
Being into antiques is not fashionably akin to being a teenager, but then who says you have to lead a conventional life!? #SententiaSeries
— Jorie Loves A Story (@JLovesAStory) September 26, 2014
#amreading title of #newbook am soaking inside is aptly named: Lost in Thought, as this #bookblogger is EXACTLY that ‘lost in her thoughts’!
Aunty Lee's Deadly Specials
Lost in Thought : First Book of the Sententia
