The Sword of Shannara

Back in January 2016, I wrote a post about the show The Chronicles of Narania that had premiered. I went on to say that I as I thoroughly enjoyed the show (which only went on to get better from that first episode onward) I hoped that it would draw people into the books. Well, I got my wish. A friend messaged me not long after the show ended for the season, asking me where to start in the series (a question I highly discourage because my answer tends to be long-winded at best, mind-numbing at worst) as she wanted to read the books that inspired the show. I pointed her to The Sword of Shannara partly because that was where Brooks started, and partly so that she could get a little bit of backstory for some of the things she would be seeing later on in the series (book or show). As we talked about it, I decided to join her and read the books again as well. While it took me a lot longer to finish, only because life got really in the way, the story was everything that I remembered it to be.

Sword tells the story of Shea Ohmsford, small town boy looking to mind his own business until the Druid Allanon appears to tell him that he is the heir to an overwhelming birthright in the form of a legendary sword that would be the one weapon that could take out the incredible powerful evil that is the Warlock Lord. A lot of traveling, fighting, chaos, confusion, and adventures ensue. It is a great place to start the series if you have never read the books before.

This is not the beginning though. Even that first time I read the series, when I was around 10, I started with The First King of Shannara which tells how the sword came to be, sets up the stories of the families, the druids, the world that is the Four Lands. I encourage everyone to read it!

But with the next season starting soon, I am glad that my friend started with Sword because I am going to quickly jump into Elfstone of Shannara, the next book upon which the show is based, and hopefully get to Wishsong of Shannara before the show starts getting too far off track from the original story line (which has already been confirmed to mixed reviews).

Anyway, I absolutely loved getting pulled back into this story once more. I have loved this series, this world for so long, getting to fully step back into it again was like returning to an old friend. And we picked up right where we left off. Once more I have the insatiable urge to read them all! Getting to talk with a new fan was a real bonus that I greatly enjoyed as well. So if you have recently picked up the books, please let me know so we can talk about them! If you have only just found the series, that's great too, because I love it just as much! And if you need a push to get into either, let me know, I will gladly give you a nudge as I pick up Elfstones and program the TV to record season 2 on Spike! Join me in one of my very first fandoms! Trust me, it is so worth it!

Every Last Word

January - Books with a white cover

This is the story of Sam. Sam has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, focusing on the obsessive part. She is sixteen and she was diagnosed years ago, and she is in therapy and trying to cope with it. But no one outside of Sam's family knows. And she likes it like that because she wants the world to think she is completely normal. Only, she is lonely because of this thinking. Until she meets Caroline and her world starts to change. Sam discovers poetry and makes friends and focuses on herself. She starts to be happy. It's a wonderful story!

And it is so darn familiar to me that sometimes I had to take a step back. Sure, the details are a little different because while I do have OCD (or Pure-O as I have discovered is more accurate), I was dealing more with depression and anxiety in high school. And whereas Sam had a group of plastic friends she felt she could never explain things to, I had my family who I was desperate not to disappoint. Sam meets the Poets, friends that understood, had their own faults, but had poetry. I had a few friends that had their own illness and were willing to just let me be. Sam finds AJ. I am now married to my own AJ. It sounds so awesome, finding your way through, figuring out who you are and how to be happy in it. But it's not that easy. At one point, Sam's friend tells her she is changing, and maybe not for the better. I received those same lines from my father. It was hard to explain that I wasn't who everyone had though I was up to that point, especially since my family really liked that girl and I was becoming my own person. It took my a long time to find my own Poets, but I got there and have slowly to become happier in my own life.

So imagine how amazing it was to pick up this book and discover my story within its pages! So maybe I was far more drawn to the story than you would be. But I honestly believe that Stone does such an amazing job of giving us Sam in all her crazy glory and making us fall in love with her. She does an incredible job of capturing the good, the bad, the crazy of Sam's day to day life, from the obsession with her odometer in her car to the panic attacks that nearly cripple her. Stone did a lot of research for this story, and it really shows in how accurately she portrays so much of it. It was wonderful getting to read this one. Even through the sad parts and the bits that gave me second hand embarrassment and the pages that made my heart smile. It was a fantastic book from beginning to end. Please, pick it up, read it, love it with me!

Warrior Song

December: Re-Reading Favorites

So, this was the first romance I ever read, way back when I was a teenager. I picked it up because it was about a girl raised to be a warrior by her father at a time when girl's were not meant to be anything of the sort. Chandra is beautiful and brave and wants nothing more than to stay by her father's side and play at being a boy. I could so relate to this character! But then the men come to bid for her hand and Chandra is made to marry and watch as her whole world is turned upside down. And even though she really likes the man she is married to, Chandra strives to keep ahold of herself while being forced to give over to another's wishes.

The first time I read this book I loved it. I was completely in love with everything about it from the settings and characters to the constant life or death peril Chandra was thrown into and the love story she found herself in. This month I read it for what must have been the tenth time. And I still love it! Sure, this is an old edition so there are problems with some spelling and grammar, but with a favorite you can ignore it. And it may not be the most amazing story for everyone else, but I still love it just as much as the first time I picked it up.

So if you are looking for a story with a strong-willed female lead trying to figure out the sudden change in her life, give this one a chance. If you are looking for slightly cliche romance with an unbelievably understanding male lead, pick this one up. Or if you are looking for a quick read, something fun and fast paced, here it is! And let me know what you think of it!

A Wrinkle In Time

December: Re-Read Favorites

A Wrinkle In Time was the first book that I read in which the main character was so much like myself that I felt a connection immediately. Meg is just an ordinary girl, unassuming, a little better at some subjects, and very protective of her family with a temper that could get out of hand, I loved her instantly.

In this story Meg has to take an incredible journey through space and time to find her father and bring him back. With the help of her little brother and a new friend, Calvin, she finds a strength inside herself that allows her to do incredible things.

And all these years later, I still love this story so much, Even though Meg kind of annoyed me at times as I was reading it, it was fun, because the younger me would no doubt annoy me too, now. What's more, I found this graphic novel version of the book I love so much and it gave me a new way to see the story I have memorized. What better way to close out a year of books than by joining something I love with a new format I am finding myself more and more in love with, with each new story I discover.

If you haven't read this classic, take a minute to pick it up, in what ever form you can, and discover the joy of Madeleine L'Engle. If you have read it before, pick it up again and read it with different eyes. It's always fun to see things from a new angle, and this is a story you can enjoy more than once!