The Cruel Prince romantic connection?!🫣🦆

     At this point in time, I have been delaying an actual book blog, but I’m finally at a point in my book where I can talk about it! Over the past few weeks, I have been reading a book called The Cruel Prince. Many people know of this book and the series in general; I’m giving a head up now that there will be spoilers in this post. There are 2 main characters (I use MC as abbreviation), who are named Jude and Cardan!  

Jude has a slightly altered backstory opposed to Cardan’s, which is just the fact she currently lives with the man that murdered her parents. Somehow this was quickly normalized, and she continues living a regular life as if he didn’t, this kind of confuses me but it adds to the storyline. Jude has 2 sisters named Taryn and Vivienne; she shares a close bond with both sisters but has secrets she must keep from them to protect someone else. Another thing to add is that for a while Jude has been in competition with the other MC, Cardan, since they were younger. Since Jude wants to become a knight, entering the summer tournament that puts her in competition with her enemy further added resentment between the two. From the very first interaction we see between Cardan and Jude, there is certainly some sort of emotion in their relationship with each other. They seem to both act like they hate each other but secretly have feelings that say otherwise. There is a scene where Jude has been fed faerie fruit and she was going a little bit crazy because that is what the side effects of the fruit are, and while Cardan’s friends were making her do all these weird things, Cardan just simply redirected what she should do. He insisted she kiss his foot which she did not end up doing but it’s the simple idea that his hatred only lead him to allow her to be humiliated, but not physically hurt. 

Since that was Jude’s paragraph, it’s only fair that Cardan gets one too. Cardan is part of the royal family; he has 5 other siblings, and he is the youngest! His sibling's names are Balekin, Elowyn, Dain, Rhyia, and Caelia; Dain was the king-to-be but unfortunately that was sabotaged by Balekin. Cardan had an interesting relationship with his brothers, from Jude’s perspective when she was in the tower while Cardan and Balekin were training, she describes a rather brutal punishment towards Cardan. As I mentioned earlier, both Jude and Cardan were entering the summer tournament to become a knight which increased tension between the two. Because Cardan came from the royal family, he did have an advantage in the battle between their teams. Ultimately Jude’s team did end up being victorious and Cardan didn’t take that too well. Jude hated Cardan, but she still helped him at times where it seemed he did need it. After the coronation of Prince Dain when chaos broke loose, Jude navigates Cardan to escape the wild mess before either of them get hurt.  

Now for my personal thoughts on their relationship.  Overall, I think the both of them could make an impressively powerful duo if they worked together all the time. When we saw them together, they often rebelled against each other but as stated in both of their paragraphs, they can be beneficial for the other even if it isn’t meant to be that way. They obviously seem to have some sort of opening for new emotions each time they interact together, and I think they are in a good position at this point in the story. I’m not fully finished with the book yet, but I do hope to see more of them together and hopefully the examples of them helping each other can be added to. For now, I’m finished with my yapping...until next time! 

-Chloe B.🦆 

The Power of the First Line - Max B-M.

“And yet a really good first line can do so much to establish that crucial sense of voice—it’s the first thing that acquaints you, that makes you eager, that starts to enlist you for the long haul. So there’s incredible power in it, when you say, come in here. You want to know about this. And someone begins to listen.” - Stephen King

    It is often said that one should not judge a book by its cover, but no one talks about the opening line. The book's opening line draws the reader in, shows the novel's style, and informs the reader if they wish to continue. 

Moby-Dick - Herman Melville (1851) 

    This novel, which follows the story of a whaling ship captain's quest for revenge against a giant white whale, begins with the line; “Call me Ishmael.”

The opening line of the story is beyond famous. It’s the topic of many conversations about the author's intent with the line. One thought is that Melville wanted to indicate that the narrator may have been hiding something or acting deceitfully. He also possibly wanted to raise imagery surrounding the biblical figure of Ishmael, who was a castaway. The final theory about this well-known line is that Melville is creating a casual introduction. It allows readers to get comfortable with the narrator and first-person story that is about to play out. 

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925) 

The novel, the story of the enigmatic Gatsby who sought to become impressively wealthy to win the heart of Daisy (the woman of his dreams), opens with an introduction to its narrator, Nick Carraway; “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.” 

    During the first words, a few points are shared about Nick: he is looking back on life, he thinks his father is a wise man, he identifies with privilege, and certain life occurrences have opposed his thinking and perspective. This entices the reader to want to know what those events may be and what else entrances this mysteriously introduced character. 

1984 - George Orwell (1949)

1984, a novel about a man questioning the system keeping his futuristic but dystopian society afloat, starts with the line; “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” 

Orwell begins the novel with a relatively simple declaration, but through it, he hooks the reader with many techniques. First, he combines two facts: it was a cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen. These two facts put together are stronger than either on their own and the dramatic nature of the sentence locks in the reader. Second, he uses sensory motion with his words, “were striking,” which allows the reader to visualize (physically and auditorily) multiple clocks striking 13 times.  

Snuff; My Review After Finishing a Book Series

 It's been a little over a year since I've started the City Watch series by Terry Pratchett, and I just finished the eighth and final book in the series, Snuff. This series was incredible, but to me the best part is watching as the books grew in writing style and format.

The start of the series was incredible, with the main characters going through the motions of a fantasy story, while obviously parodying the themes of normal fantasy. One in a million chances, and ideas of the sort. After just one book, I found myself liking the characters, but not yet truly caring about their eventual fates. I expected to get to the third book and drop the series, seeing as the last series I had finished was four years before.

However, as I was on the last 100 pages or so of the last book, I was enraptured by the characters, having grown to really care about every one since the point they were introduced. Even characters that only became a truly pivotal character in the last book tugged at my heartstrings. The writing itself had transformed from an author writing about characters, to a person writing about adventures as if he had been through it himself. He also found what worked for him best, using his humor to move the story forward instead of just using it in between lines.

Yes, every blog post I've made has been about Pratchett. No, I will not stop just because I finishes the series. There are thirty-three more books I've yet to read. Buckle up.

On the Come Up: Chloe L.

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least make it out of her neighborhood one day. As the daughter of an underground rap legend who died before he hit big, Bri’s got big shoes to fill. But now that her mom has unexpectedly lost her job, food banks and shutoff notices are as much a part of Bri’s life as beats and rhymes. With bills piling up and homelessness staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it—she has to make it.

Angie Thomas strikes again. On the Come Up is yet again another brilliant novel written by the popular American young adult author, best known for writing The Hate U Give. This novel tells the story of Bri, a sixteen-year old rapper, hoping to fulfill the expectations of those around her. She hopes to 'make it' as an underground hip-hop legend, aspiring to fill the shoes of her father, Lawrence "Lawless" Jackson.

Bri faces monumental obstacles throughout the journey to achieve her dreams. Though only sixteen-years old, she has a lot on her plate: from crushes, school, and tests to shots being fired in her neighborhood, gang violence, and her aunt selling drugs.

One big component of this book is family, just as it did in The Hate U Give. Pretty early on in this book, we find out that Bri and her older brother Trey lived with their grandparents for a while, when their mother Jay's drug addiction got out of hand. It's abundantly clear that Bri has had a rough time, with her father dying early on in her life, but loves her family to the ends of the earth. Jay forced herself to get off the drugs, overcoming drug stereotypes, which have been plastered all over her forehead by her own parents and those around her. Her past seems inescapable by her employers and distant relatives. The relationship of Jay, Trey, and Bri is a spotlight throughout the entire story, displaying the sacrifices they are willing to make for each other. One sacrifice includes Trey coming back home instead of completing his Master's degree at the university to help out with money and family.

Racial stereotypes haunt Bri and her family throughout the entire novel. Outside of her family and close friends, nearly everyone that Bri encounters sees her through the distorted lens of racial stereotyping. From the security guards to the media news, the world tells Bri that she is "thuggish" and "aggressive". Bri struggles throughout the novel to eradicate the ideas of these labels, but that pushback itself is seen as "further proof of her aggression". For example, Bri writes her verse, “On the Come Up”, in an attempt to fight against the perception of her being a "gangster" and a "threat", but many listeners interpret the song in the opposite way, believing it to be a call to violence against police, "confirming Bri's dangerousness".

Angie Thomas's writing is outstanding as the fear, anger, and frustration emitted by the characters can be felt by the readers.