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Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

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Vessel is the most unique fantasy novel I’ve read this year, and its execution is worthy of it.

Liyana has trained her whole life to be the vessel for her tribe’s goddess, Bayla. When Liyana dances and a magician speaks the correct words, Bayla will be called and inhabit Liyana’s body, displacing Liyana’s soul. The ritual kills Liyana, but Bayla needs a body to work the magic that will bring rain to the desert and save the lives of everyone who calls it home.

Liyana is prepared to sacrifice herself to save her tribe, but although the ritual is performed flawlessly, Bayla doesn’t come. Her tribe decides that Bayla decreed Liyana unworthy of her, and they abandon her to the desert. Liyana survives on her own for a bit, but her prospects are bleak.

And then a young man approaches her, claiming to be the trickster god Korbyn. He tells Liyana that the various tribes’ gods and goddesses have been trapped in false vessels, and they must team up together to rescue them or the desert people will perish. So Liyana joins Korbyn on his trek through the desert, gathering up the other tribes’ failed vessels of other gods and goddesses and heading east, toward the Crescent Empire, where Korbyn says the deities have been imprisoned.

The desert setting Durst has created is wonderful. Liyana loves her desert, though it is a harsh place to live. In one scene, she defends it to another character, and her words inspire love for the desert in the reader, too. Durst makes the desert a unique, fully-realized place, not a thinly-veiled copy of Middle Earth.

I loved many other things about the book, too. The magic system has rules that make sense, and it’s never used as a deus ex machina. On their journey, Liyana and Korbyn swap stories about the deities that we would normally call fables or folklore, but they also have an impact on the story and its characters. Liyana herself is protective of her people and her culture, but she’s not blinded by faith, either. Durst balances these two aspects of her personality well – she is neither blindly obedient nor the stereotypical rebel. The supporting cast all have distinctive personalities as well, even those who do not get much page time.

Many books start with a unique premise, but then execute that premise in a predictable way (Crewel is a recent example). Durst adeptly avoids this pitfall. Vessel isn’t a book full of twists and turns, but nor does it lead exactly where I thought it would. It’s believable and interesting throughout, and I never felt that I had read the story a hundred times before.

Lastly, I liked how the religion in the book wasn’t mythical (in the way that we consider ancient Greek religion mythical – fun, untrue stories that people used to believe). Liyana’s gods and goddesses are real, and they truly inhabit the bodies of others to work their magic. A lot of fantasy doesn’t go there, which is fine, but it’s more unusual to see it actually presented as the characters believe.

I know the cover doesn’t change what’s inside, but Vessel has a particularly striking one. I love the combination of pinks, oranges, and browns, and I love how powerful Liyana looks on it. The cover seems to depict her in the midst of her dance to draw Bayla to her, meaning that while it does depict a pretty girl in a pretty dress, it’s also relevant to the story. (And I’ll admit that I love looking at pretty dresses.)

Vessel is a great example of new territory fantasy can mine. One of the things I love most about reading fantasy is that anything is possible. The author has the whole world plus all imagined worlds to work with. Durst has done a terrific job with her imagined world.

I’d recommend this for fans of Girl of Fire and Thorns (for the hero’s journey aspect), For Darkness Shows the Stars (for the unique/believable world-building aspect), Shadows on the Moon (for the non-Western fantasy aspect), and possibly older readers of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon/Starry River of the Sky (for the folkore/mythology aspect). Its appeal should be wide to fantasy fans in general, but it’s a good example of story and writing that can draw in tentative fantasy readers as well.

Because I was curious and I figured you all might be too, below is a video of Sarah Beth Durst discussing the development of the idea behind Vessel. You can also read the first two chapters of the book at her website.

Finished copy received from the publisher. Vessel is available now.

Source

Teen Read Week Author Event Recap

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This past weekend, I went out to Denver to visit a couple of college friends who’d moved out there not too long ago. One of the bonuses of choosing this last weekend was the opportunity to attend an author event in Boulder on Saturday evening, featuring three debut authors — Donna Cooner (Skinny), Emily Hainsworth (Through to You), and Tiffany Schmidt (Send Me A Sign) — and more-seasoned author Brenna Yovanoff (The Replacement and The Space Between).

Before the signing itself, I met up with Emily and Tiffany for a little ice cream. Except, it was probably the saddest ice cream experience ever, given that they ran out of ice cream for what we all wanted to order and Tiffany and I settled for less-than-stellar choices. Of course, it wasn’t about the ice cream, but the company.

Shortly after, we made our way down to Boulder Book Store and upstairs to the area that had been cleared out for the reading. And immediately after, the news came that the exit from the interstate to Boulder had been shut down for an accident and Donna and Brenna may be late. That then led to realizing those who wanted to attend might not make it either. Fortunately, a couple of other people came (including Jen from A Book and a Latte and Owyn). We waited for a while and knew that the traffic situation was going to throw the schedule off a little, but in the mean time, Tiffany was kind enough to do a little reading for us from another book, Hot Guys and Baby Animals (with a short cameo from Emily):

Then Donna made it as the reading wrapped up, and by the time 6:30 rolled around — the event began at 6 — everyone started and crossed their fingers Brenna would show up. She hadn’t made it as everyone began their introductions, but she snuck in right in time to share hers, too. Here everyone gives a little background into themselves and their books (here’s where my stellar video-taking skills came in, as this video is a little choppy since I had to edit an entire rotated screen I somehow made happen):

Brenna Yovanoff:

This was an extremely informal panel, meaning that no one introduced it and there wasn’t an agenda. So once the introductions were over, Donna suggested everyone do a short reading from their books. My camera’s capacity filled up mid-way through Tiffany’s reading, meaning I didn’t get to capture all of hers nor any of Brenna’s, but here are Donna, Emily, and (part of) Tiffany’s readings:

Donna Cooner reading from Skinny:

Emily Hainsworth reads from Through to You (the sound doesn’t pick up immediately, but it kicks in after a few seconds):

Tiffany Schmidt reads from Send Me A Sign:

Once the reading ended, they opened the floor up to questions. Fortunately, the audience had filled out nicely and they ran out of time answering questions because the were that many. I wish I’d done a better job of taking notes on what was asked and answered, but I can share what I asked, which was what was the most surprising thing about being a debut author (for the three debut authors) and what was the most surprising aspect of being a seasoned author past that “debut” stage. For Donna, it was how much people would interact with her and share how they felt about the book. In other words, it had nothing to do with the writing or the promoting but was much more about how suddenly, people wanted to talk with her about her story. Brenna’s answer was really thoughtful, too, about how different it was going from being a debut to being a non-debut author — it was hard to juggle writing and promoting and having her head in two different places, especially as it’s less of a “status” to be a non-debut author.

There was a great discussion about branding and about how the authors felt their careers could look in the future, especially since they’ve all written stand alone novels. Where those who write a series kind of have an idea of what their careers will look after their debut novel, those who write stand alones don’t. Do they stick with the genre or “type” of book they’ve done before or do they try something entirely new? How does Donna Cooner write another “Donna Cooner” book, when she’s only written one before? Brenna mentioned that she loves writing somewhat creepy stories, so continuing down that path isn’t something she worries too much about just yet.

Another good question that came up was directed at Emily and how she managed to write such a believable male protagonist in Through to You. She talked about working through scenes and dialog again and again until it sounded right and not too emotionally-driven, like a female voice tends to be. She talked about the challenge, especially because she herself had never been a teenage boy.

Once question and answers were cut off (because there were a ton!), all of the authors hung around to chat and sign books. I didn’t get a photo of everyone on the panel together because my camera died, but there is an excellent one with Jen over at her blog.

Before I snuck out, I did manage to get someone to take a photo of Tiffany, Emily, and I:

This was a fabulous event, and I am envious of anyone who lives in Boulder and gets to attend things like this regularly.

Exciting news

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I mentioned in this weekend’s links of note post that I’ve been working on a couple of different projects.  One of them has been on a presentation for the YA Lit Symposium, and the other one is something that has sort of been in the back of my mind for a few months now.

I’ve done a lot of thinking about the things I’m passionate about. About the things that I’ve had the chance to write about here on STACKED and elsewhere. About how much I love writing about and thinking about certain topics and issues. I started to really consider how I can take what it is that interests me and take it out a little bit further.

(I feel like building up really good tension here so that this is really as exciting an announcement to whoever reads it as it is to me, but I fear I’m doing a terrible job. Humor me, please.)

Last week, I submitted a lengthy outline to VOYA for a book.

This weekend, while out of town, I had a contract in my inbox.

Today, I signed and returned that contract.

In other words: I’m writing a book.

A book about contemporary YA fiction.

It’s not just a book of book lists, though, and while there will certainly be a nice chunk of the book devoted to thematic and topical book lists (with book talks, links to well-done and worthwhile book trailers, with read alikes, and other readers’ advisory materials), it’s a lot more than that. My vision for the book — which should be obvious by now isn’t yet written — includes a large first part devoted to some of the things I’ve talked about before: why contemporary YA matters, how to be an effective critical reader and evaluator of books, and how to make connections among and between books. It’s also going to give a historical overview of the growth of the genre and the way it moved from “problem novels” to how it broaches different themes and topics in today’s world. It’s going to cover how to effectively provide passive readers’ advisory, as well as how to give a book talk (with attention to the evaluation of and use of book trailers).

The book will also include readers’ guides to different topics for book group and classroom use. These would be over niche topics within contemporary YA fiction that could make for interesting conversation — for example, the topic of military service would highlight 4 or 5 books that feature this theme and provide a means of examining them individually and as a group.

And of course, there will be a section devoted to how to be an advocate for contemporary YA fiction.

The book as I see it will be useful not just for librarians, but also educators, youth advocates, and, I hope, general readers looking to educate themselves on the genre and also looking for a resource to a lot of new reading material. It’s also going to be very up-to-date, meaning materials will be from 2009 to the present (thinking by the time it’s in print, nothing in the book will be more than 5-6 years old). There will, of course, be a lot of time devoted to talking about classics and staples in contemporary YA, so those won’t be overlooked.

I’ve been processing this all because, as much as I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, it all came together very, very quickly. Like I mentioned: this isn’t written yet. And it won’t be done for quite a while because I’ve given myself a nice lengthy deadline in hopes of devouring as much relevant material as possible.

As far as what this may mean for blogging, I am pretty sure it means nothing different will happen here except maybe for more reviews. I don’t plan on talking about this project a whole lot until there is a finished product in hand (or there are parts of a finished product, at least) and I can talk about it as a tangible thing, rather than an idea I’m still wrapping my head around.

I mean…

I’m writing a book about contemporary YA fiction.

Guest Post: An Unashamed Love Letter to Stephen King

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Matthew Jackson returns for a special Halloween guest post. Jackson has been sporadically guesting for us for a while now, most notably his series on Horror Lit 101. An avid reader and reviewer, he reviews adult fiction for BookPage, is an entertainment journalist at Blastr.com, and has a short story in the current issue (#360) of Weird Tales Magazine. You can visit him online at his Tumblr and Twitter.

Whenever people find out that I’m sort of a book person, and especially when people find out that I’m an actual real-live professional writer (we don’t get out in the wild much), they try to find something to ask me that I can reliably answer without either boring them with technical details or boring them with philosophical double talk (writers, I think are either experts at philosophical double talk or experts at evading any philosophical talk whatsoever). So they ask me some version of this:

“Who’s your favorite writer?”
There was a time when I considered this an opportunity to display my reading range, to reveal that I’d taken on some really heavy stuff, man, and I got it. So, for the longest time, my answer was William Faulkner (a 17-year-old saying his favorite writer was Faulkner was, I thought, rather impressive). The answer occasionally evolved to include writers like Cormac McCarthy and Allen Ginsberg, and then Joyce Carol Oates. But while all four of those writers are among the most gifted and brilliant I’ve ever read, and while they all no doubt rank among my favorites, I wasn’t being truthful. If you ask me who my favorite writer is, and I’m giving the most honest answer from deep down in my bones, it’s not any of those people, nor is it Michael Chabon or Philip Roth or Ernest Hemingway.

My favorite writer is Stephen King.
I will admit to once being embarrassed by this knowledge, and therefore not admitting it, I suppose because I wanted to give an answer that was more in-line with the conventions of the literary establishment. But I give this answer loudly and cheerfully now, no matter who I’m talking to, because I long ago came to the conclusion (as should we all) that the “literary establishment” can go to hell. Stephen King is my favorite writer, and what’s more, the competition for the top spot isn’t even close. Even among all those great writers I mentioned above, he towers over everyone. He’s at the top of my literary universe. There are a number of reasons for this, but I think the simplest (and truest) one is that there’s some intangible bit of his fictional universes that fill up my brain as I’m reading. The best books are always the most immersive, and whenever I read a Stephen King novel, his world is my world.

But it’s also about roots. King was the first “grown-up” writer I ever sought out. See, I grew up in the ‘90s, and that was a time when Stephen King was still the biggest publishing juggernaut on the planet (this was when J. K. Rowling was still in her superstar infancy). He was the only writer I’d ever seen who had TV commercials to promote his books. His paperbacks were in every grocery store, at everyone’s yard sales. It’s still true, but back then it was somehow truer: Stephen King was ubiquitous.

So, in my adolescent brain, reading a Stephen King novel meant that you’d somehow arrived at adulthood. You were part of that great mass that King himself has come to call “Constant Reader.” But my introduction to the King canon was likely different than most. For whatever reason, rather than picking up something short but iconic – The Shining, perhaps, or Pet Sematary – I picked up what remains King’s longest, most ambitious single novel: The Stand.

Even after a career of nearly four decades encompassing all manner of scary and non-scary stories, I still consider The Stand to be King’s best work. It’s sprawling and majestic and so clear in my head that it still stands as my favorite novel. On the other end there’s Gerald’s Game, perhaps the only King novel I outright loathe, but overall his body of work is one that keeps me coming back. I re-read his longest novels over and over again, I reach for particular short stories to brighten my day, and I keep re-visiting the audio version of his memoir On Writing (which he reads). No other writer has ever kept me so hungry for the words.

Why, you ask? Well, apart from King’s role in my reading youth, it’s kind of hard to say. I’m not trying to cop out here, but I really feel that when you talk about favorite writers, what really causes that connection is something invisible. I could talk about how he manages to be extremely attentive to detail while never being overwhelming about it. I could talk about his incredible ear for dialogue. I could talk about the almost cinematic images he crafts that haunt me even years after reading them (the old woman in the tub from The Shining, the sandalwood handles on Roland the Gunslinger’s revolvers). I could talk about the fantastic blend of fear and humor. I could talk about his ability to travel far beyond his “horror master” label and deliver fantastic tales of human hope, compassion, and love. I could talk about all of that, but if you ask me why Stephen King is my favorite writer, and I really think about it, I find the honest answer is much, much simpler.

Stephen King’s writing just feels like home.

So, in the spirit of Halloween sharing, I’ve shared my favorite writer with you, but since this is a blog about reading, and I believe it would be a kindness to leave you with some useful information, I would like to present a brief reading list for the works of my favorite author. If you’d like some chills this Halloween courtesy of Mr. King, here’s where you can go.

High School Hell: Carrie
Vampires That Don’t Sparkle: Salem’s Lot
Haunted Houses, Haunted People: The Shining
ZOMBIES!!!: Cell
The Ultimate Monster: IT
The End of the World As We Know It: The Stand
The Horror Variety Pack: Night Shift
The Horror Within: The Dead Zone, The Dark Half
Spooky Pets: Cujo, Pet Sematary
Horror-Free: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, 11/22/63, The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger

Happy All Hallow’s Read, gang.

Links of Note

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This week’s links of note is legitimately shorter than most. I’m in the midst of preparing a huge presentation for YALSA’s YA Lit Symposium and I’ve been working on setting up the forthcoming contemporary week series here at STACKED, to run November 3-10. I’ve got five amazing guest posts, and I’ll be including coordinating book lists to the topics the guests wrote on. Contemporary week will kick off with a post including all our presentation materials from the Symposium, including a massive project I’ve devoted all my free time to. Which would explain why this week’s links of note is shorter.

  • What’s new in YA Fiction? Mashups. But not the kind of Mashups where Abe Lincoln is taking on something paranormal. These are mashups that tangle genres. I think some of these work way better than others, especially when trying to sell books to a teen. 
  • Here’s a good piece on how to support an author. Though I do find the “buy a copy even if you won’t read it” bit to be kind of weird. I get the point, but I don’t like extra clutter in my house. I’d rather just gift a book in support.  
  • Ten essential books for book nerds! How many have you read or do you own? I’ve read The Book Thief and The Polysyllabic Spree. I do own Reading Lolita in Tehran but haven’t read it yet. 
  • Ploughshares literary magazine does a feature on little-known literary boroughs, and this time, they covered Iowa City, IA. I went to college just north of Iowa City and used to go down to their amazing indie, Prairie Lights, to get a fix. I got to hear a few readings there, too, and I had the privilege of hearing so many well-known literary readers while in college because of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop being there. I also had a professor who came from the IWW, which really did transform a lot of my thinking about creative writing and the creative process. When they tell you you will not have opportunities for “cultural events” in the midwest, I beg to differ. I loved reading this piece. 
  • Cassie Clare wrote a great piece about bullying and how it’s a bad thing. I know that sounds cheesy and I feel like everyone’s read this already, but I think her speaking out like this — especially with the audience she has — is brave and powerful.  
  • I think it’s way too early to be talking about the best books of the year, but The Huffington Post disagrees with me. They offer up their favorites of the year.  There is one YA book on the list. Can you guess what it is? 
  • Speaking of Halloween, twisted couples, and other scary thoughts, make sure you check out the new series over at Nova Ren Suma’s blog: What Scares You?