Yay for YA Lit!

[amanuensis1]

Anybody here read Tamora Pierce?

The Circle of Magic books? The latest one, The Will of the Empress?


She's got one of the Circle in a same-sex romance.

:squeeble!:

Comments

[pauraque]

When I was a kid, one of my friends was best internet buddies with Tammy Pierce, and beta-read her books. She got her to come to our school and talk to the class about writing.

I did read her books, though they weren't entirely my cuppa. She is totally cool as a person, though, especially when you're 12 and it's way cool to have grown-ups befriend you at all. :)

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I was less enthralled with her Alanna books, though I thought they were decent, but her more recent series have really won me. She's starting to feel a little bit like Diana Wynne Jones to me--they're complex, fun, and when they're over, one week later, I can't quite remember what the plot was supposed to be. ^_^

[pauraque]

Diana Wynne Jones, now there's a YA author I love!

It sort of bewilders me thinking about kids who are growing up now, with the HP books as their Lioness Rampant or Dogsbody. Adults can really never see a book the way a 13-year-old sees it for the first time.

[cheshyre]

The Alanna books are the weakest, but then again, they're also the earliest. She's only gotten better since then, and you must admit, that's the right direction for an author to be going.

For a while, I considered Alanna to be a blatant Mary Sue. Then (a) I looked at Tamora Pierce fanfic on ffn (she's a wildmage, knight and princess!) and (b) I read somewhere on Tammy Pierce's website (I forget where and can't find it now) that Alanna was supposed to end up with Prince Jon. Then the characters rebelled against that destiny. Once that happened (imo) they broke the 2-d mold and became 3-d. And now, of course, with Alanna as a mother with sore joints and a rebellious daughter, she seems much more human...

[cheshyre]

Here's the bit from Tamora Pierce's faq about Alanna and Jon, if anyone wants to read it...

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is great, thank you! I remember thinking that one of the parts I liked best about those books was that she ended up with George and not Jon. And look, even the author thought she'd been heading another route! That's nifty. ^_^

[naatz.livejournal.com]

they're complex, fun, and when they're over, one week later, I can't quite remember what the plot was supposed to be.

That's really nailing down DWJ. :O

|Meduza|

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Isn't it? I want to do a post on Howl's Moving Castle, the film, and how it should be mightily appreciated for what it is, because NOBODY could ever fit a complete DWJ book into a film.

[naatz.livejournal.com]

Yes, it is. Not that it's bad or anything -- it just allows to read the entire book again a month later. XD

I haven't *watched* "Howl's Moving Castle". I have a lot of problems with Miyazaki, and while he might be a really good director, he wasn't the one should've done HMC. Miyazaki has a very realist way of portraying things, but the surrealism of HMC should be a little more colourful than what Miyazaki can give.

I suppose that once I've seperated the film from the book, I might enjoy the film. I hear it's great, and I hear that it's different from book!HMC. But it's not DWJ "Howl's Moving Castle", which is my favourite book. {Not that I exactly remember what HAPPENS in it. I just know that it's my favourite book.} The plain fact that the film has been done is amazing -- trying to translate the verb 'hobble' to the screen is just mind boggling.

{"The Nine Lives of Christian Chant" might work well on screen under the correct directing. Everything gets explained.}

Must hunt more DWJ books. :( I've only read three.

|Meduza|

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

The film has the basic storyline there, without having quite the level of humor that Jones does so well. (Yeah, I really do wanna make that post. ^_^ )

[naatz.livejournal.com]

I'd so totally read that post, if only to convince me whether it's worth watching or not. {Is it?}

|Meduza|

[cheshyre]

Tamora Pierce is a regular attendee at Boskone. And everywhere she goes, she's got this gaggle of tweens following her around like baby ducks. It's the cutest thing (and so nice to see the author encouragement in that manner).

[jedilora.livejournal.com]

Word. I'm on staff for Boskone, and it's been mentioned during debriefing that Tammy's Sunday events are 1)her idea and 2)a huge draw.

This year, I hung out in the hallway with her before her panel. So much fun to just TALK to that lady.