Absent Until April

Things are getting down to the wire with classes and my senior project, so I'll be turtling into my anti-social shell until after my thesis defenses. I have two. One for my major, and one for my Honors qualification.

The performance of my project goes up on April 5th, and the defense will be sometime after that. Err, I should probably schedule that. Soon. Unfortunately, my schedule is full of things like that that I should have done yesterday. Until I do all of them and get this thing over with, no more blogging for me!

I might still publish the odd review on Examiner just to keep my active status -- and I have a big backlog of reviews to get to, anyway -- but more likely I'll hold all that off until April.

Also, I am still beta-reading for two people right now, but I will not have your stuff back to you until mid-April at the earliest. I'm really sorry about that. I'll still be checking email, so you can send me questions related to your MS and I will respond. However, I won't be able to get you the actual documents until later.

In the meantime, you college students can still submit to Outrageous Fortune literary magazine, which I intern for. :) Send me more plays and art!

When I do eventually return, I want to redesign this blog. I'll also be able to tell you a bit more about my senior project after it's done (when I'm not teetering on the verge of a nervous breakdown).

Then on to my senior recital, graduation, and the world beyond.

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Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow by Faïza Guène, a YA Book By A Young Author

Review time! Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow is a young adult novel by a young adult, so I was very interested to read it. There's also a #MuslimShelfSpace tag going around, and this review is a nod to that. The idea is that there's been a lot of stereotypes and anti-Muslim sentiment spread around, so buying and boosting books about and by Muslims can help educate people and break down harmful stereotypes. The author is French with an Algerian background, and Guène wrote Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow when she was in her late teens. Although the novel is not autobiographical, she shares many things with its main character. Doria, like her creator, is the child of immigrants and lives in poor suburban housing projects. Guène wrote that she realized girls like herself weren't really represented in books, and felt that Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow was a way to tell the stories of people in the suburbs who are ignored by the elites of French literature. Plot: Life Sucks, Until...

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Review: The Kingdom of Oceana by Mitchell Charles

I received a copy of The Kingdom of Oceana for free to review from the publisher. So, here's my review! The Plot The Kingdom of Oceana is told from the perspective of Ailani, the teenaged second son of the king of Royal Island (Hawai'i). One day, he and his brother Nahoa are exploring, when Nahoa dares him to go to a forbidden spot above a waterfall. There, they encounter a tiki head with a strange, malevolent power. Their encounter shapes their destinies, and that of all the island kingdoms of Oceana, forever. This is a classic coming of age tale set in ancient Hawai'i. Ailani struggles with feelings of rivalry, jealousy, and friendship with his older brother Nahoa, who is bigger, stronger, more confident, and seems destined to become the next king. As we see from Ailani's perspective, Nahoa is frequently nasty, borderline abusive towards his younger brother. Their relationship is fascinating as it dances the line between normal sibling rivalry and toxi...

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I've been learning a lot about DOGS lately

I've been reading some books and online articles about dogs and did you know how amazing dogs are?? Just, from a scientific standpoint?? The history of dogs and dog breeds. Dog noses. Dogs that find lost pets. Dogs that rescue people. Dogs that detect seizures. Dogs that hunt invasive species at ports or just look fucking fabulous at dog shows. Also wild dogs! And FOXES. And other lesser-known canids (canines?) that look very different and sometimes similar and just are all fascinating and cool. I learned, for instance, that Corgis are a herding dog developed in Wales that herds by darting in low to the ground to nip. Whereas the border collies and related breeds herd by using the stare-chase-stare intimidation method. And that Australian Cattle Dogs are part dingo! Who knew? I met a baby Blue Heeler (very similar to Australian Cattle Dog) at work and got to pet a part-dingo dog! My neighbor owns a rescued Australian Cattle Dog. I live next door to a dingo dog!!! *Owen Wilson...

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