Active Voice

I have actual review posts in the works, including one of the latest Sisters Grimm, but I wanted to take a minute to speak more generally of books. Specifically, what makes me put books down without buying them after reading the back cover blurb.

I picked up two books in the store the other day and immediately put them back down because according to the back cover, they both revolved around three male characters. I will happily read and enjoy books with a male protagonist (the Gregor books were probably the best things I read all last year), but if there’s no female character important enough to be even mentioned on the back, I move on.

I also picked up - and put down - The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda. According to the blurb on the back, it’s about a boy who inherits a music box from an elderly relative, which is governed by strict rules, and his uncontrollable girl cousin, who breaks those rules and releases an evil sorceress that the children must then defeat. You know what? I am sick of the trope of boys respectfully following the rules of magic and girls breaking them willy nilly because apparently that’s just how girls are. I’ve been sick of it since Eve and Pandora were blamed for bringing evil into the world. (And of course the evil itself takes the form of a woman. Nice.)

It’s entirely possible that this book actually reclaims and reverse that trope. And it’s entirely possible that the other books are full of rich, nuanced female characters who didn’t make it into the blurb, or have no female characters to speak of but are really good books otherwise. But these are the things that made me go: “Hmm. I don’t think I want to read this,” when I looked at the books in the store. And since it does writers no good to have books that are awesome if people don’t want to buy and read them, I think these things are worth looking at.

What are the things that make you put down a book based on the description? I’m not talking about things like “Oh, this book appears to be about a dystopia and that’s not really my thing.” I mean pet peeves or narrative tropes that annoy you enough to keep the book in the store and your money in your wallet. Do you hate wiseass talking cats? Do girls in love with vampires leave you cold? Do you want to punch emo loner protagonists in the face? Share!

Whither Rebecca leads, thither I follow. Here are some older reviews of mine of Kids/YA Genre Fiction:

The Circle of Magic #1: Sandry’s Book (The Magic in the Weaving), #2: Tris’s Book (The Power of the Storm), and #3: Daja’s Book (The Fire in the Forging), by Tamora Pierce. Three cupcakes for Sandry’s Book, four cupcakes for the other two. (Genre: High Fantasy)

Secrets of Dripping Fang #1: The Onts, by Dan Greenburg. Three and a half cupcakes. (Genre: Contemporary/Urban Fantasy)

Dealing With Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede. Four and a half cupcakes. (Genre: High Fantasy, Fairy Tale/Mythic)

Sorcery and Cecilia, or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot, by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. Four and a half cupcakes. (Genre: Historical Fantasy/Steampunk)

The Keys to the Kingdom #5: Lady Friday, by Garth Nix. Three cupcakes, although the series as a whole gets a tentative five (which may be reevaluated when the last two come out). (Genre: Portal Fantasy)

Not a review, but what’s with the torn edges on the pages of books lately?

Before we get started, here, some older reviews I’ve done, relevant to this site:

The City of Ember and The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau. Five cupcakes, and a friggin’ cherry on top. (Genre: Apocalyptic/Dystopian Science Fiction)

Uglies, Pretties and Specials by Scott Westerfeld. Four and a half cupcakes for Uglies, three and a half for the other two. (Genre: Apocalyptic/Dystopian Science Fiction)

Bruce Coville novels, including the My Teacher series, The A.I. Gang, The Dragonslayers, The Nina Tanleven Ghost Series, and The Magic Shop series. I’d say the average rating is about four cupcakes. (Genres: Aliens Among Us, Other, High Fantasy, Contemporary/Urban Fantasy, and Fairy Tale/Mythic)

Pendragon, books one and two, by D.J. MacHale. Two cupcakes. (Genre: Portal Fantasy.)

Meta talk about writing and books:

Fantasy Females (Of the Literary Variety), about the roles female characters play in fantasy.

Seriously, What is Wrong With Cinderella?, about Disney princesses, ideas about how to keep female characters dynamic, and a little bit of repeated review of Pendragon.

Got a book so amazingly awesome or odiously terrible you just have to share it? Curious about a book’s quality but don’t want to tackle it yourself? Send us recommendations! Right now, we’re picking up books that are a) cheap, b) free, or c) available at the library. In other words, whatever random, shiny covers catch our eyes (and are affordable that week). If there’s a book you’d like to see us read, leave a comment below with the title and author and we’ll see if we can’t get around to it.