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Rating and Ranking: January and February Reads

Alright here we are, the first Rating and Ranking of 2023! I have 7 books out of 54 of my total year goal, so here we go wrapping up the first two months of reading! This might be a longer one, so hang on for the ride…

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – V. E. Schwab

I cannot say enough good things about this book!!

Adeline “Addie” LaRue was originally from France, in the 1700s, but she doesn’t want to be tied down to a husband and live in the same village for her whole short miserable life. To be forced to give birth and have kids, to lose her belief in magic in the world around her.

She has a friend, an old woman named Estelle who hasn’t quite yet converted to Christianity and still believes in ‘the old gods’. One thing that Estelle warns of is ‘don’t pray to the gods that answer after dark’. But on the night of Addie’s wedding, in a moment of desperation, she prays to the old gods, waiting for someone to save her, but when nobody answers, she reverts to praying when it’s dark. And someone answers.

Addie wants freedom. That’s what she asks for. And it comes with unforeseen results.

Addie is now going to live forever, but she will end up being forgotten by everyone who meets her the minute they turn their back.

The book goes between the 1700s and the 2010s between chapters and technically has three points of view: Addie in the 1700s, Addie in the quote un-quote ‘modern world’, and a boy named Henry that she meets in a bookstore in New York. What’s special about Henry, you ask? He’s the only one who remembers Addie.

“Three words, large enough to tip the world. I remember you.”

V.E. Schwab, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

This book was ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! I think, alongside Red, White and Royal Blue, it’s my favourite standalone book ever! The yearning from every character, the heartbreak, the troubles, the romance and the heartwrenching quotes, it’s everything you could ever want in a standalone. At one point, I almost cried because of how absolutely beautiful the writing was. I wish I could write as beautifully as V. E. Schwab.

Sometimes when you read, your favourite characters are the side characters, but Addie is beautifully charming and just such an amazingly developped character that she blows your mind.

I can’t find enough words to explain how beautiful this book is. Go read it, that’s what I’ll leave you with. 10/10, 5 stars, you get the point. Absolutely stunning.

(Also, shoutout to my friend who got me this for Christmas! Thank you so much!)

The Fall of Numenor – J. R. R. Tolkien

If you’ve been around my page for whatever period of time, you know that I am a die-hard Tolkien fan. I’ve read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings many times, and watched the movies. So when Indigo’s newsletter told me that this book, which would be talking about the island kingdom of Numenor and the second age, I had to read it.

It was incredibly interesting, because while I know the events of the second age from other sources, it was really eye-opening to see it in so much detail. This was made almost exclusively from the late J. R. R. Tolkien’s notes on Middle Earth, and put together by his son and a team of others, and it just goes to show how much work Tolkien put into designing the world that he did, full with religions, hierarchies of all sorts, different fantasy races such as dwarves, elves, humans, and so much more.

There are maps and images and there’s even whole paragraphs describing the flora and fauna of Numenor.

To those of you who aren’t Tolkien fans and might have no idea what I’m talking about, Numenor was a set of islands gifted to humans for their service against the powers of Morgoth (basically the baddest of all bad guys at the time). The Numenorians could live longer, more plentiful lives as well. Numenor was a prosperous kingdom full of mariners and craftsmanship.

Sauron was one of Morgoth’s servants, but when Morgoth fell, he said he wanted to unite the peoples of Middle-Earth under his rule, not destroy them, but it was all a ruse. So when the Numenorians ended up trusting him, it led to their eventual downfall.

It was definitely a different read than what I’m used to. It followed a coherent storyline but at the same time almost felt like a non-fiction read, since it not only chronicled what happened in the second age but told also of various, more informative things. You know how, when writing fiction, people tell not to ‘infodump’ because it adds nothing? This book is the one and only exception where infodumping is a 100% nessecary.

Personally I am not as big of a fan of non-fiction as I am of fiction however this was both masterfully written and it’s about a subject that has always interested me.

It’s a 10/10 and a 5 star read. I was considering giving it 4.9/5 for the textbook-esque vibes but I can’t do that. Not to Tolkien.

Thanks Mom and Dad for this lovely Christmas gift 🙂

Mansfield Park – Jane Austen

Buckle up because this is a heavy Jane Austen filled month…

Mansfield Park follows the story of Fanny Price, brought up with her cousins at their estate of Mansfield Park after her immediate family falls into poverty. She is a very delicate kind of girl whom everyone has to almost tip-toe around (so to speak) and her old friend is her cousin Edmund.

A lot of classics I find have plot in the beginning, no plot in the middle, and plot in the end. Mansfield Park seems to drag for a lot longer than nessecary. If I am to keep the end a secret for those who might want to read it later, this is really all I can say.

I was not as big of a fan of Mansfield Park as I thought I would be. As a general rule I tend not to like ‘delicate female flower who can’t do anything for herself’ characters. I like feminine characters, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t like helplessness. So when everyone’s always doting over Fanny and treating her like a small child, it gets kinda boring to keep reading.

There’s also no real conflict, no reason for me to care about any of these characters. There’s no romance (and if there is, it’s problematic) and Fanny herself, even if she’s the main character, has very little actuall screen time.

I have very little to say on this one. It’s a 2 stars out of 5 for me.

Persuasion – Jane Austen

This one gets better!

Persuasion is about Anne Elliot, who, after a bit of a financial struggle, moves to Bath, England with her family. There she has to get used to the new society and make new friends, but the problem occurs when she meets Captain Wentworth.

Captain Wentworh was an officer in the navy when him and Anne met for the first time, 8 years ago, but not a very well-known or renowned one. He wasn’t rich, either, so he wasn’t the kind of man that the Elliots would approve of Anne marrying. So they broke it off, and thought they’d never see each other again.

But now, eight years later, he’s become a captain, a higher respectable rank, and he has money and more prestige. Anne at first is very awkward around him, and vice versa. She tries to convince herself she doesn’t have feelings for him, but it’s possible that he deserves a second chance?

This probably wouldn’t be a very acceptable relationship dynamic in modern society. The whole arc of ‘oh he was a nobody and I didn’t marry him, now he’s a somebody so I can’ doesn’t bode well nowadays and could even be considered borderline toxic.

But given that this is Victorian England, and marrying for money (especially for a woman) was nessecary and even expected, there’s little to no problem with it.

I liked it. I can’t say it’s the best book I’ve ever read, but it’s not the worst either. Anne is likeable and there is conflict and suspense (moderately so). I give this book a nice, comfortable 3.5/5 stars. (On Goodreads you can’t do half-stars so it’s rated a four over there, but oh well. 3.5/5 is the final rating).

Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen

This one is even better!

This book follows two sisters: Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. They move out of their home in Norland after it is given to their brother and his wife, and move to the country with their mother and younger sister, Margaret, who isn’t featured much, but still.

The two girls are very different. Elinor is reasonable and level-headed, while Marianne is more of a romantic, emotional and arts-oriented. The two find men that they admire in their new town. Elinor meets Edward Ferrars, and Marianne meets John Willoughby.

Edward and Elinor’s relationship seems steady, and it seems that they will be on track to marry. Marianne and John, who is mostly referred to as Willoughby in the book, seem also to be on track to marry, however Willoughby isn’t a very suitable guy for her.

However, both girls end up losing their relationships because both are engaged to somebody else!

Edward is engaged to a woman named Lucy Steele, one of Elinor’s friends. Willoughby runs off with another, richer woman.

While Elinor is doing her best to conceal her disappointment, Marianne falls into what can really only described as a heartbroken depression. Everything that reminds her of her old beau can make her cry. Nobody can say his name around her. And so on and so forth.

I won’t spoil the ending but needless to say it does end with everyone getting what they deserve and everything getting tied up nicely.

I will rate this 4 stars out of 5.

She Gets The Girl – Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick

This book is about two girls: Alex Blackwood and Molly Parker. Alex is headstrong, a flirt, not really good with commitment, and struggling with an alcoholic mother. Molly is shy, socially awkward, and hopelessly in love with a girl from her high school named Cora Myers.

Alex is going to university for pre-med, to be a doctor, and for a bit of an escape from the responsibilities and trauma at home. It brings a pretty sizeable paycheck in and job security, but other than that, Alex isn’t that fond of pre-med. Molly wants a new start from the shy, awkward introvert from high school whose only friend is her mom.

Alex also recently broke up with her most steady girlfriend: a girl named Natalie. Alex’s uncertainty with commitment, and inability to respond with ‘I love you too’ ruins a special moment, and the two leave on less-than-ideal terms.

Both of them are going to the University of Pittsburgh, and after they meet unexpectedly at a party, Alex finds out about Molly’s crush.

Natalie is in a band called the Cereal Killers, and she’s going on tour. Alex suddenly gets an amazing idea: If she can help Molly get with Cora, then she can prove to Natalie that she’s changed and that she deserves a second chance. That she actually has friends, not just random hookups saved to her phone.

But of course, things don’t go as expected when Alex finds herself falling for Molly…

I really liked this book. It was fairly fast paced and the characters were great, but something about it didn’t hook me in as fast as I thought it would. I only really got invested closer to the end, and read it twice within the span of about a week to see if that would have helped me like it more. It didn’t, and all the surprises that come with reading a new book weren’t there the second time around.

I definitely recommend it. It does swear so I would say it’s a read more for people in high school and above, but also contains sensitive topics (e.g. alcoholism) so it’s a ‘read at your own discretion’ kind of book.

Another thing cool about this book is that the authors are married in real life, and from what I was told by the cashier when I bought this book is that the story is based on their own love story!

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars!

Afterlove – Tanya Byrne

Afterlove is such a cute book. I don’t see why it isn’t talked about more on the internet. I was given this by my friend before her exchange program was over and I’m so thankful for it and for her!

It follows the story of Ashana Persaud and Poppy Morgan, who meet on a boat ride when their two separate schools — Whitehawk and Roedean — go on a field trip. The two end up falling for each other quite fast.

They go on a lot of cute dates, but have a bit of a secret relationship because Poppy isn’t out to her parents, and Ash’s parent’s aren’t the most accepting. Finally on New Year’s Eve, Ash stays out a little later than she thought and gets herself in trouble with her parents, who really want her home. Unfortunately, Ash gets hit by a car before she can make it home.

Since Ash is the last person to die that year, she becomes a grim reaper, in charge of teenage sudden deaths. She meets Deborah (kind of like the head grim reaper), Dev, and Esen (two other grim reapers around her age… sort of).

As a grim reaper, she gets sticky notes from Deborah when someone’s going to die, and then she has to go and reap them, bring them to the beach where Charon takes them to whatever afterlife they believe in.

After visiting her grave site with Esen, Ash finds Poppy, who recognizes her. She’s not supposed to be recognized, because if she is, then that means that Poppy will die within the span of the next few days.

So they spend the next few days together as Poppy says goodbye in her own ways to her life before she eventually dies (I’m not going to spoil how that happens).

This was such a cute book! I read it in three-ish days, and it was weirdly comforting and cozy even with all the death and stuff involved. I loved reading about Ash and Poppy’s relationship unfold as well as how they come to terms with their own death.

I give this book 5 stars, which I didn’t think I’d do when I first opened the book up!

So my final ranking of all the books I’ve read in these two months:

  1. Afterlove by Tanya Byrne, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab, and The Fall of Numenor by J. R. R. Tolkien (5/5 stars!)
  2. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, and She Gets The Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick (4/5 stars!)
  3. Persuasion by Jane Austen (3.5/5 stars!)
  4. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (2/5 stars!)

This was a long one, so if you’ve stuck around for this long, great! Thank you so much!

Subscribe so you can see future posts as they come out, and leave a comment and tell me how your 2023 is going thus far!

Life is a story. How will you write yours?

Until next time,

Catherine Khaperska

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An Update to my Publishing Story

Guys: It’s time for the big reveal.

I’m getting Scarred published: in it’s entirety!

I don’t know much about it other than it’s going to be published by Sulis International Press, located in Los Angeles, California. I don’t know the cover page, the length, or when it’s coming out, but that information will be released as soon as decisions are made!

Thank you for following me so far and I hope to see you follow me as I keep working!

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To Rio and Beyond: Gymnast Memoirs

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Exam season took up so much of my time… but nevertheless, I’m back!

I’ve been following the sport of gymnastics for a long time. I started doing the sport when I was seven but didn’t watch it until later. When I was younger I would watch the 2012 Olympic finals recorded on YouTube. As I got older, I learned more and more about the sport. I watched the Rio 2016 Olympics live, and I loved it, getting to know all the names of famous gymnasts, figuring out who my favourites were, having fun listening to floor music, and lots more. 

Now, at 15, I decided to read two memoirs from American gymnasts that took to the international stage and emerged victorious. Today I will be talking about two gymnast’s memoirs: Simone Biles’ Courage To Soar and Lauren “Laurie” Hernandez’ I Got This. 

Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance (Simone Biles)

Anyone in gymnastics has heard of Simone. She is truly the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), with so many difficult eponymous skills under her belt. Eponymous means that the skill was named after her (for example: The Biles). A skill gets named after a gymnast if the gymnast is the first one to compete said skill in international competition. 

I got the pleasure to read about her experience growing up, going to the gym, and learning with her coaches before she turned to elite gymnastics. 

Of course being an elite gymnast isn’t easy, and there is a lot of mental pressure when you’re competing, whether on a national or international stage. 

Simone grew up in Spring, Texas with her grandparents, and is of Belizean descent. Her parents were alcoholics and drug addicts, and couldn’t care for her or her siblings. She had a younger sister Adria, two older brothers named Ron and Adam, and an older sister Ashley. After bouncing between foster homes for a few years, she and her siblings were eventually adopted by their grandparents, Ron and Nellie Biles. 

But she found a love for gymnastics and continued with it ever since, leading her eventually to be the GOAT that she is now. 

She was in many competitions, from the 2013 Worlds all the way until the 2021 Olympics, however the memoir ends after the Rio 2016 Olympics, or shortly after. The mental pressure on a gymnast dubbed the GOAT is incredible, and hard to imagine. But I digress. 

Simone talks a lot about her setbacks as she was starting out – missing out on a Worlds team spot, not getting onto podiums, etc – but she also talks about her determination to get to the Olympics after that. You can really feel her excitement and pride when she makes the Olympic team as well as when she is doing her medal-winning routines. 

Simone has won a medal in almost every event, in every competition that year and many years since. She is the 2016 Team, All-Around, Floor, and Vault Gold medalist, Beam Bronze medallist. She is the most medalled gymnast of all time. 

After the Olympics she was on Dancing With The Stars, finishing fourth. 

It’s about here where the memoir ends, but since 2016, she came back to gymnastics for the 2017 Worlds and has continued with the sport ever since. After the 2021 Olympics where she withdrew from almost all finals except for the beam final due to mental health issues and injury, and since then she has become a strong advocate for mental health. 

I Got This: To Gold And Beyond (Laurie Hernandez)

Laurie, on the other hand, grew up in New Jersey, with her three older siblings, and lived with both her parents. She had a pretty normal childhood, and started gymnastics after ditching ballet at the age of five. 

She is of Puerto Rican descent and is the second US-born Latina to make it to the international stage on the US women’s gymnastics team. 

She suffered some injuries throughout her professional career, but nonetheless continued to improve her skills until she finally made it to the Olympic Team. She and Simone, as well as Alexandra “Aly” Raisman, Gabrielle “Gabby” Douglas, and Madison “Madi” Kocian won gold in Rio 2016 in the Team Final, but Laurie also won silver on beam. Her very expressive performance and facial expressions got her the nickname of the ‘Human Emoji’ that year. 

Laurie was also on Dancing with the Stars after the Olympics, but came back to training in 2019 before competing at the Winter Cup in 2021. 

Laurie is now retired as of June 6th, 2021, but is sometimes a commentator for some American or international competitions.

Similarities and other thoughts

One thing that I found really cool about reading both of these memoirs is that their stories overlap, specifically when Laurie and Simone are talking about the Rio 2016 Olympics. 

They were together at the same time and place the majority of the time, but they also had different voices and perspectives, which was pretty clearly shown in each of their respective memoirs. 

I definitely recommend this, it’s very inspirational for whoever you are, in whatever stage of life. Whatever goals you have, if you need to push through adversity of any kind, then these are must-reads. If necessary, look up the trigger warnings, but none of the memoirs are graphic in any way. 

They also use a lot of gymnastics terminology, but there is typically an explanation of what the term means, or a gymnastics glossary in the end. 

I will leave you, lovely readers, with this final thought. Like Simone and Laurie tell us, even if you have responsibilities and a career that depends on you, your mental and physical health are more important than that. Take breaks, take care of yourself. 

Thanks for reading!

Do you follow any sports? Do you read memoirs? Do any of these memoirs sound interesting to you? Let me know in the comments below, and subscribe (if you feel so inclined!)

Life is a story. How will you write yours?

Until next time,

Catherine Khaperska 

P.S. If you’ve read this far, thanks! A big, big surprise is coming in the next few weeks, and I can’t wait for you all to learn about it!

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The Thing About Fanfiction

If you’ve ever been around the book-ternet, or if you are a die-hard fan of anything, chances are you’ve heard the word ‘fandom’. And in a fandom, there is likely to be fan-made content. Today we will be tackling a rather controversial subject: fanfiction.

Fanfiction can get a bad reputation sometimes. People can write some really nasty stuff, or some really graphic stuff, or some explicit stuff, and it’s 100% understandable if that’s why you choose to stay away from it. 

But there is definitely an appeal to writing and/or reading it. 

So, why is there such an appeal? There are three main topics I’m going to be discussing. First, the lack of fear of being ‘unoriginal’, secondly, the intrigue in continuing or adding to a story or a series of stories in your own words, and thirdly, the creative liberties associated with fanfic.

A lot of authors struggle with wanting to be ‘original’ and wanting to put their own unique twist on their stories that they choose to tell. 

The good thing about fanfiction is that it allows you to let go of that fear. 

On one hand, it does that because most of the base characters, base setting, base plot is already there. So writing fanfiction about these characters and places that people have already invented by default makes it unoriginal. And by writing and labelling it as fanfiction, everyone understands that while you may have written the words, the inspiration and names of things, and everything along those lines is from somewhere else.

On the other hand, people love to talk about specific tropes, or specific stylistic devices and preferences that are used, both in fanfic and in other forms of media. Some examples of this can be hurt-comfort, in which one character is hurt either physically or emotionally, and another character is comforting them in one way or another. Another example could be an AU or Alternate Universe, in which two or more characters are in a setting that isn’t from the original story, such as fantasy characters in a high school.

People like tropes because of many reasons, but one of the main reasons is because of the emotion it can make you feel. People who read fanfiction have already been attached to these characters and stories, and they want to see them in other situations, and read more stories with them. 

These tropes have come into being and are recognizable because these people are writing more and more stories with these different events and things happening, and people enjoy them. So if you want to use a lot of tropes and are worrying if it’s ‘unoriginal’ … well, they’re tropes for a reason. People read things with these tropes in them for a reason. 

Now onto my second point, which I touched on a little bit above, but it’s the fact that people who are attached to characters, where their stories may have ended, or maybe there’s a lot of time between books/movies, etc, people want to follow more stories with these characters. Live in the world that their favourite author has created. They want to go on emotional journeys with them for the first time again. They want the feeling that they had the first time they read the book and met the characters and their struggles. 

But this time, fanfiction goes more in-depth and allows you to experience that which the authors have not yet written about. 

My final point is that fanfiction isn’t limited to canon. Canon refers to things that the author/creator has explicitly stated are true in a fictional reality. For example, in the Star Wars universe, it is canon that Luke Skywalker comes from the desert planet of Tatooine. 

But with fanfiction, you have the privilege to change, or add to, the story in any way you want. You can make Luke a regular high school student in California, or you can make Darth Vader turn good before the end. You can make anyone fall in love in any way you want. Add new planets, new aliens. And these are just some of the many, many possibilities that you can write about. 

People who are unsatisfied with certain events, or didn’t like how the book/movie/show ended, or who wanted to see specific characters together, they have the freedom to change it (maybe not the original version but through the fanfiction they write, there’s the possibility of for a brief moment having the story turn out the way you want it to.

So there we have it! My thoughts of why fanfiction is so appealing and what makes it so interesting as a concept or as a form of media. 

Do you read or write fanfiction? Do you agree or disagree with my points? Are there reasons that I may have missed? Let me know in the comments below, and subscribe (if you feel so inclined!)

Life is a story. How will you write yours?

Until next time,

Catherine Khaperska 

Posted on by Catherine

My Publishing Story (this far)

Today I am going to be writing about my story as a writer and my story in the publishing world specifically. This story takes place over the course of several recent years and is not finished yet! If you want to read about my humble beginnings as a writer, let me know and I will gladly share that!

But this story begins with the first COVID-19 quarantine in March of 2020.

My friend and I were bored. For the sake of my friend’s privacy, they will remain unnamed. Our school work was coming in once a week, all at once, so we’d be spending the whole day working to get it done, then all the rest of the week would be a mindless, repetitive routine of staying home, not being able to see anyone outside of your household, and worrying about the whole pandemic thing going on. 

So my friend suggests that maybe we should write a novel together. Something to keep us occupied and to keep our heads from turning into mush. 

Of course, I said yes. And soon it became a daily routine that every day, in the evening, for an hour or so, we would call each other on Skype and talk, and write, and joke, and we both got things done and grew closer as friends.

And over the course of six months, March to August, we had finished fifty thousand words. We were twelve at the time. It was a great achievement for the both of us.

That was when I suggested that maybe we should send it in to a publisher. My friend said ‘okay’, so we researched publishers until we found one that we both liked and that was local. We sent our cover letter and first three chapters to Nevermore Press, a small publishing company located in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. 

Now all we had to do was wait two months.

On schedule, two months later, on November 2nd, 2020, came our reply. We were super excited. This was our first experience with publishing, and this would be the first serious email that would determine the future of our novel. 

The email came from Ernest “Ernie” Hadley, the co-owner and editor from Nevermore Press. He congratulated us on completing our novel and told us that while he couldn’t publish our book just yet, he was willing to work with us on revising and editing our manuscript. 

We were ecstatic. You’d expect us to be disappointed that our book wouldn’t be published, but it was completely the opposite. These publishers, who had seen many adults send their work in, who had many more years of experience with writing than we did, still were willing to put effort into working with us! At this point we would’ve been thirteen years old. 

We accepted and were a hundred percent willing to work with these publishers. We knew very little about what was going to come out of it, but we were excited to see where it would take us. 

After the text was edited and all seemed to be in order, we were beginning to think more of where the book would go after that. Would it be published? Would the editing be the end of our correspondence? 

We were told that there was going to be a collection of stories published in a book, and the proceeds would go to support the SSPL (South Shore Public Libraries) Bookmobile project, which we were very excited about. A Bookmobile is basically a library on wheels for rural communities. It would be the first time our names would be in print next to our work!

Plans were put on hold when, in April 2021, Ernest, or “Ernie” as we called him, passed away. We were devastated. After months of work, and getting to build a relationship with him and Nevermore through our work, we were so, so upset to hear of his passing. 

At this point we understood that Nevermore was going to be going through some major changes. So we took a long, long break from writing together. It wasn’t until July 2021 that we decided to email Annie, Ernie’s wife and co-owner of Nevermore Press, to ask what our next steps would be. We learned that the ownership would be transferred to Jayme Spinks, who had been working as production manager before Ernie’s passing. 

So we emailed Jayme and were told that they wouldn’t be able to work with us to publish our book. However, the first chapter would still be published in the SSPL Bookmobile collection fundraiser, and we would be notified when it came out. 

That seemed to be the end of our correspondence. Me and my friend began a second book in the series, but our writing period was much more sporadic as we got busy with school and what meagre extracurriculars we could do as the pandemic went on. 

I kept writing. My friend unfortunately gave up the project last year. We agreed that I will take full ownership of the project, and I am grateful that I had the experience of working on it together. I love the characters we’ve created and I am still incredibly proud of what twelve-year-old me was able to accomplish with the time, resources, and experience I had. I am still working on it in hopes that it will eventually get published. 

I was sending my book to other publishers, trying to see who would pick up the project. I got very little replies, but was determined to get my debut novel out there. 

In October of 2022, the night of my school’s Haunted Halls Halloween event, I got another, unexpected email from Jayme. Turns out, the SSPL Bookmobile fundraiser book was finally out, and I was invited to the book launch! I could barely contain my excitement. 

The book is called ‘Inside’, and it is an anthology full of stories from Nova Scotian authors, specifically around the South Shore and Lunenburg area. There is really no feeling quite like seeing your name in print on a book cover, or inside one (get it?). I don’t think I can ever get used to that feeling. 

Now here we are in 2023. I have many plans for Scarred. To quote Ernie:

“”As an editor, you hope somewhere along the line you’ve helped save someone’s career. These two are writing at a level beyond their age and I really hope they stick with it.””

I’ve stuck with it. I’m still sticking with it. I don’t plan to stop writing, ever. Without Ernie’s and Nevermore’s help, I likely would not be where I am today. 

If Scarred does end up published, the first page will read: 

“For Ernest Hadley. Thank you for seeing the potential in Scarred and thank you for your dedication to working on this project.”

Until next time,

Catherine Khaperska

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Rating and Ranking: December (Last Post of 2022!)

December was a very busy month for me, so I didn’t get much reading in. But I ended up reading some really high-quality books, even though I had so many other projects running side by side. 

Circe – Madeline Miller

I read The Song Of Achilles (also by Madeline Miller) about a year ago and really enjoyed it. I picked up Circe at my school’s library and I have to say it felt quite different from reading The Song of Achilles!

While TSOA focused on the peril and the adventures of Achilles and Patroclus, and had romance and cute scenes (and other sadder, more heavy scenes) that made reading it a rollercoaster of emotion, Circe was calmer and more internally focused. 

Circe is a nymph, the daughter of Helios, the Titan of the sun, and Perse, an oceanid, which is an ocean nymph and a child of the Titan of the sea, Oceanus. From the day she was born, she was not necessarily outcast, but ignored, or left aside. She wasn’t as unearthly beautiful as most nymphs are (at least, according to her family) and didn’t have the booming godly voice that the others in her family had. She had the voice of a mortal.

Because she was more like a mortal than her family, no one really had any high expectations for her, which meant she could get away with more things. For example, she was kind to the Titan Prometheus (if you need a reminder who he is, he’s the guy who brought fire to the humans and was punished for it). When Prometheus was tied up and bleeding, she talked to him, brought him food and water. 

After a long series of events in which the treatment from her family inspires her to turn to witchcraft, she decides to use it on another nymph, Scylla, who ends up turning into the man-eating, ship-destroying sea monster we now know her as. The gods and Titans, afraid of her new power, exile her to the island of Aiaia, where most of her story takes place. One of the most iconic and well-known stories involving Circe is when Odysseus, the hero from the Trojan War, comes and stays with her for a year.  

Circe’s story is one of love and family and isolation, but has also become a bit of a feminist story as well. Circe manages to make a life of success and prosperity on her island, with her skills and her determination to not let the gods’ exile bring her down. 

I rate this book a four out of five stars. I have always loved Greek Mythology, and it was incredible to see the references to other stories and hear the names of old such as grey-eyed Athena or talks of the famous Paris and Helen of Troy. I’ll admit the majority of my Greek Myth knowledge comes from Percy Jackson, but nonetheless it helped me truly connect with the world. 

The reason it’s a four and not a five stars is because even though it was great, I found it to be quite slow-paced in the beginning, and even though it sped up and became intriguing later, I found it hard to get attached to the characters, and there was a lot more internal monologuing than I expected. 

I would definitely recommend this book to any fans of Madeline Miller’s other book, or any Greek Mythology fans in general. And even if you don’t understand Greek Myth, this book is still understandable and enjoyable. Circe is a wonderful, kind but stubborn, generous but proud, well-rounded character whose story deserves to be heard.

Red, White and Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston

Where do I even begin with this book? It’s absolutely incredible. I have to consult a thesaurus to find the words to describe this literary masterpiece. Stunning. Extraordinary. Fabulous. 

Red, White, and Royal Blue is from the point of view of Alex Claremont-Diaz, a Mexican-American First Son of the United States. To my non-American readers, this means that one of his parents (in this case, his mother, Ellen Claremont) is the president of the United States of America. Another very important key character is Henry Wales, the prince of the United Kingdom.

These two characters live two very different, yet very similar lives. While one is a more extroverted, confident, fun-loving American, the other is a quieter, less rebellious, British royal. Yet both have a media presence as they are both at the heart of their respective countries’ political situations and systems. Both have to be careful so as not to ruin their reputations online or in real life, knowing there is media coverage pretty much everywhere they go out in public. 

Did I mention they both hate each other?

Since the 2016 Rio Olympics, Alex and Henry have hated each other. Alex thinks that Henry has been snobby to him and that leads to him being snobby back… it’s been four years and they still do not have the best opinion of one another, however polite they have to act on international television to keep the allyship and friendliness between countries alive. 

But an unexpected event forces them to pretend to be best friends in the public’s eyes. At first, it was only supposed to be for a little while, but it doesn’t take long for them to realise this has to last essentially forever.

The more they hang out and the more they get to learn about each other, the more it becomes less and less platonic… secrets are everywhere, whether revealed or kept behind doors. No, I will not specify which type of doors but I think we can all guess at this point. 

I absolutely LOVED this book. It’s quickly become one of my favourite standalones of all time. Casey McQuiston, you are a genius with words! 

I would recommend this to anyone in high school. It’s definitely a more mature book in both language and content but it’s nonetheless a freaking amazing book that I will treasure for the rest of my days. The amount of times I squealed, laughed, and fangirled over that book cannot be counted on both my hands! 

Five star read. Easiest rating of my life. 

Lore – Alexandra Bracken

This book follows the story of Melora ‘Lore’ Perseous, who is a descendant of the great hero Perseus. In this book, there are family trees where people are descendants of heroes and have a specific god that they honour from Greek Mythology. 

Every seven years, the Agon is an event where people can hunt gods and gain their powers and immortality for the next seven years. For example, this time the new Ares has named himself Wrath, and plans to end the Agon, keeping his powers forever. But that’s not all. With the help of a specific ancient poem that only Lore knows and has access to because of her bloodline, Wrath will not only be able to end the Agon, but will be able to gain ultimate power and be the only god left.

The story begins with a bang as Lore, after a wrestling match, finds someone she thought was long dead, as well as finds the goddess Athena broken and bleeding in an alleyway of her neighbourhood near Harlem, New York City. Lore has been using wrestling as an escape from the world of gods and danger. Lore is hiding from all this because one of the members of another bloodline killed her family when she was young, and now she would rather do anything else than reclaim her birthright as the last Perseide (descendant of Perseus). But when Wrath begins the search for the poem in order to gain this unlimited power and be the sole god left, Lore has no choice but to team up with Athena, her friend Miles, her long-thought-dead friend Castor who has taken the powers of Apollo, and Castor’s cousin Evander (or Van, for short). 

I will give this book three-and-a-half stars. I didn’t find it exciting enough to be given a four, but it’s not bad as a premise and there were even some interesting scenes and some perilous moments. The twists that I didn’t see coming didn’t seem to hit as hard as I thought they would, and there were almost too many characters with too much happening. 

But in the end it turned out well and I can definitely see the appeal of this book as a next step after reading Rick Riordan’s works (it has mild language to watch for as well).

So my final rankings for December (and my last ranking of 2022!):

  1. Red, White, and Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston (5/5 stars!)
  2. Circe – Madeline Miller (4/5 stars!)
  3. Lore – Alexandra Bracken (3.5/5 stars!)

This post, however, is not only about my book reviews. Since we are going into a new year, I want to talk a bit about my plans for the new year. 

I have the next four blog posts planned (not drafted just yet) and they are going to be once a week. I want to try to get 50+ posts this year (one a week, if I can). 

I want to try to get my novel published (so stay tuned for that!).

I want to get myself verified on Instagram (is that even possible in a year? Let’s see! Also follow me @catherinekwrites if you haven’t yet!). 

I have lots more plans that I hope will come to fruition in 2023, but for now, these are all the spoilers you get!

Thanks for reading! Subscribe so you can see future posts as they come out, and leave a comment and tell me your literary plans for the year, or any other New Year’s Resolutions that you may have (if you feel so inclined).

Life is a story. How will you write yours?

Until next time,

Catherine Khaperska

Posted on by Catherine

My Favourite Books Of All Time: Elementary School Edition

I’ve been reading for almost my entire life. My taste in books has also changed incredibly since I was young. In this post, I will be talking about five book series that had me hooked as a young kid growing up in the early 2010s that I probably wouldn’t read anymore but that I can appreciate as someone who has enjoyed them in the past. There’s a little bit of research going into this post considering I haven’t read some of these in over seven years.

To those of you around my age, this could be a trip down memory lane. To older readers who are maybe looking for books to read to your kids, here are some great examples. To younger readers of this blog, maybe check these out on your own!

The Wind Dancer Series – Sibley Miller

I was obsessed with this series growing up.

The Wind Dancer series by Sibley Miller is about a quartet of small, flying horses that come into existence when a young girl blows on a dandelion. She sees them for a split second before they all become invisible. The four horses (Kona, Brisa, Sumatra, and Sirocco) live in the trees surrounding the girl’s home, and named their little group the Wind Dancers. Pretty self-explanatory as to why… They almost seem to dance on the wind with their butterfly-like wings. 

Each book has a problem that needs to be solved (as do most novels for elementary schoolers). This was one of the books that sparked my interest and appreciation for horses. That interest has since faded, but not completely disappeared.

Each horse has a distinguishable personality as well. I don’t remember all of them, and it’s difficult to find any information on this series now as it seems to have lost its popularity, but what I do remember was that Kona was the de facto leader, and Brisa was the very stereotypically feminine type. I also remember that Sirocco was a guy, but that’s about it. 

This is a great read, and the series isn’t that long so it shouldn’t take a long time to finish reading (especially if you’re reading to your kids)!

The Magic Tree House series – Mary Pope Osborne

This series sparked my love for history, now that I think about it. 

This series was both in English and in French as I was growing up, so I read it both in my spare time and in school. It followed the story of Jack and Annie, an older brother and a younger sister that are sent to different historical periods through their magic tree house. They often have to save someone, or something important. At the end, they sometimes meet with magicians Merlin or Morgana.

To teleport, they have to point to a book about that particular time in history and say something along the lines of ‘I want to go there’ and it happens. 

To give a bit of context as to what historical periods they go to, the first three books take them to the dinosaur times, mediaeval times, and ancient Egypt. I also distinctly remember one taking them to Pompeii. 

This is a great read for younger readers because not only is it fun and adventurous, it’s also informative and teaches kids about different cultures, eras, etc. 

The Thea Sisters series – Elisabetta Dami

I’m pretty sure anyone growing up around middle grade 2010s literature has heard of Geronimo Stilton, the slightly cowardly mouse that gets into all sorts of troubles with his dysfunctional family members and solves mysteries. I found it hard to get into that series because the character of Geronimo annoyed me more than I’m willing to admit. 

Well, his sister Thea had a series all to herself. She taught at a university called Mouseford Academy as a journalism professor, and there met the self-called Thea Sisters, five promising young students that saw her as a mentor as well as their teacher. They are the best of friends, each with their own distinct personalities and interests, and they also each came from a different part of the world, geographically speaking.

Nicky is from Australia and absolutely loves nature. She’s a very outdoorsy and resourceful mouse who hopes to be an ecologist.

Colette is from France (duh) and is well-known for her fashion sense. She hopes to be a fashion writer. While she is seen as a very feminine and beauty-focused character, she’s very kind, understanding, and helpful. 

Violet is from China, and she is definitely more introverted than the rest of the group. She likes to listen to classical music and play the violin, as well as reading, because who doesn’t like a nerdy character?

Pamela is from Tanzania in Africa and wants to be a car mechanic. She’s also very resourceful, like Nicky, and she’s also very good with her hands. She can fix anything, be it a car, bookshelf, or computer.

Finally we have Paulina, who comes from Peru. She’s very maths and tech oriented, and very logical, but still very friendly and warm. 

They solved mysteries all over the world, from Paris, France, to the red rock Uluru in Australia, to Tokyo, Japan during the cherry blossom season. I gobbled these books up like they were chocolate candies. I was hooked. 

These books gave me powerful women being independent and confident, and I feel like I owe quite a bit to these girls. My confidence, my random assortment of facts from places all over the world, my love for travel and history… and so much more. 

Also can we talk about the subtle representation in this book? The variety of countries’ cultures represented, either through the Thea Sisters themselves, or the countries they went to? We have one Thea Sister from every continent (Thea herself being from the mouse equivalent of the USA), and they’ve visited so many different countries to solve mysteries, from Europe to Africa, from South America to Asia, many times over. We don’t talk about this enough!

Definitely a great series for young girls (well, for everyone, but reading this as a young girl was so powerful and inspiring)!

These are some series that I read when I was younger that shaped me and that I loved and still do love! What do you think? Leave a comment down below if you’ve read these, or if you would like to read these! 

If you want to read about books that I discovered when I was younger but are still my favourites, click here!

Thanks for reading! Subscribe so you can see future posts as they come out, and leave a comment if you feel so inclined.

Life is a story. How will you write yours?

Until next time,

Catherine Khaperska

Posted on by Catherine

Author Highlight! Lucy Maud Montgomery

Lucy Maud Montgomery is one of the most famous Canadian writers of all time. She’s written numerous books about life on Prince Edward Island, specifically Cavendish, on PEI’s lovely North Shore. Today I will share her story.

Lucy Maud Montgomery was born on November 30th, 1874, to Hugh Montgomery and Clara Macneill, in Prince Edward Island. Her mother died when she was very young, and she ended up living with her grandparents. Her father left and moved to the prairies, where he remarried and made a new life for himself.

Young Lucy found herself reading and writing a lot. Living with her grandparents was hard, but she visited Green Gables a lot. If this name sounds familiar, that’s because it’s this house that inspired the location for her most famous novel, Anne of Green Gables. Green Gables was the house that Lucy’s cousins lived in. 

From 1890 to 1891, Lucy Maud Montgomery went to Saskatchewan to visit her father and his wife, but became homesick for PEI, and so she returned to Cavendish. However it was not all useless, she published ‘On Cape LaForce’ in a PEI newspaper while she was in Saskatchewan. 

After grade school, she would go on to get a teacher’s licence in 1894 at the Prince of Wales college, graduating with honours. She taught at multiple schools over the course of her life before going to mainland Nova Scotia to study English Literature at Dalhousie University, being one of few women who went to seek higher education (granted, this was the 1890s). However in 1898 she returned to Cavendish after her grandfather’s death to take care of her grandmother.

At this time she was writing a lot of short stories and poetry, and managed to generate a pretty good income, earning 500 dollars from her writing by 1903. This doesn’t seem like a lot of money in the modern day, but in 1903 this was a very good, considerable chunk of cash. 

In 1905 she wrote Anne of Green Gables and sent it to numerous publishers, however was rejected by all of them. Two years later, in 1907, she decided to rewrite Anne of Green Gables and send it out again. It was finally published in 1908. 

To use modern terms, it went viral. Anne of Green Gables became an instant hit. 

Lucy had two romances before getting married. The first being to her third cousin (a very unhappy engagement that was) and the second being a short but intense romance between her and a man named Herman Leard. After her grandmother’s death in March 1911, Lucy Maud Montgomery was married to Reverend Ewan MacDonald in July 1911, after a secret engagement that lasted since 1906. 

Lucy and her husband had three kids, including one that was stillborn. The first World War, along with her husband’s declining mental health and the death of her sons and cousin/closest friend Frede Campbell, took a great toll on her. During this time, she kept many journals and kept writing poetry and short stories. 

She moved to Ontario with her family in 1926 and when she died on April 24, 1942, she was buried in her beloved home province of PEI. The cemetery in which she is buried exists to this day in Cavendish, PEI.

(Sources: https://lmmontgomery.ca/about/lmm/her-life) 

Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote much more than just Anne of Green Gables. She’s had numerous short stories and poems published in many different places, as well as having written a lot of novels. 

Anne’s life story is written in eight books. 

In terms of story chronology: 

Anne of Green Gables (1908) 

Anne of Avonlea (1909)  

Anne of the Island (1915) 

Anne of Windy Poplars (1936) 

Anne’s House of Dreams (1917) 

Anne of Ingleside (1939) 

Rainbow Valley (1919) 

Rilla of Ingleside (1921)

Rainbow Valley and Rilla of Ingleside follow the story of Anne’s children rather than herself, but they are still memorable books that have charmed the hearts of millions all over the world. I remember being about ten or so years old and willing to give up almost a year of allowance money to buy the entire series. Worth every penny. 

Anne’s story isn’t the only one Lucy Maud has written. 

The Emily trilogy is made up of Emily of New Moon (1923), Emily Climbs (1925), and Emily’s Quest (1927). It’s about a girl named Emily Starr who goes to live with her aunts and cousin after she is left an orphan. 

As well, L. M. Montgomery has a lot of stand-alone novels. Some have sequels, some don’t. Some of her more famous works involve: 

The Blue Castle (1926) 

The Story Girl (1911) 

A Tangled Web (1931) 

Jane of Lantern Hill (1937)

Pat of Silver Bush (1933)/Mistress Pat (1935)

The Golden Road (1913) 

Kilmeny of the Orchard (1910)

Magic for Marigold (1929)

And much, much more. 

Lucy Maud Montgomery has gotten so much recognition that her childhood home and inspiration for her debut novel has become National Historic Sites. 

The Green Gables Heritage Place in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island has been visited by many people from all across the world – me included. There are two trails (Haunted Wood and Lovers Lane) that are featured in the Anne series many times. You can enter the actual Green Gables house that has now been turned into a museum, and contains items that would have been used in the time period that Anne of Green Gables takes place in, such as slates, wood stoves, porcelain crockery (plates and bowls, etc), and dresses of the ‘latest fashions’ of the time. 

Recently they have added an interactive display in the Visitors Centre that shows Lucy’s story as well. The gift shop has all sorts of lovely Anne merchandise, and you can buy the iconic raspberry cordial in shops all over PEI. 

As well, the birthplace of Lucy Maud Montgomery in New London, PEI has been turned into a historic site. It’s not as popular as Green Gables is, but it still goes to show just how important and influential of a person Lucy Maud was. 

As I’ve said before, Lucy Maud Montgomery is one of the most influential and well-known Canadian classical authors. She has a very lyrical, poetic style of writing and puts a bit of herself and her experiences in every story. Her vivid imagination shines through her works and she has immortalised the beautiful Prince Edward Island for decades and generations to come. 

I hope her story inspires you as it did to me and many others across the world. 

Thanks for reading! Subscribe so you can see future posts as they come out, and leave a comment and tell me if you’ve read the books, visited the Historic Sites, or plan to do either (if you feel so inclined!).

Life is a story. How will you write yours?

Until next time,

Catherine Khaperska 

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My Favourite Books Of All Time

You know that book that you will recommend to anyone who’s just starting out with their literary journey. That book that you can read and reread and reread until someone’s reading a passage to you and you know exactly what’s coming next, what happened before, and how it comes back to bite the characters in the butt come the second book. 

Today I’m going to share with you guys my top series/books that will suck you in and leave you begging for more.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians/Heroes Of Olympus/Trials of Apollo (Rick Riordan)

Rick Riordan has been my favourite author for years, and chances are you’ll be hearing a lot from me about Rick and his many series and endeavours relating to Camp Half Blood and the Percy Jackson series. He created this series for his son who was struggling with ADHD and dyslexia, and now it’s a world renowned series with spinoffs, movies (that suck), and more. The three series grouped together here are all technically one big storyline with similar characters and are all based on and around Greek mythology. It’s a pretty famous series already, but let me explain for those of you who have not read it yet. 

The first series (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) follows the story of Percy Jackson himself, who is a demigod (half human, half Greek God). He is the son of Poseidon, meaning he has power over the water (as well as some other cool abilities). He, along with most of his other demigod friends that he meets along the way, have ADHD and dyslexia, since the series was made for Rick’s son. There are five books in this series that all tell the story of how Percy and his friends help defeat Kronos the titan (a being who came even before the gods). You may sometimes see this series abbreviated to “PJO”. 

The second series (Heroes Of Olympus) follows multiple points of view all throughout the series. It follows (mostly) nine demigods: Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank, Leo, Reyna, and Nico as they try to stop the primordial goddess Gaea from awakening. Gaea is the Greek personification of the Earth. So if the earth literally woke up and had a mind of its own… things would get pretty hairy pretty fast. This series is sometimes abbreviated to “HOO”. 

The third series (Trials of Apollo) follows the god Apollo after he has been cast down as a mortal by the name Lester Papadopoulous. Apparently ancient dead Roman Emperors have come back from the dead and are trying to get power and immortality. Apollo/Lester, along with demigod friends that help him get used to his newfound mortality, have to stop the emperors from obtaining this insane power. And this series is sometimes abbreviated to “TOA”. 

Magnus Chase and the Gods Of Asgard (Rick Riordan)

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (MCGA for short) is not based on Greek myth, but rather Norse Myth. You might already be familiar with the Thor movies, including characters such as Odin, Loki, Thor himself, and many more that reference this mythology. 

After living on the streets since his mother’s death, Magnus dies in his first battle at the age of sixteen and is brought to Valhalla, the afterlife for those who have died a heroic death. He learns he is the son of the Norse god Frey, god of summer, abundance, and wealth. This gives him special abilities that few on Earth (or any other of the nine worlds) have. Each of the three books in this series have their own plot and are very easily distinguishable, but are also part of one big storyline. It has a very diverse cast and very loveable characters, from Halfborn Gunderson, the barbarian, to TJ (Thomas Jefferson) Jr, who died in the American Civil War and is the son to a freed slave and the Norse god of war, Tyr. Each are unique characters with developed backstory and great personalities… 

Honestly, you cannot convince me that there is any series out there more perfect than this one. If you’re starting out in the Rick Riordan universe, this is a must-read — and highly underrated!

The Kane Chronicles (Rick Riordan)

I’ll have to admit, the Kane Chronicles is not my favourite out of all the books Rick Riordan has written, but it is still a great series, intriguing and easy-to-read. 

The Kane Chronicles, or TKC for short, is based on Egyptian mythology, and follows Carter and Sadie Kane on their adventures. Since the death of their mother, Carter and Sadie have been living very vastly different lives. Carter travels around the world with his father Julius Kane, a renowned Egyptologit with many secrets. He is mostly homeschooled and is never in one country for too long. Sadie, on the other hand, lives a calm life in Britain with her grandmother and grandfather. Carter is the more responsible, quieter, older sibling who would rather not rush to do anything and think it out first. Sadie is a wild child, adorned with combat boots and colourful hair. Planning is not a very often-used word in her vocabulary. 

An accident at a museum in which their father mysteriously disappears, they are introduced to a world of magic and deities long thought to be forgotten in history books. Turns out the gods of Egypt are alive and kicking in the modern world.

But if the gods are alive, so are the monsters… and the demons… and Apophis, the chaos snake that could bring about the end of the world… 

The Lord Of The Rings/The Hobbit (J. R. R. Tolkien)

Where do I even start with how incredible this series is?

I’ve talked about my love for Tolkien’s works in my Classics post so if you want to read my recommendation there you can. But in a nutshell, The Hobbit is the prequel to the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. 

The Hobbit is about Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, going on an adventure with a wizard named Gandalf and twelve dwarves, to reclaim the dwarves’ homeland at the Lonely Mountain, which is unfortunately inhabited by a dragon. Along the way, Bilbo finds a magic ring which can turn him invisible, which we end up learning the significance of in the LoTR trilogy. 

The Lord of the Rings is about Frodo Baggins (Bilbo’s nephew) who inherits Bilbo’s ring, and learns from Gandalf, who by now is an old friend to the Baggins family, that this is the one Ring Of Power. It was created by Sauron, a Dark Lord who sought power over all Middle Earth. This ring corrupts all those who have it until they essentially cannot live without it. Frodo, along with eight other members of the Fellowship of the Ring, has to throw the ring into the ‘fires of Mount Doom’ to end Sauron’s reign of fear. 

Middle Earth has such a rich history, so much so that sometimes you forget that one person, J. R. R. Tolkien created this series that has now become an international phenomenon and a classic loved by many. 

Anne of Green Gables (Lucy Maud Montgomery)

This Canadian classic series has eight books:

  • Anne of Green Gables
  • Anne of Avonlea
  • Anne of the Island
  • Anne of Windy Poplars
  • Anne’s House of Dreams
  • Anne of Ingleside
  • Rainbow Valley 
  • Rilla of Ingleside

The story is set in the late 1800s on Prince Edward Island. It’s become such an international hit that there is now the Green Gables heritage site in Cavendish, PEI as well as a historic site for Lucy Maud Montgomery’s childhood home. 

The first book is about how Anne Shirley is adopted by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert by accident. They wanted to adopt a young boy to help Matthew on the farm as he got older, but through word of mouth and a big mixup, they ended up with Anne. Matthew, being the sweet older gentleman that he is, is immediately charmed by Anne. Marilla, on the other hand, would rather send her back.

After Anne finally gets to stay, the story continues, with Anne’s life in Avonlea and in Green Gables as she falls in love with the shores of PEI, while she tries her best to get Marilla to love her, and to be worthy of staying at Green Gables. It’s a story about an unexpected family and finding a home where you might least expect it. 

So there you have it! My top five book series recommendations. If you check them out to read, great! I can’t wait to hear about what you think! If it’s not your style, that’s fine as well! 

Thanks for reading! Subscribe so you can see future posts as they come out, and leave a comment if you feel so inclined!

Life is a story. How will you write yours?

Until next time,

Catherine Khaperska 

Posted on by Catherine

Rating and Ranking: November Reads

November was a very busy month, but I still managed to read a grand total of four books this month! Here are my thoughts and honest reviews on each one. Enjoy! 

To Kill A Kingdom – Alexandra Christo

If you’ve known me long enough, you’ll hear me say that I’ve decided to read a certain book to ‘make my own opinion on it’. When books get popular and hyped up on the internet, sometimes it’s worth it just to pick up the book and see if it’s really worth reading. To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo was popular on Tiktok and across the book-ternet for about a year or so now and has been on my TBR for almost that long. I’m not one to hop on trends, so yes it took me this long to end up reading it! I chose to read it for my English class but that doesn’t ruin it for me at all considering how long it’s been since I wanted to read it. 

To Kill A Kingdom is about a siren named Lira, known among the humans as the Prince’s Bane since she is known for killing princes and stealing their hearts. It is a tradition among sirens to get human hearts on their birthdays, but since Lira is the daughter of the Sea Queen, all her hearts have come from princes. So when Lira breaks this tradition and gets a heart two weeks early, her mother punishes her severely. Angry at the humiliation Lira knows she will now face, she decides to get the heart of Elian Midas, a pirate prince who has a drive to kill sirens, especially her. When that fails, the Sea Queen decides to turn Lira into a human. If she can’t get Elian’s heart by her birthday, she will be human forever, and will never get the chance to be queen of the sea.

I will give this read four and a half stars. I really enjoyed reading it. All the characters were intriguing in their own ways, from the secrets they keep to the witty sarcastic asides to the cold, ruthless threats. Lira is a cutthroat killer with a twinge of kindness, loyalty, and devotion in her, so she is a relatable character even with the crimes she has committed. Elian says he is not a good man, but he has softer traits that make him likeable, and he is a natural leader aboard his ship, the Saad. 

However I do feel that the romance was a bit rushed. They hated each other so much and then it seemed that one event flipped a switch and suddenly they liked each other and the mutual admiration and pining began. 

However, all in all, this was a great read, and I really recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy, romance, adventure, and fierce action scenes!

Obie Is Man Enough – Schuyler Bailar

I don’t remember where I learned about this book. I think I found it randomly in the library and wanted to read it. I absolutely loved it.

Obie is a Korean-American trans boy who, after getting kicked off his school swim team by his transphobic coach, joins a new team. The book follows his journey as he works towards the qualifications for the Junior Olympics. However, there’s a few setbacks: all his friends were on his old swim team, and now that he’s kicked off, there is a tension and a distancing that there hasn’t been before. The worst is that his transphobic coach’s son Clyde, who used to be his friend, is now being hateful towards Obie, deadnaming and using slurs against him. The book shows Obie’s struggles with transphobia as well as the struggles of growing up as a teen, an athlete, and an Asian-American boy.

Another thing about this book that was interesting to learn was that the author, Schuyler Bailar, is a trans-masc athlete, just like Obie. The NCAA is essentially the league that collegiate athletes in America compete in. Some famous NCAA schools/teams include the University of California at Los Angeles, or UCLA, Bruins, or the University of Florida Gators. Schuyler chose to transition which could have lost him the opportunity to be an NCAA champion, but it didn’t, and he is the first trans athlete to compete in NCAA history. He also has appeared on talk shows and has gotten numerous awards. You can visit his website here.

I will give this a five-star read. However, it does contain sensitive topics and can be explicit (I can’t believe that it’s rated as a 9-13 year old read!). I highly advise you to look up content warnings if you think anything here might be upsetting or triggering, especially for people who are part of the LGBTQ+ community and/or have had past experiences with homo/transphobia. 

Marilla Before Anne – Louise Michalos

I bought this book at a small bookstore in downtown Halifax (thanks, Bookmark!) and even though it was not written by Lucy Maud Montgomery herself, I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Marilla Before Anne is about Marilla Cuthbert and her life before she and her brother Matthew adopted feisty, red-headed Anne Shirley. There is a lot of foreshadowing and hinting at events in the Anne series, and a lot of details that are mentioned once in the series make their appearance in this book. It’s a mix of coming-of-age as well as an Anne of Green Gables fanfiction. 

What I like about this book is that you don’t have to have read Anne of Green Gables. It does help, of course, considering the characters are the same (most of them) and the significance of certain events would make more sense if you’ve read the original Anne book beforehand. But if you haven’t, you can read it just like any old book, and not have any difficulties understanding. 

But one thing that kind of irked me about this book is how much it strayed from canon and the original plot/worldbuilding of Anne of Green Gables. I’ve read another similar book, Before Green Gables, which follows Anne’s story before getting adopted by the Cuthbert siblings. However, while Before Green Gables expanded on what was canon and turned it into a longer novel, Marilla Before Anne puts a completely new twist on how Anne and Marilla end up meeting, and their relationship, which doesn’t match the original plot. Most of the twists were fun and I enjoyed the way that the author here changed certain aspects of the original to make a different story out of what Lucy Maud Montgomery had written in 1908. But there were some that I didn’t quite like because I didn’t like how much of a stretch it was from Montgomery’s Anne book 

I give this book a three-and-a-half star rating. It was enjoyable and I liked the many twists and new perspectives on the original novel, but there were some parts that made me look at the book like I look at some of my maths homework: I understand the concepts, and I get why it works, but it still makes my brain do a double take. 

Everyone has different preferences when it comes to books and book genres, and fanfiction is no different. If you’re someone who likes books that put a spin on classics, or if you like when authors ask ‘what if’ and make a new novel out of that, this twist on the incredible Anne of Green Gables is for you.

The Ivies – Alexa Donne

Before reading: 

I normally don’t read horror or mystery or thriller novels, but I decided to give this one a try. All I had heard about it was that it gave dark academia vibes, which is something I’m interested in. But there is blood as part of the cover image. There is murder and dark secrets involved. I don’t quite know what I’m getting into, but I’m excited nonetheless… 

After reading:

Whoa. 

That was an adventure. 

I loved it, but it was definitely more of an involved read than I thought it would be. 

The Ivies is about a group of girls at a very exclusive private high school called Claflin. These girls work together to sabotage and expose people in order to get into their dream Ivy League Schools. Each of the girls is ‘assigned’ a university to go to so that they don’t compete against each other in the end. 

The main character Olivia Winters is ‘assigned’ to Penn State by the rest of the Ivies, however she wants to go to Harvard. As a student who is on scholarship instead of having her rich family pay (as do most of the other students at Claflin), she is doing her best to fit in, even if that means joining the ruthless Ivies. 

Avery Montfort is an heiress of a large fortune and is the ‘leader’ of the Ivies. She assigned herself to go to Harvard (duh) but not only is it a great school, her family’s past few generations have been to and graduated from Harvard. 

Sierra Watson is a coding and rowing star, and her ‘assigned’ school is Yale. Margot Kim is a budding actress and her ‘assigned’ school is Princeton. Emma Russo is a modern Renaissance girl, having a very varied skill set. Her ‘assigned’ school is Brown.

When Olivia decides to apply to Harvard behind the rest of the Ivies’ back, she never expects to get in… or Avery to get rejected. A few days later, Emma (who also made it into Harvard) is found dead, and now fingers are pointed towards Avery. Could she kill her friend over a college admission? And is Olivia next?

I loved this book. It was dramatic and exciting, and you never knew who to trust. Everyone seems to have their own motives and their own versions of what happened. What is on the outside is not what’s on the inside in the majority of cases, and when new secrets and new clues are brought up, it could turn the whole case upside down. Sometimes people are likeable, sometimes those same people are bitter and closed off. There’s a sprinkling of romance as well, which I like. 

I will give this book a 4 out of 5. It was my first taste of mystery and I have to say I really enjoyed it! I would recommend it to people who enjoy mystery and who like trying to solve the story’s mystery themselves. Maybe those of you who read a lot of mystery could find this underwhelming, but who knows? I think it’s definitely worth a read! 

So here is my final rating and ranking:

  1. Obie is Man Enough – Schuyler Bailar (5/5 stars!)
  2. To Kill A Kingdom – Alexandra Christo (4.5/5 stars!)
  3. The Ivies – Alexa Donne (4/5 stars!)
  4. Marilla Before Anne – Louise Michalos (3.5/5 stars!)

Alright, that sums up my book reviews for November? Do you agree with my ratings? Would you be interested in reading any of these? Do let me know! 

Thanks for reading! Subscribe so you can see future posts as they come out, and leave a comment and tell me if you plan to do NaNo or not (if you feel so inclined).

Life is a story. How will you write yours?

Until next time,

Catherine Khaperska 

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