sonofgodzilla: hey yo, it's d4dj (kurumi on stage)
[personal profile] sonofgodzilla
Title: Even if I can’t fly, I can still walk
Universe: AKB48
Prompt: Power Rangers Dino Fury: S28E03 - Lost Signal
Character(s): Kashiwagi Yuki/Mukaichi Mion
Rating: U
Warnings: N/A
Summary: Again, she caught sight of her reflection, the peak of her baseball cap, the N interwoven with the Y. If she were to write fanfiction about Mion, where would she start?
Length: 1094 words
Author's Notes: I sort of made Yukirin a dork. More of a dork, I mean. Many thanks to Misa-chan for translation of the lyrics to Tsubasa wa Iranai. also: external link.

yukimion

Even if I can’t fly, I can still walk )

Autumn is coming

Aug. 29th, 2025 11:21 pm
grrlpup: yellow rose in sunlight (Default)
[personal profile] grrlpup
four pink cyclamen blossoms on slender stalks, growing amidst brown Oregon grape leaves and filmy spiderwebs

spotted in the back yard.

Yesterday was my last day working at the University– I took vacation leave today because I’ve already turned in my work computer, and as of Monday I will officially be retired with 30 years of service as an Oregon public employee. When I rode the elevator up to my office floor yesterday morning, it occurred to me that all my future rides up would be in a building where I used to work. That’s a very different feeling from a building where I work.

Today I feel myself wanting to Do It Right, not waste time, be productive. I want to read, write, and make things, and because jobs are what I know, I am making it feel like a new job. I think this will ease in time.

Sang offered to take me to the Delta for a celebratory drink last night, but I suggested putting it off until tonight so it’s her weekend. Turns out we’re going for pizza and a square dance tonight instead. Happy weekend!


This post originates at everyday though not every day. Comments welcome here or there.

sonofgodzilla: 'cause we're running and running, it makes me nervous (kim lip)
[personal profile] sonofgodzilla
Title: White Light, White Heat
Universe: Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
Character(s): Tommy Oliver, Aisha Campbell, Silas of Phædos, Saba, Chopper
Series: Divided by Steel, Falling Gracefully | Galactabeast Hime | Fighter | Cloud on My Tongue | To Speak with Ghosts | Matters of the Heart | Unholy Forces of Evil | Bully for Ethan | diablerie | Blunt Against the Cutting Edge | All Cops are Bastards | Safe and Sound | Supple Hope | Two of Seven | Evil Will | Envenom into the Witch's Hole | Contorted Monuments | War | Giant Drill All-Out Attack
Rating: U
Warnings: N/A
Summary: “Don't you remember that the white tiger powers are different from other powers? It comes from the White Light, the manifestation of all the goodness in the universe. To be a White Ranger, you have to transcend hatred.”
Length: 1268 words
Author's Notes: HAPPY POWER RANGERS DAY!! I made Sentinel of Stories wait almost three years before posting it, and every single day of those three years he asked me when I was going to post it. Needless to say, this story wouldn't have existed without his imagination and dedication to keeping Power Rangers alive through his fic. This isn't so much a Power Rangers fic, but a Sentinel of Stories fic, and, as such, you may recognise many elements from his work here. also: external link.

white

White Light, White Heat )

Circle Updates

Aug. 27th, 2025 05:56 pm
havocthecat: sunflowers and dreamwidth (random dreamwidth)
[personal profile] havocthecat
Just evening up a bit of subscription/access issues. Drop a (screened) comment if I removed you by accident.

Fic: Revisions (A Fatal Inversion)

Aug. 27th, 2025 09:31 pm
thisbluespirit: (jeremy northam)
[personal profile] thisbluespirit
I was feeling a bit better yesterday and typed up this, which I've had in my notebook since spring, for A Fatal Inversion. It of course ended up less shippier than planned and maybe even darker than canon warrants, idk. But it was where my brain went when I rewatched it. (The first time around it's a sort of reverse murder mystery; the second it's an intense character study of the fallout in those involved.)

For [community profile] genprompt_bingo, [community profile] allbingo, [community profile] 100fandoms & [community profile] 100ships, because if I'm going to write super obscure fic that probably won't make sense if you don't know canon, I might as well make it count!


Revisions (1529 words) by thisbluespirit
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: A Fatal Inversion (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Rufus Fletcher/Adam Verne-Smith
Characters: Adam Verne-Smith, Rufus Fletcher (A Fatal Inversion)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Dark, references to murder, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Flashbacks, Community: 100fandoms, Community: genprompt_bingo, Community: allbingo, Community: 100ships, Pre-Canon, Past Trauma
Summary: Adam and Rufus try to resume their friendship where they left off. It's not the best idea.


Tomorrow I go to have my eye test, so no doubt I'll be around a bit less again, although I'll try to post the last AU_gust bits still if I can - they add up to a bingo line for [community profile] allbingo and it would be a first if I actually got it completed within the month, lol. (We'll see).
sonofgodzilla: the new zodiac (neko-hime)
[personal profile] sonofgodzilla
We don't get to see much of Nishino Miki in Sailor Zombie. In fact, the one episode she is in features her as a zombie, groaning as she strains against her restraints, so, ah, maybe it's not the best representation of her talent?

Mikichan!


Mikichan lived her whole AKB life in Team 4! She passed auditions in 2012 as a member of the fourteenth generation alongside Kojima Mako and Okada Nana, both of whom she was close friends with during her time in the group. A year after doing her duty as a kenkyuusei, she was promoted to the new Minegishi Team 4 unveiled in 2013 at the Tokyo Dome concert that year, and would remain there until 2017, just shy of five years as a member, when she felt it time to challenge herself to do something new.

Whilst in Team 4, Mikichan put in the work in the theatre, appearing in a string of performances—from a revial of Boku no Taiyo to a new staging of Himawarigumi's Yume wo Shinaseru Wake ni Ikanai. She became a regular presence on AKB B sides from UZA onwards, and in 2013, was part of a the adorable sub-unit, Tentoumu Chu!, alongside, no surprises, Okada and Kojima, and also NMB48's Shibuya Nagisa, SKE's Kitagawa Ryoha, and Tomonaga Mio and Tashima Meru from HKT48, all of whom had initially been kenkyuusei around the same time.

In 2014, Mikichan, Kojima, Okada, Tashima and Tomonaga all made it into the senbatsu for Labrador Retriever, further bolstering awareness of Tentoumu Chu! and Mikichan herself. In 2015, with the release of Halloween Night, Okada and Mikichan appeared in the dance instruction video for the single alongside guest choreographer, Papaya Suzuki—who some of you might recognise from variety TV, and, more importantly, as Kagen in the Kamen Rider Zi-o movie, Over Quartzer.

Mikichan!


Throughout their time in AKB, Kojima, Okada, and Mikichan were often referred to as 'the Three Musketeers,' which I find impossibly lovely. I think the friendship between these members is testament to how sometimes throwing yourself into unknown circumstances can make fast and close friends of those around you. I really hope the three of them still talk.

Following her graduation, Mikichan worked for a while at Uchida Mayumi's Kabukicho restaurant, Yakiniku IWA, whilst still also performing roles on TV and on stage. In 2022, she announced her marriage to Yamamoto Keiichi of comedy duo, Gokuraku Tombo and Yoshimotozaka46, and last October, she gave birth to a baby girl. There's a large age difference between Mikichan and her husband, and he has quite the track record, but I want to give everyone the benefit of the doubt here. "I can't feel it," she said of the age gap between them in her statement, and I want to believe that, despite the odds, despite how difficult it must have been to convince friends and family, the two of them are good for one another. I want the best for Mikichan. I want the best for all members of AKB. I hope that Yamamoto can keep up with his young bride, I hope that Okada and Kojima turn up regularly at their home, and I hope that that home is a happy one.

Congratualtions, Nishino Miki! I want you to be happy!

Ficlet: Green For Danger (B7)

Aug. 26th, 2025 09:49 pm
thisbluespirit: (b7 - jenna)
[personal profile] thisbluespirit
I managed to post one of the other AU-gust ficlets I did - this one for the prompt "Dragons" for B7. (Also for [community profile] 100_women prompt #68 fire & [community profile] allbingo Crime Classics square "Green For Danger.")

Green For Danger (751 words) by thisbluespirit
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Blake's 7
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Jenna Stannis, Roj Blake, Kerr Avon, Liberator (Blake's 7), Zen (Blake's 7)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Ficlet, AU-gust | August Writing Challenge, Community: allbingo, Episode: s01e02 Space Fall, Community: 100_women, Liberator/Zen is a dragon, Alternate Universe - Fantasy
Summary: There's freedom or death waiting at the end of this tunnel...

Fic in a Box Letter

Aug. 25th, 2025 12:14 pm
rachelmanija: (Default)
[personal profile] rachelmanija
Full letter to come!

Thank you for writing for me! If you have any questions, please check with the mods. I am a very easy recipient and will be delighted with whatever you write for me. I have no special requirements beyond what's specifically stated in my DNWs. I'm fine with all POVs (i.e., first, second, third), tenses, ratings, story lengths, etc.

My AO3 name is Edonohana. I am open to treats. Very open. I love them.

I like hurt-comfort, action/adventure, horror, domestic life, worldbuilding, evocative descriptions, camaraderie, loyalty, trauma recovery, difficult choices, survival situations, mysterious places and weird alien technology, food, plants, animals, landscape, X-Men type powers, learning to love again or trust again or enjoy life again, miniature things or beings, magic, strange rituals, unknowable things, epistolary fiction, found footage/art/creepy movies/etc, canon divergence AUs anf alternate versions of characters. And many other things, too, of course! That list is just in case something sparks an idea.

Opt-in Tags )

General DNWs )

Caught in Crystal - Patricia Wrede )

Dark Tower - Stephen King )

Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey  )

Marvel 616 )

Piranesi - Susanna Clarke )

The Stand - Stephen King )
duskpeterson: The lowercased letters D and P, joined together (Default)
[personal profile] duskpeterson

Much more prominent than the sling is a statue of the Living Dead that stands near the altar. Carved and painted in the northern style, the slave stands naked except for an iron mask in his hand, representing the moment upon which he receives his freedom. His face is scarred from wearing the mask for so long, but in his eyes lie hope.

Although the statue is intended to represent all of the Living Dead, both men and women, it is based on the likeness of one of the last men to be freed from slavery before the Emorian occupation: Kester son of Hoare, who died in the attack upon Council Hill by the Emorians. Although free at the time of his death, he was present at the palace on the day of the attack because he had voluntarily chosen to return to his place of slavery, in order to help other slaves survive their misery. The statue was commissioned and paid for by Kester's son, the present High Lord of Koretia.


[Translator's note: Kester's story forms part of Death Mask.]

sonofgodzilla: miserable, primative (maria)
[personal profile] sonofgodzilla
Title: Submission
Universe: Chojin Sentai Jetman
Character(s): Unnamed croupier from episode #39 who might as well be an OC now, Grey, Maria
Rating: U
Warnings: N/A
Summary: She had crossed the carpeted hall to her table, nodding to people she knew, seeing the manager at a private table, several men leaning forward threateningly, a bucket of champagne between them. She pretended not to see—and then, all at once, she had been alone, metal hands seizing hold of her, spinning her around.
Length: 863 words
Author's Notes: Set during episode #39. I didn't do justice to how much I love this episode. This is one of my favourite sentai episodes ever. also: external link.

ready

Submission )
ursamajor: the Swedish Chef, juggling (bork bork bork!)
[personal profile] ursamajor
The algorithm sent me this ATK recipe (paywalled, but linked for posterity, and pretty easy to extrapolate the basic idea) for a peanut butter chocolate quesadilla yesterday, and my instant reaction as a Massachusetts expat: "But where's the Marshmallow Fluff?! How can it be a Fluffernutter quesadilla without the Fluff? This is all Jarrett Barrios' fault, isn't it!"

Though of course, out here on the West Coast, getting ahold of actual Fluff is more difficult; when supermarkets have jarred marshmallow product, it's usually Kraft's Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme, which is more liquidy. ... hold on, I can get a two-pack of Marshmallow Fluff from my local Cost Plus?! As in the same Cost Plus where my mom used to buy us Botan candy to keep us occupied while she looked at household decor? ROFL.

Of course I ended up down the merch wormhole with my search results; I'd rather have it as a long-sleeve tee, but I love the logo on this What the Fluff sweatshirt from the Fluff Festival. 20th annual this year! Pairs well with this Ice Cream Weather hoodie from Gracie's just across the square that I've been meaning to pick up for years now. As well as my What a Cluster! tee. And now I want Goo Goo Clusters and Marshmallow Fluff. At least Moon Pies have made their way to the Bay? I can get those at my local CVS sometimes now.

Cherry on top of all this internet wormholing: while trying to figure out if Fluff was sold in any grocery stores local to me (besides Walmart, ugh), I stumbled across their recipe section, and amusingly enough, one of their most popular recipes is Lynne's Cheesecake. I swear I didn't submit it - the recipe looks like a New York cheesecake recipe, and I strongly prefer my cheesecakes burnt Basque or Japanese cotton style. But now I'm thinking, maybe I should tackle a burnt Basque Fluff cheesecake. Though admittedly, on my cheesecake back burner, I also want to make a cheesecake with Poppy Bagels' truffle schmear, Wikipedia has just informed me of the existence of a smoked salmon cheesecake, and Kat Lieu just posted a SPAM Basque cheesecake. Time to reup our Lactaid stock!

And now, of course, I'm earwormed with the old-timey Fluffernutter jingle.



(Yeah, I know, an original Fluffernutter has no chocolate, but sprinkling some chocolate chips on top of one side and melting before assembly is pretty standard. Though IME hagelslag or vlokken work better, and of course you can also get hagelslag at Cost Plus, 😂.)

(no subject)

Aug. 23rd, 2025 08:05 pm
thisbluespirit: (agatha christie)
[personal profile] thisbluespirit
I've not been posting or even keeping up with people so much because I've largely been wiped out for one reason or another or prioritising something else with the reduced summer PC time - sorry. This will continue for a little while yet, until it is eventually replaced by my usual slightly less flakeyness.


* The other week I managed some flash fic/scribblets for AU_gust (AU August) on tumblr. I've only managed to tidy up and post one of them since, & there are 2 others to follow once I tweak them a bit, as well as 1 more that I don't know if is worth proper posting & a drabble I still need to type up. But this used up my posting energy for now, so they can wait.

Anyway, in a shocking attempt at pandering to what might pass as popular demand among my works, I committed another Miss Marple + supernatural fic(let):

Tea on Sunday (572 words) by thisbluespirit
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Miss Marple - Agatha Christie
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Jane Marple, Griselda Clement
Additional Tags: Ficlet, Alternate Universe, Witchcraft, AU-gust | August Writing Challenge, Community: allbingo, Community: 100_women, Community: 100fandoms, Miss Marple is a witch
Summary: Miss Marple's secret is out.


* In other writing, before summer got underway, I typed up the bulk of the longest continuous sequence I'm doing for the current arc at [community profile] rainbowfic, and then ever since have been scraping away at finishing it and editing it, and I am nearly there, although I suspect it'll still take another week or two before I have the first section ready to post. (I knew this would happen, so I also started two shorter pieces, but one of them, which is more or less done, has just been even harder to edit because tiredness etc. and the other one is still stuck at only two paragraphs, so that plan went well. Summer brain is not up to much. That was why I had to silly no-pressure AU ficlets my way back to life and even then summer rudely and immediately interrupted all over again). But there has been writing of sorts even so.

(The long sequence was one of the very first bits of this arc that I drew up, which is very funny because I essentially set up a sort of grand house murder mystery affair except that then everything changed so much that now my main characters aren't bothering taking part in the murder bit so am not sure if it will read ok (hopefully when edited) or if I committed Worst Murder Mystery ever as a result. I think probably I will also write a note on the header when we get there saying that One Day I Will Come Back, yes, one day I will come back, until then all 2 or 3 of you should go forward in all your beliefs about how people shouldn't wave a murder mystery at you and then literally run away from it, and I will eventually demonstrate that what is going on is in fact an Apocalyptic Overarching Plot, so there. And edit, of course.)


* I am currently listening to: a 1989 BBC Radio adaptation of Wilkie Collins's No Name I was delighted to find, starring Sophie Thompson as Magdalen, Jack May (as Captain Wragge), Eleanor Bron (as Mrs Lecount) & Robin Ellis (as Captain Kirke). I'm going slowly, but have just started part 3. It's very good and they're making excellent use of the epistolary bits, which is where radio has an advantage over TV. Mrs Lecount and her sinister toad have just turned up and Eleanor Bron is obviously a v good choice.


* I have watched some things, which, aside from what I've already mentioned, and a ridiculous amount of TV detectives, includes these:

The Tribe (1998), The Halfway House (1944), A Matter of Life and Death (1946), The Admirable Crichton (1957), Creation (2009), Cause Celebre (1988) & Eye in the Sky (2015), all of which were either v good or worth talking about anyway. (Creation and Eye in the Sky have brought me very nearly to the end of my Jeremy Northam's viable CV, so I'm a little bit in mourning now; I suppose a new blorbo will come along in time. Talking of which, I found that the iPlayer had the BBC 1970s All Creatures on it, so finally got around to seeing Suzanne Neve's episode of it, which would be the one thing I would certainly have watched with her when I was a child to see if I had shadowy feelings and indeed, as soon as she appeared, before even I saw her, the set was suddenly Significant in the back of my head, so yeah. I think I can prove childhood imprinting on all my top faves and that's what the thing is about, and why even when I'm so ill they reach me in ways that other people, no matter how much I enjoy them in things, don't unfortunately.)

(Hopefully I will get to talk about some of them properly, but I am happy to attempt such talk in comments if wanted, although sense is not guaranteed, and it is true that at least one or two I watched in a fugue state that all I can say is, well, it was good and I watched it very slowly in bits and there we are, but, yes it was good /o\)


* Also random funny thing. My old housemate N lent me a DVD (!!) of The Residence (was not joking about the sheer amount of detectives watched this summer), which I enjoyed so much I recced it to my Dad. A couple of weeks later we had this conversation:

Dad: I've been watching that medical drama you recommended, but it's not that great, really, so I've stopped.

Me: ... Medical drama??

(It turned out he'd found The Resident on one of the back Freeview channels, so I emailed him a trailer of the 2025 Netflix detective show that I magically got lent on DVD as if it was 2015 or something. He found a pirate source and then lost it again, but he definitely liked what he watched so far a lot better than the Resident).
sonofgodzilla: super successful rescue (space channel 5)
[personal profile] sonofgodzilla
Title: Kindness
Universe: Wonderful Precure!, Delicious Party♡Pretty Cure
Prompt: Power Rangers Megaforce: S20E13 - Dream Snatcher
Character(s): Nekoyashiki Mayu, Kome-Kome
Rating: U
Warnings: N/A
Summary: The girl didn’t turn to look at her, but she could sense the shift in her interest. This girl, almost 16, the same age she had been when Yuki had been given the gift of reaching back for her.
Length: 725 words
Author's Notes: This harks back to a couple of things I have done recently. I think sometimes I am guilty of looking so inward and examining those feelings and assuming you are just on the same page that there is no hope, but trying to communicate is better than saying nothing at all. also: external link.

nyaan

Kindness )
ursamajor: the Swedish Chef, juggling (bork bork bork!)
[personal profile] ursamajor
I did not end up making a dessert for choir this week that magically used any portion of our eleven cups of plum jam in the fridge. I made chocolate chip cookies, and they disappeared like magic (the only empty container on the snack table when I went to clean up after break!) and I got multiple compliments on them *preens*.

It was my usual recipe, doubled because I used the oversized 20 oz Ghirardelli bag of semisweet chips, and then I went through my spice cabinet and pulled out baharat and rosewater. Though I've made a couple of adjustments over the years, and didn't actually write them down online, so here, have my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. )

Ugh, I need a new chocolate icon, FJKR.

That being said, I went by Market Hall this morning since the internet said they were my local carrier for the See's Candy x McConnell's Ice Cream collab - they didn't have all the flavors, but they did have Coffee + Molasses Chips, so that got promptly plopped into my bike basket.

But while I was there, I also perused the other things they had available, and the regular old standard size 12 oz bag of Guittard semisweet chocolate chips was SIXTEEN GODDAMNED DOLLARS I HATE THIS TIMELINE.

Even checking online right now - Berkeley Bowl is claiming $12.39/bag, Guittard direct says $11.99/bag, and I am wondering how many bags of the semisweet I can order via my farmshare at $7.49/bag before they cut me off. Ghirardelli is still available at Berkeley Bowl for $8.79/bag, but I'm wondering for how much longer - before this summer, both of these were pretty close price matches, maybe 50c/bag difference and not always consistently in the same direction depending on what supermarket I was at? This feels like when vanilla prices exponentially spiked a few years ago and my $50 of vanilla backstock was suddenly worth $300.

... the farmshare website dropdown goes to 20 items. I'm not sure I want to be talked out of this. (I will probably buy at least 4, I am literally down to my last bag of chocolate chips and I usually have half a dozen bags on hand at any given time.)
duskpeterson: The lowercased letters D and P, joined together (Default)
[personal profile] duskpeterson

In the corner of the sanctuary is a small table with a boys' sling upon it. Far from being a mistake, this is one of the most moving monuments in the sanctuary. The sling represents the thousands of orphan boys who, over the centuries, were forced by their guardians – the priests – to serve in this sanctuary's Rites of Death. The Jackal, who was raised by the priests, has many memories of such services, which he, like the other orphan boys, was given no choice but to participate in. The sling was donated by a later orphan boy grown up, who once used the sling to pitch stones at the priests' house, out of anger at the priests for what they had done.

[Translator's note: The life of one such orphan boy takes an unexpected turn in Blood Vow.]

sonofgodzilla: atropos sass (atropos of the three sisters)
[personal profile] sonofgodzilla
The sixty-sixth single is out now and this is the last of our senbatsu entries! Foo Yi Shyan debuted as part of the new sister group, KLP48, in 2024. The first generation—including Lucine, who is currently my favourite—debuted in July of last year, joined also by several overseas members, including former Team 8 member, Gyoten Yurina. At present, auditions for the group's second generation have just wrapped up this month, so I expect there will be an announcement about that very soon, probably after the fuss about the AKB anniversary has died down, yet even without that, KLP have already released a total of four singles including the Yi Shyan centre cover of oh my pumpkin!, and have a cover of Green Flash on the cards for later this year. I think that the rise in digital single releases is something that has allowed the sister groups to flourish. Even before signing with a major label for distribution, these groups have been able to put out regular releases without making so much of a gamble on issuing them as physical indie releases, something that was the norm for AKB when Sakura no Hanabiratachi and Skirt, Hirari were released.

KLP's first single, a cover of Heavy Rotation, wasn't exactly favourable, and I don't want you to think that it's because I'm a perv, but... I do think that treating the song in such a way is to pretend that is has no associations at all, and that kind of makes me miserable.

Into all this, Yi Shyan stepped, made an official member with her peers one month, given captainship of her entire group the next. Having previously stared in a, ah, 'tiktok drama' drama, From Palace to Present, and having formerly auditioned for K-pop acts, it's surprising that it took until the KLP version of oh my pumpkin! for her to take the centre role. Having said that, Green Flash is apparently going to be a Wcentre with fellow first generation member, Made Devi Ranita Ningtara, so maybe Yi Shyan was the trump card that management were keeping up their sleeves now that increased attention will be on the sister groups following the AKB anniversary single. Born in June 2004, there isn't really that much information available outside of Malaysia for me to share with you. Again, I am haunted by the fact that these entries may better serve you if they were written by someone with experience in the territories such groups are based in, but instead... you've got me, overly enthusiastic, trying to convey each Wednesday the way AKB has changed my life.

What interests me the most is that KLP have stated they are willing to take in members of any nationality, that they are not necessarily looking solely for Malaysian members. With their new theatre opening soon, I think both the group and their captain are going on to great things!

Yi Shyan!


Ah, friends! I really can't wait for my copy of the single to arrive!

The Disaster Days, by Rebecca Behrens

Aug. 18th, 2025 01:08 pm
rachelmanija: (Books: old)
[personal profile] rachelmanija


13-year-old Hannah, who lives on a tiny island off Seattle, is excited for her first babysitting job. Then a giant earthquake hits, cutting the island off from the mainland... and leaving Hannah alone in charge of two kids in a devastated landscape.

Hannah is not having a good day. She was recently diagnosed with asthma, forcing her to drop out of soccer and always carry an inhaler. Her best friend Neha, a soccer star, is now hanging out more with another soccer girl than with Hannah. Hannah forgets to bring her inhaler with her to school, and her mom doesn't turn around the car to get it as Hannah is desperate not to be late. When she arrives for her babysitting job after school, minus her inhaler (no doubt looming ominously on the mantelpiece at home, along with Chekhov's gun), she gets in a huge fight with Neha over text and the girls say they no longer want to be friends...

...just as a giant earthquake hits! Hannah gets her charges, Zoe and Oscar, to huddle under a table (along with their guinea pig) and no one is injured. But the windows break, the house is trashed, and the power, internet, and phones go out. The house is somewhat remote, an all-day walk from the next house. What to do?

Hannah is a pretty realistic 13-year-old. She's generally sensible, but makes some mistakes which are understandable under the circumstances, but have huge repercussions. She enlists the kids to help her search for her phone in the wreckage of the house, and Zoe immediately is severely cut on broken glass. The kids freak out because their mom (along with Hannah's) is on the mainland, and Hannah calms them down by lying that she got a text from their mom saying that she's fine and is coming soon. The next morning, she lets Oscar play on some home playground equipment. Hannah checks the surrounding area, but doesn't check the equipment itself. It's damaged and breaks, and Oscar breaks his leg. So by day one, Hannah is having asthma attacks without her inhaler, Zoe has one arm out of commission, Oscar is totally immobilized, and there's no adults within reach.

Well - this is a HUGE improvement on Trapped. It's well-written and gripping, the events all make sense, and the characterization is fine. It was clearly intended to teach kids what can happen during a big earthquake and how to stay as safe as possible, and the information presented on that is all good.

But - you knew there was a but - as an enjoyable work of children's disaster/survival literature, it falls short of the standards of the old classic Hatchet and the excellent newer series I Survived.

The basic problem with this book is that it has a very narrow emotional range. For the entire book, Hannah is miserable, guilty over her friend breakup and the kids getting hurt, worried about her parents, and desperately trying to keep it together. The kids get hurt so seriously so early on that they never have any fun. Even when Hannah tries to feed them S'Mores to cheer them up, nobody actually likes them because they're not melted!

The I Survived books have much more variety of emotional states and incidents, as typically the actual disaster doesn't happen until at least one-third of the way into the book. The kids have highs and lows, fun moments and despairing moments and terrifying moments. This book is all gloom all the time even before the disaster! Hannah eventually saves everyone, is hailed as a hero, and repairs her friendship, but we don't get that from her inner POV - it's in a transcript of a TV interview with her.

The information provided in the book is very solid, but I would have preferred that it didn't have BOTH kids get injured because of something Hannah does wrong. (That is not realistic! ONE, maybe.) It also would have been a lot more fun to read if the kids' injuries were either less serious or occurred later. The situation is desperate and miserable almost immediately, and just stays that way for the entire book.

Still, there's a lot about the book that's good and there should be an entertaining book that provides earthquake knowledge, so I'm keeping it. But I'm not getting her other book about two girls lost in the woods.

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girlycon: A white girl in a school uniform with her horse, from the cover of Leader of the Lower School by Angela Brazil. (Default)
GirlyCon

January 2013

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