XVI by Julia Karr

About The Book: Nina is going to turn sixteen very soon but right now her life is spinning out of control. The story is set in futuristic Chicago where consumer culture has finally divided the city into tiers based on affluence. Nina discovers that not only her father may be alive but there is a world that exists outside the tiers. A world where scramblers, GPS trackers, government cover-ups, secret organizations and turning sixteen for girls means succumbing to sexual objectification. Sequel? Yes, I can't wait...
Order XVI here.
One Great Line: The threat of being chosen retreated to the edge of my thoughts, hovering there, waiting to return faster than a wing beat. (XVI, 271) Poetry!!!

What Others Are Saying:   "Karr’s novel is perfect for girls who have begun to ask questions about themselves and about how they are supposed to act under the barrage of sexual influences. Our heroine Nina lives within every girl who is willing to fight to define herself all on her own." ( Bookpage)    

       "In her unsettling debut, Karr depicts a sex-obsessed future where women are the perpetual victims of predatory marketing, and other societal ills seen in our present...taken to terrifying ends. ...there’s no doubt this well-written, accessible sci-fi thriller will provoke discussion." ( Booklist)

Logline:  In the year 2150, being a girl isn’t necessarily a good thing, especially when your sixteenth (read sex-teenth) birthday is fast approaching. That in itself would be enough to make anyone more than a little nuts, what with the tattoo and all – but Nina Oberon’s life has taken a definite turn for the worse.


First Five Pages: Karr quickly introduces the main character and what her public and private stakes will be. Her premise of consumer culture run a muck is, while not original, takes a fascinating tangent using sex as the focus, appealing to 14-16 year olds questioning their own sexuality. When Nina asks, "What would it be like to be able to go someplace where you were untraceable?" Karr intuitively addresses the age old question of coming of age and being free of parental constraints. By the fifth page Nina is carefully situated in the time and place of Karr's dystopian world.

Other Observations: Some have questioned plausibility by pointing to Karr's "dysfunctional gender politics". They seem unable to reconcile the fact that there are teenagers that subvert the system. Really? Name one group or country for that matter, that doesn't have minority populations that live outside bounds of accepted norms. That is why we cheer for Nina, she is fighting to live her own life free from the constraints of a controlling government. Can you say, pilgrims? I'm just saying. I love Karr's exploration of consumer culture!

 Writer Info

Website: juliakarr.com

Blog: juliakarr.livejournal.com 

Twitter: @juliaakarr

Facebook: facebook.com/juliakarr 

Email: juliakarr@me.com

Check her at @ The League of Extraordinary Writers

Rating:  ♥♥♥♥♥

Rating Key:
♥         Couldn't finish the book, wouldn't even give it to my worst enemy.
♥♥       Read most of it but had to skim through slow parts.
♥♥♥     Solid book with a few holes in the plot or inconsistencies, pacing issues.
♥♥♥♥   Great premise, plot and pace. Writing is engaging with a strong voice.
♥♥♥♥♥ Totally awesome ride, tell everyone to read it, give me some more.

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Sometimes, it's What You Don't Know

Source: travel.ca.msn.com

     Silence is golden. 

     As writers we often talk about the deficiencies in telling instead of showing. This idea is far more than one of aesthetics or sophisticated writing. It is fundamental in the telling of a story or the unfolding of plot.

     As a reader, I want the experience of knowing the questions as the clues are presented by the writer. That way I may not know the details, but I feel them. I become emotionally engaged, pulled in by the tension that subtext creates. 

     "Meaning is only compellingly elusive when the reader must struggle to reconcile the tension that arises from plot, " writes Catherine Brady.

   So when I say, silence is golden, I mean exactly that. The gold I am after as a writer is that magic that cumulative clues create in the telling of the story.  

For a more in depth look at this concept check out "Story Logic and the Craft of Fiction" by Catherine Brady. 
  
Did you prospect any gold today?   For me, it often requires sifting through the dirt, if you know what I mean.

Craft Analysis: Seer Of Shadows by Avi

About The Book: In Avi's "Seer of Shadows" this prolific writer takes us on a chilling journey of mystery and gives an insiders view of what photography was like when it first began, something that many of us know little about in this digital age. 
Favorite Line:"It was as if, having always believed coal was black, I now began to see it as white" (Shadows,106).

What Others Are Saying: “.  .  . In perhaps [Avi’s] best work yet, [he] has created a truly chilling tale that will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned and the lights are turned out.” -Children's Literature

"This tale proves that the time-honored ghost story, capably researched, well-paced, and fusing the Gothic elements of mystery, madness and romance , can still thrill in the hands of a skilled craftsman." -Kirkus Reviews

Log Line: "It’s the tale of a boy who has been taught that there is a scientific explanation for everything and who then confronts something that is beyond reason. While at its heart is the world of photography, most of all The Seer of Shadows is—I hope—a creepy ghost story." See his essay on the book here.

First Five Pages:  Avi crafts the setting, introduces his main characters and their desires and opens his creepy plot in only two pages. An incredible feat for even the most gifted writer. 

Other Observations: His extensive research is evident in the details about early New York in the 1800's and photography at that time. Each chapter if fast paced always ending with a sentence that leads to the next chapter like mini-cliff-hangers.

Writer Info


Who: Edward Irving Wortis better known as Avi was born in 1937 and has gone by the name Avi since his twin sister gave it to him when they were children in Brooklyn. He writes in several genres and forms always working to find the best way to tell the story. He has written novel length comic books, stories all in dialogue and one completely told through weekly installments in newspapers.


When: He started his interest in writing in high school. "I think you become a writer when you stop writing for yourself or your teachers and start thinking about readers." "I wanted to prove that I could write"

Challenges: Avi has Dysgraphia which made him a poor writer as a child. He uses a word processor and needs absolute quiet to work.

How: His process begins with a rough draft of the story. This generally takes a year and he often has several going at the same time. Then his favorite part begins, the rewrites. He is very invested in the collaborative process of bringing a book to print. Avi does extensive research for all of his books, reading everything he can about where and what and often going someplace. (As he did for the Crispin series going to England and France.) 


First Book: Things That Sometimes Happen  1970


Day Job: Librarian for years, although he now writes full time.


Marketing Strategy: Author website, Blog, school visits, conducts Skype visits to libraries, book clubs, and classrooms. "I think it is very important for me to hold these kids in front of my eyes. They're wonderfully interesting and they hold me to the reality of who they are."


Advice To Other Writers:  "Rewrite! No one ever writes anything well the first time. The first draft cannot be the last draft. (I rewrite my work fifty-sixty times- or more). Here's a tip: read your first draft, and if you think it's good, you are in trouble. But, if you read it and you see it's not that good, you are in great shape, to get going. The more you rewrite the better your writing will be." 
See his Six Secrets To Good Writing here.


Have you read any of Avi's books? What are your favorites and why?