Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Pass the Parcel Party Game

The Notebook Sisters is hosting this really cool party where they have interviews with authors, party games, and giveaways! :D This game is called "Pass the Parcel" (otherwise known as a blog tag). I will be answering some questions they wrote about YA books.





1. Name your top 5 favourite YA authors!  J. K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins, Tamora Pierce, James Patterson, and Brandon Mull/Rick Riordan. (I couldn't choose between those last two).
2. What's the last YA book you read and what did you think of it?
It's hard to keep track, but the last YA book I read was probably Going Bovine by Libba Bray. It was hard to get into, but after I finished the first 70 pages I really liked it. In my opinion, the swearing in the book was verrrry excessive. It lost a lot of its power after reading five different swear words before you finished the second page, but I guess the author wanted to show that the characters weren't very educated (which they weren't) or something. It was bizarre, but had lots of action, humorous moments, and some sweet parts. My favorite characters were Dulcie the punk angel full of witty bits of wisdom and Balder, the Norse God disguised as a garden gnome.
3. What's your favourite YA genre? (Dystopian, romance, sci-fi, contemporary, etc.)
Fantasy and/or Dystopian.
4. Let's talk characters! Pick a character you love and tell us why?
Hermione Granger, because she's a lot like me in the sense that she's a nerd, has brown hair that's always out of control, and is a good friend. I love smart characters that aren't portrayed as awkward or "un-cool." Nerds rule!
5. Top YA villain?
Severus Snape. (Seeing the theme here)? Although, I'm not sure he counts as a villain. Even though I hated him for six whole books, I thought he was extremely awesome after seeing his memories. I won't give anything away for those of you who haven't read the last book (but at this point, come on, people. Get a move on)!
6. Top YA couple?
I don't really get into romance that much, though I don't mind if it's part of the book. I guess I'd have to say Katniss and Peeta, because it wasn't mushy or played up too much. I'm getting sick and tired of love triangles and, in my opinion, there was never a love triangle in The Hunger Games. Gale was a friend. That's it.
7. With dystopian on the decline, what do you think will be the next hot-trend in YA? I have no idea, but I hope it's something besides romance based books. I think there should be more books from the villain's point of view. Actually, I've never read a book from the villain's point of view. "Megamind" and "Wreck-It Ralph" were both movies. Maybe I should take care of that . . .
8. What's the next YA book on your to-be-read pile? Witch and Wizard by James Patterson, The Soul and The Seeker (the next two books in The Host series) by Stephenie Meyer, and Divergent #3. (title soon to be revealed) by Veronica Roth.
9. What's the fastest time you've ever finished reading a book in? (And what was the book?!)
I don't really keep track of this stuff, but I can finish any average sized book (about 300-400 pages) during one late night. But that's only if I really like the book. I finished The Host (a 600 page novel) in two late nights.
10. (And now for the burning question) Do you think books should be sorted according to colour or title? (This matters.) Title, I guess. It's easier to remember the title of a book than it is to remember the color of a book. The books in my room aren't very organized, though. ;)

If anyone would like to do this tag, please do! I'd love to read it! :D

13 comments:

Boquinha said...

I love reading stuff like this. I'm not well-versed enough on YA fiction to do this tag, but I love to hear your thoughts on it.

Also, I *love* the idea of a story written from the perspective of a villain. I really like stuff like that (new perspectives, ideas, presentations, etc.).

Dr. Mark said...

I don't know enough YA lit, either, but I loved reading about all of your favourites.

Book from the villain's point of view? Go for it! Also, Snape is one of the most well-written characters in my opinion. I think he is more of a (terribly) flawed hero in my mind, but that is open for debate.

CG @ Paper Fury said...

Writing by villains? That would make an awesome entire genre! Very good idea. And I loved your lists of books. I've heard about The Host, so I must go look it up properly now. ;)

Thanks for doing the tag for us!! Just awesome!

Mime said...

I have to agree with you on the title sorting one. But they do look awesome sorted by spinal colour. We did that to the two bookshelves in my bedroom. It looked amazing.

I so agree about Peeta and Katniss and Gale! Gale was a jerk! Gale---I'll stop there for spoilers sake for those who haven't read Mockingjay, but still. Peeta was so much cooler.

Lydia said...

Oh yes! Let's have more books from the villain's POV. Artemis Fowl might count as that, actually.

I almost picked Hermione Granger too!

The Magic Violinist said...

I think the most difficult thing about writing from a villain's point of view is making it so the villain is likable, but still a villain.

Snape is pure awesomeness.

The Host is awesome! Definitely read the book first, as the movie didn't do the book enough justice as it could've. I never thought I'd read something by Stephenie Meyer.

Oh, yeah, it'd look WAY cooler by color! But I'm already not very organized. You should see my room . . . I'll post pictures sometime. ;) Gale and Katniss would not be a very good match. They're both too hotheaded.

I need to read Artemis Fowl! So many people have suggested it to me.

Kendra E. Ardnek said...

May I suggest to you My Sparkling Misfortune by Laura Lond and A School For Villains by Ardyth DeBruyn. Both of them were extremely well done books from a villain's perspective. (And I think I've read another recently, but it's name is evading me.)

I agree that it ought to be a genre, and I'm actually working on a book where superheros/villains are trained by a special school, and part one is from a villain's perspective.

Layla said...

I agree with you on most of these things. Maybe I can do the tag soon;)I love your blog so far, by the way:)

Layla.

The Magic Violinist said...

Thanks for the suggestions, Kendra! :D Your book sounds awesome!

Thanks, Layla! :D

Zelia said...

You like James Patterson? He is my second favorite author, modern author , that is. I have a few of his books. My most favorite is John Grisham. By the way John Grisham speaks Portuguese.

I love to read what you write. Youare such a great writer.

The Magic Violinist said...

Thanks, Vavo! :D Yeah, I really like his Maximum Ride series. I'm going to read his Witch and Wizard series, soon. I didn't know that John Grisham spoke Portuguese. That's cool! :D

Hamlette (Rachel) said...

Aww, Snape? I loved him through all the books -- he's so sad! He was always my second-favorite character, after Sirius Black. (And I do realize that coming second to Sirius would drive Snape nuts. Poor Snape.)

(I found your blog via the Pass the Parcel game, if you're wondering. My answers to it are here. Nice to "meet" you! Your blog is such fun!)

The Magic Violinist said...

Ha, yes that would make him mad (actually, that would make him furious).

Nice to "meet" you, too! ;) I just left a comment on your blog!