Melody Writes

Original Review written in September 2016 on Goodreads . The Review: It sounds like a simple wish - to be remembered when you die. That is Shari Cooper's wish, but when she falls to her death from a balcony at the age of 18, she didn't have a chance to make her mark. Remember Me is the story of Shari's quest to find her murderer and make some sort of posthumous mark on the world. This, like Until the End, is one of Christopher Pike's trilogies republished as one omnibus. Also like Until the End, it might have been better as one book. The first of the three - also called Remember Me - is the best part. It's a simple teen murder mystery with a supernatural element. The tension is solid and I enjoyed figuring out who might have killed Shari. I had read this book years ago, but had forgotten who the killer was. What I also enjoyed about the story was its emotion. Sometimes Pike got a little silly when Shari was looking into people's dreams, but there we...

Review originally written in 2015 on Goodreads .   The Review: Before Stephen King eclipsed all other authors in my heart, there was another. One I think of as my "pre-Stephen-King" and that was Christopher Pike. I devoured all of his books I could get a hold of in high school. The other big horror writer of the day was R. L. Stine and I don't remember what it was that I preferred in Christopher Pike. I think I liked how some of his stories were less "evil dead cheerleader" and more "bizarro sci-fi murder mystery". With time travel. And lizard people evolving into humans. Recently, I've noticed Pike's been making something of a comeback, so I thought it might be interesting to revisit some of the YA out when I was a teen (dating myself I know). I began this trip with one of Pike's most popular series, the Final Friends trilogy, now republished as one book, Until the End . I should note that this isn't my first return to Pike...

Title: Nothing But the Willows Author: J. D. Buffington   This is my second time reading and reviewing J. D. Buffington's work. Previously, I read and enjoyed his take on the Medusa myth: Come Hither, No Malice ( Review here ). So, when he was looking for people to review his short story collection, I happily volunteered, and was not disappointed. Buffington's stories are unique and varied. Many are told in first person narrative, but he also experiments with screenplay format and second-person. I would classify the stories generally under horror, but many have strong elements of sci-fi, fantasy, drama, and inspire more emotions than fear. Buffington's author bio states, "He seamlessly weaves vivid nightmares and haunting anxiety together to immerse readers into a state of fright and wonder," and I believe that this collection demonstrates that. The best stories in the collection offer up a sense of wonder along with the fears. A few of my favourites that best ...

  I am finally taking the plunge and starting an author newsletter. It's the perfect way to follow me and my work without trying to catch me on social media. Each month in your inbox you will receive: A short post about a different topic each month Mostly related to storytelling, but not just books - games, movies, other media, stories in real life, etc. Updates on my writing Stories I’m working on, reviews, articles, blog posts, etc. What I’m reading/writing/playing/listening to this month; Books, television, movies, video games, podcasts, music, etc. Recommendations and interesting links I’ve found that I think will interest you.   Ready to sign up?  

Title: Glass Stories Author: Ivy Grimes When white light is passed through a glass prism, it refracts into a rainbow of colours. Similarly, the seventeen tales in Ivy Grimes’ Glass Stories are all bound together by the common theme of “glass”, but each one is a unique shade. Glass objects are at the heart of each story and range from a tiny glass pill to a glass mountain. The importance of each glass item shifts from story to story, but there is always some glass present, and I enjoyed guessing what form the glass would take in each story. Grimes has an unusual style, and her stories do not follow typical conventions or tropes. The tales were often experimental, or as the description promises, “darkly weird” and “absurd”. Experimental does not always work for me, as I tend to enjoy tropes, but I appreciate new styles and books outside the norm, too. Some of the stories worked better for me than others. A few felt as though they ended rather abruptly, but even the ones that agreed with...

Review originally written in 2016 on Goodreads .   The Review: I think the best thing about Damico's debut trilogy is how different it is from anything else I've read. The story ricochets the reader through every emotion imaginable - joy, anger, sadness, triumph, satisfaction, love and loss. Every time I thought I had figured out the next step of the story, Damico would jerk the plot in a crazy new direction that left my head spinning. If I could sum up the series in one word, it would be "suckerpunch". The Croak trilogy is both humourous and tragic but Damico's greatest triumph lies in the complicated character of Lex, our heroine. I've reviewed the previous two books in this trilogy and mentioned how Damico is not afraid to let Lex's dark side shine. Lex does some awful things and she faces real consequences for her actions. It's shocking how refreshing that was! I am often frustrated when characters seem to just get away with everything...

Original review written in 2016 on Goodreads .  The Review: Croak was Gina Damico's first novel and Scorch is certainly a worthy successor. The third book, Rogue will be out later this year and I'm pretty excited. Scorch picks up a little bit after where Croak left off. Lex is still reeling from what Zara did to her sister and dealing with new problems. At the end of the last book, when Zara absorbed Lex's ability, there was a bit of a backfire and now Lex is drawn to Damning. So Damico starts us off in complexity. Lex has a lot to deal with right from the start. Not just her family problems, but the town she came to love has transformed her and her friends into scapegoats and soon enough they find themselves on the wrong end of a witch hunt and must flee. This is an excellent move on Damico's part as it allows her to show us more of the Grim world and seamlessly integrate new characters into the narrative. The other thing Damico does well is have actual st...

Original Review 2016 on Goodreads  Note: Polaris is a convention that does not exist anymore that I attended years ago.   The Review: At Polaris, I decided I would pick one book on sale there to support small time authors. Unfortunately, I am not lush with the cash, so I could not support them all. The book I selected was Croak by Gina Damico. I walked up to a table where someone was selling about 5-10 different books. The author wasn't there herself. I got there, saw the title, showed interest and the woman at the counter just about exploded with excitement over how funny and original the story was. Before I knew it, her enthusiasm had sucked my $10 right out of my hand and my book purchase was made. Polaris was too busy and exhausting (in a good way) to allow for much time to read so I didn't get into the book until I got home. Now, I'd like to extend my own explosive enthusiasm for this book at you and maybe your money will also fly out of your hands and into...