#justine larbalestier

[cozy-kit-cafe]

plush book self-care

[devilofthepit]

SO TRUE SPIKE IS EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[specificpollsaboutbooks]

(Unverified yet) submissions for rewritings :

Little Thieves (Margaret Owen)

Kaikeyi (Vaishnavi Patel)

The Great Gatsby Undead (Kristen Briggs)

The Priory of the Orange Tree (Samantha Shannon)

The Looking Glass Wars (Frank Beddor)

Frogkisser (Garth Nix)

The Lunar Chronicles (Marissa Meyer)

The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet (Bernie Su and Kate Rorick)

Angel Mage (Garth Nix)

After the forest (Kell Woods)

The Radiant Emperor duology (Shelley Parker-Chan)

Iron Widow (Xiran Jay Zhao)

Blackout/All Clear (Connie Willis)

In Cold Blood (Truman Capote)

Island of the Blue Dolphins (Scott O'Dell)

The Grandest Bookshop in the World (Amelia Mellor)

Razorhurst (Justine Larbalestier)

The Goddess of the River (Vaishnavi Patel)

Sirena (Donna Jo Napoli)

The Beast's Heart (Leife Shallcross)

Fire and Hemlock (Diana Wynne Jones)

Eight Days of Luke ( Diana Wynne Jones)

Rilla of Ingleside (LM Montgomery)

[dyna-myght]

[agardenandlibrary]

If i remember right, you can also add the "Zombies vs. Unicorns" edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier to murder pony list

It sure sounds like it goes on the Murder Pony list.

[snickerdoodlles]

10 and 17 for the book asks? <3

<333

10. the worst book u have ever read?

oh man, which one to even pick. i recently skimmed part of A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers, which was just. so boring. so annoying. i'm ridiculously irritated by the claim that robotic anything is forever. i haven't read the whole thing but i want to chuck it in the bin. ugh.

anyways, for a terrible book i have properly read thru -- i read this book 15 years ago and had to go plug in enough key phrases to google to remember the title (ty reddit!) but the book How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier. its a YA novel that came out in 2008, and i am still so annoyed at this thing all these years later. the book premise is this society where everyone has a fairy that comes with a like...perk? special benefit? idek. the main character is this brat with a "best parking spot" fairy and like. the book premise is weird and quirky and whatever, i'm usually down for that, but it equates the main character, who just doesn't feel special and is annoyed by people always trying to get her to come with them for the parking spot perk, and her problems to be just as bad as this other character's situation. the other girl has an "all the boys like her" fairy (this girl is extremely isolated, is constantly harassed, doesn't think she will ever be able to form a genuine connection with anyone, etc) and i'm still a little bit outraged that this book genuinely claims that a girl not feeling special is equivalent to the extreme loneliness and harassment this other teen went through her entire life. there's a lot of other issues in this book, but that one takes the cake.

17. a book to get u out of a reading slump?

if i'm in a reading slump, i usually go for either stuff i read a lot growing up, short story anthologies, or something short i won't take too long to get through even if i put it down. right now i'm reading We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, and right before it i read the novella Lost in the Moment and Found (from the Wayward Children series) by Seanan McGuire, because guess who's in a reading slump right now rip @.@

[[ book asks ❣️ ]]

[alrederedmixedmedia]

Alredered Remembers Justine Larbalestier, Australian writer of young adult fiction, on her birthday.

"Read a lot. Write a lot. In that order. There are very very few good writers who aren’t also good readers."

[chanstopher]

Some books I read recently that I really enjoyed!:

Hail Mary - Andy Weir (science fiction? idfk i’m so bad a genres)

The silent patient - alex michaelides (psychological thriller?- this was a booktok rec and I did not expect to like it as much as I did)

Some YA I used to love:

Caraval Series - Stephanie Garber (it’s a magic game idk what else to say)

Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver (time loop. has a pretty okay movie too)

My Sister Rosa - Justine Larbalestier (psychological thriller)

Series of all time:

Howls moving castle - Diana Wynne Jones

:-) that’s it that’s the tweet (or should I say the x)

ohhh thank you!!! im putting these all on my list!!!

[therealjambery]

I'm always sad when I don't see Strange Horizons on these lists. It is WEEKLY. It is FREE (though we of course appreciate contributions on Patreon or our Kickstarter). It has FICTION of the speculative variety. It has POETRY and NON FICTION and PODCASTS too! Oh, and ART to go along with all of that.

SH has been around, online, for over 20 years. We're run by a volunteer editorial collective and pay market rates to contributors. We've been shortlisted for the Hugo (semi-pro zine) and many of the stories we publish have won awards.

We also have a record of finding and supporting exciting new voices in SF: writers who got their start in Strange Horizons include N. K. Jemisin ("Cloud Dragon Skies," from 2005), Justine Larbalestier ("The Cruel Brother," from 2001), Ken Liu ("The Algorithms for Love," from 2004), Nnedi Okorafor ("The Palm Tree Bandit," from 2000), and John Scalzi ("Alien Animal Encounters," from 2001). You can find others in our archives as well, like Charlie Jane Anders, Ursula Vernon, Vandana Singh, and Saladin Ahmed, to name a few.

So yeah, check out Strange Horizons! You'll probably find something you'll like! Long live short fiction!

Amazon fucks everyone over again

some of you may recall Neil Clarke's blog post on the deluge of AI-generated spam that has hit Clarkesworld Magazine's submissions queue.

well, Clarkesworld and other short fiction magazines like it are about to get another swift kick in the dick: Amazon is discontinuing their magazine subscription service (and replacing it with a new service that pays creators much, much less). of the very little money made in the short fiction market, most of it was coming from Amazon.

as Clarke points out in his editorial on the subject, "While there are plenty of people happily reading, listening to, and writing short fiction, a very disappointingly small percentage of those same people are actively paying for it."

short fiction is not dead. the existence of subreddits like r/NoSleep and blogs like @writing-prompt-s proves that. if you value these stories and you want to help writers get paid for their work, please consider checking out (and subscribing to) some of the following publications:

Analog Science Fiction and Fact

Apex Magazine

Asimov's Science Fiction

Clarkesworld Magazine

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

Fantasy & Science Fiction

Fantasy Magazine

Nightmare Magazine

many of these publications charge less than $5 USD per month for subscriptions, so if you've just dropped Netflix and have an extra $10/month lying around, you can instead support two fiction magazines full of interesting, original, well-written stories.

(feel free to reblog with your own favorite publications!)

[profmorbius]

Posted a review of Magic or Madness #3: Magic’s Child by Justine Larbalestier on my blog. Read it here.

tl;dr – Mostly good

[joemerl]

A Short Summary of Every Book that I Read in 2022

Here I am on Goodreads if you want more elaborate reviews.

1.) Dark Moon (Wereling/Changeling #2) Author: Steve Feasey Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Two stars in terms of quality, three stars for personal enjoyment. That whole storyline with Philippa was annoyingly pointless, though.

2.) Batgirl: Stephanie Brown, Vol. 1 Author/Artist: Brayn Q. Miller, Lee Garbett Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I knew Stephanie was supposed to be "the fun Batgirl," but this also turned out to be surprisingly deep and serious.

3.) Gravity Falls: Dipper's and Mabel's Guide to Mystery and Nonstop Fun! Authors: Rob Renzetti, Shane Houghton, Alex Hirsch Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐

It doesn't add much to the lore, but it's enjoyable.

4.) Batgirl: Stephanie Brown, Vol. 1 Authors: Brayn Q. Miller, Grant Morrison Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Less serious but more fun than the first volume. Unfortunately, editorial issues messed things up near the end.

5.) The Lost Colony (Artemis Fowl #5) Author: Eoin Colfer Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is my favorite AF book yet! I hope the rest of the series is this good.

6.) Team Human Authors: Justine Larbalestier, Sarah Rees Brennan Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I expected a parody of Twilight, but this is more like a reconstruction. Cathy is what Stephenie Meyer thinks Bella is like.

7.) The Invasion: A Graphic Novel (Animorphs Graphix #1) Authors/Artist: Katharine Applegate, Michael Grant, Chris Grine Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Quite good, but I think it works better in prose. I should reread the original to compare.

8.) The Visitor: The Graphic Novel (Animorphs Graphix #2) Authors/Artist: Katharine Applegate, Michael Grant, Chris Grine Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐

One of the few Animorphs I never read before. I think Grine did a better job smoothing over some of AppleGrant's edges, but the original does a better job conveying emotion.

(reread) 9.) The Invasion (Animorphs #1) Author: K.A. Applegate (Katharine Applegate, Michael Grant) Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Some of the flaws are actually worse than I remember...but it's a really strong start, showing how dark and complex this series will be.

10.) Blood Wolf (Wereling/Changeling #3) Author: Steve Feasey Goodreads rating: ⭐

So Philippa's pointless storyline continues...but the A-plot is actually worse!

11.) The Visitor (Animorphs #2) Author: K.A. Applegate (Katharine Applegate, Michael Grant) Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The story isn't quite as strong as book #1, but it's still a good first look into Rachel's mind.

12.) Mort (Discworld #4) Author: Terry Pratchett Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pretty good, though I feel like some of the characterization is confused.

13.) The Time Paradox (Artemis Fowl #6) Author: Eoin Colfer Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐

Well. This was a stepdown from the last one, wasn't it?

Stop writing about environmentalism until you understand it, Eoin.

14.) Demon Games (Wereling/Changeling #4) Author: Steve Feasey Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The best in the series. I almost gave up after how bad the last one was.

15.) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Alice #1) Author: Lewis Carroll Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A little too pointlessly weird for me, but it sort of perfectly captures what dreams are like.

16.) The Atlantis Complex (Artemis Fowl #7) Author: Eoin Colfer Goodreads rating: ⭐

Well, this was a stepdown from the last one, wasn't it?!

I've given up hope for actual character development.

17.) Zombie Dawn (Wereling/Changeling #5) Author: Steve Feasey Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐

The main character's arc is realizing that he's genetically superior to everyone else.

18.) Alice Through the Looking-Glass Author: Lewis Carroll Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A little better than the first book, since the world is a bit more coherent and Alice has an actual goal.

19.) Giants, Monsters and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend and Myth Author: Carol Rose Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐

A good reference source, but man, are there a lot of uninteresting giants in French literature.

20.) The Last Guardian (Artemis Fowl #8) Author: Eoin Colfer Goodreads rating: ⭐

UGGGHHH.

21.) The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #3) Author: Rick Riordan Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I need to start reading more than one of these per year.

22.) Sourcery (Discworld #5) Author: Terry Pratchett Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐

Wow, the main plot is so cool! If only Pratchett would FOCUS ON IT!

(reread) 23.) My Brother is a Superhero (My Brother is a Superhero #1) Author: David Solomons Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Not quite as good as I remember, but not bad by any means.

24.) Howl's Moving Castle (Howl's Moving Castle #1) Author: Diana Wynne Jones Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐

It's less annoying than the movie, but it throws out so many interesting concepts that it winds up a confused mess.

25.) A Tale Dark and Grimm (A Tale Dark and Grimm #1) Author: Adam Gidwitz Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I saw the Netflix adaptation first. It fixed some problems and then created new ones.

(reread) 26.) My Gym Teacher is an Alien Overlord (My Brother is a Superhero #2) Author: David Solomons Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This one is better than I remember. Solomons' strong suit is taking goofy premises and using them for legitimate drama.

27.) Castle in the Air (Howl's Moving Castle #2) Author: Diana Wynne Jones Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kinda un-PC and its characters aren't as interesting as in the first book, but the story is more coherent.

28.) My Evil Twin is a Supervillain (My Brother is a Superhero #3) Author: David Solomons Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Possibly sillier than book two, but even more dramatic.

29.) In a Glass, Grimmly (A Tale Dark and Grimm #2) Author: Adam Gidwitz Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

It'd be five stars if the last chapter hadn't had so many problems.

30.) Changeling (The Oddmire #1) Author: William Ritter Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I don't know if the author's seen Over the Garden Wall, but he would definitely enjoy it.

31.) House of Many Ways (Howl's Moving Castle #3) Author: Diana Wynne Jones Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐

For most of the book I assumed there wasn't even going to be a main plot, just a bunch of subplots. It might have been better that way.

32.) My Arch-Enemy is a Brain in a Jar (My Brother is a Superhero #4) Author: David Solomons Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐

It's cool that Solomons didn't go with the cliché body-swap plot, but unfortunately he didn't think of another one to replace it with.

33.) Something New (Blandings Castle #1) Author: P.G. Wodehouse Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Not quite as good as Leave it to Psmith, but that's a high bar to reach.

34.) A Grimm Conclusion (A Tale Dark and Grimm #3) Author: Adam Gidwitz Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐

The fairy tale retellings feel perfunctory, and the overarching plot gets really dumb near the end.

35.) The Unready Queen (The Oddmire #2) Author: William Ritter Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐

It's like the dumber themes of Artemis Fowl, except better written.

36.) The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains Author: Frederick Marryat Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A short story (technically a chapter from a longer novel), and one of the first literary werewolves. Nice and creepy.

37.) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight/Pearl/Sir Orfeo Author/Translator: Anonymous, J.R.R. Tolkien Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Much like Tolkien's own writing, it's brilliant but barely comprehensible.

38.) The Were-Wolf Author: Clemence Houseman Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This could have been an amazing book if it was longer and the ending wasn't so heavy-handed.

39.) The Vampire and the Wandering Jew Author: Barak A. Bassman Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐

This could have been several amazing books if it was longer and the ending wasn't so ambiguous.

40.) My Cousin is a Time Traveler (My Brother is a Superhero #5) Author: David Solomons Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐

If I had a nickel for every book I read in October where the author wrote himself into the story to interact with the characters, I would have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

41.) Dracula Author: Bram Stoker Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐

I liked Dracula Daily more than I liked Dracula.

42.) Julius Caesar Author: William Shakespeare Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I think it would have worked better as two plays, one dealing with the assassination and aftermath, another with the civil war. Still brilliant thematically.

43.) Grace and Gravy Pirates: A HEINZ Thanksgiving Story Illustrator: Aaron Cushley Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐

At least the art is kinda cute.

44.) An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving and Other Stories Author: Louisa May Alcott Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐

The eponymous story was fine, but also the weakest of the three.

45.) Deepest, Darkest (The Oddmire #3) Author: William Ritter Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Probably would have been four stars if the climax hadn't been so good.

46.) A Christmas Memory, One Christmas and The Thanksgiving Visitor Author: Truman Capote Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pro-tip: you can read the Thanksgiving story first and the other two still make sense.

47.) Over the Garden Wall: Tome of the Unknown Author: Pat McHale Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Me when I found this on OpenLibrary:

48.) Blandings Castle and Elsewhere (Blandings Castle #2.5) Author: P.G. Wodehouse Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Blandings Castle makes better novels, and the other stories are kinda iffy.

49.) Young Star Travelers Editor: Isaac Asimov Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

All of the stories were good, but I think they almost all would have been better expanded into full novel(la)s.

50.) The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas (Austin Family Chronicles #0.5) Author: Madeleine L'Engle Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

L'Engle usually can't make her high-concept ideas into coherent stories, but this low-concept slice-of-life idea came out mostly okay.

51.) The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus Author: L. Frank Baum Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Great as a kid's fantasy story, kinda weird as a Santa Claus origin story.

52.) Chestnuts from Mrs. Claus Author: Ellen Fischbein Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐

The source for all those Yuletide quotes I posted around Christmas.

53.) Herschel and the Hanukkah Goblins Author/Illustrator: Eric A. Kimmel, Trina Schart Hyman Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I finally found a nice Jewish fairytale.

54.) The Christmas Pig Author/Illustrator: J.K. Rowling, Jim Field Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What if Toy Story was Coco, but it was Christmas? (Also, mix in some Inside Out.)

55.) A Boy Called Christmas Author/Illustrator: Matt Haig, Chris Mould Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐

Add this to my list of Christmas Media That A Lot of People Really Love But I Just Don't Get the Appeal Of.

56.) The Artemis Fowl Files (Artemis Fowl #1.5) Author: Eoin Colfer Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐

There. I'm done.

Admittedly, it was better than the later books.

57.) Horrible Histories: The Big Fat Christmas Book Author: Terry Deary Goodreads rating: ⭐⭐⭐

A lot of interesting facts, but some was incomplete or outright fake just in the name of "horribleness."

[penig]

I normally don't vote if I don't know both elements but c'mon! In an unreliable narrator contest Gen's only possible rival is the narrator of Justine Larbalestier's Liar, Micah.

UNRELIABLE NARRATORS; SIDE C

Kaz Brekker Propaganda:

whenever the book switches to his narration hes always going "haha.. im so cool and smart and cool and cunning.. no one can outsmart me mahahah..." and then you switch to literally any other character (well. mostly inej) and they're pointing at him and laughing. stupid ass motherfucker who's too smart for his own good

Eugenides Propaganda:

the entire plot hinges on a detail he lets the reader (and every other character) assume is true. I don't want to spoil it because it's a really fun reveal but he is lying from the first second he appears on the page and you can't trust him to tell the full truth about ANYTHING related to himself and his goals. he mostly does it to keep his advantage and not have other characters be suspicious of him but it's just so fun when you realise he's been lying the whole time

[yarnreader]

Episode 20: "Rambling" (10/16/15)

https://youtu.be/46ZffoMbkxA

Here's this week's episode for you to enjoy! BooksUnbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand Picture from Goodreads.com (Summery is from Goodsread.com)On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then. on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane's bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. SO began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.The lieutenant's name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he'd been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.In her long-awaited new book, Laura Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she displayed in Seabiscuit. telling an unforgettable story of a man's journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit. Love Is Hell by Melissa Marr, Scott Westerfeld, Justine Larbalestier, Gabrielle Zevin, and Laurie Faria Stolarz Picture from Goodreads.com In these supernatural stories by five of today's hottest writers - Melissa Marr (Wicked Lovely), Scott Westerfeld (Specials), Justine Larbalestier (Magic or Madness), Gabrille Zevin (Elsewhere), and Laurie Faria Stolarz (Blue is for Nightmares)- love may be twisted and turned around, but it's more potent than ever on its quest to conquer all.From two students who let the power of attraction guide them to break the hard-and-fast rules of their world to the girl who falls hard for a good-looking ghost with a score to settle, the clever, quirky characters in this exciting collection will break your heart, then leave you believing in love more than ever. Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon by Melissa Anelli Picture from Goodreads.com THE HARRY POTTER BOOKS WERE JUST THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY...During the brief span of just one decade, hundreds of millions of perfectly ordinary people made history: they became the only ones who would remember what it was like when the Harry Potter saga was still unfinished. What it was like to seek out friends, families, online forums, fan fiction, and podcasts to get a fix between novels. When the potential death of a character was a hotter bet than the World Series. When the unfolding story of a boy wizard changed the way books are read for all time.And a webmistress of the Leaky Cauldron, one of the most popular Harry Potter sites on the Internet, Melissa Anelli had a front row sear to it all. Whether it was helping Scholastic stop leaks and track down counterfeiters, hosting live PotterCasts at bookstores across the country, touring with the wizard rock bands Harry and the Potters, or traveling to Edinburgh to interview J.K. Rowling personally, Melissa was at the center of the Harry Potter tornado, and nothing about her life would ever be the same.The Harry Potter books are a triumph of the imagination that did far more than break sales records for all time. They restored the world's sense of wonder and took on a magical life of their own. Now the series has ended, but the story is not over. With remembrances from J.K. Rowling's editors, agents, publicists, fans and Rowling herself, Melissa Anelli takes us on a personal journey through every aspect of the Harry Potter phenomenon--from his very first spell to his lasting impact on the way we live the dream. Mississippi Jack by L.A. Meyer The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton FOs:The Easy Ombre Slouch Hat Maize Mandrake block. WIPs:Flax Light-weight Patchwork blanket Harry Potter blanket Happy Knitting! Sam<3

[the-dust-jacket]

[fandomchaosposts]

team unicorns has cishet protagonists and unnecessary romances (and whiny unicorns)

team zombies has two mlm and one wlw story and a girl who killed her romantic interest who turned out to be a traitor and ruled the land alone

I think it's obvious which one I prefer