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Current Read #36: The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon

Posted by: on: May 12, 2016

NightSisterThe Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon is a crime mystery thriller about a murdered family. It’s a well-written story about friendship, and about sisterhood, and about things that aren’t as they seem. Being devoid of language and explicit content or other mature content, it’s appropriate for young adults. While not really a memorable genre novel, The Night Sister will make for fun escapism.

How is The Night Sister well-written? The plot covers two generations and six characters. Switches in time are indicated at the start of each new section and switches in characters are indicated at the start of each new chapter. In addition, almost from the start, subtle clues are provided as to the identity of the real killer. The six main characters are distinguishable from one another. Rose reveals herself as the jealous one, while her sister Sylvia never ceases to aspire to become an actress. As for three friends, Amy shows herself the daredevil, while Piper acts mature, and Margot is a shadow. There’s also Jason, the boy who loved Amy but married Margot instead and has a baby with her. The setting is partially reminiscent of Hitchcock’s Psycho. There’s a bleak old hotel, where bad things happen. Finally, after beginning with a brutal murder, The Night Sister continued to engage me by showing the friends investigate into the unbelievable crime, revealing the strange situations that led up to the fatal night wherein Amy’s family is killed, and peppering the story with paranormal events.

How it The Night Sister forgettable? Even with the inclusion of the supernatural, the plot is not unexpected. The clues all point to Amy. Naturally then, she isn’t the killer. Clues are uncovered naturally by searches by Piper and Margot into the town’s creepy and decrepit hotel. Clues are also provided suddenly through typed messages. This is all standard fare for the mystery horror genre and about midway through the novel I felt confident of how the murder had occurred. While the characters are three-dimensional, they’re not particularly complex, and there IS a difference in those two concepts. I never felt confused by who any of the characters were, but none of them felt unique either except perhaps Sylvia. She wrote letters to Hitchcock and I enjoyed that correspondence. As for the setting, the presence of a secret room in a hotel isn’t a new idea, although the reason behind it was a rather intriguing and sad one. While The Night Sister kept me turning pages during my initial read, now that I know the twist, I don’t feel a need to reread it.

As an avid reader, I have all kinds of reading needs. Sometimes I want books to make me think or deeply feel. The Night Sister didn’t do either of these. However, there are also times when I simply want to escape my stressful life. The Night Sister gave me an enjoyable weekend read and that’s a fine thing.

This post is a late entry to the Musing Mondays line-up. Check out others by clicking on the below graphic.

MusingMondays

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Current Read #24: Quiet by Susan Cain

Posted by: on: January 26, 2015

MusingMondaysWhat are you reading right now?
What do you think of it?
Why did you chose it?

After I started seeing graphics online like the below, I began to think about how I had years ago tried to turn myself into an extrovert. As I matured, I began to realize that there are certain parts of one’s personality which are almost impossible to change. The graphics even made me wonder if I should have simply been embracing my introversion. Hence, my interest in Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain.

Introverts

There are four parts to Cain’s book. The first section provides historical background to how extroverts became the cultural ideal in our modern American world. The rise of industrialization is one cause, because Americans found themselves working no longer with neighbors but strangers. Under this pressure, Americans tried to become sales people not only of products but of themselves. The landscape of extroversion is also filled with individuals such as the insecure student by the name of Dale. He didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of his poverty-stricken parents. Just as importantly, he didn’t want to become tongue-tied at pivotal moments such as a job interview. When a public speaker impressed him, Carnegie set out to change his life—and ended up revolutionizing the business world too. Other movements and leaders in the rise of the extroversion include the concept of an inferiority complex, the model of charismatic leadership, the emergence of group think, and a study of peer influence.

The next two sections discuss nature versus nurture. These chapters spoke the most to me. As I read them, questions swirled in my head: Why do I get nervous around strangers? How come large group events drain me? Why would I rather read or write than socialize? How come speaking in public makes me nauseous? Cain addressed all of them. This lead me to wonder about the exceptions. For example, during one of my teacher preparation classes, a professor felt taken back to realize that not all of us in attendance were extroverts. I was just as surprised to discover that less than five of my peers were introverts. How then do I explain my love of the classroom? There’s also the fact that some people consider me difficult to get to know, while others find it just as hard to shut me up. How do I explain why I can become tongue-tied in certain situations and a chatterbox in others? Cain addresses contradictions like these too. By the end of the two sections, I felt new respect for myself as an introvert.

The final section explores how introverts can co-exist with extroverts. While it might be comforting to know that being an introvert is normal, and even many times a positive, the fact remains extroversion still often equates to success in our society. Was I correct all those years ago to try to change my quiet side? If not, how do I thrive when my peers and colleagues are extroverts? Cain offers suggestions about when compromise is necessary, but also why one must also be true to their inner nature whenever possible. She advises how we can help others who struggle, such as young people who often are pushed into social situations against their wishes. Finally, she talks about how introverts can draw upon our quiet power to change ourselves—and maybe even the world.

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Musings Meme: Current Reads #19

Posted by: on: November 24, 2014

MusingMondaysWhat are you reading right now?
What do you think of it?
Why did you chose it?

This year has been a spiritually confusing one for me. In trying to find answers, I picked up Cries of the Heart by Ravi Zacharias. It’s a book which covers a lot of topics.

The second half covered relatively new ground for me. It talked about the cry of a guilty conscience, freedom in pleasure, and the lonely heart. Guilt has two sides. First, it covers the guilt of others and how we should react to wrongs. For example, at what point is a crime so bad that it shouldn’t receive forgiveness? And who is the person that extend the forgiveness? These questions often arise about war crimes, but also about serial killers and other heinous situations. Second, the chapter covers our wrongs and how we should react to them. This raises questions such as: Is there even such a thing as sin? Or do we simply have psychological hang-ups? And are certain acts wrong simply because of our culture? In other words, are there absolutes or is everything relative?

The chapter about freedom in pleasure most made me think. Here are some questions which Zacharias tackles:

  • Have we all brought into a belief that God is not interested in making life enjoyable?
  • Has the Christian faith somehow been molded and reshaped to appear as a killer of pleasure?
  • Can God give to us a wide array of pleasures … without feeling that it is a break from the routine for the Christian?

Over the summer, when my husband and I read a book about heaven, I began to seriously questions like the above ones. In my mind, whatever God’s view of pleasure here on earth is, surely it parallels how God views it in heaven.

In talking about the lonely heart, Zacharias refers to the four loves that C.S. Lewis once described, but puts his own spin on the explanation of them. There is a need love. No matter what one believes about religion, most of us recognize that we long for affection from the time we reach out with our arms or utter our first word. The flip side of need love is gift love. This is the love that arises from generosity, kindness, mercy…. and a myriad of other selfless acts. Most of us recognize this love and even admire those who show it. While Lewis categorizes the other loves as that which we feel for friends, lovers, and finally God, Zacharias refers instead to appreciative love and finally worship of God.

The first half covered what felt like familiar territory to me. It talked about the cry to know and feel God and the cry for a reason behind suffering. How can we know God? Some might point to the revelation of God in history, in nature, in scripture, and in the church. Others might describe their personal encounters with God. For example, we can experience God through what is known as the foxhole reality. In other words, a crisis hits and we instinctively turn to a higher power. All of these ways can lead us to God. But all of them can also fail in their purpose. After all, no one can see God, and so how can we prove Him? Moreover, feelings are fleeting, and so what happens when they change?

Where is God when we suffer? One response is philosophical. In other words, the fact we raise the question of good suggests that there is a moral law and…. a Being who created that law. Another response, and perhaps the one I have most often heard, is that of Job. He was a righteous man. And he did not understand when evil beset him. So he demanded an explanation from God. When he finally got a response, God had His own questions for Job: “Where were you … Who marked off … Have you journeyed…?” A third response, and the one which I now most adhere to, amounts to: “When belief in God becomes difficult, the tendency is to turn away from Him, but in heaven’s name to what?”

Cries of the Heart by Ravi Zacharias shows respect for the questions believers might have and provides solid answers. It made me less restless about some of my confusion. Now to my next book!

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Musings Meme: Current Reads #18

Posted by: on: April 28, 2014

MusingMondaysWhat are you reading right now?
What do you think of it?
Why did you chose it?

Disappointment can arise from dramatic situations such as a financial crisis, marital conflict, or emotional pain. It can also simply color mundane experiences such as losing one’s keys or getting stranded. The more we’re exposed to disappointment, the more we can begin to wonder: Where is God? And whenever I find myself asking this question, I turn to books such as Disappointment with God for answers.

Yancey says disappointment is what occurs when “the actual experience falls far short of what we anticipate”. Initially, he avoided writing on the topic, because he didn’t want to hurt anyone’s faith, which could potentially happen by focusing on the negative. While pondering the issue, Yancey met a graduate student, who helped drive and shape the focus of his book. The student had written his thesis on Job and asked Yancey to read it, but then later recanted his beliefs out of a feeling of disappointment with God.

Their discussions led Yancey to come up with three questions, which Christians often don’t voice:

  • Is God unfair?
  • Is God silent?
  • Is God hidden?

It also led Yancey on his own search, one that didn’t involve other Christians or even religious books. It simply involved reading through the entire Bible.

As a result of his reading, Yancey began to look at the disappointment issue in a different way. He started to wonder instead: What does it feel like to be God? The bulk of Disappointment with God addresses this question by looking at how God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit interact with mankind.

Finally, Yancey revisits his initial three questions to ask:

  • What happened when God was fair?
  • When God wasn’t silent?
  • When God showed himself?

After reading this book, and a companion volume Where is God When it Hurts?, I became an ardent fan of Yancey. I own pretty much every full-length book he has written. How does an author who has written on the controversial issue of theodicy become my favorite author? Well, the reality for a Christian is that God may just as often say NO to our prayers as YES. Along other Christian authors, who are willing to tackle the tough questions, Yancey helps me struggle through my doubts to find a stronger faith.

What is your current read?

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Musings Meme: Current Reads #17

Posted by: on: April 21, 2014

MusingMondaysWhat are you reading right now?
What do you think of it?
Why did you chose it?

About a year ago, I started working through activities in writing guides, which I had brought after the 2012 National Novel Writing Month. Four of them are listed at the end and they focus on characterization or description. Today I’d like to introduce a couple more, both which have to do with plot.

Beginnings, Middles, and Ends by Nancy Kress requires one to do a lot of analyzing published works and then applying lessons learned to one’s own work. Both the section on beginnings and the section on endings contain one chapter which looks broadly at a novel’s first or final third, one that looks more narrowly at just the opening or closing scene, and then one short chapter that contains general tips.

What is most important about the beginning? How about an implicit promise of an interesting story? One which gives the reader a character to focus on, events which aren’t going as expected, and details which not only anchor one’s story in reality but also set it apart from all the others out there. After these three are established, and only after that, should one add in backstory and flashbacks.

What is most important about the ending? How about the use of characters, conflicts, and tensions to show a collision or climax? It’s where the climax lives up to the forces which all the other chapters have been building towards, as well as delivers an emotional impact and remains logical to the plot. When one has does that, one has fulfilled a promise to both their readers and to their self.

There’s also a section on middles, which is often where many novels sag, but where Kress tells how to keep one’s story in motion. She explains how to pick the scenes to write and how to develop and change the motivation of one’s main character. As with the other sections, there is also a short chapter which includes general tips.

Conflict and Suspense by James Scott Bell is a much longer book, focused on two specific areas of plot, which requires one to undertake several interesting activities. The introduction defines the concepts of conflict and suspense. What is conflict? Basically, it’s what causes two sides in a story to clash. What about suspense? Well, it arises out of conflict, and is the tightening of an emotional experience for a reader. Bell goes on to use the comparison of a boxing match. The two combatants are in conflict. The suspense arises from the questions about how the fight will proceed.

Bell starts his section on conflict by suggesting brainstorming for ideas through activities such as What If…? lists, creation of an image through music, dreams, or movies, exploration of familiar and unfamiliar settings, theft from classic plots or first lines, and even random opening of the dictionary. From there, Bell explains how to integrate conflict into the beginning, middle, and ending of a novel. There are some standard activities such as outlining the four acts to your novel or creating a character grid. There are more unusual activities such as writing the cover copy for your novel or keeping a voice journal for your main character.

Bell summarizes the section on conflict by saying that it’s all about having the reader ask: “What’s next?” He lists and gives examples of four types of suspense: macro, scene, hyper, and paragraph. Then he proceeds to describe how to use elements of fiction such as dialog to build suspense. Bell also provides and overviews activities for practicing aspects of fiction which are unique to suspense such as cliff-hangers.

I enjoyed both books, but especially appreciated that every chapter at the end of Kress’ book contained activities. Her book also helped me view chapters as being made up of scenes and scenes as being units within themselves which fit into the larger whole. Bell’s book made me think a lot of how to ramp up the tension in my novel, although it had the negative side effect of my creating too many problems for my characters in my second draft. Also, especially for the section on suspense, I had to work harder to find activities to practice the skills taught.

If you’re at any stage of writing, any or all of the guides which I have reviewed as part of my Current Reads would be worth adding to your shelf. They’re all ones which I used to create the second draft of my novel. Now I’m on the lookout for guides to help me with my third draft. 🙂

What is your current read?

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