J. Andersen Talks Family and Friends Becoming Characters

Hey everyone!

For those of you who don't already know, my super amazing friend J. Andersen just had a book launch for her second novel! Yaaaaay!

What? Who is J. Andersen? How dare you, sir! I challenge you to fisticuffs at dawn.

THIS is J. Andersen:

There’s not much to do growing up in a small town in Western NY, so J. Andersen wrote stories and won high school writing contests. But in college her writing was limited to term papers. While teaching middle school she began to read young adult books and got serious about writing. She now writes full time, volunteers at the town library, helps to run a School of the Arts at her church, and sings in the church band. She enjoys good coffee—read: home roasted by her husband—crafts, baking, and chasing after her children. You’ll rarely see J. without a book in her hands, and that’s the way she’d like to keep it.

J has been my friend for many years, and I have beta read most of her books (and helped edit a couple). I was very excited when she told me she had a deal for her latest project, The Breeding Tree.

Here's what you can expect from The Breeding Tree:

Is the opportunity to create the next generation of life a dream come true or a deadly nightmare?

When seventeen year old Katherine Dennard is selected to become a "Creation Specialist" in Sector 4, the opportunity sounds like a dream come true. But Kate soon discovers the darker side of her profession - the disposal of fetal organs and destruction of human life. It makes sense, really. In a society where disease and malformations don t exist, human perfection demands that no genetic "mutants" be allowed to live. For Sector 4, "survival of the fittest" is not just a theory - it's The Institute's main mission.

When Kate discovers that The Institute is using her DNA to create new life, her work gets personal. In order to save her unviable son, she'll have to trust Micah and his band of underground Natural Born Rebels. The problem is, if The Institute discovers her betrayal, the next body being disposed of could be hers.

That's awesome, right? Who doesn't love a killer dystopian novel? (Horrific pun five thousand percent intended.)

Here is what J had to say about inspiration for her characters in her newest novel:

One question I often receive is, “Do you put anyone you know in the books you write?”

For me, the answer is, yes and no. There are definitely elements of different people, but I have never copied an individual person closely. I have a friend who told me she did that for one of her stories and the person never recognized herself, so that makes me want to try it. So far, I stick to bits and pieces of people.

In The Breeding Tree, Gran has a gold tooth. This was taken from my grandfather, who had a gold tooth. I was close with my grandparents, so there’s always going to be an element of them in any grandparent I write. Gran is also a little snarky. My grandmother was too, although, I don’t think she ever intended to be. She just told it like it was. I can remember the day I showed her a picture of my wedding dress. She told me it wasn’t a really wedding dress because it didn’t have long sleeves. I still laugh at that.

Dr. Rosenberg’s name was stolen from my Aunt Penny. I take names of friends often. At least last names.

Jaxon’s way of joking is my brother Matt. Though, Jaxon is a high energy, always in-your-face kind of guy. My brother is more likely to disappear into his shop because he’s had enough socializing after about an hour. Matt also provided a few one-liners for Jaxon without knowing it.

I have another friend who keeps asking to be in a book. Even if it’s just a cameo. I haven’t yet done that. Maybe in the future. Until then, this is as close as you’re going to get, Bob Katilus.

I do have to explain about my mother. Every mother I’ve written so far has been a little on the grumpy, mean side. I need to clarify that this is NOT how my mother is. The mothers in my stories are definitely not fashioned after my own mother. She’s a wonderful, generous, Godly woman. But that kind of character just didn’t fit in with my story. 

I’m sure as I continue to write, more of my friends and family will make their way into my stories. You’ll just have to guess who is who.

Now, you may be saying to yourself as you stroke your imaginary beard/mustache/goatee, "Danielle, you've known J for years. Are you in one of her books?"

The answer is, yes. Yes I am.

I don't want to give too much away, but The Breeding Tree is only the first book of a trilogy that J. Andersen has already written. And she specifically asked for my permission to name a mad scientist after me in one of them.

A MAD SCIENTIST.

LIFE ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED.

So, in conclusion - buy all of J. Andersen's books because she is amazing. I mean, that's not the only reason why. But it's the best reason.

Really, though, The Breeding Tree is a fantastic read. I would recommend it to others regardless.

Please, check it out....of a library! And then buy it! Or just buy it!

Here is the link to buy The Breeding Tree on Amazon, as well as all the ways you can stalk dear J on social media:

THE BREEDING TREE on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1941103987/

Website: https://www.jandersenbooks.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jandersenbooks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JVDLAndersen

Goodreads: https://goodreads.com/jvdlandersen

Instagram: https://instagram.com/jvdlandersen

Snapchat ID: jvdlandersen

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Obviously there are going to be spoilers. It's pretty much impossible to give an excellent book review without spoilers.

I'm sure you've heard of this book by now, since it was made into a movie which came out over the summer last year. But here's a quick plot rundown for those who might not know.

Mia has a great life - loving family, loving boyfriend, and a great future ahead of her thanks to her mad cello skills. That life is completely altered one day when she and her family are in a horrific car crash. Trapped in limbo while her body lies empty in a coma, Mia has to decide whether to forsake her uncertain future and join her family in death, or embrace the pain of life and continue on.

I'm having mixed feelings about this one, which reminds me of how I felt after I read The Fault in our Stars by John Green. After I finished TFIOS, I felt like what I had just read was supposed to make me feel heart-wrenching grief and think profoundly about life. But what I found myself doing was just crying because all I got from the book was very dark vibes. I've ruminated on it more since and think better of it, but I'm still kind of on the fence about whether I really enjoyed it or not.

That's really a lot like how I'm feeling right now with this book. I had such high hopes for it. I wanted it to really get into the nitty gritty stuff - why is life worth living, especially when you've suffered horrific loss? How do you find the courage to live, to go on? What is worth staying for?

What is the answer to life, the universe, and everything?

I found a lot of those questions were left unanswered. In fact, in the end, it is seemingly only her boyfriend Adam's love that brings Mia out of her coma. But the thing is, I barely see a connection between them at all. The book focuses more on her relationships with her best friend Kim and her parents than with Adam. I barely got a sense of who Adam was as a person. There was a lot of telling and no showing. I got that he was a nice guy prone to big gestures and he wasn't afraid to cry and he liked punk rock and was in a band and wore studded jeans and stuff. But frankly when the nurse says that only close family are allowed in to see Mia and Adam acts like she just ripped his heart out of his chest I was like, "What? I don't get it. Why is he acting like that? Did she say some kind of trigger word or something?" Because I didn't see he and Mia as being very close at all. The flashes you do see of their relationship are awkward and platonic. You know they love each other, but it's not really there.

There was also a bit too much focus on the past. I understand that the author wanted to expose the rawness of what Mia had just lost, to understand the depth of her love for her family. But there is no time spent dwelling on thoughts of the future. What will it be like to go on? What are her reasons to continue living? These are things not really discussed at all. Mia just gets more and more tired, losing her will to live until Adam wakes her with his love.

Frankly, I'm actually a little pissed off that romantic love was the only thing worth actually waking up for, not her friends or family staked out in the ICU, refusing to leave her. Romantic love is certainly not to be taken lightly or discarded, but it's just such an age-old cliche - the only thing that saves a girl's life is true love. Examples: Snow White. Sleeping Beauty. Princess Buttercup.

I could go on and on. I mean, this is the reason the ending to Frozen got so much attention - because yeah, Anna was saved by true love. But not ROMANTIC love - the love she had for her sister. Because familial love is just as valid and important as romantic love.

The final problem I have with this book is this: until she finds out Teddy is dead, Mia is emotionally detached from everything. I understand being in shock, but come on. She's trying to decide whether to live or die. Where are the fucking EMOTIONS?? Maybe if she was making some rational pros and cons list and trying to be neutral, I could forgive that. But she is trying to decide if her own life is worth pursuing. That involves a LOT of emotions! Fear, love, anger, more fear - even excitement or anticipation. As much as she reminisces and wonders, she never talks about her feelings. It's a bit ludicrous, honestly.

So, there it is. This book was well written, and there were some incredibly moving parts in it. The relationship Forman crafts between Mia and her family is beautiful and touching. Very specifically, I love the scene where Kim comes to talk to Mia while she's still in her coma. But there are so many things, so many pieces that just don't fall into place. So many points where it falls short of expectations.

I've been in a rut myself, and I was hoping this book had some answers. That it could tell me exactly what it was that made life worth living, that could give someone like Mia the courage to face the abysmal tragedy and move forward. And I didn't find anything remotely like that in these pages.

All in all, I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

When Life Brings You a Book, You Read It

I haven't exactly been in the best frame of mind lately.

Since I've graduated college, it's been difficult for me to find work. Forget about work in my field - I just mean work, period. It's been a year and some change since I've been out in the "real world" - because for those of you who didn't know, college is in a mythical dimension - and my inability to get a decent job when I have a four-year degree and $65,000 in debit is pretty rattling. On top of that, a couple months before I graduated I developed Anxiety. That's Anxiety the illness, not anxiety the feeling.

So let's do some math, shall we?

Danielle + newly-minted-and-still-not-fully-understood Anxiety + money problems + having to live at home + having almost no social life = A person who is afraid to do anything with themselves.

If you're like me at all when it comes to math, your instant response to addition symbols was, "Wait hold on I don't get it."

Okay, so here's a word version of that: My student loan payments are through the roof, but I barely have enough money to pay them, so I'm living at home. Living at home is making me miserable, and I miss having my friends nearby like they were in college. Sometimes my Anxiety is so bad that I doubt everything about myself. But if I want to advance in my field at all, I need to move to a metropolitan area like NYC or Chicago and pursue it. Yet I have no money to move, and don't know anyone in large cities to rely on if something terrible happens.

So I'm petrified with fear. Unwilling and unable to go back, but too afraid to take chances and move forward into the future.

I'm part of a YA book club at the library where I volunteer (shout out to Sinclairville Free Library!), and the book for this month is If I Stay by Gayle Forman. Yes, this is a very popular book and I'm a little late to the game in reading it. Bear with me.

Just upon hearing the premise, I couldn't help but think that this is a book that the universe drops in your lap. When you are desperate for answers or courage or sympathy, and suddenly you find a book that seems too good to be true - one that sounds like just what you need. Honestly the scenario goes a bit like this:

To me, it seems that this is a book about the courage to live. To face your mortality and pain and find the strength to somehow see that life is worth living anyway, and that you can do it. You can move forward and forge a life for yourself and everything will be all right - well, mostly.

And I need that right now.

Every book gives you something different. That's what I'm hoping this book will give me.

Now please excuse me while I blow through this novel. More later.