The End(s)

I've been doing alot of drawing and not alot of computing....computering?? Had some deadlines to meet and not alot of time to do anything else. Not complaining. While I work, I listen to audio books. I listen to ALOT of books. Some are forgettable. Others get under my skin and linger there for days. Some end too happily (Breaking Dawn). Some end just right, even though you don't want them to (Harry Potter #7). Some don't end and you discover that you have to wait another year to know if someone you've come to care for will live or die ( sequels, trilogies, and series). And some end unhappily. When they do, I usually toss them across the room, while yelling at them through my tears. This first occured while concluding Edith Wharton's Age of Innocence. I could NOT believe he didn't go up and SEE HER!!!! HE WALKED AWAY. Swoosh. The paperback soared across to the corner of the room.

It's difficult to throw a CD player so when I'm listening to a book with an unexpected sad ending, I have to be content with yelling at the machine. The first time this happened was with Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy. You talk about a surprise ending. I could not believe he did what he did. I thought perhaps there was one more CD, but no...that was that. Actually, after I settled down, I realized his conclusion was honest and took alot of guts.

Well, today, I had another one of those experiences. I listened to The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. You get to the last CD (there are only 4) and this author inserts this little "twist". Why did I not see it coming? Suddenly, you realize the title means something entirely different. After my tantrum and half a box of kleenix, I tossed the CD into my library bag. Pouted a bit. Then I realize that he wrote the only true ending possible and I probably will never forget it. Yeah, this book is definitely staying with me for a long, long time.

Two other good YA finds: Lament: the Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater and Graceling by Kristin Cashore. Both first time authors. The sequel for Lament comes out next year and is called Ballad. Cashore will follow up with two companion novels for Graceling. Lament ends abruptly, leaving you yearning for more, while Graceling has a more satisfying end.