Review 206: Switched by Amanda Hocking
Switched (Trylle Trilogy, Book 1) by Amanda Hocking CreateSpace Copyright © July 2010 ISBN: 1453688935 $8.99 Paperback .99 cents Kindle 330 Pages In the beginning I was right on board with Wendy as she struggles in high school and wonders why Finn is always looking at her. As the layers to the story are peeled away for both the reader and Wendy and the truth is finally revealed, the story develops more into a love story. We get a sense of conflict from another group of trolls called Vittra who are out to get Wendy, the reason she had to leave her human family behind, but the story lost essence for me once Wendy arrived at Forening and met her birth mother. In fact, I even put this book down to read another one (a vampire story of all things) and actually liked it better. Hocking has her own vampire series (My Blood Approves), but after reading the preview I got the same sense of set up. For a supernatural series or paranormal romance, whatever you choose to call it, I need a bit more suspense or shock. The sordid I-cannot-have-the-one-I-want story because he’s a A. vampire B. werewolf or C. a troll has been played over and over again, and I know that’s what makes pubescent girls swoon, and obviously its what makes self-published authors into millionaires. But for me it still comes up short on content! Sorry, Amanda! You got my .99 cents anyway. So, that is it for today’s review! I hope you enjoyed reading it and what is more important I hope you have found out something useful and helpful for yourself. Let me know what do you think about my reviews in the comments section below. I am really interested in what you have to say and it really helps me to improve how I write my essay and my reviewing skills. Thank you everybody, love you all.
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Review 206: Switched by Amanda Hocking
Switched (Trylle Trilogy, Book 1) by Amanda Hocking CreateSpace Copyright © July 2010 ISBN: 1453688935 $8.99 Paperback .99 cents Kindle 330 Pages Switched is the story of Wendy Everly. She’s different. She’s doesn’t fit it. She lives with her overly protective brother Matt and her Aunt Maggie. Wendy’s Mom tried to kill her when she was a child because she claimed Wendy wasn’t her daughter and that she’d been switched at birth. Wendy’s Mom is still locked up because of it, and maybe she was right. Wendy is a troll, but not the ugly under-the-bridge kind. She’s what’s called a “trylle.” She has wild uncontrollable hair. She loves to go barefoot. She can be very temperamental. The Trylle society live in a community in Minnesota called Forening, and when a classmate named Finn reveals himself as a tracker, Wendy discovers she has a royal family that she didn’t even know existed. In Book 1 of the Trilogy, Wendy returns to roots to learn who she really is and where she came from. I downloaded Hocking’s book mainly because of all of the attention she’s been getting. She basically became a millionaire almost overnight thanks to her Kindle sales. It landed it a movie deal for this series and a traditional publishing contract with St. Martin’s for another series. So, I fell victim to deciding to read what everyone else is reading to see what the hype was all about. Other reviewers have already said this, but Switched is basically Twilight but instead of vampires we have Trylles. We have a teenage girl who doesn’t fit in and is adopted into a new family of supernatural beings as a result of it. Love interest and conflict ensue! Hocking’s talent lies in her ability to write good dialogue. She uses it as her main outlet for pushing a story forward. At first I was okay with the lack of detail because you are in the dark with Wendy about everything. This story always made everyone laugh. It later sparked the idea for a short story of mine, which eventually turned into a collection of short stories based on the small details like this that I remember from my childhood. My dad had (and still has) tons of stories, but it was his ability to hold my attention while telling them, his skill as breathing life into it that is the reason I still remember them today.
So, practice being a good storyteller in your writing and don’t forget the pauses and nuances and details that capture your audience. Don’t know if it works? Read the story out loud to an audience and see if you captivate them. And this is a perfect lead-in to our next word. Listen: English novelist Nick Hornby said, “I think a lot of unpublished writers feel the same way. They’re not getting anywhere, and nobody’s listening to them.” Publication aside, most people aren’t listening because you haven’t captured their attention or you aren’t saying anything worth listening to. We’re writers. We love to talk. We love to tell a good tale. But are we willing to listen to others when they want to speak? This includes them wanting to give us feedback or constructive criticism. You should. A good writer knows how and when to listen. And as a school teacher of mine once said, listening is more than just pretending to pay attention. Listening is absorbing what you’ve heard. Surrender: An American writer and aviation pioneer named Anne Morrow Lindbergh once said, “If you surrender completely to the moments as they pass, you live more richly those moments.” I added this word to the list for several reasons. First, we’ve all heard the saying, “Surrender to your muse!” Often, I sit down to write the story that I think is in my head; I’ve plotted out each scene and maybe I even know how it’s going to end. But as soon as my fingertips touch the keyboard, the characters come out and take over and change everything I set out to do. So, I let them. I surrender to the story and let the characters go where they want. I go with them. My last book started with a single sentence and a quote I liked; I had no idea where to go from there. But I wrote that book straight through from beginning to end in just three months and self-published it a year later, all because I just sat down and let the characters tell the story. Surrendering also means admitting your mistakes. Know when you’re wrong and don’t be afraid of change. |
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