Edward Cullen Discusses the Name Renesmee

  If you're new-ish around here, you may not know that Stacie and I met over a mutual love of - wait for it - Twilight. Two young (shut it) moms bonding over Twilight? Why, that's a completely original story that NO ONE ELSE ever shares. Except, like, everyone. So, new or not, it's not exactly shocking. When we started the blog we used to kick around with some Twilight-themed posts for fun, which it was, but as time went on we moved on. (Publicly, at least.)

With the advent of Breaking Dawn: Part 1, however, we felt compelled to break our Twi-silence. No, this is not a recap. (We liked it a lot, in case you were wondering, but it was not without the lulz.) This is more of an homage to something the movie did right. There was a lot of humor in this one, and for once it was intentional. We both especially loved a small bit where they poked fun at Bella's choice for a baby name. In honor of that, I give you a conversation that should have happened about the worst name ever chosen in literary history.

"I knew I should've played for future-baby-naming rights!"

Edward Cullen Discusses the Name Renesmee with His New Vampire Wife, Bella

Listen, Bella, honey, we need to talk about the baby.

No, not Renesmee, that's what we we need to talk about... No, no, no! There's no other baby, I just meant.. Okay, this isn't going how I'd planned.

Here's the thing - See, we all thought you were going to die, right? I mean, honestly, no one expected you to make it. So when you suggested Renesmee, well, we just didn't see the point in disagreeing with you. Why upset you more? You were already so pale and thin and lifeless. But then it was obvious you were going to make it through and we realized we couldn't say "Renesmee" without snickering.

Look, sweetheart, we're not making fun of you, really. You were in a lot of pain, and with all the hormones and everything you weren't thinking clearly. It's just a bad name. Even Esme hates it, and she likes everything. 

Don't huff like that. Admit it, it wasn't your most thought-out decision. I can see it on your face.

Anyway, we were going to wait for you to come up with a new name, but with the way she's growing we really weren't comfortable with that. She heard us mention Renesmee and sent me the image of her puking on Rosalie, so I knew we had to do something. No, I swear I am not making that up. Next time you pick her up try it, you'll see.

The bottom line is that we've decided to name her Norah. I thought you might like it because it has the same old-world feeling as Esme and Renee. It seemed important to pick a name that none of us have "associations" with, if you know what I mean. Yes, that is exactly what I mean. Not using the name of someone we've eaten, turned, or dated pretty much ruled out all the traditional names. Okay, so not 'dated' in my case. But I couldn't name our daughter after someone I'd had an impure thought about, could I? And we couldn't use anyone that Rose remembered as being a, and this is her term, not mine, 'skank' from any of our past high schools. And then there was Jasper. We made it halfway through the list on BabyNames.com without finding one he hadn't... well, you know... so we decided to ignore his history.

Plus, you had that one Norah Jones CD in your box so I figured you wouldn't hate it.

Bella, You have to believe me, we all spent hours pouring over this.

All of us except for Jacob, that is. He's come up with his own nickname for her.

I'm pretty sure it's the Quileute word for "I swear I'm not a pedophile."

________

Reading Rainbow: The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

I have to apologize for being over a week late with this post. I had planned on telling you all to RUN out to get The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa on it's release date, but I got distracted with our spOOky books. But, it's not too late! If you've been around Whim Fic a while, you have heard us gush (and gush, and gush) about Julie's Iron Fey series.  And if you haven't read the series, YOU SIMPLY MUST!  Skip this post (there may be spoilers for those of you who haven't started the series) and RUN out to purchase all of the books in the Iron Fey line-up.  You will not be disappointed.

From Goodreads:
My name- my True Name- is Ashallyn'darkmyr Tallyn. I am the last remaining song of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court.

And I am dead to her.

My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl...

To cold faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing gentler feelings the Winter Prince might have had. Or so he thought.

Then Meghan Chase- a half-human, half-fey slip of a girl- smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer faery can survive,

With the unwelcome company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through its end- a quest to find a way to honor his vow to stand by Meghan's side.

To survive the Iron Realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. And along the way, Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.

In the past, I have always been firmly #TeamPuck, but this book made me want to jump ship.  Okay, not really.  It made me want to join both teams.  #TeamAshuck?  No.  #TeamPash?  It's not working, is it?  Basically, I fell for Ash just as hard as I once fell for Puck.  We finally get to see a vulnerability in Ash that wasn't always there before.  There were hints, yes, but this is his true self, and it is.... *dreamy sigh*  So, yeah.  There's that.

But, in addition to Ash, Ash, Ash, there is an amazing story.  I'm a huge fan of the Spiritual Journey trope in literature, and Ash takes on a big one.  All for Meghan.  *dreamy sigh*  (I swear, I'll stop that.)  It's an adventurous story, and the imagery alone was worth it.  Julie is a master at creating worlds you want to step into, even if they are fraught with danger.

And finally, this book about did me in.  I know I said that after The Iron Queen, but this one was just so perfectly told, I could not help but cry throughout.  It's really well written and was a joy to read (even with the tears).  My tears have once again fed Julie's muse! 

So, NOW I can tell you to RUN out and get The Iron Knight!  You will thank me. 

Waiting on Wednesday: Shatter Me

There are so many great books being released this month, but one that I am most excited about is Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi.  I can't tell you how many times I've gone to Goodreads to check on it's release date.  And, FINALLY, it is only two weeks away!  Based on the many great reviews I've read, this is one book I cannot wait to read!

From Goodreads:

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.

What do you all think?  Are you waiting on this book as well?  Any other books that you are dying to read?

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine

Reading Rainbow Halloween Special: SCARY MOVIES!

Waaaay back when Leigh and I first started this blog, we thought we'd also be discussing movies, but books have basically taken center stage here at Whim Fic.  I've resisted the urge to force you all to watch recommend Doctor Who. (Well I have SO FAR, at least.) But, since it is Halloween, I thought it might be fun if we pull out the movies and discuss our favorite SCARY MOVIES.  I know, you're all probably shocked that I have even watched a scary movie, but I have!  Many!  We will not discuss the fact that I was doing research for a project, or that I watched them during the day.  With the lights on.

I think the movies that scared me the most during that project were both of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre films - the orignal 1974 version (because HOLY ****, it was freaky), and the 2003 version.  I don't usually like remakes, but here you have a Final Girl who can kick some serious ass (unlike her 1974 counterpart), and you all know I love that.  Also?  IT WAS SCARY. 

*clapping* "FRIGHT NIGHT!" HALF NAKED DAVID TENNANT! "FRIGHT NIGHT!"

*coughs* Um, I mean, I'd really recommend that one.

*laughing uncontrollably* Um, can you elaborate on WHY a bit more than NAKED DAVID TENNANT? Although, that's more than enough for me. *runs to look up Fright Night*

*thinks* Colin Farrel in a wife-beater?

 

Sadly, "Fright Night" isn't out on DVD yet. My horror has to have a sense of humor, so how about some "Ghostbusters?"  Everyone loves "Ghostbusters."  Where else can you see Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis almost DO IT?  #iwriteyafolks

You had me at wife beater.  Oh wait, you actually had me at Naked David Tennant.

 But I do love a funny/scary movie.  If a movie can make me laugh AND jump ten feet off the couch - it's good. 




Oh I mentioned "The Shining" in my Anna Dressed in Blood review for a reason.

Who can ever forget "redrum"?!? Last true horror movie I saw. Decades ago. Yes, I'm a wimp. Feel free to judge.



True story, my husband hasn't seen "The Shining" and I refuse to watch it with him because then I won't be able to sleep.
I watched it twice in college. Loved it. But, seriously, the bathtub scene alone is enough to make me hide under my blankets.

Beyond scary. BEYOND. But really well done.

I love "The Shining" too. I like to watch it in the middle of winter. Makes any cabin fever I have seem pitiful to Jack's cabin fever. In a way, it can be considered a therapeutic tool.

But, "The Changeling" is my favorite! The one with George C. Scott. Not the recent Angelina Jolie one, which was not a remake.  And "The Eye." The original Eye, not the crappy Hollywood remake.



Leave it to Nicole, aka "Resident Horror Queen," to think that The Shining is therapeutic.  

Okay, now we want to hear your favorite scary movies!  Nicole might be the only one to actually watch them, but we all want to hear!

And, Happy Halloween from all of us at Whim Fic!

Reading Rainbow: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Horror is not a genre that I normally read. Sure, many years ago I read a ton of Anne Rice books and I even read Stephen King's The Shining. I blame that story for scaring the bejeezus out of me, and let's agree to never, ever discuss the movie. So when Stacie and Leigh asked me to review Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, I was, well naturally, a little concerned. Would a book which pictures of a pretty ghost dripping in blood on its cover be my stuff o' nightmares?

Far from it, in fact, I am happy to report that it's one of my favorite reads this year. Okay, here it comes, the passionate part of my review. You guys know I have a well documented weakness for a boy's point-of-view and Cas is one fictional boy you have got to meet. He carries with him the burden of his heritage as a ghost hunter. Although, he has a wonderful, concerned mom and a faraway, but accessible, mentor in his life, you get the feeling his life is lonely. Kill a ghost. Move to another town. Get up and start all over again.

"I've seen a lot of seasons change. When you're not distracted by school and friends and what movie is coming out this week, you've got time to look at the trees." (chapter 17)

But then, they move into Anna's town and things become really creepy. The exact level of reeeeeeeally creepy I adore. Did I mention that Cas has a special knife, an athame, that allows him to dispatch ghosts? Umm, hellooooooo, Hot Boy with Sword. Have I convinced you to pick the book up yet? No?

Add to all of the that, Anna. She is an unexpected surprise for me because she is clearly not good. She kills people, after all. But (and oh boy, I know you could see that "but" coming), but...I adored her. The manner in which Kendare presents Anna's back story is so well written that it easily qualifies as some of the loveliest writing I've read this year. I expected Anna's story to be sad, okay, even tragic but not...this. As in the very best of stories, when you find out one thing sometimes everything changes. This story made me change. It did. Now I won't shy away from books whose premise may register as scary on my horror-meter-of-doom. I'm going to pick them up instead.

I challenge you to do the same. Kendare's characters, setting and oh, that multi-layered, gorgeously written plot are not to be missed. I can hardly wait to read more about Cas, his friends and those creepy, crawly fascinating mysteries they discover.

Reading Rainbow: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

 I'm joining in the spOOky recs this week with a book I devoured over the weekend, The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson. NotS is the story of Rory Deveaux, a teenager from Louisiana who moves to London to attend a boarding school for her senior year. There she meets an assortment of people, some friendly, some not, some of the hot boy variety, some of the not-alive-anymore variety. You know, the usual. (You can see where the spOOky part of the rec comes in.)

 

Upon Rory's arrival, a series of murders begins plaguing London, closely copying the infamous Jack the Ripper murders from over 100 years before. When Rory becomes the only witness, and subsequently a target, things get complicated. (DUN DUN DUN.)

Sometimes you read a book and you think "This author must've snuck into my head and picked out EVERY SINGLE THING I LOVE when putting this together, because it's PERFECT." It doesn't happen often, but when it does it's like a chorus of angels singing on the page. That's how I felt about The Name of the Star.  Johnson writes the well-known fish-out-of-water scenario believably. I could see the London Rory was seeing, and embraced it right along with her. I cared when Rory felt lonely and swooned when she felt the tingles of romance. But most of all, I was peeking out from behind my fingers to read when Rory realized that things were not right and that some of the people she'd seen were not alive.

The Name of the Star has ghosts, mystery, suspense, teenage hormonal angst, hot British boys, and ghosts who are hot British boys. Any way you look at it, this book is WIN, and it comes with an ending that will leave you wanting more without feeling like you were left hanging.

Like I said, the perfect book. So, don't be scared, pick up a copy.

Reading Rainbow: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

It's time for another rec in our spOOky series of Reading Rainbows!  This week, we have Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.  Honestly, I started this book knowing it might be creepy, but I had NO IDEA it would be as spooky (and actually scary) as it turned out to be!

From Goodreads:

A mysterious island.
An abandoned orphanage.
A strange collection of very curious photographs.
It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

The first thing the drew me to this book is quite obviously the cover.  Who can resist that?  And, there are pictures throughout the book as well.  (I read it on my nook color and I could see the pictures just fine - though I've heard many people with non-color e-readers wishing they had read a hard copy.)

The pictures go along with the story, and in fact, are an integral part of the story and the characters.  I don't want to give anything away, because part of the fun of this book is the mystery of it all.  But, I will say that within that mystery (which will keep you reading!) is a lot of SCARY STUFF.  I had to read this one with the lights on.  And since I'm a wimp, I asked our contributor Nicole (formerly known as Dusty Moats) if this book is, in fact, spOOky, or if it was just me.  She said, "It was very dark and spooky.  And even a bit gory."  And this comes from a girl who loves herself some horror, so I consider her an expert.

So, in keeping with the spOOky theme of the month, we're recommending this book.  But you might need to leave the lights on.  Just sayin.