So that was a long unannounced hiatus… // Also, a work of cli-fi for each day of the week

Sometimes I think school is really pointless. Like, next year I will have no remembrance of literally anything I learned in social studies, so what’s the point? SOMEONE EXPLAIN THIS TO ME.

Heya earthlings and aliens! Naomi here, and in case you forgot over the very long no-post-period, I am a human (or at least PROBABLY a human) and you are reading a post from the SSCC.

I’m going to pretty much ignore that whole unannounced hiatus thing except to say sorry and hopefully I’ll post more frequently now? Life is being life and blogging continuously is continuously getting forgotten. It’s the saddest thing.

But ANYWHO. Since I feel like doing a bookish post again (I don’t think I’ve done an informational post in a while, but it’s fine. I’ll do it next post?), you’re getting a book for every day of the week! Bear with me when my reasoning makes literally zero sense and I write anywhere between 2 sentences and 2 paragraphs about each day of the week… JUST BE GLAD I’M BACK.

Ohkie, now enjoy!

So people here start the calendar with Sunday, but I start it with Monday because I’m SPECIAL so we’re doing that here.

But anywhooo, Monday is an amazing yet underappreciated day (ok I hate Monday a little but it’s fine I hate The Ones We’re Meant to Find a little too because WHY WAS IT SO SAD SERIOUSLY PEOPLE), and since The Ones We’re Meant to Find is too, boom! Oh plus, both Monday and The Ones We’re Meant to Find are a bit emotional and all over the place. SO.

Tuesday is… I dunno. It’s like that day that I don’t like but I also don’t hate, and Midnight at the Electric is that but a book so it’s a perfect match. Totally.

Sooo there’s the W. Wednesday = Wilder Girls. But then there’s also like the SADNESS AND STUFF of Wednesday to be compared to the SADNESS AND STUFF of Wilder Girls. It’s a perfect match!

So ya know how Thursdays are just SO CLOSE to being good? Like you’re almost to the end of the week and it’s almost Friday and it should be a good day but for some reason it’s not really? That’s the Marrow Thieves. Except, of course, The Marrow Thieves isn’t a day, it’s a book. I loved the IDEA of this book but the writing was an issue for me, ohkie?

*it’s totally wrong to rate your own story… right? But also I just can’t it’s impossible.

So Friday is sorta linked to school (and leaving it), just like Dreamer. Plus, I feel like Dreamer is something you could read on a Friday because it’s a KINDA light read.

So well first off, there’s the wonderful alliteration thing going on here too. Saturday paired with The Sea is Salt and So am I creates SO MANY Ss. So yayyy! Uh huh. But also, am I the only one that thinks SATURDAY IS SUCH A BIG DAY or whatever. Like THERE’S ALL THIS TIME cause school is mean and takes the ENTIRE WEEK and then church and stuff is SUNDAY so Saturday is like THE DAY WHERE YOU DO STUFF.

And also other things like that. And The Sea is Salt and So am I just has that… vibe? I know, I’m great at explaining this, right?

See this was going to be a post on like cli-fi books, but then I decided, well, Iowa Chapman and The Last Dog had to be in this (Dreamer too but whtevs). Oh, and if you decided not to read the okay-looking image above, Iowa Chapman and The Last Dog is a podcast. Like a 3-hour-long one.

It’s cool, okie? And I’m not good at explaining it. But ANYWHO, the whole day of the week thing. See, Sunday to me is like a nice happy day because NO SCHOOL and other things, but like it’s also kinda sad because the weekend is over? And this podcast is pretty much that. So.

Alrighty roo, that should be it! ‘Til next time…

Dreamer Part 3 // Observations, Awkwardness, and an English Assignment // Oh, and an Update Too

The more I write of Kurota, the more I think that I may have written a character who’s basically me except she doesn’t believe in magic. Which, whoops. But it’s fine. Definitely.

Heya humans (and non-humans, you too)! ‘Tis obviously Naomi, and I’m sortaaaaa excited to share Part 3 of The Dreamer with you? Definitely not the best part, but it’s necessary. Because we MUST BUILD THE PLOT OK? I have to make things move forward. And I’m not amazing at it. But we deal. Sooo… enjoy!

Get Caught Up: Prologue (The Dream) | Part One (Soulmates, Dreams, and Homework) | Part Two (Sisters, Grandparents, and Other Lost Things)

Four months ago, Kurota had decided that the best way to figure out what weird thing was going on with Nova Dodge was to observe her from a distance. Maybe Kurota would remember something that made this whole thing make sense. Maybe the weirdness that she seemed to be getting from Nova would seem less weird. And it was, in theory, a great idea.
The problem is that most theoretically great ideas have issues when they’re put into practice, and the biggest issue with this one was that the more Kurota observed Nova, the weirder Nova seemed. She wore the “cool” clothes and on the rare occasion that she talked, she used the right words and seemed confident enough. But the thing was, she wasn’t… social.
She sat alone at lunch (despite the fact that Orenda, who disapproved of Kurota’s plan of observing from a distance, had invited Nova to sit with the friends on several occasions), always worked alone when she could, and never raised her hand in class.
And the other issue was that, other than learning that Nova was even weirder than Kurota had thought, she had… well… not gotten any new information – there was no reason for Kurota and Nova to be connected, and that was the weirdest part. Because Kurota still had that feeling.
Orenda had, on several occasions, told Kurota to just go up and talk to Nova, but what was there to say? “Um hi, I feel like we have this weird connection and I wonder if you feel it too.” Or maybe, “I’ve been watching you for the past four months and you seem really weird. Are you good?”
Add the fact that, even when she wasn’t trying to explain to weird classmates why she’d been watching them for the past four months, Kurota was horrible at talking, and the answer to Orenda’s idea was always a firm “Yeah… no.”
So up until this point, Kurota and Nova had not said a word to each other. But, well, the thing is that when you’re in multiple classes with someone, it’s only a matter of time before you’re forced to interact. And that forced interaction finally happened on December 11th when partners for their newest English project were announced.
And when Kurota checked the list of partners, she had to read it again.
Because, well, Kurota’s partner for her new English assignment was Nova Dodge.
And later, when this was all in the past and Orenda had taken to repeatedly telling Kurota “I told you so”, she would usually add this part in and say that it had been meant to be. That this was just the universe’s way of telling Kurota that Orenda was right on many accounts – about how Kurota needed to talk to Nova, and about many other things too.
Kurota didn’t agree and always argued that she was bound to get partnered with Nova eventually. That it was just a matter of time, and that there was nothing magical about it. That however magical the connection between Nova and Kurota was, their meeting had not been magical at all.
But whoever was right, this assignment would change the lives of both Kurota and Nova. Whether it would be for the better or the worse was up to the two of them.

And yes, right, there was a quick little update for me to share – I felt like changing my home page, and so I did – if you’re interested, go check it out! Ohkay, yep, that was it.

Soo… that. See Encounter you on Monday!

Book Review // The Ones We’re Meant To Find By Joan He

Well thanks for being the third author in a ROW to break my heart, Joan He (oh, and you did it twice, too. You’re waaay to good at crafting characters I looove).

First Veronica Roth, then Laini Taylor, then Joan He. In. A. Row. The wooorld is falling apart.

Anyway! It’s Naomi, and welcome back (or welcome) to the SSCC!

Today, I have a book review for ya (Cause the title doesn’t literally say book review. I mean, Naoooomi…) (HMMMPH!)! It’s a non-spoiler review, you are VERY WELCOME. It took much self control to make it that way!

So… shall we?

*ahem* I sound like I’m asking you to um…. dance…

Let’s!

Title: The Ones We’re Meant To Find
Author: Joan He

Blurb:

Cee has been trapped on an abandoned island for three years without any recollection of how she arrived, or memories from her life prior. All she knows is that somewhere out there, beyond the horizon, she has a sister named Kay, and it’s up to Cee to cross the ocean and find her.

In a world apart, 16-year-old STEM prodigy Kasey Mizuhara lives in an eco-city built for people who protected the planet―and now need protecting from it. With natural disasters on the rise due to climate change, eco-cities provide clean air, water, and shelter. Their residents, in exchange, must spend at least a third of their time in stasis pods, conducting business virtually whenever possible to reduce their environmental footprint. While Kasey, an introvert and loner, doesn’t mind the lifestyle, her sister Celia much preferred the outside world. But no one could have predicted that Celia would take a boat out to sea, never to return.

Now it’s been three months since Celia’s disappearance, and Kasey has given up hope. Her sister must be dead. But nevertheless, she decides to retrace Celia’s last steps. Where they’ll lead her, she does not know. Her sister was full of secrets. But Kasey has a secret of her own.

-Joan He

“No one enters this world by choice. If we’re lucky, we can choose how we leave.”

The Ones We’re Meant To Find by Joan He

So, turns out I need help being hard on books.

Especially the ones that I kinda love and am kinda obsessed with…

Yeah right. KINDA love?

So so so, I don’t REALLY know where to begin. Amazing cli-fi aspect? check (more on that shortly), Beautifully written? check, Wonderful characters? check, Mystery that kept me guessing? check, Great plot twist? check, Unique idea? check.

Listen. I LOVED this book. So. Very. Much. The writing style is BEAUTIFUL, and the world building is so full in a way that doesn’t take OVER the plot, but 100% adds a new element. I just… wow. Shall we take it apart a bit? I think we shall!

Cee. Celia. Hero. Kasey. Actinium.

BEAUTIFUL characters, all with their different flaws and worldviews.

I love Hero sooo much. Never mind he tried to uh… kill a certain someone that uh… that wasn’t his fault, ok?! He was such a sweet character with so much depth- He is a BIT of a Peeta character (I hate Peeta, but I still love Hero)…. And Cee was such a lovely character, with so much energy and depth, especially after the plot twist! Kasey was quite flawed, but her character journey was amazing, and I actually enjoyed reading her POV- it was so different! She’s analytical, and has had problems because she doesn’t feel like she feels normal human emotions. Cee, on the other hand… she’s such a vibrant and beautiful character who wants to live so badly. And Actinium is… Actinium. I have to say I’m not a fan of him, but ya know, he’s a good character. *ahem*

I got SUPER invested in all the characters which is why, um, my heart is broken.

I can’t talk about the plot VERY well without… spoilers (still not good at this whole let’s-not-put-spoilers-in-a-review thing), but I shall make a valiant effort here! I really enjoyed the plot twists, and the pieces that didn’t QUITE FIT until the final GIANT turns-your-world-upside-down plot twist, and then it all fell into place BEAUTIFULLY! It all made sense, and it worked so well. It was such a unique plot and storyline!

It alternates between the POVs of Cee and Kasey- Cee is stuck on an abandoned island with only a few memories and an urgent need to find her sister (Kasey). Kasey is living in an ECO-CITY and is dealing with the death of Celia (Cee, ya know? Which… eeerm, Kasey honey we’re actually hearing from her. It’s so weird!). Kasey is trying to figure out what happened to Celia, while Cee is on an abandoned island trying to get to her… And there are sort of… HINTS that like they’re in different time frames – it was all so crazy and didn’t make any sense- UNTIL THE END!

Joan He’s writing style is beautiful, and I quite appreciated how it was different when each sister talked! And the themes were wonderful as well. A lot of it was about finding yourself, but also about how our actions have consequences. It was WONDERFUL!

There was A LOT more of the climate change part then I thought there would be. A lot of the plot actually REVOLVES around climate change, and while I can’t reveal WHY, the plot twist actually has to do with Kasey’s idea to help!

It was both realistic and sort of hopeful – natural disasters were happening, people were dying, the sea was poisoned. But those with a high enough rank (determined by the carbon footprint of you and your ancestors) were living in eco-cities IN THE SKY like come on I want to live in an eco-city in the sky. In these cities, they basically use VR to get around – much less of a carbon footprint that way! But those with lower ranks who aren’t in eco-cites are dying, and part of Kasey’s journey over the course of the book actually revolves around the solution (which I can’t quite reveal, because uh.. well SPOILERS!).

This book along with Descendant Of The Crane has made Joan He an author who’s next book I will pick uuuup automatically! I mean, she has a habit of breaking my heart, but sacrifices have to be made for books you love.

This book gets 5 stars from me if you couldn’t tell from the review that was me screaming I-love-this-book!

And that’s that! I’m a beginner book-reviewer please don’t tell me that’s not a word, and I really really loved this book, so the review wasn’t the BEST, but all I can say is go read it and we can talk theeen!

QOTD: Have you read, or do you want to read, The Ones We’re Meant To Find? If not, just tell me this: have you read any cli-fi of late?

See you in the comments (or, ya know, your WORDS. But aren’t your words sort of you? Cause like, what you say is sort of what you are and… wow that got philosophical FAST. Maybe tell me in the comments what you think)! Byee!

Oh YES I figured out how to order my outtro!

Media: All About Cli-Fi!

Hi there! It’s Naomi, and I’m PRETTY excited for today’s post! I’ve wanted to talk about cli-fi (climate fiction) a bit more before, and since this month’s theme is media, I decided it would fit right in! So, enjoy the pooost!

Why do I always talk like the post starts AFTER the intro? Because the intro is part of the post. Right?

Cli-fi stands for climate fiction. This essentially means that cli-fi is a fictional work that has something to do with climate change. It could be about someone who does, say, a project on climate change. It could be about someone living in a climate-change-ravaged future… it essentially just has to be a work of fiction that involves climate change!

Cli fi is helpful for a lot of reasons. For one, some cli-fi novels or movies are about a HOPEFUL future for climate change, depicting a world in which we’ve found a way to cope with climate change, or characters who help fix it. Movies like 2050 (not exactly fiction, but what the author calls ‘fact-based dreaming’, an imagination of what 2050 could look like- if we use our resources) can help us stay hopeful!

Other books depicting a dystopian kind of future, can help us to be motivated into a kind of action, and can help raise awareness for climate change in a more understandable way that nonfiction works may not be able to.

Maeve wrote an AMAZING post recommending some cli-fi book for teens and tweens- take a look at that here! I also sometimes write short stories (and I… want to write more, but for some reason I’m experiencing a bit of writer’s block in that area… bear with me), and you can read those here if you want! Additional cli-fi books would be Midnight At The Electric (my review found here), or The Parable Of The Sower!

Gosh there are gonna be so many pingbacks

And that’s the post! I really hope you enjoyed, and that you decide to read or watch something cli-fi!

Question of the day: What’s one cli-fi piece you want to read/watch, or that you have read/watched and would recommend?

Thanks so much for reading! I’ll see you in the comments…