Mundie Moms

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Cassandra Clare's Mundie Moms Birthday Bash Post

Cassie has treated us with the best Birthday Present!! You won't find this any where else, at the moment.

Hi guys! So below is a list of the titles of the chapters in City of Fallen Angels. This is in the mold of the post I made about the chapter titles of City of Glass, back in September of '08:

http://cassandraclare.livejournal.com/24361.html#cutid1

with little notes about the meanings of the titles, why I picked them, and sometimes, what they have to do with the story. This is instead of a Clockwork Angel excerpt for this month. Happy Birthday, Mundie Moms!

Chapter One: A Proposition
In which Simon, who has been trying hard to live as normal a life as he can, finds out that's not going to be possible any more.

Chapter Two: Fear of Falling
This is the chapter that will be included in the paperback copy of City of Glass, so I won't say much about it, except it's Clary's POV.

Chapter Three: Sevenfold
And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. Well, that whole Mark of Cain business wasn't just going to go away.

Chapter Four: The Art of Eight Limbs
This one contains a training sequence that involves Muay Thai, a martial art that's called "The Art of Eight Limbs" because it involves using hands, elbows, knees and feet as strike points. This is also the chapter that contains the quote from the Seelie Queen I Tweeted — the one about "he's bound to you, but does he love you?"

Chapter Five: Hell Calls Hell
This is Latin, from one of the Psalms, abyssus abyssum invocat. Also translated as "deep calls unto deep." In which Clary tries on a bridesmaid's dress.

Chapter Six: Wake The Dead
Pretty literal, actually.

Chapter Seven: Praetor Lupus
Those inclined toward Latin can have a whack at this one. This chapter has werewolves in it. :)

Chapter Eight: Walk in Darkness
"But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes." And in the meantime, Simon's band gets a gig.

Chapter Nine: From Fire Unto Fire
This is from Oscar Wilde: "Nay, let us walk from fire unto fire,
From passionate pain to deadlier delight,—
I am too young to live without desire."
I am sure everyone will be happy to know this chapter is mostly Clary and Jace.

Chapter Ten: 232 Riverside Drive
Quite literally the address of something important (I can't help but wonder if someone actually lives at this address — I have friends who live on Riverside Drive, though not this number...)

Chapter Eleven: Our Kind
In this case, "Our Kind" is vampires.

Chapter Twelve: Sanctuary
In which a character we know from Clockwork Angel makes a strange demand of the Nephilim.

Chapter Thirteen: Girl Found Dead
What it says on the tin!

Chapter Fourteen: What Dreams May Come*
“Max,” Jace said. “Max, I’m so sorry.”


Chapter Fifteen: Beati Bellicosi
The actual phrase in Latin is Beati Pacifici — blessed are the peacemakers. In this case, I altered it (hopefully accurately) to Blessed are the Warriors.

Chapter Sixteen: New York City Angels
Those who know the Thriving Ivory song Angels on the Moon will recognize this phrase.

Chapter Seventeen: Cain Rose Up
And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. All of this stuff is from Genesis 4, the Cain and Abel story — it's thematically called up throughout the book since it's a story about family, murder, sin, forgiveness and blood.

Chapter Eighteen: Scars of Fire
This is actually from a Carl Sandburg poem:
"Wandering oversea singer,
Singing of ashes and blood,
Child of the scars of fire,
Make us one new dream, us who forget.
Out of the storm let us have one star."

Epilogue — As of now, the epilogue is just titled "epilogue." It's pretty short but, I think, packs a punch. I hope so!

*Everyone knows this one! But in that sleep of death, what dreams may come. Hamlet.

Thank you so much Cassie for this amazing post and for being apart of our Birthday Celebration. We can't wait for City of Fallen Angels.

The Mortal Instruments Mentioned in Glamour Magazine


Glamour
magazine mentioned The Mortal Instruments in Rosemary Brennan's article "Morning Confession: I Love Reading Racy Teen Literature!" Here's an excerpt:

Can I tell you guys something personal? And kind of embarrassing? Deep breath... I super heart teen literature. Especially the racy stuff.

Two summers ago, I tore through the Twilight series. And now I’m reading City of Ashes, the second book in The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. If you liked Twilight, I highly recommend The Mortal Instruments. See, there’s more, um, action in the books. And less of the "Oh Noes! Why am I suddenly bruised and covered in feathers?" business
.
You can read the rest of the article here. Trust me, we understand the love of reading teen lit and sifting through all those memories of high school years. But in mine, there were no Shadowhunters. Although, come to think of it, there may have been a few Downworlders.

Twitter Tuesday: Maureen Johnson


Every one of Maureen Johnson's twitter followers (http://twitter.com/Maureenjohnson) looks forward to her tweets throughout the day. Mostly because she tweets about, well, everything. And she makes the most mundane things seem funny -- from a piece of cereal found in her shirt to the deliciously fun, French cover of Suite Scarlett.


So now you know why we're looking forward to chatting with Maureen on Tuesday, February 23rd at 9PM EST about her Scarlett series, Ghost in the Jar and her take on why she adores The Mortal Instruments' Simon.

Be sure to check out Maureen's books on her website here as well as the well deserved praise for Suite Scarlett:
"Utterly winning, madcap Manhattan face, crafted with a winking, urbane
narrative and tight, wry dialogue." - Booklist, starred review

"The authentic charm of the characters and the endearing sweetness of their odd
familial relationships…make this light read worthwhile." - Kirkus Reviews

"Johnson keeps the laughs coming." - Horn Book

Her tweets really do clue you into how well she writes humor because just as I was going to schedule this post, Maureen tweeted this. Go on and click on the tweet below:


And we just found out that it's her birthday today -- so from all the Mundie Moms, Maureen, we wish you the happiest of birthdays!

Book Review: Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri



Book Review: Another Faust by Daniel & Dina Nayeri

Published By: Candlewick Press

Release Date: August 2009

2 stars


Summary from Authors’ Website:
One night, across four cities, five children disappear. Years later, five enigmatic teenagers appear at an exclusive New York holiday party with their strange but beautiful governess, Madame Vileroy. Rumor and mystery follow the Faust children to the elite Marlowe School, where their presence brings unexplainable misfortune.

Using a series of “gifts” given to them by Madame Vileroy, the children are able to soar to suspicious heights at Marlowe. The gifts seem child-like in their simplicity. The governess teaches them to cheat, steal, hide, and lie; ‘harmless’ she calls them, though they are much more. For the vicious over-achiever, reading an unsuspecting mind is simply to cheat. For the reclusive pariah, the gift of stopping time is just another way to hide. And who but an aspiring writer can weave a convincing lie?

Soon, Madame Vileroy’s gifts become darker and more complex. Living in a gray home designed to cultivate and corrupt them, they are enveloped in the side effects of their own addictions. They live cursed lives, making deals with the devil as they claw their way toward their goals….that is until two of them begin to uncover secrets more shocking than their most unforgivable sins. A modern retelling of an ancient dilemma, Another Faust recreates the story of the Faustian bargain. Set in present-day New York, but spanning the centuries, it is a chilling tale of ambition, consequences, and ultimate redemption.

What are Others Saying?:
“An unusual urban fantasy…The writing is clever and stylish…an absorbing, imaginative read, with a tense climax.” Publishers Weekly

“The teens’ story is told in detailed, gothic language. Faustian references abound…By switching character viewpoints often, the authors keep the pace moving to an ending full of action, revelation and horror.” Kirkus

“Dark like so many of the current teen horror fantasy novels and stylish like Gossip Girl, the brother and sister writing team work hard to create characters who struggle with insecurities of the past, the successes of the present, and the pain of both…the context and dark tone will surely find a solid readership.” VOYA

My Thoughts:
When I first saw this book I was so excited to read it. I have always loved the original Faust tale by Goethe and other stories like “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne that sprang from this same vein of thought. However, I have to admit this one left me feeling really disappointed. The idea behind the novel was a great one: five children who are stolen from their families and given the chance to obtain their wildest dreams. However, like all things in life – nothing comes easy or for free. Each one of the children must choose between what is right and what will get them their way. Some of the children make the right choice while others have more trouble and choose the path that will lead them to the greatest successes.

I found the numerous characters and their plot lines to be really overwhelming. It was somewhat difficult to keep everyone straight as I was reading. Also, I honestly just didn’t care too much for the writing style of this brother and sister team. I also found it difficult to find characters that I liked. This one just fell short of the mark for me. Perhaps I went into it with expectations that were too high. The book was tedious and dense.

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