Book Review: The Thief Lord

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 6 Comments

So, I just finished reading this book- The Thief Lord. And I have to say, I was pretty impressed.

This is the summary on the back of the book:

Welcome to the magical underworld of Venice, Italy. Here, hidden canals and crumbling rooftops shelter runaways and children with incredible secrets…

After escaping from their cruel aunt and uncle, orphans Prosper and Bo meet a mysterious boy who calls himself the “Thief Lord.” Clever and charming, the Thief Lord leads a band of street children who enjoy making mischief. But the Thief Lord also has a dark secret. And suddenly Prosper and Bo find themselves on a fantastical journey to a forgotten place. What they discover there will change the course of their destiny… forever.

Before reading this book, I had read Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, and since I hadn’t liked that book too much (it was okay), I wasn’t sure what to expect this time. But overall, I have to say that The Thief Lord was a pretty good book.

Good stuff: The story. I absolutely LOVED the story. I’ve got to say, there aren’t too many books out there with original plots, but this one didn’t seem cliche in the slightest.

I mean, if you think about it, the bare plot structure of Harry Potter is pretty cliche- ordinary boy finds out he has powers,  and then he goes off to save the world. Don’t get me wrong- I am a HUGE fan of Harry Potter, so I’m not saying the books are bad- because they’re not. J.K. Rowling is an AMAZING writer with AMAZING ideas. It’s her ideas that make us want to read Harry Potter, even though the bare story is cliche- she puts so much freaking meat on that bare skeleton that we want to read it. In fact, we go crazy over it, because that’s some darn good meat. And the extra spices and sauces she adds to that meat make it totally un-cliche. 🙂

But enough about Harry Potter- this review is about The Thief Lord, for crying out loud! But yeah. My point is, the plot was great.

Another great thing was the descriptions of Venice. Cornelia Funke was painting pictures in my mind with her language and style of writing!

Her characters were also pretty well developed- Scipio (the Thief Lord) was definitely my favorite; I loved his attitude.

How the book could have been even better: Not sure if this is true for most people who have read the book, but to me, it read like a manuscript that is almost ready for publishing- almost, but not quite. There are just a few minor things I’m going to pick on. First thing- sentence fluency. I know this seems really nit-picky, but some of her sentences could have been better than they were. I remember one part, where someone “came rushing.” It would have made just as much sense if the person had “rushed.” And it would have sounded better, too. See what I mean? Small things, but they make the writing flow. There were a couple instances like that. There were also a few grammatical issues (but you’ll probably find that in any book). I understand that the original text was in German, and it was translated to English, but I feel that if someone had edited it just one more time, those minor errors could have been fixed.

Another thing- you know how I said it seemed like it was almost ready for publishing? Well, that’s because there were a lot of parts that could have been omitted. Seriously. There were whole chapters where nothing was happening- the story wasn’t moving along. The characters were just sitting around and talking. Remember my post on Descriptions and Details? Well, I was thinking of Cornelia Funke as I wrote it. 😛 Her descriptions are AWESOME, but she seems to have a little too much fun with them and sometimes it seems as though she doesn’t know when to stop. That’s why I didn’t like Inkheart too much. It was a brilliant idea with a brilliant plot- but there were huge chunks where nothing was happening. If the story had been written a little bit better, I think I would have liked it more.

But overall, I would definitely recommend The Thief Lord to anyone who wants an awesome adventure story with a great ending. And a few unexpected twists make it even better! Just wait till you find out the Thief Lord’s secret. 😉

Dreams

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 7 Comments
Because I like to draw as well as write, I drew (what I hope is) an encouraging picture. 🙂

I was thinking a little about dreams today, since we seem to have them almost every night. 🙂 They can be pretty crazy- but what do they really mean?

Heck, I don’t know. I don’t even know if it matters. All I know is that they could potentially make really good stories… well, most of them. I once had a dream that my Econ teacher wouldn’t let me leave class until I had named all the countries of Europe.

Okay, so maybe that wouldn’t make such a good story on its own, but take that idea- the idea of something depending on something else.

Maybe a girl’s father is kidnapped or imprisoned or something, and he won’t be released unless the girl does something for the kidnapper. That could be the initial idea, but there are so many questions that branch off of that- does the girl trust the kidnapper? If not, then she needs to find a way around the deal, because otherwise she could do what the kidnapper asks, and he could just kill her father instead of releasing him.

Or what if the kidnapper is a mysterious figure… and when the girl finally finds out who he is, she is shocked because it’s someone she knows.

What if the kidnapper isn’t really a kidnapper at all? Maybe he likes to make people believe that, but really he has a dark secret…

See? There are so many paths you can take with one simple idea. And that idea could come from a dream.

I used to keep a journal of all my dreams. Eventually I stopped, because life got in the way and I got caught up in other things. But now, when I read those wacky dreams, I burst out laughing! Forget about stories- they’re just fun to read. 😀

My advice: Write down your dreams (or, in this technological era, type them :)). It doesn’t have to be every day… just now and then. It could be once a month. Then, when you’re feeling low or looking for inspiration for a story, read them. You won’t be disappointed.

Save the Troy Public Library!

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 4 Comments
This picture was taken from the Troy Public Library’s website (there’s a link to it at the bottom of this post). If you are eligible to vote YES on August 2 to save the library, please do! If you can’t vote but know people who can, please tell them to vote!

I felt the need to write this post because I don’t think many people in Troy understand how dire the library situation is. Even if you don’t live in Troy or can’t vote, I think this post will still be worth your time.

Personally, I can’t imagine life without a library, and I’m sure most other writers feel the same way. Even people who don’t like writing probably feel the same way! I know that a lot of my friends hate writing but still love to read.

Even if you aren’t a bookworm like me, I’m sure you have set foot in a library at least once in your life. People use it for everything- just to relax and read a book, to have study groups with their friends- I know I go there just to work on my manuscript sometimes. And even if people don’t physically hang out there, they still rely on the library so that they can check out books or movies or whatever.

It would be such a shame to live in a city with no library. I would be heartbroken, and I know there are others who would be as well. I also know that there are people who love the library with all their hearts but don’t even realize that it’s in danger of closing! So please, tell anyone you know who lives in Troy, Michigan and can vote to please vote YES on August 2 to save our library- and our city.

Troy Public Library’s website: http://troylibrary.info/

Also visit: http://www.savetroy.org/

Said is Dead?

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 8 Comments
My drawing here is just to help visualize the whole "said is dead" thing. But remember, you ARE supposed to use "said"!

Yikes. It’s been  a while since my last post. And now that it’s summer, I don’t have much of an excuse. So from now on, I will try to update this blog at least every other day, if not every day.

Anyway, I figured I should do a post on this topic because I know that a lot of people think they should avoid the word “said.” Well, they shouldn’t. And neither should you.

I’m sure you’ve been told not to use “said” at least once in your life, somewhere along the way. You were probably told that because you weren’t using enough strong words, like “scream” or “cry” or “whisper.” In fourth grade, I was told NEVER to use “said.” And it was probably the biggest lie I have ever been told.

The reason you use “said” is because it’s natural. It doesn’t jump out at the reader and make him/her go “whoa.” Gail Carson Levine had a really good way of saying it in her book, Writing Magic. The way she put it is that “said” is invisible. It disappears. In other words, it doesn’t interfere with the actual story. Same with words like “ask.”

Example: “Where is the peanut butter?” he asked.

Versus: “Where is the peanut butter?” he questioned.

Eek. “Questioned” sounds so awkward. If you can’t really tell, it’s probably because it’s a single sentence. It’s not in context. But imagine if you were reading a paragraph, and all of a sudden a word like “questioned” popped out at you. Part of writing- actually a big part of writing- is about finding your voice and letting the words flow. To do this, you need to write naturally. And that means avoiding words that make your writing sound awkward.

Obviously it’s different if you’re writing a formal essay. The rules of writing are completely different. But this blog is dedicated to writing fiction, so that’s what I’m talking about right now.

Most of the time, when you’re writing dialogue, it might even be better to let the writing speak for itself. You don’t even need to use words like “said.”

Here’s an example:

“Hey, what’s up?” She had that assertive look on her face, like she was trying hard to be confident.

He looked up at her words, stopped playing around with his phone. “Hi.” He tried not to sound too surprised, but this girl never spoke to anyone; she was so shy. Why did she speak to him?

In this exchange of dialogue, the characters’ thoughts and actions drive the  story more than the actual words they say. And that’s fine. Notice how I didn’t use anything like, “she said” or “she mumbled” after the speaker’s words. I just jumped right in with the actions or thoughts or whatever.

Obviously, you can’t do that all the time. And you can’t use “said” all the time. But don’t ever think that you can never use it. Basically, what I’m trying to say is that you need to use words where they go. When a character is actually shouting, say “he shouted.” But don’t say that just because you’re avoiding the word “said.” Because when you do that, your writing sounds awkward. Write what feels natural. Write what’s right.

Reason#1: Family

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 5 Comments

I’m sure most people have heard the quote, “When life gives you 100 reasons to cry, show life you have 1,000 reasons to smile.” Not sure who came up with it, but I was sitting in the garden today, thinking… maybe philosophizing… but anyway, this is one of the quotes that is taped to the wall in my room. And I thought… what if I made that list?

I’m sure I’m not the first to think of it, but so what? Not everyone’s list is going to be the same. And 1,000 is a pretty big number. Especially if you’re doing a post for every reason, as I have decided to do. 🙂

Don’t worry; I’m still going to keep up the writing tips and all of that; not every single post is going to be a reason to smile. But this is sort of a little project to do on the side. I’m sure there’s more than 1,000 reasons, but let’s see how far I can get.

They’re not going to be in any sort of order, so don’t be surprised if I put something random like hot chocolate before friends. Still, the first couple will be pretty obvious- the first one that most people probably think of being family.

I don’t think I can really explain how thankful I am for my family; it’s just that when I read stories about orphans or think about other kids whose parents are divorced, I feel this wave of gratitude wash over me. It’s just that I’m so thankful that I have a family and that I’m not living alone in the world.

But once you get past that aspect of it, it comes down to the type of people they are. I can relate to them and can pretty much tell them anything. I know there are people who don’t get along with their parents at all, or they rarely talk to them. Or maybe their parents are rarely home. Ever read Matilda by Roald Dahl? I am so thankful my family is nothing like Matilda’s.

But I have got to say, I honestly feel like I couldn’t ask any more of my parents. And my brother- we have never fought. Ever. When I say this to my friends who have siblings, they don’t believe it. We have such a good relationship with each other… and he does so much for me. He was the one who started this blog for me!

I don’t mean to sound all mushy-gushy or teary-eyed or anything… it’s just that top of the list, before anything else, I have got to put my family. Obviously, I could go on and on about every single member, but that would make for a very lengthy post. So if any of my family is reading this, and I haven’t mentioned you, please know that I am infinitely grateful to you too!