wTf? wEdNeSdAy! Lookie what I made! and Review: ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHIN

wTf? wEdNeSdAy! Everyone needs a day to say wtf? What day is better than Hump Day?

Two parter today, I know, wtf?! I am scared of going over 400, but one is a reviewishness.

1. Island of the Blue Dolphins

by Scott O'Dell

I had few preconceived notions about O'Dell's classic, except that everyone kept telling me how much they loved it. Often times, with classics, I find myself hesitant or fearful that I won't understand, but with this book, it is overly simple. We follow an island native and her struggles to survive. Karana, the woman, is eighteen when she and her tribe leave her island with a European or American ship. The tribe leaves after a people from the north kill most of their members, they decide to go East. Upon learning her younger brother was left behind, she leaps overboard and swims back to shore. Her brother is killed by a pack of wild dogs a few days later and we follow her for almost two decades through the day to day and through some interesting adventures. Thought the island is small, she manages to find new places to explore and hide, should anyone come to the island. Karana builds a relationship with one of the wild dogs, a non-indigenous species, and they become best friends.

I am not totally sure of why I love this book. It is strangely written and not that compelling in it storyline. The execution and the way Karana's story bores into your emotional guard make this a powerful read for one afternoon.

2. My pretties: (which may or may not only be interesting to my PB buddies)

I have been devoting much of my time to PB work, hoping fervor for YA will return later this week. My crit group has been very supportive and I have received input from other sources, including an author, on my main PB WiP, MYLAR. A few months ago, I read a suggestion about laying the story out on a board. All PB's are thirty-two pages long, which you'd think would make it super easy. The concept does have its advantages. I created this board with 32 sheets and have started my rewrite, dividing the manuscript into pages as I go. I'll share the board today and the outcome in a few days.

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*Robin Radtke is The BFF and I am using the back of the board because she is weird and wants to keep the other side intact, apparently until she's thirty.

(Anita, the other side of the board is a science report titled HOW DOES CHLORINE AFFECT BATHING SUIT FABRIC?)

On page 96 of The Catcher in the Rye.