Story Review: The Crush

Since between traveling home (yays!) and live in general I don't have time to write anything new today, I'm going to direct you to a piece I've read recently. It was written by my sister, Manwathiel, and I've really enjoyed reading it. It's very much teen chic reading, so if you really can't stand that genre, I wouldn't necessarily advise you to read it. ^_~

MPAA Rating: G

The Crush
Prologue
Chapter One, Part One
Chapter One, Part Two
Epilogue

Short Critique: To be honest, she's improved quite a lot since I've really read what she's written (as I tend not to read too much fan fiction). I really enjoyed the characterization differences between Emily and Annie... and contrasting each of them with Mai. It was fun - and cute - to read.

Dialogue is a bit stilted and formal (especially for teenagers), but it's pretty obvious she's working on it. Plus it's a little difficult to go from writing Tolkien's Elves to modern day American teenagers without some level of difficulty in adjusting to mannerisms and verbal quirks.

All in all, it was good and I'd like to know what happens next, especially in regards to Damien. I'd love to see his character get developed more... and to see what happens between Emily and Tiffany.

So that's my review. Take it with a bit of sodium chloride as you see fit and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Christmas Stories

Holiday Stories. We love 'em, hate 'em, but the holidays wouldn't be the same without them... so here are a few I've encountered.

Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck. This story is about an elderly man reflecting back on his teenage years on Christmas morning. At our dormitory Christmas party on Friday, it was read to us.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (in my opinion, one of his two decent works) is one of my favorite Christmas stories. I don't know how many times it's been parodied, but one of my favorite holiday memories was from when we went on a class field trip to the City and we got to see this performed live. That was truly a treat.
The Gift of the Magi by O'Henry has always been one of my favorites.

Here are two Christmas/holiday stories I've written...
A Midwinter's Eve: a LotR fanfiction based around Elrond, Legolas and other characters in JRR Tolkien's Universe. Rated G. Written in 2005. General holiday theme, as I don't think they have Christmas in Middle-earth.
A Christmas to Remember: An untimely snowstorm (snow in California?) traps Michael, Scott, Sam and the others at the church during rehearsal for the Christmas play. Other characters include Sharpe, Natalia and Ellie Johnson, Alton and all the church kids. Written in December of 2006. Rated G, but explicitly religious.

So now you have five holiday themed stories you can go read. I'm sorry that (with the exception of A Midwinter's Eve) they're all Christmas oriented. I just don't know of any good Kwanzaa or Hanukkah stories to share with you guys.