Happy One Year Anniversary

Well, here we are. It's been one year since I started The Writings of Luke Reynolds, and it's kind of hard to believe. The last part of 2015 and most of 2016 have flown by in the blink of an eye, and today, August 5th, is the day that I decided to shut down my normal swell of indecision and just write something other than novels. Although I've mostly done reviews for books, music, and anime, I've also tried to do things more random, such as a scathing post on how to make romance work well (most of which I still stand by, but there's one I'm a little more lenient on if you've been following my work outside of the main books I've been writing) and glimpses into how I crafted those novels that I appreciate so much. 21 posts have been published so far with this being the 22nd, and although most of those are from last year, it's still pretty incredible to see all of the things I've written for this blog. The books I've read, the shows I've watched, the music I've listened to, but, especially, all the thoughts that came with those that I normally scream about to myself and tell my brother I decided to write up here on this blog. It's been pretty surreal how I divided time between this and other stuff and to see this little thing grow. It's incredible that I've been doing this for a year, and I'm so happy I stuck with this and didn't give up.

Of course, there was that lull period where I struggled to write anything. Some of that is to be expected, of course: I'm still in school and have to deal with all the homework. I also have other things I write, including novels, fanfiction, songs, and the occasional sporadic poem. However, most of that can be attributed to a lack of inspiration. Everything piled on top of everything and I just felt drained to the point where I was scrolling through my phone or pacing around my basement with my thoughts in tangles. The reason I write this blog is to get my thoughts out there, but there were times where it felt more like a chore than something fun, which is something I never want to talk about with writing (although my personal stuff never feels that way, if I'm being completely honest). That's why I had to close the tab, write some more of a novel, do AP European History reading so I could prepare for the exam (which I passed, yay!), and just take a break from the computer and breathe.

However, I had an epiphany while writing my Kiznaiver review, which was an anime series that I really enjoyed. This came in two parts: the first that I realized more recently, the second which has been building for a while that is so close to falling off my tongue and being out in the open. I'd like to share both and discuss as to how they're going to help me as this blog continues.

Luke's Anime Reviews #3: Kiznaiver

Hype: we see it in all forms of media, mostly for movie commercials. The action, the glowing reviews, the moments that make you laugh: all of those are there to entice you into buying tickets and being part of that popcorn bucket lugging and red cushioned movie seat experience. It doesn't even matter if the movie got a 13% on Rotten Tomatoes because the corporation will just use the quote and put a positive spin on it.

However, there's another side to hype where things get extremely passionate: the fans. These are the ones that post glowing tweets, who are there from the first preview until the final credits roll and can't get enough, who talk nonstop about it to their friends and family and order them to get involved. It's basically just a way for more money to be spent (or for things to be streamed), but it really isn't for the fan's gain. They're only really spreading the love for something they enjoyed, and if the word gets out, that's all that matters to them.

In terms of anime, I don't think I've really seen as much pre-show hype for a show like I did for Kiznaiver. There was promotional videos with animation, voice actors talking about their characters, character clips, and even a pre-air episode that served as an introduction to the world, the staff, and had the voice actors jumping rope. I was immediately swept up in the colorful and gorgeous art that advertised a story of teenagers being forcibly bonded through their wounds against a backdrop of a futuristic city. I couldn't deny that it captivated me and practically drove my desire to watch this show. Add to that a promising cast, dynamic colors, and the prolific likes of Mari Okada (a writer most famous for her work on shows like Anohana and Black Butler), animation studio Trigger (Kill la Kill), and Yuki Hayashi (score for DRAMAtical Murder and Death Parade), and I was automatically signed up.

In the end, was Kiznaiver worth the hype? Or did it falter and disappoint?

The Story Behind The Popularity Games

The Popularity Games evolved a lot from its first incarnation. However, it was always going to be a mystery novel. I loved reading Nancy Drew and learning about true cases growing up, and I went through a detective phase where I would carry a magnifying glass around and search around the pine trees outside in the pitch dark back when I lived in a brown and orange house before it got flooded out when I was eight. It may have been short-lived (I only filled out two diary pages as a kid about imaginary cases and perhaps real ones in my life), but it's always stuck with me. I don't know if I've read a full-fledged mystery novel in a long time (This Is Where the World Ends may count),

However, my narrator wasn't always going to be a snarky redhead with a courageous drive to figure out who murdered the popular girl in school. Yes, the original TPG was about the death of #1 at a high school, but the original redhead wasn't going to be at all strong. In fact, she wasn't the only narrator. It also wasn't originally supposed to be humorous or even have some of the snappy dialogue that I've included in the final product of the first draft.

Do you wanna know what the original TPG was going to be about? My 13 year old self was proud about it, but the me of now? I kinda just want to cringe thinking about this.

Here we go. Brace yourselves *takes deep breath*. The Popularity Games was originally going to be about four high school girls: a rebellious tomboy who played football, Ann; a supermodel (that's all I got), Joana; the principal's secret daughter who was called in from overseas to investigate something, Riley; and the BFF to the most popular girl in school who was nasty yet had a soft side to her, Star (I think her real name was Stacey). Combine those four first-person point of views with an incredibly prestigious private school called Robin Crest (which was borrowed from something I tried to write in fifth grade that was more of a slice of life drama, Little Rock, which was also just as tacky; there was a girl named Falcon) and popularity being a literal game (probably my favorite part of the original concept), and we have our story, ladies and gentlemen. Think of it like Pretty Little Liars meets whatever thriller you can find, and presto! Instant classic!

Luke's Music Reviews #5: Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande

Artists tend to evolve over the course of their careers. Whether it's just a natural development like growing up or a switching of record labels to state more of an independence, music styles could swiftly change and the singer, if they haven't had the chance before, could take a shot at writing some of their material.

One example of a person that shifted their career trajectory is Miley Cyrus, former Disney Channel darling who broke out of that mold (and out of the associated record company), chopped off all her hair and bleached it, and became associated with twerking and 'dancing with Molly' in the summer of 2013. It was an abrupt but not exactly unexpected swing, what with the more sexual imagery involved with her 2010 album Can't Be Tamed (which was pretty much just a typical Miley Cyrus album at the time, TBH) and the fact that Hannah Montana was ending, and with no hope of appearing on a future Disney show, it shouldn't be a surprise that something did happen. However, I was still shocked by these changes. I grew up watching and adoring Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus, and I guess I was still stuck in time or expecting that she would be the down to earth girl like Hilary Duff on Lizzie McGuire all those years ago. Besides, my 13 year old brain was baffled and confused by the idea of Miley Cyrus still being a role model for young girls when she was talking about doing drugs in the bathroom in "We Can't Stop" (which was fine until it was played to death at a camp I went to that summer; after that I wanted to scream every time I heard it).

Fast forward another two years, and Miley had established the non-profit organization The Happy Hippie Foundation (which sounds pretty cool, actually, although I'm not exactly sure what they do) and released a new album you could stream for free: Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz (yes, that is 'pets' with a 'z'). It was an experimental record that was panned by YouTube critics and baffled me from the little that I listened to on Soundcloud (although I have listened to almost all of "Dooo It!" and the entire "BB Talk", which will be eight minutes of my life that I unfortunately won't get back). While I understand the idea of Cyrus wanting to exert more creative control, that didn't help the album from being very uncomfortable to the bits I listened to and for me to cringe at the lyrics I read. It's a complete jump into the pool of debauchery, and while that might be fun for some people, I prefer my cereal without milk, thanks.

Let's step off the Miley train and start talking about the evolution of Ariana Grande instead. She first became popular on the Nickelodeon show Victorius as Cat (the redhead who progressively got dumber as the show went on) before skyrocketing onto Top 40 radio with her debut single "The Way" with Mac Miller (she had released her first debut single called "Put Your Hearts Up" in 2011, which she later scrapped because she felt it didn't represent the style she was going for and felt inauthentic). Her debut album Yours Truly was a pop-R&B crossover that was cutesy and fun but didn't really deviate much from its main template, even though her voice was easily one of the strongest points on the album (it was also a really consistent and strong record overall). Her next record that was released a year later, My Everything, showcased Grande hopping from genre to genre with the help of several different producers, including Zedd, Tommy Brown (who had produced some of the tracks on Grande's first album), and some of Sweden's hottest that have produced countless pop tracks: Max Martin and Ali Payami. Although that album wasn't nearly as cohesive in the production, Grande grew as a performer vocally and thematically, opting for more sensual material that really elevated her to the next level (plus, she had a couple more songs she co-wrote). Both records have their own strengths, and it's been really fun to re-listen to them in preparation for Dangerous Woman.

Originally titled Moonlight coupled with the lead-off single "Focus", the idea was scrapped ("Focus" wasn't included on any of the album editions except on Japan's deluxe) and Dangerous Woman came to life with the title song being the new first single. It was definitely an edgier style from Grande that I wasn't expecting, and it definitely made me more excited for the album to come, especially since it seemed she was taking one more step into making her material as mature as possible.

So how was Dangerous Woman? Was it the treat that I was expecting it to be? Or did it disappoint and made me view it as more of a trick?

Luke's Book Reviews #8: This Is Where the World Ends by Amy Zhang

Do you ever have those authors who wrote a first book that you absolutely loved, and because of that, you wait for their next title with bated breath? That happened to me with Amy Zhang's debut Falling into Place, a skillfully written novel about the most popular girl in school attempting to commit suicide following Newton's Three Laws of Motion. Not only was the novel published when Zhang was only 18 (*applause*), but I remember sitting on the couch back in December 2014 and reading the last 100 or so pages while holding back tears/squealing because I loved it so much. The book was written in an interesting fashion, utilizing the nonlinear style and an interesting narrator to tell the story from multiple points of view. Although the subject matter itself had been seen before, it was done in such a unique way that I couldn't help but find it a gem.

Due to my love for her debut, Zhang's second release was eagerly awaited by me, and although all it had was a title for nine months, I was excited nevertheless. When the cover came out, I was more excited than ever because a) LOOK AT THE PRETTY! and b) the synopsis sounded amazing. However, reviews for the ARCs started rolling in a couple months later, and a lot of people had mixed feelings about it. For one thing, they said that the synopsis actually had a huge spoiler in it (you might be able to guess it from the cover), and that although the writing was good, they didn't seem to like our characters and found them really unlikable. I was surprised by these reviews, most notably because I wasn't getting any particular predictable vibes from the novel, and the fact that Zhang had made Liz sympathetic in Falling into Place even though she could be incredibly cruel to her fellow classmates and even her friends. I had some mild hesitation going into this, but I still had high hopes, and once this came into the library on hold for me, I swooped it up and immediately dug in.

So, how was This Is Where the World Ends? Was it on the level of Amy Zhang's debut novel, or were there some pieces missing to make everything complete?