Sunday's Dwarfed Snippet

Both Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday provide writers with different interests and talents to shared writing snippets and advice. The rules for both groups are simple. Post a snippet from, in my case, work-in-progress. After posting, I get to read the snippets the other participants have posted. It's a sweet deal! 

Last week I had several first time visitors, or at least first  time commentators so I'm doing a short set up.

DWARFED is a YA manuscript featuring 16 year old Grace, who temporarily finds herself living on a working hog farm in Michigan, Luke Searc, who works for the farm, and Spēs, a newborn piglet who needs a little extra care. Grace has a big heart and a stubborn nature. She also has a genetic condition called achondroplasia dwarfisam.

A collection of snippets from DWARFED can be found here. And now, this week's snippet.

          “Grace.” Luke hesitates. He looks like he wants to say something but is having a difficult time finding the right words.

            My teeth sink into my lip and silently willing him to not mention our near kiss. My brain has turned to mush, important components have shorted out, until I get it sorted out there’s no way I can talk about what nearly happened.

I hug the little pig more closely my breastbone. She sighs and rests her chin on shoulder. I should be grateful, she saved me from making a huge mistake. Still, a part of my head, a part that must have sustained the most damage, feels disappointed.

I forgot to mention it, but I want to give a big shout out to one of my favorite youth organizations, 4-H. If you weren’t a part of the 4-H scene while you were a kid, you have no idea what you missed out on. If you have kids, you should get them involved, you’ll be glad you did!

 

Source: flohe-images.de via cookkooc_de on Pinterest

Some Romance, Alot of Creative Editing, and a Cute Piglet Rolled into a Single Sunday Snippet

I can't thank everyone enough for your wonderful advice last week regarding my snippet. You're a wonderful group of people, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

For anyone who might  be stopping by for the first time. I post snippets from my YA work-in-progress titled Dwarfed which features the antics of Grace, Luke and a precocious piglet. It's set on a working hog farm. Be sure to check out the talented writers who have posted writing samples this week. Links to their sits can be found at the Weekend Writing Warrior website or the Facebook group.

This week's snippet picks up where last week's drops off. I confess, I had to use some creative editing and comma placement in order to stick to the #WeWriWa sentence restrictions. Still, I think it works. You wouldn't have like the natural stopping point ;D

             I can't breathe, it feels like my entire body has been squished flat and now matter how much I try, my lungs refuse to inflate. Luke uses the same elbow that sent me sprawling to lever his upper body away from mine, I sense him looking down at me.

             “Are you okay,” he asks, his voice shaking a little,“Grace?”

  Fingertips brush my cheek, prompting me to open my watering eyes, my response dies in my throat as my heart slams against my ribs in an unfamiliar but glorious rhythm. Unbidden, my gaze slides down his face, pausing at his mouth, and I wonder if his lips can really be as soft as they look.

Straw pokes at the back of my neck as Luke's slide under the back of my skull, my eyes close and I shift closer to Luke, lifting my face to his.

            Something wet latches onto my chin, sucking with enough force, I clap one hand across the front of my face. pressing my fingertips and palm against my cheeks, hoping to prevent the skin from getting Hoovered off, while using my free hand to blindly shove at the strangely shaped object.

            Luke’s laughter fills the small room as he presses his fingers against the corner of the piglet's jaw, disengaging it from my chin before scooping her up and cradling her against his chest with one hand, and reaching for me with the other. 

 

  

Source: destructoid.com via Fran on Pinterest

My Thoughts Regarding Being Henry David

 

 Being Henry David by Cal Armistead

 Contemporary Young Adult novel

Stand alone title

There was something about Being Henry David that appealed to me when I first learned of the book a few months ago. Before I started reading it, I crossed my fingers and hoped it lived up to my expectations.

When I first started reading Being Henry David, my stomach lurched. It took me a few pages to adjust to the authors writing style. Her sentence structure mirrors Hanks disjointed thoughts, but once I did, I found her writing to be very lyrical and consistent. 

She has a knack for using words to paint a very vivid picture. Although I’ve never visited Walden’s Pond, her descriptions transported me there. There was even a few points in the book where I forgot I was reading and was transported directly into Hank’s world.

The book is told completely from the viewpoint of the main character, a young man name “Hank” It starts when he wakes up in the middle of Penn Station and realizes he has no idea who he is. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t call up any memories. The only clues he has is a copy of Walden. 

It doesn’t take very long for Hank’s situation to go from really bad, to horrible, to the downright terrifying. Desperate to escape, he jumps on a train and heads to Walden’s Pond, hoping to find some answers there.

The change in location doesn’t magically restore Hank’s memory, but it does put him in a position to connect with some pretty interesting people, including Thoreau expert, and in my opinion the best character in the book, Thomas. With Thomas’s help, Hank slowly starts searching for clues to his identity and tries to figure out where he stood.

The author did an excellent job of maintaining the forward momentum of the plot. Although there are some points where it becomes a bit predictable, it never drags which is what I really care about.

All of the characters are well developed and very enjoyable. Best of all, each one was quite unique. I don’t think there was a single character in the entire novel who I would consider to be of cookie cutter variety. Each one had quirks and issues, and best of all, they played an important role in the novel.

My biggest complaint with the book is that when it ended, while Hank’s story reached a nice ending point, I still wanted to know what had happened to a few of the other characters. Oh well, maybe when the author releases the next book, it will answer all my questions.

I think Being Henry David bears a strong resemblance to what might happen if Sarah Dessen and S.E. Hinton joined force and co-authored a book.

I received Being Henry David via NetGalley.