A Splash of Colors in the Wonderland of Books!

Today is Holi, the festival of colors! Here, in India, we celebrate this festival with lots of joy, verve and enthusiasm throughout the country. The festival has many purposes. First and foremost, it celebrates the beginning of the new season, spring. We color each other, almost losing our identities behind the shades of numerous colors, throw water balloons at others, even complete strangers at random, and above all have enormous fun!! ^_^ This festival is one of my favourites and goes without saying, I'm very very excited  about today!

In this regard I'm doing this feature post - the connection of colors and books! Lots of books have name of colors in the titles. I'd be talking about some of those most famous books and also the color coding system of Penguin Publishers books.

Title: The Color Purple

Author: Alice Walker

Publishers: Pocket (2004)

Genre(s): Classics, Historical Fiction

Format: Paperback (304 pages)

Average Rating on Goodreads: 4.12/5

Celie is a poor black woman whose letters tell the story of 20 years of her life, beginning at age 14 when she is being abused and raped by her father and attempting to protect her sister from the same fate, and continuing over the course of her marriage to “Mister,” a brutal man who terrorizes her. Celie eventually learns that her abusive husband has been keeping her sister’s letters from her and the rage she feels, combined with an example of love and independence provided by her close friend Shug, pushes her finally toward an awakening of her creative and loving self.

Title: White Oleander

Author: Janet Fitch

Publishers: Little, Brown and Company (2001)

Genre(s): Contemporary, Women's Fiction

Format: Paperback (496 pages)

Average Rating on Goodreads: 3.87/5

When Astrid's mother, a beautiful, headstrong poet, murders a former lover and is imprisoned for life, Astrid becomes one of the thousands of foster children in Los Angeles. As she navigates this new reality, Astrid finds strength in her unshakable certainty of her own worth and her unfettered sense of the absurd.

Title: Black Like Me

Author: John Howard Griffin

Publishers: NAL Trade (2003)

Genre(s): Memoir, Non-Fiction

Format: Paperback (200 pages)

Average Rating on Goodreads: 4.08/5

In the Deep South of the 1950s, journalist John Howard Griffin decided to cross the color line. Using medication that darkened his skin to deep brown, he exchanged his privileged life as a Southern white man for the disenfranchised world of an unemployed black man. His audacious, still chillingly relevant eyewitness history is a work about race and humanity-that in this new millennium still has something important to say to every American.

Title: Green Eggs and Ham

Author: Dr. Seuss

Publishers: Random House (1960)

Genre(s): YA, Humor

Format: Hardcover (62 pages)

Average Rating on Goodreads: 4.30/5

Illustrated in color. Sam-I-Am mounts a determined campaign to convince another Seuss character to eat a plate of green eggs and ham. Green Eggs and Ham is a best-selling and critically acclaimed children's book by Dr. Seuss (a pen-name of Theodor Seuss Geisel), first published on August 12, 1960. As of 2001, according to Publishers Weekly, it was the fourth best-selling English-language children's book of all time.[1] The story has appeared in several animated videos starting with 1973's Dr. Seuss on the Loose: The Sneetches, The Zax; Green Eggs and Ham starring Paul Winchell as the voice of both Sam-I-am and the first-person narrating man.

Title: A Clockwork Orange

Author: Anthony Burgess

Publishers: W. W. Norton and Company (1995)

Genre(s): Sci-fi, Dystopia, Mystery

Format: Paperback (213 pages)

Average Rating on Goodreads: 3.94/5

A vicious fifteen-year-old "droog" is the central character of this 1963 classic, whose stark terror was captured in Stanley Kubrick's magnificent film of the same title. In Anthony Burgess's nightmare vision of the future, where criminals take over after dark, the story is told by the central character, Alex, who talks in a brutal invented slang that brilliantly renders his and his friends' social pathology. A Clockwork Orange is a frightening fable about good and evil, and the meaning of human freedom. When the state undertakes to reform Alex—to "redeem" him—the novel asks, "At what cost?" This edition includes the controversial last chapter not published in the first edition and Burgess's introduction "A Clockwork Orange Resucked".

Title: The Silver Chair (The Chronicles of Narnia #4)

Author: C. S. Lewis

Publishers: HarperCollins Publisher (2005)

Genre(s): Young Adult, Fantasy

Format: Paperback (268 pages)

Average Rating on Goodreads: 3.91/5

The story starts when Eustace Scrubb, introduced in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, is driven into the company of classmate Jill Pole at their miserable school Experiment House. The impetus is their need to find sanctuary from the gang of school bullies who run rampant in this laissez-faire and mismanaged school run by an incompetent headmistress. Eustace confides to Jill that he has recently been "out of this world" to a land called Narnia, and that his experiences there have led to the changes in his behaviour that everyone seems to have noticed. Jill initially believes that Eustace is lying, but when he promises and asks her to attempt to go to Narnia with him, she agrees. When the bullies are about to converge on the two, Eustace suggests asking for Aslan's help, and the two blunder through a gate that leads them to a high cliff in Aslan's Country. 

Title: Blue Highways (The Travel Trilogy #1) 

Author: William Least Heat-Moon

Publishers: Back Bay Books

Genre(s): Memoir

Format: Paperback (428 pages)

Average Rating on Goodreads: 3.98/5

Hailed as a masterpiece of American travel writing, Blue Highways is an unforgettable journey along our nation's backroads. William Least Heat-Moon set out with little more than the need to put home behind him and a sense of curiosity about "those little towns that get on the map-if they get on at all-only because some cartographer has a blank space to fill: Remote, Oregon; Simplicity, Virginia; New Freedom, Pennsylvania; New Hope, Tennessee; Why, Arizona; Whynot, Mississippi." His adventures, his discoveries, and his recollections of the extraordinary people he encountered along the way amount to a revelation of the true American experience.

Title: The Yellow Wall-Paper

Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Publishers: The Feminist Press (1996)

Genre(s): Short Stories, Feminism

Format: Paperback (64 pages)

Average Rating on Goodreads: 4.11/5

First published in 1892, The Yellow Wall-Paper is written as the secret journal of a woman who, failing to relish the joys of marriage and motherhood, is sentenced to a country rest cure. Though she longs to write, her husband and doctor forbid it, prescribing instead complete passivity. In the involuntary confinement of her bedroom, the hero creates a reality of her own beyond the hypnotic pattern of the faded yellow wallpaper – a pattern that has come to symbolize her own imprisonment. Narrated with superb psychological and dramatic precision, The Yellow Wall-Paper stands out not only for the imaginative authenticity with which it depicts one woman’s descent into insanity, but also for the power of its testimony to the importance of freedom and self-empowerment for women.

 

Title: The Grey King (The Dark Rising #4)

Author: Susan Cooper

Publishers: Simon Pulse (2007)

Genre(s): YA Fantasy, Mythology

Format: Paperback (165 pages)

Average Rating on Goodreads: 4.18/5

"Fire on the Mountain Shall Find the Harp of Gold Played to Wake the Sleepers, Oldest of the Old..."" With the final battle between the Light and the Dark soon approaching, Will sets out on a quest to call for aid. Hidden within the Welsh hills is a magical harp that he must use to wake the Sleepers - six noble riders who have slept for centuries. But an illness has robbed Will of nearly all his knowledge of the Old Ones, and he is left only with a broken riddle to guide him in his task. As Will travels blindly through the hills, his journey will bring him face-to-face with the most powerful Lord of the Dark - the Grey King. The King holds the harp and Sleepers within his lands, and there has yet to be a force strong enough to tear them from his grasp...

Title: My Name is Red

Author: Orhan Pamuk

Publishers: Vintage (2002)

Genre(s): Contemporary, Literary Fiction

Format: Paperback (417 pages)

Average Rating on Goodreads: 3.79/5

At once a fiendishly devious mystery, a beguiling love story, and a brilliant symposium on the power of art, My Name Is Red is a transporting tale set amid the splendor and religious intrigue of sixteenth-century Istanbul, from one of the most prominent contemporary Turkish writers. The Sultan has commissioned a cadre of the most acclaimed artists in the land to create a great book celebrating the glories of his realm. Their task: to illuminate the work in the European style. But because figurative art can be deemed an affront to Islam, this commission is a dangerous proposition indeed. The ruling elite therefore mustn’t know the full scope or nature of the project, and panic erupts when one of the chosen miniaturists disappears. The only clue to the mystery–or crime? –lies in the half-finished illuminations themselves. Part fantasy and part philosophical puzzle, My Name is Red is a kaleidoscopic journey to the intersection of art, religion, love, sex and power.

The Penguin Books Color Codes

Arranging books according to color has become quite popular and looks great. However, it is a method that can result in placing paleontology next to poetry and novels next to non-fiction, a troubling thought indeed! That's why I adore the color-coding system that Penguin has been using 1935, wherein each genre is assigned a color and the spine (and sometimes the cover) of works within that genre are printed in the designated color.

The Penguin code is as follows:
Red = Drama
Orange = Fiction
Yellow = Miscellaneous
Green = Crime Fiction
Dark Blue = Autobiographies
Purple = Essays
Cerise = Travel and Adventure
Grey = World Affairs

For more info check out: Phil Baines' book, Penguin by Design: A Cover Story 1935-2005

Finally, once again Happy Holi to all of you!!! (even if you're not playing with colors). 

Have Fun & Keep Reading!

The Fault in Our Stars: To be Seen on Screen Soon!

I believe most of you have already heard the news of John Green's much appreciated creation The Fault in Our Stars being adapted as a movie with the same title and I firmly believe you're just as excited as I am! Aren't you? That's why I thought I'd share my excitement with you, my readers through sharing the information I managed to gather about this much talked and book-to-movie adaptation.

Hazel and Gus are two teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them on a journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous given that Hazel's other constant companion is an oxygen tank, Gus jokes about his prosthetic leg, and they met and fell in love at a cancer support group.

Shailene Woodley as Hazel Grace  Lancaster

Ansel Elgort as Augustus Waters

Nat Wolff as Isaac

Laura Dern as Mrs. Lancaster

Sam Trammell as Mr. Lancaster

Mike Birbiglia as Patrick

Willem Dafoe as Peter Van Houten

Emily Peachey as Monica

And the best part is JOHN GREEN himself will be cast in the movie (for a role which is still unknown)!!!!!!

Director: Josh Boone

Produced by: Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen

Written by: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber

Cinematographer: Ben Richardson

Studio: Temple Hill Entertainment

Release Date: June 6th, 2014

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Publishers: Dutton Books

Date of Publication: January 10th, 2012

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Format: Hardcover

Length: 313 pages

My Source: Ebook

Synopsis

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Here's My Review of the book

Lastly, a personal note: I don't know whether you'll agree with me or not but I don't like books being made as movies. It basically kills the story, the essence of the book, in most of the cases. Whenever I've gone watching a movie after reading the book its based on, I've been hugely disappointed. I think if you're doing a film based on a book, you should at least keep the story intact but mostly they improvise it so much that ends up changing the story itself. So I earnestly hope the same doesn't happen with TFIOS. This book is very close to my heart and one of my all time favourites and it'd be very unfair to the book if they do such treatments with the movie. I hope the movie turns out to be just as great as the book is!

Author Interview: M. M. John

Recently, I had the opportunity to interview the wonderful debutante author M. M. John. Her debut novel, The Death of Ink, the first book in the series titled the same, is expected to be published in January, 2014! We had a discussion over her book, her writing and other stuffs. 

Hi! Its such a pleasure to have you here! Welcome to my blog. To start the interview, first tell us something about yourself.

I’m 22 years young. I love to create and only feel complete when I’m doing it. I love the capture the picture of the human soul. How beautifully complex we all are, both our good and bad parts, some parts contradictory, but that’s what makes life so interesting. I love people. I love studying and observing them. I live to create stories about the average person, the working class, the mail worker or nurse’s assistant, families that live paycheck to paycheck and the people who still dare to dream of a better life. I sometimes imagine my life with a soundtrack of music playing in the background, mostly Janelle Monae and other soulful artists. I’m a senior in college, majoring in International Business, but really writing is my life and writing is my dream. I have several story concepts bouncing around in my head all day, every day. Sometimes I wonder if I will have the time to write them all.

Wow! I can already imagine how beautiful your writing is! And by the way I love observing people too. Now lets talk about your book and writing. So, when did you first know that you wanted to be an author? Did you always want to be one?

Becoming an author wasn’t something that I would have named as what I wanted to be growing up. Writing was just something I alwaysdid. I didn’t really think about it or think on it. I knew that I loved sharing stories when I was a kid in elementary. I loved people’s reactions and how they could enjoy something I just made up. How they could laugh or cry based on something I said or wrote about imaginary people. Later on, after some tough circumstances in my life, writing was something that I did for myself, not an audience. In a way, writing is still something that I do for myself.

 How did you come up with the idea behind "The Death of Ink"?

Well, I had this book called Writer’s Muse, I believe, with pictures and quotes on every page. Occasionally, there would be a writing prompt. One of the writing prompts was about meeting someone at a bookstore and seeing them again years later, at the same bookstore, as a famous author. From that prompt, the idea behind The Death of Ink kind of just sprouted. Other ideas came and formed the structure of the novel.

Is any of the characters/incidents in your book influenced by real life people or circumstances?

I based some of Devon’s back story on my own life. Even now, parts of the story are difficult for me to read because it is ripe with so many memories. Some of those memories are painful. Originally, Devon and Paige, the main characters of my story, were based on two people I knew in high school. One was a girl who was very smart, but who everyone seemed to hate for some reason. The other was a boy who seemed hell-bent on getting her attention only to be rebuffed and ignored. I used these two people to form the bare elements of my characters, but after some development, the characters kind of took a life of their own. ”

What was the biggest challenge while writing the book?

I would say getting a chapter to my liking. It’s not abnormal for me to take a month on a chapter for this reason. I would have to have every chapter, every sentence, just the way that I wanted it. Sometimes I was hit with inspiration at a restaurant or sitting on a bus, I would write down the idea or thought, and it would come out just right. Sometimes the notes would get lost (thankful, I now bring a notebook and pen with me everywhere). I would literally turn the place up-side-down to find those notes again. I can never duplicate the words the way I wanted the first time. I have learned to get over this, albeit slowly, and accept nothing will come out perfectly or just the way I want it.

Did you ever suffer writer's block? If yes, what did you do to get over it?

All the time. Tricks I do are play music and imagine the scene or dialogue in my head, and then write what I see. I cannot write anything unless I first visualize it.

What were your feelings when you first saw the finished copy of your book?

Still not at that point yet. But when I saw my book cover I felt above cloud nine, so surreal, a glimpse of heaven…so the print copy might immobilize me for a few days.

Are you completely satisfied with your writing or would you like to change something in your story, given a chance?

If I could choose I would write like a god. I can never be satisfied with my writing because nothing comes out as beautifully as I imagine it in my head. Writing is a way to translate that vision to paper and it often fails.

 Are you working on the sequels already?

My sequels are all done. I completely finished the series before I even thought about publishing.

That's something I really appreciate. I think you should have framed the whole picture of the story before you pen it down! Now tell me why did you choose this particular genre to write about? Who are your target readers?

I was in high school at the time, so I chose to write about high school students. I don’t think I can write another young adult novel. I want to reach young adult writers and readers with a story about kids with passions like theirs.

Okay! I'd now love to hear a few things about you. To start with, is writing your full time profession?

No, at all. I am a full time student and an intern at a non-profit.

When you're not writing what do you do to relax?

I write to relax. Not the answer you were expecting was it?:-) Besides writing, spending time with friends and family helps me unwind.

What’s the schedule of a typical day for you?

Wake up. Get ready for work. Go over writing scenarios. Go to work. Jot down writing ideas. Eat lunch. Start shaping the ideas a bit more. Take the transit. Scribble more ideas. Get home. Lay down for a while. Eat supper. Go over notes and add it to my story. Do class work. Talk with boyfriend. Exercise. Get ready for bed. Draft a blog entry. Think about story scenarios as I go to sleep.

If your book is adopted for a movie, which actors would you like to play the characters of your story?

I can’t think of any. I think I would like to use lesser-known, up-and-coming actors for the main characters and maybe A-listers for supporting roles.

What are your favourite books?

To Kill a Mockingbird 

Misery 

King of the Lost and Found

To kill a Mockingbird is one of my favourites too! What are you reading currently?

Claire of the Sealight

What is your advice for aspiring writers?

Ignore advice, keep writing, do what you want, and don’t be afraid to break convention

Just for curiosity, if you’re ever deserted in an island alone, which 5 books would you pick to carry along with you? And why?

Probably books that can comfort me: the book of Psalms, an empty notebook and a pen (to write to keep my sanity/process the situation), Where the Sidewalk Ends (to remind me of childhood and happy times), The Cove, and that one biography book my boyfriend gave me but I never read (to remind me of him).

Thank you so much! I loved the chat with you. Congrats on the publication of your first book and lots of good wishes for your success. :) 

Title: The Death of Ink

Author: M. M. John

Series: The Death of Ink #1

Genre: Paranormal / Fantasy

Synopsis

Fifteen-year-old Paige Langley’s life has always revolved around good grades and escaping her less than ideal home life…but once she meets Devon Connors, her life drastically changes. Although, they share an instant attraction, Devon’s concealing a dark past. And an even darker secret…there’s a dead girl haunting him nightly. Resolute to win the school’s writing contest, Paige will do just about anything to achieve her goals. So after she finds a binder containing information on a past murder and the illegal activities of the students, she believes the stories are fictional and the perfect way to win the contest. But the owner of the manuscript, Devon Connors, has other plans. To keep Paige from exposing his secrets, Devon befriends her and even offers to help her write a winning story for the contest. The chemistry between Paige and Devon is undeniable, but Paige doesn’t know if she can trust him. The deeper she digs into the dark underbelly of their high school, the more she realizes that some secrets are better left buried.

You can find about M. M. John from her Goodreads profile and also by visiting her beautiful Website.

Blog Tour: Ondine by Emma Raveling [Blitz + Excerpt]

Title: Ondine

Author: Emma Raveling
Series: Ondine Quartet 0.5

Date of Publication: December 19th, 2013

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

“I shouldn’t get involved.” 
 Rebellious and headstrong, sixteen-year-old Kendra Irisavie doesn’t have much respect for authority. An ondine with the powerful gift of Virtue, she uses her tough attitude and Empath magic to navigate through high school and keep others away. Because being an ondine also means keeping secrets. Kendra and her mother are Rogue water elementals in the middle of an ancient war. They hide among humans, their survival constantly threatened by monstrous Aquidae demons. Along with a rigorous training regimen to mold Kendra into a lethal fighter, her mother has instituted four rules to keep her safe. Trust no one. Relationships are weaknesses. Emotional attachments are dangerous. Be responsible only for yourself. But when Kendra witnesses a classmate in trouble, she intervenes and her decision to break the rules comes at a price. Sometimes, humans could be more dangerous than demons. Ondine is a short prequel novella for the young adult urban / paranormal fantasy series, the Ondine Quartet.

Amazon 

** The Book will be available after release date. **

Afternoon sunlight drenched the wood, heat seeping through my jeans and warming the back of my legs.

Rui’s icy voice sliced through the delicate spring air. “I need you to get the money from him.”

Potheads occupied the narrow recess beside the stairs while the cheerleaders and athletes took the table farthest from the building door.

They weren’t getting involved.

Neither was the Student Council group gathered along the west side.

I’d managed to follow her rules for the four months we’d been in L.A. The championship tournament was in two hours and she’d be seriously pissed if my performance wasn’t better than the last one.

I needed to concentrate on my own shit, not get involved in anyone else’s.

Troy’s fear ratcheted up another notch and the hot spike of emotion raked against my insides.

“I—I don’t know him that w-well…”

“That’s a problem.” Rui adopted an expression of mock concern and pulled out a cigarette. “‘Cause your dad owes mine a lot of money.”

Empath magic reached inside him, sensing clumps of frustration and rage, hardened over the years.

“It’s just me and my mom,” Troy said in a desperate voice. “I don’t see him that often —“

Mistake one.

“Often?” Rui’s voice rumbled with the dark glee of a predator who’d spotted its prey. “So you do see him.”

“N..no.” Troy’s eyes darted around the courtyard.

Don’t, don’t…

Wide eyes locked on to me. Great.

“What do you mean, no?”

“I m-m-mean…” He stumbled over the words. “S-sometimes I do, but…”

Mistake two.

“Then you can get the money from him, right?” Rui lit his cigarette. Troy flinched at the click of the lighter. “I don’t think your old man would like it if my father got his hands on you.”

Troy swallowed, his gaze flickering toward me again.

Sasha followed his line of sight. “You thinkin’ a chick’s gonna help you?”

Rui slowly turned. Black hair, dark eyes set against olive skin. Cold, grim awareness etched into his face, creating an impression of severe superiority.

The things he’d seen and experienced exceeded your worst nightmares and he wanted you to know it.

Rui flicked his cigarette, ash landing a foot away from me.

“She’s not bad, Troy. Don’t think she’s your type, though.”

I suppressed a sigh and stood. Might as well get this over with.

“You don’t know my type, Vergara.”

A flicker of surprise in those dead eyes. “You know my name. I’m flattered.”

“Don’t be.” I strode over and leaned against the metal railing of the stairs. “You just have a rep of being an asshole.”

Kane stepped forward, body tense. Rui’s arm shot out and stopped him.

“You’re that junior.” A ring of smoke gently swirled around his face. “Transferred here a few months ago. Kendra, right?”

Empath detected a quick shift. Irritation and anger smoothly transformed to calculating curiosity. The unusual degree of control set off my internal alarms.

I shouldn’t underestimate him.

I’m a fantasy writer who lives a slightly eccentric life with my accommodating husband and our charming, neurotic dog. I'm currently working on the Ondine Quartet, a young adult urban fantasy/paranormal series featuring a kick-ass heroine, powerful magic, and the complex world of water elementals.

I have a weird love of spreadsheets and organizational tools because they give me the illusion that I am somehow in control of the chaos that is my life. I adore beautiful art such as painting and sculpture, classical music, lyrical writing, and great graphic design. My all-time favorite books (as of this writing) are Immortality by Milan Kundera, 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Blog Tour: Pentimento by Cameron Jace [Blitz + Excerpt + Giveaway]

Title: Pentimento

Author: Cameron Jace

Date of Publication: December 20th, 2013

Genres: Paranormal, Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult

The day Iris Beaumont turns seventeen, she is threatened to be taken by the Beasts, the rulers of the new America. After the destruction of the world, the Beasts provide citizens with whatever they need in exchange for the one teenage girl they enslave every week. They call them the Brides, and they never comes back. Iris isn’t the worrying type though; she’s been defying the system since she was ten and never cared for the Beast’s rules. Then she meets Colton Ray, who is not like any other boy she’s ever seen. His confidence and dominance are otherworldly she can’t rationalize the attraction she feels for him. Colton had one slight problem though. It’s rumored he is one of the Beast, and Iris could be the next on the Beast’s list.

Amazon 

** The Book will be available after release date. **

The girls watched Eva Washington plod to her death. She shuffled barefoot on the red carpet, hardly breathing against the fear inhabiting her lungs. The tensed muscles in her face wrinkled the features of her adolescent beauty. Iris watched the sticky tears in Eva's eyes thicken, and probably blur her destination to the Beasts' glowing spaceship.

Although the sun showed no empathy, still splaying its bright rays upon the scene, the Beasts' spaceship shone an even brighter light toward her. It had always been this way. Iris thought it was ironic how the Beasts hid behind the glaring light. Instead of wearing metal armors or using the latest hologram technologies, they hid behind a light brighter than the sun.

"Someone should help her," Iris mumbled, Zoe still standing next to her. "Eva's crying so hard, she can't see."

"My mother says that it's better to die before staring in the eyes of the Beast." Zoe commented, not taking her eyes off Eva.

None of the girls were allowed to talk in the Ceremony of the Beast. They stood on both sides of the red carpet leading to the ship, silently witnessing one of their own being sacrificed. The ceremony was a reminder for other girls, a torturing memory. Iris always wondered how the Beasts selected their Brides. Was it some kind of lottery? Did they follow a list with names? A prophecy maybe? Or did they choose the most beautiful? Iris was sure it wasn't the latter option. Last time, the girl wasn't as beautiful as Eva. Not even close. But who knew what beauty looked like in the eyes of the Beast?

Eva was still walking toward the Beasts' ship. She wasn't permitted a stop of any kind. Every reluctant step Eva took closer, the girls on both sides did their best to silence their screams. Some of them wiped the trickling teardrops from their ripe cheeks. The punishment of sympathizing with the Bride was as horrible as Eva's inevitable fate. To the Beasts, this was a happy day, which led many to think the Beasts actually married the Brides. A disturbing suggestion, Iris had always thought.

A sudden cloud blocked the grinning sunlight, shading Eva's wedding dress with a gray stain. The chosen girls had to wear expensive, designer wedding dresses to meet the majestic Beasts. Like any normal wedding, each girl wore their best make up and had their hair styled.  It was a painful process, being groomed while knowing one's horrible fate. No one could protest. It was the Law of the Beasts.

All girls were given a beautiful bouquet of roses, which were either synthetic or polyester, but smelled like real roses. For some reason, most things in The Second were artificial. The roses, as well as the grass in the local park, were as dead as the high metallic skyscrapers.

Eva wiped the tears from her eyes and began throwing random gazes toward the girls on both sides. This was the same girl who was probably going to be the Prom Queen, the same girl that everyone envied in school, Colton’s girlfriend. Now her gaze was shattered, like splintered glass across the girls faces. She'd meet your eyes, but you'd think she wasn’t even there. She became hollow, a fading portrait, soon to disappear in the Beasts' light. And it wasn't funny. Even though Eva hadn't been kind to the average girls like Iris and Zoe, none of the girls loved to see her as a Bride. Any of them could be in her shoes next week.

For a moment, Iris thought Eva was looking for Colton. Boys weren't supposed to stand in the front rows. Only the second and third. The ceremony was a girls’ thing. There was nothing for the human boys to do here.

But each Bride had a father, a brother, or a boyfriend whose heart burned for her. But not even the strongest men in The Second defied the Beasts.

Empowered by wishful thinking, Eva stole a last glance into her phone, which she had been holding with shivering hands. She looked like she wished it hadn't been her ID showing on the screen. It was clearly hers.

"How could you be so cruel to me?" she snapped, talking to the ship's blinding light, still walking forward. "I was about to go to college next year. I was going to be engaged to Colton Ray next month!"

A number of girls let out short sighs. This was news to everyone. So their relationship was serious. Iris could feel Zoe's blaming eyes on her skin.

"What?" Iris fisted an angry hand. She wasn't going to hit Zoe.  She wanted to hit herself, for saying such a thing. The mere thought of her wish coming true was puzzling. "It's not like I'm a witch or something," she grumbled.

"We planned to get married while in college," Eva continued, shouting at the light. That silent light that told her what to do, but never talked back to her. "We've been planning to have two children; a boy named Jeremiah, and a girl named Flower."

Iris held a tear from being born in her eyes. No girl had talked to the Beasts this way before. Most of them sank to their knees, and pleaded that someone would help them and confront the Beasts. Some cried and fainted halfway through, until elders had to carry them as close as possible to the ship. And some prayed like in a chapel, brainwashed that this was their fate, and that they died as a sacrifice for the other girls to live--Iris wanted to kick-box those into the light.

But none of them had spoken in such an emotional way like Eva did.  Her words reminded everyone that someone's life and dreams were being killed today. The problem was that most elders thought of the Call of the Beasts like natural disasters. Earthquakes, hurricanes, and plane crashes. Stuff like that happened all the time. And the Beasts, who ruled their world, must have a wisdom behind it.

Iris, unusually vulnerable, pulled out Zoe's phone and took another peek. The screen didn't show Eva's name. The Beasts didn't believe in human names. It read: Beauty 57135LL; Eva's citizenship identification number in the United States of The Second.

The horn roared again, buzzing into each girl’s bones. Instead of an answer to her question, the unseen Beasts were urging Eva to step closer toward her death. The silliest thought crossed Iris's mind. What if she just ran into the ship and at least peeked in, to see what they looked like? If they had the right to take one of them, didn't they have the right to know who they were?

Before disappearing into the light, Eva took one last glance at the girls. She waved a weakened goodbye as the girls lowered their chins to their chest and laced their hands together. It was as if Eva, the school's queen bee, had turned into a contagious epidemic they preferred to avoid. Many girls were teary-eyed though. But most of them were glad they hadn’t been the one walking the red carpet.

Out of respect, Iris didn't lower her eyes. It was the least she could do. She was still fisting her hand, mad at herself for not standing up for Eva. It wasn't just the guilt moving her, but the fact that she could simply be next. Why wasn't anyone doing anything about it?

In an unexpected moment, Eva caught Iris's eyes, and nodded back, as if they had been lifelong friends and were now girl-coding each other. Iris glanced behind her for a second, not sure Eva meant her. Everyone else had their heads bowed to their chest. It was Iris Eva meant. Not only that. Eva mouthed something to Iris, something that gave her goosebumps on her skin, as Eva disappeared behind the light of the ship. Her darkest hour.

A second later, Iris caught sight of Colton standing second row on the other side. His blue eyes had turned into puddles of blurry tears. In front of him, girls raised their heads, most of them glad this was over. The ship's drone was deafening as it howled back up toward the sky.

Iris couldn't take her eyes off Colton, wondering if she should tell him what Eva mouthed to her. Who'd have thought that the queen bee, who treated her like shit, would ask this of her?

Wonderlander, Neverlander, Unicorn-chaser, enchanter, musician, survived a coma, & totally awesome. Sometimes I tell stories. Always luv the little monsters I write young adult paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and science fiction mostly. The Grimm Diaries series is a seven book saga that deals with retellings of fairy tales from a young adult POV - it connects most of the fairy tales together and claims to be the truth about fairy tales. I live in San Fransisco and seriously think circles are way cooler than triangles.

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