5 TO 1 by Holly Bodger: Review & Giveaway!!!

Given my love for this book I was more than happy to be part of the blog tour, and although I was not selected for the official blog tour, Hannah sent us all the info and the giveaway so we could share it too!

Today I'm sharing my review for this amazing book and don't forget to check out the giveaway at the end of the post!

Review

This book first captured me when I saw its gorgeous cover, because I absolutely adore the lovely mehendi art. And then when I read its summary, and how it promised a bit of dystopia with a sharp look at gender inequality and mixing prose and verse? I knew I had to get it!

I was beyond lucky to get an eARC thanks to the author and I ordered Indian food and started reading right away! I was extremely captivated by the narrative and I was once again surprised by how easy it is to read verse.

Having dual alternating POVs work if both sound distinctive and separate, so you could tell who are you reading about without having to read the header, and that's accomplished not only by having one in verse and the other in prose, but Sudasa and Kiran both have such distinctive voices! They come from opposite sides, but unknowingly to each other both disagree with the current state of affairs in Koyanagar.

The world building had a very interesting premise and one that works more brilliantly as a way to make you stop and think about the current state of affairs, and even more when we're presented with a society completely different, based on a big change and taking power and reversing it. And how power can affect and change the best intentions we might have... Absolute power corrups absolutely, and how sometimes reasons are not as good as we thought they were, when we bend them to serve other interests.

Although the main two characters are Sudasa and Kiran, there are other characters, some that we get to know by interacting with them and others that we just get to know by hearing about them, but all have substance and more to them than we would have expected at first.

One thing I loved that maybe not everyone will get so easily is how immersed we get to an Indian-like culture, since Koyanagan was part of India, and it was done so well, it made me feel like I was back in India! I can understand that without a glossary of some sort you might be confused about some terms and customs, but for someone that has spent quite a few months in India in the past, it was like meeting an old friend and it felt so very genuine.

I adored this book because it was told beautifully, it's full of food for thought and it's full of diversity anywhere you look! Diverse, beautiful and feminist... my only complain is that I would have wanted to continue reading more many more pages, so I am hoping we'll get a sequel!

Very much deserved 4.5 to 5 stars and one of my absolute favourite debuts of the year!

 5 TO 1 by Holly Badger

Publishing date: May 12th 2015
Knof Books for Young Readers

In the year 2054, after decades of gender selection, India now has a ratio of five boys for every girl, making women an incredibly valuable commodity. Tired of marrying off their daughters to the highest bidder and determined to finally make marriage fair, the women who form the country of Koyanagar have instituted a series of tests so that every boy has the chance to win a wife.

Sudasa, though, doesn't want to be a wife, and Kiran, a boy forced to compete in the test to become her husband, has other plans as well. As the tests advance, Sudasa and Kiran thwart each other at every turn until they slowly realize that they just might want the same thing.

This beautiful, unique novel is told from alternating points of view-Sudasa's in verse and Kiran's in prose-allowing readers to experience both characters' pain and their brave struggle for hope.

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 About Holly Bodger:


HOLLY BODGER has a BA in English Literature and has spent her entire career in publishing. She is an active member of RWA and is a 2013 Golden Heart finalist in the Young Adult category. She lives in Ottawa, Canada.

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Giveaway

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One Year Celebration: Happy 1st birthday to A Mad Wicked Folly!!

Welcome, welcome!

Come on over and have a cup of tea, grab a cupcake and make yourself comfy! Today I'm doing a small celebration in honour of the one year anniversary of one of my absolute favourite books from last year, the impressive debut YA novel of Sharon Biggs Waller, A Mad Wicked Folly!

I saw quite a few raging reviews for A Mad Wicked Folly from some trusted bloggers and when I decided to give it a try myself I was blown away and fell head over heels in love with the book! So much that whenever I've been asked about a book to recommend or to include in any sort of Top 10 list, it's quite probably the first one to pop into my mind, even if I read it in the first months of the year. You can check my review HERE.

I got to talk to the author, Sharon via Twitter and she was amazing and friendly and an absolute joy to talk to, and when I went on my "find myself alone" trip to the US, I met with her (and my dear Sarah!) for lunch and some historical sites visit in Chicago!

So when the idea of making a lil celebration for the book's first anniverasy of release day popped into my head, I asked her for an interview, and we had a wonderful Skype chat, with plenty of time rambling and talking not only about Folly, but about her upcoming book for 2016 and for the one that's asking to be written right after (which I'm DYING for now!!).

No celebration is complete without some sweet confections, and so I want to share again my Ink & Batter cupcakes inspired by A Mad Wicked Folly!

And now let's welcome Sharon Biggs Waller so she can tell us a bit more about her writing journey and her inspiration for A Mad Wicked Folly!


 A Mad Wicked Folly was your debut as a fiction writer, but you had written non-fiction before. How different is writing fiction vs non-fiction for you? 

Writing non-fiction is easier in a way, since you don't depend so much on inspiration to strike. You’re given someone to interview or a topic to write about, and you can jump right it. It’s important to find a good hook in order to draw people in—very much like you'd do with fiction. With non-fiction you can hit a deadline more easily as long as you have your information, but with fiction it depends on how well you know your characters and your story. That can take a lot of time.

When you moved into writing fiction, what made you choose historical fiction over other genres? 

When I was a park ranger I started out working at historical sites in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and I was responsible for writing and giving programs to the public and area schools. My specialty was the Voyageurs who had traveled through the area, trading with the Indians and settlers. I absolutely loved this part of my job. I was fascinated with the Voyageurs’ history and their personal stories.

So later when I started writing fiction, I wrote contemporary Judy Blume type stories and horse stories, which were popular and more marketable. But my imagination never really sparked to life until I returned to those stories from the past.

How did you choose the Edwardian era to start writing your first
story? What's your writing process like? 

I’d written two contemporary middle graders that didn't go anywhere. I had so much to learn so I started going to conferences, joining critique groups, reading lots of books on writing, and just learning the craft of writing fiction. When I moved to England my husband and I bought a beautiful Edwardian armoire and dressing table. I became fascinated by that era, and I started learning more about it.

As far as my writing process goes, once a story gets in my head it keeps on poking at me like "write me, write me now!" I start writing down ideas in notebooks—I usually end up with about three notebooks for each book. All the ideas, research, details, everything is in there. Every notebook has a key list for reference and also many colourful post-its! I'm not a “pantser” at all, but I don't write a formal outline either. Instead I write a list of short descriptions for important scenes that will tell the story. And then I imagine the entire story in my head before I start writing so I have a general idea of where it’s going to go. Until the story is at that point I don’t start writing, aside from bits of dialogue or description that I’m playing with, sort of how artists make informal sketches. It’s too easy for me to get sidetracked and I end up tearing out loads of stuff that doesn’t serve the story. (One time I dumped one hundred pages!) That kind of writing takes too much energy and it’s too painful to delete work.

Did Vicky as an artist arrive first or was the pledge & fight of the Suffragettes what solidify first in you mind once you chose the Edwardian era story? 

While I was living in England I’d often pass this statue of Emmeline Pankhurst and it inspired me to write about the suffragettes. At first Vicky came from a collection of stories I’d written that wasn’t really gelling as a book so I decided to work on her story only. I went through so many revisions with FOLLY. At first Vicky felt too sheltered and she lacked drive, so I thought I would give her a passion for something. I made her a jewelry maker but that wasn’t a good fit for her, so I passed to on to her friend Lucy. When I got to know her character better I realized she would make the perfect artist, especially one that refused to paint in the approved standards for women. Going for the forbidden art gave her the drive and motivation to fight for what she wanted out of life.

Given her fight, what do you think Vicky's opinion would be about all the girls that have been saying in social media that they're not feminists because those problems aren't theirs and don't concern them? 

First of all, Vicky would be fascinated by what's been achieved, and she'd want to wear jeans all the time! But she'd also be shocked about how sheltered some women can be given the fact that even if we've made a lot of progress, there's still a long way to go. In a place like the US there's problems with equal pay for equal work, no equality on political representation, and there’s still a limitation of reproductive rights for many women.

You posted a song on Facebook called Brave by Sara Bareilles and said that Vicky would have loved it. What part of the lyrics would have resonated the most with her? 

The song as a whole has a fantastic message to let yourself be heard and not to let other push you down, but these are the ones I'm sure Vicky will find most relatable to her situation:

Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live

Maybe one of these days you can let the light in

Show me how big your brave is 

Vicky lives in a golden cage, and she tries to find her voice but she keeps getting pushed down. She finally discovers that the way to make herself be heard is through her art.


And here's the video for the song that Sharon shared, and I have to agree with her that it's a great song, and one that reminds us to be brave and not be afraid to speak up for ourselves!




Thank you so much Sharon for a wonderful chat and so much information on your process and the world of Vicky!

And guys, you need to check this book out if you haven't yet! A must if you love historical fiction and if you don't think it's your genre, it might even change your mind!!