Find Your Book Idol

Hello Readers, 

If you know me in real life, you probably know how much I love the Ascendance Trilogy (which is now a series!) by Jennifer A. Nielsen. I have also most likely coerced you into reading The False Prince or at least made a valiant attempt (I have successfully made half my extended family, friends, and friends of friends invest in a copy). As a reader and fan, I have to admit that I am highly loyal to the books I covet– or stubbornly dedicated, whichever way you prefer to put it. 

Though I can't speak too much on the main characters or the plot given that Sage, the MC, keeps most of his motives and secrets close to the vest, I will say that there is something so lifelike and alluring about the way Nielsen wrote him. He leaps off the page with a mind of his own, which makes me believe the author when she says his voice in her head pushed him to write two more books. Knowing how completely my mind he's occupied my mind since the moment I cracked open the novel has kept me returning it and attempting to mimic the startling effect it has on my life and writing. When a fellow creative writing major told me during a workshop that my style reminded them of The False Prince, I just about shed a tear! 

Is this book for middle grade readers? Yes. Am I 21 years old and about to graduate college? Also yes. Do I love this series more than any 12 or 13 year old who picks it up? Ye– well, I can't completely speak on that. I can vouch for my longevity, though, as I have given those books a coveted place on my shelf longer than many of them have even been reading! Take that (only kidding– when anyone of any age tells me they've read it, I feel an almost personal surge of pride)!

Ultimately, it doesn't matter who a book was meant for, it matters that it touched your life in some irrevocable way, making it impossible to look into your psyche without seeing some sort of reference to it (at least, that's how I feel). That book could be a time-honored classic, YA romance, high fantasy, experimental, or even a nonfiction story, but the point is that your friendship with it doesn't involve the rest of the world when you sit down to read it. It's just you, a cup of coffee, and your favorite character. 

For this reason, I think it's important as a writer to lean into the inspiration you find in the books you read (while still finding your own style, of course). They are the reason you picked up a pen, after all! So read up on your favorite author, splurge on their books, and look to them as role models because they are the people who have paved the way for you to have your hand at telling a story. 

Me? I'll be re-reading The False Prince and dreaming of one day writing something as important to readers as that book is to me. 

P.S. I urge you to find a copy of The False Prince in your local library. 

P.P.S. This is in no way a sponsored post for the wonderful Jennifer A. Nielsen (ha!), as hard as I try to make myself a walking advertisement. Though if you see this, I am obsessed with your books and will tout their magic for as long as I shall live. Thank you for being one of my idols.