tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15393998251707026062024-02-18T18:53:15.149-08:00MeBookGeekoA LOVE AFFAIR WITH BOOKSUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539399825170702606.post-11755017471171658262013-06-24T09:41:00.001-07:002013-06-24T09:41:07.424-07:00Immortals Of Meluha Read-along:Week 3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwBS7RGF71F1BJNW2Mr604FALmMN60D-I69kTmf8_U6Ac0Yhs9kA0iMDPb5J3ZZ9HJiDhm5VD31zxe3kjZQA2yuo3_unDJB1H8knHYwGRKzpjUIjPxsEVlgyKu63r5JBv4sZUZfH4669A/s1600/Schedule+IOM11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwBS7RGF71F1BJNW2Mr604FALmMN60D-I69kTmf8_U6Ac0Yhs9kA0iMDPb5J3ZZ9HJiDhm5VD31zxe3kjZQA2yuo3_unDJB1H8knHYwGRKzpjUIjPxsEVlgyKu63r5JBv4sZUZfH4669A/s400/Schedule+IOM11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Namaste Dear Read-a-long Readers, Welcome to the 3</span><sup style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">rd</sup><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">
week discussion post of Immortals Of Meluha.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This event is hosed by Ankita @<a href="http://booklokcoffee.blogspot.in/" target="_blank">Booklok Coffee</a> , Sarika
and Janhvi @<a href="http://thereaddicts.blogspot.in/" target="_blank"> The Readdicts</a> and off course me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This discussion will be about chapter 15 to
chapter 21 that is From “Trial by Fire” to
“Preparation of War”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am not as smart as Sarika, her discussion was very
realistic,she focused on every characters and compared it with the originals with
photos (Heads Off to her MAN!)or Ankita(amazing writing style). </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So we will be
discussing only on STORY & CHARECTERSTICTS. Which is again divided into
questions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So Lets Get Started!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1. What is the significance of the title? If you
were the author what title you would give to the book ? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My Thoughts : I’ve really never given any thought
on the word “ Immortal “ before reading the book , but i come to know about the
significance of the title within 80 pages of the reading, In the chapter “ Tribe
of Brahma “. The title is perfect but there is more to the title then it
appears, If i were the author i would title this book as “ The Savoir of the
Suryavanshis “<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2. Has anything ever happened to you similar to
what happened in the book? How did you react to it differently?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My Thoughts : Yes, i sometimes find myself staring
at girls like shiva and also say stupid things when i am nervous,which can
easily make a girl uncomfortable . <b>AWKWARD</b>!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Refer chapter 3 : She enters her life. For some notable
quotes:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oh hell!That came out all wrong. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">O bloody hell! What am i saying? <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’m not going to impress her like this! <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Shit what am i saying?!<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sometimes i just keep talking without realising what am i
saying?<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3. What surprised you the most about the book?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My Thoughts : Well, thats hard ! Even reading
this book was surprising for me i never really thought i would read this book
but i did. There are a couple of things that surprised me like Shiva’s first dance
, but one scene in particular which surprised me the most was when sati was revealed
as a <b>VIKARMA,THE CARRIERS OF BAD FATE</b>.
I loved the way the scene was created : <i>a
short distance away on the main road,the procession of vikarma women walked
silently on...At the centre of the procession, unseen by shiva with her head
bowed low,draped in the blue angvastram that covered her from head to toe , her
face a picture of resigned dignity ,trudged the forlorn of sati.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4. How important is the setting & time period
to the story? How would it have played out differently in a different setting?
What about a different time period?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My Thoughts : Well, In the story the time period
did played an significant role. As the story was set in 1900 BC.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">5. Were there any particular quotes that stood
out to you? Why?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;">My Thoughts :</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;">Chapter 19 :Love Realised :“Life is long, And the
road to Mount Mandar is short. You are not going to get rid of me that easily”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Chapter 19 :Love Realised: Shiva & Sati first
night drama “ ‘The Neelkanth can do anything he wants.’ Oh Yes he can!” It was hilarious
!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And also the whole “THE SUN AND THE EARTH “ talk.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">6.Which character could you relate to best and
why? Talk about the secondary characters. Were they important to the story?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My Thoughts : There is not such character that i
can particular relate to. But i did quite liked the way the author described
the characters, i can actually picture each and every characters. I really
liked Nandi and Brahaspati the sciencetist. No offence but i do not like Sati
and sometimes shiva too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">7.How was the book structured?<span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;">My
Thoughts : The book is very complex. The number of characters was not too much
nor too less. It was very manageable to remember all the characters.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"> The author can use any structural or narrative devices like
flashbacks(except shiva’s dream about his past) or multiple voices in telling
the story. I really think it would take the book to another level.<span class="apple-converted-space"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;">8.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;">Lets talk about the author's use of language/writing style</span>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My Thoughts : As the story was set in 1900 B.C
Language does play an imported part in the story. I author did not do justice
with the language he used , sometime he uses the word like “Ayushman Bhav” and
the next thing that know that he uses the word like “nonsense” or “oxidants” or
that The language of Shiva was kind an issue for me. He uses Dammit! a lot.The
language was almost appropriate to the story. it Was neither poetic nor
vernacular.I think the author was fairly descriptive. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;">9. Lets talk about the plot</span>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My Thoughts : I like the way how the story pick
up. The first 7 chapters focused mainly on the background of the story like
Shiva, Sati, Lord Ram’s unfinished task ,Somras, Suryavanshi ,Chandravanshis
& The NAGAS. And the next 7 chapters focused on Shiva & Sati Romance,
journey through Meluha. And again next 7 chapters were mostly about WARS!! Can’t
wait to read the next few chapters.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">10.Finally, what else struck you about the book as good
or bad? What did you like or dislike about it that we haven't discussed
already? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My Thoughts : Oh Boy !! this could take a while.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While reading there were lot of moments when i
laughed my ass off, Like when shiva dances for the first time, it was an
element of surprise. Sword fighting of sati with the nagas. When shiva heard
sati dancing his HAIRS stand up(i mean what was that).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sometimes i feel that conversation were very
predictable, but overall the story was easy to go through. It really bugs me
out that shiva always keep saying that he just a normal person, how can he destroy
the evil. I like the efforts made by your Highness(Daksha) to bring shiva and
sati close. And off course the romance which make the story interesting . In
chapter Sati & the fire arrow it irritated me so much when Shiva says it
was Ayurvati who treated Sati, and Ayurvati says it was shiva who treated her(3-4
times they did continuously). FOR THE LOVE OF GOD IT WAS SOMRAS WHO TREATED HER
AND NOT HIM NOR HER!!. Also the in Trial by Fire Sati knife fighting scene has
been copied from a Chinese movie(i don’t remember the name).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">11.Were you glad you read this book? Did this book
make you want to read sequel?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My Thoughts : I guess YES!<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">12.One Last Funny Question ,If
you could smack any of the characters upside the head, who would it be and why?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My
Thoughts : Hmm.. Maybe the queen of THE
NAGAS!!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
hope you enjoy my discussion. Don’t forget to check out Jhanvi post next week @</span></span><a href="http://thereaddicts.blogspot.in/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;" target="_blank">The Readaddicts</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539399825170702606.post-15823216172737617722013-06-02T14:32:00.000-07:002013-06-01T22:38:24.270-07:00The Immortals of Meluha {READ ALONG}<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-weight: normal;">There’s this series
everyone’s been raving about, saying how awesome the characters are and how fun
the story is. And here I am and I’ve yet to read it. I don’t know about you,
but I hate being left out of the loop. Thanks to Sarika and Janvhi from </span><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://thereaddicts.blogspot.in/"><span style="color: #38761d; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Readdicts</span></a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-weight: normal;"> and Ankita form</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: normal;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://booklokcoffee.blogspot.in/"><span style="color: #274e13; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Booklokcoffee</span></a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">, I have this amazing opportunity to read. </span></span></i><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; color: #515151; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;"><i>and we are hoping you to join us!</i></span></span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLzJzEzn6N8ZuAkVhOHAowQcyb3DG_P7XWcRZZXMLW6ONF3HBtLENK5maUzX5P2FMJPW2qvQlbGqLwYprVUEDcmarbesJ0v6DfXF7wCTPvhcGQYU_81k4lQ1yHZjHns_bDo0SVc0z23Go/s1600/IOM+ReadAlong11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLzJzEzn6N8ZuAkVhOHAowQcyb3DG_P7XWcRZZXMLW6ONF3HBtLENK5maUzX5P2FMJPW2qvQlbGqLwYprVUEDcmarbesJ0v6DfXF7wCTPvhcGQYU_81k4lQ1yHZjHns_bDo0SVc0z23Go/s640/IOM+ReadAlong11.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></i></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818;"><br /></span></span></i></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">From Goodreads :</span></i></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818;">1900 BC. In what
modern Indians mistakenly call .The only hope for the Suryavanshis is an
ancient legend: When evil reaches epic proportions, when all seems lost, when
it appears that your enemies have triumphed, a hero will emerge.</span></i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818;">Is the rough-hewn
Tibetan immigrant Shiva, really that hero? And does he want to be that hero at
all? Drawn suddenly to his destiny, by duty as well as by love, will Shiva lead
the Suryavanshi vengeance and destroy evil?</span></i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818;">Is the rough-hewn Tibetan
immigrant Shiva, really that hero? And does he want to be that hero at all?
Drawn suddenly to his destiny, by duty as well as by love, will Shiva lead the
Suryavanshi vengeance and destroy evil?</span></i></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818;"><br /></span></i></span><i>HOSTS:</i></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://thereaddicts.blogspot.in/">The Readdicts</a></span></i></span></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i><a href="http://booklokcoffee.blogspot.in/">Booklokcoffee</a></i></span></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://booklokcoffee.blogspot.in/"><br /></a></span></i></span><i><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; color: #515151; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">We are going to kick the reading off on </span><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; color: #515151; line-height: 19px;">Sunday</span><strong style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; color: #515151; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, June 2th</strong><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; color: #515151; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;"> (that's Today) Then, we will reconvene every Sunday for four weeks to recap what we've read, discuss characterization, themes, etc., and perhaps commiserate with one another . Here is our reading schedule:</span></i></span></h2>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnCkQxJqhB0TL6pp9w1Eaq8ukuAYeX4nGMEaIOhcQ4Hha0vECUW6x9ia4twJf3rMW3H0tYTUY50fZkRR5RFqXq0AZZjT16lIX2-G53Cu7Y79gSjcUK6Xemu6vRX1TgWy1DHq6anGol_-s/s1600/Schedule+IOM11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnCkQxJqhB0TL6pp9w1Eaq8ukuAYeX4nGMEaIOhcQ4Hha0vECUW6x9ia4twJf3rMW3H0tYTUY50fZkRR5RFqXq0AZZjT16lIX2-G53Cu7Y79gSjcUK6Xemu6vRX1TgWy1DHq6anGol_-s/s640/Schedule+IOM11.jpg" width="640" /></a></h4>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; color: #515151; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">Have you been wanting to tackle this book, too? Or have you read it and want to reread it, offering the rest of us insight? Read along with us, stop by the blog, join in the discussion,</span></i><i style="font-weight: normal;">On the above mentioned dates we will be discussing about the book on our respected blogs . we will also keep our self updated through twitter, use the hashtag #IOMreadalong in your tweets.</i></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; font-weight: normal;">A</span><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; color: #515151; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">nd, if you so choose, post your thoughts on the reading on your own blog, and leave the link in the comments. </span><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; color: #515151; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If you do not have a blog, you are still welcome to join! Just leave your thoughts and updates on your progress in the comments.</span></span></i></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; color: #515151; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7f7c77;">Are you
participating in the readalong? Let me know and I'll stop by your blog!</span></i></span></h2>
<div>
<span style="color: #7f7c77; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Don't have the Book, not to worry ! You can buy it here :</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #7f7c77; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><a href="http://www.flipkart.com/the-immortals-of-meluha/p/itmdyuryk5wmksnv" target="_blank">Flipkart</a></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><a href="http://www.homeshop18.com/immortals-meluha/author:amish-tripathi/isbn:9789380658742/books/fiction/product:24395503/cid:11039/" target="_blank">Homeshop18</a></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.infibeam.com/Books/immortals-meluha-amish-triparthi/9789380658742.html" target="_blank"><i>Infibeam</i></a></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539399825170702606.post-11112991460616193092013-05-21T06:10:00.001-07:002013-05-21T06:10:34.743-07:00The Kings Of Summer Trailer<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Check Out The Trailer Guys:-</span></b><br />
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<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/cio8LOCZPzw" width="480"></iframe><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539399825170702606.post-63875368294504593762013-05-20T00:49:00.003-07:002013-05-20T00:59:48.124-07:00Glitches By Marissa Meyer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaWOXk4Gd3TqxAGO4wx6GwdqCJcEqOd9a1Ni4OuHB-bKA-8K3r2_iIT27kuqAGVhMokxEbJ2F527Z1ljFyr7R4Uwx5RDtRYNx3xnBEoFYUbawtcSbncKrLnjBejF6Qz1KU7ZYU5jZH0E/s1600/full_glitches_meyer_montes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaWOXk4Gd3TqxAGO4wx6GwdqCJcEqOd9a1Ni4OuHB-bKA-8K3r2_iIT27kuqAGVhMokxEbJ2F527Z1ljFyr7R4Uwx5RDtRYNx3xnBEoFYUbawtcSbncKrLnjBejF6Qz1KU7ZYU5jZH0E/s320/full_glitches_meyer_montes.jpg" width="251" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 20.1pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #363636; font-family: inherit; font-size: 17.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><i><b>Glitches<o:p></o:p></b></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="color: #448aae; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; letter-spacing: 1.4pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase; text-underline: none;">MARISSA MEYER</span><span style="color: #939598; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="color: #939598; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">illustration by</span><span style="color: #939598; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"> </span><span style="color: #448aae; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; letter-spacing: 1.4pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase; text-underline: none;">GONI MONTES</span><span style="color: #939598; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="color: dimgrey; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Presenting a new
science fiction original story, “Glitches,” by author Marissa Meyer, who’s
first novel </span><span style="color: #4f99b8; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Cinder</span><span style="color: dimgrey; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"> arrives on January 3rd. You can
find an excerpt </span><span style="color: #4f99b8; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">here</span><span style="color: dimgrey; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">, along with an option to purchase
further chapters.</span><span style="color: #363636; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="color: dimgrey; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Want to know how
the art for this came together? Check out sketches and alternate takes on
Cinder in Goni Montes’ </span><span style="color: #4f99b8; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">“Creating the Art” post</span><span style="color: dimgrey; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">.</span><span style="color: #363636; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="color: dimgrey; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Cinder, a gifted
mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past,
reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. In
“Glitches,” a short prequel story to </span><span style="color: dimgrey; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Cinder</span><span style="color: dimgrey; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">, we see the results of that
illness play out, and the emotional toll that takes on Cinder. Something that
may, or may not, be a glitch....</span></b></i></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="color: #363636; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<i style="color: #363636; font-family: inherit; line-height: 15.25pt;">“Are you ready to meet your new family?”</i><br />
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<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She tore her gaze away from the window, where snow
was heaped up on bamboo fences and a squat android was clearing a path through
the slush, and looked at the man seated opposite her. Though he’d been kind to
her throughout their trip, two full days of being passed between a hover, a
maglev train, two passenger ships, and yet another hover, he still had a
nervous smile that made her fidget.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Plus, she kept forgetting his name.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“I don’t remember the old family,” she said,
adjusting her heavy left leg so that it didn’t stick out quite so far between
their seats.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>His lips twisted awkwardly into an expression that
was probably meant to be reassuring, and this ended their conversation. His
attention fell down to a device he never stopped looking at, with a screen that
cast a greenish glow over his face. He wasn’t a very old man, but his eyes
always seemed tired and his clothes didn’t fit him right. Though he’d been
clean-cut when he first came to claim her, he was now in need of a razor.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She returned her gaze to the snow-covered street.
The suburb struck her as crowded and confused. A series of short one-story
shacks would be followed by a mansion with a frozen water fountain in its
courtyard and red-tiled roofs. After that, a series of clustered town houses
and maybe a run-down apartment complex, before more tiny shacks took over. It
all looked like someone had taken every kind of residence they could think of
and spilled them across a grid of roads, not caring where anything landed.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She suspected that her new home wasn’t anything
like the rolling farmland they’d left behind in Europe, but she’d been in such
a foggy-brained daze at the time that she couldn’t remember much of anything
before the train ride. Except that it had been snowing there, too. She was
already sick of the snow and the cold. They made her bones ache where her
fleshy parts were connected to her steel prosthetics.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She swiveled her gaze back toward the man seated
across from her. “Are we almost there?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>He nodded without looking up. “Almost, Cinder.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">Enfolding her fingers around the scar tissue on her
wrist, she waited, hoping he would say something else to ease her nerves, but
he didn’t seem the type to notice anyone’s anxiety above his own. She imagined
calling him</span><span style="color: #363636;"> Dad</span><span style="color: #363636;">, but the word was laughably unfamiliar, even
inside her head. She couldn’t even compare him with her real father, as her
memory had been reduced to a blank slate during the intrusive surgeries and all
she had left of her parents was their sterile identity profiles, with plain
photos that held no recognition and a tag at the top labeling them as</span><span style="color: #363636;"> </span><b><span style="color: #363636;">DECEASED</span></b><span style="color: #363636;">.
They’d been killed in the hover crash that had also claimed her leg and hand.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>As confirmed by all official records, there was no one
else. Cinder’s grandparents were also dead. She had no siblings. No aunts or
uncles or friends—at least, none willing to claim her. Perhaps there wasn’t a
human being in all of Europe who would have taken her in, and that’s why they’d
had to search as far as New Beijing before they found her a replacement family.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">She squinted, straining to remember who</span><span style="color: #363636;"> they </span><span style="color: #363636;">were. The faceless people who had pulled her from
the wreckage and turned her into</span><span style="color: #363636;"> this</span><span style="color: #363636;">. Doctors and surgeons, no doubt. Scientists.
Programmers. There must have been a social worker involved, but she couldn’t
recall for sure. Her memory gave her only dizzy glimpses of the French
countryside and this stranger sitting across from her, entranced by the device
in his hands.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Her new stepfather.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The hover began to slow, drifting toward the curb.
Its nose hit a snowbank and it came to a sudden shuddering stop. Cinder grabbed
the bar overhead, but the hover had already settled down, slightly off-kilter
in the packed snow.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Here we are,” said the man, eyes twinkling as the
hover door slid open.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She stayed plastered to her seat, her hand still
gripping the bar, as a gust of icy wind swirled around them. They’d arrived at
one of the tiny shack houses, one with peeling paint and a gutter that hung
loose beneath the weight of the snow. Still, it was a sweet little house, all
white with a red roof and enough dead branches sticking up from the ground that
Cinder could almost imagine a garden come springtime.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The man paid the hover with a swipe of his wrist,
then stepped out onto a pathway that had been plowed down to a sheet of ice.
The door to the house opened before he’d taken a step and two girls about
Cinder’s own age came barreling down the front steps, squealing. The man
crouched down on the pathway, holding out his arms as the girls launched
themselves into him.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>From her place inside the hover, Cinder heard the
man laugh for the first time.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>A woman appeared inside the doorway, belting a
quilted robe around her waist. “Girls, don’t suffocate your father. He’s had a
long trip.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Don’t listen to your mother, just this once. You
can suffocate me all you like.” He kissed his daughters on the tops of their
heads, then stood, keeping a firm grip on their hands. “Would you like to meet
your new sister?” he asked, turning back to face the hover. He seemed surprised
at the empty pathway behind him. “Come on out, Cinder.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She shivered and pried her hand away from the
safety bar. Sliding toward the door, she tried to be graceful stepping out onto
the curb, but the distance to the ground was shorter than she’d expected and
her heavy leg was inflexible as it crunched through the compact ice. She cried
out and stumbled, barely catching herself on the hover’s doorframe.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The man hurried back toward her, holding her up as
well as he could by the arm, one hand gripping her metal fingers. “It’s all
right, perfectly natural. Your muscles are weak right now, and it will take
time for your wiring to fully integrate with your nervous system.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder stared hard at the ground, shivering both
from cold and embarrassment. She couldn’t help finding irony in the man’s
words, though she dared not laugh at them—what did integrated wiring have to do
with being perfectly natural?<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Cinder,” the man continued, coaxing her forward,
“this is my eldest daughter, Pearl, and my youngest, Peony. And that is their
lovely mother, Adri. Your new stepmother.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She peered up at his two daughters from behind a
curtain of fine brown hair.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>They were both staring openly at her metal hand.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder tried to shrink away, but then the youngest
girl, Peony, asked, “Did it hurt when they put it on?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Steady on her feet again, Cinder pried her hand out
of the man’s hold and tucked it against her side. “I don’t remember.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“She was unconscious for the surgeries, Peony,”
said the man.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Can I touch it?” she asked, her hand already
inching forward.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“That’s enough, Garan. People are watching.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder jumped at the shrill voice, but when she
looked up, her “stepmother” was not looking at them, but at the house across
the street.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">Garan.</span><span style="color: #363636;"> </span><span style="color: #363636;">That
was the man’s name. Cinder committed it to memory as she followed Adri’s gaze
and saw a man staring at her through his front window.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“It’s freezing out here,” said Adri. “Pearl, go
find the android and have her bring in your father’s luggage. Peony, you can
show Cinder to her room.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">“You mean</span><span style="color: #363636;"> my </span><span style="color: #363636;">room,”
said Pearl, her lip curling as she began to shuffle back toward the house. “I’m
the oldest. I shouldn’t have to share with Peony.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>To Cinder’s surprise, the younger girl turned and
latched on to her arm, tugging her forward. She nearly slipped on the ice and
would have been embarrassed again, except she noticed that Peony’s feet were
slipping around too as she pulled Cinder ahead. “Pearl can take the room,” she
said. “I don’t mind sharing with Cinder.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Adri’s face was taut as she looked down at their
intertwined elbows. “Don’t argue with me, either of you.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Condensation sprang up on Cinder’s steel hand as
she went from the chilled air to the house’s warm entryway, but Peony didn’t
seem to notice as she led her toward the back of the house.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“I don’t know why Pearl’s upset,” she said,
shouldering open a door. “This is the smallest room in the house. Our bedroom
is much nicer.” Releasing Cinder, she went to pull open the blinds on the
single small window. “But look, you can see the neighbor’s cherry tree. It’s
really pretty when it blooms.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder didn’t follow her to the window, instead
casting her gaze around the room. It seemed small, but it was larger than the
sleeper car on the maglev train and she had no prior bedrooms to compare it
with. A mattress sat in the corner with blankets tucked neatly around its
sides, and a small dresser stood empty on the nearest wall.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">“Pearl used to have a netscreen in here, but Mom
moved it into the kitchen. You can come watch mine whenever you want to,
though. Do you like</span><span style="color: #363636;"> Nightmare
Island</span><span style="color: #363636;">? It’s my favorite drama.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">“Nightmare Island?” No sooner had Cinder said it
than her brain started streaming data across her vision.</span><span style="color: #363636;"> <b>A popular drama aimed at
teenage girls that includes a cast of thirty-six young celebrities who are
caught up in lies, betrayal, romance, and the scheme of a crazed scientist who—</b></span><span style="color: #363636;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of it!”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder scrunched her shoulders beside her ears.
“I’ve heard of it,” she said, blinking the data away. She wondered if there was
a way to get her brain to stop doing that every time she heard an unfamiliar
phrase. It had been happening almost nonstop since she’d woken up from the
surgery. “That’s the show with the crazed scientist, right? I’ve never seen it,
though.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Peony looked relieved. “That’s fine, I have a
subscription to the whole feed. We’ll watch it together.” She bounced on her
feet and Cinder had to tear her gaze away from the girl’s excitement. Her gaze
landed on a box half-tucked behind the door. A small pronged hand was hanging
over the edge.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“What’s this?” she said, leaning forward. She kept
her hands locked behind her back.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Oh, that’s Iko.” Abandoning the window, Peony
crouched down and scooted the box out from the wall. It was filled with random
android parts all jumbled together—the spherical body took up most of the
space, along with a glossy white head, a sensor lens, a clear bag filled with
screws and program chips. “She had some sort of glitch in her personality chip
and Mom heard that she could get more money for her if she sold her off in
pieces rather than as a whole, but nobody wanted them. Now she just sits here,
in a box.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder shuddered, wondering how common glitches
were in androids. Or cyborgs.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">“I really liked Iko when she was working. She was a
lot more fun than that boring garden android.” Peony picked up the thin metal
arm with the three prongs and held it up so that the fingers clicked together.
“We used to play dress-up together.” Her eyes lit up. “Hey, do</span><span style="color: #363636;"> you </span><span style="color: #363636;">like playing dress-up?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">Adri appeared in the doorway just as Cinder’s brain
was informing her that “dress-up” was</span><span style="color: #363636;"> <b>a game often played by children in
which costumes or adult clothes are used to aid in the process of imagination .
. .</b></span><span style="color: #363636;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">Obviously,</span><span style="color: #363636;"> </span><span style="color: #363636;">she
thought, sending the message away.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Well, Cinder?” said Adri, tightening her robe’s
belt again and surveying the small room with a pinched face. “Garan told me you
wouldn’t want for much. I hope this meets your expectations?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She looked around again, at the bed, the dresser,
the branches that would someday bloom in the neighbor’s yard. “Yes, thank you.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Adri rubbed her hands together. “Good. I hope
you’ll let me know if you need anything. We’re glad to share our home with you,
knowing what you’ve been through.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder licked her lips, thinking to say thank you
again, but then a small orange light flickered in her optobionics and she found
herself frowning. This was something new and she had no idea what it meant.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Maybe it was a sign of a brain malfunction. Maybe
this was a glitch.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Come along, Peony,” said Adri, stepping back into
the hall. “I could use some help in the kitchen.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“But Mom, Cinder and I were going to—”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">“</span><span style="color: #363636;">Now</span><span style="color: #363636;">, Peony.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Scowling, Peony thrust the android arm into Cinder’s
hand and followed after her mother.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder held up the limb and shook it at their
backs, making the lifeless fingers wave goodbye.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Six nights after she’d arrived at her new home,
Cinder awoke on fire. She cried out, tumbling off the mattress and landing in a
heap with a blanket wrapped like a tourniquet around her bionic leg. She lay
gasping for a minute, rubbing her hands over her arms to try and smother the
flames until she finally realized that they weren’t real.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>A warning about escalating temperatures flashed in
her gaze and she forced herself to lay still long enough to dismiss it from her
vision. Her skin was clammy, beads of sweat dripping back into her hair. Even
her metal limbs felt warm to the touch.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>When her breathing was under control, she pulled
herself up onto weak legs and hobbled to the window, thrusting it open and
drinking in the winter air. The snow had started to melt, turning into slush in
the daytime before hardening into glistening ice at night. Cinder stood for a
moment, reveling in the frosty air on her skin and entranced by how a nearly
full moon turned the world ghostly yellow. She tried to remember the nightmare,
but her memory only gave her fire and, after a minute, the sensation of
sandpaper in her mouth.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Shutting the window, she crept toward her bedroom
door, careful not to trip on the bag of secondhand clothes Pearl had
begrudgingly given to her the day before after her father had lectured her
about charity.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">She heard Adri’s voice before she</span><span style="color: #363636;"> </span><span style="color: #363636;">reached
the kitchen and paused, one hand balancing her on the wall as her body
threatened to tip toward its heavier left side.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">As she strained to hear, Adri’s voice grew steadily
louder, and Cinder realized with a jolt that Adri wasn’t</span><span style="color: #363636;"> speaking </span><span style="color: #363636;">louder, but rather something in her own head was
adjusting the volume on her hearing. She rubbed her palm against her ear,
feeling like there were a bug in it.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Four months, Garan,” Adri said. “We’re behind by
four months and Suki-jiĕ has already threatened to start auctioning off our
things if we don’t pay her soon.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“She’s not going to auction off our things,” said
Garan, his voice a strange combination of soothing and strained. Garan’s voice
had already become unfamiliar to Cinder’s ear. He spent his days out in a
one-room shed behind the house, “tinkering,” Peony said, though she didn’t seem
to know what exactly he was tinkering with. He came in to join his family for
meals, but hardly ever talked and Cinder wondered how much he heard, either.
His expression always suggested his mind was very far away.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">“Why</span><span style="color: #363636;"> shouldn’t </span><span style="color: #363636;">she sell off our things? I’m sure I would in her
place!” Adri said. “Whenever I have to leave the house, I come home wondering
if this will be the day our things are gone and our locks are changed. We can’t
keep living on her hospitality.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“It’s going to be all right, love. Our luck is
changing.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Our luck!” Adri’s voice spiked in Cinder’s ear and
she flinched at the shrillness, quickly urging the volume to descend again. It
obeyed her command, through sheer willpower. She held her breath, wondering
what other secrets her brain was keeping from her.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">“</span><span style="color: #363636;">How</span><span style="color: #363636;"> </span><span style="color: #363636;">is
our luck changing? Because you won a silver ribbon at that fair in Sydney last
month? Your stupid awards aren’t going to keep food on this table, and now
you’ve brought home one more mouth—and a</span><span style="color: #363636;"> cyborg </span><span style="color: #363636;">at that!”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“We talked about this . . .”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">“No,</span><span style="color: #363636;"> you </span><span style="color: #363636;">talked about this. I want to support you, Garan,
but these schemes of yours are going to cost us everything. We have our own
girls to think about. I can’t even afford new shoes for Pearl and now there’s
this creature in the house who’s going to need . . . what? A new</span><span style="color: #363636;"> foot </span><span style="color: #363636;">every six months?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Shriveling against the wall, Cinder glanced down at
her metal foot, the toes looking awkward and huge beside the fleshy ones—the
ones with bone and skin and toenails.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Of course not. She’ll be fine for a year or two,”
said Garan.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Adri stifled a hysterical laugh.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“And her leg and fingers can be adjusted as she
grows,” Garan continued. “We shouldn’t need replacements for those until she
reaches adulthood.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder lifted her hand into the faint light coming
down the hallway, inspecting the joints. She hadn’t noticed how the knuckles
were fitted together before, the digits nestled inside each other. So this hand
could grow, just like her human hand did.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Because she would be stuck with these limbs
forever. She would be cyborg forever.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">“Well how</span><span style="color: #363636;"> comforting</span><span style="color: #363636;">,” said Adri. “I’m glad to see you’ve given this so
much thought.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Have faith, love.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">Cinder heard a chair being pushed back and backed
up into the hallway, but all that followed was the sound of running water from
the faucet. She pressed her fingers over her mouth, trying to feel the water
through psychokinesis, but even</span><span style="color: #363636;">her</span><span style="color: #363636;"> </span><span style="color: #363636;">brain
couldn’t quench her thirst on sound alone.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“I have something special to reveal at the Tokyo
Fair in March,” Garan said. “It’s going to change everything. In the meantime,
you must be patient with the child. She only wants to belong here. Perhaps she
can help you with the housework, until we can get that android replaced?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Adri scoffed. “Help me? What can she do, dragging
that monstrosity around?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder cringed. She heard a cup being set down,
then a kiss. “Give her a chance. Maybe she’ll surprise you.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She ducked away at the first hint of a footstep,
creeping back into her room and shutting the door. She felt that she could have
wept from thirst, but her eyes stayed as dry as her tongue.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Here, you put on the green one,” said Peony,
tossing a bundle of green and gold silk into Cinder’s arms. She barely caught
it, the thin material slipping like water over her hands. “We don’t have any
real ball gowns, but these are just as pretty. This is my favorite.” Peony held
up another garment, a swath of purple and red fabric decorated with soaring
cranes. She strung her bony arms through the enormous sleeves and pulled the
material tight around her waist, holding it in place while she dug through the
pile of clothes for a long silver sash and belted it around her middle. “Aren’t
they beautiful?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder nodded uncertainly—although the silk kimonos
were perhaps the finest things she’d ever felt, Peony looked ridiculous in
hers. The hem of the gown dragged a foot on the floor, the sleeves dangled
almost to her knees, and street clothes still peeked through at her neck and
wrists, ruining the illusion. It almost looked like the gown was trying to eat
her.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Well put yours on!” said Peony. “Here, this is the
sash I usually put with that one.” She pulled out a black and violet band.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder tentatively stuck her hands into the
sleeves, taking extra care that no screws or joints caught the fine material.
“Won’t Adri be mad?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Pearl and I play dress-up all the time,” said
Peony, looping the sash around Cinder’s waist. “And how are we supposed to go
to the ball if we don’t have any beautiful dresses to wear?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder raised her arms, shaking the sleeves back.
“I don’t think my hand goes with this one.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Peony laughed, though Cinder hadn’t meant it to be
funny. Peony seemed to find amusement with almost everything she said.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Just pretend you’re wearing gloves,” said Peony.
“Then no one will know.” Grabbing Cinder by the hand, she pulled her across the
hall and into the bathroom so they could see themselves in the mirror. Cinder
looked no less absurd than Peony, with her fine, mousy hair hanging limp past
her shoulders and awkward metal fingers poking out of the left sleeve.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Perfect,” said Peony, beaming. “Now we’re at the ball.
Iko used to always be the prince, but I guess we’ll have to pretend.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“What ball?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Peony stared back at her in the mirror as if Cinder
had just sprouted a metal tail. “The ball for the peace festival! It’s this
huge event we have every year—the festival is down in the city center and then
in the evening they have the ball up at the palace. I’ve never gone for real,
but Pearl will be thirteen next year so she’ll get to go for the first time.”
She sighed and spun out into the hallway. Cinder followed, her walking made
even more cumbersome than usual with the kimono trailing on the ground.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“When I go for the first time, I want a purple
dress with a skirt so big I can hardly fit through the door.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“That sounds uncomfortable.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Peony wrinkled her nose. “Well it has to be
spectacular, or else Prince Kai won’t notice me, and then what’s the point?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder was almost hesitant to ask as she followed
flouncing Peony back into her bedroom—“Who’s Prince Kai?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">Peony spun toward her so fast, she tripped on the
skirts of Adri’s kimono and fell, screaming, onto her bed. “</span><span style="color: #363636;">Who’s Prince Kai?</span><span style="color: #363636;">” she yelled, struggling to sit back up. “Only my
future husband! Honestly, don’t girls in Europe know about him?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder teetered between her two feet, unable to
answer the question. After twelve whole days living with Peony and her family,
she already had more memories of the Eastern Commonwealth than she had of
Europe. She hadn’t the faintest idea what—or who—the girls in Europe obsessed
over.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Here,” said Peony, scrambling across her messy
blankets and grabbing a portscreen off the nightstand. “He’s my greeter.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She turned the screen on and a boy’s voice said,
“Hello, Peony.” Cinder shuffled forward and took the small device from her. The
screen showed a boy of twelve or thirteen years old wearing a tailored suit
that seemed ironic with his shaggy black hair. He was waving at someone—Cinder
guessed the photo was from some sort of press event.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Isn’t he gorgeous?” said Peony. “Every night I tie
a red string around my finger and say his name five times because this girl in
my class told me that will tie our destinies together. I know he’s my soul
mate.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder listed her head, still staring at the boy.
Her optobionics were scanning him, finding the picture in some database in her
head, and, this time, she expected the stream of text that began to filter
through her brain. His ID number, his birth date, his full name and title.
Prince Kaito, Crown Prince of the Eastern Commonwealth.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“His arms are too long for his body,” she said
after a while, finally picking up on what didn’t feel right about the picture.
“They’re not proportionate.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“What are you talking about?” Peony snatched the
port away and stared at it for a minute before tossing it onto her pillow.
“Honestly, who cares about his arms?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder shrugged, unable to smother a slight grin.
“I was only saying.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">Harrumphing, Peony swung her legs around and hopped
off the bed. “Fine, whatever. Our hover is here. We’d better get going or we’ll
be late for the ball, where</span><span style="color: #363636;"> I </span><span style="color: #363636;">am going to dance with His Imperial Highness, and</span><span style="color: #363636;"> you </span><span style="color: #363636;">can dance with whoever you would like to. Maybe
another prince. We should make one up for you. Do you want Prince Kai to have a
brother?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“What are you two doing?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder spun around. Adri was looming in the
doorway—again her footsteps had gone unnoticed and Cinder was beginning to
wonder if Adri was really a ghost that floated through the hallways rather than
walked.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“We’re going to the ball!” Peony said.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Adri’s face flushed as her gaze dropped down the
silk kimono hanging off Cinder’s shoulders. “Take that off this instant!”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Shrinking back, Cinder instantly began undoing the
knot that Peony had tied around her waist.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Peony, what are you thinking? These garments are
expensive and if she got snagged—if the lining—” Stepping forward, she grabbed
the collar of the dress, peeling it off Cinder as soon as the sash was free.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“But you used to let Pearl and me—”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">“Things are</span><span style="color: #363636;"> different </span><span style="color: #363636;">now, and you are to leave my things alone. Both of
you!”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Scowling, Peony started unwrapping her own dress.
Cinder bit the inside of her cheek, feeling oddly vulnerable without the heavy
silk draped around her and sick to her stomach with guilt, though she wasn’t
sure what she had to be guilty about.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Cinder.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She dared to meet Adri’s gaze.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“I came to tell you that if you are to be a part of
this household, I will expect you to take on some responsibilities. You’re old
enough to help Pearl with her chores.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She nodded, almost eager to have something to do
with her time when Peony wasn’t around. “Of course. I don’t want to be any
trouble.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Adri’s mouth pursed into a thin line. “I won’t ask
you to do any dusting until I can trust you to move with a bit of grace. Is
that hand water resistant?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder held out her bionic hand, splaying out the
fingers. “I . . . I think so. But it might rust . . . after a while . . .”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Fine, no dishes or scrubbing, then. Can you at
least cook?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder wracked her brain, wondering if it could
feed her recipes as easily as it fed her useless definitions. “I never have
before, that I can remember. But I’m sure . . .”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">Peony threw her arms into the air. “Why don’t we
just get Iko fixed and then</span><span style="color: #363636;"> she</span><span style="color: #363636;">can do all the housework like she’s supposed to?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">Adri’s eyes smoldered as she looked between her
daughter and Cinder. “Well,” she said, finally, snatching up the two kimonos
and draping them over her arm. “I’m sure we’ll be able to find</span><span style="color: #363636;"> some use </span><span style="color: #363636;">for you. In the meantime, why don’t you leave my
daughter alone so she can get some of her schoolwork accomplished?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“What?” said Peony. “But we haven’t even gotten to
the ball yet.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder didn’t wait to hear the argument she
expected to follow. “Yes, stepmother,” she murmured, ducking her head. She
slipped past Adri and made her way to her own room.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Her insides were writhing but she couldn’t pinpoint
the overruling emotion. Hot anger, because it wasn’t her fault that her new leg
was awkward and heavy, and how was she to know Adri wouldn’t want them playing
in her things?<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>But also mortification because maybe she really was
useless. She was eleven years old, but she didn’t know anything, other than the
bits of data that seemed to serve no purpose other than to keep her from
looking like a complete idiot. If she’d had any skills before, she had no idea
what they had been. She’d lost them now.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Sighing, she shut her bedroom door and slumped
against it.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The room hadn’t changed much in the almost two
weeks since she’d come to call it home, other than the cast-off clothes that
had been put into the dresser drawers, a pair of boots tossed into a corner,
the blankets bundled up in a ball at the foot of her bed.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Her eyes landed on the box of android parts that
hadn’t been moved from their spot behind the door. The dead sensor, the spindly
arms.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>There was a bar code printed on the back of the
torso that she hadn’t noticed before. She barely noticed it then, except that
her distracted brain was searching for the random numbers, downloading the
android’s make and model information. Parts list. Estimated value. Maintenance
and repair manual.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Something familiar stirred inside her, like she
already knew this android. How its parts fit together, how its mechanics and
programming all functioned as a whole. Or no, this wasn’t familiarity, but . .
. a connectedness. Like she knew the android intimately. Like it was an
extension of her.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She pushed herself off the door, her skin tingling.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Perhaps she had one useful skill after all.</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>It took three days, during which she only emerged
from her room to sit for meals with her new family and, once, to play in the
snow with Peony while Adri and Pearl were at the market. Her metal limbs had
frosted over with cold by the time they were done, but coming inside to a pot
of green tea and the flush of shared laughter had quickly warmed her back up.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Adri had not asked Cinder to take on any household
chores again, and Cinder imagined it seemed a lost cause to her stepmother. She
stayed hopeful though, as the jumble of android pieces gradually formed into
something recognizable. A hollow plastic body atop wide treads, two skinny
arms, a squat head with nothing but a cyclops sensor for a face. The sensor had
given her the most trouble and she had to redo the wiring twice,
triple-checking the diagram that had downloaded across her eyesight, before she
felt confident she’d gotten it right.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>If only it worked. If only she could show to Adri,
and even Garan, that she wasn’t a useless addition to their family after all.
That she was grateful they’d taken her in when no one else would. That she
wanted to belong to them.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She was sitting cross-legged on her bed with the
window open behind her, allowing in a chilled but pleasant breeze, when she
inserted the final touch. The small personality chip clicked into place and
Cinder held her breath, half-expecting the android to perk up and swivel around
and start talking to her, until she remembered that she would need to be
charged before she could function.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Feeling her excitement wane from the anticlimactic
finale, Cinder released a slow breath and fell back onto her mattress, mentally
exhausted.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>A knock thunked against the door.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Come in,” she called, not bothering to move as the
door creaked open.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“I was just wondering if you wanted to come watch—”
Peony fell silent and Cinder managed to lift her head to see the girl gaping
wide-eyed at the android. “Is that . . . Iko?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Grinning, Cinder braced herself on her elbows. “She
still needs to be charged, but I think she’ll work.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">Jaw still hanging open, Peony crept into the room.
Though only nine years old, she was already well over a foot taller than the
squat robot. “How . . .</span><span style="color: #363636;"> how? </span><span style="color: #363636;">How did you fix it?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“I had to borrow some tools from your dad.” Cinder
gestured to a pile of wrenches and screwdrivers in the corner. She didn’t
bother to mention that he hadn’t been in his workshop behind the house when
she’d gone to find them. It almost felt like theft and that thought terrified
her, but it wasn’t theft. She wasn’t going to keep the tools, and she was sure
Garan would be delighted when he saw she’d fixed the android.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“That’s not . . .” Peony shook her head and finally
looked at Cinder. “You fixed her by yourself?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder shrugged, not sure whether she should feel
proud or uncomfortable at the look Peony was giving her. “It wasn’t that hard,”
she said. “I had . . . I can download . . . information. Instructions. Into my
head. And I figured out how to get the android’s blueprint to go across my
vision so I could . . .” She trailed off, realizing that what she’d been sure
was a most useful skill was also one more strange eccentricity her body could
claim. One more side-effect of being cyborg.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>But Peony’s eyes were twinkling. “You’re kidding,”
she said, picking up one of Iko’s hands and waggling it around. Cinder had been
sure to thoroughly grease it so the joints wouldn’t seize up. “What else can
you do?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Um.” Cinder hunched her shoulders, considering. “I
can . . . make stuff louder. I mean, not really, but I can adjust my hearing so
it seems louder. Or quieter. I could probably mute my hearing if I wanted to.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Peony laughed. “That’s brilliant! You’d never have
to hear Mom when she’s yelling! Aw, I’m so jealous!” Beaming, she started to
drag Iko toward the door. “Come on, there’s a charging station in the hallway!”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder hopped off the bed and followed her to a
docking station at the end of the hall. Peony plugged Iko in and, instantly, a
faint blue light started to glow around the plug.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Peony had raised hopeful eyes to Cinder when the
front door opened and Garan stumbled into the hallway, his hair dripping. He
wasn’t wearing his coat.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>He started when he saw the girls standing there.
“Peony,” he said, short of breath. “Where’s your mother?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She glanced over her shoulder. “In the kitchen, I
thi—”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Go fetch her. Quickly, please.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Peony stalled, her face clouding with worry, before
hurrying toward the kitchen.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Intertwining her fingers, Cinder slid in closer to
the android. It was the first time she’d been alone with Garan since their long
trip and she expected him to say something, to ask how she was getting along or
if there was anything she needed—he’d certainly asked that plenty of times
while they were traveling—but he hardly seemed to notice her standing there.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“I fixed your android,” she said finally, her voice
squeaking a little. She grabbed the android’s limp arm, as if to prove it,
though the hand did nothing but droop.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Garan turned his distraught gaze on her and looked
for a moment like he was going to ask who she was and what she was doing in his
house. He opened his mouth but it took a long time for any words to form.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Oh, child.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">She frowned at the obvious pity. This was not a
reaction she’d expected—he was not impressed, he was not grateful. Thinking he
must not have heard her correctly, she went to repeat herself—no, she’d</span><span style="color: #363636;"> fixed </span><span style="color: #363636;">the android—when Adri came around the corner,
wearing the robe she always wore when she wasn’t planning on going out. She had
a dish towel in her hand and her two daughters trailing in her wake.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Garan?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>He stumbled back, slamming his shoulder hard into
the wall, and everyone froze.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Don’t—” he stammered, smiling apologetically as a
droplet of water fell onto his nose. “I’ve called for an emergency hover.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The curiosity hardened on Adri’s face. “Whatever
for?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder pressed herself as far as she could into the
wall, feeling like she was pinned between two people who hadn’t the faintest
idea she was standing there.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Garan folded his arms, starting to shiver. “I’ve
caught it,” he whispered, his eyes beginning to water.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder glanced back at Peony, wondering if these
words meant something to her, but no one was paying Cinder any attention.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“I’m sorry,” said Garan, coughing. He shuffled back
toward the door. “I shouldn’t even have come inside. But I had to say . . . I
had to . . .” He covered his mouth and his entire body shook with a cough, or a
sob, Cinder couldn’t tell which. “I love you all so much. I’m so sorry. I’m so,
so sorry.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">“Garan.” Adri took half a step forward, but her
husband was already turning away. The front door shut a second later, and Pearl
and Peony cried out at the same time and rushed forward, but Adri caught them
both by their arms. “</span><span style="color: #363636;">Garan!</span><span style="color: #363636;"> </span><span style="color: #363636;">No—you
girls, stay here. Both of you.” Her voice was trembling as she pulled them
back, before chasing after Garan herself, her night robe swishing against
Cinder’s legs as she passed.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder inched forward so she could see the door
being swung open around the corner. Her heart thumped like a drum against her
ribs.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“GARAN!” Adri screamed, tears in her voice. “What
are you—you can’t go!”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder was slammed against the wall as Pearl tore
past her, screaming for her father, then Peony, sobbing.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">No one paused. No one looked at Cinder or the
android in their hurry for the door. Cinder realized after a moment that she
was still gripping the android’s skeletal arm, listening. Listening to the sobs
and pleas, the</span><span style="color: #363636;"> No</span><span style="color: #363636;">s, the</span><span style="color: #363636;"> Daddy</span><span style="color: #363636;">s.
The words echoed off the snow and back into the house.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Releasing the android, Cinder hobbled forward. She
reached the threshold that overlooked the blindingly white world and paused.
Adri and Pearl and Peony were on their knees in the cleared pathway, slush
soaking into their clothes, while Garan stood on the curb, a forgotten hand
still pressed over his mouth. He looked as if the slightest wind would blow him
over into the snowdrifts.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder heard sirens.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“What am I supposed to do?” Adri screamed, her arms
covered in goose bumps as they gripped her children against her. “What will I
do?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>A door slammed and Cinder looked up. The old man across
the street was on his doorstep. More neighbors were emerging—at doors and
windows, their gazes bright with curiosity.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">Adri sobbed louder, and Cinder returned her
attention to the family—her new family—and realized that Garan was watching</span><span style="color: #363636;"> her</span><span style="color: #363636;">.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She stared back, her throat burning from the cold.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The sirens became louder and Garan glanced down at
his huddled wife, his terrified daughters. “My girls,” he said, trying to
smile, and then a white hover with flashing lights turned the corner, screaming
its arrival.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder ducked back into the doorway as the hover
slid up behind Garan and settled into the snow. Two androids rolled out of its
side door with a gurney hovering between them. Their yellow sensors flashed.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“A comm was received at 17:04 regarding a victim of
letumosis at this address,” said one of the androids in a sterile voice.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“That’s me,” Garan choked—his words instantly
drowned out by Adri’s screaming, “NO! Garan! You can’t. You can’t!”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Garan attempted a shaken smile and held out his
arm. He rolled up his sleeve and even from her spot on the doorstep Cinder
could see two dark spots on his wrist. “I have it. Adri, love, you must take
care of the girl.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">Adri pulled back as if he’d struck her. “</span><span style="color: #363636;">The girl?</span><span style="color: #363636;">”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Pearl, Peony,” Garan continued as if she hadn’t
spoken, “be good for your mother. Never forget that I love you so, so very
much.” Releasing the hard-won smile, he perched himself uncertainly on the
floating gurney.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Lay back,” said one of the androids. “We will
input your identification into our records and alert your family immediately of
any changes in your condition.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">“No, Garan!” Adri clambered to her feet, her thin
slippers sliding on the ice and nearly sending her onto her face as she
struggled to rush after her husband. “You can’t leave me. Not by myself, not
with . . . not with this</span><span style="color: #363636;"> thing!</span><span style="color: #363636;">”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder shuddered and wrapped her arms around her
waist.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Please stand back from the letumosis victim,” said
one of the androids, positioning itself between Adri and the hover as Garan was
lifted into its belly.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Garan, no! NO!”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Pearl and Peony latched back on to their mother’s
sides, both screaming for their father, but perhaps they were too afraid of the
androids to go any closer. The androids rolled themselves back up into the
hover. The doors shut. The sirens and the lights filled up the quiet suburb
before fading slowly away. Adri and her daughters stayed clumped together in
the snow, sobbing and clutching each other while the neighbors watched. While
Cinder watched, wondering why her eyes stayed so dry—stinging dry—when dread
was encompassing her like slush freezing over.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“What’s happened?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder glanced down. The android had woken up and
disconnected herself from the charging station and now stood before her with
her sensor faintly glowing.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She’d done it. She’d fixed the android. She’d
proven her worth.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>But her success was drowned out by their sobs and
the memory of the sirens. She couldn’t quite grasp the unfairness of it.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“They took Garan away,” she said, licking her lips.
“They called him a letumosis victim.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>A series of clicks echoed inside the android’s
body. “Oh, dear . . . not Garan.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #363636;">Cinder barely heard her. In saying the words, she
realized that her brain had been downloading information for some time, but
she’d been too caught up in everything to realize it. Now dozens of useless
bits of information were scrolling across her vision.</span><b><span style="color: #363636;"> Letumosis, also called the Blue
Fever or the Plague, has claimed thousands of lives since the first known
victims of the disease died in northern Africa in May of 114 T.E. . . . </span></b><span style="color: #363636;">Cinder read faster, scanning until she found the
words that she feared, but had somehow known she would find.</span><span style="color: #363636;"> <b>To date, there have been
no known survivors.</b></span><span style="color: #363636;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Iko was speaking again and Cinder shook her head to
clear it. “—can’t stand to see them cry, especially lovely Peony. Nothing makes
an android feel more useless than when a human is crying.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Finding it suddenly hard to breathe, Cinder
deserted the doorway and slumped back against the inside wall, unable to listen
to the sobs any longer. “You won’t have to worry about me, then. I don’t think
I can cry anymore.” She hesitated. “Maybe I never could.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Is that so? How peculiar. Perhaps it’s a
programming glitch.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She stared down into Iko’s single sensor. “A
programming glitch.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Sure. You have programming, don’t you?” She lifted
a spindly arm and gestured toward Cinder’s steel prosthetic. “I have a glitch,
too. Sometimes I forget that I’m not human. I don’t think that happens to most
androids.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cinder gaped down at Iko’s smooth body, beat-up
treads, three-fingered prongs, and wondered what it would be like to be stuck
in such a body and not know if you were human or robot.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>She raised the pad of her finger to the corner of
her right eye, searching for wetness that wasn’t there.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 15.25pt; margin-bottom: 9.7pt;">
<span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Right. A glitch.” She feigned a nonchalant smile,
hoping the android couldn’t detect the grimace that came with it. “Maybe that’s
all it is.”</i></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539399825170702606.post-35704078026281241402013-05-18T03:54:00.003-07:002013-05-18T08:04:45.115-07:00Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<h2>
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVdjtejSBmk4X2aGnDFr6O7fE00bJDVg1Ex2xXUALWLuOmbz0bO8wMjNiE6bxLdVq1JcoXBfj0yLUGWttwGzAOIKeWPW4H9JMA6Hps71Y5WsdgyW30MVTvrtq9G6TnDwp96BX9PLdT-Qo/s1600/331920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVdjtejSBmk4X2aGnDFr6O7fE00bJDVg1Ex2xXUALWLuOmbz0bO8wMjNiE6bxLdVq1JcoXBfj0yLUGWttwGzAOIKeWPW4H9JMA6Hps71Y5WsdgyW30MVTvrtq9G6TnDwp96BX9PLdT-Qo/s320/331920.jpg" width="207" /></span></i></a><span style="font-size: small;"><i><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-weight: normal;">Author: Wendelin Van Draanen</span></i></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-weight: normal;"> </i></i></span></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><i style="text-align: justify;"><i> No. Of Pages: 224</i></i><i><i> Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers</i></i><i><i> </i></i></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><i style="font-weight: normal;"> Publication Date: October 9, 2001</i></i></span></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><i> Rating: 5 Hearts</i></i></span></span>
<i style="font-style: italic;"><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="font-style: italic;"><br /></i></span><div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; text-align: justify;">My Verdict :</i></div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="background-color: white;">The first time she saw Bryce Loski, she flipped. The first time he saw
Juli Baker, he ran. For six years these neighbors had played the same game of
cat-and-mouse (Juli was the cat; Bryce was the unfortunate mouse). </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="background-color: white;">For years Juli dreamed of one thing: her first
kiss from the boy with those gorgeous baby blues eyes . Nothing else seemed to
matter. But when Juli’s favorite sycamore tree is threatened by developers,
things begin to change. She begins to see things and places and people in a
different light. Things, for years, she thought to be important, become things
she can live without; and people she thought to be the center of her universe,
become nothing more than a star in a far away galaxy.</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i>Things begin changing with Bryce also. It all begins with the
eggs…which then cause a domino effect of changes with his relationships with
his best friend, his father, the Bakers and, ultimately, Juli.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i>I had seen this book on the
shelf at bookstores for years, but never bothered to pick it up, Until I heard
about Flipped the movie. I read an interview with Callan McAuliffe (the actor
who portrays Bryce) and thought that Flipped was a romance right up my alley;
cute and innocent After reading the interview and a summary of the movie, I
found the plot-line to be somewhat appealing and a definite breath of fresh air
opposed to the dark material I have been recently reading and writing. I found
the book a few days later in a cornerbookstore and finished it in one seating.<span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i>The story isn’t what you
would consider deep…it isn’t shallow and pointless either…I guess you could say
it’s the perfect balance of life-lessons and innocence. <span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i>You read about Bryce and
Juli (each from their own points of view) and how, throughout six years, their
lives and views and opinions change and develop. Flipped is somewhat of a
coming of age story about two kids learning to see life from the other’s point
of view and learning that growing up isn’t about staying the same, but
changing; changing likes and dislikes; changing friends and crushes and views
on family.<span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i>Uniquely written, every
other chapter showing the same scenes and events, only from the other’s point
of view, you see how the saying, “Two sides to every story,” is true. You are
able to see both Juli and Bryce’s reasons for doing what they do and saying
what they say…not just what the other sees.<span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i>It will be interesting to
see how this writing style comes into play in the movie. Overall I thought this
story was incredibly cute and light-hearted, although it didn’t entirely meet
my expectations. Especially the ending.(i am being harsh here) I felt as though
it ended quite abruptly and that there was more story that needed to be
told. (may be i don't want the story to end)<span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i>But even with that, after
having taken a step back and taken my mind off of Flipped, I find the story has
stuck with me and stayed in the back of my mind, making me highly anticipate
seeing this book turned to a film.<span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="background-color: white;">PS: The movie was </span>incredibly awesome<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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</div>
</div>
</h4>
</div>
</h2>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539399825170702606.post-59869197135761590342013-04-20T02:48:00.000-07:002013-04-20T04:41:03.247-07:00The Giver (The Giver Quartet #1) by Lois Lowry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<h1 class="bookTitle" id="bookTitle" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #382110; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: left; width: 455px;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYBB2RedJAD7wQNhHHP8hQRSTKcbCAOA8tMWo3SyrSdoU2orUooN2-Tvx9Wo3OoPhlKpxI3I9IAHCNkuhEvzjsVyMGHl5RnvlvxbDK3O2ToLn_zcRff7O6TPYf4ARfHhXY0TENk1NFsyI/s1600/51z16qXdbXL._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYBB2RedJAD7wQNhHHP8hQRSTKcbCAOA8tMWo3SyrSdoU2orUooN2-Tvx9Wo3OoPhlKpxI3I9IAHCNkuhEvzjsVyMGHl5RnvlvxbDK3O2ToLn_zcRff7O6TPYf4ARfHhXY0TENk1NFsyI/s320/51z16qXdbXL._SS500_.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jonas lives in a perfect society--no pain, no crime, no unhappiness. But when he receives his life assignment to be the Receiver of Memories, he discovers secrets about the past, and the terrible choices that make this world possible.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />In the perfect future world in which Jonas lives, twelve-year-old children are given their life assignments at the Ceremony of Twelve. Jonas is shocked when he is chosen to be the new Receiver of Memories, a mysterious position of honor held by only one person at a time.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />He is trained by the previous Receiver, now called the Giver. The training consists of transferring to him memories of a past--before the imposition of Sameness--that the others in the community can't even imagine, in which there was war, hunger, and disease, but also color, weather, and strong emotions. Gradually Jonas comes to understand, and resent, the choices that had to be made to create his world, and the terrible secrets behind its perfection.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal;">This is an excellent book and will give you plenty to think about.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br /></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal;">I'am totally in love with the author. Currently i'am also reading his many short story books..!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444; line-height: 21.59375px;">This has always and will always continue to be one of my all time favorite books. I strongly recommend reading it even if you don't enjoy dystopian novels</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 21.59375px;">I can't wait to put my hands on the second installment .</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; line-height: normal;">5 Out Of 5 stars.</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539399825170702606.post-631962358112354512013-04-16T18:08:00.004-07:002013-04-20T03:08:10.592-07:00The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower</h1>
<div class="stacked" id="bookAuthors" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span class="by smallText" style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px;">by</span> <span itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><a class="authorName" href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12898.Stephen_Chbosky" itemprop="url" style="color: #666600; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;">Stephen Chbosky</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gud read..but not satisfied..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Charlie is an outsider, a typical
wallflower. He gets bullied at school and prefers taking the forty
minute walk home instead of the school bus. Charlie is sixteen years old
and when he starts high school, his life is going to change forever.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
a series of letters written by Charlie and sent to an anonymous person
we learn about his life, his new friends, his family and especially
Charlie himself. He writes about school and his English teacher, Bill,
who gives Charlie extra books to read. Charlie then writes essays about
them. He would like to become a writer some day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Charlie himself
is a mystery. He has mental problems, gets angry, sees things and then
passes out. Right before he started high school his best friend shot
himself, but there is also another, worse reason for his problems. At
school Charlie meets Patrick and Sam, both of whom are outsiders too,
just cooler ones. Patrick is gay and before his stepsister Sam
introduced him to "good" music, he was a popular kid. They introduce
Charlie to all kinds of new things. Parties, drugs and rock music become
new parts of Charlie's life and for the first time he knows what it
really means to have good friends.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What makes this book so
special and authentic is its reality. As an adult it takes you back to
when you were a teenager, as a child it shows you what lies ahead and as
a teenager it inspires you. And as we all know there is no other time
when finding out who you are and where you belong to is more immediate
than when you are a teenager.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539399825170702606.post-10119751115886354922013-04-16T18:05:00.001-07:002013-04-16T18:09:09.218-07:00The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A fabulous, funny novel full of suspense. It has a great story line,
full of twists and turns. You'll never get bored reading this. It's just
jam-packed with great characters, personalities and scenes. When you
think it's all over, there's a monster around the corner. It's not
unusual for Percy to bump into Medusa or Ares, or come across three
furies on a bus!<br />
Percy Jackson is a normal kid, living in New York
with his mum and step-dad "smelly Gabe". Gabe Ugliano reeks of beer and
gone-off garlic pizza, wrapped in sweaty gym-shorts. He uses Percy to
help him with his secret gambling funds, and secretly hates Percy. Percy
gets bullied at school and has dyslexia, but one morning on a school
trip, he accidentally vaporises his maths teacher. His entire world
changes when he realises he is a demigod.<br />
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a witty, adventurous story. Until I read this, I was really missing out!!<br />
All
in all, I enjoyed Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
and found it to be a fast and captivating read. I recommend this
especially to mid-school and high school teenagers and even tweens. It
is especially good to find a book that appeals to such a wide range of
individuals, particularly boys. You will find it entertaining
regardless of your age.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539399825170702606.post-5340383188385007292013-04-14T09:57:00.001-07:002013-04-16T06:19:37.555-07:00The Sins of the Father (The Clifton Chronicles 2) By Jeffrey Archer <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Sins of the Father is Volume 2 in The Clifton Chronicles, a family saga by Jeffrey Archer that began with Only Time Will Tell and centers on Harry Clifton, the son of a Bristol dock worker who died under mysterious circumstances and an impoverished woman who went above and beyond the duties of a mother to ensure her son received the education he deserved. The latest installment in the series picks up right where Only Time Will Tell left Off.<br />
The drama of the Cliftons and the Barringtons continues at top speed in The Sins of the Father. Archer grabs readers’ attention by plunging them into the action from the first page, shifting frequently between different characters’ points of view, peeling back another layer of the story in nearly every chapter, and knowing exactly when to leave readers dangling in suspense.<br />
The book is divided into sections by character, with overlapping years so that readers follow each of them over the course of the war. This narrative structure works so well here because the characters are well developed and could each have a novel of their own. Moreover, Archer connects all of them a strong central character — Harry, a reluctant hero who is made out to be almost saintly at times but is very real in his emotions and mistakes.<br />
As in Only Time Will Tell, Archer leaves readers with another cliffhanger ending. That usually drives me crazy, but at least I was expecting it this time. I highly recommend this series for readers who enjoy fast-paced books with a little war and a lot of family secrets and well developed characters. There’s a lot going on in these books, and sometimes they might cross the line into unbelievable, but they really are meant to be escapist reads. I just hope I don’t have to wait too long for Volume 3(THE BEST KEPT SECRETS)<br />
What made Only Time Will Tell enjoyable was the narrative: the story was told through multiple points of view, each version of the tale carried forward the element of suspense. Sins..., however, has a comparatively staid narrative. While the tale is still told through different characters’ perspectives, the story trudges on towards a predictable end. Like its prequel, part deux of Harry’s story ends with a cliffhanger — rather gimmicky, considering the year-long wait for its sequel.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539399825170702606.post-719472652258081542013-04-14T09:51:00.001-07:002013-04-16T06:19:18.994-07:00Windmils Of Gods By Sidney Sheldon <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
How a story is presented in the beginning, middle, & end is an essential factor that keeps the readers of into pages. Sidney Sheldon did it well on his Windmills of the Gods, & successfully placed a strong ingredient that surprises readers every now & then. The pacing is perfect. The plot is excellent. The story itself is well-researched. Windmills of the Gods is one of the greatest suspense stories I've had read, and Sidney Sheldon succeeded in hooking me up with such a breath-taking story, a fast-paced journey unto the world of politics & its darkest mysteries, the hidden risks behind intellect & fame, the roller coaster ride to the international secrets, sex & murder at their worst, a family at danger in every choice to take, and the survival amidst greedy interests and deceits in a game of life. There are only a few writers who can bring it on; and Sidney Sheldon is one worth to get such prestige.!!###<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539399825170702606.post-60021477643523095572013-04-14T09:43:00.001-07:002013-04-16T06:18:54.999-07:00A Thousand Splendid Suns By Khaled Hosseini<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A Thousand Splendid Suns starts with the story of Mariam, a young girl who lives on the edge of Herat with her mother. Mariam was born out of wedlock, and the first part of the novel follows her as she grows into a woman. The second part of the novel shifts to the story of Laila, a 9-year-old girl who lives near Mariam. Although both girls' stories are interesting, it was not clear during my first reading how they connected or where the novel was going.<br />
In Part III, Mariam and Laila's stories converge. This is where the novel really takes off and becomes hard to put down. For those readers who read The Kite Runner and are afraid during the first part of the novel that A Thousand Splendid Suns will never pick up the momentum of Hosseini's debut work, fear not. It will all come together, and you will appreciate the time Hosseini spent developing the characters in the first hundred pages or so.<br />
A Thousand Splendid Suns starts in the 1960s and ends in 2003. One of the things I liked most about the novel was the personal view it gave into Afghanistan's history. Regime change, war, hope, and oppression are the backdrop of the novel. Laila and Mariam's stories provided a powerful glimpse into life under Soviet occupation, then under warlords, and finally under the Taliban.<br />
Overall, I highly recommend A Thousand Splendid Suns. Hosseini has written another page turner that moves quickly despite how difficult it is to internalize the sad and violent content that runs throughout the book. This is not light reading, but it is very good reading.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539399825170702606.post-91951944385018329972013-04-14T09:28:00.001-07:002013-04-14T09:35:01.074-07:00Only Time Will Tell By Jeffrey Archer<p>OMG...!<br>
love the book..freaken amazing..<br>
it has got..<br>
HISTORY<br>
SECRETS<br>
LOVE<br>
PASSION<br>
&<br>
FRIENDSHIP..<br>
it has everything a brilliant story needs..<br>
Jeffrey Archer is a master story teller and in this book, he weaves a tale so unforgettable and as a reader you will be left yearning for more. Only Time Will Tell is a family saga that spans through generations. This the first part of a five volume series, rest of which will be published in the coming years. The main protagonist of this book is a man named Harry Clifton. Harry is introduced as a child, the son of a dock worker, who died in war. His mother is a waitress who toils hard to secure her son’s future. Harry is a gifted child and this gift wins him a scholarship to an exclusive boys’ school, which in the time to come will shape his future. As he enters into adulthood, Harry finally learns how his father really died, but the awful truth only leads him to question, was he even his father?<br>
This tale is set in 1920′s and later years and the author has captured the era vividly in words. I could almost picture them in my head. The novels also touches many aspects of the social-economical environment of Great Britain at that time- the disparity between the rich and the poor, the dilemma in the minds of the people with World War II around the corner and many more. All the characters are beautifully sculpted but the one that stands out to me is Harry’s mother – Maisie. She is an example of perseverance and an epitome of motherly love. It is only for her sacrifices, Harry’s life had been different from his father’s or uncle’s. However, she feels her one thoughtless action has jeopardizes so many lives. If it was not for her, this story would not be written. Mr. Tar is another unforgettable character. He plays a big role in shaping Harry future and to Harry, he was a fatherly figure whom he could turn to for advice. <br>
The narration in the story shifts through each of the main characters and hence the reader knows the story from various perspective. It makes the story even more engaging. But, the ending of the novel took me for a surprise and I nearly gasped! Needless to say I am really looking forward to the next book in the series.#@#@#@#</p>
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