{"id":4643,"date":"2018-08-13T05:00:58","date_gmt":"2018-08-13T12:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4643"},"modified":"2018-08-12T07:48:14","modified_gmt":"2018-08-12T14:48:14","slug":"mark-reads-the-book-of-night-with-moon-chapter-8-part-iii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2018\/08\/mark-reads-the-book-of-night-with-moon-chapter-8-part-iii\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘The Book of Night With Moon’: Chapter 8, Part III"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the third part of the eighth chapter of The Book of Night With Moon<\/i>, Arhu\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s power intensifies; Rhiow ponders the future and her felinity. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Feline Wizards<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s astounding to me how quickly<\/i> Arhu\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s powers are developing. I went from seeing him as a pretty normal cat who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d met some terrible circumstances, to one granted wizardry, to one on his Ordeal, and all of this happened relatively slowly. I admit that this book takes a while to ramp up, but all that plotting and building has led to a stunning reveal about what this kitten really is. I do love when later information re-contextualizes a story, and Arhu\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s visions explain so much about him. His layered way of seeing things is hard to grasp, but only because I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even fathom what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like to be able to see layers of reality at any given moment.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For example: during the opening scene of this section, it all starts off silly enough, with Arhu claiming that he can see Urruah eating a McDonald\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Quarter Pounder right then. But as he begins to recount how Urruah foiled a domestic violence dispute and an attempted murder, I finally understood that Arhu wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t getting tiny glimpses<\/i> of possible or actual moments in time; he could recount entire moments! Actually, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153recount\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is the wrong word; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like he is thinking of a memory and repeating it. Arhu sees all things in real time<\/i>. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s seeing the past laid over<\/i> the present, and I imagine he could also see future timelines if he wanted. (Right? Or is that not how it works?) This is his every waking moment, if I understood this, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got to adapt to all of this on top<\/i> of having an Ordeal. Will he always have the Eye? Or will it fade as he stops being a kitten? We know a wizard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s power levels flatten out over time, but is this specific aspect of Arhu\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always going to be there? Ah, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so potential, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all! I want to see more!<\/p>\n

I do love that Duane gives space to build the world outside<\/i> Arhu and this horrible Ordeal, though. That kind of stuff gives The Book of Night With Moon<\/i> a texture and realism that I appreciate. I am glad<\/i> that there are scenes of Mike and Sue, Rhiow\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s owners. (I still feel weird about the word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153owner\u00e2\u20ac\u009d because I know that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not actually what they are? I CAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T BELIEVE THIS BOOK MADE ME RE-THINK THAT.) I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m genuinely invested in their subplot, and y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, Sue might actually escape that job that overworks her, and this makes me so happy??? They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not even part of the main plot, yet they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re still<\/i> interesting. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an accomplishment, as far as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m concerned.<\/p>\n

There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also room for introspection, too. Rhiow spends the end of this chapter thinking about her role in the world, her felinity, and the nature of entropy. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a dense examination, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean that as a criticism of the text. I do like that this feels<\/i> like an adult novel versus a young adult one. And I admit even going into this can be a bit of a disaster. One thing I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve known about but only recently experienced as<\/i> a published young adult author (IT NEVER STOPS BEING GREAT TO SAY THAT) is this notion that those of us who are writing YA are not writing \u00e2\u20ac\u0153real\u00e2\u20ac\u009d books, that the YA genre is all fluffy and superficial and silly, that it never talks about \u00e2\u20ac\u0153real\u00e2\u20ac\u009d things, that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all easy to read and to write. Now, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m certain that all of US know this is bullshit. Even if we look at just the Young Wizards<\/i> universe, we know those books are remarkably complex, contain lots of high-level science, address some truly heavy shit, and are not at all superficial reads. (Though I want to state that I love fluffy, happy reads, too, and YOU BETTER BELIEVE I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M GONNA WRITE ONE.)\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Rhiow\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s introspective examination, though, I see a story that maybe<\/i> wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily be as relatable in the Young Wizards<\/i> series, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really where I make the major distinction between YA stories and adult stories. Here, Rhiow is thinking about losing her eventual nature, about aging and entropy. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s usually more of an adult issue than one teenagers will think about. The same goes for that bit about how dealing with the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153larger worldview\u00e2\u20ac\u009d might erase one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sense of individuality or self-importance, or Rhiow\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s desire to have a genuine break from the Art, but knowing that she can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. LIKE, LET\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S ACKNOWLEDGE HOW IMPORTANT THAT PARTICULAR THEME IS TO ME RIGHT NOW. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one thing that I never really prepared myself for in adulthood: the constant compulsion to be on, to be always working, to hustle toward some distant goal that is years away. Time stretches before you as an adult, and sometimes, it feels more obvious<\/i> that it is happening.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think this is a theme that could have been explored with the same depth in Young Wizards<\/i>, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s perfectly fine. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad that it happens here<\/i>. I am NOT glad, however, that CARL IS MISSING IN THE DOWNSIDE????? NO. DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T DO THIS TO ME.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/-axqALrW46w<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now out in the world!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"