Mini Reviews: Seraphina and Struck Tie-in Short Stories

Lately, so many awesome young adult novels have equally impressive free short stories to accompany them, and the two I read most recently tie into Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (review here) and Struck by Jennifer Bosworth (review here). In both cases, the stories take place before the events of the novels, but in the first case it is immediately before, while in the latter it is many years earlier. However, neither story has any spoilers to the novel it accompanies and both can definitely be read before, or after, those books.

"The Audition" takes place right before Seraphina when the title character has gone to audition for the role of royal assistant music composer as well as the Princess' music tutor. It's a cute little story that corresponds well with what the reader later learns about the characters. I thought it especially was a good introduction to the Princess, showing her sense of humour. Seraphina came across as honest and nervous, and the way that she invited Orma, her music tutor, to come with her but not her father was really telling.

Even though it ties into a high fantasy novel "The Audition" honestly isn't. It's not about dragons or magic or anything like that. It's really just about one girl and her feelings. And despite that, Hartman captures the struggle in a pure and well-written way. After reading Seraphina I didn't feel like I was missing any of the story, but it was still great to have this added little insight into the character's experiences and what brought her to the royal palace in the first place. For that reason, I think "The Audition" would be great to read before Seraphina.

"Prophet" gives further background to the villain of Bosworth's Struck in a way the novel attempts, but doesn't fully reveal because it is told from the perspective of a different character. Instead of Mia, this is Prophet's story, only told back when he was simply Rance Ridley, the son of a cult leader. Before everything changed, and he became the person Mia meets. It's a soft introduction to him, and gives him a more human side that isn't really portrayed in Struck and for that reason I thought it was a nice little addition to the series.

Unlike "The Audition", I feel like "Prophet" is more interesting after having read the novel it accompanies. That's because reading Struck, I loved to hate Prophet, and I thought there was enough background for him as a character. Sure, it was a bit mysterious, but most bad guys are. Still, picking up this short story afterwards I definitely enjoyed being let into the character's mind and finding out the truth about the events that made him who he is. The story itself is strongly written and dramatic, and even though I knew how things were going to turn out in the end, I still really enjoyed reading it.

Great, basically spoiler-free little short stories that can be picked up for free– The Audition here, and Prophet here– these are definitely worthwhile reads if you're interested in the novels they accompany. Thought I found both to be quite a bit different than the books themselves, Hartman's story lacks the real fantasy element and Bosworth's is told from a completely different character's perspective, they fill in some of the gaps in the stories in a way fans of the novels, including me, can definitely appreciate.

Struck by Jennfer Bosworth

Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
 
Release Date: April 26th 2012
Pages: 373
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR
Buy It: Book Depository

Mia Price is a lightning addict. She's survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her. Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.

I'm conflicted over Struck, there were some parts I really enjoyed, but a few aspects that didn't quite work and left me wanting a little more from the novel as a whole. In particular, sometimes there is some absurd statements, like a really intense moment right near the climax and Mia is rushing to get somewhere, and she says "This was one instance when it would not do to arrive fashionably late for the party." and it just seemed so out of her voice and character, as well as the story context. This sort of thing happened a few times, like another part that quoted (without credit) the factually inaccurate The Dark Knight saying, "Fear not, for it is always darkest before the dawn. At this moment, things are very dark, in the world at large, but especially here, in the so-called City of Angels."

But even though there were moments that jarred me out of Bosworth's world, those moments when I was one hundred in it were far more frequent. Specifically, I loved the premise of this book, I love the reality that Bosworth has created, the creepiness of these cults and the world on the brink of destruction and the lightning that strikes through it all. Struck is the kind of book that simmers beneath the surface, and when everything finally explodes it is just wow.

As a main character, I really appreciated Mia. She has this physical manifestation of everything she's been through, she's covered in lightning scars, and it gives a unique and intriguing element to her personality. She's also just really strong, she feels an obligation to take care of her family– since her dad is dead and her mom is completely useless. There's a backstory to her mom that makes her actions more understandable but there were definitely still times I wanted to shake her and wake her up.... then again, I think Mia did too!

It took awhile for me to get involved in Bosworth's world, because the background to her story is extreme– definitely relies on some suspension of belief– and not instantly clear, but when I did I found myself in for a really exciting experience. I do wish that it had been more clearly set out from the start, and that some of the phrasing in the book had been rethought. However, ultimately, Struck is an incredibly unique and thrilling book with a strong but realistic main character and a premise that is unlike anything I had ever read before.