Why you should be Facebook friends with your parents.

Or: Advice from Steph, the amazingly awesome advice-giver, on subjects she is not qualified to give advice on, part one.

I don't like magazines, on the whole.

Actually, wait, I've never read any of those fishing magazines. They're probably fantastic. I quite like frankie and Yen and some of those other ones with waifish indie girls on the cover. I'm not morally opposed to glossy paper and snappy articles. Glossy paper's quite nice, though probably terrible for the environment.

But I don't really like those magazines that have 'why you should love your body!' on one page and 'lose a bajillion kilos in a week on our magical diet!' on the next. I don't really like those magazines with advice pages that offer really terrible advice. I am referring to magazines that cater to that horrendous demographic that is - gasp! - teenage girls. Easily influenced teenage girls are reading this really terrible advice, folks.

So terrible, in fact, that I can give you advice that's better. I've recently read a few articles in magazines (and on a couple of those websites that are very magazine-esque in that they use cutesy words like 'totes'* and 'so this season'**) regarding the very hot issue of whether you should be friends with your parents on Facebook.

And the general consensus seems to be No.
And in this blog post, I will, with my amazing persuasive language abilities!!!*** convince you why you absolutely should one-hundred-percent be Facebook friends with your parents.****

Oh gosh, that was a long intro. Let's cut to the chase, kids. Bullet points!

Reasons suggested for not being Facebook friends with your parents + Why that reason is rubbish and you definitely should be Facebook friends with your parents:

1. Your parents will see all the terrible stuff you say/do! You'll have to censor everything you say and never upload pics of drunken parties! I hate to be the teenager who's already an elderly person on the inside, but honestly? If you don't want your parents knowing that you're saying/doing something, don't say/do it to begin with. You're not really setting yourself up for an honest lifelong friendship with them by having this secret double Facebook life now. The rule I have for myself is: If I wouldn't feel comfortable with my nan reading/seeing it (which she definitely will. Hi Nan!) I won't post it. Find your own boundaries.
2. Parents are, like, so old and daggy. Okay, now, to be fair, I've never experienced the exquisite pain of having daggy parents. My mother is in fact far cooler than I am, and probably always will be*****. And that's an exquisite pain within itself. The magazines would say that you're from two different generations and they were cool when they were young and blah blah blah. HERE IS THE TRUTH: No one is actually cool. Coolness is subjective. Dagginess is subjective. There are people who think you're a dag, and your parents are cool. You just have the wrong perspective. You need to find a way to magically swap bodies with a parent for the weekend and see how cool they really are.
3. Well, if you're not actually friends with your parents, why be Facebook friends with them? This is really the biggest load of rubbish. Everyone I know is friends with plenty of people on Facebook who they're lucky to have spoken two words to in the physical world, where writing on other people's walls is not a way to communicate but a way to get arrested. Or just in a bit of trouble. I'm going to say something really crazy now, so brace yourself: your parents are not the enemy. This obviously depends on you and your family, but odds are, they're not as embarrassing as you think they are. And they don't have to be totally excluded from your life outside home. And okay, I will concede that we are not all gifted with amazingly awesome families. But nobody's perfect. And you can be friends with your parents, on Facebook and off, despite what magazines say about them being so daggy despite those magazines not actually knowing your parents personally. You're kind of stuck with them. Might as well get to know them. Possibly via fb chat. Though that would be weird.

I sincerely hope you all now go and add your parents as friends on Facebook. Unless they post photos of themselves drunk at parties. In which case you probably shouldn't. You might be setting yourself up for a lot of psychiatric help later on.
*Though to be fair, I use the word 'totes' in everyday conversation. Ironically, though. But I don't think other people know that.
**Oh my god, who updates their clothes every three months? No one I know. I only buy new clothes when my old ones no longer fulfill their duties of a) keeping me warm and b) not offending people in public. Then, and only then, do I venture out of the batcave towards the bright lights and cool air-conditioning of suburban shopping centres.
***Those additional exclamation marks were absolutely necessary.
****Unless they're crazy.
*****Correction: She'll definitely always be cooler than me. I'm going to go cry now, while wearing an unfashionable ensemble. Not even ironically unfashionable.

Are you Facebook friends with your parents? If not, why not?

Happy Australia Day!

I hope all Aussies had a great day, and that you feel proud to be Australian! I certainly have had a lovely day (I had a few lamingtons!), and feel amazingly lucky to be so blessed, and so proud to be Australian.

Source of the gorgeous photo above

Droughts and flooding rains

I'm on the Gold Coast at the moment, and watching the immensely terrifying coverage of the Queensland floods on television over the past few weeks has been devastating (and now, there's flooding happening in Victoria as well). My heart breaks for everyone affected by the floods, who've lost so much (I can't even begin to fathom losing my home and everything I own in such a sudden and awful way, let alone losing a family member or friend). But it gives you real hope, seeing how Australians have helped each other in the recovery effort (which is sure to be a long one). Hopefully good things will come of the disaster (strengthened communities and lifelong friendships and who knows what else).

If you're a writer looking for a way to help out, check out the Writers Auction For Queensland Flood Appeal (organised by the amazing Em Gale and Kate Gordon) - many wonderful books and critiques are up for grabs - and 100 Stories For Queensland - both wonderful ideas and great ways to contribute to the recovery effort. (You can also donate to the QLD Premiers Flood Relief Appeal - even if you live overseas!)

The Ghosts of Kerfol by Deborah Noyes

In her classic ghost story “Kerfol,” Edith Wharton tells the tale of Anne de Barrigan, a young Frenchwoman convicted of murdering her husband, the jealous Yves de Cornault. The elderly lord was found dead on the stairs, apparently savaged by a pack of dogs, though there were no dogs  —  no live dogs  —  at Kerfol that day. In this remarkable collection of intertwining short stories, Deborah Noyes takes us back to the haunted manor to tell Anne de Barrigan’s story through the sympathetic eyes of her servant girl. Four more tales slip forward in time, peering in on a young artist, a hard-drinking party girl, a young American couple, and a deaf gardener who now tends the Kerfol estate. All of these souls are haunted by the ghosts of Kerfol  —  the dead dogs, the sensual yet uneasy relationships, and the bitter taste of revenge.

This series of short ghost stories I found quite eerie. The first of the stories was definitely my favourite, spooky and beautifully told and subtly scary, the atmosphere building and building throughout. It was also the longest story in the collection. I loved the concept - five short stories told from different narrators set years and years apart, but all centering around the same haunted manor - and I felt it was well executed. In each subsequent story there were references to the ones previous through paintings and so on, which helped tie the stories together. The conclusion in the fifth and final story was somewhat satisfying, however the first story was definitely the best, and though the rest of the stories were well-written and enjoyable, with a slight sense of building tension, the book didn't really return to or end with the level of spookiness that was achieved in the first story.

I wonder, perhaps, if reading the stories in the reverse order - starting with the story set in 2006 and going back to the story set in the 17th century - would be a more interesting reading experience, and would give the reader more of a sense of that building sense of tension getting somewhere and more of a sense of revelation. This didn't strike me as a specifically YA title - all the narrators, from the young maid to the deaf boy restoring the manor, are teenagers, however the themes and storylines don't seem particularly teenaged - fidelity, for instance, was a prominent theme. I imagine this book would also be enjoyed by adult readers.

Highly recommended to anyone who likes old ghost stories! A beautifully written and eerie read.

http://www.deborahnoyes.com/kerfol.html

The Unidentified by Rae Mariz

Kid knows her school’s corporate sponsors not-so-secretly monitor her friendships and activities for market research. It’s all a part of the Game; the alternative education system designed to use the addictive kick from video games to encourage academic learning. Everyday, a captive audience of students ages 13-17 enter the nationwide chain store-like Game locations to play.

When a group calling themselves The Unidentified simulates a suicide to protest the power structure of their school, Kid’s investigation into their pranks attracts unwanted attention from the sponsors. As Kid finds out she doesn't have rights to her ideas, her privacy, or identity, she and her friends look for a way to revolt in a place where all acts of rebellion are just spun into the next new ad campaign.

I really majorly loved this book.

And I could stop the review there, and just say 'Hey, what are you still doing sitting at your computer? Go out and get it!' but perhaps I should tell you what's so great about it (I'm not particularly fantastic at persuasive language, however, so maybe just go out and get it is the best thing for me to say).

The world within which Kid lives isn't very far from our own - which is kind of scary - modern technology taken to an extreme. I could easily imagine kids I know acting like Kid's friend Ari, hungry for fame and attention. While reading I was reminded a bit of the world in Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.

It's well-written and though it isn't massive on action plot-wise (it's pretty brilliant in it's minimalism - there doesn't need to be big action and explosions for it to be a great story), it was engaging and I devoured it in an afternoon. I loved Kid as a character, and I'm unsure whether the novel will date quickly (everything in Kid's world is very reminiscent of our technology, which is bound to change), but I can imagine it'll really appeal to teenagers.

The concepts are awesome, it's immensely difficult not to read it all in one go, and it's very, very cool. It's the sort of book I wish I'd written, and I strongly encourage you to pick it up.

http://raemariz.com/

The Rosie Black Chronicles: Genesis by Lara Morgan

Rosie Black is on the run to save her family and uncover the truth.

Five hundred years into the future, the world is a different place. The Melt has sunk most of the coastal cities and Newperth is divided into the haves, the “Centrals”; the have-nots, the “Bankers”; and the fringe dwellers, the “Ferals”. Rosie Black is a Banker. When Rosie finds an unusual box, she has no idea of the grave consequences of her discovery. A mysterious organisation wants it – and they’ll kill to get it. Forced to rely on two strangers, Rosie is on the run. But who can she trust? Pip, the too attractive Feral, or the secretive man he calls boss? From Earth to Mars, Rosie must learn the secrets of the box. Before it’s too late.

I didn't expect to like this one, but I did - there was space travel and conspiracy theory, which I'm always a fan of, and though it took a little while to warm up and for the real story to get going, once it did, the plot was well-paced and interesting. The plot is great - which I won't say much of, because it's good to read not knowing what will happen next - and despite serious subject matter it's a lot of fun. I think the novel's weaknesses mainly lie in character development - on occasion, the dialogue and character behaviour becomes a little unbelievable.

This is perhaps related to my overall dislike of third person (I mean, really, it's just so impersonal. I want to know what everyone is thinking in great detail.), but I felt that particular events that should have been very significant and emotional for Rosie were brushed over and she seemed in parts a bit emotionally detached. However, it is a far more plot-driven rather than character-driven novel, and it remained pacy and enjoyable and mostly realistic (well, you know, for a novel that's set in the distant future and partly in space!).

Overall, it's an enjoyable, fast-paced read, and though it's sci-fi it's not so hardcore that teen readers who are not fans of sci-fi won't be able to enjoy it. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series! It's definitely worth picking up if the blurb sounds interesting to you.

http://www.walkerbooks.com.au/Books/The-Rosie-Black-Chronicles-Book-1-Genesis-9781921529399