Well shit you guys I'm behind, I didn't realize this happened. I saw the girl in the banner and for some reason it just didn't click, I thought it was something from the Fairfield series she's got going on now. I'm kinda with Kari, I forgot basically all of TDS except a few scenes. I'm gonna grab these asap though, I know how big they were for FA when they released.

Kari wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 26, 2024 6:47 pm

I'm a slow reader, I just finished the first book so I skipped a lot of your posts. I couldn't remember if I read these before, if I did it was only the first one but I barely remembered it. I wasn't expecting how hard the book was going to hit me. I put together who Kwin was already but not why it happened, and when she and Kai talked I had to call it a night after that. I think it was 2018 or so when I had a major depressive breakdown. Stuff was going on with my mom, my brother who I'm close with was with her and I was with my dad and I had health issues and everything just felt like it was falling apart. It got bad. Reading this chapter was really hard. So I'm glad I saw the content warning up front. I can tell this part was written by someone with experience. Her explanation was so good. I can't write quotes because it's too long but one thing was when she said she liked the idea of life but felt it didn't belong to her anymore, the loneliness, and how it made her have the realization that the world just moves on and doesn't care. No one stops to ask if she's ok. The escapism too. For me it was movies and TV shows, anything that I didn't have to focus on my own life. For her it was the dream. It was hard to read. I didn't expect a book that looks like it's for middle or high schoolers to go so hard. When it finally revealed her secret it didn't hold back. I liked it but I had to stop for the night there.

I did finish though. I'm glad it ended the way it did. I wish I had read this during that time then. It doesn't hold back but I think that's a good thing especially because of the happy ending. I liked that it didn't tiptoe around the topic of suicide because it was taboo. I can see why you guys liked this so much. I'm going to get the other two soon and read on.

Aw bb! It is a lot. I think that's why book one for us FA folks is remembered so much, and specifically because of Kwin and maybe even just that one scene in the library. I remember reading it when I was in my 20s and feeling like it was touching on something personal, like.... I was out of my teens and I didn't really get Depression in the same way I know some of my friends did, but still I knew people who suffered from it and had some of my own struggles, you know that's like a really important and formative time in your life, and so even though it was meant for younger audiences it still hit so damn hard. The others were good books and even the first one was good outside that but every time I think about TDS the first thing I think of is Kwin and her story LOL.

Lindsay wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 03, 2024 5:13 pm

I think this is definitely true. Knowing what I/we know i think I'm biased lol but I see Kwin's whole arc being perfect for the time it was originally published. And honestly (even though only some people will get this) I think it was a good thing her arc didn't include anyone like bateras at all, it gave the story so much more room to focus on her and rebuilding her relationship with her dad who was also a genuinely kind guy.

SPEAKING OF though and going back to this... considering the time, do we know if bateras was like an inspiration for any of this? Obviously bateras wasn't in it but I don't know if anything I read in it that might seem familiar is on purpose or a coincidence.

Jade wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 12, 2024 2:53 am

SPEAKING OF though and going back to this... considering the time, do we know if bateras was like an inspiration for any of this? Obviously bateras wasn't in it but I don't know if anything I read in it that might seem familiar is on purpose or a coincidence.

This is a good question and I would love to know. Looking back I think I took it for granted that they played a part, but now that I think about it I don't know. Since the books seem to focus so much on all the good parts of friendship I kinda want to say no but I don't know if that's just from the rewrite and I'm not remembering something. They also feel too wholesome to have anything to do with that lol.

You're probably right and tbh it's the best way to go. It is wholesome hell yeah! Tbh that's one reason I like Kwin's story resonates so well with me. She doesn't have a bully, she isn't actively fighting with anyone (I'm not really counting her dad here in that way), the story is mostly just about her struggles AFTER her attempt and how she lets herself be vulnerable and find friends and how they help and support and love her and AHH. It makes me believe that she could just become friends with Kai so quick despite the fact that she's like world famous. I've met some people like this online, they're really well known and liked but they don't actually have a lot of close personal friendships for whatever reason. That was Kwin, and she decided to take a chance and be brave with him because she just had a feeling, and it WORKED.

I was thinking about Kwin and Alastor because I remember way back when, some of us were talking about who the strongest character is, and it basically came down to them. Lindsay is really strong but I don't think she's fast enough and Kai... bless him, but I don't think he's even in the running. Now that they're fresh in my head again I want to say, I think the same as before, that Kwin is the strongest. Alastor beats her every time in duels but I think she's unconsciously going easy on him. He even says this, and she denies it, and she may even believe it, but I think she's holding back. After the fight with Semyaza I think there's no question. Semyaza beat Alastor even though he was trying his hardest, and then Kwin absolutely destroyed her by tearing her apart with her bare hands and then throwing her into a tower at the speed of sound. I mean. I think the thing with her is that she didn't have the best control of her powers/her mind. She does impressive stuff ofc but there's such a big difference in what she's capable of depending on who she's up against. She murdered Semyaza, and when she wanted to scare Abigail she made the whole sky go black and fiery and vaguely eldritch. But when she fights Alastor the most she does is a couple blades? She's totally holding back.

When we do get SoaH I want to see how powerful she is. She's 16 then right? So she'll be much more capable of using the brain she's got and honestly I think she will put old Kwin to shame once she gets a little practice in. I will say also... now that I've read book 3 again and the bittersweetness is fresh in my memory, I want SoaH so bad. I need to see everyone and especially my little demon child again.

I'm completely sure she's the strongest, no contest. Her biggest limitation is herself, either because she doesn't know everything she's capable of yet or she's holding back even without meaning to. Like with Alastor, for all her talk, I genuinely don't think she's capable of trying to really hurt someone she loves. I think I remember book 3 even saying that in the moment with Semyaza she snapped, and that's what you got. No flashy effects, no illusions to scare Semyaza, Kwin just wanted her dead and was moving faster than she could keep up with, and it's worth saying, she is a demigod. It wasn't even close.

Obviously Kwin snapping like that wasn't a good thing for her but I think it shows that when she doesn't have her usual limitations, her power is insane. Alastor IS powerful and there's a reason he's the champion, and for the same reason I don't think Kwin would win the same tournament as she is in the books, but fast forward a few years when she's got a better handle on stuff? I think she'd dominate. She's a genius but she's only 10. Give her a couple more years to figure out how her brain works and she'll have no competition imo.

(I am biased because she's my favorite but listen I can back it up lol.)

Lindsay wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 20, 2024 3:32 am

but fast forward a few years when she's got a better handle on stuff? I think she'd dominate. She's a genius but she's only 10. Give her a couple more years to figure out how her brain works and she'll have no competition imo.

Even she knows this too! That's why I'm excited for SoaH, remember in book 2 near the beginning after she blew up the airship and Kai is like "at least she can only do all her damage in the dream" and she just says "For now" and she isn't joking LOL. I'm trying to remember what was happening after the timeskip because I FEEL like I remember the story was hinting that something was going on with her. I do remember she got her PHD already I think? And she was running her own company doing research and already getting funding and shit. She's up to something irl after the timeskip I just know it.

Jade wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 26, 2024 8:28 pm

Lindsay wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 20, 2024 3:32 am

but fast forward a few years when she's got a better handle on stuff? I think she'd dominate. She's a genius but she's only 10. Give her a couple more years to figure out how her brain works and she'll have no competition imo.

Even she knows this too! That's why I'm excited for SoaH, remember in book 2 near the beginning after she blew up the airship and Kai is like "at least she can only do all her damage in the dream" and she just says "For now" and she isn't joking LOL. I'm trying to remember what was happening after the timeskip because I FEEL like I remember the story was hinting that something was going on with her. I do remember she got her PHD already I think? And she was running her own company doing research and already getting funding and shit. She's up to something irl after the timeskip I just know it.

This is going to be Kwin's wikipedia page lol.

LOL. I think we've been sleeping on how Kwin could actually very realistically be a world renowned criminal, she'd just be a whole mastermind. Actually you know what I think she and Artemis Fowl might get along.

I'm a slow reader, I'm only halfway through book 2 right now but I see why Kwin is so many people's favorite character. I got to this part and had to lol, when they're on the beach getting ready to go into the tombs and everyone's nervous because they're full of dead bodies, and she's just impatient. Then Alan goes "I think even Abigail might be nervous about going down there, but your friend just said she's not afraid because she'll only be surrounded by corpses." I like how no bullshit she is, to kind of a disturbing fault, but then again she asked the others to watch a horror movie and she was the only one smiling the whole time. Lindsay's meme is probably right on. I'd believe it.

Edit: Just kept reading, there's a part where she finds a body that's been tortured and burned and she gasps, and Kai is worried about her and says they should step back so she doesn't have to keep looking, and she's like "oh no it's not this GRUESOME CORPSE that surprised me, it's this map I found right next to it." Gotta keep reminding myself this is a ten year old girl. Kid's gonna be a stone cold killer.

That's my girl lol. Except also remember at the same time she is afraid of the dark.

And the most difficult enemy she's ever faced is a simple cookie recipe LOL

I'm so mad because work got crazy just as I wanted to jump into these. I'm about halfway through book 2 now so I can't say too much there. I do want to say that the one thing I like most from book 1 is how much better Kwin's story feels. It was always good, but now it feels less about how emotional her story is and more about how it got there, if that makes sense. Her conversation with Kai is better than I remember but then also Kai's conversations with her dad also add so much more. It feels more about both of them now, how she was hurting and didn't feel listened to, how he was trying but was overwhelmed and barely hanging on, and also how he's kind of old fashioned and just didn't know how to deal with depression like that. He didn't come to her to ask her to wake up because he was trying to brush her feelings under the rug, he did that because he was at the end of his rope and didn't know what to do. They were both hurt and scared and overwhelmed and I feel that so much better in this rewrite, and it makes them reconnecting feel a lot more satisfying. Rewriting the library scene felt better too because now it's less about a wakeup call for Kwin and more like helping her understand that she isn't stuck anymore, that it's ok that she's afraid but now she has other people to lean on, and it makes sense that Kwin doesn't really get that because she's never been used to having friends, this is all new territory for her. Like she even said at the end, being friends with Kai was what made her feel doubt about ending her life, and that doubt scared her. Anyway lol all this to say that the story with her and her dad feels a lot better now which is great because it was already the best part of book 1 for me. I might go into the main story later but I had to get this out.

Speaking of Kwin too I noticed that all of the mirror world characters' names started with the same letter as the real people, like Alan for Alastor. I was wondering why Abigail was the only exception, and then I realized that when Kwin entered the dream for the first time she didn't have her nickname yet, so Abigail would only have memories of her name being Ashley. I thought that was a cute little detail.

Hannah wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 23, 2024 4:47 pm

Speaking of Kwin too I noticed that all of the mirror world characters' names started with the same letter as the real people, like Alan for Alastor. I was wondering why Abigail was the only exception, and then I realized that when Kwin entered the dream for the first time she didn't have her nickname yet, so Abigail would only have memories of her name being Ashley. I thought that was a cute little detail.

Ok, kinda disappointed in myself I didn't get this BUT legit I only thought Abigail had the name we did because Arty and some others watched the scary movie with the same name this year LOL. I already knew all the others had names with matching first letters at least. This reason makes it even better! Except I totally figured Abigail would have chosen a different name completely specifically to get rid of any association with Kwin she could.

Hannah wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 23, 2024 4:47 pm

Rewriting the library scene felt better too because now it's less about a wakeup call for Kwin and more like helping her understand that she isn't stuck anymore, that it's ok that she's afraid but now she has other people to lean on, and it makes sense that Kwin doesn't really get that because she's never been used to having friends, this is all new territory for her. Like she even said at the end, being friends with Kai was what made her feel doubt about ending her life, and that doubt scared her.

I was looking at this scene again the other night because it's one of my favorites and yeah I was thinking about how at the end Kwin tells Kai that she already knew what he was gonna say, it made me look at what she said a little different. Because she gives this long beautiful speech, and she's a good speaker already but she's not someone who really talks like that normally. She's too concise and efficient for that and sometimes it's like pulling teeth to get her to talk at all. So I was thinking, she probably had that speech bouncing around in her head for years just in the hope she'd be able to tell someone someday. She tried it with her dad and it didn't work and she didn't have anyone else she could tell. But she wanted to so bad. So the instant she knows Kai is receptive to it, she finally gets to get that all off her chest. She had a lot of feelings and just wanted to be heard and understood. So yeah when she says that she knew what he was going to say and just wanted him to convince her, I'm sure she was making herself be brave and was really hopeful at this chance to finally say this stuff. If Kai and Lindsay hadn't come along she would have taken that all to her grave. That story really is all about friendship, because Kai was there and supportive and everything but it was also just the fact that he was there for her to begin with and listened to her and helped her feel understood in a way no one else had before. She just wanted to be heard and she had a whole speech ready for when she was brave enough to take the chance again.

I love this kid so much lol.