I completely forgot how bad it was. Myra evolved and matured over the years so I completely forgot her origins as a whiny teenager (written by a teenager who was very clearly not having a typical teenage experience). Part of the reason is probably because I wrote this in the first person, so even though Myra wasn't me, I was remembering her as better than she was--you know, because all our memories show us as the protagonist, right? No? That's just me? Okay...
(By the way, I love how arbitrary all the ages I chose are. It's like, "Anything older than 14 is practically an adult! 20s are totally the be-all end-all!" I had such a bad thing coming...)
Myra was another foray into a different genre. While I will give my 15-year old self credit for the attempted variety of Part II, all I can say about part III is...what was I thinking? I bit off way more than I can chew!
Myra's a descendant of the survivors of Part II (few though they were) (and disgustingly conveniently heterosexually paired off, I might add) (Tam marries some dude named Liam??!). So many people died that Lapis had to step in and have a couple kids of her own, which introduced magic to the gene pool. It's actually really stupid magic because the kind of magic I'd built, like Myra's seven sisters, was just too complicated to explain in a small amount of space. Only Victoria and Nelson (Nelson?) have powers related to their actual personalities then or now.
Myra doesn't have a power but that doesn't matter because her great-grandma Lapis is going to be incredibly irresponsible and set her great-granddaughter loose with magical time traveling. All Myra has to do is read a book (a book--singular) about a point in history (like Egypt--EGYPT) and then travel. And she fits right in!
I did, like, no research for this section. I read voraciously about all the places Myra travels, but didn't do any actual research. Aiyah. And to add insult to injury, there's no depth to the people Myra meets--it's not just that there's not enough time with them, it's that they're not distinct enough to be memorable, or for me to care that much about them.
Myra has horrific mood swings. She settles down a bit by the end, and I think (not having reread it yet) she's more mature in Part IV, but there's no real explanation of how she got from point A to point B. I think I got so caught up in the what of the story--the time traveling--that I neglected the other four questions. While plot-heaviness is still something that I struggle with, I'm happy to say that my struggles are a bit less egregious.
Finally, this family is on the abusive side of dysfunctional. It's not charming or funny anymore, as I clearly thought it was at the time. I have a theory about that, but alas, I must keep it to myself.
Anyway, time for some direct references and then I can bid this train wreck goodbye. (Would you believe me if I said that I'm still proud of this thing, despite how terrible it is?)
211) Myra's family is incredibly truncated from its original size (which has only expanded since). She originally had all four grandparents and seven sisters, many of them adopted. Also, there are apparently a lot of forced marriages. Because marriage is the only way by which kids are produced. *Sigh*
215) I flaunt my politics: tomatoes are fruits! Also, Myra cries. Just because, as far as I can tell.
250) I actually laughed out loud at the *dramatic moment* that ends the chapter.
Finally, one other thing I'd change? More time between Part II and Part III. I learned in college that it takes at least three generations for a major trauma like a relatively short-term genocide to be worked through.
See you soon for the final fourth and final part!
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