Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Stargirl is a timeless story about the battle between individuality and popularity in high school. I found the story well-paced, easy to take in, and relatable. There's nothing more captivating than the mystery of what makes an unusual person tick. I also love explorations about what makes us normal or unusual in the first place, as I think we can all relate to that confounding notion, no matter what stage we're at in life.

It was fascinating to follow Leo's story as he and the rest of his classmates struggle with Stargirl's unfettered individualism. I had to know what would happen--both with Stargirl, and with Leo and his affections for her. While I wished I could have gotten to know Stargirl earlier in the narrative (through dialogue and more fully fleshed scenes), Spinelli's concise prose weaves an undeniable rhythm that stays with you long after you've finished reading.

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Love Letters to the Dead, Ava Dellaira

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

It took me a while to process my reaction to this book, primarily because the prose is so gorgeous. I don't often fall for pretty words, but in this case, the imagery matches the main character's voice so well. Laurel broke my heart, not because of her tragic story, but because of the way she sees the world. She is closed off, trapped in her own head, trying to make connections through the letters she writes to dead artists--musicians, actors...people like Kurt Cobain and Judy Garland.

The novel takes the form of Laurel's letters to these people. The epistolary form requires a bit of patience from the reader. The narrative can seem wandering and repetitive at times, even forced. But if you put yourself in the mindset of a teen actually writing these letters, they are more fascinating than anything else. Reading Laurel's story was an experience I will not soon forget.

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A Few Great Reads

Here are my latest five star YA reads! Plus, a great MG author to discover and a captivating adult noir read from my book club. I also read quite a few other strong books in the last month or two, so you can always find me on GoodReads for more recommendations.

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A captivating story with a unique world and compelling characters that will steal your heart and keep you turning pages through the night!




All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a unique concept, and so very well executed. From the lovely, clear prose to the quiet, wrenching moments, All Our Yesterday's has everything you could ever want in a YA read. Highly recommended.



Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is not just a story, but all of our stories--such a close examination of what it is to live and love, unlike anything I've ever read before. It took me a few pages to relax into the narrative style, but once I did I could not read quickly enough nor slowly enough, and often found myself stopping to read again, and again, as the meaning and phrases built momentum, propelling the story forward, and taking me with it. I loved following the many different characters, as they took their separate yet entwined journeys. I loved the effortless sense of place and self Levithan develops with his beautiful yet understated imagery. And I loved the bare honesty he put upon the page, something I aspire to in my own writing. While this is not a light everyday read, it is a worthy read, and one that will take up a place in your heart.


Thanks to a recommendation from my lovely agent, I've recently discovered Cynthia Kadohata's work, and I recommend it to anyone who loves deep, character-driven middle grade!

 The Thing About Luck by Cynthia Kadohata
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I fell in love with the writing and characters here, and am eager to read Kira-Kira now.




I don't fit in a ton of adult fiction these days, but this book was well worth my time:

The Dinner by Herman Koch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this book with my book club in November, and it was unlike much I'd read before. Fans of Gone Girl will surely enjoy this story.




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Two Boys Kissing, David Levithan

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is not just a story, but all of our stories--such a close examination of what it is to live and love, unlike anything I've ever read before. It took me a few pages to relax into the narrative style, but once I did I could not read quickly enough nor slowly enough, and often found myself stopping to read again, and again, as the meaning and phrases built momentum, propelling the story forward, and taking me with it. I loved following the many different characters, as they took their separate yet entwined journeys. I loved the effortless sense of place and self Levithan develops with his beautiful yet understated imagery. And I loved the bare honesty he put upon the page, something I aspire to in my own writing. While this is not a light everyday read, it is a worthy read, and one that will take up a place in your heart.

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For the Love of Contemporary

I've read some great YA contemporaries of late. Aristotle & Dante was my favorite--perhaps my favorite book of the year. As I enter into revisions on my MG novel, I'm on to MG contemporaries for a while (and a little YA fantasy for fun), but if you're looking for a great read, check these titles out!

 The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth LaBan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very skillful exploration of tragedy as a theme, with an interesting cast of characters and a hook that draws you in right at the beginning. Our present day MC is Duncan, who arrives at his boarding school to discover that the boy who had the room before him left him a pile of CDs. On the CDs are hours of recordings, recordings that hold the secret to what happened to that boy, Tim, the year before--a mystery that plays out in a heartfelt way that kept me turning pages.


Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book contains some of the loveliest writing I have encountered in a novel of late. I think that speaks to the author's background in poetry--absolutely gorgeous, uncluttered prose. And paired with such a wonderful and touching story. I loved every single page. Ten out of five stars!


OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A wonderful YA voice and a fascinating topic.





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Confession: I Don't Always Finish a Read

*waits for boos*

Yep. That's right. I don't always finish reading a book. You may be thinking, and this is news why? Well, because that's not always been the case. Up until about a year ago, I ALWAYS finished reading. Sometimes it took weeks, months--but eventually, I'd finish reading every single book I started.

Not anymore.

Part of me feels liberated, but another part sad. Even before I'd ever considered writing, I studied literature. I appreciated the toil behind every single word on the page. My fingers couldn't get enough of the paper--that crisp snap of turning a page over in a split second as my eyes devoured the inky words. I still feel that way about reading. But now that I'm writing, well, I only have so much "word time" in my eyeballs for each day. I consider myself a pretty quick reader, but I  honestly don't know how agents and editors read as much as they do. I mean, they read MOUNTAINS of words. More words than my poor eyeballs could ever take in.

So I've given myself permission to stop reading if a book doesn't work for me, even though I still feel rotten about it. I like to keep those books in a "maybe later" pile. Seems nicer that way. But as much as I can regret not finishing a book that doesn't work for me, I love that saving the time paves the way for even more AWESOME reads. On that note, here are a few of the best YA books I've read lately!


The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The best paced YA novel I've ever read. Swept me off my feet. Loved the world, and the characters even more so. A chillingly rational answer to a familiar hypothesis: when the aliens arrive, what will happen to us?



The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A lovely, eloquent story of survival in the face of grief. Millay has a talent for letting the reader into her character's souls. I enjoyed every word.




Legend by Marie Lu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wonderful characters and an interesting world construct make this series stand out in the field of dystopian YAs. If you haven't read Legend, go for it, because the whole series is out this year! No waiting! :)



The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a great read, with such honest, complicated emotions and incredible chemistry--I couldn't put it down.




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This Song Will Save Your Life, Leila Sales

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I read This Song Will Save Your Life, I was prepared for music. What I was not prepared for was a full-body immersion into the world of late-night clubbing and DJing. As a life-long nerd, I can honestly say that this was never my scene, per se, although I DO love music. Very, very much. And so I related easily to Elise and her emotional connection to the music and the DJ scene she discovers.

Elise is a girl with troubles. She's struggled her who life to find her place--and that's a common enough trope in YA. What's different about this story is how proactive and brave Elise is, even in making the wrong decisions. I couldn't help but read on to find out what would happen to Elise in the end. Would she really stay with Char, the uber-cool warehouse DJ? Or when her skills surpass his, would she find a way to own her own success for the very first time?

While it takes a while to warm up to Elise (thus my 4.5 star rating), her observations about the world and her place in it are compelling and honest, and the journey is nothing short of exciting and quickly-paced. Highly recommend, especially if you, too, have music in your blood.

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Click to Subscribe, by L.M. Augustine

You know that moment, when one of your friends announces they've self-published a book, and you're basically terrified that you will read said book and, well, dislike it? Perhaps even think it's terrible? Yeah, that moment is no fun. Because we want our friends to succeed. We want them to write great books. We want to LOVE their books.

Well, my friend wrote a book. It's a YA romance. And I loved it. YAY!


Click to Subscribe by L.M. Augustine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Click to Subscribe has all the components of a devourable read: witty dialogue, raw emotion, and a quick pace. I found myself reading at a whip-fast pace, only to stop and re-read sections of the story because they struck so true that I wanted to enjoy them all over again.

West is a guy we want to cheer for from the very first page. As male POV characters go, he is one of the more well-rounded and sensitive young men I've seen in a YA story. West has feelings. He thinks about them. He acts on them. And this reader cared very much about what would happen to him in the end.

Is West meant to be with Cat, his life-long best friend, and the only real support he has left in his life? Or will shifting their platonic relationship result in romantic disaster? These are the questions many of us have face in our lives. These decisions are never easy, and this story shows every nuance of such a dilemma with great sensitivity and sparkling wit--believe me, there's dialogue here you do not want to miss.

If you're looking for a read that will fly by and leave you smiling (and perhaps with a hankering for chocolate cake), this book is for you.



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Fangirl, Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was fortunate enough to grab an eGalley of FANGIRL, and I tore through it in a day. Loved the characters, the setting, and the premise surrounding fanfiction. Rowell achieves such terrific intimacy on the page that I was invested in Cath's life from page one. I couldn't wait to find out if Cath would discover her true path in writing, or finish that incredible fanfic about a wizardly world, or make peace with her twin sister Wren, or (of course) get the guy. A page turner, a heart-render, and a lovely read all in one. Well done, again, Rainbow.

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The Disenchantments, Nina LaCour

The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This lovely book is my first five-star read since Eleanor & Park! I've been reading a bit here and there, and finding books I really, really liked but didn't love beyond the four star mark. Then I took The Disenchantments on vacation with me, thinking I'd only have time to read one book in between dodging merchandising and people at Disney--and I read the whole dang thing on the plane to Florida.

Like, sucked the story in so quickly I'm pretty sure I'm going to read it again before I turn it back in to the library. And then I'm going to buy my own copy so I have it on hand every time I want to flip back to a certain section and re-live it. Okay, enough gushing about how much I'm obsessing over this story. Here's WHY:

Colby, our adorable male MC, is about the embark on a tour with his best friend's all-girl band, after which they're planning to travel Europe rather than start college . . . until a few pages in, when his bestie Bev confesses she can't go with him, and Colby's world crashes into a pile of twisted wreckage. This happens right out of the gate, and is delivered with NO MERCY. This is why I love this book. LaCour doesn't pull any punches--if anything, she socks you in the gut when you least expect it, over and over again.

Sometimes, I have moments when I'm reading where I get so frustrated that a character is holding back only because the author has them gagged--but not in this book, not once. LaCour's characters say all the things. They do all the things. They chase a fading dream and clutch at straws as the future turns murky and uncertain, until the road trip is over, and all the truths have come to light, and all of the things have been said. Doesn't that sound AWESOME? It is.

The Disenchantments is a fabulous piece of YA writing, and with a fabulous male MC for the point of view. Go on the road trip with him. You won't regret it.

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Ship Breaker, Paolo Bacigalupi

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fascinating, unique world unlike any other I have visited! Paired with a compelling hero and a gripping cast of characters, this story of loyalty and survival in a terribly harsh world is a triumph. I imagine my mind will continue to dwell in this setting for days to come.

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The Madman's Daughter, Megan Shepherd

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Madman's Daughter has an amazing premise--the daughter of Dr. Moreau seeks out her infamous scientist father on a remote island only to discover the truth of his work--but it's the writing that really shines in this story.

As writers, we often wrestle with the concept of theme. How should themes weave through the narrative? How overtly do you build the connections? How much is too much, or not enough? Well, Megan Shepherd is a master of theme, and I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a flawless example of building thematic connections without overwhelming the reader.

As we follow young Juliet's journey (which is a journey of the heart as much as across the sea), the themes of strangeness and otherness build effortlessly on every page. This story is not just read, but felt, from the scurrying, insect-like movement of the people and animals to the pungency of the salt air and suffocating heat of the jungle. As you read, you begin to feel Juliet's desperate need to escape at the core of your being, clawing away at you, worrying your stomach with the same fear she faces--what if you escape one terrifying existence only to discover you have fallen into another, more horrible reality?

If you aren't familiar with the classic story, The Island of Dr. Moreau, never fear. You don't need to know it to enjoy this story. The Madman's Daughter will sweep you up and take you on a terrifying thrill ride all on its own.

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Fracture, by Megan Miranda

Fracture by Megan Miranda
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was on my way into the city last week to luxuriate in my friend's hotel room (sans children), when I realized I had NOTHING to read. So I popped into one of those awful, cramped bookstores at Penn Station and scoured the shelves for something that looked addictive--I wanted to consume, and be consumed, and generally wreck myself for the afternoon.

I found FRACTURE tucked away in the YA section, and I got exactly what I wanted.

This is the story of Delaney Maxwell, a teen whose near-death by drowning (in a frozen lake OMG) leaves her struggling to get by--both in her own mind, and in her interactions with her friends and family. Her neighbor/bestie Decker hovers, tortured by the fact that he played a role in her accident, while her family questions her mental health. Which only worsens as Delaney becomes haunted by strange new sensations, odd pullings deep in her mind that seem to draw her to the dying . . . which brings Troy into her life--a mysterious older boy who can somehow relate to what she's experiencing, and whose guidance she cannot help but seek--even when the answers turn dark.

It turns out that nearly dying isn't just hard on the person who nearly-dies, as Miranda shows us in this fascinating story about the mind, and love, and death. Overall, FRACTURE is a fantastic YA read with all of the right components: a shadowy mystery, a winding love story, and some incredible, heart-pounding action. Highly recommend.

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The Future of Us GIVEAWAY!

The Future of Us by Jay Asher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Future of Us is a lovely young adult novel, full of all of the ups and downs of classic YA, with a nice little twist--the narrative is told in alternating perspectives. As our two main characters, Emma and Josh, jump down the rabbit-hole of internet discovery (and accidental FACEBOOK discovery), we get to see and feel and hear each of their points of view.

And the technique works!

The story barrels forward, with never a dull moment, and with the added wonderful conflict of watching these two misinterpret and mislead each other as they struggle with the time-twisting mystery before them. I really enjoyed this read. It was entertaining, fun, and satisfying--and I highly recommend it for a light Valentines read.

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Now for the most important part, the GIVEAWAY!

As you may well know, February 14th is coming up, and this book is a perfect little Valentine's Day treat. I'm giving away one paperback copy of The Future of Us, which may perhaps arrive accompanied by CHOCOLATE, the perfect gift for any occasion, but especially for Valentine's.

To enter, leave a comment below! Comments will be open until:

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10th at MIDNIGHT EST

. . . so that I have time to get this special Valentine's surprise to one lucky winner. Just be sure to leave a twitter @ or other contact information with your comment.

GOOD LUCK and HAPPY FEBRUARY!

A Newbery First!

This was the first year I waited with true excitement to find out who won the Newbery Medal. Sure, I've read a TON of Newbery and Caldecott books over the years, but this was the first year I felt a personal connection to the awards. Because I'm writing these kind of books now (MG, not Newbery winners. Puh-leaze.).

And I can imagine everything it took for these books to make it onto the page, into print, onto the shelves, and into readers' hands. Wow. What an astounding accomplishment. I offer my sincere congratulations to all of the winners today, and to every writer out there walking the path, putting words to paper every day.

2013 John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature:

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

2013 Newbery Honors go to:

• Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz
• Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
• Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

2013 Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:

This Is Not My Hat illustrated and written by Jon Klassen

2013 Caldecott Honors go to:

• Creepy Carrots! illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds
• Extra Yarn illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett
• Green illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
• One Cool Friend illustrated by David Small, written by Toni Buzzeo
• Sleep Like a Tiger illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Mary Logue

2013 Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:

In Darkness by Nick Lake

2013 Printz Honors go to:

• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
• Dodger by Terry Pratchett
• The White Bicycle by Beverley Brenna

2013 Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences:

• Caring is Creepy by David Zimmerman
• Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman
• Juvenile in Justice by Richard Ross
• Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
• My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf
• One Shot at Forever by Chris Ballard
• Pure by Julianna Baggott
• The Round House by Louise Erdrich
• Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
• Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple

2013 Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States:

The Fault in Our Stars produced by Brilliance Audio.  The book is written by John Green and narrated by Kate Rudd.

2013 Odyssey Honors go to:

• Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian produced by Listening Library, written by Eoin Colfer and narrated by Nathaniel Parker;
• Ghost Knight produced by Listening Library, written by Cornelia Funke and narrated by Elliot Hill; and
• Monstrous Beauty produced by Macmillian Audio, written by Elizabeth Fama and narrated by Katherine Kellgren.

2013 Pura Belpré (Author) Award:

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

2013 Pura Belpre’ Honors go to:

The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonia Manzano

2013 Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award:

Martín de Porres: The Rose in the Desert  illustrated by David Diaz, written by Gary D. Schmidt

2013 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children:

Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

2013  Sibert Honors go to:

• Electric Ben: The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin written and illustrated by Robert Byrd
• Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 by Phillip M. Hoose
• Titanic: Voices from the Disaster written by Deborah Hopkinson

2013 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book:

Up, Tall and High! written and illustrated by Ethan Long

2013 Geisel Honors go to:

• Let’s Go for a Drive! written and illustrated by Mo Willems
• Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin, created and illustrated by James Dean
• Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover written and illustrated by Cece Bell

2013 William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens:

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Short Story: Why Do I LOVE Books SO MUCH?!

Yes. That's right. I'm so flipping crazy-headed over a book right now that I just used a question mark and an exclamation point in sequence AND I DON'T CARE. What's wrong with me? What, or rather, WHO happened to me?

Well.

This weekend, I discovered Laini Taylor's latest series. Although, to be fair, DAUGHTER OF SMOKE & BONE has been on my TBR list for ages, I finally got down to reading it. Which I did in a day. And then the next day, I drove my behind straight to the nearest bookstore and bought the sequel, DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT. And I read it even more quickly than the first book.

And now I have to wait until APRIL 2014 to read BOOK THREE. *dies a little*

If you're thinking, wow, I can't wait to hear about these books . . . well, sorry. No book reviews here. I'll post those when I'm sane, after I've finished the grieving process. Because right now, my heart is so darn full of Karou and Akiva and their worlds and the flying and the death and the hope that I cannot be a nice, normal writer who provides witty and inspiring book reviews. I'm full-on fan-girling. And that makes me wonder:

Why does this happen to me? HOW does this happen to a reader?

Because I have loved books. I have loved so many books, over so many years, and every single time I fall in love I can't believe it's happened again. That someone else's WORDS could so easily capture me, kidnap me, and wreck me so profoundly that I have to mourn the book when it's over. It's ridiculous. It's consuming. And most importantly, it's essential. Because a life without these other worlds, these other people and their lives and their struggles and their triumphs, well, that life is not worth imagining.

What I'm pondering instead, as I sit here deep in the midst of my latest book-inflicted-grief, is what makes me fall in love with a book.

Well, for one, it's the characters. The few books I've failed to finish had lame characters--people I couldn't care about no matter how hard I tried (and believe me, I try. I'm a reader, guys. I WANT to love your book. I will sift through chapters of inconsequential, boring mess to follow a good character). But the books I love, I swear, I think I might run into the characters on the street at any moment. That they (be they humans or angels or demons) might, just might pop up on my doorstep, needing something, still caught up in the throes of their own narratives. I feel this way because the author LETS ME IN. They let me know the character and their every thought, feeling, and struggle. They let me care for them. It's a confluence of every small action, every adjective and verb, every nuance--and when executed perfectly, the result is love.

What else? Well, I have to have a good, solid storyline. Not too complex. Definitely NOT ludicrous (I can suspend disbelief with the best of them. The only movie I ever walked out of was SOLARIS, and I gave it a good hour before giving up. Too much weepy Clooney for anyone to endure). I've read books in so many different veins that I know it's not the content of the story that catches me. Laini Taylor's books are the very first angel & demon stories I've ever read. It's the strong construction of the universe, its rules, and the characters' motivations that make me love a plot. It's like stepping on the right roller coaster. Not a kiddie ride. And not a silly, thinly-veiled marketing toy. But a for-real, well-engineered, rolling monster of terror and delight. That's the coaster I want, although it takes many forms.

And finally, for this reader, THE WRITING. That's nice and ambiguous, right? Covers all manner of things--voice, and the quality of description, the flow of backstory, the knitting of words into gorgeous sentences. I've read many a book that didn't boast great writing. I've enjoyed them. But I've never LOVED them. To love a book, the writing has to take me there to that other place so completely that I forget my life, and in the end, leave me more than a little awed that a human being could have ever produced words such as these. I find great writing more often than I expect, from sweet and searching middle grade like WHEN YOU REACH ME to gorgeous young adult contemporary like THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, to sweeping, heart-wrenching fantasy like DAUGHTER OF SMOKE & BONE.

I love them all. They wreck me. They leave me wanting for something I cannot have, but I would never choose to have it any other way.

The power of words is incredible.

Shadow and Bone, Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Holy awesome world-building! If you want to get lost in a new place, read this book. Shadow & Bone has a familiar fantasy premise and likable characters, but the real star of the show is the setting. Russian tsarist inspired, with tasty bits of language and food sprinkled throughout, this setting is the most unique and fascinating place I've visited in a book lately.

Alina is a young woman with no ties in the world except to her fellow orphan and house-mate, Mal (yes, that name made me think of Nathan Fillion every time I read it. Which doesn't hurt.). Alina and Mal have joined the army, as many young folk in their war-torn nation of Ravka do--but change is coming. Alina has a secret. A secret so deep, and so powerful, that she has even hidden it from herself.

When Mal's life is threatened, Alina's surprising power emerges, only to be challenged and harnessed by The Darkling (AKA the most delicious villain ever). Follow Alina's journey as she struggles to define her magic, her relationships, and what the future holds.

If you loved Graceling, or if you've read any other fantasy book with kings and magic and lust, you'll enjoy this read.

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The Crossing

I decided to throw my hat into the ring for a contest on Figment: Defy the Dark. You can read my short story, The Crossing, here, and here's a quick blurb to give you the run-down:

In a world ruled by fear, Sera must trust in herself and her love for Ren to guide her across the gap, through the territory of the wanderers, to a chance at life in the Free Zone.

I've been reading Steven King's On Writing of late, and for once writing a scary story appealed to me. I tried to be very Mr. King about this, and wrote with little idea of where the story was headed, with the faith that somehow, it would all work out in the end.

If you haven't checked out Figment, you should! They run a lot of provoking writing contests and have a ton of great YA content, as I blogged about a while ago. Read that post for more details. Happy writing!

These Days Are Ours, Michelle Haimoff

These Days Are Ours by Michelle Haimoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've always felt contemporary novels have a tough task on their plates--without the action, adventure, or mystery of other genres, can they be captivating? These Days Are Ours certainly captured my attention, or to be more accurate, I should say the characters did.

This is the first novel I've read featuring modern-day, upper crust teens from the NYC scene, and I found the glimpse into their lives and attitudes fascinating. What DO financially independent young people do after college? How do they find who they are, or what to spend their time on, when they don't have to work out of necessity?

Haimoff explores these questions with humor and emotion; her characters struggle to find the answers, and in a post 9-11 world, those answers are never simple or easy to find.

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Insurgent, Veronica Roth

Insurgent by Veronica Roth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have to take a deep breath before I write this one. Because I have a hangover. I have an Insurgent hangover, and if I hold too tightly to the emotions swirling around in my body I'll lose it. If that's not enough of an endorsement for this, the second of Veronica Roth's novels set in a dystopian future, read on, there's more.

Divergent, the first in the series, sets us up with our main characters: Tris, or Beatrice Prior, whose voice narrates the novels, and Four, her instructor and love interest, along with a host of well-fleshed side characters from family to friends to fellow initiates. Initiates into what? In this future, society is divided into four factions, each guided by a particular proclivity: Amity, Erudite, Candor, and Dauntless. And then, of course, there are the factionless.

For those of you who have not read Divergent, I'm not going to spoil it for you. I'm not even going to say much more about the plot in Insurgent. What I'd like to describe is the way the reader feels reading these novels. You feel like you are THERE, back in THAT PLACE. Not in dystopian future Chicago, but rather in that place a young person occupies, where emotions shift like water and you live and die by the state of your heart and make the rules up as you go.

There were scenes that brought me back to that day in high school when I first met my husband, young and reckless, contrary and entirely irresistible, and other scenes that sent my heart sinking, drowning, like it did the many times we almost lost each other. There was a whole new fascinating world to explore, a world that is so refreshingly different it doesn't make SENSE. Reading Divergent, and now Insurgent, you will find yourself in strangely familiar yet completely unknown territory, and it is that duality that makes Roth's world so captivating.

In short, read it. My only regret is that I have months, or maybe a year, to wait for the next book in the series!

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