Bookanista Rec :: JUST ONE YEAR

October 24, 2013October 23, 20137 Comments

Today’s Bookanista recommendation is
Just One Year by Gayle Forman

From Goodreads – When he opens his eyes, Willem doesn’t know where in the world he is—Prague or Dubrovnik or back in Amsterdam. All he knows is that he is once again alone, and that he needs to find a girl named Lulu. They shared one magical day in Paris, and something about that day—that girl—makes Willem wonder if they aren’t fated to be together. He travels all over the world, from Mexico to India, hoping to reconnect with her. But as months go by and Lulu remains elusive, Willem starts to question if the hand of fate is as strong as he’d thought. The romantic, emotional companion to Just One Day, this is a story of the choices we make and the accidents that happen—and the happiness we can find when the two intersect.

(My Bookanista recommendation of Gayle Forman’s Just One Day is HERE.)

Oh, how I have anticipated this novel! Since I read the final pages of Just One Day way back in February, I’ve wondered and worried about the fate of Allyson and Willem. I’ve also wondered and worried about how Just One Year would measure up to its predecessor. I empathize with Allyson so much, and reading her story was an incredible experience. How could Willem “The Deserter” De Ruiter possibly compete in the narration department? (Incidentally, these were the very same concern I had before reading If I Stay‘s companion story, Where She Went.) Turns out all my agonizing has been for nothing. Gayle Forman writes consistently amazing duet novels, and I will never doubt her brilliance again.

There are so many things to love about Just One Year. Willem is everything I adore in a male character all rolled into one. He’s damaged, sensitive, passionate, searching, adventurous — perfectly imperfect. Despite knowing Lulu (Allyson) for just one day, he’s found the best in her and he latches on (in a totally non-creepy way). Even after Lulu’s long gone, that “stain” on Willem’s heart won’t rub off, and he eventually finds the courage to face his long-standing demons.

Second only to Willem’s amazingness are Just One Year‘s exotic locales. This novel is a whirlwind journey with stops in Paris, Amsterdam, Cancun, and Mumbai. To be completely honest, with the exception of Paris, I’ve never had much desire to visit any of the cities listed above, but through Willem’s eyes, they felt colorful and exciting and accessible. Just One Year has given this homebody an incredible case of wanderlust. Seriously, the varying cultures as described in Gayle Forman’s beautiful, evocative prose become supporting characters in Willem’s story. I liked them almost as much as Broodje and Kate!

I could spend all day fangirling over Just One Year. It’s one of my favorite reads of 2013, and Gayle Forman is most definitely one of my favorite contemporary authors. But instead of continuing to rave, I’ll close with a quote that I hope will encourage you to pick up Just One Year as soon as possible…

By that point, it’ll have been more than year since I met Lulu. Any sane person would say it’s too late. It already felt too late that first day, when I woke up in the hospital. But even so, I’ve kept looking. I’m still looking.

Don’t forget to check out what my fellow Bookanistas are up to:

Christine Fonseca is delighted by BY BLOOD by Tracy Banghart

Jessica Love is traveling with TIME AFTER TIME by Tamara Ireland Stone

Nikki Katz is wow’d by THE SPECTACULAR NOW by Tim Tharp

Kimberly Sabatini is reveling in THE MOON AND MORE by Sarah Dessen

What’s Up Wednesday

October 23, 2013October 23, 201334 Comments

“What’s Up Wednesday” is a fun weekly meme started by my friends Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk. From Jaime: It’s similar in some respects to the Currently… post, but it’s been whittled down to only four headings to make it quicker and more manageable on a weekly basis. You’re invited to join us if you’re looking for something to blog about, a way to let your blog friends know what’s been going on with you. If you’re participating, make sure to link your What’s Up Wednesday posts to the list on Jaime’s blog each week. That way, others can visit your post and check out what you’ve been up to.And now, here’s what’s up with me this week…And now, here’s what’s up with me this week…

What I’m Reading: I finished Fault Line by Christa Desir and posted my Debut Author Challenge write-up HERE. I also read Lauren Myracle’s Shine, which was gripping, beautifully written, and incredibly unique. I loved it. My girlie and I read Dav Pilkey’s The Adventures of Captain Underpants together. She thought it was extraordinary. I thought it was super silly and very clever. Now, I’m rereading one of my favorite childhood books, Just as Long as We’re Together by Judy Blume. Pretty sure the people at my gym are judging me as I read it on the Stair Master, but I don’t care because it’s just as fab as I remember.

What I’m Writing: I love Scrivener. Like, so much. On Sunday, I took a good hard look at my WiP’s format and current outline, and realized that several scenes needed shifting. What would have taken me hours to copy and paste using Word took all of ten minutes to adjust using Scrivener. The cork board is most definitely my new best friend. As well as revising my outline, I wrote somewhere around 4K words over the last week. I have approximately ten scenes left to write before this first draft is done. Mostly, they’re the story’s climax and conclusion, and their pacing should be fast. Hopefully they’ll come easily and I’ll be writing THE END by Halloween. (Holy hell… That would be amazing!)

What Else I’ve Been Up To: Uh, signing up for #SipSwap, that’s what! Last year I had a blast participating in the mug exchange dreamed up by Jessica Love and Kelsey Macke, and I can’t wait to do it again this year.

You should definitely join in on the fun. Sign up HERE.

Over the weekend, we took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. I have a soft spot for the patch we used to visit in Washington, but our California patch, Hollister’s Swank Farms, is truly awesome. We had tons of fun navigating the corn maze, sling-shotting gourds, and picking pumpkins with our friends. Bonus… We ate yummy Mexican food after. 🙂

What’s Inspiring Me Now: Fantastic writing advice from Richard Price… “The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance.” Amazing, right? Also, this quote from Chuck Palahniuk…

Tell me… What’s up with you today?

Debut Author Challenge :: FAULT LINE

October 21, 2013October 21, 20138 Comments

(A note… I set out to read and review at least twelve debut novels in 2013, and including the review below, I have officially accomplished that goal. As of today, I’ve read fourteen debut novels, but a couple slipped by without official reviews. Hopefully I’ll be able to catch up before the end of the year!)

Today’s 2013 Debut Author Challenge review is
Fault Line by Christa Desir

From Goodreads – Ben could date anyone he wants, but he only has eyes for the new girl — sarcastic free-spirit, Ani. Luckily for Ben, Ani wants him too. She’s everything Ben could ever imagine. Everything he could ever want. But that all changes after the party. The one Ben misses. The one Ani goes to alone. Now Ani isn’t the girl she used to be, and Ben can’t sort out the truth from the lies. What really happened, and who is to blame? Ben wants to help her, but she refuses to be helped. The more she pushes Ben away, the more he wonders if there’s anything he can do to save the girl he loves.

(Disclaimer: Christa Desir is a dear friend, but her personal awesomeness has in no way impacted my review of her novel.)

A little background… While I’ve read a few of Christa’s (currently) unpublished manuscripts, Fault Line was written and sold before she and I became friendly and began trading work. Because I know and very much appreciate Christa’s stark, no-holds-barred writing style, and am often drawn to dark contemporary YA, I have been (impatiently) awaiting Fault Line‘s release for ages. Seriously… I teared up a bit when the beautiful hardcover was finally delivered to my house last week. I started reading immediately, and could hardly put it down.

Fault Line is not the kind of book that sweeps you off your feet with romance and exoticism, nor is it the sort of book you’ll fall traditionally head-over-heels in love with. It’s not a book that’s going to leave you with that warm, content feeling that’s common in contemporary YA. Fault Line not a pleasant read — in fact, a good deal of this story is downright painful — but it is an affecting book and, I think, an incredibly important novel.

Fault Line is the sort of book that’s going to make readers wonder what they’d do if they found themselves in Ben’s (or Ani’s) situation. It’s going to put them in its characters’ shoes and force them to ponder all of the what ifs? and if onlys Ben and Ani had to face. Fault Line is going to keep readers up at night. It’s going to make them worry about its characters, feel for its characters, and wish for better outcomes for its characters. This novel is going to start conversations about rape, victim blaming, and the “right” way to cope. It is remarkably relevant.

I’ve read a few reviews of Fault Line that took issue with its ending. Yes, it is abrupt, and yes, it is open-ended. But to me, it felt right. There are no easy outcomes when it comes to sexual assault, and to have given Ben and Ani a shiny, ribbon-tied coda would have been disingenuous. I’m so proud of Christa for ending her novel in a real (though difficult) place, a place that allows readers to imagine their own conclusion for these captivating characters.

Congratulations on a story well told, Christa. ♡

Learn more about the Debut Author Challenge HERE.

What’s the last debut novel you read?

What’s Up Wednesday

October 16, 2013October 15, 201343 Comments

What I’m Reading: I finished Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan. While I enjoyed the first half, the second was a little much for my taste. The story took a hard left into urban fantasy territory, which just isn’t my genre of choice. That said, I suspect that if you like stories about magic and evil and curses set in a big city, you’ll enjoy it. Next, I flew through Gayle Forman’s Just One Year, which was one of my most anticipated books of the year. Can I just say… I LOVED THIS STORY SO MUCH. It’s beautiful and moving, the perfect companion for Just One Day. I’ll rave about it more in a future Bookanista post, but for now… *happy sigh* Now, I’m reading Fault Line, written by my brave and brilliant and generous friend Christa Desir. It’s a tough story, but a very important story. I encourage you to check it out if you haven’t already.

What I’m Writing: I made some decent progress on my WiP over the last week, even though my daughter was on a break from school. I made time for writing in the early mornings, at the park, and after bedtime, and managed to rack up nearly six thousand words. I’m currently sitting pretty at about 74,600 words. I’m working on my last big scene, and then I have somewhere between eight and twelve smaller scenes to write. So… someday I will finish.

Surprisingly, the park is a pretty decent workspace.

A tiny excerpt from The Chapter That Nearly Killed Me :: Part of him wanted that now—the racy, no-holds-barred rush of being with Dylan—but the night’s mood was too melancholy for hollow hook-ups. More than anything, Tyler simply wanted her near. He wanted to drape an arm over her shoulders, hold her close, breathe her vanilla-and-nicotine scent, and hear her whispered assurances that life would, somehow, get its shit together.

What Else I’ve Been Up To: Oh, yanno. Other than writing and reading and working out and doing endless loads of laundry… Not much.

When my husband and I were in college, we spent Saturday nights drinking cheap beer and watching Cougar football games at Martin Stadium. Now, we watch them on the couch with the two bundles of excitement pictured above. I’ve gotta say… I’d rather be on the couch. ♥

In other news, I baked my very first, totally-from-scratch Apple Pie, and I even used locally grown apples. It turned out so yummy, and it was actually a lot easier than I’d anticipated. I used this recipe for the crust (I employed the food processor method), and this recipe for the apple filling. Recommend!

What’s Inspiring Me Now: Everyone knows I love to read (and write!) a good kiss, so of course I loved Jodi Meadow’s post About Kissing Scenes over at Pub(lishing) Crawl, all about why kissing scenes must amp up a story’s tension. Also, a cool post entitled 209 Ways to Describe Touch, which I came across on Pinterest. It’s an awesome source for descriptive sensory words. And finally…

Because I *really* need to remember this as I wind down my first draft.

Tell me… What’s up with you today?

What’s Up Wednesday

October 9, 2013October 8, 201346 Comments

What I’m Reading: I finished April Genevieve Tucholke’s debut, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, which was unique and twisty, then moved on to Kimberly Derting’s Dead Silence. I’ve loved all of her Body Finder novels, and this one is no exception. These murder mysteries are spooky and super well done, and Jay, the series’ love interest, is adorable. Now I’m reading Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan. It’s a story that requires major suspension of disbelief (spellseekers and cursecasters!), but I’m invested in Stephen and Elizabeth’s story, so I’m not having trouble letting go of my skepticism.

What I’m Writing: Still plugging away at my WiP. I keep thinking the end is in near, but then… my word count keeps climbing. I am a wordy first drafter, that’s for sure, but I’m hoping to wrap up this first phase in the next few weeks so I can tackle the revisions I already know are needed, and then let my CPs take a look. Yesterday I posted about my writing goals for the remainder of the year, if you’re interested in taking a look.

What Else I’ve Been Up To: Well, I tried to take my daughter apple picking, but unfortunately the orchard shut down its “you-pick” option two days ago. Mom fail! Luckily, we were able to buy a big bag of already-picked apples, so there’s still an apple pie in my family’s immediate future — yum!

There were pumpkins at the the apple orchard, so the day wasn’t a total bust.

On Saturday, my husband and I headed up to Berkeley to watch our Cougs play Cal. We had such an awesome day! We met up with some friends from college, drank cheap beer, and cheered WSU on to victory even though it was hot, hot, HOT in the stadium. Sometimes it’s fun to pretend we’re still wee college kids. 😉

Sunday morning I had some bananas to use up, so I searched online for a banana-y cookie. I came across a recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies and whipped up a batch. I substituted an extra banana for the stick of butter and threw in some peanut butter chips, and they turned out tasty. Though they do have sugar in them, these cookies have enough healthy ingredients (bananas, peanut butter, oats) to be considered breakfast, too.

What’s Inspiring Me Now: A post from agent Jennifer Laughran about common manuscript problems, specifically show-don’t-tell spoilers and rhetorical questions, called Nutshell Spoilers and the Rhetorical No-No. Come revision time, her tips will help me to take an extra critical look at my writing.

Also, one of my daughter’s best school friends is a little girl from Pakistan. Her mom invited me and a few other ladies over for lunch the other day and the food was aMaZiNg. Like, indescribably so. The conversation was fascinating as well. Hearing stories about life in Pakistan was incredibly inspiring and eye-opening. One of my favorite things about Army Life is meeting new people and learning about cultures that are different from my own.

Tell me… What’s up with you today?

What’s Up Wednesday (And Superlatives!)

October 2, 2013October 1, 201346 Comments

Before I get to my What’s Up Wednesday post, I’d like to take a moment to feature one of my favorite annual blogging events — one that’s coming up soon!

For the last two years, Jessica Love, Tracey Neithercott, Alison Miller, and I have hosted The YA Superlatives Blogfest, an interactive way to highlight our favorite YA novels, covers, characters, and story elements of the year. (My previous Superlative posts are HERE and HERE.) We’ve had a fantastic group of bloggers sign on to participate in the past, and it’s so much fun to hop from blog to blog to find out how our friends awarded their superlatives.

Jess, Tracey, Alison, and I have had such a great time talking about awesome books and getting to know new bloggers through this blogfest, we’ve decided to do it again! There will be lots more information about the specifics of the The Class of 2013: YA Superlatives Blogfest in the coming weeks (I can tell you that it will take place during the third week of December), but we wanted to give you a heads up now, so you have plenty of time to beef up your books-published-in-2013 reading list (there’s a comprehensive catalog of titles HERE).

Just like 2011 and 2012, the The Class of 2013: YA Superlatives Blogfest will be all about FUN and promoting fantastic novels! Don’t worry if your 2013 reading list is on the short side, or if you don’t have a book/character/cover/element for each category; we just want you to jump in and participate any way you can! Happy reading!

“What’s Up Wednesday” is a fun weekly meme started by my friends Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk. From Jaime: It’s similar in some respects to the Currently… post, but it’s been whittled down to only four headings to make it quicker and more manageable on a weekly basis. You’re invited to join us if you’re looking for something to blog about, a way to let your blog friends know what’s been going on with you. If you’re participating, make sure to link your What’s Up Wednesday posts to the list on Jaime’s blog each week. That way, others can visit your post and check out what you’ve been up to. And now, here’s what’s up with me this week…

What I’m Reading: I finished Bennett Madison’s September Girls, and now I understand why this is such a polarizing novel. It’s graphic and it’s haunting and it’s obviously not for everyone, but I loved it. It’s a surreal, trippy sort of story, beautifully written, and with a setting that felt both dreamlike and entirely real. Plus, main character Sam’s voice… Wow. Now, I’m reading April Genevieve Tucholke’s debut, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, a novel with one of the best settings I’ve seen in a while. I would love to visit Echo and the Citizen!

What I’m Writing: My WiP! You know how when you take an extended break from a project, it’s really had to pick it back up again? Well, my WiP and I have had a bit of a hiatus over the last few weeks, and I was dreading that moment when I’d have no more excuses and would have to sit down and attempt to recover the groove I once had. Last week I finally bit the bullet and dove back into the story and guess what? My groove has been recovered safe and sound! I’ve written about 6,000 words over the last seven days, and I’m thinking I have about 10K left to go.

My story is told in a rather untraditional format. Most of it takes place over the course of a year, but there are scenes from one transcendental present-tense night sprinkled throughout, a now-and-then structure, if you will. I am *almost* done with the “then” scenes (which make up about 85% of the story) and I can’t wait to get started on the “now” scenes. Progress!

What Else I’ve Been Up To: Mostly, I’ve been reading and writing and hanging out in the kitchen. This week I made Lentil Soup, a family favorite, plus Snickerdoodles and a Hootenanny (a really easy melding of a pancake and French toast that bakes in the oven). I also indulged in another fall dessert…

Apple Crumb Cake, which I thought was tasty and my daughter loved. She even ate it for breakfast (there’s fruit in it — why not?). My always-honest husband, on the other hand, declared this “not a favorite” of the treats I bake. He’s a peanut-butter-and-chocolate kind of guy, though, so let’s take his opinion with a grain of salt, shall we?

I’ve also been hanging with this girl, who plays soccer like her mama used to — timidly and lackadaisically. Contact sports have never been my thing (I swam in high school and now I run), and I’m pretty sure they won’t be my daughter’s either. Nevertheless, my husband and I have been working on the fundamentals of soccer with her. We’re trying to teach her how to be aggressive without being a jerk. It’s a pretty fine line when you’re six.

What’s Inspiring Me Now: The incomparable Laini Taylor‘s thoughts on Writing and “Found” Objects and Beachcombing, or why it’s awesome to be a plotter and a pantser all at once, as well as 2014 debut author Sara B. Larson‘s honest and thoughtful post On Overcoming Doubt…

Oddly enough, television has also been inspiring me. I don’t watch TV much, but I’m a faithful fan of a few shows — Breaking Bad being my favorite. Sunday night was the series finale, and I can’t express how anxious and sad I felt in the hours leading up to that last episode. I’ve grown so invested in Walt and Jesse and Skyler and Marie, and I’m continually blown away by the show’s amazing writing and no-holds-barred take on storytelling. There will be no finale spoilers here, but I will say that I was extraordinarily satisfied with the way the series wrapped up. For me, it was perfection. And on the other end of the television spectrum, the Uppermans have started watching The Voice, which is one of those rare shows that’s perfect for family viewing. My daughter loves it for the singing and the young talent, and I love it because it’s positive and clean and stresses the importance of hard work and perseverance. Even my husband, who was skeptical at first, is charmed by the humor of the coaches. I totally recommend The Voice if you’ve been living under a rock (like me) and have yet to catch an episode.

Tell me: What’s up with you today?

September Reading Wrap-Up

September 30, 2013September 29, 20132 Comments

(As always, covers link to Goodreads pages!)

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini – This book was less like reading a novel, and more like reading a series of short stories about several loosely related (and interestingly flawed) people. It’s a beautifully written story about family and friendship, identity and loyalty, and there’s a lot of fascinating history sprinkled in. While And the Mountains Echoed was excellent, I didn’t love it *quite* as much as A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Canary by Rachel Alpine – I liked this debut. It’s an issue book with a lot of issues: death of a parent, athlete elitism, academic integrity, sexual assault, and anxiety over a military family member’s well-being. My favorite part of Canary was main character Kate’s blog posts — mostly done in verse — sprinkled throughout the narrative. Her online words were thoughtful and profound and often very clever. I also thought her relationship with her big brother was incredibly well done. A good read for fans of contemporary YA. Debut Author Challenge review HERE.

The Truth About You & Me by Amanda Grace – I’ve read and enjoyed a few of Mandy Hubbard’s books now, and this Amanda Grace novel is by far my favorite. It’s a story of forbidden romance, one with a spin I haven’t seen before, and I think it’s executed brilliantly. If you like romantic contemporary YA that’s not all black and white, I definitely recommend The Truth About You & Me. My full Bookanista review is HERE.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – It’s hard for me to put my affection for this novel into words. Rainbow Rowell is a master of dialogue. She’s brilliant at crafting quirky, charming, blemished-in-the-best way characters. She’s a genius when it comes to taking commonplace situations and spinning them into something vibrant and unique and utterly compelling. And she writes the tingly feelings of first love like no other author I’ve read. Fangirl is a 2013 favorite for sure — recommend! My full Bookanista review is HERE.

My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi – I enjoyed this debut. It read as an entertaining sort of PSA, and featured a protagonist who experienced some profound personal growth. I especially enjoyed Lucy’s dads, who were always present and supportive and wonderful. Jessica Verdi’s writing is strong, and I look forward to reading more of her work.

The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp – (I’m not normally a fan of movie-version covers, but I think this one’s kind of pretty. Also, it’s the edition I own.) I adored this novel. It’s a raw, real story about a teen alcoholic who has deluded himself into believing he’s the life of every party, and that he’s helping (rather than corrupting) the shy girl who’s falling for him. Now that I’ve finished, I want to see the movie EVEN MORE. Check out my friend Erin Bowman‘s fantastic review of the novel and film.

September Girls by Bennett Madison – I get why this is a polarizing story. It’s graphic and it’s evocative and it’s obviously not for everyone, but I happen to have loved it. It’s a fantastical, surreal sort of book, gorgeously written, and with a setting that felt both dreamlike and absolutely real. Main character Sam’s voice was spot-on, thoughtful, and with just enough angsty snark. September Girls is definitely an upper-YA story (my husband read a bit and said there’s no way he’d want our daughter to read it when she’s a teen, so… there’s that), but I think it’s an important book that addresses some profound social issues. Recommend!

What’s the best book you read in September?

Bookanista Rec :: FANGIRL

September 26, 2013September 24, 20137 Comments

Today’s Bookanista recommendation is…
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

From Goodreads – From the author the New York Times bestseller Eleanor & Park, a coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love. Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . . But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere. Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to. Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone. For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

It’s sort of hard for me to put my affection for this novel into words. It is the quintessential Katy Book (romance and reading and writing!) and I adore everything about it. Seriously — everything, which doesn’t happen frequently. Like, even when I really, really love a book, there are often still instances when I’m reading along and am pulled out of the narrative to think huh, I would have done that scene a bit differently. But that did not happen while I was reading Fangirl. Not once. I can’t name one flaw, not one tiny thing I’d change about this story. In my mind, it was perfection; it was an absolute joy to visit Cath’s world.

Rainbow Rowell is a master of dialogue. She’s brilliant at crafting quirky, charming, blemished-in-the-best way characters. She’s a genius when it comes to taking commonplace situations (feeling unmoored during freshman year of college? who hasn’t been there?) and spinning them into something vibrant and unique and utterly compelling. And she writes the tingly feelings of first love like no other contemporary author I’ve read. She makes hand-holding hot. In Fangirl, she makes reading aloud hot.

I can’t say much more about Fangirl, because it’s a novel that must be experienced, delighted in, and savored. You have to meet Cath and Levi and Wren and Reagan for yourself. You have to delve into their complex relationships, and dive head first into the fandom of Simon Snow. Fangirl is one of those rare books I wanted to crack open and reread immediately after finishing. A 2013 favorite for sure!

How awesome is this? The other day I found The Outsiders and Fangirl shelved side-by-side. If you’ve read Fangirl, you know that this placement has to be some sort of bookstore serendipity.

*A few links of note: Rainbow Rowell speaks to The Toast about continued attempts to ban her YA debut Eleanor & Park (an incredible book), YA Highway interviews Rainbow Rowell about Fangirl, and Bookanista Jessica Love gives her take on Fangirl and Cath’s super-relatable introvert tendencies.*

(Amazing art by Simini Blocker)

Don’t forget to check out what my fellow Bookanistas are up to:

Christine Fonseca keeps guessing with BREAKING GLASS by Lisa Amowitz

Jessica Love connects with THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE by Leila Sales

What’s Up Wednesday

September 25, 2013September 24, 201347 Comments

What I’m Reading: This week I finished Jessica Verdi’s debut My Life After Now and enjoyed it. It read as a very entertaining PSA, and featured a protagonist who experienced some profound personal growth. I also read Tim Tharp’s The Spectacular Now, which I adored. It’s a raw, real story about a teen alcoholic who has deluded himself into believing he’s the life of every party, and that he’s helping (rather than corrupting) the shy girl who’s falling for him. Now that I’ve finished, I want to see the movie EVEN MORE. Check out my friend Erin Bowman‘s fantastic review of the novel and film. Now, I’ve started Bennett Madison’s September Girls, which has received some rather controversial reviews, but sounds mesmerizing. I’m excited to see what it’s all about!

What I’m Writing: I didn’t do much in terms of word count this week, but I did thoughtfully reassess the last several to-be-written scenes in my outline. I brainstormed some ways to raise the stakes, as well as streamlined things a bit. Now that I know exactly where I’m headed, I’m really excited to draft through the end of my manuscript. Of course, once the draft is finished, it’s going to need TONS of work (I’ve discovered a lot about these characters through the drafting process and have a long To-Do list in terms of revisions), but more often than not, I think this story has potential. Yay!

What Else I’ve Been Up To: Over the last few days, my husband, daughter, and I have played tourists in the area surrounding our town — a little “stay-cation” if you will. Now that our time in California is winding down, we’re trying to pack in all the fun things we’ve yet to do. Since Sunday, we’ve visited…

California’s Great America, a sweeping and surprisingly clean amusement park in Santa Clara, with lots of kickass roller coasters, and Snoopy!

The Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, a “gravitational anomaly” amongst the redwoods which was, in a word, weird.

Also, we toured Alcatraz and checked out the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco — both very cool. It’s been an incredible few days, but I’m exhausted! This old lady is ready for a few days of relaxation at home.

In other news… I baked my first pumpkin-y dessert of fall, Pumpkin Pecan Bars, which tasted warm and homey and sweet and amazing. My husband is a big pumpkin fan and he devoured these treats, as did my daughter and I. Yum!

Also, my parents visited over the weekend. My girlie is the only granddaughter on my side of the family, so I’m sure you can imagine the abundance of spoiling that occurs when Nana and Poppy are in town. We had a great time!

What’s Inspiring Me Now: A fantastic post from my friend Jaime Morrow (What’s Up Wednesday co-creator) about taking a break from writing to appreciate everything else about life (without guilt!). This one hits close to home because I always feel like I should be putting writing before everything else. Jaime made me feel better, and much more normal! Also, this cheeky post from Bethany Myers: Top Nine Signs You’re Living in a YA Novel. Totally made me laugh. 🙂 And, as always, gorgeous California scenery…

Tell me… What’s up with you today?

Bookanista Rec :: THE TRUTH ABOUT YOU & ME

September 19, 2013September 18, 20139 Comments

Today’s Bookanista recommendation is…
The Truth About You & Me by Amanda Grace (AKA Mandy Hubbard)

From Goodreads: Smart girls aren’t supposed to do stupid things. Madelyn Hawkins is super smart. At sixteen, she’s so gifted that she can attend college through a special program at her high school. On her first day, she meets Bennett. He’s cute, funny, and kind. He understands Madelyn and what she’s endured – and missed out on – in order to excel academically and please her parents. Now, for the first time in her life, she’s falling in love. There’s only one problem. Bennett is Madelyn’s college professor, and he thinks she’s eighteen – because she hasn’t told him the truth. The story of their forbidden romance is told in letters that Madelyn writes to Bennett – both a heart-searing ode to their ill-fated love and an apology.

I’ve read and enjoyed a few of Mandy Hubbard’s books now, and this Amanda Grace novel is by far my favorite. It felt very, very real to me — perhaps because it’s set in a town that neighbors the one I grew up in, or perhaps because I share a few of main character Maddie’s personality traits. The Truth About You & Me is a story of forbidden romance, one with a spin I haven’t seen before, and I think it’s incredibly well done. Here’s what I loved most:

The story’s format… The Truth About You & Me is written in 2nd person, as an after-the-fact apology letter from Maddie to Bennett, which had the potential to come across as awkward and tiresome. It did not. “Maddie” writes her letters in a style that’s clear and stark, in a voice that’s teenish, but never childish. Such a smooth read.
Madelyn herself… Though I certainly do not agree with her choice to deceive Bennett, Maddie somehow managed to win me over. She’s incredibly intelligent, though naive, and I could relate to her overachieving tendencies. I could feel how torn she was when it came to Bennett, and how much she cared for him. I believe that she really loved him — that she truly wanted it to work — which makes her decision-making process a little easier to understand.
Bennett Cartwright… He’s a doll. I still can’t decide if he was genuinely duped by Maddie, or if he chose to turn a blind eye to certain clues because he liked her, but again, he made me believe that his feelings were genuine and he very much earned my sympathies, especially toward the end of the novel.
Time… It’s extraordinarily important in this story, and its passage made both Maddie and Bennett more likeable, and more transparent. It gave their relationship depth, and showed how invested they were in each other, even though, thanks to Maddie’s letters, we know their romance is destined for collapse.
That scene at the cabin… If you’ve read The Truth About You & Me, you know the one I’m talking about. If you haven’t read it yet, you’ll know this scene when you get there. Guys… It is SO intense, in the very best — and very worst — ways. It’s steamy and emotional and heartbreaking, and everything in between. It’s incredible.
The conclusion… Sure, I wanted a different ending for Madelyn and Bennett, but the way their story wrapped up was right and real and true. It cemented the book’s themes of love and honesty and consequence, but it made me feel hopeful about Maddie and Bennett’s futures.

The Truth About You & Me makes me want to run out and buy the Amanda Grace novels I’ve yet to read. I truly loved this one, and if you like romantic contemporary YA that’s not all black and white, I think you will too.

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