teen fiction

(Never) Again by Theresa Paolo

This is a great New Adult title full of swoony romance, college life, and difficult decision making.

Liz is perfectly happy with her group of friends, her somewhat stable boyfriend, and life in general. She had a great high school romance that teenage girls dream of… until her boyfriend, Zach, moved away and eventually just stopped calling, ripping her heart out and ruining her senior year of high school. When he shows up again, all the old feelings of love and pain show up again with him. Liz quickly goes from actually being ok to just pretending to be ok as Zach refuses to go away and let her forget him.

It takes Liz a while to finally realize what the reader knows almost instinctively – Zach let her go in senior year to protect her, not to hurt her. While I definitely wanted to scream at Liz a few times for being so very stubborn and relactant to forgive Zach, I also understood her hesitancy and desire to not let herself be hurt again.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this and recommend it. I’m looking forward to reading more from Theresa Paolo.

Where the Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller

This.

It’s beautiful.

If you were wondering what you should do this weekend, it’s this. Buy it, curl up with some comfort food and a blanket, and dive in.

Callie is a seventeen year old girl that commands attention from page one as you get a glimpse into her life on the run – constant homelessness caused my her mom’s need to run and only enough possessions to fill a small thrift store suitcase. Heartbreaking.

And then a routine traffic violation turns into a life-changing event for Callie and her mom, and Callie is face to face with a father she’d grown up thinking didn’t love her and the sad reality of what life with her mom has been in comparison to what life with her dad could have been.

Through the overwhelming and in-your-face love of a larger than life Greek family, an incredibly hot and somewhat mysterious guy, a rediscovered preschool best friend, and a seriously cute community with a seriously cool book store, Callie is able to find the healing that she needs to move on with the decision she now faces: her mom or her dad?

By the time I finished this (which was on the same day I started because I just couldn’t stop), there were happy tears in my eyes and a good book hangover was in full force. I mean, I don’t give out many five star ratings on Goodreads, but I didn’t even hesitate for this one. I just loved it. And I also really wanted to travel to Tarpon Springs, Florida for some touristy sponge shopping and authentic Greek food.

Trish Doller has set herself pretty firmly on my list of must-read authors with this one. She deals with heavy topics in this YA/NA novel without making it depressing. She writes a raw, swoony romance that feels real, yet isn’t the saving grace of the protagonist – the romance isn’t what makes Callie ok, it just plays a part. That’s refreshing.

From the cover to the first page to the author’s notes in the end (which, honestly, I usually skip but didn’t this time), Where the Stars Still Shine is enthralling and charming and beautiful.

Click here to find it on Goodreads and here to find it on Amazon.

An Interview With Corey Ann Haydu!

Debut Authors Bash at yareads.com

Last month, I shared with you everything I loved about Haydu’s debut novel, OCD Love Story, in a blogpost you can read here. Since first reading it, Bea is a character that has stuck with me, and I’ve actually used her as a topic and example in my classroom already this year. OCD Love Story is a unique book full of characters that demand to be remembered.

Today, it’s my honor to get to share with you some Q&A about the story, the characters, and Corey Ann’s writing journey through OCD Love Story. And make sure you read all the way through… I love what she’s done with her old middle and high school journals, and I think you will too. :)

Enjoy!

1. What made you decide to get into young adult fiction writing?

In 2009 I made a major career change, and left acting to pursue writing. I’d been writing a long time, mostly short stories and plays, but never had considered novel writing or YA fiction. In order to get some experience and commit to my big life change, I took an internship with an agency. The internship I landed happened to specialize in young adult literature. I had to get familiar with the YA and middle-grade scene pretty quickly, and I truly fell in love. My boss at the time handed me The Hunger Games, Savvy, and Little Brother.  I was blown away.
I still sort of can’t believe how lucky it was that I happened into young adult literature, which I know I was meant to write. Funny how small things, like saying yes to an internship, can really change the shape of your life. I was also applying to graduate schools at the time, and I applied to both classic Fiction MFA programs, as well as MFA programs that had specializations in Writing for Children. I surprised myself when I chose to forgo the more traditional MFA in Fiction that I’d always wanted to accept a spot in The New School’s Writing for Children program. Best decision I ever made. I wrote OCD LOVE STORY during my second semester at school!

2. OCD Love Story is your first novel published. What about Bea made her story the first one you wanted to tell?

I really wanted to write an unconventional love story. I felt there was space for a book about how complicated falling in love is when you’re deeply struggling with your own issues.
I’ve been pretty open about the fact that I’ve struggled a lot with anxiety, and when I started learning about OCD I really felt a kinship with the disorder, which is an anxiety disorder. I felt I could get into Bea’s skin and write from a very raw and honest place. I also know, from experience, that dealing with an anxiety disorder and new, exciting, overwhelming feelings of love at the same time is a tense, joyful, terrifying, exciting, confusing combination. Everything I personally want in a love story!

3. What message are you hoping your teenage readers take from it?

I hope teenagers gain a greater understanding of OCD, of anxiety disorders, and from mental illness in general. I hope they gain compassion if they are unfamiliar with anxiety disorders, or feel less alone if anxiety is something they themselves are dealing with. I couldn’t ask for much more than that. I don’t write with a message in mind, but compassion is a place I write from and I think is a great quality in a reader, too.

4. Did you set out with the intent to write a story with an unreliable narrator, or did it just happen because of who Bea is? 

I think all narrators are unreliable, if they’re three-dimensional. Or at least I think mine will always be. I mean, we’re all unreliable narrators! A first person narrator is always only telling their side of the story, and as far as I know no one has a totally clear, perfect perspective on life. I’m not sure Bea’s any more unreliable than any other first person narrator, her perspective is just a little less familiar to some readers. But she’s quite honest about her feelings, and even honest about the fact that some of her feelings are probably unfounded. She’s self aware, and that’s as reliable as any of us get, I think!

5. Do you think the cover of the book represents Bea’s story well?

I really do. I’m deeply in love with my cover. I know that for some readers the difficult subject matter doesn’t quite match with the bright happy color. But Bea herself isn’t a “dark” character in my opinion. She has a lightness and a sense of humor. Her heart is big and open and hopeful.
I think Bea is quirky (do people totally hate that word these days?) and the cover gives a sense of that.
I also like that the cover may bring in readers who don’t usually read about things like anxiety or therapy or rocky romances. I’m glad I’m getting readers who are uncomfortable with the subject matter. I like surprising readers.

6.  I’ve read the blurb for your next book, Life By Committee, and I can’t wait to read it. The premise sounds fascinating. Are there any hints or teasers you’d like to share with readers?

Oh I’m so excited about this book (and really nervous about it too!). My narrator for LIFE BY COMMITTEE, Tabitha, is a teen who is struggling with a very particular brand of loneliness. That loneliness and deep desire for connection leads her to enter into a very seductive online community. She makes a lot of mistakes, of course, and the community turns a little dangerous. It’s a book about secrets, loneliness, the meaning of community, and the desire to have an exciting, meaningful life.
It’s set in Vermont, where I spent a lot of time when I was growing up, and Tabitha and I have a lot in common, so I’m particularly close to this book. It’s similar to OCD LOVE STORY in some ways, I hope—honest, complicated, messy—but it’s also a little faster-paced, and has a lot of twists and turns and shocks, I hope.


7. I think the Former Self Project is great – it even kind of makes me want to dig up any old diaries I can find. Why did you decide to share your teenage journal entries online? What do you hope your audience will take from that? How has it helped you as a writer?

Thank you! I started my blog, Former Self Project (www.formerselfproject.blogspot.com) around the same time as I started working in YA literature, funny enough. Although the impetus was unrelated. I was experiencing a “quarter-life crisis” in my mid-twenties, and I was sort of interested to see how far I’d come… and maybe how far I HADN’T come as a person. I’m lucky to have dozens and dozens of journals, starting at age 9. It’s truly a gift, and also humiliating and hilarious. I thought maybe I could learn something from posting and commenting on these old entries. It’s been such a joy to have people reading my old diaries and laughing with me (or at me). Plus it’s cathartic to share something so embarrassing and to let it go in that way. I hope more people check it out! 


I really hope you guys all check out OCD Love Story. It’s available from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and your favorite local bookstores as well. And thanks, Corey Ann, for being with us here at Pimples, Popularity, and Protagonists today! 
 

Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols

This review was originally published on She Reads, where I write guest YA/Teen Fiction reviews.

First of all, let’s take a second to love this book cover. There’s not even an ounce of musical talent in me, and yet I look at this and I want to BE that girl. I don’t know what it is, and I don’t even love country music, but… it’s just too cool.

In Dirty Little Secret, Jennifer Echols (who’s quickly becoming one of my favorite authors ever) takes us on a trip to the heart of Nashville’s music scene to watch the heartbreakingly beautiful beginnings of a great romance.

Bailey, an eighteen year old with unbelievable fiddle-playing talent, has been sent to live with her grandfather while her parents tour around with her younger sister, Julie, who was picked over Bailey for a recording contract. As part of Julie’s coming rise to fame, their parents and the recording company have essentially asked Bailey to give up what she loves best – playing music. When Bailey meets Sam, who just happens to be both devastatingly handsome and also the front man of a band in need of a fiddle player, she can’t quite resist being pulled back into the music scene.

The resulting story is a fascinating one full of characters I’d love to spend a week with, enjoying the Nashville music scene and hearing what must be some excellent music. Echols is a master at writing romantic relationships – from the moment the two characters meet each other, discover the chemistry, all the way up until they’re finally actually together – you feel like you’re there with them. Like you’re a part of the story instead of just watching it.

Echols writes romantic dramas (like this one) for MTV Books and romantic comedies for Simon Pulse. She also writes adult novels, one of which is the beginning of a series involving PR agents for celebrities behaving badly, called Star Crossed. No matter which Echols book you pick up, you’ll enjoy it, but I can’t recommend Dirty Little Secret enough. It’s definitely my favorite of hers so far!

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I’ve been meaning to read this for a very long time. For some reason, this cover has fascinated me, but it took me forever to actually get it. Maybe it was because I had a feeling it would be an emotional one, and it definitely was.

In If I Stay, Mia and her family get into a terrible car accident. Mia finds herself on the verge of life and death and feels like she’s making a choice whether to stay on earth and live or to go ahead and move on. Throughout the book, we see flashbacks of Mia’s life before the accident through which we get to know her character and see all that she has to live for… and all that was lost in the accident. We also see snapshots of what’s happening in the hospital as Mia decides whether or not to fight for her life – the people that come to see her, the care of the nurses, the helplessness she feels.

It’s kind of hard to explain what I didn’t like about this, but I think it boils down to the fact that it was overwhelmingly sad throughout the whole thing. I mean, no matter what, Mia’s life is radically changed. She’s either dead or will be dealing with the death of family while she struggles to recover from the accident.

What I do like, though, is that there’s a prevailing hope that infiltrates the sadness. We see a beautiful and loving family full of rich characters. We see a best friendship that any teenage girl would be thrilled to have. We see a high school romance that just makes you smile with its sweetness and realistic, honest portrayal.

Overall, the emotional roller coaster that is If I Stay was definitely worth the read. It would be a great book to cuddle up with on a rainy weekend and have a good cry over, as we women sometimes need.

Reasons I Fell For the Fat Funny Friend by Cassie Mae (writing under the pen name of Becca Ann)

Several weeks ago, I wrote about the New Adult genre – what it is, what I love about it, what I wish was different about it – and introduced you all to Cassie Mae, author of Friday Night Alibi.

Well, I enjoyed Friday Night Alibi so much that I looked up Cassie Mae’s other titles and was intrigued by this story. Now I’ll say that I usually shy away from stories featuring protagonists that stress about their weight and obsess over it and try to go on diets and are generally annoying and cause me stress as the reader. This isn’t like that. At all.

In this, Hayley (dubbed the funny fat friend because she sets her friends up on dates but doesn’t go on any for herself) holds tight to a crush on her sign language partner, Brody. She knows, though, that Brody has a huge crush on his brother’s ex… so she offers to help him get a date with her even though it will amount to torture for Hayley.

What I really like about this book is that we get to hear Brody’s point of view, which is a breath of fresh air. I don’t want to say too much more for fear of ruining any surprises, because really I liked this that much. It wasn’t your stereotypical kind of overweight girl story, and it had a true and really satisfying depth to it.

I really, really, really recommend this for high school girls and especially any young (or not so young) woman who struggles with confidence in their physical appearance, even if it’s not weight. There was just something really special about watching Hayley come through the story better in the end than she was when it began. It’s available on Amazon here, both in kindle and print editions.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

A few months ago, I read and reviewed This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith. I really loved it a lot.

So of course, if you’re a total book nerd like me, finding one book you love by an author that’s new to you prompts you to look into the rest of that author’s books. When I looked into Smith’s books, I discovered this one… which I’d heard about but not read, and had to pick it up.

This story is one of Hadley, who misses her flight from New York to London for her father’s wedding by mere minutes. Consumed with angst over the fact that her father is marrying a woman she’s never met, and the fact that she even has to go to the wedding, Hadley finds a welcome distraction in Oliver, a cute British boy who turns out to be on her flight, sitting in her row.

I loved the whole story. Finding out more about Hadley and Oliver both as they talk and fall in love on an airplane (which is about the most unromantic place ever, honestly… props to Smith and her imagination for being about to make an airplane come alive as a viable setting for love). And then, seeing what happens when they finally get to London and they’re removed from the “romance” of the airplane was sweet. I won’t say more because, really, you should just read it.

But I will say that I found myself rooting for Hadley and Oliver. I liked them. A lot. Smith has a great ability to create a romance you want to see last beyond the pages of the book.

This title is reportedly in the works for a movie, though I haven’t heard any recent details. There’s an article here if you’re interested; I think it would make a really fun, quirky romantic movie that even my husband could stand to see in the theater.

Click here to see it on Amazon. Enjoy it!

Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy

This review was originally published on July 12, 2013 at SheReads.org, where I’m the YA Reviewer. 

This book was not what I expected. I knew it would be dark. I knew the content would be difficult to read. I knew these things. I wasn’t prepared, though, for what it was.
So why would I recommend it here, on She Reads? Because it is incredibly well written and fascinating. It’s a bit like a train wreck, where you can see that things just are not good and you feel like you shouldn’t even be there, observing, and yet you can’t quite turn away from it.
Criminal is the story of Nikki, a troubled teenage girl who is hopelessly in love with Dee, a guy who oozes bad news. Nikki doesn’t have any real family to step in and show her that he’s scum and she deserves better, and she is so caught up in Dee that even warnings from Bird, her friend and the closest thing she has to caring family, fall on deaf ears.
The story is interesting as we pick it up right after something awful has happened – a crime which Nikki was unknowingly drug into by Dee – and we see bits and pieces unfold as we learn the truth of the whole story right along with Nikki. There were times when I literally wanted to reach into the book and shake some sense into her. There were times when I didn’t even want to keep going, but I couldn’t stop, either… the train wreck phenomenon.
If you’ve ever wondered how a person can get so wrapped up in a horrible romantic relationship, or how a teenage girl can be so wrapped up in herself that she doesn’t even realize what she does to other people she cares about, this book will give you something to think about. In fact, it’s something for all of us to think about. You don’t have to be an accidental accomplice to a murder in order to see how Nikki’s cycle in the book plays out in our lives – something happens, we hit rock bottom, we realize a need for change, and we set about making things right.
By the end of the book, I was hopeful for Nikki, which is why I can recommend Criminal. If it weren’t for the hope that McVoy weaves into her ending, the book would be completely disturbing and depressing. As it is, though, it’s an interesting journey through crime, the criminal justice system, and one character’s sincere effort to grow up and have a positive future.

Taste Test by Kelly Fiore

For those of us that enjoy reality TV competitions like Master Chef and The Next Food Network Star, Kelly Fiore’s Taste Test has everything we could ever want.

Nora Henderson is a high school senior about to spend her final semester of high school as a contestant on a reality cooking competition. She’s grown up helping her dad in the kitchen of their North Carolina mountain BBQ restaurant, so she has plenty of skill in the kitchen… but can she handle the stress of school, the drama of the competition, and the possibility of a new romance (or two)? It’s really fun to experience everything along with Nora – I enjoyed this the whole way through.

There’s more to this than just your standard romance (as the cover would suggest). I like the way Fiore throws in elements of family drama, romantic comedy, coming of age, and even a pretty solid mystery that keeps you guessing until the end. Don’t worry, though, there’s quite a bit of the swoony romance all of us girls love.

Taste Test will be available in stores on August 27, but you can go ahead and preorder it now – Click here to find it on Amazon. Also, spend some time on Fiore’s website, which is completely adorable and creative, and she’s also doing giveaways leading up to the release of Taste Test.

OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu

Ok seriously. If I were to judge this book by its cover, I’d think it was a fun, quirky romance with some harmless stalking thrown in. It just looks fun.

However, we all know you can’t judge a book by its cover. And that’s so true in this case.

Yes, there is romance.

Yes, there is fun and quirk.

Yes, there is stalking.

But my goodness, nothing about this book is harmless.

I am absolutely fascinated by this, and I have no idea how Haydu was able to write this without going completely insane. Fortunately, I’ll be interviewing her on the blog in September so I can ask her about it.

Bea, the protagonist, struggles with a diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and its many manifestations in her life. She also struggles to balance those compulsive behaviors with a budding romance, a best friend, her parents, school, and driving. This story is engrossing and enthralling and intense and disturbing. Bea is unreliable and loveable – you don’t always think she’s telling you the truth (if she even realizes the truth for herself) but you always want her to be ok. You want to see her get better.

OCD Love Story may not be your average light-hearted romantic comedy, but it’s rich and sweet and well worth the time you’ll invest in reading it. I definitely recommend this for high school and up. Grab a copy and enjoy!