Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

Pages: 448

Publisher: Macmillan

Release Date: 10^th September 2013

Edition: e-book, purchased

Other Titles by this Author: Attachments, Eleanor and Park

A love story about opening your heart by Rainbow Rowell, the New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor & Park.

Cath and Wren are identical twins, and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they’re off to university and Wren’s decided she doesn’t want to be one half of a pair anymore – she wants to dance, meet boys go to parties and let loose. It’s not so easy for Cath. She’s horribly shy and has always buried herself in the fan fiction she writes, where she always knows exactly what to say and can write romance far more intense than anything she’s experienced in real life.

With Wren Cath is completely on her own and totally outside 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 civilised 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.

Now Cath has to decide whether she’s ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she’s learning that there’s more to learn about love than she ever thought possible...

Rainbow Rowell’s name has been the name on everyone’s lips for the last few months and finally succumbed to the pressure and began Fangirl. Guys, I bow down to you; you were so, so right.

Now, I don't know about you, but I’ve definitely read my fair share of fanfiction. When I was around fourteen, I spent most of my spare time doing so. I was obsessed with AU and final year Dramione fiction. I found some incredible writers and stories that still pop into my mind on occasion. I have a feeling that a lot of you read it too. Having a novel revolving around a character who writes incredibly popular slash fanfiction is brilliant.

I couldn’t believe how much like Harry Potter the Simon Snow world is; it made me smile, and made me believe Cath’s love of it even more. Cath basically writes Harry and Draco slash and I love it. Having excerpts of Carry On, Simon interspersed throughout Fangirl, and so cleverly, was amazing and I became really involved with Simon and Baz’s story! I really enjoyed that it actually read like fanfiction. I know that might sound silly, but it didn't seem like an accomplished and professional author trying to go back and write fanfiction, it sounded like Cath’s fanfic. It was just so genuine.

Cath in herself is a wonderful heroine. Rainbow Rowell’s portrayal of the true hardships of social anxiety was so appreciated when it is something so often romanticised in YA. The way it extended from her self-imposed immersion in the world of Simon Snow to her reaction to her roommate Reagan to the issues she had with having a relationship. The escape that writing gives her is something that I understand; it’s how reading makes me feel, always has. Her timidity and insecurity with facing everything in the outside world, outside Simon’s world, her fears about people preferring Wren over – it’s all grounded in something concrete, something she can’t just shake off. It’s built into how she thinks and how she feels.

Everything around Cath is so intense and so charged; feelings of all kinds, worries and fears, doubts and insecurities. She could be me, or my best friend, or the girl next door, or you. And she stayed herself throughout the novel, even as she grew and developed. That takes serious talent. One of the things I was more impressed with was that Cath’s wants and desires weren’t undermined or overly sexualised. She had a relationship with a boy she was in love with and she didn't jump into anything because she wasn’t ready. It took nothing away from the intensity, the feeling, the tension of their connection and I just bloody loved it! It was a different step for YA and nothing was compromised. Take that NA.

Fangirl is one of the most beautiful and touching books I've read this year. I finished it wanting to read it all over again.

Sophie

Letterbox Love #24

Letterbox Love came about after some drama with the American book haul memes, so the UKYA bloggers came together on Twitter to organise one of our own. Summaries are taken from the cover, or Amazon/NetGalley/Goodreads in the case of e-books, unless otherwise stated. Hosted by Narratively Speaking.

For Review:

Twinmaker – Sean Williams (paperback)

You are special.

You are unique.

And you have been selected.

The method is simple.

Improvement is certain.

You can change anything.

If you were given the chance to change something about yourself, would you? Should you? Clair is pretty sure the offer in the ‘improvement’ meme is just another viral spam, though Libby is determined give it a try. But what starts as Libby’s dream turns into Clair’s nightmare when her friend vanishes.

In her search for answers, Clair seeks out Jesse – a boy whose alternative lifestyle might help to uncover the truth. What they don’t anticipate is intervention from the mysterious contact known only as Q, and being caught up in a conspiracy that will change everything.

This sounds so cool, and very on topic. And I’m really in love with the colours and deisgn of the cover.

It Felt Like a Kiss – Sarra Manning (e-proof)

Ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn’t have fallen in love with?

Ellie Cohen is living her dream. A great job at an exclusive Mayfair art gallery, loyal mates, loving family, and really, really good hair. Well, there’s the famous rock-star father who refuses to acknowledge her and a succession of ‘challenging’ boyfriends, but nobody’s perfect.

But when a vengeful ex sells Ellie out to the press, she suddenly finds herself fighting to keep her job, her reputation and her sanity. Then David Gold – handsome, charming but ruthlessly ambitious – is sent in to manage the media crisis...and Ellie.

David thinks she’s a gold-digger and Ellie thinks he’s a shark in a Saville Row suit, so it’s just as well that falling in love is the last thing on their minds...

Yay, Sarra Manning!! I love this woman’s books so, so much. Thanks NetGalley and Transworld!

Bought:

I also got my finished US paperback of The Iron Traitor by Julie Kagawa. It’s so pretty and shiny!!

Sophie

Author Interview: Ilsa J Bick

The final part to the tense and involving Ashes trilogy, Monsters, was released in September. I’m really lucky to have Ilsa J Bick to stop by and answer some questions on her writing processes and her novels.

1. As the Ashes trilogy develops, we hear from the point of view of lots of different characters. How did you keep the timelines and action straight for each one?

Uhm, well, no real magic formula: I just kind of know/knew. I do outlines for all of my books, so I’m not sure if that helps me or not since I kind of have to keep track of what’s going on when and where. As I go along and the book grows/lengthens, I usually resort to old tech: a legal pad and paper, where I’ll list the chapter, the POV chapter, number of pages. Since I know what’s going on, I don't usually put that down, but that helps me see the ebb and flow of the narrative better and decide that, you know, we really have to hear from Character X again.

2. All of your books are filled with tension and spark. Do you think that tension is important to every story, regardless of genre?

Yup. A very famous writer once told me that even if all you write about is a little old lady winning a cake-baking contest, it had better be the most intense contest ever. As a writer, you have to keep in mind that the book is your character(s) whole world. So everything has to count toward something. There can’t be any throwaway lines.

3. I loved Drowning Instinct, but it was a big departure from the Ashes trilogy. What pushed you in to taking such a different direction?

Well, nothing exactly pushed me. I’ve always written in a wide variety of genres; otherwise, I’d get bored and stale, doing the same thing over and over again. So DROWNING is different from the ASHES trilogy that’s different from DRAW THE DARK, and that’s different from THE SIN EATER’S CONFESSION. All I’m ever after is to tell a good story, and if the story matters to me, then I write it. If I don’t feel very intensely about something, then I wouldn’t bother otherwise. I guess that, with DROWNING, I wanted to write about a relationship that I thought hadn’t been done to death yet.

4. Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on at the moment?

Sure: WHITE SPACE, the first book in my new DARK PASSAGES series, will be coming out in February 2014 [Sophie: in the US, no UK release yet], and I’m currently working on (more like hand-to-hand combat with) the sequel, THE DICKENS MIRROR. Think The Matrix meets Inkheart and Inception, and that will give you a clue. They’re basically YA horror/psychological thrillers with a dash of sci-fi and, in the case of DICKENS MIRROR, historical fiction. I mean, think about it: how do you know – really know – that you’re real? How do you gauge that? (And what’s real mean anyway?) And what happens if your life falls between the lines? It’s that kind of mind-bendy, creepy-weird series.

Just as soon as I’m done with DM, I’ll go back to a new standalone I’m about halfway through and then revisit the first book in another projected series that I’ve also got about half-written. By the time I’m all done with those, I’m sure I’ll have thought of something else to write. Have to keep those cats in kibble.

Quick-fire round!

5. Writing essentials?

Coffee and silence.

6. Favourite story world?

The one I’m creating in my head for whatever book I happen to be working on.

7. Book of the year so far?

None. I’m sorry to say that nothing’s blown me away.

8. Currently reading?

Currently reading and/or listening to: Dr. Sleep by Stephen King; Storm Front by John Sandford; Never Go Back by Lee Child.

How fantastic does the new series sounds?! I’m also really hoping that we’ll get news of it and two of Ilsa’s previous novels being released in the UK soon!

Sophie

Allegiant - Veronica Roth

Pages: 526

Publisher: Harper Collins Children’s Books

Release Date: 22^nd October 2013

Edition: UK hardcover, review copy

Other Titles in this Series: Divergent, Insurgent

The faction-based society Tris Prior once believed in is shattered – fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature – while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice and love.

Told from a riveting dual narrative, Allegiant, by No. 1 new York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

While the rest of the blogosphere was completely freaking out about the impending release of Allegiant, I was wracking my brains trying to remember what had happened in Insurgent...

Now I adored Divergent. It was one of my favourite reads of 2011, and then Insurgent came along and I was a bit disappointed, but I still had my hopes up for Allegiant. I can honestly say that for most of the novel my feelings about it could be summed up with a simple ‘meh’.

I really loved the dual narrative as I remembered Tris irritating me in Insurgent. I was also really interested in seeing more of Four’s (I just can’t see him as Tobias...) internal personality after reading a few of Veronica Roth’s Four-orientated e-novellas, and he didn't disappoint. He’s such a complex character; complex in a way you could never see from Tris’ point of view. The only emotion I felt while reading this novel was through Four’s perspective and yet I still felt that most of the spark between him and Tris was missing for me. I didn't even really care about them as a couple anymore, and I wasn’t bothered about the city or the outside world or what everyone was hiding about anything anymore. I just wanted to get through it without being spoiled.

Allegiant couldn’t make me care about what was happening in Tris and Four’s world. I felt no shock, no horror, no disgust as atrocious acts by people in power were revealed or when Tris or Four announced stupid plans. There was just nothing there. The ending saved this novel for me. I’m not going to spoil it for anyone, but what Veronica Roth did was brave, unusual and true to her characters and I finally felt something! In fact, I got a little choked up over the last few chapters. The visceral emotion and vitality of the characters was back for me and I was so, so glad that it ended that way. I think I would have completely forgotten about Allegiant otherwise.

I’m so disappointed in Allegiant. I really hoped that it would pull back from Middle Book Syndrome but it didn't for me and it’s such a shame as Veronica Roth is such a wonderful writer. I hope she’ll bring me back in with her next novel.

Thanks to Harper Collins for sending me a review copy.

Sophie