Tag Archives: Verse Novel

Students Want to Know Sarah Tregay

25 May

Sarah TregayI have **THIS MUCH** love for Sarah Tregay’s debut Love and Leftovers, so I was beyond excited when she volunteered to be interviewed by my students.  And I may be biased since these are my students, but I think they asked some pretty good questions :)

Summary (From Goodreads):

My wish
is to fall
cranium over Converse
in dizzy, daydream-worthy
love.

(If only it were that easy.)

When her parents split, Marcie is dragged from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She leaves behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father. By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this “vacation” has become permanent. She starts at a new school where a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up.

But understanding love, especially when you’ve watched your parents’ affections end, is elusive. What does it feel like, really? Can you even know it until you’ve lost it?

** Sarah Tregay’s Website **
** Like Sarah Tregay on Facebook **
** Love and Leftovers is available in stores! **

Allison:

  • Was writing in verse difficult or do you prefer it?
    Marcie’s character fit well with the verse format, as did her story, so writing LOVE AND LEFTOVERS in verse felt very natural.     Verse has some challenges, but that’s what makes it interesting to write. For instance, when I went from 8.5×11 paper (for the manuscript) to the smaller page size (for the book) I had to edit some lines so they’d fit. On the other hand, verse can be easier than prose in the rewriting/revising stages because you change the order of the poems without much editing. I enjoy writing—and reading—novels in verse.

Delia:

  • Why did you choose to write a long distance love story?
    Before I wrote LOVE AND LEFTOVERS, I had written a handful of manuscripts that didn’t sell. My friends said these stories were “too quiet.” (They were nice enough not to call them boring.) So When I was thinking about LOVE AND LEFTOVERS, I made a list of very bad things that could happen to my main character because I wanted the stakes to be high and the story interesting. Being away from friends was on that list, and Marcie being away from her boyfriend, Linus, added to her loneliness and upped the stakes.

Sarah W:

  • Do you plan on writing more books?  If so, are they going to all be in verse?
    I’m working on another novel or two, but they may not end up in verse. My editor asked for me to try one of them in prose instead. It’s an experiment, so I guess we’ll have to see how it goes.

Morgan:

  • Why are some of the kids called leftovers?  Were you considered a leftover?
    The Leftovers are a group of friends that don’t fit into the usual cliques in their high school, for example, one is an athlete who also gets good grades, another is a girl scout, and three are in a band. My friends at my lunch table in high school didn’t call ourselves “leftovers”, but we were a hodgepodge mix of AP students and students who were scraping by with Cs, field hockey players, photographers, and musicians.

Jordin:

  • How do you manage to say and mean so much with so little written (referring to verse)?
    I think with verse a writer can lean on the reader a little more than in prose. Each reader brings their own feelings and experiences with them when they read a book and an author can tap into these emotions without explaining every minute detail by using word choice, turns of phrase, and even white space. Verse definitely has the “read between the lines” aspect where a reader uses a combination of their own experiences and imagination to fill in the spaces. So in some ways, reading a novel in verse is a collaboration between the author and the reader.

In Honor of National Poetry Month: Verse Novels Worth Reading

29 Apr

We’re nearing the end of National Poetry Month, so I found it fitting to write a post featuring my favorite verse novels.  If you haven’t read many verse novels, or any at all, you might want to view this post as a verse novels starter kit.  I’ll admit verse novels aren’t for everyone, but when they’re done well it might surprise you when you find yourself attached to a character or moved by the imagery created through so few words.

My first novel in verse was Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff (Goodreads), which I read for my college Young Adult Lit class.  It’s been a few years since I’ve read that book, but I still love it and remember it vividly.  From there I started reading Ellen Hopkins’ books which began with Crank (Goodreads).  I moved on to Sonya Sones (her books on Goodreads) next.  Once I started reading verse novels I was on a mission to find more, not only because I adore them, but because they soon became very popular in my classroom.  For struggling readers, being able to conquer one of Ellen Hopkins’ books is like a point of pride because they’re “such big books.”  And I don’t say that to demean their experience; I say that because her books, along with other verse novels, create more confident readers.

The list I’m providing is here because I love these novels and want to promote them.  It’s also here because I hope more readers will give verse novels a chance.  This list will also help fill in some gaps for those who already read and love novels in verse.  If you have some recommendations please share them in the comments! :)

I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder (Goodreads) (My Review): This was the first book I read by Lisa Schroeder.  I read it in one sitting and was completely awed by her writing.  I still need to read Far From You, but I’ve read all of her other books.  I’ll continue to read every book she writes because she’s so incredibly talented.

Sold by Patricia McCormick (Goodreads): I read Sold before I started teaching, so I don’t have a review for it.  Patricia McCormick is one of my favorite authors because she spends so much time researching the topic for her novels.  Consequently, she creates powerful novels that stick with you for some time after finishing one of her books, much like Sold did.  It’s written in vignettes and packs a quite the emotional punch.

Love & Leftovers by Sarah Tregay (Goodreads) (My Review): What a debut!  I hope Sarah Tregay writes more novels in verse because I adored Love & Leftovers, and if the fact that I haven’t seen it in my classroom for months means anything, my students love this debut as well.  Sarah Tregay took a familiar topic (exploring love and friendship) and created it into a verse novel that’s both humorous and touching.  Love & Leftovers has been featured all over my blog via my review, a student review, and more so I really hope you read this one.

Exposed by Kimberly Marcus (Goodreads) (My Review): This novel is hard to discuss without spoilers.  I can say, however, that when I read Exposed I often thought of different books written by Ellen Hopkins.  I’ve handed Kimberly Marcus’s debut to my Hopkins fans and received positive feedback.  I’ve also used Exposed as a stepping stone to Ellen Hopkins which has gone over well also.  Regardless, it’s a fantastic and powerful novel about friendship, family, and loyalty.

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai (Goodreads): Thanhha Lai has received some well-deserved recognition including the National Book Award and as a Newberry Honor Book.  Inside Out & Back Again is a story of overcoming adversity, discovering a new world, and the importance of family.  It’s a book that both middle grade and young adult readers will appreciate because despite the age and circumstance of the main character, many of us have felt different and misunderstood.  It’s a beautiful novel and certainly one worth reading.

** More Verse Novels Worth Reading **

The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan (Goodreads)

Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall (Goodreads)

May B. by Caroline Starr Rose (Goodreads)

Student Book Review: Love & Leftovers by Sarah Tregay

25 Apr

I always love my Young Adult Lit students and my current group fits right in.  They’re excited about reading, discussing, and participating in general.  I also have a talented group of review writers!  I’ve been sitting here going through their Goodreads reviews trying to decide which student review to feature today because I’m so impressed by them.  I’ve decided to create a list so I can feature as many of my students as possible.

Today I’m featuring Brittany’s review of Love & Leftovers by Sarah Tregay.  It’s the first book she read for this class and it’s what she based her project choice on (love and long-distant relationships in YA).  Brittany also wrote an excellent review of Anna and the French Kiss, but since I’ve already posted a student review of that one, I decided on this review by Brittany.  Enjoy! :)

**I only altered her text to make some words bold**

Title: Love & Leftovers

Author: Sarah Tregay

Student Reviewer: Brittany

Summary (From HarperTeen):

My wish is to fall cranium over Converse in dizzy daydream-worthy love.

(If only it were that easy.)

Marcie has been dragged away from home for the summer—from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She’s left behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father.

By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this “summer vacation” has become permanent. She has to start at a new school, and there she leaves behind her Leftover status when a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up. But understanding love, especially when you’ve watched your parents’ affections end, is elusive. What does it feel like, really? Can you even know it until you’ve lost it?

Love & Leftovers is a beautifully written story of one girl’s journey navigating family, friends, and love, and a compelling and sexy read that teens will gobble up whole.

Student Review:

Love and Leftovers is a very cute book. It is about a girl named Marcie who is sixteen years old. She is swept away from her house in Idaho when her parents split up. Her mom takes her away from her group of friends called the Leftovers and her boyfriend that is also in that group, to a summer home in New Hampshire. Her mom is suffering from depression and this summer home becomes their real home. This book is about Marcie starting school in New Hampshire without any friends and how she handles the attention she is getting from a guy at the school. She is weighing the choices between this new guy or her old boyfriend back in Idaho.

I absolutely loved this book! I didn’t know anything about this book when I first wanted to read it. I saw the cover and thought it looked cute so I figured I would give it a try. I had never read a book that was written in verse and at first I didn’t think that I would much care for it, but I ended up loving it. It makes the book so easy to read and I never wanted to put it down. I have always felt that I am a slow reader, but not with this book. I ended up finishing it in two days. I am a sucker for cute love stories and that is exactly what this book is. Tregay did a very good job at developing characters. They all seem very realistic and are easy to relate to.

This is a book that many people would love, especially teenage girls. Anyone who likes a love story would be interested in this book. It doesn’t even have to be girls; some guys are suckers for cute books. Also, this would be a good book for people who like to read in verse.

Students Want to Know Caroline Starr Rose

15 Feb

My students and I enjoyed getting to know the Class of 2K11 and the Elevensies, so we’re very excited to meet the Class of 2K12!  To kick off the new year of debut authors, my students interview Caroline Starr Rose, the author of May B.  Her book released last month, so make sure to look for a copy!

Summary of May B. (From Goodreads):

I’ve known it since last night:
It’s been too long to expect them to return.
Something’s happened.

May is helping out on a neighbor’s Kansas prairie homestead—just until Christmas, says Pa. She wants to contribute, but it’s hard to be separated from her family by 15 long, unfamiliar miles. Then the unthinkable happens: May is abandoned. Trapped in a tiny snow-covered sod house, isolated from family and neighbors, May must prepare for the oncoming winter. While fighting to survive, May’s memories of her struggles with reading at school come back to haunt her. But she’s determined to find her way home again. Caroline Starr Rose’s fast-paced novel, written in beautiful and riveting verse, gives readers a strong new heroine to love.

** Caroline Starr Rose’s Website **

** Caroline Starr Rose is on Facebook **

** Follow Caroline Starr Rose’s Blog **

Nicole B:

  • Why did you decide to write May B. in verse?

Don’t tell anyone, but I’d only read two verse novels before writing my own. May B. didn’t start as verse. I was very frustrated with the distance between what I wanted to write and what ended up on the page. When I returned to my research, I noticed there were patterns in pioneer women’s writing. Much of it was matter-of-fact and spare. There was a similar tone used whether someone was writing about the laundry or a death in the family. Seeing this really showed me how to write my story.

It was in mimicking the voices of real frontier women that I stumbled into verse and found the most authentic way to speak for May and share her world.

Alex:

  • How did you feel when you saw your book on shelves for the first time?

My book came out the same day as John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. My local bookstore had dozens of copies of his book on the same shelf as mine! It was completely surreal to see my book in the first place, but to see it next to the likes of John Green? Unbelievable.

Jessica P:

  • Why did you choose the prairie as the setting for the book?

I grew up on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie books and have always been struck by how strong and courageous frontier women were in the midst of their everyday lives. I wanted to dig into that world. I also wanted to write about solitude and was curious how to write a story where for most of the story the main character is alone. The prairie is often described in literature as this open, endless, vast place. I thought it would be interesting to examine being closed off — as May is when trapped in her snow-covered soddy — in the middle of this vast expanse. The contrast intrigued me.

Mackenzie B:

  • What’s your most & least favorite ice cream?

I’ve rarely met an ice cream flavor I didn’t like, though I’d have to say the ones with toxic-looking neon colors gross me out. Anything with peanut butter is an instant favorite. I also love peppermint ice cream covered in hot fudge.

May B. with John Green!

Review: Love & Leftovers by Sarah Tregay

18 Jan

Sarah Tregay Love & Leftovers

448 pp.  Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins)

Release Date: December 27, 2011

Interest: Debut Author / Verse Novel

Source: ARC received from the publisher

Summary (From Goodreads):

My wish is to fall cranium over Converse in dizzy daydream-worthy love.

(If only it were that easy.)

Marcie has been dragged away from home for the summer—from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She’s left behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father.

By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this “summer vacation” has become permanent. She has to start at a new school, and there she leaves behind her Leftover status when a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up. But understanding love, especially when you’ve watched your parents’ affections end, is elusive. What does it feel like, really? Can you even know it until you’ve lost it?

Love & Leftovers is a beautifully written story of one girl’s journey navigating family, friends, and love, and a compelling and sexy read that teens will gobble up whole.

I always enjoy a well-written verse novel.  Some authors have a better knack for it than others; Sarah Tregay is one of those authors.  Love & Leftovers is an excellent and enjoyable debut verse novel that my students will love.

Marcie’s life has been turned upside down.  Her mother is moving her from Idaho to New Hampshire for the summer, but that becomes more permanent.  She’s away from her father and her boyfriend and her friends.  How does a teenager cope with such a sudden, life changing move?  It’s not easy for adults to endure, let alone teens.  Marcie’s mother is depressed, which has left Marcie pretty much on her own and being the adult all while trying to cope with these changes.  She feels alone and misses her life back in Idaho.

Marcie’s adorable boyfriend Linus misses her greatly and wants to make this long-distant relationship work.  I don’t know if many teens will relate to the long-distance relationship, but I know many will relate to Marcie’s uncertainty about love and what it is.  I remember thinking about this often when I was a teenager, even more when I was in college.  While Marcie is trying to regain some semblance of normal in New Hampshire, she meets the attractive and athletic J.D.  If she wasn’t doubting what love is like before, she certainly does when she meets and starts falling for J.D.  Questions about loyalty and betrayal become big issues in this first part of Love & Leftovers.  How far is too far with J.D.?  Is she betraying Linus?  Should she break it off with Linus?  Marcie’s exploration of love and lust and sexuality left me so impressed with Sarah Tregay.  It’s normal for girls to have feelings like Marcie does, and Love & Leftovers opens this up for girls to understand and relate to.

Not only was I impressed with Sarah Tregay’s writing, I was completely engrossed in her debut.  I started it later one evening and didn’t put it down or get up until I was finished.  Marcie is a wonderful, relatible character and I couldn’t get enough of her story.  I needed to know how her relationship with Linus was going to pan out because she didn’t know how to talk to him about J.D.  The first part of the novel is about her life in New Hampshire, while the second half is about her life back in Idaho.  I love when authors set novels up this way because you know right away that the story is going somewhere you’ll want to explore and know more about.  The majority of the story is about Marcie navigating love and friendship, but it’s also about her building better relationships with her father and mother.  The layers of her story are told fluidly in beautiful verse.

There are so many pieces of this novel that teens will relate to and love.  If you haven’t explored verse novels, Love & Leftovers would be a great way to introduce yourself to this style of writing.  I can’t wait to read more of Sarah Tregay’s novels.  If only it didn’t take so long to write and publish novels! :)

**This review has also been posted today on the Nerdy Book Club blog.**

Review: Audition by Stasia Ward Kehoe

30 Dec

Stasia Ward Kehoe Audition

458 pp. Viking Juvenile (Penguin Group)  2011

Interest: 2011 Debut Author / Verse Novel / HS Book Club Choice

Source: Purchased

Summary (From Goodreads): When high school junior Sara wins a coveted scholarship to study ballet, she must sacrifice everything for her new life as a professional dancer-in-training. Living in a strange city with a host family, she’s deeply lonely-until she falls into the arms of Remington, a choreographer in his early twenties. At first, she loves being Rem’s muse, but as she discovers a surprising passion for writing, she begins to question whether she’s chosen the right path. Is Rem using her, or is it the other way around? And is dancing still her dream, or does she need something more? This debut novel in verse is as intense and romantic as it is eloquent.

I’ve always admired dancers.  They’re athletic, graceful, hard workers and more.  Before this year I haven’t read any novels with main characters that are dancers.  Not only do has Audition released in 2011, but there’s also Bunheads by Sophie Flack and Ellen Hopkins’ newest novel, Perfect has a main character that dances.  My dancers in class will be happy to see these new additions to YA, as am I.

Stasia Ward Kehoe grew up as a dancer, so I can imagine Audition was a very personal novel to write.  Her expertise in dance is evident in how articulate she is in the language of dance.  I, not being a dancer, didn’t understand all of the terminology, but I did appreciate it and respect it.  Ballet dancers reading this novel will certainly appreciate Stasia Ward Kehoe’s expertise.  Not only does she use correct terminology, Audition is full of beautiful imagery and scenes.  Even with my limited knowledge of ballet I was able to picture the dancing and the dancers.

I’m a huge fan of verse novels, so I was really looking forward to reading Audition (besides it being about ballet).  The students in my book club chose this as our next novel after I told them about it, and most of them started it before me.  For one of the girls, this was her first verse novel and she told me she was struggling with it.  She wasn’t sure if it’s simply because she’s not used to verse, or if the verse was just choppy.  I kept this in mind while reading Audition, and for the most part I enjoyed the verse.  As I read more of the book I began to notice that many of the scenes and the writing are choppy.  Sara would be describing a scene at the studio, and then on the next page we were back at the house or with Rem.  These sudden changes in setting are jarring and caused me to re-read more pages than I cared to.  The verse isn’t always as fluid as I prefer, but I still enjoyed Stasia Ward Kehoe’s writing and will read more of her novels.

The story is about Sara and how she’s basically thrown into this new life of dancing.  She’s from a small town and is a promising dancer.  After she scores well at an audition, she is accepted at a dancing school at the Jersey Ballet.  Sara goes through a whirlwind of emotions during this transition and is really unsure of herself as a dancer and who she is outside of dance.  Eventually Sara isn’t sure if she wants to continue dancing, if this is really her dream.  Readers will appreciate Sara’s hesitation whether they’re a dancer or not, because many of us face these decisions in our lives.  Who are we?  What do we want to do with our lives?  Will our choices let down our family?  In the midst of this, Sara falls for Remington.  While I appreciated Sara’s angst about ballet, I simply couldn’t connect with her relationship with Rem.  Sara and Rem have a fast infatuation that never really made sense to me.  Part of this may be the fact that Rem really doesn’t have much dialogue–he and Sara don’t do much talking.  This is mostly because of the nature of their relationship, but also because the scenes with Rem focus more on Sara’s thoughts.  I understand the reasoning for this, but it also caused these scenes to fall flat for me.  As a result, Audition didn’t become the book I wanted it to be.

I’m looking forward to hearing my students’ thoughts, especially after seeing the different ratings they’ve been giving it on Goodreads.  Audition is one that I enjoyed, and even though some areas were weak, it’s a book that I still think others should read.

Flash Reviews (9)

16 Dec

Pie by Sarah Weeks
Source: ALAN conference

Summary (From Goodreads): From the award-winning author of SO B. IT, a story about family, friendship, and…pie!

When Alice’s Aunt Polly passes away, she takes with her the secret to her world-famous pie-crust recipe. Or does she? In her will, Polly leaves the recipe to her extraordinarily surly cat Lardo . . . and then leaves Lardo in the care of Alice.

Suddenly Alice is thrust into the center of a piestorm, with everyone in town trying to be the next pie-contest winner … including Alice’s mother and some of Alice’s friends. The whole community is going pie-crazy . . . and it’s up to Alice to discover the ingredients that really matter. Like family. And friendship. And enjoying what you do.

Flash Review: After listening to Sarah Weeks read from Pie and talk about her book, I couldn’t wait to start reading it.  The section she read made my mouth water, and it only got worse when I started reading the story.  She has done a fantastic job describing Aunt Polly’s pies; she even includes real pie recipes at the beginning of each chapter!  Along with the strong details and imagery, Weeks also uses a wonderful variety of figurative language like similes and metaphors.  She’s written Alice as a very likeable and sweet young character that you can’t help but admire.  Alice loves her Aunt Polly and misses her dearly, which makes her want to uncover the secrets behind Polly’s pie-crust recipe even more.  Tweens will enjoy the mystery and the humor.  I would have given this story 4 out of 5 stars, but the epilogue left me feeling deflated after reading a fun, light novel.  I don’t like the epilogue at all and really don’t understand why Weeks felt it necessary to include it.

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Source: NCTE conference

Summary (From Goodreads):

No one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama.

 For all the ten years of her life, Hà has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by . . . and the beauty of her very own papaya tree.

But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, Hà discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape . . . and the strength of her very own family.

This is the moving story of one girl’s year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.

Flash Review: Inside Out & Back Again has been receiving quite a bit of award buzz and after reading it I completely understand why.  First of all, the verse is beautiful.  I’m a huge fan of verse, but I’m also very picky about it.  Some authors have a real knack for verse, while others could use some work.  Thanhha Lai has written an impressive historical verse novel.  I love that it takes place during the Vietnam War and provides readers with another perspective from during that war.  Today’s tweens will hopefully gain an interest in this side of the war and want to learn more about it.  The bigger focus of the story, though, is about how Hà adapts to her new life in the United States.  The language barrier is one of her biggest challenges, and at times heartbreaking to read.  Tweens will easily identify with her whether they’re of the same culture or not, because at this age almost all of them feel awkward, different, and out of place.  Inside Out & Back Again has everything a great novel should have: humor, strong characters, a wonderful message, hope, and more.

Book Trailer Thursday (44)–May B. by Caroline Starr Rose

8 Dec

Can you believe it’s December?!  I’m not looking forward to the snow (unless we get snow days!), but I am looking forward to Christmas :)   I’m also looking forward to starting a new year with a brand new set of debut authors!  To get things started, I’m posting the trailer for Class of 2K12 author, Caroline Starr Rose’s debut May B.  Her debut is a historical middle grade novel told in verse.  I received a copy at NCTE and I’m excited to read it.

Summary of May B. (From Goodreads): 

I’ve known it since last night:
It’s been too long to expect them to return.
Something’s happened.

May is helping out on a neighbor’s Kansas prairie homestead—just until Christmas, says Pa. She wants to contribute, but it’s hard to be separated from her family by 15 long, unfamiliar miles. Then the unthinkable happens: May is abandoned. Trapped in a tiny snow-covered sod house, isolated from family and neighbors, May must prepare for the oncoming winter. While fighting to survive, May’s memories of her struggles with reading at school come back to haunt her. But she’s determined to find her way home again. Caroline Starr Rose’s fast-paced novel, written in beautiful and riveting verse, gives readers a strong new heroine to love.

Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

12 Sep

Ellen Hopkins Perfect

640 pp.  McElderry Books (Simon & Schuster)

Source: ARC received from the publisher

Release Date: September 13, 2011

Summary (From Goodreads): Everyone has something, someone, somewhere else that they’d rather be. For four high-school seniors, their goals of perfection are just as different as the paths they take to get there.

Cara’s parents’ unrealistic expectations have already sent her twin brother Conner spiraling toward suicide. For her, perfect means rejecting their ideals to take a chance on a new kind of love. Kendra covets the perfect face and body—no matter what surgeries and drugs she needs to get there. To score his perfect home run—on the field and off—Sean will sacrifice more than he can ever win back. And Andre realizes that to follow his heart and achieve his perfect performance, he’ll be living a life his ancestors would never have understood.

Everyone wants to be perfect, but when perfection loses its meaning, how far will you go? What would you give up to be perfect?

A riveting and startling companion to the bestselling Impulse, Ellen Hopkins’s Perfect exposes the harsh truths about what it takes to grow up and grow into our own skins, our own selves.

The first thing I want to bring up in this review is that if you haven’t yet read Impulse you’ll want to wait to read Perfect.  Many companion novels have related characters and/or settings and can usually be read without reading the companion.  Perfect, however, takes place at the same time as Impulse following Conner’s twin sister, Cara and other characters.  I even thought about reading Impulse again once I made this realization about the story.

I love all of Ellen Hopkins’ novels, especially Impulse and Burned, but Perfect may be her best novel yet.  The four characters we follow are developed extremely well, each with their own unique voice.  At one point I marked my page, set the book down for a bit, and when I came back I couldn’t remember which character I was reading.  As soon as I started reading the page I knew it was Sean because his voice is that clear in the novel.  Not only are the characters distinguishable, I loved that so many different issues are addressed.  I’ve been making a conscious effort to read more LGBT novels, so I was pleasantly surprised to find Cara realizing her sexual identity.  Cara’s navigation through these new experiences is done with care and grace.  I didn’t expect Andre to be a dancer, but that’s something I really appreciated because I can’t say that I’ve read any novels portraying a straight teenage guy who loves to dance.  This works well into the idea of being “perfect” because of the many different gender expectations there are.  Both Andre and Cara are dealing with developing identities that aren’t accepted by their family or understood by society.  Sean and Kendra want physical perfection among other things.  Kendra is dealing with what happened to Conner and trying to gain some control over her life.  The only way she can do that is by controlling how she looks and what she eats.  Sean has lost his dad which has left a large hole in his life.  He still wants to make his father proud, so he delves into the world of steroids so he can be the best baseball player he can.

Like always, the verse is superb.  As one character’s point of view ends, the next character’s point of view begins with a phrase or saying something similar that the last character just said.  For example, one of Cara’s sections ends with “Somewhere deep.  Dark.  Empty.”  On the next page Kendra’s section begins with “Empty is the perfect state of being.”  Ellen Hopkins has been doing this in a variety of ways with her last couple of novels.  She makes it look so easy, but I can’t imagine it is.  I think you’d really need to know your writing style and your characters to make them connect this way.  Also, like many of her multiple point of view novels, these characters connect and mesh in a variety of ways.  One example of this that I especially enjoyed is how Andre and Kendra connect through Kendra’s sister Jenna.  Jenna doesn’t have her own section in Perfect, but I felt like I knew her character well because of Kendra and Andre.

I couldn’t put Perfect down, and when I had to, I couldn’t stop thinking about what was happening to the characters.  Seriously, this book is amazing and a must read.  It comes out tomorrow, so I hope you’ll get a copy!

Flash Reviews (5)

10 Sep

My summer break is over and school has started.  I just finished my first week back with the kids, and I am tired! :)   I need to catch up on my reading and blog posts this weekend, so here are a couple flash reviews.  Thank you for the idea, GreenBeanTeenQueen :)

I Know It’s Over by C.K. Kelly Martin
Source: Purchased

Summary (From Goodreads): PURE. UNPLANNED. PERFECT. Those were Nick’s summer plans before Sasha stepped into the picture. With the collateral damage from his parents’ divorce still settling and Dani (his girl of the moment) up for nearly anything, complications are the last thing he needs. All that changes, though, when Nick runs into Sasha at the beach in July. Suddenly he’s neck-deep in a relationship and surprised to find he doesn’t mind in the least. But Nick’s world shifts again when Sasha breaks up with him. Then, weeks later, while Nick’s still reeling from the breakup, she turns up at his doorstep and tells him she’s pregnant. Nick finds himself struggling once more to understand the girl he can’t stop caring for, the girl who insists that it’s still over.

Flash Review: This novel came highly recommended from a friend of mine.  Honestly, I have mixed feelings about it.  I absolutely love Nick’s voice; it’s believable, accurate, and really well done.  He’s a character that both male and female readers will easily connect with and relate to.  The story starts quickly with Sasha meeting up with Nick on Christmas Eve to tell him that she’s pregnant.  We don’t know anything about them, but it’s obvious that they haven’t been together for a while.  After this though, the story started to drag for me.  After about 50 pages I was interested again because we were back when Sasha and Nick started dating.  Reading this book was almost like riding a roller coaster because my feelings kept reaching highs and lows.  Most of the lows involved Sasha because I simply don’t like her.  She’s hot and cold, indecisive, and leads Nick on like no one’s business.  Most of this happens once the couple starts having sex, and let’s be honest, it’s hard to go back to how the relationship was when sex has becomes a variable.  She kept breaking Nick’s heart and I couldn’t stand it.  One of the big topics in this story isn’t just Nick and Sasha’s relationship, but how Nick is dealing with Sasha’s pregnancy and what him trying to weigh their options.  I haven’t read a book before this one that shows this point of view.  My other low was the overall feel of Nick and Sasha’s relationship–I didn’t really buy it.  I know  Nick is head over heels for Sasha, but I think he mentions love only once, and I don’t recall Sasha saying it at all.  I don’t expect all teenage relationships to be about love when sex is involved, but for me to really believe Nick’s feelings over everything, especially Sasha, I’d expect there to be more “I love you/her/him/etc” exchanges.  So, for my two highs and two lows I gave this 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder
Source: Purchased

Summary (From Goodreads): Amber’s life is spinning out of control. All she wants is to turn up the volume on her iPod until all of the demands of family and friends fade away. So she sneaks off to the beach to spend a day by herself.

Then Amber meets Cade. Their attraction is instant, and Amber can tell he’s also looking for an escape. Together they decide to share a perfect day: no pasts, no fears, no regrets.

The more time that Amber spends with Cade, the more she’s drawn to him. And the more she’s troubled by his darkness. Because Cade’s not just living in the now—he’s living each moment like it’s his last.

Flash Review: I was in a horrible reading funk before I started reading The Day Before.  Thankfully, as soon as I started reading this I couldn’t put it down and was back to being excited about reading.  There is seriously something special about Lisa Schroeder.  I have loved every book of hers I’ve read, and not only that, they’ve all been unputdownable (I’m aware that’s not really a word).  There’s a big of mystery surrounding Amber because we don’t know right away why she’s leaving home.  Schroeder includes some letters from Jeanie and Allen that leave us predicting that they’ve played some kind of role in Amber’s decision, but we don’t even know who they are or why she’s getting letters from them.  I love it when authors add an element of mystery like this, especially when they do it so well.  Besides loving the budding relationship between Amber and Cade, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to find out who Jeanie and Allen are.  The Day Before is a fantastic mix of a story about love and making tough decisions.  The verse is beautiful, like always, and the characters are endearing.  If you haven’t read one of Lisa Schroeder’s books, this is a good one to start with.  I gave this 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

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