Writing - Rewrite

In some ways this rewrite is nothing, but in many other ways it is everything and the hardest total rewrite I've done yet. Hard not because of the particular book (it's not the most difficult I've written), but because of other things, things attached to this book that don't have a lot to do with the actual work. Because of pressure and wanting everything to be just right and worrying so much about missing the mark. I have given myself a Nov. 1 deadline and if I write a thousand words a day I can just barely squeak in under the deadline, but it doesn't allow for missed days or much time to reread and re-vamp the book after the last word goes down.

I AM GOING TO DO THIS.
I AM GOING TO DO THIS.
I AM GOING TO DO THIS.

If When I go crazy in the meantime... well, that's just the price I have to pay.

40 Day Book Challenge - Favorite Character (03)

Day 03 - A book with a favorite character
I have so many favorite characters, but for some reason Kurt Brodsky is the first that comes to mind. Kurt Brodsky is hardcore awesome. I always think that the guys in Leverage encapsulate the best and worst of humanity, and Kurt Brodsky is definitely on the "best of humanity" side of things. I absolutely love him and I think if more people were like Kurt Brodsky probably (definitely) the world would be a better place.

Review: An Off Year

AN OFF YEAR
Claire Zulkey
Dutton Juvenile

After going through the college application process and showing up at her college dorm room, Cecily does the unexpected -- she turns around and heads home, leaving her freshman year of college untouched. Without thinking about it or making plans, she ends up taking a gap year as she tries to figure out just why she suddenly felt that starting college was impossible for her.

I have to be upfront and tell you that not much happens in this book. Cecily's year is one of ennui and is broken up by month as she narrates, with her quirky and dry wit, the nothingness that is her life. Her dad is perplexed at why she's chosen not to go to school but, surprisingly, he doesn't try to change her mind. Her older, college-graduate sister is jealous of the time she gets to spend doing nothing, while Cecily herself is about as confused as the rest of them. She hadn't planned on ditching college, but once she does she doesn't second-guess herself. She watches as friends turn into "college clones" and becomes annoyed with the passive-aggressive hints her parents are sending her way about heading back to school the next year. Mostly though, she does nothing.

And yet that doesn't stop the book from being awesome. Cecily -- unsure and bucking what's expected of her -- is refreshing and realistic. There's an honesty here and as Cecily looks at her choices and why she did what she did, the topic of the future and what lies ahead is addressed so incredibly well. Cecily is accused of being lazy, spoiled, and self-absorbed... all of which is somewhat true. But she's also honest in confronting her flaws and unafraid of not knowing what happens next. The secondary characters that people the novel, from her dad to her siblings and friends, are all unique and realistic in their own ways. Her older sister has yet to find her first post-college job while her jet-set mother thinks that the gap year Cecily's taking is absolutely glamorous and that she should do something amazing, like write a book or travel.

But Cecily didn't think that far and she doesn't necessarily want to do something amazing, she just wants to figure out what happens next, which is the overwhelming theme of this book. What happens next? What does the future hold? Where do you want to be and how do you get there? The book explores these themes with realism and humor, making it stand out from the crowd.

In My Mailbox: the island.

BOOKS.

Bought: I've actually been wanting to read this one for a while - the cover and concept is just so great and hilarious. Slightly similar to Libba Bray's Beauty Queens, the book is a comedy featuring glamorous people stuck on a deserted island. And I loved all of the Lost references.

40 Day Book Challenge - Book I Want to Live In (02)

Day 02 - A book I want to live in
The first (and best) book that comes to mind for this one is Sharon Creech's Bloomability, which takes place at an international boarding school in Switzerland. I love Dinnie and her international friends, especially Guthrie, and if given the chance I'd become 12 years old again and live in this book in an instant. It's without a doubt one of the best stories and settings of any book. Ahhh, go read it.

40 Day Book Challenge - Favorite Book (01)

I found this 40 Day Book Challenge over at The Book Whisperer and decided to (slowly) make my way through it amidst my regular posts and reviews. Join me!? If you want to. (Click over to The Book Whisperer's site to see the full list of days.)

Day 01 - A favorite book of 2011 (so far)
Yeah, way to start out with a difficult topic. I've read so many great books this year, and choosing my favorite is all but impossible. Excluding nonfiction (I don't read a lot of nonfic, but what I do read is amazing), there are three novels that have totally absolutely 100% blown me away this year. I'm going with Gayle Forman's Where She Went for this one just because I was in such a bad mood when I read it and somehow it turned everything completely around. It's such a powerful and beautiful book and Forman is an incredible writer. I love the characters and I love especially the setting of the book -- New York City, and the whole thing takes place over the course of a day and night.

Review: The Best and Hardest Thing

THE BEST AND HARDEST THING
Pat Brisson
Viking Juvenile

Molly Biden, sick of being seen as "saintly," decides to go after bad-boy Grady Dillon. With the help of her best friend she undergoes a makeover to become the sort of girl a boy like him could be interested in and for the first time in her life she isn't the quiet, studious good girl everyone expects her to be: she's bad. But when she ends up pregnant, she realizes that her new personality and affections for a boy she really doesn't know very well has gone too far and she finds herself having to make some very tough decisions.

A big part of the reason I wanted to read this book was because it's written in verse and I have a love for novels in verse. With some stories it works extraordinarily well but unfortunately with this particular story I felt like the poems were more of a liability. Though sex and pregnancy are talked about very frankly, I felt that there was so much glossed over. Molly's a smart-but-stupid girl being raised by her grandmother and her family history, especially the death of her mother, was some of the most powerful stuff in the book. I felt like it gave a real glimpse into her character and wished that it had been explored in more detail. There's not a ton of character development here, partly due to the format of the book. This is a very issue-driven novel and the despite the fact that Molly's actual pregnancy takes up less than half of the book, this issue took over everything else. I often felt that Molly wasn't so much a character as a type of character and as much as I enjoyed the book, I wanted more depth to her character.

This was an enjoyable novel. There were hints of a great and very moving story lying beneath the surface, but sadly they remained only hints and at times the issue and overall message of the book overshadowed everything else. I did appreciate the mature way Molly dealt with her pregnancy -- not by hiding it from herself or other, but by facing it. I wish her choice had been explored in more detail as it's one I don't think I've seen presented in a YA novel before - at least not from this perspective. If you're looking for a teen pregnancy book, I'd recommend adding this one to the list.