Review: Talking As Fast As I Can

I stumbled upon Gilmore Girls as a teenager and it became Our Show. The show my mom and I watched together, every day/week, through six seasons (my mom never quite made it through season 7). With the comeback of AYITL (:A Year in the Life) and my beloved Gilmore Guys podcast, I heard about Lauren Graham's memoir, read a couple pages while standing in Barnes & Noble, and had to have it.

My history of reading celebrity-penned memoirs is a bit hit-and-miss. They all seem entertaining enough, interesting enough to pass the time. Disappointing in proportion to how excited about the book I was, or how much I like the celebrity in question. I haven't read many, but the ones I have read are decent. And it's not that Lauren Graham's book was leaps and bounds ahead of the others but... parts of it was? Her collection of essays -- about acting, about her childhood, about her personal life, about writing -- are for the most part well-written (sometimes amazingly well-written). Some chapters were more interesting to me and some were less interesting.

It's hard to review this book. Lauren Graham is a good writer and an interesting person, and while I found her notes on the filming of Gilmore Girls mostly real boring, the parts about her boyfriend, about her pre-acting and beginning acting years, about her writing, ranged from oh, this is good to this is incredible!!!!

Popsugar's Reading Challenge

Okay so when I did my 2014 reading survey I think I mentioned that I have a reading challenge for this year...? Maybe? Anyway.

I have a reading challenge for this year. It's Popsugar's reading challenge, and I'm going to create a page for it so I can cross off each item as I accomplish it. I never do the GR reading challenge because that feels like a lot of reading pressure, and I'm not into that. But this challenge, whether I totally 100% complete it or not, feels like a good way to add a bit of genre diversity to my reading life.

So yes. Join me?

Upcoming YA Books

I read this post today, by Kara Thomas, author of the Prep School Confidential series. To summarize, in case you don't feel like clicking over and reading the link, Kara says that, essentially, the books populating all the "most anticipated" lists at the start of the year aren't going to be the debut novels. They're going to be the big books, ones publishers are pushing and trying to create buzz for.

This is true. The two books at the top of my 2015 MUST LIST are both by very established authors. (Honestly, I want to say they're both bestselling, but I'm not sure.) The truth is, unless a reader at least knee-deep in the publishing world and YA buzz, readers often don't know about the smaller books coming out. The ones by debut authors, the ones that aren't lead titles. In the year or so that I've been "blogging" over on tumblr, I've lost touch so much with what's happening in YA. Granted, I'm still better informed than nearly everyone else I know, but compared to how knowledgeable and "in the know" I was a couple years ago? Um, nope. And though I'm trying to get back into it, at least somewhat, the truth is that I might never be as crazy-informed as I used to be about what's happening in YA, what new books are coming out, who has a book deal and for how many books.

And you know what? I'm kind of more than okay with that. I'm excited for 2015, and excited to discover new books and authors that I haven't known about a year before their books debuted. There's a certain thrill in finding a flat-out amazing read that you just pull off a shelf, that you haven't read twenty thousand reviews of. That hasn't been on your TBR list for months. This is the way we find new favorite books and new favorite authors, ones whose future books we'll always be on the lookout for.

But, that all said -- I do like knowing what's coming up. So I have to ask: what lesser-known YA titles should I be on the lookout for this year?

The Supreme Disappointment of Being Disappointed

So I just read this book. Well, most of this book at least. I gave up around the 2/3 mark and skipped ahead to find out how it ended. It was a book I'd been looking forward to for ages, one I was so excited about, one by an awesome author. It hit so many of my must-haves.

But I didn't finish the book. I didn't like the book. I was disappointed. I thought there must be more; I thought, really? The dialogue felt stilted. The characters flat. The relationships unformed. It wasn't what I had expected and though I really, really wanted to finish, I also had other books waiting for me.

I hate when that happens. When a book I'm excited about, one I've even been looking forward to, disappoints so wholly. When I don't finish something I was hoping would become a favorite.

You know what I mean, right?

disappointing books

I recently started to read a book that seemed right up my alley. A contemporary YA, heavy on family and with a romance subplot. It's a book that I'd seen numerous raving reviews for, some of them from reviewers I trust. The writing was great. It had all the elements of a Book Jordyn Loves, but it just fell short.

I was bored. The characters and their romance didn't capture me; the main character wasn't particularly notable; and as much as I loved the family stuff some of the important players were unlikeable. The plots I was really interested in were pushed to the sidelines for plots that I didn't like much, and over halfway through the book I finally admitted defeat and set it aside.

To be honest, I'm still a little surprised I didn't love, or at least like, the book. I'm surprised I didn't have the desire to even finish a book that, by all accounts, was perfect for me. Yet it reminded me that all the right elements don't necessarily make for a five-star read, and that reading really is just as subjective as people say it is. Sometimes books you wouldn't expect are absolutely brilliant, and the ones you expect to love end up unfinished.

What book did you think you'd love but ended up not liking?

Reading Goals Update

With the first quarter of the year officially over (hello, spring!) I figure that now is a good time to take inventory of how I'm doing with my various reading goals that I posted about back at the start of the year.

So far this year I've read 32 books, not including those books that I've started and then not finished. Of these 32, three of them (The Hunger Games series) were rereads.

Goal #1: Read more nonfiction. Specifically I wanted to read Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and more books along the lines of Odd Girl Out. What did I really end up reading?

So far only one nonfiction title that I've finished -- Liz Pryor's What Did I Do Wrong?: What To Do When The Friendship Is Over, which is definitely similar to Odd Girl Out though aimed at adult women instead of children and adolescents. This book was mostly anecdotal, with a tight focus on what happens when female friendships end and the different ways this event is handled (or, more often, not handled). I really enjoyed it and definitely found some of it relatable, though I felt that at times the focus was a little too narrow in that it was so focused on the end of a friendship and much less so on what leads up to that ending.
(I also started and didn't finish Queen Bees & Wannabes, which was a disappointing read for me.)

I definitely feel like I should kick my nonfiction reading into a little higher gear this next quarter -- maybe finally reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother?

Goal #2: Read more adult novels. Specifically I wanted to read Sisterhood Everlasting and The Weird Sisters.

I read three adult novels in the past three months, which I think is pretty good. One of them was Sisterhood Everlasting, which I reviewed here. The other two were Family Album, by Penelope Lively, and Save As Draft, by Cavanaugh Lee. To be honest, none of these books were all that I had hoped for. The family drama in Family Album was tedious and emotionally exhausting, but this is more a reflection of myself and my biases than the actual story, I think. Meanwhile Save As Draft was definitely entertaining and I loved the way it was written (through emails between the characters), but I didn't like any of the characters and this made it difficult to really enjoy the book.

I'd like to find an adult novel I really, really like sometime soon. Maybe The Weird Sisters will fit the bill when I finally do read it?

Goal #3: Make an effort to read YA sci-fi. The books I listed here were Cinder and A Million Suns.


I read two YA sci-fis: Cinder, by Marie Lu, and Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi. Honestly, I'm not sure if I *really* consider Shatter Me sci-fi or not; it really walks the line between dystopian, paranormal, and just straight-up futuristic, however the ending of the book definitely pushes it more toward the futuristic/sci-fi label to me. I reviewed both books here -- (Cinder) and here -- (Shatter Me).

I still want to read A Million Suns and there are a few upcoming dystopian novels I'd like to get to, but for this sci-fi category I'm really looking for non-dystopic books. Any suggestions on that front?

Goal #4: Look for sophomore novels. 


Alright, I'm not entirely sure how many of the books I read were sophomore novels, but as far as I can tell at least three of them were. You Are Not Here, by Samantha Schutz (review); Alaska, by Sue Saliba (review); and 7 Clues to Winning You, by Kristin Walker (review to come closer to the pub date). Additionally the book I'm reading now (Nina LaCour's The Disenchantments is a sophomore and so far I'm really loving it.)

Goal #5: Read debuts.


This is an ongoing thing for me and so far this year I've read 8 debuts and I'll just link to them here.
Shug, by Jenny Han
Adios, Nirvana, by Conrad Wesselhoeft
The Probability of Miracles, by Wendy Wunder
Cinder, by Marissa Meyer
Save As Draft, by Cavanaugh Lee
She's So Money, by Cherry Cheva
Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi
Girl Saves Boy, by Steph Bowe

TGIF: Book Blogger Pride

This week's TGIF question from GReads is this:

What do you take pride in when it comes to blogging?

Honestly what I'm most proud of are the books that I read, love, and talk about. One of my big goals when I started blogging was to highlight books I'm passionate about -- contemporary, underrated books that maybe most people haven't heard of or read. A lot of my favorite books have always been the underdogs, books that never hit the bestseller list, aren't face out in bookstores, and are a little quieter than others might be, and I'm so thrilled to have a platform -- even a small one -- to highlight those books. Because I want the authors of the books I love to be able to keep writing for an audience. I want to be able to be a part of that audience.

I Resolve to Finish Less Books

Lately I've been noticing just how many books I read in their entirety and don't really care for. Of the 13 books I've read so far this year, I didn't actually like three of them - these were 1- and 2-star reads for me, but I kept reading and kept reading, in most cases hoping the book would get better.

Because sometimes books do that. You hit the 70 or 100 or 120 page mark and suddenly, boom, everything falls into place. Like magic! Sometimes this happens. Usually though, it doesn't.

And honestly, I love books. I love stories. I eat fiction for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Which is part of the reason why I hate so much to find a book that I don't like: there are so many books I like or love that it seems a little ridiculous to finish books I don't care for.

My goal for the rest of February and also March is to not finish any books that are 1-star reads for me. Ideally I'd like to cut out 2-star reads as well, but ONE STEP AT A TIME. So, what about you? Do you finish books you don't like? What about ones you're just a bit ambivalent about?

FIVE BOOKS I DIDN'T THINK I'D LIKE...

1. Anna and the French Kiss - Sure, everybody rave rave raved about this novel when it came out, but I had a strong gut feeling that I'd be the lone blogger to just not like it. Surprisingly just the opposite happened: it was even better than the hype and I loved it more than I ever would have predicted.
2. Sea - Another novel that I'd heard good things about but was wary going into. However, the fact that I stopped my own writing and spent the entire day curled up with Sea's adventure speaks for itself.
3. Break - This book just didn't appeal to me at first. It wasn't until Cindy Pon said it seemed like something I'd love that I read it (thank you, Cindy!) and OMG am I ever glad I did. Amazing amazing amazing.
4. Twilight - I resisted reading Twilight for so long because, like with Break, it just didn't appeal to me. I didn't think I'd like it at all but I picked it up after a friend recommended it so strongly and couldn't believe I hadn't read it yet.
5. The Luxe - I don't read historical and I'm not a fan of Gossip Girl, which I'd heard this series compared to. In fact, I don't remember what ever compelled me to pick it up (maybe that gorgeous dress on the cover?) but whatever reason, it's now one of my favorite-ever series.

So tell me, what books did you not expect to like only to be surprised when you discovered that you loved them?

Personal Expectations

I try to go into a book free of expectations. I don't just mean books that are crazy-hyped like Anna and the French Kiss was, but just books that I'm really looking forward to and thinking that I'll enjoy.

I try to get rid of that bias before going into the book. It's so easy to expect one thing from a story (romance, action, family drama, anything) and then be disappointed if you get something slightly different or if, for some reason, it just doesn't live up to the image you have in your mind.

There are certain books that, regardless of any buzz they have or haven't gotten, I just expect to like. Twenty Boy Summer springs to mind, as does Fixing Delilah (both by Sarah Ockler), Beth Revis' Across the Universe, and Ally Condie's Matched. Each of these books sounded amazing to me when I first heard about it and I had to put my personal expectations of what I thought the story would be aside in order to read and review the books.

I was able to do this with three of the four books.
The fourth one was the only one I didn't really enjoy, and I can't even honestly say that I didn't like it because the truth is that it just wasn't what I'd imagined. There was this disconnect between what I thought the book would be and what it actually was. And in that space was a chasm of disappointment that came from me, not the story.

Recently I read another book I was really looking forward to. One that I first heard of long before it was published and that, from the get-go, sounded like my type of book. I really didn't want to be disappointed. I didn't want to go into it with expectations, imagining what the story would be and not being able to enjoy what the story actually was because of those expectations. I won't tell you what the book was or what I thought of it, but I want to know if you've ever experienced this... do you feel like you have to erase your personal expectations of a novel in order to really read and enjoy it for what it is?

Hiatus, Explained

Okay, for those who don't quite understand what's going on with the blog/why I'm on hiatus, here are some links for you. The author's original post (in which I'm the "asker" she talks about), her follow-up, and another post with some interesting comments. To sum up: the general consensus here seems to be that it falls somewhere between "maybe not the best idea" and "a really stupid move" for an author to write book reviews online, or in fact share negative opinions on books they've read at all. Yes, even aspiring writers. I'm not going to get into the reasons but if you want to read those posts they cover it pretty well.

(via weheartit)

During the last QueryChat on Twitter, I asked about book blogs - should an aspiring writer include them in the query letter, maybe in the signature? I wasn't surprised when one agent said she wouldn't work with a blogger who had dissed one of her client's books. I was surprised to find out that dissing could be something as seemingly innocent as a review or stating publicly (in places like Twitter, Goodreads, or a blog) that I didn't like a book.

This makes sense in a way. It also makes sense that, as Stacia Kane pointed out in her posts, an author who has received a negative review from another writer wouldn't want to help or blurb this person's book. And I can understand holding a grudge - I don't like it, wish it weren't something we have to deal with. But I can definitely understand it, knowing how deeply personal writing is and that often it's impossible to fully separate ourselves from that writing, from the book. A rejection of a novel must feel, no matter how well-meaning the reviewer means it, like a rejection of the writer.

Writing negative reviews, as an author or aspiring author, is taking a risk. Rating books on Goodreads is taking a risk. We don't always know how these risks might come back to haunt us - or not - until later on.

I see a world of difference, though, between a negative review where the reviewer honestly didn't enjoy the book and a positive review of a book that includes some negative elements. In writing a thorough review of a book, even one I love and want everyone to read, I often include the less-than-spectacular elements. It's not a negative review, but it might not be 100% glowy either. Now I wonder if it's risky, wrong, if I'm stepping on toes by even writing those reviews, by talking about books I find less than perfect and amazing. I've always believed that it is possible to be honest and genuine (not only in reviews, but also in discussing YA lit as a whole, in talking with others, in being) while also being positive and supportive. Am I wrong in thinking this?

I don't want to choose between being a public reader and pursuing writing. Being told that I must either give up the only foothold I currently have in the YA community (this blog) or give up my dream of someday joining the ranks of the authors whose books I love reading is... honestly, unfair is the word that springs to mind though I'm aware how that makes me sound like a child. But it is unfair. And even more confusing. There is a part of me that thinks I should close the blog (or at least abandon it), another part that sees nothing wrong in what I'm doing, and another part that keeps coming up with compromises, some of which I quite like. Mostly though, I feel like no answer is going to be the perfect right one.

I'm still working on figuring it out.

Why I Love Contemporary

(via weheartit)

I love it because there's nothing that special about the heroes of realistic, contemporary fiction. They don't have superpowers or curses or magic or any of that. They're human. Which means that when they succeed it's because of some inner strength - because they want it enough or they work hard enough or they're lucky enough. Or a combination of everything.

I love realistic stories because reading is like looking in a mirror. It's seeing yourself a little clearer, a little better, finding a piece of yourself in a story that someone else has written. And sure, this happens in other genres, but nowhere is it as widespread as contemporary/realistic.

I don't often talk about what I'm reading right now on the blog, but today I have Wendelin Van Draanen's latest, The Running Dream, sitting next to me. It's about a 16 year old runner who loses her leg in an accident. Who has to learn to live as an amputee.

I don't know anything about losing a limb, but the hospital scenes are almost painful to read. They're real. The horror of seeing yourself in a mirror that first time after being in a hospital bed for days, the food you can't hardly eat and the longing for real food. The complicated and confusing emotions that come with all the "get well" wishes and cards and flowers.

She hit the nail on the head and I love it because, even though I'm not a runner, I can relate to the protagonist. And I know that when she gets through this -- when she makes it to the end of this journey, it won't be because of magic or spells or supernatural creatures. It will be because of her. And because of the people around her. The very human, very fallible people around her.

And that's the kind of strength I love seeing in characters. Real strength. Human strength. I can relate to that.

Why do you love contemporary? Or whatever genre it is that's your favorite -- what makes you adore it so much? Also: I've been doing a few of these more personal reading posts lately; what do you think of them?

That Moment.

(via weheartit)

I love that feeling I get... that feeling when I have an unopened book in my hand. I like that moment before the cover is pulled back, before I read that first word, first sentence.

That moment when it's still so full of possibility. Endless.

It could be the best book I've ever read. Every word could be incredible, golden, untouchable.

I love that feeling. Not knowing what's going to happen, who the characters are going to be, or if I'm going to be adding another awesome author to my ever-growing list of awesome authors.

Sometimes I'm disappointed.
Sometimes I'm not.
Sometimes I'm completely, utterly blown away by the splendor of what I'm reading.

The last book this happened with was Matched, by Ally Condie. Before that it was Courtney Summer's Fall for Anything. (Both of which you must read.) And now I'm sitting in front of so many wonderful, shiny, new books. I know I will love some of them. I don't how many, or which ones, but I know there's something great in there.

& this is only one of many, many things I love about books and about reading. that moment of possibility.

What I Love About Book People...

...is that they're all so excited! Seriously. I've been at ALA's Midwinter meeting this weekend and talking to fellow bloggers, lots of librarians, and publishing people has shown me that EVERYONE LOVES BOOKS SO MUCH. 

& I love that.

In the past couple of days I've had discussions about the Gallagher Girls series, all the upcoming dystopian novels. I've talked about Lynne Rae Perkins (author of the amazing Criss Cross and even more amazing All Alone in the Universe), who apparently has a YA title out now (!!!). I've had conversations about Sarah Dessen, All Across the Universe, and fangirled over the Betsy-Tacy-Tib books with other bloggers. 

IT HAS BEEN GREAT.

Like many diehard readers (ahem. DIEHARD!!) there aren't a lot of people in my day-to-day, in-person life that are as crazy about books as I am and it's wonderful to talk to others who are just as crazy about books as I am. 

so yeah. ALSO! sidebar poll, please answer it. 

ALSO! I'll quite possibly be doing a more in-depth ALA post later on in the week.

BRUTAL HONESTY.

I love honesty. I love books that are honest. I read somewhere that the type of honesty I'm talking about, that bold and blunt and raw honesty, is something only found in teenagers. That we grow out of it, leave it behind in our youth, and later cringe to think of it.

I don't like that idea.

Because I like being honest, 100% true, in my writing. If I'm not, what's the point? Though I'm still not that far from teenage-dom (I turn 21 next week-ish) I'm already worried - if it is in fact true that we lose that particular type of honesty - of losing this thing that I love so much, of looking back on the more personal things I've written now and cringing at them.

I don't want to lose it. I don't want to stop writing it or reading it. I love those books that are so honest, that show me something I'd forgotten or hadn't realized, that seem to reflect a little bit of what I think in the deep-thinking and sometimes hidden part of my brain. The authors whose books I love most aren't the ones who write the most exciting or even interesting stories -- they're the ones who have that knack of truth, who are able to be wonderfully, brutally honest in the best possible way. I love that.

And it's the type of writer I want to be. If it is true that everyone has that brutal honesty, that we just lose it as we get older, then maybe I'll just have to work a little harder at it. Pay attention a little more.

So what do you guys think? Do we lose the honesty as we get older? Do we even have it to start with? Or do some have it and others don't? WHAT'S YOUR OPINION?

FIVE: Books That Had A Personal Impact

For me, reading is an intensely personal thing. There's not much better than finding a book, character, or even just a passage, that I can truly relate to and that seems to speak to me. I love books that help me understand people better, understand myself better, or, best of all, give me that aha moment. You might know what I mean: Aha, I'm not the only one! That feeling.

Here are five books I read this year that became incredibly personal to me, in no particular order. Warning: Mild spoilers below.

1. I Now Pronounce You Someone Else

Erin McCahan

I mentioned in my review of this book how much I hated Bronwen's mother. But there's more to the story than that. I hated the way her mother treated her, the way she didn't seem to like her and sometimes didn't even seem to love her. As if Bronwen was this annoyance that she had to deal with and she should just make herself as unobtrusive as possible. I hated that she made Bronwen feel as if her needs, wants, and opinions didn't matter. The way she totally neglected her. I'm lucky enough to have an amazing family -- parents that I get along well with and who are completely supportive and a sister who is my best friend. I have always known that what I want and what I think is important to my parents and have never been made to feel unloved or neglected. But I know that not everyone has that. And I know that sometimes what's even more painful than outright abuse is the more insidious neglect of a son or daughter. It's possible to be neglected even with a roof over your head and food in your stomach. It's possible to be unloved in a seemingly perfect and normal family. And it sucks. This book reminded me so much of someone I know who did grow up in that kind of family and, yes, it helped me understand them a little better.

2. Some Girls Are

Courtney Summers

I know I've already talked about this book so much on the blog, but it warrants another mention. In the last two years I lost two people who I considered my best friends, including one whom I had been best friends with for a decade. And by "lost" I don't mean that they died. I mean that we were friends and then we weren't at all. Both of the friendships had been bad for me and by the time they ended I realized that. They were extremely toxic friendships that made me stressed, sick, feel bad about myself, and second-guess a lot of the things I said or did around these friends. I didn't (thank goodness) go through the type of bullying that happens in this book, but I still had friends who didn't understand me, who thought they knew how I should act and what I should say and what I should wear. Friends who lied to me. Who gave backhanded compliments. Who made me a very confused and messed up person. I'm not blaming them; I truly think that some people just don't work as friends, but no matter where the blame lands the fact is that they were very, very bad friendships and I saw that experience of toxicity reflected in Regina and Anna's friendship and it helped me realize - again and again - how important it is to get out of those types of relationships, whether they be romantic or platonic.

3. Mockingjay

Suzanne Collins

I don't know what it was about this book, but it really and truly blew me away. It was, in my mind, the perfect ending to the Hunger Games trilogy, but more than that it was just really, really amazing. It broke my brain. It gave me a reading hangover. It showed me how powerful a book can be. I don't know how to explain it except to say that it had been years since I had read something that - through sheer force of story - made me feel so much. It's so rare for a book to come along that I not only love and think is amazing, but that somehow seems to reaffirm the power of the written word and of story. And the fact that this happened in the genre I adore, the genre I want to write in (YA, not dystopian) is even more amazing to me because it proved that YA matters and made me proud to be a part of the YA community. I know it sounds crazy, but Mockingjay made me a little crazy.

4. The History of Love

Nicole Krauss

I'm going to be honest here and tell you that it's rare for me to find a mainstream novel that I love as much as most YA. A lot of the mainstream or literary books I read leave me with a 'meh' feeing. This book is the exception. As the title says, it's about love. About all kinds of love, from romantic to friendship, to family. Everything. And there's something about this book that's so incredibly beautiful, so raw and honest and amazing. As if a little piece of my heart fell into place when I read this book; it's that good. The writing is beautiful, the stories are great, but it's the raw, raw emotion that really got me. It made me so happy and so sad both at the same time. It's one of those books, one of those reading experiences, that there really are no words for.

5. The Unwritten Rule

Elizabeth Scott

This book touched on a couple of issues for me, but the main one was, unsurprisingly, the friendship between Sarah and Brianna. Though the situation with me and one of my friends was completely different, this book helped to explain everything I'd been trying to explain to myself about what went wrong in that friendship. In a lot of books someone is right and someone is wrong and friendships either last forever or fall apart and the girls end up enemies. They don't always show that sometimes the friendship needs to end but it doesn't mean that your feelings for that person end. It doesn't mean you don't still care about them and want the best for them. There's a lot of confusion that goes along with ill-fated close friendships, and this book did an excellent job of laying that confusion bare for the reader.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Fall for Anything, by Courtney Summers

The Summer I Turned Pretty, by Jenny Han

FIVE: Books I Didn't Read

Every year there are more books that come out and sound fantastic than I actually read and this year was no exception. There might have actually been more this year just because I paid more attention to the pub dates of books. So here are five books published in 2010 that I wanted to read this year but didn't. (Yes, hopefully in 2010 I'll read them all.) I'm limiting this list to books that (1) are YA and (2) I knew about for a long time. For some of them since before they even had covers or titles, but at least since before they were published.

1. Anna and the French Kiss

Stephanie Perkins

Quite honestly this book has been hyped so much and I'm not 100% sure I'd like it, but I want to read it anyway. Because it kind of does sound fantastic and I haven't heard of anyone not liking it (it would just figure for me to be that one-in-a-million) and not only did John Green totally fanboy over it, but he also said it was like him and Maureen Johnson had a baby book. And uh, I think we can all agree this would be the greatest thing ever. 

2. Friend is Not A Verb

Daniel Ehrenhaft

I'm a huge fan of books related to social networking and have absolutely loved a few of Ehrenhaft's other novels, so I was really hoping to read this one when it came out. However, of course by the time it was published I had all but forgotten about it and when I remembered it I couldn't find it in my BN, which is a sadface. Now it's the end of the year and I still haven't read it.

3. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

Morgan Matson

I love road trip books and this one has one of the best titles I've come across. I don't typically buy hardcover though, and this book is still not in paperback. (It hits me now that the cover to this book and the one above it are startlingly similar.)

4.  A Match Made in High School

Kristen Walker

I feel bad for this book. It was originally set to come out in 2009 and the pub date apparently got pushed back. I was so excited to read it last year but by the time 2010 rolled around and it was finally published there were other books I wanted to get to that suddenly seemed more interesting and this one got pushed aside. 

5. A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend

Emily Horner

I absolutely love love love the premise of this book and have been wanting to read it for ages. I think I heard about it before it even had its final title. I haven't seen it in stores at all (le sad), but I still really really want to get my hands on a copy.

FIVE: Favorite Lines of 2010

The official FIVE for today is covers, but I was a little unsure of how to tackle that one so instead I'm going with something I absolutely love from books: great lines. Here are five favorite quotes from books I've read (or reread!) this year, in no particular order.

Envy, by Anna Godberson

She thought of Henry and Diana on the stoop, gazing at each other with the confusion and sadness of two puppies who have just stumbled into their first puddle and not yet come to understand what has happened to them.

Girls in Pants, by Ann Brashares

They were growing up. It was inevitable. But please, God, she couldn't do it if it was a trade-in. She couldn't strike the bargain if growing up meant drowning out the friendship that stood at the very center of her life, the thing that gave her strength and balance.

serafina67, by Susie Day

If I was a movie then that is what would happen. But things don't get cured and mended and tidied up like that. I am not cured and mended and tidied up either.

The Treasure Map of Boys, by E. Lockhart

I know they're not getting divorced or anything, but when your parents argue it makes the whole universe seem like it's tipping, like everything could change if they got mad enough at each other, like the world isn't a safe place.

And of course, that's true, isn't it? The world is not a safe place.

Envy, by Anna Godberson

[Diana] went to her window and looked at all the twinkling windows and above them all the faint stars. How many false impressions lived out there? she wondered. How many hearts broken through carelessness and failures of nerve?

Here Comes the Endings

My mind is very full today. Full of the series I'm working on the last chapters of (you may know it as LOLSI or you may not know it at all), series endings in general, and many, many questions.

I'm not a fan of series, as a rule. And I say this knowing full well that there are many exceptions to that rule. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Uglies, Peaches, The Hunger Games, and Luxe are just some of the series I absolutely adore. Plus, as we all know, I'm television-holic, and tv shows are a type of series.

But the endings almost never seem right to me. In books series and in television shows there often seems to be something missing, something not quite right. With the rare exception of Mockingjay I can't think of many endings that I really loved (and I know that for many people Mockingjay was a huge disappointment). Either the ending kills the series (ahem, Twilight), doesn't really give a sense of completion (here I cite the incredible BSC books), or there's just something I didn't like about it. My favorite couple didn't get together, a major element was out of place, or a couple I specifically didn't want together ended up riding off into the sunset.

FOUR WAYS SERIES ENDINGS CAN GO HORRIBLY AWRY:

SPIRALINGS OUT OF CONTROL
This is when the end of the series kills the series. Storylines spiral out of control, the rules of the established universe are tossed out the window, and there are pages and pages of readers going wth is happening here? In this case it's not just one element that's out of place, but many elements. These types of endings are the ones that most often prompt readers to go let's just pretend that didn't happen, shall we? They're the endings that ardent lovers of the series sometimes have no problem "divorcing" from the rest of the story.

THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN
This, unlike the above ending, is where there's one specific element that ends in a way you don't agree with. The hero of the story ends up with the wrong love interest, your most beloved character dies a tragic death, or a choice is made that you just can't wrap your head around. In a way, this type of ending can be even worse than the first because if the whole thing were a mess you could easily write it off -- but there's that one thing! That one horrible, awful element that you just can't wrap your head around. This is also one of the more common (and subjective) types of endings out there, especially when it comes to love triangles and there are just as many members of TEAM NICE BOY as there are TEAM BAD BOY.

UM... THAT'S IT?
This is when the ending isn't really an ending. When, despite being a planned end to a series, it just feels like another book/chapter/episode. I'm going to take a stab in the dark here and say that this most commonly happens with series that are very episodic, where even the big things that happen are wiped away or forgotten by the next installment. And though that explains the lackluster ending to a certain extent, it still doesn't make it any better for the audience that wants a satisfying ending to their beloved series.

THE MISSING ENDING
Let me make it clear that this type of ending is on a whole different level from the first three. Because unlike those series where the ending is controlled by the writers and editors/producers, the missing ending is one that just doesn't happen. The series is cancelled and it has nothing to do with the planning on the part of the people directly involved in the series. It's easier to think of examples for this type of ending in television (hello, Firefly and the oh-so-tragic Pushing Daisies), but it also happens in book series and it's often a much more quiet death. RIP to lost endings everywhere.

And now I have to get back to writing my own series ending, which hopefully won't fall under any of these categories. But while I'm gone: what's your opinion on series endings? Which is the worst type and did I forget about a type?

The Saddest Ending of All Times & Ever

A while back Adele, from Persnickety Snark did a post on the marriage of Jo and the professor (surely he had a name, right?) in Little Women. In it, she asked us what elements or events in a certain book are things that we just can't move past. When I first read her post I thought that, for me at least, there wasn't really anything I could think of. Generally, even if I don't agree with how certain characters end up or how a storyline goes in a book, I trust that the author knows what he or she is doing. After all: it's not my story; it's the author's.

And then, when Anna Godberson's new novel Bright Young Things arrived in my mailbox, I remembered. That one book, that one thing that I just can't get over. And I wish the book I cared that much about was a classic like Little Women, but it's not. It's the last book of Godberson's Luxe series -- Splendor.


Let me backtrack.

A couple of years ago I bought the novel Luxe. I don't remember why exactly, because I'm not usually a fan of Gossip-Girl type books or historical, but the cover was so beautiful and it was in paperback at Wal-Mart and I wanted something to read. And to say that I loved it would be an understatement. Luxe completely pulled me into its chaotic, glamorous, gossipy pre-20th-century world. I went out and bought the second book in the series (Rumors) the day after finishing the first book. Incredibly, I loved the second book even more. The characters! The intrigue! The twists and turns! In all honesty, the Luxe series just got better and better...

...and then I got to the fourth and last book, Splendor. And not to spoil anything for those of you who might read it, but do you know what the last couple of chapters did to me? They destroyed me, that's what. Characters I had held my breath for and cheered on since the beginning got endings that I was wholly unprepared for. What went down as one of my favorite YA couples of all time didn't end up together. Can I help it if, in my mind, I still imagine that they wound up together? Even if the ending doesn't support this theory at all? Because that ending? Let's just say IT WAS NOT SMILES TIMES IN THE LAND OF JORDYN. There was much anger. And sadness. And omg I cannot get over it. (Yes, I read the author's explanation of the ending. It did not help how sad it made me and how not-right it seemed.)

Now. Let us think of happier things, shall we? Whoever can tell me where the reference "we are not smiles times" comes from IS THE WINNER. (Of what? Of WINNING, der. Bragging rights.)