Championing Contemporary YA: Empress Of The World

Championing Contemporary YA is a movement in celebration of June as the Contemporary month over at The Contemps. Between, the 3rd - 10th of June, Dreamcatcher's Lair will be championing Contemporaries that deserve championing.



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Nicola Lancaster is spending the summer at the Siegel Institute Summer Program for Gifted Youth-a hothouse of smart, articulate, intense teenagers, living like college students for eight weeks. Nic's had theater friends and orchestra friends, but never just friend friends. And she's certainly never had a relationship. But on the very first day, she falls in with Katrina the Computer Girl, Isaac the West Coast Nice-Guy-Despite-Himself, Kevin the Inarticulate Composer...and Battle. Battle Hall Davies is a beautiful blonde dancer from North Carolina. She's everything Nic isn't. Soon the two are friends-and then, startlingly, more than friends. What do you do when you think you're attracted to guys, and then you meet a girl who steals your heart?

With a summary that ends with a last line like that, how can you not pick up Empress Of The World? I've always been curious about the book that has a seemingly hetrosexual girl suddenly falling for a girl. You don't get to see many of those, because, sadly, not very many authors like experimenting with the protagonist's sexuality in mainstream YA. Such books get marginalised into the sub-genre of LGBT fiction, out of the general reading public.
That is just plain unfortunate.
Because books like these are little gems. Yes, the initial chapters felt a bit wobbly to me, with being introduced to many different characters at one go, but Sara Ryan does a fine job of telling the story of a different kind of first love, friendships lost and won at summer program, much like a summer camp, except with academics.

The cast of characters were quirky, and I loved them all because they were so well fleshed out in such a short span of time. I could guess who was saying what without looking at the dialogue tags. The friends-circle of the bohemian, serial-smoker, computer nerd Katrina, the good guy with political aspirations Isaac and the perpetually soporific music-composer-with-sunscreen Kevin, make up a wonderful supporting cast. They reminded me of the circle of friends in Anna And The French Kiss in many ways.

Anthropologist-in-the-making, Nic has a funny, observant eye and she's the kind of character who makes you wish you were friends with her. Sara Ryan blesses her with a great sense of humour, and oh, I absolutely adored her!
As for the love interest, Battle - well, her characterization is vague. There's a lot more to her than meets the eye. And I guess, a lot more about her is revealed in next book, Rules of The Heart, which is being called 'a book about Battle'. I just wish she wasn't so much of a mystery throughout the book. I'd liked to have known her more.
And the romance between the two? It played out like a real teen relationship. From friendship, to more to complications and much more, the depiction was perfect.For me, the exploration of the relation between the two more than made up for Battle's vagueness of character.

Nevertheless, Sara Ryan must be commended for the ending she drew out. It was the best kind of ending Nic and Battle could have had. She kept to the realism of it with a sweetness and nostalgia that was quite fitting.

Set against the unique background of a Summer Program for teens at a college, Sara Ryan's Empress Of The World is an intelligently written summer romance that redefines labels (Nic has a tendency to label everyting, even herself) with  its light-heartedness and humour, and should be worth a read :)

What's the best book with LGBT characters that you've read? Any that you would suggest I read?

Championing Contemporary YA & more

Yes, I can explain being MIA: Finals. That should sum it up, shouldn't it?
Good thing is, they ended today. And I'm back and I promise to be a good blogger for a while. So, thank you, for sticking with me and as a reward I'm going to little giveaway for you guys, sometime soon.


Now that the apologies are out of the way, here are two things that happened while I've been away. And I'm sure you guys know all about them, but I'll add them nevertheless so that my blog looks pretty.

Yeah, that's Jennifer Lawrence's 'first look' as Katniss. I admit I was apprehensive when they first cast her, but now that I see her with that dyed hair and the bow and arrow..I have to say, that's close. And it's made me wonder what they are going to do about the guys now, because Josh Hutcherson? No, he isn't exactly my Peeta. But I now have hopes.


And then this happened. (Actually this happened before Katniss)

And while I'm truly excited about Deathly Hallows 2, that trailer made me so sad. It's gonna be a bittersweet goodbye really. Harry Potter was my childhood and so much more. After the books, the movies have been something to hold on to that magical world, but that saga's gonna come to an end soon.

All I hope is that the Narnia movies don't end at the same time. That would mean an epic butchery of my soul.

Meanwhile, there's the blog topic to consider.

About half a month back, my Contemporary WiP hit a wall and I had to put that on the back-burner. And instead I had a new non-contemporary that had sudden taken over my mind. And while I have been totally in love with this new idea, I missed my contemp. I don't know, there's just something about the contemporary genre that pulls me back each time I go a different way. I adore this new idea, but I mist finish the first one first. Which takes me to Lisa Schroeder's post at The Contemps.

And I'm going to rip the exact same thing she quoted. An excerpt from Mandy Hubbard's blog, which is: 

Another thing I heard all day, every day? Realistic/Contemporary YA is a tough sell, but almost every editor really, really wants it to rally and come back in a huge way. Some editors joked that they are going to force it to come back by buying some killer Realistic/Contemp. Successful books like ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS By Stephanie Perkins and PERFECT CHEMISTRY by Simone Elkeles make everyone very hopeful that this trend continues. The more contemps that break out, the more likely this trend can actually pan out. So if you’re a contemp lover, get thee to the bookstore. If the readers don’t buy it, the editors can’t buy it. 

See, that's the thing. Contemporary YA's a gem of a genre, yet more often than not, it is so underrated. Mostly, all you get to hear about are the big names, the one trending with what's 'in'. And it's a weird thing, but I've never heard of Contemporary trending and that's really sad. There are so many great contemporary novels out there, and so many of them raise such important issues. They talk about the world as it is. In the moment. Yet, the trouble is, sales are low. They don't sell like hot cakes as the other more popular genres do. And like Mandy Hubbard said, unless readers actually buy them, a lot of good books-in-the-making won't be seeing the light of day.

So, I'm going to champion contemporary YA for a week, between the 3rd to the 10th of June. Each day, I shall talk about a contemporary book I've recently read, I'm going to 'champion' it (of course, providing that it deserves championing). The cause I'm hoping to achieve? Make people aware of some of the contemporary YAs out there. You can join in too, if you'd like, and maybe then, we can turn this into a blogfest, and then, atleast for a week, we can make contemporary rule! What do you say? Are you in?

I've designed two badges you can put up if you'd like. 

 Speaking of which, what's the latest contemporary YA you've read? I'd like to hear your thoughts on it :)

The Sick Handbook

I caught a stomach bug and that's what kept me away from blogging. But I have been lurking and snooping around yours..(did you get a hint?) :)

And well, I got pretty of being sick. So, I did things. Like these:

1) Listened over and over again to the theme music of Harry potter and The Chronicles of Narnia. Yes. Over and over and over and I'm still listening. It makes me a bit sad (and excited, in a twisted way) that Deathly Hallows 2 will be out this year and that's it, no more HP movies and I'm so gonna miss

About Narnia, I hear the next movie will be based on the first book, ie, The Magician's Nephew, which I've read and I know doesn't feature any of the Pevensie siblings and I'm gonna miss them.

On the bright side, it'll still be Narnia, and hopefully, there will be more movies. And the soundtrack for both these series? So uplifting. Makes you believe there's an unicorn right outside your door. Or better, a Narnian Prince ready to sweep you off to Hogwarts!

2) Watched all (that have been aired) of The Vampire Diaries (Season 2) episodes successively. What can I say? that's seriously, the best show ever. I'm obsessed. And it worked on some positives as well. It brought back my paranormal love in a rush. Yes, paranormal/urban fantasy and I had a long affair, but then we had to break up, cos we (rather I) got bored of the same-ness I saw in most f the books. But. Big 'BUT' here. We're gonna give our relationship another try, cos I've realised, I'm in a way, still in love with it.

3) Reading. My current shelf has been influenced by the good things VD's done. So what am I reading right now? Maggie Stiefvater's Ballad. And it is absolute gorgeousness. You should go here and listen to the music titled 'Nuala'. Seriously.

4) Brainstorming a Shiny New Idea. If anything  comes off it, I'll include you in the bigger story. Wish me luck that the Muse plays no more tricks on me.

5) Bloghopping. Yes, I'm keeping an eye out for all of you. Seeing what you all are up to. Hope all's good.

So, your turn. What do you do when you're sick?

The Bermudez Triangle

"Their friendship went so far back, it bordered on the Biblical-in the beginning, there was Nina and Avery and Mel." So says high school senior Nina Bermudez about herself and her two best friends, nicknamed "The Bermudez Triangle" by a jealous wannabe back on Nina's eleventh birthday. But the threesome faces their first separation when Nina goes away the summer before their senior year. And in ten short weeks, everything changes. Nina returns home bursting with stories about Steve, the quirky yet adorable eco-warrior she fell for hard while away. But when she asks her best friends about their summer romances, an awkward silence follows. Nina soon learns the shocking truth when she sees Mel and Avery . . . kissing. Their friendship is rocked by what feels like the ultimate challenge.

This was a very pacey read. The book's about 384 pages long and things are not rushed along, which was fine with me as I wasn't in any hurry to finish it.

The Bermudez Triangle started out as a book about friendship which turned into one about coming to terms with one's sexuality and ultimately a test of the changing dynamics of friendship between the closest of girl friends.

Generally, it takes some time for me to get into a third person narrative because 90% of the time I read first person narratives. Which is not to say I don't like third person narratives, I like them very much if they are written well, as is applicable to all other books. It just so happens that most YAs are written in the first person. As for this book, it took me no time at all. The crisp prose and the vividly fleshed out characters pulled me right in. There is so much heart in Maureen Johnson's understanding of characters -- Nina, struggling with feeling left out by her best friends on her return, Avery, confused and angry about her sexuality and the repercussions of it in her world, Mel, coming out to her family and friends and nurturing a broken heart.

The character development is really well-done. You can really feel the changes in the three girls as they face perhaps, one of the biggest challenges of their life - coming to terms with what/who they really are. For instance, Nina has always considered herself as someone who isn't homophobic. Yet, when she sees her best friends making out, her emotions contradict her reason and that struggle within herself makes her so very real. 
In fact, the dynamics change so much that my favourite character at the beginning became my least favourite as the reading progressed. Not that I disliked her (that would be villainizing) but I liked the others more.

This was my first Maureen Johnson novel (yes, it was long awaited). It didn't exactly shoot up to my favourites list, but I liked reading it.  

It was well-written, honest and a wonderful study of the test of friendship. 

I will be looking forward to reading more books by the author. I'm especially curious about her upcoming title, The Name Of The Star (Shades of London #1). I think it has an interesting story. And do you see the Briton on the cover? ;-)

 
Have you read any Maureen Johnson book? What are you reading now?

Anna And The French Kiss

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited?

Where do I start with this book? It had my heart melting to the ground and I squealed and swooned and invited crazy faces from my brother. Sure I heard great things about this book, but I had to read it to know what they were talking about. This book made me SO HAPPY, like giddy-schoolgirl-in-a-killer-crush happy. I'm majorly crushing on this book. Just like I'm majorly crushing on Stephanie Perkins.
We even had a little marriage-proposal-ring-exchange-merry dance ceremony on twitter. I swear. And I'd plug in those tweets if only I was tech-savy enough to do so.

Anyway.

Anna And The French Kiss. ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS. I want to print the name across the sky, 'cause this is that book which makes you giggle and gurgle in delight. If you're down and out, pick this up. I swear this works as therapy. If you're not down and out, never mind, pick this up - an overdose of happiness is always appreciated.

I don't know how I feel about out and out romances. Especially ones where you can guess what's gonna happen. And lets be honest, the title here doesn't make much of a secret of it. You can get the feeling where this book is headed. But don't let that stop you, DON'T. 'Cause, oh my, this is a joy of a read. Crushes are the sweetest thing and Perkins' portrayal of that does-he-like-me-does-he-not feeling is done to perfection.

Anna is a most charming narrator. Her voice is spot on. At times she reminded me of Meg Cabot's Mia Thermopolis - smart yet so teenager-y. And then there's St. Clair. Etienne St. Clair, who in spite of his shortcomings is so droolworthy. And the best thing? The friendship between the two, and how important is friendship is before it transpires into anything else.

The entire cast of characters are diverse and multi-faceted and I have to go back to re-read to analyse how she constructed such great chemistry between them all. Despite the length of the novel, this chemistry is what kept me on my edge, making me feet tingle, turning the page in the rush to know what happens next.

Other things I liked in this novel:

~Paris! PARIS! Need I say more?

~ The setting is evoked beautifully. I could feel myself out on the streets there.

~ Oh good lord, the food. I just want to be in France right now.

~ Anna's obsession with films. It was interesting and original.

~ Pretty much of the global guy in St. Clair. French name, British accent, American citizen.

~ The friendships.
~ The host of lovable and relatable secondary characters.
~ The conversations between Anna and Etienne.

I loved this book to bits. It still has me goofily smiling at the screen as I write this. The author's skill in making a rather ordinary storyline into such an unputdownable read makes this book yummier than a chocolate eclair.

Stephanie Perkins recently revealed her next book:

For budding costume designer Lola Nolan, the more outrageous the outfit—more sparkly, more fun, more wild—the better. But even though Lola's style is outrageous, she's a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins move back into the house next door.

When the family returns and Cricket—a gifted inventor and engineer—steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

(Taken from here)

I know I can't wait for September already.

I just wanted to say...

And...

Have a nice day.


(Photos: Source)

The Thing about Book Trailers

You can like them or you can hate them but they are everywhere.
Books are like the movies now, you have promo trailers now which can either work in their favour or just make you go meh.

Personally, I like book trailers. The visual impact they offer can sometimes overshadow even the book blurbs and just make you go all out to buy the book. Sometimes they are like those beautiful covers that you see, which alone are enough to instigate the reader into picking up a book and heading over to the sales counter with it.
However, not all book trailers have such results. There are those lousy ones or ones that fail to channel the book and can often turn the reader away from the book in question.

More often than not, it is the blurb/summary which will make you pick up a book, but there might be times when it's just the book trailer alone. Has that ever happened to you?

It has happened to me, with the following trailer, which is still my favourite book trailer to date. The first time I fell in love with this book was via THIS TRAILER.

My Sister Jodie (by Jacqueline Wilson):

This is another trailer that is so full of beautiful people and tantilising music it has me pining for the book. Don't you just love it?

Another Faust (by Daniel and Dina Nayeri):

Here are some other trailers which caught my eye.

Prada And Prejudice (By Mandy Hubbard)
It has a Jane Austen-y feel to it (is that Regency music?). Plus, dukes.

The Body Finder (by Kimberly Derting)
It gives me the creeps, which, I figure, is the eventual purpose of it.

Hold Still (by Nina LaCour)

I love this one SO much. The girl's commentary reminds me of the Before I Fall trailer, which I liked too.

Thirteen Reasons Why (By Jay Asher)

This book that some fantastic fan made trailers on YouTube. This is one of them.

Which trailer is your favourite? Have trailers ever made you go all out to buy a book?