Last fall when I arrived back on campus Audrey, Wait! was the book that I brought to read on the airplane over. By the time the semester had ended, I must have read it seven times. I like to reread books, but this was a record, even for me.
A couple of years ago I was a volunteer at the Festival of Books in Los Angeles, and I attended a panel of young adult writers and Robin Benway was one of the authors, promoting her new novel, Audrey, Wait! It was a really good panel, I enjoyed hearing about how adult authors managed to relate to their young adult readerships. And by the end of it, I knew that I had to read the books that were featured. If nothing else, I like to feel like i have more of a connection to a book than just stumbling upon it in a bookstore. not only did I see these authors speak, but they were from my area, writing about my demographic. At least, my demographic at the time.
Audrey, Wait! is about a girl who breaks up with her boyfriend because it's not working out anymore. She had grown up beyond him and did not see a future with him. Of course, he's in a band, and of course, he writes a song about it. The only thing that's unusual about this story is that this song makes Evan famous, and Audrey infamous.
It's a different take on the teenager becomes famous story, because Evan is not really important. Instead it is Audrey's adventures of running away from the paparazzi with her new boyfriend, or going to concerts and being able to watch from the VIP area. It's not a revolutionary story, but so few teenage novels are. It's a really fun read, and I would highly recommend it.
I think what made this story great were the characters more than the plot. Audrey is definitely more real girl than a lot of heroines in this genre and her best friend Victoria is one of the funniest tough-girl best friends I have ever read. It's not often that the best friend does not take the role of sidekick, but I really felt that the two of them were on even keel. If anything Victoria was stronger.
I have to admit, I've a sucker for books that I can feel a connection to. A story set in an area that's familiar by an author I was able to hear speak was undoubedtly on my list. But even if I just stumbled upon this book in a bookstore I would find it awesome. It's good enough to read seven times in eight months. Enough said.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
I Think I Love You- Allison Pearson
I guess I am easily influenced by advertising. Every day when taking the Tube to school, I would see giant posters advertising this book. Because its title is so awesome, and because I enjoyed I Don't Know How She Does It, I knew that I had to get this one. And it was meant to be, one day I walked into a used bookstores, and there is was, the first book I saw, ready for me to take it home.
Strictly speaking, this is not a novel for teenagers, but it is about teenagers and that's close enough. The emotions of adolescents idol crushes are well-described and similar to what would be found in a teen novel, with the introspection that those books usually lack.
I was amused when I began reading and found that this book was about apparent teen heartthrob, David Cassidy. Despite my love for the about that song that this book is named for, I never thought about David Cassidy in that way. Probably because by time I was old enough to have crushes on famous people, David Cassidy was old enough to be my father. He is in fact older than my father. So that would be weird. In fact, I had to look him up, because I could not remember what he looked like. Maybe not a stud by today's standards, but I can understand the hoards of girls who were obsessed with him.
The novel opens with Petra, the main character, looking in mother's closet and finding a letter addressed to her that her mother had hid for over twenty years, awarding her the prize of a lifetime, a chance to meet her one and only. Upon this discovery, we are taken back to 1974, when all of this had started. By the end, we learn all about her devotion to David Cassidy, and the events that occur when she is finally able to meet her teenage idol.
Like every teenage girl in the history of teenage girls, Petra and her friends had an overwhelming and all encompassing crush on the pop star of the day. In this case, it was David Cassidy. They kissed posters of him, they dreamed about being the future Mrs. Cassidy, they devoured magazines about him and read and reread them. It was one of these magazines that created the Ultimate David Cassiy Quiz, an opportunity for the girls to demonstrate just how much they knew about the man of their dreams.
Bill is the character that I found most engaging. He worked for the girls' favorite magazine, writing the stories about David, usually padding them with information that was not true. All he wanted to do was work somewhere cool, and his disappointment in working in a silly, dated magazine showed in the way he liked about his job to his girlfriend, but when he was working, he demonstrated a surprising devotion to his work. I found his character to be very likable and honest.
I found this story to be really interesting, and a unique look at meeting your idol, but at the same time, it was slow going. I never really felt like the story took off. it did not have the excitement that I would have expected to find in a book about teenage girls with their first real crushes. I do not feel like the story was developed to the extent that I would have liked. It was a fun read for daily Tube rides, but it is not something that I will read again, unless I start a Partridge Family phase.
Picture found on trueslant.com
Strictly speaking, this is not a novel for teenagers, but it is about teenagers and that's close enough. The emotions of adolescents idol crushes are well-described and similar to what would be found in a teen novel, with the introspection that those books usually lack.
I was amused when I began reading and found that this book was about apparent teen heartthrob, David Cassidy. Despite my love for the about that song that this book is named for, I never thought about David Cassidy in that way. Probably because by time I was old enough to have crushes on famous people, David Cassidy was old enough to be my father. He is in fact older than my father. So that would be weird. In fact, I had to look him up, because I could not remember what he looked like. Maybe not a stud by today's standards, but I can understand the hoards of girls who were obsessed with him.
The novel opens with Petra, the main character, looking in mother's closet and finding a letter addressed to her that her mother had hid for over twenty years, awarding her the prize of a lifetime, a chance to meet her one and only. Upon this discovery, we are taken back to 1974, when all of this had started. By the end, we learn all about her devotion to David Cassidy, and the events that occur when she is finally able to meet her teenage idol.
Like every teenage girl in the history of teenage girls, Petra and her friends had an overwhelming and all encompassing crush on the pop star of the day. In this case, it was David Cassidy. They kissed posters of him, they dreamed about being the future Mrs. Cassidy, they devoured magazines about him and read and reread them. It was one of these magazines that created the Ultimate David Cassiy Quiz, an opportunity for the girls to demonstrate just how much they knew about the man of their dreams.
Bill is the character that I found most engaging. He worked for the girls' favorite magazine, writing the stories about David, usually padding them with information that was not true. All he wanted to do was work somewhere cool, and his disappointment in working in a silly, dated magazine showed in the way he liked about his job to his girlfriend, but when he was working, he demonstrated a surprising devotion to his work. I found his character to be very likable and honest.
I found this story to be really interesting, and a unique look at meeting your idol, but at the same time, it was slow going. I never really felt like the story took off. it did not have the excitement that I would have expected to find in a book about teenage girls with their first real crushes. I do not feel like the story was developed to the extent that I would have liked. It was a fun read for daily Tube rides, but it is not something that I will read again, unless I start a Partridge Family phase.
Picture found on trueslant.com
Along For The Ride- Sarah Dessen
As a student studying abroad, I do get homesick. When I'm homesick or otherwise feeling down I like to pick up a good book that will remind me of home and be relaxing and enjoyable as well. Romantic teen fiction is my favorite genre because the emotions run so much higher than in many of their adult counterparts and they aren't bogged down by the obligatory steamy scenes that characterize adult romance novels. Not that there's anything wrong with a good scene of passion, but only when they take a backseat to the actual storyline.
One day when I first arrived across the pond I was exploring the area that I live in and I stumbled upon a small bookstore. Bookstores are my weakness. It's very rare that I can pass one and not go in and even then I usually make a mental note to go back. But I had nothing but time on my hands so I went in. As usual, I headed straight for the teen fiction section. Once there, I saw a lot of titles that I recognized, and one caught my eye. It was Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen, a novel that I had been waiting patiently to come out in paperback in the States. But here it was, in paperback, at a time when comfort and familiarity was a big deal. So, without a second thought I bought it and headed home to begin reading.
I have been reading Sarah Dessen's books since I was in seventh grade, a little less than a decade now, and they have yet to get old. I started with Dreamland, which I found to be one of her most emotional and troubling books so far. My favorites are Keeping the Moon and Someone Like You, both of which I had in a single volume that has since been misplaced. I frequently look for it, but so far no luck. It must be buried somewhere.
Along for the Ride is the story of Auden and the summer after she graduated from high school. Going to visit her dad and stepmother and their new baby, she is introduced to a world that she never imagines. Growing up she lived in an intellectual household, both parent professors and writers, and had never quite fit in with her peers. But in Colby, she meets Eli and Maggie, two people who help her to discover that it is not necessary to be closed off to be smart, and that life experience is just as important as book knowledge.
When Auden first arrives in town, she runs into Eli, and again when she is caring for her newborn sister. Quickly, they become friends, spending all hours of the night with each other, and eventually things turn to the romantic. I found her relationship with Eli to be believable, if only because I too used to have someone with whom I would spend all hours of the night exploring. This is not a chance to read about those steamy love scenes, but rather self-exploration and a chance to see all of the things that she missed in high school. They go bowling and wander the aisles of the nearby 24-hour superstore, there's also a lot of pie.
Maggie is the typical girl in novels of this genre, pretty and popular, with a love for pink clothing. But of course, she turns out to be much more than that. In time, she becomes a friend to Auden, and helps her to understand that there is more to life than being smarter than everyone.
None of the characters in this book are without purpose, and all are developed in relation to their involvement with Auden. I found her stepmother Heidi's character to be one of the best, because she was almost a combination of all the other characters, strong but vulnerable, smart but pretty, driven but giggly, a veritable living contradiction.
I'm not going to lie, sometimes Sarah Dessen's books are a little formulaic. The female lead is misunderstood, but she meets a boy who is even more misunderstood and together they change their lives. The mother is both a best friend and despised. Even so, they are good solid teen novels and are enjoyable to read. A story does not have to be fully unique to be well-written, and I find that I am led to reading her books, not by the need for an exciting read, but for comfort, and that they deliver.
I'm not going to call Along for the Ride my new favorite book, but I've read it three times since purchasing it, and see at least two more times in the future. It may not be legendary, but it's most certainly worth reading.
One day when I first arrived across the pond I was exploring the area that I live in and I stumbled upon a small bookstore. Bookstores are my weakness. It's very rare that I can pass one and not go in and even then I usually make a mental note to go back. But I had nothing but time on my hands so I went in. As usual, I headed straight for the teen fiction section. Once there, I saw a lot of titles that I recognized, and one caught my eye. It was Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen, a novel that I had been waiting patiently to come out in paperback in the States. But here it was, in paperback, at a time when comfort and familiarity was a big deal. So, without a second thought I bought it and headed home to begin reading.
I have been reading Sarah Dessen's books since I was in seventh grade, a little less than a decade now, and they have yet to get old. I started with Dreamland, which I found to be one of her most emotional and troubling books so far. My favorites are Keeping the Moon and Someone Like You, both of which I had in a single volume that has since been misplaced. I frequently look for it, but so far no luck. It must be buried somewhere.
Along for the Ride is the story of Auden and the summer after she graduated from high school. Going to visit her dad and stepmother and their new baby, she is introduced to a world that she never imagines. Growing up she lived in an intellectual household, both parent professors and writers, and had never quite fit in with her peers. But in Colby, she meets Eli and Maggie, two people who help her to discover that it is not necessary to be closed off to be smart, and that life experience is just as important as book knowledge.
When Auden first arrives in town, she runs into Eli, and again when she is caring for her newborn sister. Quickly, they become friends, spending all hours of the night with each other, and eventually things turn to the romantic. I found her relationship with Eli to be believable, if only because I too used to have someone with whom I would spend all hours of the night exploring. This is not a chance to read about those steamy love scenes, but rather self-exploration and a chance to see all of the things that she missed in high school. They go bowling and wander the aisles of the nearby 24-hour superstore, there's also a lot of pie.
Maggie is the typical girl in novels of this genre, pretty and popular, with a love for pink clothing. But of course, she turns out to be much more than that. In time, she becomes a friend to Auden, and helps her to understand that there is more to life than being smarter than everyone.
None of the characters in this book are without purpose, and all are developed in relation to their involvement with Auden. I found her stepmother Heidi's character to be one of the best, because she was almost a combination of all the other characters, strong but vulnerable, smart but pretty, driven but giggly, a veritable living contradiction.
I'm not going to lie, sometimes Sarah Dessen's books are a little formulaic. The female lead is misunderstood, but she meets a boy who is even more misunderstood and together they change their lives. The mother is both a best friend and despised. Even so, they are good solid teen novels and are enjoyable to read. A story does not have to be fully unique to be well-written, and I find that I am led to reading her books, not by the need for an exciting read, but for comfort, and that they deliver.
I'm not going to call Along for the Ride my new favorite book, but I've read it three times since purchasing it, and see at least two more times in the future. It may not be legendary, but it's most certainly worth reading.
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