We're an Open Book
GENRE KRYPTONITE [zhahn-ruh kryptonite]
noun
1. That moment when your TBR pile is overflowing, your to-read list on Goodreads is overwhelming, and then you see THIS TYPE OF BOOK it makes it’s way on to your pile, no excuses needed.
Origin: http://bookriot.com/category/genre-kryptonite/
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- Release Date: September 10th, 2013
- Pages: 445
- Genre: Contemporary
- Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin (MacMillan)
I can’t believe how long it took me to get to this book. Last Fall Fangirl seemed to be the buzz of the bookternet. Ever since I stumbled onto LiveJournal 8 years ago, I’ve been just fascinated by fanfiction and fandom culture. I’ve observed my fair share of fanaticism and I couldn’t wait to see how Rowell tackled it.
Fangirl tells the story of Cath, the titular unapologetic fangirl of the Simon Snow books, a pretty clearly Harry Potter Expy. Cath, or rather her username, Magicath is a BNF (big name fan) because her Simon Snow fanfiction, Carry On,Simon gets 20,000 views a day. The novel follows Cath through her freshman year of college as she struggles through family issues, school problems and severe social anxiety. Along for the ride is Cath’s belligerent roommate Reagan and Reagan’s friend Levi to help her navigate the journey.
I really enjoyed this book, it took me a week to knock it out which is a record for me for a book this length. One of the things I like about Rowell is her writing style, she writes in a close third person that reads like a first person because we see everything from Cath’s perspective. Something about Rowell’s use of this style makes me breeze through her novels.
Despite the bright, cutesy cover, this book delves into darker issues than I was expecting. While I can’t speak to how honestly these issues were portrayed, I found the situations to be believable and well represented.
Going into this novel I was concerned I wouldn’t by the Simon Snow / Book Within a Book idea. However, because Rowell included snippets from the Simon Snow series I felt like I got to know the books too, which helped me relate to Cath. However, It was a little confusing to separate out the actual book snippets and the fanfiction snippets. I’d get confused about what happened in the actual series and what just happened in her fanfictions.
Overall, I think Rowell does well by fanfiction and fandom. Cath writes slash fiction, which for the uninitiated is when you pair two characters of the same sex romantically. Slash fiction has it’s dark corners, but I liked how Rowell showcased that slash fiction isn’t all about titillation and can also be about relationships. Cath’s personal struggles are clearly connected to her writing, she clings to the characters for her own sanity.
This book was apart of the inaugural Tumblr Book Club and I went into this book knowing a lot about the love interest Levi. I liked that Levi existed in Cath’s world, but also had his own life and wasn’t there to solve all of Cath’s problems. He’s allowed to have flaws that are more than a crooked smile (seriously, what is with YA and crooked smiles ?) Cath also has a twin sister and I think Rowell’s portrayal of twins is pretty spot on. She really captures how hard it can be to have your identity when people associate you with your twin all the time.
I devoured this book, it was funny, heartfelt and represents a type of YA I’ve never seen….I would really like to see more books that tackle first years college experiences and fandom.
- Release Date: April 22nd 2014
- Genre: Contemporary / Mystery
- Pages: 272
- Publisher: Algonquin For Young Readers
I first heard about The Art of Secrets in January and was instantly intrigued. I really like what Algonquin For Young Readers is doing in terms of diversity and narratives in YA . I’ve also been into art books and non-traditional narratives so this was a perfect fit!
A fire, a painting and secrets are the fuel for The Art of Secrets. The novel opens with a news clipping from The Chicago Tribune about Saba Kahn and her family coming home to find their apartment burned to the ground by an arsonist. The family is quickly showered with generosity from the parents at Saba’s exclusive private school, there is even a charity auction set up. But when a piece of art at the auction is discovered to be worth half a million dollars it is stolen and now everyone is a suspect….
- Release Date: June 11, 2013
- Pages: 216
- Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
I honestly have no idea how to begin reviewing a book like Charm & Strange. The entire story is told through the often fuzzy lens of an unreliable narrator, so you never really know what is going on. However by the time I got to the end I was impressed with this debut novel from Stephanie Kuehn. Charm & Strange has to be the most unique YA I’ve read in a long time, it challenges so many of the ideas of what a YA novel can be.…
I discovered the page 69 theory from the Books on The Night Stand podcast, but I guess it’s been circulating the bookternet for while. The theory states that the litmus test for if you will like a book can be found by reading page 69. Well, challenge accepted.
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- Release Date: September 2009
- Pages: 479
- Genre: Dystopian/Science Fiction
- Publisher: Candlewick (US)
In his debut YA series, Patrick Ness, takes us to Prentisstown; an isolated settlement where the thoughts of men, boys and animals( known as the Noise) are constantly broadcast for everyone to hear. Women don’t give off the Noise, but that’s no matter because there are no more women. They were all killed by the virus that created the Noise. Or so 12-year-old Todd Hewitt, the youngest boy in Prentisstown, has been lead to believe. Weeks away from turning thirteen and becoming a man, Todd has to run for his life and discovers nothing is at all what he knew.
I picked up and put down this book a couple of times, I really had a to adjust to the setup. Right from the first page Todd’s dog Manchee is talking to him which was just weird, but I kept coming back because I had heard amazing things about this novel. Then it turned out the meat of this book falls into my least favorite category of YA fiction, the “kids in the woods” variety. I just can’t get into the survivalist fiction, these stories never do it for me. But the world and questions Ness built into the story kept me so captivated that I was racing to the the end.
Also, that cliffhanger.
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