STACKED

books

Cover change

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I was lucky enough to get an early copy of the forthcoming Epitaph Road by David Patneaude. One of the things that really attracted me was the sweet cover (yeah, I’m superficial, but so are you):


I think it speaks to the post-apocalyptic tone with no problem. The orange is really memorable, and I love the single person walking away. The tone for the novel is set so perfectly. Again, this is what my ARC cover is, and we know that covers change between the early copies and the final.

I noticed recently that the cover changed to this:


I’m not a fan. It reminds me of a really lame movie poster. I think putting faces on the cover detracted from the tone the first cover set. This doesn’t look post-apocalyptic but instead looks like…..well, quite honestly, it makes me think of this:


I’m pretty sure that’s not what the goal is. I don’t get why the change needed to happen. The first one was so perfect. Oh, and with the orange missing, it’s not going to stand out on the shelves any more. Those bright colors really do make a difference to readers when it comes to standing out from the crowd…and in a field full of faces on covers, I’m afraid this one might get hidden too easily.

What do you think? Early cover or the one going to print?

Your Dirty Secret Is?

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Do you have a guilty reading pleasure? You know, you love reading a certain genre or author and probably for reasons that can induce a little blushing?

I certainly do. I LOVE Simone Elkeles’s romances for one big reason: they’re sexy.

Although I didn’t think that Perfect Chemistry was particularly well written nor had the most developed or dynamic characters, I loved the romance. I thought it was a nice one-off book, but when I heard there was going to be a sequel, I got a little overexcited about it.

I wasn’t disappointed.

Rules of Attraction tells a similar story to that of its predecessor, except instead of focusing on Alex and Brittany’s post-high school relationship in Colorado, it zooms in on the budding romance between Carols and Kiara. Carlos, you might remember, is Alex’s brother who has gotten himself into some trouble with gangs and drugs when living in Mexico with his mother. Kiara is the daughter of one of Alex’s mentors and favorite teachers. This mentor, who is referred to as The Professor throughout, actually ends up playing a huge role in Carlos’s life, as well, and Carlos adopts him as a personal mentor as well.

Elkeles writes a cross-cultural love story that is so reminiscent of West Side Story, with less singing and more sexual tension. It’s sexy; it’s compelling; and it’s entirely (older) teen appropriate. There’s just the right amount of trouble with Carlos — which explains why he’s even in Colorado with Alex — and just enough intrigue with Kiara to make her much more than his puppet. The idea of the good girl with the bad boy doesn’t feel stale in this one.

This is far from the perfect book, particularly when it came to the writing. I had a couple issues with improper Spanish, for one. It’s been a few years since I’ve taken it, but I know “usted es estupido” is improper when Carlos is speaking to his brother (page 246). There was another example of improper Spanish, too, when Carlos first meets Kiara at Flatiron High (the strange use of some Italian – il – in one of his sentences). Hopefully, these sorts of issues will be hammered out by the final printing.

Likewise, I don’t think the character development is particularly memorable, and I actually was sad we didn’t get more of Alex and Brittany. There are attempts at creating some threads throughout, including the “Rules of Attraction” and Kiara’s car skills, but they never become fully fleshed and thus, they almost seem silly to include at all. It felt like they were there to do something, but they never came to be more than extra furniture in the story.

What Rules of Attraction has going for it is pulse. It is a quick moving read with everything you want in a good love story: questioning, following the heart, denying oneself, then ultimately having a satisfactory conclusion. Oh, and the gorgeous cover is entirely fitting to the story, too. There is indeed some kissing in the rain.

Reading and loving books like this sometimes embarrasses me, if for no reason other than knowing the characters are quite a bit younger than me. I think Elkeles would have a fantastic market in the older young adult sector (your 20-somethings) if she were to expand outside teen books. Where many adult romances fall into carrying too much baggage, these books manage to avoid the baggage issue and maintain a real sense of innocence, exploration, and trepidation to them. Sure, it’s a standard story trope, but she has a real pulse to her writing that has enough grittiness and enough innocence that just works for me.

Rules of Attraction will be available April 13 from Bloomsbury Teens. I sincerely hope this isn’t the last book in this series, as there is still another Fuentes brother who can find his true love, too.

But back to my original question — are there any books you find are your dirty reading secrets? Share them in the comments.
Of course, I’d also love to know if you’re as much a secret fan of Simone Elkeles’s romances as I am.

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

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Yesterday was the big announcement of the CYBILS winners, including the winner of this year’s best in YA fiction. If you missed that announcement, head over and check out the winners in each of the categories.

It was exciting to be a part of the judging panel this year, and I took away a new sense of appreciation for books and reviewing books. Likewise, I found myself fired up to get my hands on Courtney Summers’s 2010 release, Some Girls Are. As much as I really liked Cracked Up to Be, I think that her sophomore release may be even stronger, darker, intenser, and really highlights the writing and story telling skills that Summers has. I suspect she’s going to be soon joining the ranks of writers like Ellen Hopkins in capturing a wide audience of devoted readers.

Some Girls Are is what you expect of Mean Girls if mean girls were really, really mean. Regina Afton used to be one of those girls — the upper echelon of high school girls who stomp all over everyone. That is, until she was used herself in an utterly disgusting manner. When she tells one of her friends about this, the friend’s feigned sympathy turns into revenge. This is no mild revenge, mind you. This is all-out brawl-out. There is a lot of blood and a lot of gore.

Why would Regina’s friend turn on her? Simple: so she could become that girl and kick Regina out of her spotlight in the school.

As a not-it girl, Regina finds herself turning to people she once tread upon, only to find herself questioning her motives and her actions left and right, as she learns that people aren’t willing to just let go of things she’s done to them in the past. And they’re right for acting that way; Regina is not a nice girl, and though she’s being treated awfully, she shouldn’t be so easily forgiven.

Although this book certainly draws comparisons to Clique, Gossip Girls, and the film Mean Girls, I felt like Summers does something none of these titles quite does: she gives the grit. Where others might offer the mean in subdued tones and off-screen, there is no hiding in this book. While reading, there were a number of times I had to put the book down because I felt like I had been punched myself. It’s raw and it’s painful, but it’s the ultimate goal to read it all the way through because, even though Regina isn’t the most sympathetic character, it’s not possible to not know what is going to happen.

It’s a game in the school of who can one-up the other. But these one-ups are utterly disgusting and painful to read. Perhaps sadder is these are realities for so many teens today. I sincerely think that Summers not only captures contemporary high school life for many teen girls, but I think this is the sort of title that people will identify with. It will cause them to think, reflect, and in a dream world, adjust their attitudes.

This is current, filled with social networking and references to today’s culture. Some Girls Are gives us exactly what it says — it is the way some girls are. Today. It’s scary and it’s eye opening, and it is exceptionally well written.

My one gripe of the book comes from my perspective as an emerging adult. I found it tough to believe no adults had any idea what was going on. Regina’s parents are entirely clueless about what’s going on in their daughter’s life, and they never seem to notice her bruises or scars. Likewise, incidents such as rotting meat in a locker or excessive absenteeism (abetted once with a meeting between Regina’s mother and the principal) would raise flags. I think adults are a little wiser onto some of this stuff in today’s world. But, again, I speak from an adult’s perspective. Maybe it’s the end scene that sort of sums it up.

If you can handle gritty, raw writing and are in for a book that will cause physical discomfort, this is a sure bet. I think that Courtney Summers would be a great readalike to those who liked Speak or Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, any of Ellen Hopkins’s titles, or books that deal with girls and high school social hierarchy. This is a character and plot driven book that does not sway from being well-written and consciously constructed.

I’d bet dollars to donuts that this book will be in consideration for some sort of recognition in 2010. It sure deserves it, and you can bet I am anxious to get my hands on Summers’s future works, too.

CYBILS day!

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Today’s the big day. You can get your full Cybils award winners list right here!

As a member of the YA judging panel, I just want to say that this was a lot of fun but way tougher than it looks. We debated and debated over titles for a while before choosing Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers as our winner. I promise it was a very close vote – it literally came down to one vote being the difference.

If you haven’t read Summers’s book, please do. It is gritty, it is real, and it is an incredible debut by this author. This is a book that has teen appeal written all over it while still maintaining a strength in its writing. Parker is a character I couldn’t like for so long, but yet, I was utterly compelled to keep reading.

Being a part of the judging panel exposed me to a lot of opinions on good writing, and it made me rethink how I evaluate books. I reread one of the finalists, as the first read of it left me feeling less than satisfied. The second read was a much different experience and made it appreciate the title a bit differently. It is fun to read books and discuss them with people who have entirely different backgrounds and experiences, as it lends to evaluating one’s thinking quite differently. Thanks to Em, Lee, Carrie, and Cathy for a great experience!

Stay tuned for tomorrow — I’ll be posting a review of Courtney Summers’s second book, Some Girls Are. I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if that makes it to the Cybils list somewhere next year, too.

Happyface by Stephen Emond

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Do you sense a theme this week? It may or may not have been intentional.

Stephen Emond’s debut Happyface is unlike many books I’ve read recently. Told through a diary format, to include email messages, pages of sketches, comics, and instant messages, this is the story of Happyface. But who is Happyface?

That’s the entire premise of the story. As readers, we gain insight into exactly who Happyface is through this journal, filled with fragmented thoughts and drawings. We know Happyface has had a rough home life, and he hasn’t always had luck with the ladies, especially Chloe. At the beginning of the book, we know Chloe will play an important role in Happyface’s life, but we don’t know how, especially when Happyface and his mother leave their home and move to a new city to get a new lease on life, away from dad. This means a new school . . . and new girls.

Happyface used to be a loner, but the move seems to have made him a little more popular. He’s making friends at the new school, and he’s found a new girl to crush on: Gretchen. But Gretchen’s got a bit of a past she’s hiding too, and Happyface will have a hard time breaking through to find out what that past entails. It makes sense that she’s the one who has given Happyface his moniker.

Although so much revolves around the obsession Happyface has with Gretchen, there’s more depth to this story. Chloe will make a reappearance, and we will discover why it is that Happyface’s mother and father divorced.

Unfortunately for me, the story took too long to develop in this book. I felt like we don’t know anything about Happyface for the length it took to get to the Big Event that gives us as readers a lot of feeling for him. His journal is real, like that of a high school boy focused on girl issues, but with the Big Event, I would expect any boy to write about that issue more. Likewise, when the Big Event is brought up, it’s at a very awkward moment, and having been given no heads up about it prior to the announcement, I felt tricked as a reader. There was ample opportunity to introduce it slyly in other spots, which would have made it felt more realistic, rather than a convenient explanation for other plot points and character issues.

As a reader, I’m never sympathetic for Happyface. I think he’s weak, and because I don’t get enough into his head, I can’t say that I’m particularly sad that he’s too scared to ask any of these girls out. In fact, I think he deserves what he gets at many moments, particularly when it comes to Trevor, the other boy in Gretchen’s life.

The ending of the book really was the icing on the cake for me, though. I felt it was far too much of a message, and it felt too much like a Full House ending, with everyone living happily ever after. All he had to do was remove his mask. That’s not a spoiler. I kind of wish we got a little more time with Happyface, to see how things panned out after his great revelation. We only get about nine months with him, and in that time, he goes through a heck of a lot.

What I thought would be such a fantastic book for boys might end up being disappointing for them with that sort of ending. Fortunately, this book has an incredible format going for it, as it reads sort of like a manga. I think the wimpy kid aspect to Happyface will appeal to older fans of Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid, though the didactic ending will leave them feeling a bit cheated.

I handed this title off to some of my 9th grade patrons, though, and the responses I got were pretty positive. They enjoyed the glimpse into the life of the kid, and they, too, drew the comparison’s to Kinney’s title. They suggested it as a good read for anyone in middle or high school, though I’d think middle school might be a bit young for some of the issues brought up here. Everyone loved the format — it is unique and stands out as memorable for that reason.

So while this wasn’t my favorite book, I have a feeling it’ll get some great teen reception because of the readalike quality to Kinney’s highly-popular titles and because of the great format.

Happyface will be available March 1, 2010 by Little Brown Books.

* The publisher sent me an ARC of this title. They also clearly paid me sums of money to give it a glowing review and ignore any and all flaws I as a reader might find because obviously, every reader will love every book. Seriously, though, I strive to point out the strengths and weaknesses of every book I read, so why I need to explain that I got an ARC is ridiculous…but I am really appreciative for the publisher’s support in letting me preview titles and offer them to kids to look at, too.