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Audiobook Roundup

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I’ve been going through audiobooks super fast. Here are a few recent ones.

audiobook roundup

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

I really enjoy Oliver’s writing, so even when a storyline doesn’t especially appeal to me, like this one, I figure I’ll mostly enjoy it anyway. Sisters Dara and Nicole (Nick) were close when they were young, but as they’ve grown into teenagers, their differing personalities (Dara is very outgoing, a bit of a rebel, while Nick is more reserved, the “good daughter”) cause friction. And then a terrible accident occurs, and Dara and Nick’s relationship is forever altered. Dara’s and Nick’s stories are told in alternating points of view, and that main plotline overlaps with another subplot about a younger girl who has vanished. There are a number of secrets each girl hides, and Oliver teases them out slowly, knowing just how to manipulate her readers’ emotions in skilled ways. There’s a major twist that I saw coming pretty early on in the book, but it was fun to listen and see just how Oliver made it work. Her writing is above average as always, and the audiobook narration is solid.

The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

The concept of this book is so interesting: Twylla is the embodiment of a goddess and as such, she is able to eat poison every day and then kill with a single touch. She’s used by the Queen to execute traitors to the crown, a job Twylla despises. She’s engaged to the prince and while she feels trapped, she knows that her role as the goddess embodied is important. Then she gets a new guard, and he starts to make her question everything she’s been told. There is a bit of a typical love triangle here and the story isn’t especially fast-moving, but there are enough surprises and emotional reveals to keep a reader’s interest. So while I found the execution a little lacking, I wasn’t disappointed I invested time in it. The narration is good, at times it sounded like Emma Watson was reading the story (she was not).

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

I have meaning to read this book in print form pretty much since it was published, but every time I picked it up, I just wasn’t in the  mood for a long book. But I was almost 100% sure I would enjoy it, so I went the audio route. I’m glad I did: the narration is excellent (it’s told from two perspectives, one male and one female) and the story, while familiar, is engrossing. Laia belongs to the Scholar culture, a group of people who have been conquered by the Martials, and many of the Scholars are now slaves. When her brother is taken prisoner, accused of treason, she knows she must rescue him. She goes to the Scholar resistance, who agree to help break him out of the Martial prison if she will do something for them in return: go undercover as a slave, serving the cruel leader of the military academy where the other protagonist, Elias, currently trains unwillingly. Elias has his own story, and it soon converges with Laia’s. What sets this book apart are the setting and the quality of the writing. Laia’s and Elias’ world is based partly on ancient Rome, but there are also magical elements borrowed from Arabic culture. Many of the characters are non-white (such as Laia) and the world they inhabit lives and breathes, with interesting cultures and complicated politics. The story is always riveting, danger lurking around ever corner, and I was constantly rooting for both leads, even though their goals were often at odds. Highly recommended for fantasy fans.

Win A Preorder of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD

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feminism is

 

It’s wild to me to think that in under six months, I’ll be holding my book. The real, finished anthology of feminism that is my dream project.

I’m eagerly awaiting pass pages and ARCs, and in the mean time, I’ve been opening up the cover on my screen and drooling, reading and rereading the page samples I’ve seen, and marveling over how this book came together. I cannot wait to share it.

I made a promise early on that when the book had 1,000 “to read” ads on Goodreads, I’d do a giveaway. When Goodreads switched to their new design, the count changed somehow and since I wasn’t really paying that close attention, I didn’t notice that there were nearly 1,000 this soon.

So, here it is! I’m actually doing two pre-order giveaways. One you can enter right here, and one you can enter if you’re on Goodreads. You can enter one or you can enter both. The only thing is is that for now, it is limited to the US. I will offer up an international giveaway when the time gets closer (& I’ve got an idea in mind for a really fun preorder giveaway, with details to come!).

This giveaway is open until September 30, and I’ll draw a winner on October 1. All information in this form will be deleted as soon as I do that (as always). Goodreads will pick their winner the same time and relay that information to me. You can enter that giveaway by CLICKING HERE and you can enter this giveaway in the form below.

Good luck & thank you everyone for your enthusiastic support and response to Here We Are: Feminism For The Real World so far. Just wait until you can read it!

 

LGBTQIA+ Roundup

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This year, I’ve been making more of an effort to read YA books featuring LGBTQIA+ characters. This means I’ve been reading more realistic contemporary YA, since most (but not all!) of these characters are focused there. Here are brief reviews of the five I’ve read so far this year.

LGBTQIA+ roundup

The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle

Sixteen year old Quinn is an aspiring screenwriter, still in the closet, and still grieving over the death of his sister, Annabeth, in a car accident at the end of last school year. He and Annabeth were a dynamic movie-making duo – he would write the scripts and she would direct. Since her death, Quinn hasn’t been able to do much of anything, much less finish a screenplay. He doesn’t even leave his house. Until his best friend Geoff convinces him to go to a college party Geoff’s sister is throwing – and he meets someone there who could maybe be his first more-than-a-friend.

Quinn’s first romance with another boy is a big part of the story, but it’s part of his larger journey in learning to deal with his grief over Annabeth’s death and how it has affected his family and friendships. Federle gives Quinn a great voice; he’s often funny (or irritating, depending on your perspective) and will insert film trivia into everyday conversation, something that will appeal to teens who love movies (current and classics). Federle writes some of Quinn’s story as imagined scenes in a script, which adds interest – it’s like an alternative to a daydream sequence. The romance is exciting and thorny and realistic. I took issue with how Quinn refers to his mother; his father left them following Annabeth’s death and she has gained weight and hoards junk food. While he often calls his mother beautiful, almost every reference of her involves a mention of her weight or her junk food obsession, which I found reductive and shallow. Calling a fat woman beautiful isn’t a band-aid for this and Quinn (or Federle) seems to think it is.

None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio

Kristin learns she’s intersex after she tries to have sex with her boyfriend and it’s extremely painful. She goes to the doctor, who shares the life-changing information with Kristin: she has an X chromosome and traditionally male “parts” – they’re just inside instead of outside. Kristin has androgen insensitivity syndrome, or AIS, which is one of the most common forms of intersex and one where people can outwardly appear biologically female (though people with AIS can exhibit the full range of phenotypes). Kristin tries to hide the diagnosis from everyone she knows, feeling ashamed and like she’s not a “real girl.” But when she lets it slip to one of her best friends one night, the whole school knows the next day, and her nightmare really begins.

This book will be foundational for stories about intersex people. It’s not perfect (the writing is a bit rough and simplistic at times), but it’s a perfect book to lead the way. It’s moving – Kristin slowly does accept herself and reconcile her chromosomal reality with her identity as a girl – as well as educational. I’m certain there will be many readers who won’t even know what being intersex means, not to mention even more readers who haven’t ever heard of AIS and don’t know how it affects people. Gregorio is a doctor and it shows: she gives readers details about Kristin’s condition that are fascinating and important. Kristin has a good voice, and Gregorio doesn’t let her story shy away from how horrible people can be. I was on pins and needles during one scene where the threat of violence loomed so large it was hard to keep reading. I highly recommend this book; it’s a great YA story and it helps fill the “I” gap in in LGBTQIA+ literature for teens.

Draw the Line by Laurent Linn

Adrian is gay, and he knows that if the school bully Doug and his toady Buddy found out about it, he’d be a target for their fists. After all, Doug routinely goes after out-and-proud Kobe. Adrian uses art as an outlet: he invented a gay comic book superhero, Graphite, and regularly posts new stories featuring Graphite and his exploits anonymously online, where he has a small following. But when Doug beats up Kobe so badly he almost dies, Adrian starts to learn that he can’t just stay in the shadows when injustices like this routinely occur – he decides that this is where he draws the line (yes, I worked in the title).

This is probably the weakest of the five I’ve reviewed here. Its strongest aspect is the art: Linn includes several excerpts from Graphite’s adventures and they’re really nicely done. It’s clear Linn/Adrian is a talented artist and storyteller. But overall, the plot is meandering and the writing weak. It feels like half of the novel is exposition, and there are a lot of scenes that don’t serve much purpose. It’s over 500 pages long, and it feels like it. Adrian’s best friends are stereotypes and Doug’s character arc doesn’t make much sense. Linn tries to give Adrian a teen-y voice in his writing style, but it just comes across as unpolished (especially compared to the superior books by Federle and Whaley, both authors whose writing is sophisticated but whose characters feel like teens). It’s still a worthwhile read, but it’s not a standout unless you’re really into the art.

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

It’s a good thing I branched out more into contemporary reads this year, because this is one of my favorite reads. Amanda moved to live with her dad because it will allow her to go to a different high school, away from the one she was at before where everyone knew her as Andrew. Amanda is a trans girl, and she knows she’s fortunate in that she can pass as a cis girl at her new school – so much so that she’s considered one of the prettiest girls in school. Amanda falls for Grant, despite her vow to keep her head low, stay away from guys, and graduate high school without letting anyone in or causing any trouble, like she promised her dad. But inevitably, the truth comes out, and Amanda must deal with how her newfound friends, boyfriend, and classmates react.

While this book is not without conflict (the threat of violence is always there), it does paint a rosy picture of one trans girl’s experience. Amanda passes easily. She had surgery at a young age so no one can tell she’s trans even with her clothes off. Her parents more or less accept her. By the end of the book, many of the people she came to care about at her new school have accepted her as well, though the journey there is rocky. Russo, who is trans herself, acknowledges this in her author’s notes (she writes one for trans readers and one for cis readers) and says it is deliberate: this is a story of hope. It is also not every trans person’s experience, and shouldn’t be read that way. I’ve seen some reviewers criticize Russo’s writing, but I thought it was quite strong and read as if Amanda herself were writing her story. She has a singular voice and the ability to make readers feel her pain, worries, and frustrations keenly. Lovely throughout, this is highly recommended.

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley

In middle school one day, Solomon had a panic attack and jumped into the fountain at the front of the school. He hasn’t been out of his house in the three years since, trapped by his agoraphobia. His parents seem to have accepted it, long ago giving up on encouraging him to get out of the house. Lisa, one of Solomon’s former classmates, learns of Solomon’s condition and decides to make him her project. She wants to get into a prestigious psychology program at a particular college, and she thinks “curing” Solomon will be just the thing to do that. So she weasels her way into Solomon’s life, eventually bringing her boyfriend in on the scheme as well. Lisa didn’t expect she’d actually like Solomon, that they’d form a true friendship, but that’s what happens. For his part, Solomon is resigned to living the rest of his life in his parents’ house, but he can’t seem to shake Lisa’s overtures of friendship, and when her boyfriend starts coming over too, he can’t seem to shake his burgeoning feelings for him, either.

Whaley’s writing is top-notch, though I would argue that he hammers home his point a little too firmly when it would have been better to just let it sit, the point having already been made. Lisa is a terrible person (one professional reviewer described her as likeable, which I find funny) and I shudder to think what kind of psychologist she would make, but she’s always interesting to read about, and there are plenty of tender moments between her and Solomon. Whaley succeeds at writing Solomon as more than just his illness, as someone who has strengths and personality and smarts even though no one can really see them. What could have been a hackey book is instead something pretty great in Whaley’s hands – his characters come alive and so, too, does the book.

Three of out of these five titles feature gay white teenage boys as their protagonists, and within the still small selection of LGBTQIA+ books for teens, this character dominates. It’s harder to find books featuring girls, teens of color, or characters who don’t identify with the “G” part of the acronym. On that note, next on my list are Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown, which published yesterday, and As I Descended by Robin Talley, out September 6. I’ll let you know how they are.

Going Viral: A YA Reading List

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A couple of weeks ago, I took a survey for Tumblr about my user experience. One of the repeat questions that came up was about how important it was for what I share on the site to “go viral.” Knowing that the target demographic of Tumblr users skews much younger than me, I couldn’t help but think about that and the power that going viral might have in a teenager’s life.

Of course I’m not alone in this. And of course, this wasn’t the first time I’ve thought about it. “Going viral” is a topic that’s been well-traversed in the YA landscape, and it’s one that will continue to play a role in storytelling for quite a while. For some teens, it’s a thing they seek and for others, it’s exactly the kind of thing that they hope to a
void. Unlike stories where social media or blogging are important in the life of a teenager, going viral plays a completely different role in the story and character’s life. It’s more focused and in-the-moment, a quick thrust into the spotlight, even if the consequences are long-lasting.

 

Teens Gone Viral

 

Here’s a look at a pile of books where going viral on social media plays a noteworthy part in the story. This isn’t comprehensive, so feel free to leave additional titles in the comments. Likewise, and not surprising to me, is that this list is quite white. Where are the teens of color going viral? Because anyone who has been around the internet knows that the reality is people of all shapes, sizes, and colors can find themselves in a moment of internet fame.

All descriptions come from either WorldCat or Goodreads.

 

YA Viral Stories 1

 

 

#famous by Jilly Gagnon (February 14, 2017)

In this modern-day love story, Girl likes Boy, Girl takes photo of Boy and posts it online, Boy becomes accidentally insta-famous. And what starts out as an innocent joke spirals into a whirlwind adventure that could change both their lives—and their hearts—forever. But are fame and love worth the price?

Told in alternating points of view, #famous captures the out-of-control thrill ride of falling for someone in front of everyone.

 

#scandal by Sarah Ockler

Lucy’s learned some important lessons from tabloid darling Jayla Heart’s all-too-public blunders: Avoid the spotlight, don’t feed the Internet trolls, and keep your secrets secret. The policy has served Lucy well all through high school, so when her best friend Ellie gets sick before prom and begs her to step in as Cole’s date, she accepts with a smile, silencing about ten different reservations. Like the one where she’d rather stay home shredding online zombies. And the one where she hates playing dress-up. And especially the one where she’s been secretly in love with Cole since the dawn of time.

When Cole surprises her at the after party with a kiss under the stars, it’s everything Lucy has ever dreamed of… and the biggest BFF deal-breaker ever. Despite Cole’s lingering sweetness, Lucy knows they’ll have to ’fess up to Ellie. But before they get the chance, Lucy’s own Facebook profile mysteriously explodes with compromising pics of her and Cole, along with tons of other students’ party indiscretions. Tagged. Liked. And furiously viral.

By Monday morning, Lucy’s been branded a slut, a backstabber, and a narc, mired in a tabloid-worthy scandal just weeks before graduation.

Lucy’s been battling undead masses online long enough to know there’s only one way to survive a disaster of this magnitude: Stand up and fight. Game plan? Uncover and expose the Facebook hacker, win back her best friend’s trust, and graduate with a clean slate.

There’s just one snag—Cole. Turns out Lucy’s not the only one who’s been harboring unrequited love.

 

Asking For It by Louise O’Neill

It’s the beginning of the summer in a small town in Ireland. Emma O’Donovan is eighteen years old, beautiful, happy, confident. One night, there’s a party. Everyone is there. All eyes are on Emma.

The next morning, she wakes on the front porch of her house. She can’t remember what happened, she doesn’t know how she got there. She doesn’t know why she’s in pain. But everyone else does.

Photographs taken at the party show, in explicit detail, what happened to Emma that night. But sometimes people don’t want to believe what is right in front of them, especially when the truth concerns the town’s heroes.

 

 

YA viral stories 2

 

 

The Art of Getting Stared At by Laura Langston

After a school video she produced goes viral, sixteen-year-old Sloane Kendrick is given a chance at a film school scholarship. She has less than two weeks to produce a second video, and she’s determined to do it. Unfortunately, she must work with Isaac Alexander, an irresponsible charmer with whom she shares an uneasy history.

On the heels of this opportunity comes a horrifying discovery: a bald spot on her head. No bigger than a quarter, the patch shouldn’t be there. Neither should the bald spots that follow. Horror gives way to devastation when Sloane is diagnosed with alopecia areata. The auto-immune disease has no cause, no cure, and no definitive outcome. The spots might grow over tomorrow or Sloane might become completely bald. No one knows.

Determined to produce her video, hide her condition, and resist Isaac’s easy charm, Sloane finds herself turning into the kind of person she has always mocked: someone obsessed with her looks. And just when she thinks things can’t get any worse, Sloane is forced to make the most difficult decision of her life.

 

Breakout by Kevin Emerson

When Anthony’s angst-ridden rock ‘n’ roll lyrics go viral, he’s unwittingly cast as the school rebel. The truth is, he’s not trying to be anyone’s hero.

Anthony Castillo needs a new life. His teachers are clueless autocrats except for Mr. Darren, who’s in charge of the rock band program. The girls at school are either shallow cutebots or out of his league. And his parents mean well, but they just make things worse. It’s as if Anthony is stuck on the bottom level of his favorite video game, Liberation Force 4.5. Except there is no secret escape tunnel and definitely no cheat code.

Fed up, pissed off, and feeling trapped, Anthony writes his first song for his rock band, the Rusty Soles. His only problem: Arts Night. If he exercises his right to free speech and sings his original lyrics—where his own bombs will drop—he and his band will be through.

The clock is ticking. Time for Anthony to pick his battles and decide what’s really worth fighting for.

 

Butter by Erin Jade Lange

A lonely obese boy everyone calls “Butter” is about to make history. He is going to eat himself to death-live on the Internet-and everyone is invited to watch. When he first makes the announcement online to his classmates, Butter expects pity, insults, and possibly sheer indifference. What he gets are morbid cheerleaders rallying around his deadly plan. Yet as their dark encouragement grows, it begins to feel a lot like popularity. And that feels good. But what happens when Butter reaches his suicide deadline? Can he live with the fallout if he doesn’t go through with his plans?

 

YA Viral Stories 3

 

 

Flannery by Lisa Moore

Sixteen-year-old Flannery Malone has it bad. She’s been in love with Tyrone O’Rourke since the days she still believed in Santa Claus. But Tyrone has grown from a dorky kid into an outlaw graffiti artist, the rebel-with-a-cause of Flannery’s dreams, literally too cool for school.

Which is a problem, since he and Flannery are partners for the entrepreneurship class that she needs to graduate. And Tyrone’s vanishing act may have darker causes than she realizes.

Tyrone isn’t Flannery’s only problem. Her mother, Miranda, can’t pay the heating bills, let alone buy Flannery’s biology book. Her little brother, Felix, is careening out of control. And her best-friend-since-forever, Amber, has fallen for a guy who is making her forget all about the things she’s always cared most about — Flannery included — leading Amber down a dark and dangerous path of her own.

When Flannery decides to make a love potion for her entrepreneurship project, rumors that it actually works go viral, and she suddenly has a hot commodity on her hands. But a series of shattering events makes her realize that real-life love is far more potent — and potentially damaging — than any fairy-tale prescription.

 

Generation Next by Oli White

Things haven’t been easy for Jack recently – life as a teenager has its ups and downs. But when he meets a new group of friends, who are every bit as geek as they are chic, his luck seems to be changing. Each of the group is talented and when they pool together to create Generation Next, an incredible new kind of social media platform, it’s clear that they’re on to something special.

What if your Instagram account grew by hundreds of thousands of followers overnight, and big companies were fighting each other to offer you photoshoots? When GenNext suddenly goes viral, Jack and his friends are thrust into a crazy world of fame which is as terrifying as it is awesome.

Because someone out there is determined to trip Jack up at every step. If he doesn’t stop them, soon everyone he cares about – his friends, his family, and the girl he’s falling for – will be in danger.

 

Gone Too Far by Natalie D. Richards

Piper Woods can’t wait for the purgatory of senior year to end. She skirts the fringes of high school like a pro until the morning she finds a notebook with mutilated photographs and a list of student sins. She’s sure the book is too gruesome to be true, until pretty, popular Stella dies after a sex-tape goes viral. Everyone’s sure it’s suicide, but Piper remembers Stella’s name from the book and begins to suspect something much worse.

Drowning in secrets she doesn’t want to keep, Piper’s fears are confirmed when she receives an anonymous text message daring her to make things right. All she needs to do is choose a name, the name of someone who deserves to be punished…

 

YA Viral Stories 4

 

 

How To Keep Rolling After A Fall by Karole Cozzo

After a cyber bullying incident turns her life upside down, a handsome wheelchair rugby player shows a former mean girl that everyone deserves a second chance.

The party was at her house. The photos were posted to her Facebook account. That’s all the evidence anyone needed to condemn Nikki Baylor for a cyberbullying incident that humiliated a classmate and nearly resulted in the girl’s suicide. Now Nikki’s been expelled from her old school, her friends have abandoned her, and even her own parents can’t look her in the eye. With her plans for the future all but destroyed, Nikki resigns herself to being the girl everyone hates – almost as much as she hates herself. But then Nikki meets Pax, a spirited wheelchair rugby player who knows what it’s like when one mistake completely shatters your life. Refusing to judge her because of her past, he shows her that everyone deserves a second chance… and everyone deserves to be loved.

 

In Case You Missed It by Sarah Darer Littman

Sammy Wallach has epic plans for the end of junior year over: Sneak out to the city to see her favorite band. Get crush-worthy Jamie Moss to ask her to prom. Rock all exams (APs and driver’s).

With a few white lies, some killer flirting, and tons of practice, Sammy’s got things covered. That is, until the bank her dad works for is attacked by hacktivists who manage to steal everything in the Wallach family’s private cloud, including Sammy’s entire digital life. Literally the whole world has access to her emails, texts, photos, and, worst of all, journal.

Life. Is. Over.

Now Sammy’s best friends are furious about things she wrote, Jamie thinks she’s desperate, and she can barely show her face at school. Plus, her parents know all the rules she broke. But Sammy’s not the only one with secrets — her family has a few of its own that could change everything. And while the truth might set you free, no one said it was going to be painless. Or in Sammy’s case, private.

 

The Inside of Out by Jenn Marie Throne

When her best friend Hannah comes out the day before junior year, Daisy is so ready to let her ally flag fly that even a second, way more blindsiding confession can’t derail her smiling determination to fight for gay rights.

Before you can spell LGBTQIA, Daisy’s leading the charge to end their school’s antiquated ban on same-sex dates at dances—starting with homecoming. And if people assume Daisy herself is gay? Meh, so what. It’s all for the cause.

What Daisy doesn’t expect is for “the cause” to blow up—starting with Adam, the cute college journalist whose interview with Daisy for his university paper goes viral, catching fire in the national media. #Holy #cats.

With the story spinning out of control, protesters gathering, Hannah left in the dust of Daisy’s good intentions, and Daisy’s mad attraction to Adam feeling like an inconvenient truth, Daisy finds herself caught between her bold plans, her bad decisions, and her big fat mouth.

 

 

YA viral stories 5

 

Last Message Received by Emily Trunko (January 10 — going meta on this inclusion!)

Named one of the Top 10 Most Viral Blogs by Mashable, the Tumblr The Last Message Received created by 16-year-old Emily Trunko is now available as a gift book!

What if a message someone sends you today is the last you ll ever receive from them? Would you respond differently, or even at all, if you knew that the end of a friendship, a brutal breakup, or worse might be coming, and that this might be your only chance?
The collection The Last Message Receivedincludes over a hundred final text messages, social media posts, emails, and more. Adapted from the popular Tumblr The Last Message Received followed by more than 85,000 people and selected as a finalist for the Shorty Award the Last Message Received book features sudden endings and the type of loss that will inspire readers to reflect on what s essential in their own lives and the importance of celebrating the people they love every day.

 

Little Black Dresses, Little White Lies by Laura Stampler

Harper Anderson always believed she belonged somewhere more glamorous than her sleepy Northern California suburb. After all, how many water polo matches and lame parties in Bobby McKittrick’s backyard can one girl take? That’s why Harper is beyond ecstatic when she lands her dream internship as a dating blogger at the elite teen magazine Shift. Getting to spend the summer in New York City to live her dream of becoming a writer? Harper’s totally in.

There’s just one teeny, tiny, infinitesimal problem: apart from some dance floor make-outs, Harper doesn’t have a lot of—or, really, any—dating expertise. In fact, she might have sort of stolen her best friend’s experiences as her own on her Shiftapplication. But she can learn on the job…right?

From awkward run-ins with the cute neighborhood dog walker to terrifying encounters with her crazed editor, from Brooklyn gallery openings to weekends in the Hamptons, Harper finds out what it takes to make it in the Big City—and as the writer of her own destiny.

 

Little White Lies by Brianna Baker and F. Bowman Hastie

Seventeen-year-old honors student Coretta White’s Tumblr, Little White Lies—her witty thoughts on pretty much . . . everything—has gone viral. She’s got hundreds of thousands of followers; she’s even been offered a TV deal. But Coretta has a secret. She hasn’t been writing all her own posts. Stressed from the demands of the sudden attention, she hired an expert ghostwriter, forty-one-year-old Karl Ristoff, to keep the Tumblr going. Now consumed with guilt, she confesses.

Almost instantly, she suffers a public humiliation. The TV deal disappears. Her boyfriend breaks up with her. Then Karl is thrust into the limelight, only to suffer a dramatic fall himself. Together, they vow to find out who is responsible for ruining both of their lives, and why. But in order to exact justice and a wicked revenge, they must first come clean with each other.

 

YA Viral Stories 6

 

The Possibility of Now by Kimberly Culbertson

Mara James has always been a perfectionist with a plan. But despite years of overachieving at her elite school, Mara didn’t plan on having a total meltdown during her calculus exam. Like a rip-up-the-test-and-walk-out kind of meltdown. And she didn’t plan on a video of it going viral. And she definitely didn’t plan on never wanting to show her face again.

Mara knows she should go back, but suddenly she doesn’t know why she’s been overachieving all these years. Impulsively, she tells her mom she wants to go live with her estranged dad in Tahoe. Maybe in a place like Tahoe, where people go to get away from everyday life, and with a dad like Trick McHale, a ski bum avoiding the real world, Mara can figure things out.

Only Tahoe is nothing like she thought. There are awesome new friends and hot boys and a chance to finally get to know Trick, but there is also still massive amounts of schoolwork. Can Mara stopping planning long enough to see the life that’s happening right now?

 

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

What if everything you set yourself up to be was wrong?

Frances has always been a study machine with one goal, elite university. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret – not even the person she is on the inside.

But when Frances meets Aled, the shy genius behind her favourite podcast, she discovers a new freedom. He unlocks the door to Real Frances and for the first time she experiences true friendship, unafraid to be herself. Then the podcast goes viral and the fragile trust between them is broken.

Caught between who she was and who she longs to be, Frances’ dreams come crashing down. Suffocating with guilt, she knows that she has to confront her past…
She has to confess why Carys disappeared…

Meanwhile at uni, Aled is alone, fighting even darker secrets.

It’s only by facing up to your fears that you can overcome them. And it’s only by being your true self that you can find happiness.

Frances is going to need every bit of courage she has.

 

Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin

Riley Cavanaugh is many things: Punk rock. Snarky. Rebellious. And gender fluid. Some days Riley identifies as a boy, and others as a girl. The thing is…Riley isn’t exactly out yet. And between starting a new school and having a congressman father running for reelection in uber-conservative Orange County, the pressure—media and otherwise—is building up in Riley’s so-called “normal” life.

On the advice of a therapist, Riley starts an anonymous blog to vent those pent-up feelings and tell the truth of what it’s REALLY like to be a gender fluid teenager. But just as Riley’s starting to settle in at school—even developing feelings for a mysterious outcast—the blog goes viral, and an unnamed commenter discovers Riley’s real identity, threatening exposure. Riley must make a choice: walk away from what the blog has created—a lifeline, new friends, a cause to believe in—or stand up, come out, and risk everything.

 

YA Viral Stories 7

 

 

Tease by Amanda Maciel

Provocative, unforgettable, and inspired by real-life incidents, Amanda Maciel’s highly acclaimed debut novel Tease is the story of a teenage girl who faces criminal charges for bullying after a classmate commits suicide. With its powerful narrative, unconventional point of view, and strong anti-bullying theme, this coming-of-age story offers smart, insightful, and nuanced views on high school society, toxic friendships, and family relationships.

Emma Putnam is dead, and it’s all Sara Wharton’s fault. At least, that’s what everyone seems to think. Sara, along with her best friend and three other classmates, has been criminally charged for the bullying and harassment that led to Emma’s shocking suicide. Now Sara is the one who’s ostracized, already guilty according to her peers, the community, and the media. In the summer before her senior year, in between meetings with lawyers and a court-recommended therapist, Sara is forced to reflect on the events that brought her to this moment—and ultimately consider her own role in an undeniable tragedy. And she’ll have to find a way to move forward, even when it feels like her own life is over.

 

Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown

Ashleigh’s boyfriend, Kaleb, is about to leave for college, and Ashleigh is worried that he’ll forget about her while he’s away. So at a legendary end-of-summer pool party, Ashleigh’s friends suggest she text him a picture of herself — sans swimsuit — to take with him. Before she can talk herself out of it, Ashleigh strides off to the bathroom, snaps a photo in the full-length mirror, and hits “send.”

But when Kaleb and Ashleigh go through a bad breakup, Kaleb takes revenge by forwarding the text to his baseball team. Soon the photo has gone viral, attracting the attention of the school board, the local police, and the media. As her friends and family try to distance themselves from the scandal, Ashleigh feels completely alone — until she meets Mack while serving her court-ordered community service. Not only does Mack offer a fresh chance at friendship, but he’s the one person in town who received the text of Ashleigh’s photo — and didn’t look.

 

Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer

Witty, sarcastic Ethan and his three best friends are students at Selwyn Arts Academy, which has been hijacked by For Art’s Sake, a sleazy reality-television show. In the tradition of Ezra Pound, the foursome secretly writes and distributes a long poem to protest the show. They’re thrilled to have started a budding rebellion.

But the forces behind the show are craftier than they seem. The web of betrayal stretches farther than Ethan could have ever imagined, and it’s up to him, his friends, and a heroic gerbil named Baconnaise to save Selwyn.

 

 

And if you’re already thinking about books that will hit shelves in 2018 (!!) you’ll want to know about Kimberly Reid’s forthcoming #Prettyboy Must Die.