Writing A Book Review (and reviewing The Fault in Our Stars)

Last week, I signed up to write a review of John Green's most recent novel, The Fault in Our Stars for my school newspaper.

It was an interesting experience, to say the least.

I have written many book reviews for this blog, so, in a way, it should have been a piece of cake. But when I sat down to write, I suddenly felt like I had to take on a certain professional, journalist voice. This is the review I produced:

To put it simply, The Fault in Our Stars is John Green’s masterpiece.

            With his 2005 debut novel, Looking For Alaska, Green instantly found an audience for his brilliant prose and insights into teenage angst and human struggle. The only thing he struggled to find was genuine emotion. In The Fault in Our Stars, he has finally found his heart. In doing so, he has also created his masterwork.

            The Fault in Our Stars is about a girl named Hazel Grace. Many would consider her unlucky or unfortunate, for her life is doomed to be always less-than or almost. But Hazel refuses to see her cancer that way; she refuses to let herself be a victim. Hazel Grace Lancaster is an avid reader, a loving daughter, and a dedicated fan of America’s Next Top Model. She is not a cancer sufferer. Neither is Augustus Waters, though his amputated leg would suggest otherwise. That is just one of the many things that attracts Hazel to Gus, though she can’t help noticing his love for metaphors, his earnest pursuit of his desires, and, of course, his beautiful blue eyes. The Fault in Our Stars is their story, as they find each other, all the while knowing they could lose each other at any moment. 

            It is also, undeniably, a book about dying. However, it is not, not even for one second, a book about despair or melodramatic angst. Instead, it is a celebration of intelligence, of reading, of young love, of the beauty in life, and of existence. It doesn’t edit out the icky parts of illness, nor the gross parts of death, nor the hard parts of life. It is honest, and hilarious, and heartbreaking. In short, it is a complete work, a masterpiece, the novel that John Green fans have been dying for, and new readers need to get their hands on. 

It isn't very good. It's overly polished and generally uninteresting. It has no voice. So I rewrote it, more in the blog style (though not as informal). I'm really glad I revised. I was trying to be a "real writer" whatever that is. From now on, I think I stick with being the real me. At least I know how to do that.

Below, I'll share my final review. I'd be interested to hear what you guys think of it, of either of them really. But even if you don't want to give me feedback, I hope you enjoy my thoughts on this amazing novel.

I’ve always liked John Green’s books in the past; I’ve always appreciated his insightful prose and laughed at his clever characters. But I never felt emotionally connected to his books. This week, though, I fell in love with The Fault in Our Stars.  

            The novel stars Hazel Grace Lancaster, a teenage girl with terminal cancer. Hazel is a great narrator. I was worried that John Green would have an issue adopting a female voice. Fortunately, this did not seem to be a struggle, as Hazel is as well rounded and authentic as any of his previous male protagonists.

            Hazel is clever and too smart for her own good. She is passionate. Some of the best passages in the book describe her love of reading and her true appreciation of literature. She is also strong. Hazel accepts her cancer, and she does not let it define her. She is not self-pitying, but, rather, self-aware, and you can’t help but love her for that.

            Hazel undergoes an important personal journey in the book, as she learns to love in the face of death, and that is where we meet Augustus Waters. Augustus is a fellow cancer patient, who lost his leg to the disease, but is momentarily in remission.

            I love Augustus. I love even the way his name sounds when you say it. I love his silly metaphors and his loyal friendship. Most of all, I love how earnest he is and how vulnerable he allows himself to be. Augustus Waters is one of the sweetest boys I have ever known through print.

            The relationship between Hazel and Augustus is adorable. Sometimes they say the wrong thing. Augustus tries too hard; Hazel doesn’t know how to respond. They love each other, but they aren’t perfect for each other. Their relationship is realistic, and, to me, that is what makes it so romantic.

            I have always thought John Green was an amazing writer. But this book showed me that he is an amazing storyteller. For he managed to take what is a rather sad story about teenage cancer and make it a celebration rather than a eulogy. He managed to mix his typically breathtaking prose with real, tearjerking emotion in a way that is not maudlin, but rather moving and memorable. I cannot recommend this book more. 

So, what do you think? At any rate, I hope you read the book. I hope everyone reads it. That the kind of attention it deserves. It is just that good.

  

Source: http://valerie2776.tumblr.com/post/15626955864

Book Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Summary: Will Grayson, Will Grayson follows the lives of two teenage boys, with the same name (Will Grayson) in alternating perspectives, one written by John Green and the other by David Levithan. Their lives intertwine as they both try to find love and find a life.

Review:

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a successful novel. It's smart, it's funny, and it's genuine.

Above all, it is well written. But do I really have to say that? I mean, it unites two great current YA authors, David Levithan and John Green. Whenever I've disliked parts of their previous novels, it was always the plot or character. It was never the writing. Because John Green's writing in Paper Towns and An Abundance of Katherines is so good. And because basically every word of David Levithan's Lover's Dictionary is brilliant.

For me, that is what makes this novel successful. The characters are strong, unique, and funny. And the plot is somewhat original. But what I'm going to remember from Will Grayson, Will Grayson is the writing.

What makes Green and Levithan so great, in my eyes at least, is that they attempt things other authors don't. They attempt to tap into larger emotions, universal truths, and philosophical questions. And mostly, they succeed. There are a lot of these types of passages in Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Here's one for you:

"need is never a good basis for any relationship. it has to be much more than that." 

 When I read that line, I thought of my relationship with my best friend, and how, sometimes, is has become of relationship more about need and less about want or like, and how that has been an issue for us. When I read that line I was able to make sense of a relationship that has confused me for three years. To me, that is the power of writing. That is what excites me about books. That is why I read.

There was also a lot of discussion in the novel about the relationship between truth and love. That didn't work so well for me. It felt a little forced, and it never really made much sense to my life or my experiences. But I can still admire it, and admire them for it. For they try. And, usually, they succeed.

When I hear people talk about this book, I usually hear about Tiny Cooper. And now I understand why. Tiny Cooper is a big character. He's unique and hilarious and loveable. The book is written in alternating chapters: one from John Green's Will Grayson, then one from David Levithan's Will Grayson. For a lot of the book, especially in the beginning, the characters were separate. What eventually united them was Tiny Cooper. I found it interesting to see how Green's Will reacted to something Tiny Cooper did in comparison to how Levithan's Will reacted. And Tiny Cooper's musical was amazing. There's no denying it.

I feel like I have to pick a Will Grayson or pick a stronger author. For most of the novel, I would pick John Green. I found his Will Grayson more enjoyable to read. But Levithan was writing about a depressed, nihilistic teenager. That's not always going to be enjoyable. Also, Levithan wrote entirely in lowercase. I never really figured out why. Was this some sort of e.e. cummings symbolic thing? Some rage against the machine? Maybe I'm just stupid, but I never truly figured it out. I've found that kind of issue with Levithan's previous novels as well. There are always pieces I have to interpret and I'm never quite sure I get the interpretations right.

The other reason I really liked John Green's half because of the romance. In his previous books, Green has never really had a wholly good romance. It's always about idealizing Alaska or deconstructing Margo. But here, we finally get a sweet romance from John Green. Hallelujah! The romantic moments between Jane and Will were original and adorable. Full marks on that front.

There was also romance in Levithan's half, but it was harder. The main relationships his Will Grayson have are doomed from the start, and I think every reader knows that. Levithan's Will ultimately ends in a good place, but it takes a long time to get there, and it's a hard road.

Speaking of Levithan's romance, I'd like to talk about the gay aspect to this book. On the inside cover of my copy of the book is referred to as a "LGBT title", which really surprised me. Because to me, this doesn't feel like an issue book the way a lot of the LGBT books do. I mean, yeah, there are gay characters--Tiny Cooper, Will Grayson, and many others--but I didn't think of them as "gay characters" per say, as much as "characters who happen to be gay". Their sexuality was in no way their defining trait to me, and I think that's really a strength of the novel. John Green is a proponent of "viewing other people complexy", as he describes in many of his vlogbrothers videos and many of his previous novels, particularly Paper Towns. I think that idea really comes through in Will Grayson, Will Grayson, as each of the characters is viewed so complexy that no one trait, not even sexuality, defines them. Furthermore, I liked how the novel viewed relationships complexy, in particular the relationship between Tiny Cooper and Green's Will Grayson. John Green always writes great male friendships; I was really glad to see him really develop and deconstruct such a great one in this novel.

Speaking of vlogbrothers, this novel made me question the relationship between the reader and the author, in terms of modern day technology. I have recently gotten into the vlogbrothers, a youtube channel John Green runs with his brother Hank Green, as well as the FIFA games his airs on the Hankgames channel. In my hours of watching these videos, I've heard John Green talk a lot about his personal beliefs, including his questioning of society's fascination with romantic relationships.

This same questioning is brought forth by Green's Will Grayson on page 259 of the novel. Now, I'm not sure how to react to that. I mean, in a way, it feels awkward to me, because I know it's something John Green believes. When I reading it, I specifically thought that; this had the effect of removing me the character a little bit and thinking "oh, this is what John Green wants me to learn." I have noticed this before since I've started following authors online. For instance, I know that Meg Cabot's grandmother gave her a doll collection, so when I read that one of her characters had a similar collection, I knew that that was something Cabot was taking directly from her real life. In a way, I think it's really cool to have all this access to author's the way we do today, and in a way I feel really awesome for knowing all this stuff. But in another way, I feel limited, like my reading experience is hurt because of it. What do you guys think?

Will Grayson, Will Grayson made me ask many questions. It made me think and it made me laugh. I didn't love it, but I enjoyed it. I easily recommend it to the world.

The Best Kind of Christmas Presents

First off, MERRY CHRISTMAS. 

Here's my gift for you: 

This year for Christmas I asked my parents to order me the books I've always wanted that aren't stocked at my local bookstore. Combine that with the books I bought at Goodwill over the last week and the couple I've already bought since I've been home, I have these two awesome stacks of books to bring back to school:

Hardcovers: 

An Off Year by Claire Zulkey

What It's About: a girl who takes a gap year between high school and university

Why I Wanted It: I'm very interested in any and all books about university. New Adult is going to happen, damn it! 

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A. S. King

What It's About: a girl who's best friend dies

Why I Wanted It: good reviews and good writing

Hooked by Catherine Greenman

What It's About: teen pregnancy

Why I Wanted It: I always find pregnancy to be an interesting teen issue; I also think this story will be a little different since it deals with characters entering university. 

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

What It's About: all the in the moment decisions people make and how that affects us.

Why I Wanted It: Gladwell's The Tipping Point and Outliers were both fascinating. 

Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah

What It's About: a girl's decision to wear a hijab

Why I Wanted It: it has a unique, controversial premise. Plus, the book starts with a major Friends reference--I simply couldn't resist. 

L. A. Candy by Lauren Conrad

What It's About:...something about hollywood. Does it really matter?

Why I Wanted It: I read an excerpt from it in Teen Vogue when it came out, and always wanted to try it. Something different. Light reading. A different perspective. Hopefully. You never know. 

Girl at Sea by Maureen Johnson 

What It's About: a girl's summer on a ship

Why I Wanted It: I enjoyed Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes, as well as Johnson's story in Let It Snow. 

Play Me by Laura Ruby

What It's About: a guy who films reality tv

Why I Wanted It: I love books about reality tv, and this book puts a different spin on it, telling the story from the director's perspective rather than the star's perspective. 

Softcovers: 

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

What It's About: boring British stuff...something about Mr. Rochester...I don't know...Mia referenced it a bunch in one of the Princess Diaries books I think...

Why I Wanted It:...I didn't. It's book I have to read for my British lit class next semester. Kill me now. 

Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart

What It's About: a girl who spies on boys

Why I Wanted It: I just finished the Ruby Oliver series and really enjoyed it. And the premise sounded fun. 

The End of Education by Neil Postman

What It's About: the education system in the US

Why I Wanted It: I'm going to be a teacher!

The Half Life of Planets by Emily Franklin and Brandon Halpin

What It's About: a romance between a girl and a boy with Asperger's syndrome

Why I Wanted It: good writing and an interesting premise. 

Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande 

What It's About: a battle between evolution and creationism! Yay! And hopefully some romance! 

Why I Wanted It: I loved Brande's Fat Cat, and I think this could be a really interesting exploration of beliefs and science vs. God. 

Pledged by Alexandra Robbins

What It's About: sororities

Why I Wanted It: I liked Robbin's Overachievers, and, since watching Greek, I've become fascinated with Greek life. 

Quarterlife Crisis by Alexandra Robbins and Abby Wilner

What It's About: life in your twenties.

Why I Wanted It: I'm about to enter my twenties. And it looked interesting anyhow. 

I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusack

What It's About: A cab driver? A robbery?

Why I Wanted It: AMAZING reviews, including John Green's endorsement (very valuable). And it seems like a different kind of book. 

I Love You Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle

What It's About: a guy who confesses his love for a girl he barely knows at graduation. 

Why I Wanted It: it seemed funny. 

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

What It's About: two guys who have the same name. 

Why I Wanted It: I am in a little bit of a John Green phase (read: complete obsession. Vlogbrothers. Nerdfighters. Scoodilypoopers. I've finished Looking For Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, and even Let It Snow. Now I just need to finish off his back catalogue, and I'll be ready for The Fault in Our Stars in January) and I like and respect David Levithan's writing. I think these two together has the potential to be AMAZING. 

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

What It's About: See title.

Why I Wanted It: good reviews, good writing, interesting structure. Not a terribly original premise, but I can get past that. 

Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales

What It's About: high school drama

Why I Wanted It: I really, really liked Sales's Past Perfect. I don't really want to read about high school drama right now, but I think this might be worth it. 

Isn't that the best Christmas ever?

P. S. I took those photos with my new iPhone, another awesome part of Christmas (but not as good as the books of course :) 

TV Review: Being Erica

You may not have heard of this show. It's a little Canadian show produced by the CBC. It's set in Toronto and stars an all Canadian cast. So, I'll excuse you if you haven't seen it yet. But I won't forgive you if you don't see it soon. 

The basic premise is that Erica sees a therapist, Dr. Tom, who uses time travel to take her back to her regrets and make them right. Now, I hate any combination of science fiction or fantasy. So I really shouldn't like a show that centres around time travel. But somehow, I love it. The fourth season aired while I was at school, so I've spent the last week catching up. And boy, was it good. 

The first thing I have to say is that the show is very well planned. In the first two seasons, Erica was a patient. In the third, she was in group therapy. In the fourth and final season she is ready to give back, training to become a doctor (therapist) herself. Unlike the vast majority of shows, Being Erica actually allows its characters to move forward. Erica Strange has a clear character arc that is logical, well developed, and meaningful. She doesn't remain stagnant, and, as a result, the show is never boring. I think the fourth season is the best, because it really explores the different challenges Erica faces in becoming a doctor. And because the show is so well planned, nothing is rushed. When Erica becomes a doctor-in-training, it feels earned; when she finally becomes an actual doctor, you know she's ready. In a TV landscape where so many shows fear change or risk of any kind and seem absolutely allergic to good plotting, Being Erica shines. 

I also really like how the show handles the time travel element. The show doesn't allow the time travel to take over; the focus is always on Erica's character. Every episode features some type of time travel, but there's no hard and fast rule that it has to be 50% or 60% of the episode. If the plot demands it, time travel can dominate 70% of the episode. If the plot doesn't need it, time travel is only used in snippets, occupying 30% to 40%. The show was also quite creative with its use of time travel. Erica and Dr. Tom when back in time and forward in time. Erica relived days until she could figure out how to do them right. Erica went to other people's pasts. Erica controlled time. Erica got a free day that would be erased. In short, the show has fun with time travel, and changing and reshaping it; it always keeps things interesting. 

Being Erica uses time travel to ask big philosophical questions. It explores regret and destiny and death and moral issues. That makes the show fascinating. It also uses time travel to create some very interesting plot twists; that makes the show intriguing. In particular, I think it really helps the romance. In the first two seasons Erica dated Ethan, her best friend who wasn't involved in time travel. That was fine, though a little boring. It was then that the show realized that Erica had to be with someone who was a time traveller. As a result, we got Kai. Kai was from the future and he met Erica when back on a long regret. When that regret was over he went back to the future, and present day Kai forgot all about Erica. But future Kai never did. He kept coming back for her, and slowly they developed into something more. But, in between this, Erica developed a relationship with Adam, a time traveler from her present. In the fourth season she had to choose between the two, and it was a love triangle more delicious than any I have seen in a long, long time. 

This wasn't Bella/Edward/Jacob, where it was completely obvious she was never going to choose Jacob. This wasn't Joey/Dawson/Pacey, where there was no right choice. This was a legitimate, complicated love triangle. And Erica and Kai were a more real tale of forbidden love than most love stories, because their relationship actually wasn't possible. They lived in different time periods; they literally could not live together. So even though they loved each other, they couldn't be together. And so Erica ended up with Adam. Which was good. I mean, I loved Kai, but I understand. Adam was not only possible, but Adam was the right person for who Erica wanted to be. If she chose Kai, she would only be denying herself, choosing the immature dream. By choosing Adam she choose the reality, the real guy who challenged her and made her take the essential risks. As a romantic, I always loved Kai more. But as a viewer, I understand that Adam was right choice; I love that the romance was complex enough and well developed enough to get me to that point. 

Most of all, I love the characters. That's always what it comes down to. For the longest time I hated Julianne, Erica's friend/business partner. She's a ridiculous character. But after four seasons, I love her. I can't help but adore her little quirks. I also like Brent and Jenny and Adam, and, of course, Kai. I love the romance between Sam and Lenin. And I just love the relationship between Erica and Dr. Tom. It's not at all romantic; instead, it's sweet and loving and just so caring. They have a well developed relationship throughout the series; in particular, they have great scenes in the series finale. Like Julianne, Dr. Tom was often a character that bothered me, with his endless quotes and preaching. But by the end, he too grew on me. They all did. 

They all deserve credit (from left): Reagan Pasternak (Julianne), Adam Fergus (Adam), Erin Karpluk (Erica!), Morgan Kelly (Brent), Joanna Douglas (Sam), and Michael Riley (Dr. Tom)

Being Erica has faults. I was never nearly as interested in episodes that focused on characters other than Erica, say Dr. Tom or Adam or Julianne. The first two seasons weren't as strong as the last two. But I'm just glad I got to see such a great Toronto show; it did my city proud. 

Going Home

I have my last exam in forty minutes. That means I'm going home today.

Most of me is excited. Ecstatic. Last night, I couldn't fall asleep because I was so excited. Kind of like that feeling you get on Christmas Eve. You're so excited for the next day to come that you desperately want to sleep, but you're excitement keeps you awake. I was jumping around my room. I felt like a little kid. In that way, it's nice that I've been away so long. Now it means so much more going back.

I want to open them so badly! Why can't it be Christmas yet?!?

But going back also means bad things. Scary things. And that's why there's a part of me that's not excited. There's a significant part of me that's nervous. And I know I haven't been blogging and I suck for that, but I was hoping you'd give me a few minutes of your time to talk about my nervousness. In exchange, I promise book and tv posts next week. Deal?

Right now I feel like I'm in a weird interstitial space. Like I'm not fully emotionally committed to my life at university, but I've moved past being fully engaged with my life in Toronto. If that makes sense.

I have friends here. My life is here now. My present, my foreseeable future. That makes it feel like I don't fully belong at home. Like I don't fully know how to be that person who I was last year. I feel like I've forgotten how to be a best friend, a daughter, a student. I feel like I've changed and everybody back home is going to expect me to be the same. And I'm not sure if I know how to go back like that. I don't know if I'll remember how to respond the right way and how to be who they want me to be. I don't know. I'm confused.

At the same time, I don't feel like I'm fully in this university world. The people I'm closest to, the people I care most about--family, friends, teachers--are all in Toronto. My loyalty still lies to Toronto. I still call Toronto home. I have a lot of friends here and I really like them. I like my courses. I like my future. But my past is still such a part of my life. I may not see those people everyday, but I think about them. I know they're there, supporting me. I remember that when things are hard here. The Toronto people may not be a physical part of my everyday life, but they're still an essential emotional part.

As a result, I feel like I'm caught between two worlds, not fully fitting into either of them. That makes me scared to go. And I'm sure it will make me scared to come back in January. And it scares me that I don't have anywhere where I'm fully comfortable. My life is split right now. No matter where I am, there's something missing. When I'm here, I miss home. When I'm home, I'm sure I'll miss it here. It bothers me that there's nowhere that's complete.

I feel divided. Scared. Nervous. Absolutely out of my head excited. So many emotions. It's overwhelming.

And that's me right now. Thanks for reading. I promise, I promise, I promise, to get back to more regular blogging. And I promise to mention something pop culture-y very soon.

--Katherine

Interacting with Other Human Beings (it's so complicated!)

When you start university, you meet hundreds of new people. In my first week here, I must have meet fifty people a day. And very quickly, I realized a few things about meeting people:

1) Sometimes, having something specific in common (same hometown, same program in high school) is a great jumping off point to start a great friendship

2) Sometimes, even the most specific, most significant thing will not make two people friends (being from the same high school, being in the same program)

It seems as though it has to be the right mix of things. You have to have an entry point of some sort, or the conversation dies and you never speak to the person again. And you also have to have a conversational flow, a genuine interest in the other person.

For example, there's this one girl who's an english major and drama minor, just like me. And, best of all, she's from Toronto. On paper, we should have a ton to talk about. In reality, our conversation lasted five minutes. Sometimes, it's just not there.

I know, this isn't really a new phenomenon, some new discovery I've made. It's just something I like to think about. I'm also fascinated by the types of conversations you have when you first meet someone, by the way we instantly judge people whether we mean to or not, because of their clothes or hairstyle or accent or whatever. I was thinking about all of this a lot since school started, and as all these thoughts swirled around my brain, I kept coming back to one conversation.


It was the second or third day since I had started university. I was eating lunch with a girl from my frosh group and we were talking about music. She was Quebecois, and only knew Quebec music. I knew some popular stuff, but mostly just my favourite bands, specifically, Great Big Sea. I must have mentioned GBS in that conversation, because a minute later another girl approached the table.

"Did I just hear you talking about Great Big Sea?"She asked

"Uh...yes." I answered ('Cause I'm so quick witted and articulate like that). "Uh...why?"

"I love them!" She said. 

From there, we discussed Great Big Sea songs and cds and concerts. Somehow, we transitioned into talking about the Barenaked Ladies and YA author John Green and all kinds of awesome stuff like that. I remember walking away from that conversation with such a good feeling. It took me a little bit to figure out why.

What I eventually figured out was this:

What was so amazing about that conversation was that I was excited. I was discussing something that I was interested in, that I was passionate about, and that was just SO MUCH FUN.


That conversation really made me think about myself. What made me excited and interested and passionate. What did I enjoy talking about, more than anything else? For me, this is the list:

1) Great Big Sea
Already mentioned. Great Canadian (specifically Newfoundland band). If any of you knows them at all, you should know my favourite song from their cds is probably When I Am King. My favourite concert song is far and a way Ordinary Day. Sean McCann is my favourite singer in the band. I'm kind of a teensy bit obsessed with his voice.  

2) Barenaked Ladies
Another great Canadian band (from Toronto! Woot! Woot!). Best song: If I Had A Million Dollars. Best singer: Steven Page.  

3) Young Adult novels 
Meg Cabot, Sarah Dessen, Megan McCafferty, John Green, E. Lockhart, Judy Blume, Ann Brashares, Robin Benway, Deb Caletti, Simone Elkeles, Stephanie Perkins, Jenny Han. Name any of the authors and I can talk for hours. I'll debate romances and main characters and endings and just about anything else to do with these books. Hence the blog.  

4) Romance
TV, movies, books, doesn't matter. I LOVE ROMANCE.  

5) TV
TV in general I'm also obsessed with (which you've probably noticed). It's kind of funny, actually. Someone will say something like "I only watch a few shows", assuming that I haven't seen the shows. But then I tell them--"Name the shows. I watch so much tv that I will inevitably know at least one show you watch". And it's always true. And even if I don't watch the other shows, I still know a ton about them. Ratings. Plots. Actors. Which brings me to my next thing... 

6) Celebrities
Name any two celebrities and I connect them. Name any movie and I can name all the actors in it and probably the director and maybe even the screenwriter. I am completely insane. 

Looking at this list of things, I guess I could kind of hate myself. I mean being obsessed with TV and celebrities is not something most people would think is a good thing. But, you know, they're my things. By this point, it doesn't even feel like I picked these things. They're just a part of me. And you know, I'd rather be passionate about a few specific, weird things than nothing. Otherwise I would never get to have fun, awesome, exciting conversations.

Moreover, I'd rather be able to talk intelligibly about a few things than broadly about many things. A few months ago, my mother asked me why I read so many YA novels--why didn't I branch out more? By response was that I would rather master one genre than dabble in many. I would rather know YA inside and out, top to bottom. I like that I have read so much YA. I like that when I read books like Anatomy of  a Boyfriend, I can relate it immediately back to Forever. I like that when I read a John Green novel, and I see he wrote another book with David Levithan, I can think "Oh, I know him. He's the one who wrote Dash and Lily's Book of Dares with Rachel Cohn". Now, I actually read YA books just so I can round out my awareness of the genre. This week, for example, I read Maureen Johnson's Little Blue Envelope series not so much because I was interested in the premise, but because I knew they were important books in the genre. I would rather know those books, and relate them to other books, and read tons of online blog posts and articles about YA, than just read a book alone, separate from all that. I would rather be passionate than well rounded.

I started this post talking about how people relate to each other and somehow I've gone off into discussing the deep dark corners of YA. Slowly, I promise, I'm circling back. You see, writing that last paragraph was so fun for me. Thinking "hmm, what YA author should I reference here? What book should I mention here?" was really engaging for me. Talking about what I'm passionate about, no matter how bizarre it may be, is SO MUCH FUN.

Okay, I'm trying to circle back but it's not quite working. Basically, my point is this:

It's fascinating how people relate to each other, and if you can find someone you relate to well and share passions with, hold on to that person. Because it will be SO MUCH FUN.

From what I see, that's what life is. Finding those people you have SO MUCH FUN with, those people that you want to hang out with more than anything. Sounds simple, right, when you're meeting fifty new people a day?

(see what I did there, finally circling back to the opening paragraph? Huh? Huh? Aren't I cool?!?)

It's not simple. Not at all. It's tiring and frustrating and so incredibly rare. But that's what makes it so special.

Why I Read YA

I read it because it helps me make sense of the world.

I read it because it makes me laugh and makes me cry and just generally makes me happy.

I read it because it helps me be who I am.


I have always loved reading. Ever since I read Mary-Kate and Ashley's Slam Dunk Mystery in the second grade, I've loved reading. It allows me to experience things and imagine things outside of myself. I was an academically obsessed nerd with very few friends, who made very little trouble and had very few adventures. But through books, I've gotten to experience so much more than that. Through Gayle Forman's If I Stay I got to experience death. Through Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries, I got to be royalty. Through Ann Brashares's Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, I got to have the three best friends I always wanted. Through books, I got to experience.

Through YA, I also got to think. John Green's books, for example, always make me think. About life, about death. About relationships. About math. About love. Through Robin Brande's Fat Cat, I started to question what I do and what I eat. Through Alicia Thompson's Pysch Major Syndrome, I got to anticipate what university would be like, think about what my future would be like. Through Megan McCafferty's Bumped, I got to think about what everyone's future would be like.

But why YA, you might ask. Don't all books do this? Yes, I'm sure they do. But only YA books do it for me. YA is the genre that speaks to who I am and what I am interested in. YA is the genre that I can relate to, more than any other. Sometimes, when I'm reading YA I can't help but break out a pencil because I have to underline a passage because it feels so real to me, because it speaks to me exactly.

Recently, I started to question the YA genre. Because it wasn't speaking exactly to me anymore. It wasn't describing my life anymore. You see, I grew up reading YA romance. I feel in love with Marcus Flutie and Michael Moscovitz and Etienne St. Clair. As a result, when I had my first real life romance, I had certain expectations. Certain ideas. Not many of which were true. In books, girls seemed so sure that this was the right guy or that was the right decision. They didn't just date; they feel in love. As I was questioning and struggling, I tried to remember a book that had incredibly awkward first kisses. I tried to think of a book where the right guy turned out to be the wrong guy. I tried to find a book where the girl not only felt awesome, but incredibly guilty and scared and unsure. But in the books, they always end up together. Things always work out.

Well, for me, things didn't work out. And for a while, I resented YA.

But when I needed YA most, it was there for me. When I was struggling to be confident in who I was and stick to my beliefs, I had Mia Thermopolis to tell me I was right. I had Judy Blume's Forever to show what my options were. And that's why I read YA: it gives me the confidence to be who I am, and it gives me the knowledge to find who I want to be. It lets me experience everything, so I can choose my things. It makes me think about my decisions and my life and my identity. It makes me me.

Why do you read YA?