V-Cards, Booze, and Other Teenage Unmentionables

I'm currently reading TWENTY BOY SUMMER by Sarah Ockler, and before I go into what's next, I want to say I'm recommending this book fully, unequivocally, 100 percent and all that. I think it's great. You should absolutely go read it. It's very comparable to Sarah Dessen and THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by Jandy Nelson in that it's YA chick lit with a more mature emotional edge. This book makes me feel like it's summer in California, which is exactly everyone needs at all times.

A particular premise of the book is that Anna, the main character, who is vacationing in California, has this prime opportunity to lose her virginity, which everyone refers to as her "albatross." So before you decide to agree or disagree.

Let's get one thing straight. All fiction has some semblance of reality. Even fantasy. There has to be something that people can relate to or else there's no reason to keep reading. And while real teenagers don't engage in fights with cyclopes or fall in love with vampires, they do have sex, smoke weed, and drink beer. Maybe not all three, all at the same time, or in that order, but these things happen.

Lately, I have seen a lot of complaints about how YA fiction portrays things that could be construed as sending the wrong message to readers about what is acceptable behavior. I suppose this depends on what you consider acceptable behavior. In my opinion, love interests watching you without your consent from your bedroom window is unromantic and borderline illegal. But the real question is do we actually believe people take social cues from what happens in a book? You could apply this to the multiple instances of underage drinking in YA novels. Does that make underage drinking seem less taboo or are these books just showing it like it is? I tend to think the latter, but maybe it's somewhat of a self-perpetuating cycle. Also, the whole virginity thing in TWENTY BOY SUMMER. People have wildly different views on how you should approach this issue, but the fact of the matter is, average age for first-time sex is 17 in the US. To me, it's just a number, no positive or negative conclusions about the moral state of America. I don't really care about whether you should "save it" or "get rid of it" or whatever, because obviously, everyone believes something different. My opinion: I think virginity is an antiquated social construct, and I've never really understood why it's so objectified. As long as you're safe and smart and you know what you want, then go ahead and do what you want.

I'm not saying these things because I want you to agree with me, but I'm just wondering whether YA books should be construed as life lessons or simply representations of what happens in the life of the average teenager. For example, if a character decides it is imperative to her social life to ditch her virginity ASAP, is this a message telling girls to go do stupid things like not use protection, form pregnancy pacts with their friends, and bonk any random hobo on the street, sobriety optional? omg, please do not do any of these things if you value your health/dignity/sanity/life at all. Or is this just reflecting what girls basically think today anyway?

What is our primary obligation as authors? Is it to entertain, to influence, or to truthfully portray? Or can we do all three? I think it depends, but I want to know what you think.

*So here was where I was going to put a picture of a typical college party with the caption "this happens," but then I googled "college party" and nothing that came up was even remotely appropriate. So yeah. Just imagine that picture. And that caption.*

Stuck and Handling It Poorly

It's spring break, and Central Illinois never fails in surprising me with how completely, utterly, unsalvageably boring it is. I guess this doesn't matter a whole lot, because the point of my spring break was to study for the LSAT and I'm doing that. It's probably better that I'm not distracted.

Unfortunately, it is nobody else's spring break. Therefore, the only person I am spending time with is myself, and I have reached the somewhat alarming conclusion that I am not that interesting of a person to spend time with. How sad is that; I mean, it's not like I can get rid of myself. I should probably learn to be more entertaining. This is what I have done in two days:

1) Taken 2 full-length LSAT practice tests.
2) Eaten all of the girl scout cookies and chocolate left in the snack cabinet.
3) Driven around town 5 times to kill time.
4) Renewed my scholarship money.
5) Went to the library.
6) Read. A lot.
7) Painted my nails. Twice. I now own Justin Bieber nail polish. Didn't know Justin Bieber has a nail polish collection? SURPRISE. Okay, seriously though, why would he market a product that he CAN'T USE? Unless manly nail polish is a new thing, idk. maybe I'm just not "with it" these days. Don't worry; I'm judging myself harder than you're judging me.
8) Overheard at least 3 groups of people initiate conversation with the question, "Have you heard that song Friday by Rebecca Black?"
9) Prevented myself from strangling said people, strangling myself, and bursting into laughter and/or tears.
10) I have actually watched this video over 15 times, just from being around people who are playing it, or being incredibly bored at 2 am.
11) Had a super awkward conversation with my mom about not becoming an alcoholic because "I have alcoholic tendencies in my genes." I don't know why this even came up. And sex. All my favorite things to converse about with my mother.*

What I haven't done is move forward with my manuscript because I'm stuck on this one scene, and I don't know how to move past it. I've re-plotted, re-written, and now I'm thinking about doing The One Thing I Never Do. Write out of order. Ugh, it grosses me out even considering it. I hate the idea of writing some scenes before others. I feel like the emotional continuity and character development won't be the same if I jump around. But I might never move on if I sit here and overanalyze the same moment over and over again.

Do you write out of order? If so, how do you go about doing it?

*"Did you see in the news that Obama went to Brazil? They like him in Brazil. That's where his father is from, right? Wait, you mean Brazil isn't in Africa?" -- MY MOTHER. God bless her soul.

GTFO, JBiebs. My fingernails feel violated.

Ooh La La: Anna and the French Kiss

There are two kinds of great books in this world. There are books you think about for a long time after they're over. Then, there are books that take you on a wild ride and you walk away at the end with a smile on your face and without looking back. ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS is the second kind.

The boy. Okay, so take all of the characteristics you would possibly want in a fictional love interest. Good hair? Check. Foreign? Check. British accent? Check. Likes to read? Check. Add them all together and what you get is Étienne St. Clair. But luckily, Étienne isn't just a mashup of different things girls like. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. That's what's great about him. Even though I never caught myself swooning over his character while reading, I could appreciate that he was a real person who did frustratingly annoying things that pissed me off and could win my forgiveness in the next few pages. He is a great example of how an author can create a love interest that isn't a typical one-dimensional smoldering, mysterious boy. I hate smoldering, mysterious boys because in real life, they translate into being creepy stalkers. Étienne is nice. He is deserving of the main character's adoration. Nice boys don't get enough credit these days.

The girl. Anna, Anna, Anna. She is the perfect girl I would want to follow for an adventure like this. She is awesome. She has life goals! She hates things! She loves things! The best thing about Anna Oliphant is every girl can see a little bit of herself in Anna, but not because Anna's personality is a blank slate. She crackles to life on the page. It's so great to read. I admit, I found myself getting annoyed when she overanalyzes everything about Étienne and Toph. Really, I thought. Do we spend that much time thinking about what one particular boy says? Oh wait ... um, YES. I couldn't be mad at her after that because she was basically doing exactly what I do. All of her thoughts absolutely aligned with what I think on a daily basis in response to boys. She's a little insecure, and yeah, she does stuff that doesn't make sense. She is definitely in the wrong at some points. But like I would a friend, I forgave her. Because she is only being human and real, and that's what being seventeen is all about.

The story. Stephanie Perkins made a relatable high school story and then put it in Paris. That's all I have to say. The scenes ring perfectly true. The dialogue is excellent without trying too hard to be "hip." I could sympathize with all of the situations. Getting tired of being home while on break. Taking care of incoherent drunk boys (luckily, nobody has ever thrown up ON me). Stupid love triangles between friends. Being an asshole. Having someone be an asshole to me. I think Stephanie is secretly a teenage girl masquerading as a married 29-year-old. Or maybe she is just very young at heart.

The place. Like Anna, I fell in love with the streets of Paris, all those vintage book stores, historical cathedrals, and delicious crêperies. I mean, you couldn't find a better setting to place your story in. I loved it. The setting was practically its own character here and I was just as thrilled to explore it as I was the relationships and actual story. And when Anna went home for winter break and found herself wishing she were back in Paris, I was wishing right there with her.

So ultimately, this isn't a book that makes you think much, but why should it? ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS took me out of central Illinois and a crappy, busy schedule, and dropped me in the city of love for a delightful romp that I was sad to see end. That's all you can really ask for in a book.

LiLa Hits The Town

Today is March 1. You know what's up.

Lisa and Laura Roecker's new book, THE LIAR SOCIETY, hits bookshelves today. Champagne and twizzlers all around! Get yourself a copy now.

Seriously. I'll wait.

Check out this review from Kirkus:

Secret societies dominate a posh co-educational private school in this suspenseful, possibly supernatural mystery. One or both of those societies may be responsible for the death of a girl, or so 15-year-old Kate believes. Kate's best friend, Grace, was killed in a fire under mysterious circumstances a year earlier. When she gets an e-mail from her dead friend, Kate believes Grace is asking for justice and begins to investigate what really happened. The Roeckers populate the school with the standard drop-dead handsome rich guys and a few supermodel-style girls, but Kate finds herself more attracted to dangerous, scruffy Liam. Then there's her annoying next-door neighbor, nerdy Seth, who has an obvious crush on her. Despite the difficulties they cause, the two help her so much that at last she enlists them in her quest. Tension mounts when the trio finds secret areas in the school and starts to track down who was really responsible on the night of the fire. A final confrontation solves the mystery, but can Kate really bring the culprit to justice? And is Grace's ghost really haunting her? The authors create lively and memorable characters and keep the action moving in their lengthy whodunit; Kate's interest in Latin adds an educational element. Clearly, the Roeckers had fun writing their story. Young mystery lovers may enjoy it just as much.

Kirkus likes it, and Kirkus almost never likes anything.

I should read this book instead of studying for my Latin test today, because Kate might be able to teach me better Latin than I am capable of teaching myself right now. If I'm going to fail, at least I should fail in style. As in, with pink hair.

Also, before I go all sentimental, Lisa and Laura were among the first people I started following when I started blogging TWO YEARS AGO and they're still here, writing funny things, giving back, and generally being awesome. I'm so happy and thrilled for their success. If you want to join the party, check out their blog, where I hear they are giving away some free copies? Who says no to free things, really. You should probably go. Like right now.

Happy debut day!

Pink hair means business, yo.