JOURNEY TO THE MAGNIFICENT BORDERS

The Borders in Brentwood is two stories.

Way cool, right?

I know.

Anyway, I went there to get Hunger Games and Paper Towns, something I've been wanting to get since I read Looking for Alaska way back when, but refused to get the hardback. Thankfully, John Green so happily informed me via his bloggity-blog that it was out in paperback. HURRAY.

And when I got there, all these nice little signs were above the YA lit shelves, saying that if I bought two, I could get one free!

I COULDN'T PASS UP THE OFFER.

Dang those marketing ploys! Always reeling me in with your fancy offers! (You should know that I am shaking my fist right now.)

Anyway, I went home with Hunger Games (yay), Paper Towns (yay), and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (also yay)!

Successful bookstore run, if I do say so myself.

One Of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies

Sounds hideous... right?

Well, I most certainly thought it was going to be.

I had seen Sonya Sones' books before, mind you. The newest covers are so colorful and my grabby, grabby hands always, ALWAYS grab for them every time I see them! And the titles are so fun and quirky (ex. What My Mother Doesn't Know...)! I swear, they've always made me WANT to read them.

But then I flip around a little bit, and then BAM. I realize it's all in verse form!

WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THAT?

Now, I'm not anti-poetry. I don't hate it. Really. I TOLERATE it. It's just not my cup of tea.

So I put whichever I picked up back. Forget about it. And move on with my life. Until the next time I see one, and the cycle starts all over again. Rinse, lather, and repeat (if needed).

Well the point of that horribly unnecessary story is that I don't like poetry/verse all that much. Also, I can be forgetful. Therefore I had forgotten completely about Sonya Sones and the fact that her books are in verse form. My lit group chose to read her books. I found out she was the author who wrote the verse novels.

FAIL.

I was so miffed! But once I calmed down, got my book, read the inside cover once or twice, I was ready to tackle One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies. I started slowly, but after a couple of pages, I got really into it. Like... REALLY into it. I was at my boyfriend's at the time, and he and his friend were watching a football game while I was reading. And near the end of my book, I may have gasped and yelled at what I was reading more than they were at the game.

In short, very enjoyable. Entertaining and highly nostalgic, mostly due to the fact that I still remember exactly what it's like to think and talk and act like a teenage girl.

Now-- BRIEF SUMMARY TIME.

Girl named Ruby has awesome best friend and awesome boyfriend and awesome aunt and awesome mom. Awesome mom dies. Ruby now must leave awesome friend and awesome boyfriend and go live with not-so-awesome dad who abandoned Ruby before she was even born. Ruby is not feeling so awesome.

She rides the teenage hormonal roller coaster of emotions throughout the book and finds out things about her parents and herself that she didn't know.

Happy ending.

Yay.

END SUMMARY.

Hmm... I'm trying to think of all the points I want to cover/summarize/make a point of...

1. Cute book, fast read, especially for teenage girls.

2. I recommend NOT putting too much emphasis on the fact that this is a 'verse novel'.

Yes, it's in verse. Yes, each poem TECHNICALLY can stand alone and be worth something as is. But in my humble opinion, they wouldn't be worth all that much alone. Maybe a penny? As poetry in the broadest sense of the term, it just wasn't very good.

Thankfully, the story and characters are fun and interesting enough that you stop paying attention to the poems. I sure did. I freakin' plowed through this baby. Didn't put it down 'til I was finished. I half-forgot that I was reading a bunch of poems.

Except for one part, where an earthquake is occurring, and the words are scattered across the page instead of straight down in a boring ole column-- and effect that REALLY struck me as being super nifty. I appreciated the verse-ness of the novel there. But nowhere else, really.

My point is basically to not take this book as poetry. You'll be disappointed. I don't want you to be disappointed. So listen to what I say! Allow yourself to be entertained and don't look too deeply into the quality, and you'll have a blasty blast.

3. I don't think have a three. Well gosh darn it.

Looking for Alaska...

Ah...Looking for Alaska.

I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend reading this book! John Green crafts this story so well, and it is so worth taking the time to read. In a way, I'm envious of John Green and his ability to create such beautiful characters in such a beautiful story. I wish I had his kind of talent!

Anyway, on to the important stuff of what I have to say...

[SPOILERS throughout this blog! You have been warned!]

I read this for the first time last January, I believe. I got so caught up in it (which I did again my second time through, although most certainly to a lesser extent), I was reading it during meals, when I was supposed to be doing homework, before bed, in the bathtub... I couldn't put it down. It was so, so, so, so GOOD.

And since I'm not ashamed to say it (okay, well, slightly ashamed), I BAWLED MY EYES OUT. I know this book got at least TWO good crying sessions out of it.

And now that that's out on the table, I guess I should explain that I get ridiculously attached to fictional characters, even more so if the book is well-written. I just know a book is really good when it makes me cry, which may seem weird to some people.

Anyway, I DIGRESS.

Second time reading through? Totally different experience.

The first time I was so caught up in the book, that Alaska's death was a total shock, and the other kids' reactions were so sad, and I was so upset that they spent all that time trying to figure out what happened to her, and they were just digging themselves into deeper holes.

The second time, I knew she was dead. I knew that every day counting down was one day closer to her tragic death. I knew her death was because she was rushing to her mother's grave, because of all her pent-up guilt. It was very intriguing to catch all the little clues that led up to her death in the Before section, when they were hidden to me during my first reading.

In class, we mentioned how Miles (very maturely so, I might add) knows that he will forget all the details about Alaska that made her who she was. And it really got me thinking-- the same thing happened to me!

Yes, I remembered that she had died, and I even remembered the reasoning (in a sense) behind her death.

But I had forgotten all the little details that made Alaska so COOL. (And really, she is SO cool! Her character is absolutely amazing, and I'm so impressed that John Green created such a wonderful female character with such a fierce personality.)


For example, I had forgotten that she had 'smoked to die', that she was such a prankster, that she was a tease, despite the fact that 'she loved her boyfriend', that she smelled like vanilla and cigarettes, that she had a giant collection of books waiting for her to read, that she was such a leader, that she was so incredibly intelligent, that she lived so passionately, that Pudge was the last boy she kissed. When I was reading, and I got to remember all those special things, it hit me how much I had forgotten.

However, that was part of the fun of rereading. I got to recall all the vivid details about her and her life and her relationships. ...Maybe that's why I love rereading books so much. It's because I always plow through them so quickly that the characters escape my mind just as quickly (no matter how attached I am to them!).


Gosh, I loved this book. So much.


Ending blog... now.

Jacob Have I Loved, Esau have I hated...

Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson (same author as Bridge to Terabithia!) is classified as a 'classic' YA novel.

The question here is WHY is it a classic novel?

Well, you can most certainly say that it is classic because it has been around for almost for 30 years (it was published in 1980). But that's not really why I think it's a classic. It's a classic because of the its theme: self-discovery.

Romans 9:13 says, "As it is written, 'Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated."

Paterson got her title for the novel from this verse, because her characters mirror the twin brothers in a way. Sarah Louise, the eldest twin daughter, feels like she is constantly living in the shadow of her younger twin sister, Caroline. Caroline is the one who always steals the show and grabs all the attention, and Sarah Louise (or "Wheeze") is left alone, struggling to prove herself to the world. She has to find out what makes her unique, what makes her special. She has to separate her identity from not only her sister, but also from her friends, the rest of her family, even her home island.

She has to discover herself.

This may very well be the perfect situation to discuss this theme. Twins are always compared to one another from the day they are born, and these two girls are no exception.

But even though this is the perfect situation, isn't this the case with everybody? And don't all teenagers especially struggle with this problem?

We live in a world where its cool to be just like our peers. We follow the rules and do what we're told, so that when the time comes to live our own lives and see who we really are, it's a downright struggle! It's just so much easier to keep doing what people tell us-- what to wear, how to act, when to laugh.

We all have to find out who we are at one time or another, whether that be when we are teenagers or long after we've grown.

For me, Jacob Have I Loved was good, not great. Good classic novel, but definitely not my favorite YA novel. Not even close. (Come to think of it, I have no idea what my favorite is! I should go check my bookshelves once I'm done and see.) Granted, I haven't read that many classics, and I seem to focus on newer books. Maybe it's just that I'm not used to the style or the feel of the older books.

I did, however, plow through it. It was a very fast read (with giant font!). So yes, it was enjoyable, but I don't think I'll read it again. I don't regret reading it though. It'll be fun to see what other YA novels follow this pattern, and I'll know where exactly they got it from.

Yay for classics.

Just Speak, why don't ya?

The first YA novel I read for my class was Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Now I had always wanted to read this book. I had first heard of it when I was a freshman in high school, the same age as the protagonist. But I never had the opportunity to read it then.

I would see it almost every time I went to the bookstore to buy some new novels to read just for fun. I often picked it up, read the back cover, and put it back down. Why? Gosh, I have no idea. I would be saving it for another day.

And so finally when we had our pick for a YA novel, and my professor was passing around her copies of books, I snagged it as soon as it hit my desk, so grateful that I would finally, FINALLY read it.

Now first off, I will say that I didn't particularly LOVE this book. I most certainly enjoyed it, and I most certainly got caught up in everything that was going on (especially the excellent ending scene!). However, I didn't love it. Just liked it.

The story follows a girl, Melinda, who is just starting up her freshman year of high school. If that wasn't bad enough, she's starting her year as a hated outcast. Not even her former friends will talk with her, and some are just downright mean. Everybody came to hate her because of what she had done the summer before school started-- she called the police to break up a party.

Melinda has a secret, however, and she chooses to keep it deep inside, thinking that nobody would believe her anyway if she said it aloud.

Even though Melinda houses this deep, dark secret, she also struggles with the same things that every teenager struggles with. She struggles with dealing with her parents, she struggles with grades and school, she struggles with finding friends, she struggles with her feelings for a boy-- all things that an average teenage girl has to deal with. Every teen has challenges, and every teen has to find their voice, just like Melinda.

Everyone has to learn to speak.

Don't be embarrassed!

YA Lit really is literature! I swear!

Now, I know it's automatic instinct to be incredibly embarrassed when you're perusing the bookstore and you happen to venture into the YA section. In my experience, bookstores generally set up the YA section so it's right next to the Kids' section. And yeah, I know it's not the biggest boost of confidence when you peek over your shoulder and BAM you're staring right at the cover of The Hungry Caterpillar. But if you just stay there for just a little longer, and if you don't get too embarrassed, I promise it will be worth it. You'll find something you LOVE.

Now, I feel it's time for a little story. Sit around, listen closely.

When I was younger, I was the EXACT same way. Once I was able to move to adult clothes, shoes, books, etc., I did. Back when you're young, growing up fast is the coolest thing on the planet. You don't want to be caught dead reading the same stuff that the kids younger than you are. It's embarrassing! You want to be sophisticated, cool. I know, I've been there too.

But once I got to my sophomore (maybe junior?) year of high school, I just stopped caring about getting embarrassed. So I went to the YA lit section and discovered that it's what I really loved. And I STILL love it.

Thankfully, bookstores and publishing companies are starting to realize how awesome YA lit is, and it's really showing. The covers of books are so fun and colorful, something that's a big deal to me. Titles and covers are what attract me, and sometimes win me over. (A lot of adult books I've read have such boring covers!! How frustrating is that!) And another thing is that since YA lit has gotten more popular, there are more and more awards available. Which means there are more shiny, shiny stickers slapped onto the covers! Yay! (I'm a big sucker for shiny stickers, it seems.)

Bookstores have begun giving YA lit bigger sections in better-placed areas. The last bookstore I went to, the YA lit was smack dab in the middle in the adult section, not with the kids section.

Which deserves a big hurray.

...HURRAY!!!

Anyway, hopefully this means that both teens and adults won't be embarrassed when they wander into the YA lit section. And in all honesty, they shouldn't. Everybody can get something out of a YA lit book because everybody is on a continual journey of self-discovery, a huge theme in YA lit. Even adults are!

Which is why YA lit is good for everybody. Yes, it's the median between the child and adult, but it's more than that. It's the place where everybody can go and meet and get along and talk about books, regardless of age.

So I hope next time you're at the bookstore, you can gather your courage and cross the line into YA lit. It's a decision you won't regret.