I may be spoiled, but I’m a bit bummed that I didn’t travel this summer. It’s been 2 years since I’ve been overseas (I know, boo hoo, poor me) and I’m aching for an 8 hour plane ride. Again, I’ve been lucky in my travels, but can’t even stand to look at my friends’ pictures of their European vacations. Seriously, the green-eyed monster has got me bad. So, I’m turning to literature. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon is set in Scotland (both in the 20th and 18th centuries!) and since Scotland is one of my favorite places on Earth, I decided it may soothe my travel envy.

Outlander is the story of Claire Beauchamp Randall, a military nurse who is vacationing with her husband in the Scottish Highlands in 1945. Claire sets out on her own one day and finds herself transported back in time to 1743. I know, it sounds strange, but stay with me! Claire immediately encounters Jonathon Randall, her husband’s ancestor, who turns out to be the opposite of the hero Claire and hubby thought. His nickname is “Black Jack” and he is as terrifying as he sounds. Claire is semi-rescued by another clan and finds herself taking care of Jamie Fraser, an injured soldier. Claire’s nursing experience comes in handy and she finds herself living with the clan, tending to their wounds and developing a romance with Jamie. Read More »

Sometimes, I just need a chick-lit read. I’ve been trying to get into a whole stack of “serious” books and it’s just not happening. As summer comes to a close, I want to enjoy every second instead of working my brain into a novel I’m not really feeling. The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud has been sitting on my shelf on a while and, even though it’s sappy and predictable, I really enjoyed it!

I hate feeling like I need to justify a choice, but I think this one may garner plenty of dirty looks. After the movie version of this novel (starring none other than Zac Efron) was released a year or so back, to not-so-good reviews, the book has received some of the same undeserved flack. The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud is the story of Charlie, a man who survived a terrible accident that claimed the lives of his younger brother and dog when he was a teen. Ever since that night, Charlie has lived with not only guilt, but the haunting of his brother. Charlie takes care of the local cemetery, and every evening, goes into the woods to play catch with the ghost of his little brother. He organizes his life around this ritual, never missing a night for years. Then, Charlie meets Tess, a free-spirited sailor who wants to see the globe and everything changes. Read More »

Happy Saturday everyone! My pick this week was chosen solely because of the wild praise it received on Amazon. Even though I’m a former book snob, I’ve learned that a book with plenty of good reviews is unlikely to let me down. The book lovers of the world came through for me again and helped me land a winner with “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive” by Steve Earle.

This novel is set in the time shortly before and long after the assassination of JFK, in San Antonio. The main character, known mainly as Doc, is a former MD who has lost his license to practice. He’s also acquired a nasty drug habit and now works out of a decrepit boarding house, mostly performing illegal abortions to pay the rent and satiate himself. Not only is he haunted by drugs, but as the alleged last person to see Hank Williams alive (yes, as in Hank Williams, the country singer), Doc is haunted by his ghost. Throw in Doc’s latest patient, an illegal immigrant by the name of Graciela, who ends up possessing strange, healing powers and a whole cast of quirky cameos and you’ve got the basic plotline.

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I hope you’re still enjoying your summer! I’ve been spending as much time as possible outside, soaking up the rays so my pale skin can get even the slightest hint of a tan. That also means I’ve been devouring novels, in lots of different genres, and wanted to share one of the stand-outs with you.

Imaginary Girls is the story of two sisters: Ruby and Chloe. Ruby is older and the typical girl everyone wants to be or be with. She’s captivating, but also dark and mysterious. Chloe looks up to her big sister and totally emulates her, going so far as to be blind to her Ruby’s shortcomings. One evening, Chloe is hanging out with Ruby and her friends at the reservoir, when Ruby dares Chloe to swim across it. In the middle of it, Chloe discovers the body of London Hayes, her classmate, floating in the water. As a result of this, Chloe is whisked away to live with her father in another state. She desperately misses Ruby and 2 years after moving, ends up making her way back. However, the reunion with Ruby isn’t exactly what Chloe imagined and as she delves deeper into the secrets Ruby has been keeping, the image of her perfect big sister begins to unravel.

I picked this up because of the beautiful cover. I’ll admit, despite the fact that you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, I usually do. The picture is stunning and doesn’t get any less stunning the more I look at it on my nightstand. But besides the cover, the book it holds is equally stunning! Nova Ren Suma has written a completely magical thriller. Even though this is labeled teen fiction, it’s so outside the realm of any teen fiction I’ve ever read (in a GREAT way!). You really never know what Ruby is actually up to or actually thinking. She is an incredibly complex character, but one that just jumps of the pages. Read More »

I hope you have all been enjoying the summer weather! Whenever I have an hour to relax, I’ve been curling up with a good book and a cool drink. After reading lots of chick lit and teen fiction, I felt like diving into a mystery and The Jefferson Key by Steve Berry totally delivered.

Steve Berry is a master of mystery and has written tones of novels in the genre. The Jefferson Key is the latest of his most popular series, featuring agent Cotton Malone. Just a note: as in most mystery series, you really don’t have to read any of the previous books to enjoy or follow The Jefferson Key. Remember how everyone read The Da Vinci Code and then Angels and Demons, even though A&D took place before The Da Vinci Code? Same thing going on here.

The Jefferson Key starts off with an attempt on the life of President Andrew Jackson and then quickly moves forward in time to an attempt at modern-day President Danny Daniels. Cotton Malone is luckily able to thwart the would-be assassination and, from there, is dragged into the world of the Commonwealth, a band of privateers (basically fancy pirates) who have been operating since the American Revolution. Berry adds a few intelligence agencies, all with different motives, into the mix and interesting historical facts along the way serve as the cherry on top! Obviously, I don’t want to go into too much of the plot, but trust me, it’s great!

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If you were between the ages of 11 and 16 around 2001, I’ll bet you’ve read the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. It’s become somewhat of a YA classic and is revered by many of my friends as their favorite book. Around the time that this series was popular, I had 3 best friends and we all related to one character in the book, which was so much fun. However, as often happens, you grow apart from your high school friends, especially after four years at different universities. You make different friends, you get boyfriends and pretty soon, you have nothing in common. I don’t know about you, but for me it’s been pretty hard to maintain these friendships when you don’t run in the same circles and have nothing to say except “So, what’s new?” Mimicking my own growth, Ann Brashares has come out with the final chapter in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants saga- Sisterhood Everlasting- which features the four friends 10 years later.

The book begins by introducing you to each of the girls’ new lives. Carmen is a semi-famous actress and now a size 0. She lives in New York City with her fiance, Jones, and is obsessed with her iPhone. Tibby has run off to Australia with Brian and hasn’t kept in touch at all. Lena is an art instructor and spends her time with Drew, a sandwich-maker who she isn’t really interested in, but he’s better than no one. And Bridget is still her free-spirited self, with nothing steady in her life except Eric, her longtime boyfriend who supports them both. All 4 girls miss their friendship and close bond and hope is renewed when each receives a plane ticket from Tibby to meet at Lena’s grandparents house in Greece. They all set off, looking forward to getting their friendship back on track, but a tragedy so unthinkable shakes them to the core and sends them on a tailspin that tests them like nothing yet.

I’m not going to say any more about the story line of the book. I don’t want to accidentally hint at anything, because I think the surprises are what hit your the hardest in this one. However, I will say that this book could not have come at a more perfect time in my life.

At the core of this, and all the Traveling Pants books, is friendship. The boyfriends, the careers and even family all come second to this unbreakable bond between 4 girls. I’ll admit that my priorities have become slightly skewed in recent years and I’ve put school before everything and then fit the other aspects of my life into that, often leaving friendship for dead last. Like I said, it’s so hard to maintain something with someone who you have nothing in common with except each other. This book takes me back to when my friends meant everything to me and makes me nostalgic for the simplicity of high school. It makes me appreciate the good friends I have and remember great times with friends of my past.

Ann is a wonderful writer and I feel like she finished off the series perfectly. She tied up all the loose ends for each girl, often in the happiest way possible. I finished this book feeling satisfied with the direction of each girl and a little bit more at peace with myself. No matter what happens, true friends are there for you and even if you reconnect 10 years down the line, things will be like they always were.

I was totally honored to interview Libba Bray this week about her new book, Beauty Queens. Check out the hilarious interview and review at the bottom!

Alex: So what was the inspiration behind Beauty Queens?

Libba: Well it was kind of funny because it was different than anything I’ve written before in that . David Levithan who is an amazing author and also an editor at Scholastic is a really good friend of mine and year’s ago he called me up and said, “I have this crazy idea for a book, but I think you should write it. Let’s talk about it over lunch.” Well, pretty much the minute you mention food, I’m so there. Because I’m really that easy. So, I was like, you’re going to buy me a burrito? I’m yours! So we went and had lunch and he said, “Okay, here’s the pitch: a plane-load of teen beauty queens crash on an island. What can you do with that?” And I thought, oh my god, I would kill to write that book! But I was under contract to write two more books and had other things to do, so I put it aside for a few years. In the meantime, I became aware of a lot of misagonistic things in our culture. One day I was at the 7-11, where all my great ideas come, waiting for the icey machine and I saw the tabloid stories. I saw that every single cover had something like “Is so-and-so dating so-and-so?” or “Angelina’s beauty secrets and perfect body two weeks after baby!” There wasn’t one with “Beyonce is at the top of the Forbes list and makes awesome new record”. It was all that reductive stuff. And I thought, why is this going on now? What is happening at this moment in time that is so limiting for women? So I wanted to explore that. And  I wanted to explore what it is to grow up female in this society.

A: So you’re tackling women growing up in this superficial kind of world?

L: Even more than that. It’s also about the ways in which we passively accept limitations that are put on women. Because sometimes it’s so superficial. Women are judged on how they look; it’s their currency. But it’s also all the subtle messages that are directed at us, say from the beauty industry. I always say you need to follow the economics of it. There are corporations that make billions of dollars off of women and they have a vested interest in you staying insecure. And listen, I love me some lipstick. You will pry my MAC Viva Glam Lipstick  from my cold, dead hands. If you ever really deconstruct those messages like “Is your skin looking tired?”or “Cellulite got you down?”, you see it just feeds on itself. And they start to get to worry about things you never even thought to worry about! Do I have cellulite on my knees?! I don’t know – now I’m paranoid! They make money off of that because they can sell you a product. You can buy them anyways, but it’s just about being aware of that. And there’s the deeper stuff to be aware of. Having our rights taken away – that’s something to really be aware of. It’s really important to be aware of what’s going on in politics and disagree and fight back. It’s everything from the superficial and insidious to the really important stuff. You may want to be aware of all these things and then make your decisions.

A: If you were stranded on a desert island like the heroines in Beauty Queens, what 3 things would you bring?

L: Clearly, some snacks and some water because I really like my snacks and I don’t want to die of dehydration. My joke is that I live in New York City and I’m so used to calling someone to bring me burrito, so I would spend the first two days on the island punching imaginary numbers into a tree phone asking, “Hi, what’s your delivery zone?” Toilet paper – just saying. And then a boat-building manual so I could get myself off that island as fast as possible. I’m not sure I’d survive, I’d probably be giant snake food.

A: Wow the boat-building manual is a good idea. No one ever says that!

L: I can barely put together an Ikea chair so it might no be a very sea-worthy craft, but I could try!

A: Which of the Miss Teen Dreamers is your favourite and why?

L: I loved writing all of them, but the character that surprised me the most was probably Miss Texas, Taylor Renee Krystal Hawkins. In a way I fell victim to my own trap. People have pre-conceived notions about these girls and I wanted to start with sterotypes and then subvert them. So I let you think what you wanted and then midway through, whoa, you’re wrong! There’s more to this girl. But she was the one who surprised me the most, especially when I figured out her backstory. She has a lot of interesting vulnerabilities about her and also, she kicks some serious butt. That was really fun to write.

A: Did you find yourself laughing out loud writing Beauty Queens? Seriously, lines like “ his most trusted advisor is a taxidermied former pet named General Good Times”! Where does that come from!?

L: I’m really that weird. Someone who read my last book, Going Bovine, was like where did you come up with that? And that was my answer – I’m really that weird. Sometimes I don’t think I’m that weird and people let me know that, no, no you ARE that weird. That’s how my brain works. Like what is he has a stuff lemur named General Good Times and he has Silent Killah written on his pyjamas! And then everybody kind of moves away from me and won’t let me have anymore sugar.

A: Well I loved Going Bovine!

L: Thank you! See, you wouldn’t take the sugar away from me, would you, Alex?! Growing up on an awful lot of Monty Python and Mad Magazine and Mel Brooks had a part.

A: What would your talent be if you were to compete in a pageant?

L: Oh my gosh! I feel like I should have a ridiculous talent! Oh man, that is such a good question and you would think I would have thought about that! I know – I can sing an ABBA medley! It might not be a good talent, but I would go down trying.

A: Would you have a nice disco outfit on?

L: Oh for sure! I can see the white fringe already, Fernando. SOS Dancing Queen! And some serious platforms too. And lots of dramatic posing.

A: I think you would blow the judges away!

L: Or they might try to medicate me before the Top 10.

A: When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?

L: There was a very serious moment actually. I had no idea that I was going to be a writer, even thought I was writing through my childhood and adolescence. I just never thought about it. And then, when I was 18, I had a really serious car accident. I demolished my face, I had to have to kind of re-built over a period of years. And I lost my left eye. This was the summer before I went to college, so a particularly sucky time to have this happen. My first year of college was the worst year of my life. I had some surgery done, but I felt broken on the inside as well as the outside. It was a really awful, rough year. As a graduation gift from high school, someone had given me this little, yellow journal. And I began to write down everything. It was sort of my lifeline. Everything that I felt I couldn’t say out loud, all those thoughts of feelings were written down. And it saved me. I say it with all sincerity that I know writing can save your life because it saved mine. That was it! At first, it was a way to stay alive and then eventually it became pretty empowering. I enjoyed the writing for it’s own sake and looked forward to writing in that journal. Then I started thinking that I kind of liked it. That was the beginning. I transferred to the University of Texas, down in Austin and a friend of mine asked me to write a monologue for a show that he was doing. I did and he said it was really good and asked if I had ever thought about writing a whole play. So that was what sparked it and made it happen.

A: You won the Printz Award for one of my favourite books, Going Bovine. How did that feel? Was that your “I made it” moment?

L: I don’t think there’s ever an “I made it” moment because there’s always another book. And every time you sit down to write that book it’s like “Wait! I don’t know how to write a book! You can’t make me do this!” And it was such an amazing feeling. I was so blown away and so surprised. Part of it is that I always wrote these really weird things and to have the weirdest thing I ever wrote and have someone say, “We really like this book and we get it” was such an amazing moment. I really am so grateful to the Printz committee. And then you know what? The next day I had to get up and start working on the next book.

A: What’s your favorite book? Like all-time, forever and ever.

L: Oh! That’s so hard! You’re cruel! Maybe Charlotte’s Web. If it was just an adult book I would pick The Hotel Newhampshire by John Irving. But you know, there’s something about that book that you read as a child. I read it on my own when I was like 8 maybe and I felt like I entered that world so completely that I felt like I was Fern and I was Wilbur and I was Charlotte. And I sobbed at the end! It took me somewhere. It did all those things that great books do. It was transformative.

A: We are College Candy, do you have any advice for college-age women?

L: I was such a mess at that age so you can’t possibly be more of a mess than I was! Getting back to what this book is about, it’s important to figure out who you are and that’s a lifelong process that’s hard work. But it’s ultimately rewarding! It’s good to just be aware of the messages we’re pummeled with all the time and see if you can kind of step outside of that. I always say that the hardest question for girls and women to ask themselves, because we’re not trained to ask this, is, “What do I want?”. We’re trained to think about what we want after we’ve satisfied everyone else’s expectations or think about what we can have. It’s absolutely fine and good to ask yourself what you want and go for it. It’s so easy to talk yourself out of going for it, but you know what man? Go for it! Why not? That’s one of those things in the “Do-over” column. If I could go back and just say to myself, “That guy – he’s an asshole” or “This person’s wrong” and to just stay the course. Go for what you want, ask for what you want. And if somebody says no, keep going until you find someone who says yes! Or make whatever adjustments you need to make. It’s so easy for us to back off. Don’t be obnoxious; don’t come in and say, “Give me what I want or I will fire-bomb your house!” but just keep going.

A: What are you working on now? Can you give us any hints?

L: I can! I’m working on the first book of a 4-book series called The Diviners. It’s a supernatural historical set in 1920’s New York. So full of flappers and jazz and things that go bump in the night. I say it’s sort of like F. Scott Fitzgerald meets The X-Files. There’s my pitch! And of course, when I sat down to write it I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. I was like, “Are you sure I’ve written 5 books?! Really?!” I tell you, these words, they’re not cooperating. Somehow it will make a book-shaped object at some point.

Libba Bray is a literary goddess. Seriously, I cannot believe the breath of this women’s YA work! She jumped on the scene with the supernatural fiction that is A Great and Terrible Beauty (and it’s 2 sequels), then blew me away with Going Bovine (see the review here) and is now back with a hilarious romp, Beauty Queens.

Beauty Queens is a satire. As in, super duper sarcastic. The story begins when a plane of teen beauty pageant contestants (aka the Miss Teen Dreamers) crash land on a desert island. The book follows their hilarious adventures as they try to survive, all while maintaining perfect pageant poise. However, there is a second story-line at work involving a secret government arms mission!

While the story of Beauty Queens is certainly a unique and interesting one, it’s really the humor that gets you and makes this book worth the read. I read this book on the deck of my boyfriend’s cottage and was absolutely embarrassing. Snorting away, my stomach hurt from laughing so hard! Libba’s sense of humor is demented (in a VERY good way) and I couldn’t believe the material that she came up with. And the book has a strong message of feminism while being beyond funny. It tackles some tough themes and really shows you that beauty is more than skin deep, highlighting how difficult it is to live as a female in our society. While this book is marketed as a comedy, it’s an important social commentary as well!

Beauty Queens is a great summer read. Not only will it provide pure entertainment, it sends a good message and will make you think critically about all the media that’s constantly pushed in your direction. I highly recommend it!

Summer is here (or almost here for some of you!) and that means breaking out the fun, beachy reads. You know – chick lit, young adult, etc. Who can focus on a tough read when they’re at the beach and there is so much scenery to take in? And by scenery, I mean half-naked men playing beach volleyball and rolling around in the sand. For days like this, I turn to my favorite YA and chick lit authors, and lucky for me, Meg Cabot has just released a new book that totally fits the bill.

Abandon is the story of Pierce Oliviera, a 17-year-old girl who has been moved to Isla Huesos, her mother’s hometown off the coast of Florida. She’s had some issues at her previous school and her mother has decided that the best thing for her is a fresh start. However, Pierce’s past and one mysterious boy, John, seem to be following her to Isla Huesos and making the whole “starting over” thing a little bit impossible.

Pierce met John the day the she died. Yes, you read that right, Pierce has died before. She was eventually revived and lived to tell the tale, but her run-in with John forever changed her life. Like the myth of Hades and Persephone that this novel was loosely based on, John wants Pierce to live with him, in the underworld. I know, it seems kind of cheesy and weird if you’re not familiar with the myth, but I appreciate Cabot’s efforts to pave a new way in the bogged down genre of paranormal young adult fiction. It’s not about vampires (thank god), but instead draws on ancient Greek religion (really interesting stuff) and I really respect her effort.

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The Passage was originally released last year and maintained its hardcover form for quite a while, so I had to pass. It wasn’t the price that bothered me – I can handle the occasional $15 book – it was the weight! At almost 800 pages, the hardcover version of The Passage weighs at least a couple of pounds and is definitely not purse or travel friendly (no matter how large the bag!) I don’t like to be restricted by my reading material, especially when I’m that girl who constantly hauls around a book to the gym, in her purse, etc. Needless to say, I jumped for joy when I saw that The Passage was finally being released in trade paperback form on May 17th.

The Passage is a vampire novel, but stands alone in this bogged-down genre. Instead of telling a love story between vampire and human or recalling an epic battle that has been secretly raging for centuries between vampire clans, The Passage takes a scientific approach. It begins with the story of Amy, a little girl abandoned by her mother and taken by FBI agent Brad Wolgast to become part of a top-secret experiment. However, a myriad of things go terribly wrong and the experiments (vampires!) escape and begin the destruction of the known world. Wolgast escapes with Amy and, as time goes on, it becomes clear that Amy may be the key to stopping the vampires.

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Emma Forrest’s “Your Voice in My Head” was just released on Tuesday. This book is a memoir and, as Emma perfectly put it, a duet. Emma has struggled with mental illness since her teens, but isn’t diagnosed until she winds up on Dr. R’s doorstep after a failed suicide attempt. She credits Dr. R with her recovery, but when he suddenly passes away from cancer, she realizes how little she knows about this man who saved her life.

Emma sets out to write a biography of Dr. R, but along the way she weaves in her story and discovers herself. She takes the reader through her life as a teenage journalist in Britain, her struggle with mental illness and recovery through Dr. R in New York and, of course, relationships along the way, including falling in love with one of the world’s biggest movie stars (who she calls her Gypsy Husband). All make for not only an interesting and engaging read, but one that really pulls at the heartstrings.

There aren’t enough positive words in the English language to describe this book. Staggering, beautiful, a true work of art. Every time I picked Your Voice in My Head up, I felt like I was catching up with up with an old friend. When she told about funny things, I laughed. And I cried when I shared in her sorrows. The candidness with which Emma wrote the memoir really makes it so wonderful and easy to get attached to. It’s not often that I’m genuinely sad when I finish a book, but I was when I had to put Your Voice in My Head on my bookshelf.

Everyone should read this book. I think college-age girls (or people of any age, really) will gain tremendous insight and perspective into the important things in life. Emma is wise beyond her years and so strong, and I think we can all learn some from this exemplary woman!

I was lucky enough to interview the lovely Brit about the book and her interesting life. Check it out! Read More »