Blog Post: Our Newest Seasonal Flavor: Betrayal

We've moved on from the old material with its bad guys, mustachioed villains, red-eyed demons. Jack the Ripper, who murdered people. Team Rocket, so intent on ruining Ash's quest for more Pokemon. Swiper from Dora the Explorer. Even in the Harry Potter series, there was no question that Voldemort was evil. Though he's set apart from the flatter antagonists because his life story is actually explained, he is still the person to defeat, the person beyond redemption. But lately, things have changed. Young adult authors are beginning to employ a new technique in their writing: betrayal.

Perhaps it first started with Paradise Lost, when we saw things from Satan's point of view and realized that maybe even the most canonical of villains can be a soul crying to be saved. The idea has evolved since then, obviously. While before, villains were made from people with dark pasts and twisted ideas, nowadays authors are experimenting with friends, family, lovers. The more intimate the relationship is, the better the betrayal. A popular example would be Jace from Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments. Those of us who are committed to his relationship with Clary, our protagonist, were crying for him as we watched his struggle between joining his father and being with the girl he loved. It happened again in City of Fallen Angels, except this time the puppet master was a different person. Although it was almost the same formula, people were on tenterhooks waiting, fearing what this new Jace would do. Dimitri, from Vampire Academy. We desperately grabbed onto those moments when he locked Rose up but didn't kill her, ignoring the fact that he pretty much became a crazy stalker. What about Patch, from Hush, Hush? A complete dick, to be sure, and he never made it clear whose side he was working on. But there was something strangely enticing about him, so that even as he kissed other girls and went behind Nora's back, we melted every time he showed up in her dreams or looked at her.

These situations all have something in common. The books I've chosen as examples all have love stories. Majestic, passionate love stories that easily sweep readers right along with them. These couples go through so much together, from fist fights to deaths to sex. And that's what makes the betrayal cut so much deeper. How can someone capable of so much love end up doing such horrible things? And that's exactly what makes them so redeemable. All these guys are amazing. Sweet, strong, utterly masculine, yet with such disturbing pasts that our pity is roused. It's fun. It is undeniably fun to take an inspiring love story and twist it to prove how far this frail notion of love can stretch. Why do you think there are so many retellings of epic love stories? Now Romeo wants to assassinate Juliet (Juliet Immortal) and the Big Bad Wolf is one sexy motherfucker (Scarlet). So far, the couples come back together stronger than ever. 

YA is a rapidly evolving genre. At some point, readers got tired of reading about one person battling the forces of evil. So authors decided to give them a mate, and the two of them could battle while exploring their sexual attention. When that got old, too, authors decided, it's obviously not enough for the protagonist to be battling some blatantly evil characters. Why not have her fight someone she loves too? It's a great turn of events that suddenly adds so many pages to a story. Not only does she now have to defeat the forces of evil, the protagonist must also convert her man back to humanity without killing him. It's easy to read about someone murdering a bad guy because, hey, he deserved it, right? But never would you condone the murder of someone you've seen in his moments of weakness and passion, the way we saw Jace, Dimitri, and countless others. The best authors insert a measure of humanity into their characters that it cripples us so that we can't think clearly. Of course he's evil. Of course he kills people. Of course he has blood on his hands. But I can't let him die, I just can't. 

And so this is an interesting plot development. At its best, we're thrown onto an emotional rollercoaster where we can never be quite sure as to someone's salvation. At its worst, it's a twist and another way for the story to go. Betrayal adds another layer to stories so that they're not so black and white anymore, and that's the reader's worst fear and the author's greatest advantage. A story where the boundaries are smeared and characters' intentions are never quite transparent is a story that retains its mystery and encourages people to keep reading. It's also an opportunity for there to be immense character development. I know I'm hoping to see how Alina is changed after the battle in Siege & Storm. I'm not saying that somebody must be stabbed in the back for a story to be a success. Just look how interesting Harry Potter is, even when we know all along who he's going against. In no way do I believe Hush, Hush is a work of art, and that's probably because it overdoses completely on making Patch a confusing combination of good and evil. If you ask me, I'm still waiting for the day that an author decides to take a fan favorite and keep him evil forever. 

Blog Post: Calling All Readers!

This really has nothing to do with anything at all, but since it is related to reading and appreciating fiction, I think I'll throw it out there.

If any of you have heard of FictionPress, you'll know that it's a site where many authors start out. S.J. Maas first posted Throne of Glass on there, although she called it Queen of Glass instead. The feedback she got was part of the motivation for her to get her book published. S.C. Stephens also first introduced Thoughtless there.

There are so many other beautiful stories on FictionPress, and the wonderful thing about the authors on there is that they don't feel any need to fit into a particular category or to cater to the masses because they aren't writing for fame or royalties. They're writing because they want to hear what curious readers have to say about their work, and they're writing for themselves. Obviously I can't speak for the general masses, but most of us don't write because we want to become authors. We write because we already are authors and because we have stories we want the world to know.

While it can be annoying sometimes to sift through the piles of not-so-good stories on FictionPress (one of the disadvantages is that bad grammar is rampant), there's also that breathless sensation when a story captures your attention. I've spent many a night under my pillow, reading late into the night because I was desperate to know what happened next. I was struck by the poignancy of the stories there, of the intense love and fanaticism that they encouraged.

I wanted to encourage people to visit FictionPress, to try it out, whether it be reading or writing. If you're out of books or just want a change but don't want to deal with the bad stories that could be clogging up the website, and you love romance like me, try out the SKoW website. Also known as Some Kind of Wonderful Awards, it revolves around stories that stand out in multiple categories, from best MC portrayal to Best Breakout Author. They've just started a new round of nominations, so many fresh stories will probably be popping up. And maybe after you've read all the stories on there, you can try to find your own hidden gems on FictionPress. Trust me, there are many, though you have to search for them.

Blog Post: A Discourse on Male/Female POVs

The YA world is one that is constantly changing as authors try to escape the norm and experiment with newer ideas. Whether these ideas are of any merit, however, is still up in the air. One of them, the subject of this blog post, is the idea of alternating male/female POVs. Usually, these points of view are from the main characters of the book: the girl saving the world and her love interest, or vice versa. Most times, it's the girl who's saving the world, though (feminists unite!).

The reason for this is that the authors experimenting with this sort of writing are almost always female. I know we've all had those moments reading books from only the female perspective where we wonder what the guy is thinking. I especially had that moment towards the end of Siege & Storm by Leigh Bardugo, when I was desperate to know what Mal was thinking and whether his feelings towards Alina remained the same, etc. Many authors write for their audiences, and when their audiences are dying to know what the guy is going through in parallel with the girl, they're happy to oblige. Whether they do it well is another thing altogether.

Alternating POVs are a double-edged sword. You want to keep the reader interested, but you don't want their interest to only lie with one character and make the thoughts of the other character obsolete. You also don't want to make your two characters sound the same or throw in a ton of irrelevant stuff that could've easily been covered with just one character. The best alternating perspectives build suspense, and gives each character an individuality that couldn't be seen with just one voice. You wouldn't think it given the frequency with which alternating POVs are popping up in fiction, but they're much, much harder to write than books with one lead. Think about all the effort gone into a main character: their quirks, their flaws, their background, how they're going to develop through the plot, how they react to their circumstances. Now multiply that by two (or three, or four, or God forbid, five like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which actually wasn't a bad book). And that's only having separate characters. If one of the characters is a male, well, the problem is compounded.

While this may be sexist, males and females do have different ways of thinking. Feel free to interpret that however you want, but it's true. They handle their problems in different ways, and if an author writing a male adopts a female perspective, readers will notice. Take Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover, for example. I couldn't connect Will's actions to anything a man of his age and maturity would do. His affection is smothering, he's too desperate, and at one point, he locks himself in his girlfriend's bedroom so she can't kick him out of the house. I know guys don't show all the things they're thinking, but that doesn't mean their brains work the same way that women's do. In Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma, Lochan's and Maya's thoughts could easily be mixed and confused for one another, although that detracted nothing from the whirlwind of angst in that book. When women write from male perspectives, the men usually end up being more sentimental. Rarely have I seen success, although Cassius from Anna Dressed in Blood is a pretty good depiction of the average male, who thinks about attractive women but also dedicates a lot of his brain space to killing and other mundane things. And the thing is, after reading the male perspective, do you really respect the lead's love interest the same way? I know after reading Will's POV in Point of Retreat and Perri's in Into the Never Sky that the guy just doesn't hold the same sort of appeal. In Into the Never Sky, I was still interested in Perri's story, but his intrigue was gone. For me, I prefer glimpses, not a full-on striptease of a guy's character, such as it is with Akiva in Daughter of Smoke & Bone and Gansey in The Raven Boys. What I don't like are guys like Sam from Shiver and Day from Legend, who completely overdo the meaning of sensitive. 

In conclusion, I admire authors who can make two completely different characters and alternate stories between them without getting them confused. But I also greatly admire authors who go the normal route and tell a beautiful story from just one perspective. Either way can be successful, but there may be many more pitfalls associated with the former, especially when a writer is experimenting with opposite sexes. Women tend to overdramatize the males they write, although male authors so far don't seem to have this problem with their female main characters. A part of that may be attributed to the fact that the girls in YA fantasy/dystopian/post-apocalyptic novels nowadays need to rely on their strength and handiness with weapons and warfare to survive. But both male and female writers can write bad characters. It comes down to knowing strengths and learning from weakness. A true writer is someone who can put him/herself into the mindset of anyone.

Blog Post: New Year's Readsolution

Now that we've all successfully weathered the apocalypse, it's time for us to welcome a new year! There's no telling what 2013 has in store, but I already have a couple books that I'm looking forwards to reading! But before I get to that, I'm going to first cover some of the best books I've read in 2012.  

1. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
This was beautifully written, and it has an exotic tinge to it that made me want to  go backpacking in South America with a cute boy, too. Besides that, there are pictures! When was the last time you got to have a book with pictures and still get to call it a grown-up book? I haven't run into one of these since Illustrated Classics.

Quote:  "Wanderlust is like itchy feet. It’s when you can’t settle down. But Wanderlove is much deeper than that . . . it’s a compulsion. It’s the difference between lust and love."

2. Angelfall by Susan Ee
  Most avid YA readers have probably already been privy to the hype that is Angelfall, but this is one of the books that I think is totally worth it. The ending is gut-wrenching, and it's dark but humorous at the same time. A couple days ago, I was driving home and saw the exit for Penryn, and I thought about this book. I think if some disturbing apocalypse of angels ever came to the Silicon Valley, I'd have to get a glimpse of Raffe before I got destroyed.

Quote: “I never kid about my warrior demigod status."

3. If I Lie by Corrine Jackson

I have to admit that I'm not such a fan of war stories, just because I like a little light-heartedness in the books I read. I took a chance with this book, and I'm really glad I did. What surprised me was how beautifully it was written. The prose really lends itself to the painful flashbacks that Quinn experiences, and the book has the sort of bittersweet message that depressed me yet satisfied me at the same time.

Quote: I wonder how much shame people can hold before they ignite.

4. Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor
I was already a fan of the magical world that Taylor had created in the first book of this series, but not so much of the relationship between Akiva and Karou. This book changed all of that, both because Taylor maintains the magic of her writing but also drives home a painful message about war and redemption. I'm on tenterhooks waiting for the third book to be released!

Quote: A dream dirty and bruised is better than no dream at all.

5. Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
This was a book that convinced me there must be something in the water that Aussie writers drink, and that I needed to get my hands on it. I really loved the descriptions of Ed's art and the fleetingness of that one night he and Lucy spend together. It definitely captured all the ephemeral magic in one adventurous night.

 Quote: If you treat glass right, it doesn't crack. If you know the properties, you can make things; the color of dusk and night and love. But you can't control people like that and I really, really wish you could. I want the world to be glass.

Those are some of the highlights for 2012, at least for me. These are the books I'm anticipating for 2013:

1. That Time I Joined the Circus by J. J. Howard

 A music-obsessed, slightly snarky New York City girl, Lexi is on her own. After making a huge mistake—and facing a terrible tragedy— Lexi has no choice but to track down her long-absent mother. Rumor has it that Lexi’s mom is somewhere in Florida with a traveling circus.

When Lexi arrives at her new, three-ring reality, her mom isn’t there…but her destiny might be. Surrounded by tigers, elephants, and trapeze artists, Lexi finds some surprising friends and an even more surprising chance at true love. She even lucks into a spot as the circus’s fortune teller, reading tarot cards and making predictions.

But then Lexi’s ex-best friend from home shows up, and suddenly it’s Lexi’s own future that’s thrown into question…

With humor, wisdom, and a dazzlingly fresh voice, this debut reminds us of the magic of circus tents, city lights, first kisses, last heartaches, and the importance of an excellent playlist.

2. Pantomime by Laura Lam

R. H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass—remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone—are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimaera is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide.

Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star.

But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada.

3. Pivot Point by Kasie West

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

4. Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt 

When Mallory discovers that her boyfriend, Jeremy, is cheating on her with an online girlfriend, she swears off boys. She also swears off modern technology. Inspired by a list of goals her grandmother made in 1962, Mallory decides to "go vintage" and return to a simpler time (when boyfriends couldn't cheat on you online). She sets out to complete grandma's list: run for pep club secretary, host a dinner party, sew a homecoming dress, find a steady, do something dangerous. But the list is trickier than it looks. And obviously finding a steady is out . . . no matter how good Oliver (Jeremy's cousin) smells. But with the help of her sister, she'll get it done. Somehow.

5. What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick (cover pending)

17-year-old Gwen Castle's Biggest Mistake Ever, Cassidy Somers, is slumming it as a yard boy on her Nantucket-esque island this summer. He's a rich kid from across the bridge in Stony Bay, and she hails from a family of fishermen and housecleaners who keep the island's summer people happy.

Gwen worries a life of cleaning houses will be her fate too, but just when it looks like she'll never escape her past—or the island—Gwen's dad gives her a tip: her wealthy, elderly employer is redoing her will this summer, and that could be Gwen's ticket to the good life. But what will it mean for Gwen’s now life?

Sparks fly and secret histories unspool as Gwen spends a gorgeous, restless summer struggling to resolve what she thought was true—about the place she lives, the people she loves, and even herself—with what really is.

6. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Danger intensifies for the Shadowhunters as the New York Times bestselling Infernal Devices trilogy comes to a close.

If the only way to save the world was to destroy what you loved most, would you do it?

The clock is ticking. Everyone must choose.

Passion. Power. Secrets. Enchantment.

Danger closes in around the Shadowhunters in the final installment of the bestselling Infernal Devices trilogy.

Hmm, I noticed that there's a bit of a circus theme going on... These books all look like they're loads of fun, and I'm hoping this upwards trend in beautiful cover art will continue into next year. What are you all waiting to read in 2013? 

Blog Post: The Search for Love

I'm looking for love. The sort of grand, majestic, sweeping love that comes through the most subtle of gestures and the simple locking of eyes. Love that isn't contrived and superficial. The sort of love that Elizabeth and Darcy have, based on witty comebacks and mutual acceptance. I'm so sick of people believing that love isn't love until there's an entire world based on whether a relationship fails, or something is always keeping two people apart, be it the main character's irritating case of insecurity or the guy's desire to "protect" her from him.

But that's what comprises all the books I've been reading recently. There's a multitude of young adult novels out there, from post-apocalyptic to fantasy. Every time, there's an entire civilization hanging in balance, screwed over by the main characters. Since when were a pair of stupid teenagers responsible for the fate of mankind? I think that's when the world will really be over. It's been a long time since I've read a book that's made me feel invested in the relationship, where I was cheering for them instead of hoping for one of them to die and put me out of my misery. Worse, there hasn't been a relationship that hasn't felt contrived, begun because of good looks or enigmatic smiles. I'm not saying all books are that bad; some are, but others do it better. But better doesn't mean anything. Better might mean that the characters get to know each other before declarations of love. Even if they do, there's still a lack of chemistry. I don't know if it's because I've become more cynical, that I can't accept this definition of love anymore.

When I think of examples of great love, I think of Pride & Prejudice, Angelfall, and Blood Red Road. When you think of Pride & Prejudice, it's not that complicated. It's the simple story of a girl with a crazy family who hates a wealthy man because of misunderstandings and his own warped sense of chivalry but learns to love him. There aren't any wars or blood shed, but I was excited for every moment they shared a moment, just because there were so few of them. In Angelfall and BRR, the love takes a backseat to the conflict going on. You can have a plot revolve around love, but there are few who can do it without making it seem cloying and obsessive. There are more important things than love sometimes, but what's important is that there's someone in the end, someone with whom you have an attraction beyond that of physical. Sure, the chemistry must be there, but there has to be other things that advances it beyond lust. And that's what's missing in books like Hush, Hush or Fallen or Gravity. They're books that are detailed by an ongoing dance between love interests that aren't sure whether to trust each other and are vulnerable because of their own crippling insecurity.

Anyway, this is one of my random blog posts where I just wanted to get annoyed because I haven't read a book that's actually kept me interested in the relationship. Call me a sappy romantic, but I like a good love story to go along with the plot. Authors know to deliver on the love story part, but not the good. I want a good love story, dammit. Is that so much to ask?

Blog Post: Crying in Fiction

I don't normally write blog posts about a certain issue in young adult literature, but there's been something I keep coming across that I feel needs to be brought up. And that is the issue in books written from a female's perspective nowadays that always seem to favor a certain action to outlet emotion. 

If you hadn't guessed already from my Audrey Hepburn gif (she's probably the only one who can make crying look pretty and sophisticated), this action is crying. 

I don't have an issue with crying. It's a great way for me to let out frustrations, and it's true: I do feel better afterwards. But what I can't handle is it being a constant in books, something that an author resorts to because he/she can't find any other appropriate way of showing how a character is feeling. 

My first experience with the female's consistent resort to waterworks appeared in Die for Me by Amy Plum. The first time Kate (the main character) cried, I shrugged it off. Sure, it was a wimpy way to deal with the situation, but I'm not living in a paranormal setting with the guy I'm interested in dying left and right to save people. So she had a reason. Sort of. 

The second time, I grimaced a little. But I kept reading. But this is the section that really did me in: 

What do you do after reading the most romantic love letter--the only love letter, for that matter--you've ever received? I walked over to the bed and, climbing up onto its high mattress, sat down beside Vincent's body. I cupped his cold face with my warm hand and then, stroking his hair with my fingers, began to cry.

This pissed me off. Majorly. It implies that crying is the only way for women to express their emotions, and that just is not true. How many times did I have to deal with Kate's eyes "welling with tears" or some other variation of crying, just because she didn't know what to say, or she was too overcome with love?

Crying is a sacred thing. I'm not joking about this. Crying is something that we should be ashamed of doing, because it makes us vulnerable in front of others, and vulnerability is something we shouldn't parade in front of people. But YA authors are overdoing it to the point that it's not vulnerable, but rather weak and pathetic. There's a difference.

What I despise even more is when authors write main characters who are supposed to be strong but end up crying every time the male lead or someone else says something a little sharp. Take the book I'm currently reading, Catching Jordan, for example. Jordan is supposed to be this tough football player, and her position as the only female on her team makes her hardened to the ways of the sport and guys in general. But enter hot guy Ty and her sudden realization that she's in love with her best friend, and she's crying all over the place, skipping practice, skipping school. Gone are all the principles that she set for herself; instead, she has retreated into a weak shell, and nearly every time she talks to someone, it ends in tears.

I get into my truck and slam the door shut and bang my forehead on the steering wheel. Through my tears, out of the corner of my eye, I see Ty come back, and he and Henry start yelling at one another outside my truck. I turn the ignition and drive off.

And I won't mention Ana Steele from the Fifty Shades Trilogy, who cries because she's too scared and Christian's too much of a domineering asshole for any action to be taken. Her best friend actually says she "never cries," when in reality, that's what she does half the time. Yet another example of an author compromising her own principles just to take a shortcut during the writing process.

I'm not a feminist by any standard. I don't hate on chivalry, and I like it when guys are a bit protective. Obviously, women should also know how to protect themselves, but it's a nice thing to know someone cares enough to go the extra mile. However, I can't deal with this constant putdown to women, like the only thing we can do is run away and cry in response to emotional turmoil. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of seeing females pushed down to such low standards, like we can't protect ourselves any other way. But I also think it speaks of an author's inability to translate emotions into writing; they can't find any other way of articulating the character's response to an event, so they make her go into a bawling fit instead. After all, nothing gets across better than crying, right?

The truth is, there are so many ways to show the range of emotions. Just take ourselves, for example. I write when I'm pissed off or sad. I know one of my friends plays tennis hard when he's angry. I know people who call their friends, who write bad words on bathroom stalls or throw things around. The fact is that there are other options, and any one can be tailored to fit the personality of the character you're trying to show. It's a disservice to the reader and your own creations to resort to crying because that's the easiest way out. But crying doesn't mean anything if that's what happens 90% of the time. Treasure those tears! They're best used sparingly.