Rochester Teen Book Festival Write-Up and Giveaway!

See all these people in this picture?  They are authors.  Awesome, awesome, authors of MG and YA fiction.  I promise you, if you are reading this blog, you have heard of no fewer than ten of these people; you have probably read books by at least half a dozen, possibly many more.  And they all spent a whole day in Rochester, NY, talking to the world's most enthusiastic group of teen readers.  (Also me.  And five of my colleagues.  And, I'm guessing, a bunch of other teachers.)

The bulk of the day was spent going to panel discussions where a few authors chatted about...whatever, really, although their writing was more or less the focus.  There were tons and tons to pick from, and I could spend a whole other day just going to the panels I didn't fit in but wanted to see.  But here are some notes from the ones I attended!

Session 1:
Stephanie Kate Strohm, Sara Zarr, Jennifer E. Smith, Susane Colasanti

• While I know that everyone's writing routine is different, it was cool to hear these four very accomplished writers discuss their routines with each other.  They're all so different!  Susane Colasanti said something like, "I mean, you can't write more than like...4-6 hours at a time, right?" and Sara Zarr looked at her like, are you kidding me, and said that she considers it a good day if she can write for ninety minutes and then do one more hour-long session later on. 
   
• When the authors were asked how their careers would be different if they were men, Jennifer E. Smith said that working in adult publishing, she does see men get more recognition/promotion/attention, but she noted that YA tends to be much more welcoming to women writers, so she's happy to write YA.

• I've only read books by two of these ladies, but now I'm really interested in checking out the other two!  Susane Colasanti spoke so passionately about her writing, noting that she feels like her purpose in life is to write stories that make teenagers feel less alone.  I really admired her focus and energy.  And Stephanie Kate Strohm's book, Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink, just sounds like a blast.  I've always secretly dreamed of working at a living history museum (I almost convinced myself to run away and join the Ren Faire circuit one summer during college) so I think I might love this book.

Session 2: Marissa Meyer, Lauren DeStefano, Mary Pearson, Jessica Brody

•  One of the first things that came up were craft books these authors recommend.  Titles I jotted down were Save the Cat, Plot and Structure, and Making a Good Script Great.

• When asked for writing advice, Lauren DeStefano said that writers should ignore advice and let your writing be your writing: "You're the only voice your characters are ever going to have."
   
• Jessica Brody mentioned that she purposely doesn't describe her main characters so that it's easier for readers to identify with them.   (Also--she's another author I saw whose books I am now dying to read!)

Session 3: Alexandra Bracken and Robin LaFevers

• Robin LaFevers talked about the idea of writerly discipline and the notion that writers have to write every. single. day.  She said you do need some kind of discipline, but for her that's words-per-month; her actual writing comes in spurts, and some days she just needs to not write. 
   
• Alexandra Bracken echoed something a few writers said throughout the day: she outlines pretty loosely at the beginning of a new project, but she has to know exactly how things end.  (That makes me feel less weird for the floating, all-caps paragraph at the end of my WIP document that has two sentences devoted to the overall plot and then outlines, in great detail, the climactic scene.)
   
• Robin LaFevers has to figure out her characters' "emotional wounds and scars" before she starts writing, because they completely color the way those characters interact with the world.  

Giveaway!

After the panels, it was time for the autograph session!  There were crazy lines to meet all the authors, and everyone there was really into it.  (Music that played while we waited in line included "Gangnam Style", "The Macarena", and the theme from Firefly--so, pretty much the best possible playlist.)

I was very proud of myself for remembering to bring the business cards I had made for SCBWI and actually having the nerve to hand them to some of the authors whose books I've raved about here.  Highlights included having Marissa Meyer sign the page of the Cinder paperback that has my blog name on it, and having a conversation with Sara Zarr in which I got to tell her that she writes the books I wish I could write.  She asked what I meant by "beginning to be a writer" and when I explained where I'm at with my WiP and my writing routine with Jaime, she said, "Oh--then you're really doing it!"  I felt so, so validated by that--it will get me through a thousand more, "You're a writer?  Like, you have books published?" and "Oh, young adult?  Are you ever going to try to write real books?"

Anyway, one of the authors I had the opportunity to speak with was Alexandra Bracken.  As I mentioned on Sunday, I won an ARC of The Darkest Minds back in the fall, but only just got around to reading it.  Besides kicking myself for waiting to read a great book, I also felt bad that I had the ARC but didn't help spread the word about the book!  So, better late than never.  I got Alexandra to sign an extra copy of The Darkest Minds, and when she heard I was planning to do a giveaway, she gave me an awesome tote bag with the characters' names on it.  You guys, I love these characters so much that it pains me to give this away, but I'm super excited for one of you to read the book, fall in love with the characters the way I did, and then enjoy rocking this awesome swag.

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Sunday Sunshine: Rochester Teen Book Festival Edition, Part 2

It happened!  It really happened.  The Rochester Teen Book Festival has been on my calendar for so long that I didn't really believe it would ever happen.  But yesterday, Mr. S joined me, six of my students, and five of my colleagues for an AWESOME day of book nerdery.


I'll be blogging about the festivities and some of the gems of wisdom from the authors whose panels I attended as the week goes on (and, heads up, I have an awesome giveaway planned!)  But today, let me share my thoughts on a few more books by authors who were present yesterday.

What I Read This Week:

  The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ok, now I feel pretty dumb. I won a copy of this ARC from Claire LeGrand back in the fall, and didn't get to it until just now. D'oh! I think I just hadn't really heard much about it, and it was hard to compete with the zillions of recommendations from my blog pals that I can never stay on top of.

But Alexandra Bracken will be coming to the Rochester Teen Book Festival, so I finally picked this one up. And I'm a little bit glad I waited to read it...but only because I hate waiting to read sequels to books I love, and at least now I won't have so long to wait!

From the beginning, The Darkest Minds grabbed my interest. The snapshot of camp we see before learning a little more about Ruby, the protagonist, is strange and fascinating. Ruby's story is riveting and sad: when she was in the fourth grade, the other kids in her class started to die. It turned out, the kids were dying all over America. Before long, she was rounded up by Psi Special Forces, a brutal military unit, and brought to camp. From there, we jump back to the present: six years later, at sixteen, Ruby is still in camp. And that's where the real action begins.

Ruby's story reminded me of several other books I've read and enjoyed. There's the creepiness and special powers of Graceling, the kids-banded-together-for-survival elements of books like This Is Not A Test and Monument 14, and the layers upon layers of evil organizations found in nearly every dystopian/post-apocalyptic story. But it didn't feel old or re-hashed; it felt like a fresh take on elements I enjoy. Ruby and her friends were great characters--the kind of characters where you start to go, "Oh, my favorite is definitely..." and then you stop because you realize you can't pick. But I loved Suzume and Chubs a whole lot. Also Liam. Yikes.

Anyway, if you enjoy awesome, messed-up worlds with memorable characters, pick up The Darkest Minds . For a book of its size (thick!) I flew through it. I hope you do too!



Cinder by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Original review here; in a nutshell: fairy-tale retelling with cyborgs, evil moon-people, sassy androids, and a dreamy prince.  Stay tuned for my review of the sequel, Scarlet, next week.  (So far: it's also awesome.)


Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sara Zarr is, hands down, my favorite author of contemporary YA. She has such a knack for identifying the thoughts and feelings and stray observations that make a character seem real, and using them to build characters who feel different every time. Her stories have romance in them, but that's rarely the main event--her characters also have families (real, interesting families that matter, not families-as-story-obstacles) and friends and pasts. This isn't to say that I don't love a fun romance where the parents butt out and make room for all the kissing stuff, but there's something so alive and compelling about Sara Zarr's worlds.

Sweethearts has, to me, the most interesting premise of any of Zarr's books (excepting, perhaps, her latest). Jenna Vaughn is popular and pretty, with the right friends and a gorgeous boyfriend. But hidden away inside her is Jennifer Harris, the girl she used to be. You know the one: the girl with cooties and a lisp, overweight and dressed in secondhand clothes, who spends recess reading a book or walking lonely circles around the playground. The girl with no friends.

Except, Jennifer Harris did have one friend: Cameron Quick. Cameron had his own troubles, but he managed to reach into Jennifer's world and save her from her loneliness. Then, without warning, he disappeared--apparently for good. Without her only friend, Jennifer did what she needed to do to get a fresh start in high school as Jenna.

But, in the fall of her senior year, Cameron returns. Jenna is forced to question everything: friends, family, boyfriend. Ultimately, Cameron's return helps Jenna to see things from a new perspective, and refine her sense of identity one more time.

I appreciate the very authentic scale of the events in this book. As much as Cameron's return blows Jenna's mind, nothing that happens as a result feels like magic. Jenna's friends and boyfriend are...not awesome. But they feel like many of the people I knew in high school--fun sometimes, supportive sometimes, scattered and unreliable in the way that teenagers are. They aren't villains. They're mostly kind of self-centered but I think they really like Jenna. Jenna's stepdad is awesome, but within the parameters of being a caring authority figure. Jenna has real, important relationships with her mom and stepdad, and those relationships actually change over the course of the book. This is the kind of contemporary that resonates with my lived experience in a way that makes me really love it. Highly recommended.

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Sunday (Monday!) Sunshine: Rochester Teen Book Festival Edition, Part 1

Yikes!  What happened to this weekend?

Well, I know what happened.  I spent the whole darn thing hanging out with Mr. S, enjoying a weekend at home in a month full of travel.  We went to the mall, had a movie night double feature (Bring It On and Pitch Perfect, neither of which we had ever seen), had Mother's Day brunch with his parents and grandmother, ran errands, baked cookies, and I did a little driving practice (first time in the rain!)

...And then suddenly it was 10:30 Sunday night and I had to plan and grade and write my 300 words!  So, blogging got away from me.

That's ok, though, because I managed to finish an extra book that I can tell you about here!  All the books I read last week, and the ones I'm planning to read this week, are by authors who will be present at the Rochester Teen Book Festival this weekend!  I'm going with a few colleagues and students, plus of course the wonderful Mr. S (who is waking up wicked early on Saturday to drive me and a few of my kiddos to Rochester!) 

The lineup of authors is pretty amazing!  Luckily, the authors I want to see are matched up to the extent that, if I skip lunch, I can see every panel I'm interested in (well, except for the authors I was lucky enough to hear from at SCBWI in February!)

Just for fun, books I've read by authors who will be there:

Wither, Fever, and Sever by Lauren DeStefano
Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Crank, Glass, and Perfect by Ellen Hopkins
False Memory by Dan Krokos
Grave Mercy and Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers
Boy Meets Boy, Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Will Grayson, Will Grayson and Every Day by David Levithan (and others)
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
How To Save A Life, Story of a Girl, and Once Was Lost (aka What We Lost) by Sara Zarr

And the books I hope to add to that list by Saturday:
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
You Are Here by Jennifer E. Smith

I probably won't get through them all (especially if I re-read Cinder, which I'm planning to) but that's the wishlist.  So many awesome authors!  I'll report back next week :)

And here are my thoughts on What I Read This Week:



Fever by Lauren DeStefano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow, this was a fast read! I was glad to find out more about Rhine and her world. As often happens with this kind of trilogy, I missed the relatively lovely (if sinister) setting of the first book, but I did eventually get sucked in by the new settings and characters introduced in this installment. There was at least one twist that left me gaping (not sure if I would have figured it out if I'd re-read Wither before diving in, but I certainly found it exciting and satisfying) and I downloaded the third book to my Kindle before I even finished this one.



Sever by Lauren DeStefano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This final book in the Chemical Garden trilogy provided a dark but satisfying ending to a series that really grew on me. I was completely engrossed in the world, and I loved the characters. Lauren DeStefano struck a great balance between developing older characters and introducing new ones as the series went along, and this installment was no exception. I have to say, by the end of the series, spoiled child-bride Cecily became hands-down my favorite character. She breaks my heart and makes me...proud? In a really twisted way? I don't know exactly how to describe it, but I completely loved her larger role in this book. I don't want to get too spoilery (difficult, when writing about the final book of a series) but I felt like the payoffs for characters and for the central issues really worked. I'll be very interested to see what DeStefano does next.


False Memory by Dan Krokos
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this book after a student recommended it to me. I'm glad I had that to keep me moving through the beginning, because while the action starts early in this book, it felt like the story took a while to really get going. There is a lot of setup here, which I imagine won't be present in the next book. But the second half of the book was definitely exciting and full of twists and turns. I think False Memory would appeal to some of my students who are more interested in action than relationships, as I found the characters to be a little flat. (Of course, in a book about a girl who's lost her memory, this is not necessarily a criticism! It's just that the plot here is, in my opinion, much more compelling than the characters.) I'm looking forward to reading the next installment and recommend this highly for anyone who likes a little sci-fi mixed into their explosions and hand-to-hand combat scenes.

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Sunday Sunshine: Funny and Sweet Edition

Back on a normal schedule!

Well, blog-wise, at least.  I kicked the week off with a bit of illness and ended it with a great trip to my hometown to see my dad.  So I didn't read a ton but I really enjoyed the two books I did get to.  Special thanks to Ghenet--I won my copy of Ditched in a giveaway she hosted on her blog recently!

What I Read This Week:


Ditched: A Love Story by Robin Mellom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was the only bright spot in my recent bout of 24-hour-stomach-awfulness. It's a fun read that managed to keep my spirits up in the midst of feeling basically like death. So, right off the bat, I'd like to express my appreciation to Robin Mellom (and to Ghenet, because I won my copy from her!)

Ditched has a great, satisfying story, with a witty, sarcastic narrator. Justina is a flawed, sympathetic, character, whose insecurities and low blood sugar cause her to make a series of misguided decisions that lead to the worst prom night ever. The cast of characters--almost all of whom are more complicated than they originally appear--is fantastically weird. I particularly love the Mikes, a pair of lovable stoners, and their girlfriends, Serenity and Bliss.

This just begs to be read on a nice, sunny weekend during prom season--and it's even better if your prom days are behind you! But if they aren't, rest assured: there's no way your prom could be this complicated. And if it is--well, then high school is almost over, so hang in there!

The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am always surprised at the amount of heart and sincerity in Maureen Johnson's books. Her online persona is so goofy and occasionally diabolical, and her books are so funny, that when I get to the end and I'm genuinely touched--as I always am--it startles me a little. This one was no exception. The Gold sisters--Brooks, May, and Palmer--are utterly lovable. They are each so broken up over their father's death, each in their own way. The shifting perspective gives us glimpses into each sister's head. We spend the most time with May, the responsible middle child, and her struggle with learning to drive (even as school comes fairly easily to her) made me love her instantly. Palmer, the youngest, worked her way into my heart next, with her panic attacks and intense feeling of alienation. And Brooks--whose grief looks a lot like wild-child behavior--finally won me over about halfway through the novel, when it becomes clear how lonely she is under everything else. I miss these girls already, and I finished the book just an hour or two ago.

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Z is for Zombies!

Welcome to Day 26 of the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge here at Reading on the F Train.  Today's topic is Zombies!


Because why not?  I've slowly but surely come around to the realization that, while I often don't love "creature" books, I'm a big fan of zombies.  I think what I like about zombies is their versatility.  They can feature in the classic horror stories, campy thrillers, quieter, character-driven pieces, post-apocalyptic nightmares, and even romances.  Here's a list of some zombie books I've enjoyed, and some on my TBR:

Mrs. S's bookshelf: zombies

The Dead-Tossed Waves

by Carrie Ryan

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

by Carrie Ryan

The Dark and Hollow Places

by Carrie Ryan

The Weepers: The Other Life

by Susanne Winnacker

This is a book I plan to stock in my classroom. I enjoyed it, but I think it will really appeal to some of my students who aren't so crazy about reading. It's short and full of action and gore (not so much my thing, but I know I have s...

Something Strange and Deadly

by Susan Dennard

Oh man, I just finished this book, and my pulse is racing. I am slowly starting to come around to the idea that I think zombie books are pretty awesome. This one is a little different from others I've encountered, though, in that the z...

Undead

by Kirsty McKay

This was a good old-fashioned zombie romp! Of the zombie books I've read--and they are becoming more numerous than I expected them to--this one is the closest to watching a traditional zombie horror movie. Now, my theory of horror movi...

This is Not a Test

by Courtney Summers

I heard a lot of people praise this book very highly, and I was definitely not disappointed. I read this one relatively slowly--not because it was paced slowly (exactly the opposite) but because I was busy, and because I didn't want it ...

Double Feature: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies

by Brent Hartinger

I don't want to ignore the first half of this book, which continues the story of Russel Middlebrook, but I was so excited when I got to the second half and discovered that it was narrated by Russel's friend Min. As scarce as YA fiction ...

Ashes

by Ilsa J. Bick

Dearly, Departed

by Lia Habel

Zombies Vs. Unicorns

by Holly Black

Alice in Zombieland

by Gena Showalter

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

by Max Brooks

Y is for...Yuck! (Also, "Yes, And")

Welcome to Day 25 of the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge here at Reading on the F Train.  Today's topic is Yuck*!


Yeah, so today's topic was going to be "Yes, And"--a major rule of improvisation and something that I think applies to writing in some interesting ways.  BUT then I woke up at 4am in the throes of the awful bug Mr. S had on Saturday, and now sitting up long enough to write this (ten minutes?) feels like running up the steps of the Empire State Building.  So, I'll have to owe you that other post (and to my improviser friends: please forgive me for being the billionth person to steal the one thing people know about improv and bend it to my own will.  Probably best if you skip that future post.) 


So today, Y is for "Yuck", as in, YUCK, I feel like garbage...and I'm glad for once that you all are my online friends and I don't have to worry about giving this to any of you. 

Sunday Sunshine: Two Weeks In One Edition!

So...missed last week.  Missed it entirely.  Oops.

Part of that was due to blog fatigue--only two more letters to go, you guys!--and part was because I was mid-book on Sunday and didn't get round to finishing it in time for a review.  So here's what I've read in the last two weeks--including a book that I feel like I've been wanting to read since about the DAY I started blogging.  Jellicoe Road definitely topped the list of "books people have told me I MUST read"--and I'm SO excited and happy that I finally got to it.  I also completely fell in love with Meg Rosoff's books, which wasn't that surprising after hearing her speak and be awesome at SCBWI in February!

Here's what I read in the last two weeks!

 A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A teeny-tiny fictional country, on an island populated by four villagers, a mad king, a grumbling housekeeper, and three royal girls? At the beginning of WWII? HELLO. Yes please.

As excited as I was to read this, it started off slow for me. I think the diary format, while endearing (holy moly, do I love Sophia), can be tricky in terms of conveying action and dialogue dramatically and authentically. Once I got used to the style, though, I found myself attached to all the FitzOsbornes (oh, including Prince Carlos, who I neglected to mention above because he is a Portugese Water Dog.)

The whole thing has more the feel of Downton Abbey than Code Name Verity, despite being set during World War II. Since Montmaray is so isolated, it's hard to get a sense of culture, and what little there is definitely feels pretty traditional (concerns for propriety, hemlines, etc.) But then the last third or so heats up into quite an exciting, suspenseful adventure, and I raced through it. I'm really looking forward to tracking down the sequels.

There is No Dog by Meg RosoffMy rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a strange book. I mean, really, what a truly bewildering, unusual book. And a funny one. And anxiety-provoking. And lovable. (Reviews excerpted on the cover of my edition with which I fully agree: "wildly inventive", "startlingly original", "thoughtful, hilarious.")

When a book makes me laugh out loud, that's a good sign it will be one of my favorites. When I have been reading a book for ten minutes and already laughed out loud twice, then gone back to re-read one of those lines and laughed out loud a third time...then it's this book. That has never happened before. Not that it's all a laugh riot, mind you. This book deals with literal forces of nature, life and death, love and sex, the weather. (Lots of weather. This is the most interesting book about weather you will ever read.)

And the clincher, the moment my brain actually articulated the words "Uh-oh, this book just stole my heart" is a little creature somewhere between a penguin and an anteater. He's an Eck. He's called Eck. He says "eck" a lot. He's the last of his kind, he's God's own pet, and he's a dear. I noted him as my favorite-ever minor character and about 20 pages later, he was vaulted into the plot in a way that meant I could not stop reading and/or thinking about this book.

But there are other characters, I suppose. Like God--properly called Bob--who is a teenage boy. Whatever comes to your mind when you hear the phrase "teenage boy" probably applies in this case: Bob is a sex-addled, self-centered slob. He's also creative, bold, and exciting (in short bursts.) (And he's nowhere near as nice as he should be to Eck.) Bob is in love with Lucy--who, unfortunately, is mortal. This is his story as much as it is his. It's also the story of Mr. B (imagine Rupert Giles, but if he really couldn't stand Buffy, if Buffy was God, and if Buffy had actually beaten him out for the job he wanted in the beginning.) Bob's mother Mona, Mona's poker nemesis and intergalactic tough guy Emoto Hed, and Emoto Hed's unflappable daughter Estelle also figure into the godly side of things, while Lucy's clergyman godfather Bernard, her be-cardiganed mother Laura, her prickly boss Luke, and Luke's daffy neighbor Skype(!!) round out the human cast. I've come to love them all, I suppose, although Mr. B is the clear winner after Eck, and Estelle next, and then everybody else forming the pack a ways back from third place (just because I love those three so much.) You may have different favorites; they're all favorite-able.

This is a book about people (to use the term loosely) in bizarre circumstances looking for equilibrium. Only one character has what it takes to actually bring that about. (Hint: it's not Bob!) Read this and see for yourself why I loved it. I'll leave you with one of my favorite bits:

"Eck tilts his head and gently licks Bob's ear with his long, sticky tongue. It is his special way of expressing sympathy and it is not effective."
--p. 18

I received a copy of this book through Goodreads First Read program in exchange for an honest review.
 
How I Live Now by Meg RosoffMy rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've heard this book called dystopian or post-apocalyptic; those phrases both conjure the picture of something that feels far-off and strange. This book feels terrifyingly immediate and plausible. Shortly after Daisy travels from New York to the British countryside to live with her aunt and cousins, war breaks out. It's not trenches and nukes, as people have feared in the past, but shortages, new rules, and sporadic outbreaks of violence. It feels like I imagine war might really feel. And yes, there is survival involved, and horrible things happen (spoiler/warning: horrible things happen to both people and animals, just as a heads up, although it's nothing too prolonged.)

Daisy's voice cuts through all she has to go through and forces you to care about her and her cousins. Even as she grows closer to one cousin than is usually permissible in works more recent than Austen, it's impossible not to sympathize with her. I love her blunt observations and the gradual unfolding of her own problems and perspectives. And I love how quietly and simply this book breaks your heart.

 The Selection by Kiera Cass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Re-read in order to prepare for the sequel.

Original review here.



 Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Warning: this review may be spoiler-ier than usual, largely because I feel like I am the LAST person on the entire internet to read this book. And because I loved it and want to talk about why. I will NOT spoil any of the major plot reveals, though.

I think I was warned too many times against the opening of this book--I was pretty much relieved to find that it was in English! But the opening, and the book in general, does something I love: it drops you in without much context at all, and asks you to work it out. All the pieces are there, but not all at once. This makes the unfolding story immensely satisfying, as you start to see things shift into focus.

And, ok. This may be a controversial opinion. So let me be really clear: I like Jonah Griggs a lot. I think he's great. I love the bits other people love: pulling over abruptly, his rubbish ideas about what's romantic, all. the. kissing.

BUT.

Whatever I feel about Jonah Griggs is blown so far out of the water by what I feel about Taylor Markham. And particularly the evolution of the relationship between Taylor Markham and Jessa McKenzie. Jessa--and watching Taylor learn to love her--is my favorite thing about this book, hands down. (Um, so as you might imagine, I spent a fair amount of the last fifty pages or so sobbing. Like, I started as soon as I realized Jessa might be in danger, and then didn't really stop till the end because I was so overwhelmed.)

Anyway, thank you to everyone who's ever raved about this book. I'm one of you now. I love it SO much. (UGH, and I haven't even touched on Raffy or Santangelo. So good. SO good. Just read it. Or re-read it, I guess, because I'm the last one to this party.)

 The Elite by Kiera Cass
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the second book in this compulsively readable series. Kiera Cass writes the kinds of books that makes me curse book blogging, because I wish I hadn't heard of this series yet--it begs to be read all at once, and the third book doesn't even have a release date. But since I can't change the past or speed up the release of book three, I'll focus on book two.

Here's the thing about both The Selection and The Elite. The writing is actually not my favorite. And yes: the love triangle. Oh lord, the love triangle. It gets drawn out for. ev. er. So, I definitely have a few complaints--not major ones, not dealbreakers, but they're there.

...And then I get sucked into the plot and I kind of don't care. I get totally carried away by the caste system, the palace, the politics, the friendships, and the romance. And I want more. This series would make great spring break or beach reading: the books are both quick reads and I think they're a lot of fun. The Elite is a little darker than The Selection, as the political situations heat up both domestically and abroad, but at its heart it's still about a guy and a girl trying to decide if they're right for each other. I found myself thinking about The Selection way more than I expected over the year or so between when I read that and now. I have a hunch I will be experiencing similar pangs of "It comes out when???" between now and the release of the final book.

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