Showing posts with label contemporary YA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label contemporary YA. Show all posts

Monday, February 29, 2016

Confessions of Georgia Nicolson

When I saw that Louise Rennison was trending on Twitter, I first assumed that she'd done an interview or released another book. It broke my heart to learn that she had passed away. 

She was a brilliantly funny author, I have thoroughly enjoyed her books. A coworker recommended them to me and I devoured the audio books. When life gets a little too stressful or crazy, it's a relief to jump into the world of Georgia Nicolson. You can't take yourself too seriously when you're viewing life through the eyes of someone so delightedly self centered. 


Who else has read her books? If you haven't already, I highly recommend them. If you HAVE read them, give the audio books a try. They are a DELIGHT. 

Friday, August 7, 2015

The Last 3 Books Jamie Read

Hey everyone! What have you been reading? Tell me, tell me!

I just got back from vacation and want to share what I've been reading!


The first book is one I read on vacation:





This was such a fun, fast paced book! I devoured it on vacation because it hooked me right away and had twists and turns that just kept me reading. The political conspiracy aspect was super compelling and I kept guessing what the heck was going on. It was pitched as Scandal meets Veronica Mars and I definitely think that's actually pretty accurate. It's like if Scandal's Olivia Pope had a little sister who came to live with her!



The next book I read on vacation was Dumplin' by Julie Murphy:





Oh man, Dumplin was SOOOO good. It was funny and heartwarming and badass. Willowdean is one of my favorite characters I've read in a while. I loved that it dealt with being comfortable in your own skin, body positivity, grief, friendships. I totally shipped the romance and YAYY lots of Dolly Parton goodness in it. I cannot say enough good things about this one!!

And the most recent book I just finished yesterday was Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon:



This one had a unique premise when it came to what I've read in contemporary YA and really delivered! The main character has a super rare disease that has her essentially living in a bubble in her house and never being able to go outside because she's allergic to things but they don't know what. And then the boy next door moves in and they see each other from the window and begin communicating. And suddenly the main character, who never even thought she could have any of that, is in love and she's finding it hard to exist as she had. It was equally cute and heartwarming as it is heart-wrenching at times. I can't imagine being cut off from the world but then getting a taste of something different in life and yearning for more but it's not safe for her to have it. I REALLY enjoyed the romance in this one and I don't want to say too much about how it ends up but HIGHLY recommend.


PS. Want to see what I'm reading and what books I'm talking about in real time? Follow me on Instagram!

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Lauren Reviews Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
Published: September 2015 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Source: eARC
Rating: 5+ Stars

This innovative, heartfelt debut novel tells the story of a girl who’s literally allergic to the outside world. When a new family moves in next door, she begins a complicated romance that challenges everything she’s ever known. The narrative unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, texts, charts, lists, illustrations, and more.

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla. But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly. Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster. 


This book. This book... just... this book. This book is everything. There are few books I've read that I can relate to on a level that is borderline perfect. This is one of them. Before I get into that, I have to tell you how much I love the book in general. I felt this book had just the right amount of detail when it comes to the main character's environment, what she could see from her window.. even down to the medical terminology used to describe Maddy's disorder. Then add the cutest sketches and little handwritten workbook pages. I read this on a Kindle and STILL the sketches were just a plus for me.

Back to the 'this is book is EVERYTHING' part of my review.. well, this book is almost me. Maddy is a teenager who is allergic to everything. Her mom has had her sequestered in a sealed house since Maddy was a toddler. Think of John Travolta in The Boy in the Plastic Bubble except this girl had a house and couldn't leave it. This part resonates with me a on few different levels. I am allergic to so my friggin' things. Febreeze, dryer sheets, strong fragrances, cigarette smoke, dogs, cats, pollens, grass.. THE AIR. Now my problems are in no way as extreme as Maddy's medical issues, but I do have an immune disorder as well. Which basically means I tend to get whatever sickness that is going around. Maddy can walk outside and potentially die. I felt so many of the same feelings as Maddy, except she is almost ALWAYS optimistic. Me.. not so much. Sometimes it gets me down that I have at least 3 doctor appointments a month. Maddy takes everything in stride and reminded me to chip up and be grateful. 


Maddy watches a new family move in next door from her window and she ultimately strikes up a friendship with a boy her age named Olly. He's into parkour and fights with his dad a lot. They start chatting by her miming words from behind her window and Olly writing on poster boards. (How cute is that?) Then they start emailing and chatting online. Olly makes Maddy want more. More than being stuck in her bubble for the rest of her life. Maybe having a short, full-filling life is better than having a long, un-lived life. 


This book touched me because I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder. My disorder keeps me from doing so many things in life that I want to do. Maddy is a fictional character who is an inspiration for me. She stops seeing herself and an ill person and starts to see herself as the witty, funny, smart person she is who just happens to have a medical condition. This book will forever hold a place is my heart. 


Cross-posted at The Tattooed Biblio

Monday, September 29, 2014

Daisy's Mini-Review of A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall


Title/Author: A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall
Publisher/Date published: Swoon Reads, August 26 2014
How I got this book: got it from Debby, who got an extra copy of it at BEA

Goodreads summary: The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common — they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship.

Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together....

A Little Something Different is just as cute and adorable as the cover promises! And with all the different POVs, it is definitely something different!

Sandy Hall brings us a developing love story that EVERYONE (even a squirrel) has an opinion about and I enjoyed some POVs more than others. I really liked the squirrel, because basically it is the cutest. And the Starbucks employees and the lady at the diner. I thought their creative writing teacher was a little over the top, but oh well, it was still fun.

The only thing that I can fault with so many POVs, is that you never delve really deep into any of the characters, but for this story it served its purpose and was basically just pink and fluffy and yes to this couple who even orders the same take out without consulting the other first. I was REALLY wondering what was up with Gabe, cause like the summary says, he seemed to have issues. But it was a very good explanation and like always, I was just wishing for them to communicate!

But overall this was an adorable, quick read and if you're in the mood for fluff, you should definitely pick it up!

My rating: 4 stars

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Jamie Reviews Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer



Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer
Published: September 2014 - Penguin
How I Got This Book: BEA
Why I Read This Book: I knew it was related to The Bell Jar & Sylvia Plath's work which I LOVE.
Rating: 3 stars..maybe 3.5 stars.

Add it to your to-be-read-list! // Buy it! 









I talked more personally about this book on my blog, The Perpetual Page-Turner, and how The Bell Jar was important to me and about how this kind of took me back to a time in my life that was hard. So if you want to read THAT...go here! But I wanted to actually let you know more what I thought about it here!

What I Liked:

1. The plot -- it was super interesting! A girl whose boyfriend dies and she isn't handling it well at all gets sent to a special school with other kids who have some issues and needs therapy. She gets put into this mysterious English class that is super hard to get into and nobody even KNOWS how you get picked to be in it. They study the works of Sylvia Plath the whole semester and are given a journal they HAVE to write in. And what happens with the journal I'm not telling you! I was VERY much engaged and interested!

2. So quoteable: I can't tell you how many dog-ears I made with just really great lines or passages. The writing was pretty solid and it was very thought-provoking!

3. I thought I had this book's number but NOPE -- I thought I knew the trajectory of the story pretty much and let me tell you...it took me for a bit of a ride. I didn't see something coming and how it was revealed and built-up to was SMART.

4. Some of the characters and their stories were intriguing!  I really liked our main character and some of the friends she made. I LOVED how their group came together and supported each other. I wish we would have seen a LITTLE more of the teacher because she intrigued me a whole lot.


What I Didn't Like:

1. The pacing wasn't consistent -- there were times I was racing to read this and there were other times it just was DRAGGING and DRAGGING. Too much in some places, not enough in others.

2. Way too "this is the message/lesson" -- This was a really thought-provoking novel! However, it felt almost as the author didn't quite trust the reader to glean some of the important things out of it. At the end it was super THIS IS THE MESSAGE and I felt like it was dumping it all out there to make sure I got it. Which I did.

3. Sometimes I felt we were being TOLD stuff rather than shown --  There were certain areas where I think I was supposed to feel more but instead I felt like it was just being told to me and I was like okay so this is happening. Like instead of FEELING changed attitudes and hearts..I was just told that there were changes.



Overall, Belzhar was enjoyable and engaging. It wasn't always consistent but at its highs it was GREAT. It felt unique and I loved how thought-provoking it was. In certain ways I think this could have been better but I did like it.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Kimberly discovers Lola and the Boy Next Door



http://www.usborne.com/images/covers/eng/max_covers/lola-boy-next-door.jpgBook: Lola and the Boy Next Door
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Series: YES!!!
Rating: 5 stars


Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion...she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit--more sparkly, more fun, more wild--the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket--a gifted inventor--steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

A month ago I had NO idea that Lola was a sequel/companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss (which I adored). I started reading the book and nearly dropped it when Lola started talking about her coworker, Anna and her boyfriend… I LOVED that little glimpse that we get of what happens after Anna and the French Kiss ended.
As for Lola? She is adorable. I liked her from the start. Her style. Her sense of humor. Her FAMILY. (Her Dad’s are hilarious. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do”, “Honey, that saying doesn’t really work when you’re gay.”
All of the characters were, as to be expected of Stephanie Perkins, so fully developed and imagined that I connected with them. I loved them and hated a few of them. I was so invested in Lola’s relationship with her rocker boyfriend, half the time I was seeing him through her eyes, which made his character an interesting one for me. Cricket was also quite nice… ;) I first thought “what kind of dumb name is that??” It didn’t take me long to change my mind.

If you want a fun, contemporary read, with characters that you will love, with a romance that you will love, give this a read. Don’t forget to pick up Anna and the French Kiss first!

Have you read Lola? Or Anna? Tell me about it in the comments!

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Jamie Reviews We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Book/author: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Publication date: May 2014
Publisher: Random House
How I Got This Book: I received it as a galley for review.
Rating: 5+ stars


You've probably heard about this book. If you haven't, well you are ESPECIALLY who I want to talk to today. You have no expectations or preconceived notions. The hype hasn't invaded your mind!

I was lucky enough to read this book last November and I didn't know anybody else who had read it yet because ARCs had not gone out yet and nobody was really talking about it on Twitter. I don't say this to sound like a DOUCHE all HEY LOOK AT ME I'M SPESHEL..I say this because I hadn't heard anything about it AT ALL. Truly and in the purest sense. There were NO expectations. And that is the place that I think is the best place to be for this book. To have randomly picked it up on a whim and gone into it blind as opposed to hearing a lot from the book community about it. Not to say you still can't enjoy it having heard about it, oh certainly you can, but I'm saying that is the BEST place to be.

We Were Liars was a book that surprised me. It had me weeping and I totally didn't expect what this book contained. I loved E. Lockhart's prose (seriously the writing is gorgeous!) and I really enjoyed reading about the Sinclair family (super rich & dysfunctional & I wanted to punch certain characters). The main character's memory loss and her return back to the family's island was just so compelling and I became addicted to find out what the Liars did and know all the secrets and lies that were just bubbling on the surface of this family.

It's suspenseful, beautiful and heartbreaking. Honestly one of the best books I read this year. And it came as such a surprise to me. I knew I'd probably like it by the summary but it hit me like a freight train.

So, if you haven't read it. Don't read anything more. Just don't. Go pick up the book and read it. It's much different than what I've read from E. Lockhart previously (all which I enjoyed) and I LOVED IT TO PIECES.

Have you read this one? What did you think??

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

kimberly reviews: "maybe one day" by melissa kantor

Book: Maybe One Day
Author: Melissa Kantor
Series?: No
Rating: 5 Stars


Zoe and her best friend, Olivia, have always had big plans for the future, none of which included Olivia getting sick. Still, Zoe is determined to put on a brave face and be positive for her friend.

Even when she isn't sure what to say.

Even when Olivia misses months of school.

Even when Zoe starts falling for Calvin, Olivia's crush.

The one thing that keeps Zoe moving forward is knowing that Olivia will beat this, and everything will go back to the way it was before. It has to. Because the alternative is too terrifying for her to even imagine.

In this incandescent page-turner, which follows in the tradition of The Fault in Our Stars, Melissa Kantor artfully explores the idea that the worst thing to happen to you might not be something that is actually happening to you. Raw, irreverent, and honest, Zoe's unforgettable voice and story will stay with readers long after the last page is turned.

I decided to review this after yesterday's Top Ten Tuesday, it was one of the first books on my list . I'm not even sure why I decided to pick this one up. I think I read a friend's review of it and bought it on a whim. I did NOT expect how much this book would impact me. I connected to the characters immediately, their friendship is beautifully written, and shockingly realistic. I recognized elements of my own friendships in the friendship between Zoe and Olivia.

It's a bit difficult for me to really describe it... I think if I say too much, you'll just get bored reading about me babbling about this part I loved, and this part that made me cry...

Simply put, I could not put the book down. I was up WAY too late reading this, and I was actually crying as I read it. So much that after I finished the book I put a wet washcloth on my eyes for fear of having puffy eyes the next day! (Trying to explain that my swollen eyes were due to a book can be difficult...)

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys Contemporary novels, friendship stories, fans of John Green, or someone who is looking for a story that shows friendship in a new, very honest light.

Have you read this? What did you think? Or have you read a book that hit you harder emotionally than you could have expected?

Monday, May 19, 2014

Tahleen reviews: "Breakfast Served Anytime" by Sarah Combs

Title: Breakfast Served Anytime
Author: Sarah Combs
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2014

Rating: 4.5 stars

I'm not really sure how to summarize this book with any justice, so I'll keep it brief. Gloria goes to Geek Camp to experience life on a college campus, with the ultimate plan of escaping Kentucky with her best friend for college. While there, she meets a bunch of new people whom she judges harshly at first, but eventually comes to be good friends with them. Most of all, she grows close to the people in her chosen "major" for the summer, forging bonds that, though strong, are not necessarily easily gained.

There is so much to love about this book. Combs managed to make me pick up a highlighter and highlight quotes. I never do that. I've never been someone who picks out quotes from literature unless I'm writing an English paper. But Combs' prose is lovely and exquisite in places. Not everywhere, though; everywhere else it just felt real to me. We get genuine, believable, real dialogue (and inner monologue) from Gloria and her friends.

This book is quiet and meandering at times, with no great amount of plot or conflict, but I think it's the better for it. It's a character-driven book, and if the reader is also going to college, it might make them take a closer look at their plan post and evaluate to see if it is actually the right path for them.

There were a few issues I had, mostly that some strings of the story didn't seem fully developed. Gloria mentions in the beginning about how the coal-vs-solar-energy debate would become extremely important to how her summer shaped out, but it didn't really pan out that way to me. It certainly played a part, but the importance didn't seem as high as I originally expected it to. I also thought the way the ending played out was a little weird too magical realism for the rest of the story. But those are small quibbles to an otherwise excellent book.

Basically, I loved this book. I highly recommend this to you if you like realistic fiction and young adult literature.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Jana Reviews: Wish You Were Italian by Kristin Rae

Wish You Were Italian (If Only . . . #2)
Title: Wish You Were Italian
Author: Kristin Rae
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Source: ARC from publisher
Rating: 5+ Stars
Pippa has always wanted to go to Italy … but not by herself. And certainly not to sit in art school the entire summer learning about dead guys’ paintings. When she steps off the plane in Rome, she realizes that traveling solo gives her the freedom to do whatever she wants. So it’s arrivederci, boring art program and ciao, hot Italian guys!

Charming, daring, and romantic, Bruno is just the Italian Pippa’s looking for—except she keeps running into cute American archeology student Darren everywhere she goes. Pippa may be determined to fall in love with an Italian guy … but the electricity she feels with Darren says her heart might have other plans. Can Pippa figure out her feelings before her parents discover she left the program and—even worse—she loses her chance at love?
 --

I recently posted a raving review of this book on my personal book blog, and I participated in the author's release week event by posting my 10 goals for my second trip to Italy. Bottom line: I ADORE this book. I adore it so much that I just HAD to write a second review of it here so I could get the word out to even more people!

I read this book weeks ago, yet I still think about it. That's saying something. So, I guess you could say that this post is less of a review and more of a continuation of my fangirling. As soon as I shut the book, I ran into my mom's room and told her she had to read it. She's not usually a fan of my young adult contemporary romances because she thinks they are usually pretty superficial and silly. I know what she means... kind of. But whatever. She LOVED Wish You Were Italian. I'm not sure if it's because she and I both traveled Italy together two years ago or what, but this book was the closest we could get to gong back. Kristin TAKES you to Italy, drops you there, and leaves you to fall in love with the characters. I really could not have asked for more. Well, if the book could come with a ticket to Italy that would be nice. I'd buy millions of copies.

This book has a lot more going for it than Italy, though. I mentioned the characters, and they are AMAZING. Pippa is a risk taker, a realist (but a dreamer at the same time), and just a real down-to-earth person. She loves her grandmother and her friends, and she has the funniest voice. I just loved reading her adventures. She meets this girl, Chiara, in a coffee shop and travel with her to Cinque Terre to work in the family restaurant. Chiara is the voice of reason, and is really the best friend a girl could ask for. Her brother, Bruno, is a sexy stereotypical Italian boy who fit the stereotype SO well that I could not help but love him. And then you've got Darren, this nerdy archaeology student from the States with big hair. The cast of characters is just so much fun!

There's lots of travel adventures, emotion, romance, and growing. I really just can't love this book enough, and I hope YOU go buy it now! I've recommended it to two different people, and they both LOVED it. I'm 2 for 2 right now!

So, have you read Wish You Were Italian? Did you love it? If you have not read it yet, have I convinced you to get on that? Talk to me!

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Tahleen reminisces and reviews: "Roomies" by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando

Title: Roomies
Authors: Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks, 2013 (print available from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Narrators: Becca Battoe, Emily Eiden

Rating: 3.5 stars

When Elizabeth (EB) gets the email with her roommate assignment for college in the fall, she immediately shoots off an email to introduce herself and ask about logistical things like microwaves and mini fridges. She is excited and very ready to leave her suburban New Jersey town for UC Berkeley in San Francisco, especially since her mother is driving her crazy. Plus, she might be able to finally see her gay father who moved to SF years ago. Lauren, on the other hand, is disappointed when she gets the email, since she had requested a single. She just wants to get some peace and be alone for once, as she is the oldest of six by at least 12 years. So their correspondence does not get off on the right foot, but eventually they start to open up to each other—perhaps too much.

When I started listening to this, I immediately was brought back to when I received my roommate assignment for college. It was a little different, as Facebook had just been released and you still needed a .edu email address to sign up for a page, and I didn't get an email address. I was just given a name and a phone number,  but I didn't have any qualms about calling Vanessa. As it turns out, I ended up talking to her mother for a while since she wasn't home when I first called, but eventually we caught up with each other and luckily we seemed perfect for each other. I still feel really lucky I got to have her as my roommate for two years! (Miss you, Vanessa!)

Anyway, back to the audiobook. Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando do a great job of creating unique voices for their characters, though I'm not 100% sure of who wrote which. My guess is Zarr wrote Lauren's part, and Altebrando wrote EB's. Each girl had very different situations and drama she had to deal with at home, and they shared a lot of this with each other through email. As we all know, it can be MUCH easier to talk about something in writing with someone you don't necessarily know in real life, especially since they might not know the other people you're talking about. But because each girl actually has her own personality and set of morals, things get hairy.

Honestly I was super annoyed with EB for almost the whole second half of the book. She really seemed to be a brat for a lot of that to me, but then again I have never had to deal with the situations she does. Still, I was glad (relieved?) when she came around.

As for the narration, I thought it was good. Becca Battoe reads Lauren's part, and Emily Eiden reads EB's. Both voices were different enough that I had no trouble distinguishing whose part was whose, and for the most part they were easy to listen to. I especially liked Battoe's narration; her voice is pretty soothing.

All in all, I do recommend this book if you like realistic fiction, dual-voice narrations, and/or are feeling nostalgic about college or are excited for your upcoming college experience. It's a good, easy read with a bit of drama and some nice character development.

Disclaimer: I got this digital audiobook via OverDrive from the library.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Quickie Interview + Jamie's Thoughts on The Edge of Falling by Rebecca Serle

The Edge Of Falling by Rebecca Serle
I received this from the publisher for an honest review.
Publisher: Simon Pulse


I really liked The Edge of Falling and my heart just kind of hurts a little bit to think about Caggie's story. Her little sister drowns and she really blames herself because she should have been watching her. The grief really tears at Caggie and her family causing Caggie to really pull away from everyone -- including her (SO PERFECT) boyfriend. Then Caggie becomes thrust into the spotlight because she allegedly saves a girl from committing suicide and she is deemed as a hero. But there's more to the story and that's not exactly what happened on the rooftop and it eats away at Caggie.


So when we meet Caggie we see this intense pain within her from these events and we know she is hurting and we see these signs that she's really having a hard time dealing with it -- the withdrawal from people and then hanging out with this kind of bad boy who has his own problems. Caggie was hard to connect with a lot of the time until closer to the end, where I feel the story really picked up, but I just could feel the weight of everything just weighing her down and the fact that she wasn't dealing with it.

ASTOR. I didn't know whether we were supposed to like him or not but I DID NOT. I kept feeling very nervous for her with Astor around. I got the allure for Caggie in her present state of mind-- he didn't care about talking about their past and so she didn't have to think about things or confront them -- but he was bad news for me. You could tell he had his own issues and together they were just going to implode.

The reveal didn't really surprise me at all but I think hearing Caggie finally say it out loud did affect me. I just felt very emotional towards the end and MAN was that quite the dramatic ending. The second half of the book was definitely my favorite because things REALLY start to come to the surface. It's hard to watch Caggie really go down a path that's not so great and you just really start rooting for her to snap out of it and confront the grief and the rooftop incident before she spirals out of control. You just keep waiting for that moment that you KNOW has to happen. The build up to that moment just really kept me reading. 

Bottom line:
The Edge of Falling was a solid read that was emotional and really made me feel the weight of Caggie's grief and pain. It really become quite gripping about half way through and that's where I felt I become way more invested to Caggie's story despite her pain just dripping from the pages from the start.


INTERVIEW WITH REBECCA SERLE




1. If you could describe The Edge of Falling in 3 words, what would they be?
Grief. Family. Flying.

2. What is the most important relationship in The Edge of Falling?

Wow, what a great question. The Edge of Falling is a book about relationships—the one Caggie has with her mother, her brother, her father, her ex boyfriend, her best friend—and the hot new guy at school. But I think the most important relationship in The Edge of Falling is the one Caggie is trying to protect, let go of, forget, and simultaneously keep forever: her relationship with her little sister who has passed away. It is only in coming to terms with that tragedy, and its aftermath, that Caggie can move on to begin to love herself.

3. What is your favorite section of the book?

The climax. I can’t say too much about it because it would give a lot away (and I hope you’ll read it!) but it’s a very intense scene. Caggie is finally admitting out loud what really happened on that rooftop last spring when she supposedly saved a girl’s life, and even though we’ve had hints of it, this is when she really confesses. It was a challenging scene to write, and it’s one I’m really proud of.

4. Describe your writing process for aspiring readers.


Well, first it must be exactly 68 degrees in my apartment and I must have a skim latte made exactly seven minutes prior and there must be no noise, whatsoever, and only direct light overhead…KIDDING. I’m not very precious about my process. Seriously, if you want to do this as a job, you can’t be. I write on the fly, when I can, how I can—that is how my books get written. But when I have a new idea I’ll do something that I think will be helpful for you to know. I sit down and “write my way in.” This means I free write for about 30 pages. Just whatever comes. The characters, the universe, whatever. After those 30 pages I sit back and look at what I have. It’s then that I determine what the story I want to tell really is.
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