A Book Review Starring "Everything Leads to You" by Nina Lacour

The short version:
Aspiring LA production designer Emi unearths a letter in one of her estate sale finds that leads her to Ava, the illegitimate granddaughter of a recently deceased movie icon. At the same time, she's got her first big break designing sets for a charming indie film and learns about herself as a designer in the process.

The long version:
Part mystery-romance, part endearing melodrama. Lacour does a confident job of weaving the two plots together. You could kick the tires of the story if you wanted, but if I were a lesbian teenager, I'd be so happy to read a story about cute girls, a main character that is already out and a credible Hollywood-centric plot that comes across fun and convincing enough.

Main character Emi is cute and stylish, mystery girl Ava is hot yet sensitive and interesting. The two characters are given a nice subtly, as both could have easily devolved into over-the-top land. True the secondary characters don't do much other than serve the main characters, though it would have been nice if the best friend had an independent life and wasn't just there to serve. But the writing is sure handed and the minutia of production design is fun to read (especially if one doesn't dwell too much on the many accomplishments of an eighteen year old).

Cute, easy reading page turner.

Please, Dear Authors

Dear Young Adult Authors,

If you find yourself typing the dialogue:

"You just don't get it" or

"You just don't get it, do you?"

Please hit delete.

Recognize this phrase for the crutch that it is.

Please know that his is a universal crutch, used by authors of adult and young adult fiction, screenwriters. Know that you are not alone in your impulse to employ it.

But you are responsible for employing it nonetheless. Type it at your own peril.

Cordially,
H

A Book Review Starring "One Man Guy" by Michael Barakiva

The short version:
14 year old New Jersey Armenian teen Alek is forced to go to summer school if he's going to remain on the honor track. During Algebra class he meets junior Ethan and discovers he's attracted to boys.

The long version:
This is one of those books that's structurally fine but substantively average. I found all the characters pretty one dimensional and unconvincing. The plot thin and full of highly convenient plot points. The main character inexplicably discovers he likes boys out of nowhere, without much convincing build-up.The story was also peppered with lessons in Armenian culture in forced moments injected into the plot. I found the pop culture references indicative of an author substituting his own cultural references (My Fair Lady, The Object of My Affection) for his current day teenage characters'. I wish the author had read his characters' dialogue out loud, as much of it didn't sound verbally true. Long spoken sentences, phrases that don't sound natural to teenagers, people speaking in paragraphs. .

In all it was a decent first effort, but thin and lacking credibility. One of those books where I find myself asking where was the editor.

Please, Dear Authors.....

Dear Young Adult Authors,

Please use pop culture reference points that are a reflection of what teenagers today actually watch and enjoy. You grew up in the eighties therefore your reference points are John Hughes movies. Mean Girls is Heathers, for kids today. YouTubers are their VeeJays.

It's not cute or a reflection on your characters affinity for things retro when they like things you liked when you were a teenager. It's actually a subtle alarm pulsing from the book in their hands that's letting them know that this book was written by an adult when really they don't want to sense that. They don't want to know about you and all the cute or cool or quirky things you liked, it just makes your book seem unrealistic. So please don't do it.

Instead, do your homework in he form of research. Discover what they listen to and watch and read and find those examples that are pertinent to your story. Just because you loved Audrey Hepburn movies doesn't mean the kids your writing for do. Unless, of course, you really are writing for adults.

In that case

please don't pretend you're writing a young adult novel.

Cordially,
H

A Book Review Starring "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan

The short version:
Two suburban Chicago area teens, both named Will Grayson, one gay, one straight, meet by chance encounter at a porn store in Chicago and find their lives changed as a result.

The long version:
Oh John and David, two of the finest YA authors of the uber-witty-in-a-not-real-teenage-life sort of way but because they both do it so well, we forgive them for both the fact that their characters don't sound like real teenagers and that all their characters have an extremely similar uberwit sort of voice. It's ok, because they make us smile and still manage to tell stories that are a bit more complex than the standard YA fare.

And this was certainly one of those. Two boys struggling with self-acceptance.  And with a cast of supporting characters, parents and peers alike, that make us smile, written with depth and fabulous empathy in spite of their similar sounding uberwit.

Why do we forgive Mr. Green and Mr. Levithan for their uberwit? Because their brand of uberwit is more entertaining and more witty than others. So be it.

A Book Review Starring "Belzhar" by Meg Wolitzer

The short version:
New Jersey teen Jam is sent to a Vermont boarding school for kids dealing with emotional problems after a mysterious end to her first relationship. Once there, she's assigned to a special English class that requires her and the other four handpicked students to write about themselves in a leather bound journal which transports them into an alternate reality that brings each of them closer to their reasons for being there.

The long version:
Having never read any Wolitzer before this, but knowing her as an adult writer of (possibly) melodrama, this felt like that but with teens and an added fantasy element that came across as stiff and awkwardly inserted into the narrative, from someone who didn't seem to have much experience (or possibly really even affinity for) fantasy-infused drama.

She really didn't seem to have much of an ear for teens either, in terms of their voices or impulses. Her boy characters are of the fantasy ilk written by adult women, they don't sound like authentic teenage boys. The set up of this school never feels plausible (all these kids have emotional problems of some kind but there's a big lack of adult supervision and a total lack of medical oversight, no one there goes to see a therapist despite being sent there for their problems. What exactly were these fictional parents paying for?) It all just felt slight, not well thought out, like the author didn't really enjoy writing it.

She does a decent job of keeping you hanging on for the big reveal, which is the only real page turning element. It's all technically and structurally ok, but its also never enough. Never enough depth of characters, depth of drama, depth of fantasy.

A Book Review Starring "Frenemy of the People" by Nora Olsen

The short version:
Equestrian preppie-type Clarissa decides she's bisexual and wants to start a Gay-Straight Alliance, to the ire of loner out lesbian Lexie. The two come together when Clarissa's sister Desi, who has Down's Syndrome, wants to run for Homecoming Queen and also when Clarissa's house is being foreclosed on and Lexie offers her knowledge of shady bank practices to help Clarissa save their house.

The long version:
I don't even remember the end, and I usually suffer through when I've made it past the halfway point. Not the case here.

So poorly written, with underdeveloped, cliché characters and a flimsy plot (or plots, considering there are a few thin ones going on at once).

I wanted to think of this as a Hi-Lo book, but I thought that didn't give the Hi-Lo genre credit as writing for a specific audience. I can't see recommending this to even a reluctant reader.