YA Writer, Tech Support Girl & Tea Addict

I skipped Road Trip Wednesday this week because my answer to their question (What was the best book you read in January?) felt a little boring, and the same as at least half the other writers out there in the blogosphere – it was “The Fault In Our Stars” by John Green, reviewed here.

Today’s Paper Hangover Friday Five’s question: What are the FIVE novels you wish you had written?

This was a really tough one, but I’ll give it a shot.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – The obvious choice. JK Rowling is amazingly talented, amazingly rich, and amazing beautiful. She has the best of every world, and she deserves it for bringing us the brilliant HP universe.

The Hunger Games – This dystopian YA book by Suzanne Collins gleams with writing talent. It’s unputdownable.

The Catcher in the Rye – THE VOICE. What I would give to be able to write a story with this good a voice. Holden Caulfield is just addictive.

American Gods – I just wish I had a fragment of Neil Gaiman’s knowledge. He knows so much about mythology, and you can tell when reading this book.

The Wee Free Men – Terry Pratchett is a writer like no other, with the sharpest comedic voice out there and one of the greatest fantasy worlds you can find. And this book has a wonderful combination of his humor, his imagination, and bonus Scottishness.

A few others I’d love to have written: Garth Nix’s “Sabriel”, Phillip Pullman’s “The Subtle Knife”, Anthony Burgess’ “A Clockwork Orange”. I had a lot of trouble narrowing this challenge down.

Book: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Genre: Fiction/Young Adult/Contemporary/Romance

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs… for now. Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means) Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly, to her interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

“The Fault In Our Stars” released at the end of December in the UK to a bit of a kerfuffle – all pre-orders were supposed to be signed, but Amazon UK ignored the large number of pre-orders received and left it until the last minute to order all their required copies. As a result, instead of receiving the pre-signed copies, they received and sent out a rushed print to cover their requested numbers.

For the thousands of fans waiting for a signed copy, who received a blank one, this was disappointing stuff. I received an unsigned one and ended up buying a signed replacement from The Book Depository, who happily kept customers up to date on their inventory of signed stock. They really showed Amazon how good customer service should be done.

But all this kerfuffle didn’t stop me reading and enjoying the book. It’s a curious mix – a light, comedic story about a serious situation. One of the cover quotes mentions it jumping from comedy to tragedy, which is a fair description – it does it seamlessly, though, moving from light to dark beautifully.

If you’re not a fan of ‘cancer books’, don’t be turned off – while cancer is a big focus, it’s all kept at light-hearted as possible, and John Green’s signature style makes it all feel so real and so important. The kids are wise and funny, and I think that’s part of the reason his books are so popular. He doesn’t talk down to kids, instead, his kids talk ‘up’ – they say and think the things we wish we could put into words.

Looking for Alaska is still my favourite of John Green’s books, and it’s the one I would recommend to new readers – but if you’ve ever read his stuff, The Fault in Our Stars will not let you down. Set some time aside to read it — you can go through it in an evening if you have the time, but god forbid anyone interrupts you, it knocks you straight out of the story and makes it difficult to get back into it. The characters will stay with you, and it’ll keep tugging at your heart-strings long after you’ve closed the book.

A very late entry to Paper Hangover‘s Friday Fives today. They asked: What are the FIVE books you’re looking forward to in 2012?

The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking).

Prentisstown isn’t like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts in a constant, overwhelming, never-ending Noise. There is no privacy. There are no secrets.Or are there?

I bought this as an e-book without ever hearing anything about it, because of it’s brilliant title and intriguing storyline. Now a lot of people are talking about it, and after hearing one writer describe it as better than the Hunger Games I’m eager to try it out.

Shatter Me #2  by Tahereh Mafi.

I need more Warner. There is never enough Warner. And as mentioned in my review, I’m very curious about where Tahereh is going to take this series.

Divergent (and Insurgent) by Veronica Roth.

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

“Divergent” has been on my to-read list for ages. This year will be the year I read it. Eventually.

Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick.

The final book in the paranormal romance series about a girl and a snarky fallen angel named Patch. I’m a fangirl for the “Hush, Hush” series, and I’ll be waiting patiently for the final volume to hit the shelves this Fall.

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler.

It’s 1996 and very few high school students have ever used the internet. Facebook will not be invented until several years in the future. Emma just got a computer and an America Online CD. She and her best friend Josh power it up and log on – and discover themselves on Facebook in 2011. Everybody wonders what they’ll be like fifteen years in the future. Josh and Emma are about to find out.

I am reading this entirely because the two main characters are called Emma and Josh.

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

(i have nothing to say here, this poem really says it all.)

You can never have enough Edgar Allan Poe-try, right?

A Dream Within A Dream by Edgar Allan Poe

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?