rhymes with witches
Written by Lauren Myracle
247 pages
Obviously the name of this one threw me into instant wonder of what it was about. The cute charm bracelet on the cover inclined my girly nature and I picked it up right away.
Jane feels invisible in her high school and is suffering at home simultaneously. Her father left she and her mother three years ago in efforts to find himself, and sends tokens home to fill the void of his absence (which of course doesn't work). At school, Jane hangs out with her only friend, Alicia, but it feels more like a competition than a friendship. And then there are the Bitches: there high school's royalty of the most popular girls in school. They consist of one girl from each grade level, and out of nowhere, they select Jane as their freshmen member. Jane proves her worthiness by attending a house party and skipping class and is accepted into the group, but quickly finds out that their popularity is related to some kind of witchcraft/voodoo. In order to stay popular, Jane must steal an item from any girl at school, and give it to wired teacher, Laurel the Pearl. It fuels her popularity, but depletes her victim's. After saving a girl from what could have been a dangerous bully attack, she tells the girl all about the group and takes her to the teacher's office to prove her story. Jane is stabbed in the back as the girl steals a necklace from her, and takes her place as Freshmen Bitch.
This book was erie. It was the most original book on popularity I've ever read and kept my attention enough to read it all in one day. There was underage drinking, but as only as encouraged to be "cool". I don't feel like I learned that much about the characters, not even Jane, which puts an emphasis on why character development is key.
Parents, this book uses harsh language at times, so consider it with caution if you monitor your teen's reading library.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
FLIRT: WRITE HERE, RIGHT NOW: BOOK REVIEW
FLIRT: Write Here, Right Now
Written by Nicole Clarke
224 pages
What attracted me to this novel was it's vividly colored cover art, which is fashioned after a magazine's front page, and it's subtitle 'Write Here'. Being a writer, I enjoy reading the trials and triumphs of other writers, even if they are fictional, to give me inspiration to continue on in my career.
The book is about teenage writer Melanie Henderson and her experience as an intern for the renown fashion magazine, FLIRT. Holding one of the prestigious spots of working under Josephine Bishop, editor and chief of the publication, she travels to New York City where she meets her quirky counterparts from Britain, Japan, and Argentine. Mel makes every possible mistake from poor professionalism in dress, to continuous tardiness for meetings and assignments. She falls head over heels for their house mother's son, Nick, but is crushed when she later discovers he has a girlfriend. She nearly ruins the magazine's relationship with a major contributor by trying to expose them for product testing on animals, but redeems herself with a creative article on the DIY makeup craze around the city.
Overall, I liked the book. The idea of independence in a dynamic and artistic city like New York is any teenager's fantasy, and I appreciate Clarke's incorporation of diversity in her characters. There were a few instances of lack of originality, like when Mel gets a makeover in the fashion department (So Devil Wears Prada) or the fact that Nick had a girlfriend (so saw that coming). I also didn't like that the book opens up with the heroine getting drunk on her flight to NYC. It's like it glorified drinking to the readers. But I did love the photo shoot montage when creating her redemption piece about a DIY beauty blog on homemade make-up.
This novel helped me realize the importance of setting. If any parents are reading this, I think it would be an okay work for young girls who aren't easily persuaded to try alcohol.
Written by Nicole Clarke
224 pages
What attracted me to this novel was it's vividly colored cover art, which is fashioned after a magazine's front page, and it's subtitle 'Write Here'. Being a writer, I enjoy reading the trials and triumphs of other writers, even if they are fictional, to give me inspiration to continue on in my career.
The book is about teenage writer Melanie Henderson and her experience as an intern for the renown fashion magazine, FLIRT. Holding one of the prestigious spots of working under Josephine Bishop, editor and chief of the publication, she travels to New York City where she meets her quirky counterparts from Britain, Japan, and Argentine. Mel makes every possible mistake from poor professionalism in dress, to continuous tardiness for meetings and assignments. She falls head over heels for their house mother's son, Nick, but is crushed when she later discovers he has a girlfriend. She nearly ruins the magazine's relationship with a major contributor by trying to expose them for product testing on animals, but redeems herself with a creative article on the DIY makeup craze around the city.
Overall, I liked the book. The idea of independence in a dynamic and artistic city like New York is any teenager's fantasy, and I appreciate Clarke's incorporation of diversity in her characters. There were a few instances of lack of originality, like when Mel gets a makeover in the fashion department (So Devil Wears Prada) or the fact that Nick had a girlfriend (so saw that coming). I also didn't like that the book opens up with the heroine getting drunk on her flight to NYC. It's like it glorified drinking to the readers. But I did love the photo shoot montage when creating her redemption piece about a DIY beauty blog on homemade make-up.
This novel helped me realize the importance of setting. If any parents are reading this, I think it would be an okay work for young girls who aren't easily persuaded to try alcohol.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
TEEN NOVEL REVIEWS
As a part of researching how to make my novels stand out, yet speak to teens, I've starting reading teen novels by other authors. I will post my opinion about each work and how it affected me as a writer.
Also as an update, The Premiere will be out for consumers in just two days! Unfortunately I had to up the price to $1.99 because otherwise it wouldn't show up in the UK online market, but to compensate the extra price, I hope to give away 100 copies of the eBook in addition to the 100 free prints.
I've also neared the completion of the first draft of Book Two in the series and should be sending it off for publication in a month or so. If I can keep up this momentum, readers will never have to wait long to read what happens next to their favorite characters.
It was an awesome, overwhelming feeling to hold my first full manuscript in my hands and to see it in its eBook format. I am officially a published author and on my way to becoming a full time writer. I hope to extend my work through motivational speaking and doing articles as a freelance writer.
I recently applied to speak at the Big Twelve Conference being held at Kansas State University this year, and hope it will fuel my creditability when trying to speak at middle and high school assemblies.
So much to be thankful for, so thankful for so much.
Also as an update, The Premiere will be out for consumers in just two days! Unfortunately I had to up the price to $1.99 because otherwise it wouldn't show up in the UK online market, but to compensate the extra price, I hope to give away 100 copies of the eBook in addition to the 100 free prints.
I've also neared the completion of the first draft of Book Two in the series and should be sending it off for publication in a month or so. If I can keep up this momentum, readers will never have to wait long to read what happens next to their favorite characters.
It was an awesome, overwhelming feeling to hold my first full manuscript in my hands and to see it in its eBook format. I am officially a published author and on my way to becoming a full time writer. I hope to extend my work through motivational speaking and doing articles as a freelance writer.
I recently applied to speak at the Big Twelve Conference being held at Kansas State University this year, and hope it will fuel my creditability when trying to speak at middle and high school assemblies.
So much to be thankful for, so thankful for so much.
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