waiting on wednesday (72)

Today I’m participating in "Waiting On" Wednesday, a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Its purpose is to spotlight upcoming book releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

I'm trying, contemporary young adult (romance), I really am.  I want to start liking you as a genre again, so I'm going to read more of you in 2014.  I started off with Jennifer E. Smith's This Is What Happy Looks Like.  It didn't wow me, but I'll give the author another shot.  There's good news, though!  There's (at least) one contemporary YA book I'm unequivocally excited for this year: Claire LaZebnik’s The Last Best Kiss.  LaZebnik writes young adult retellings of Austen books, and I loved Epic Fail, her take on Pride and Prejudice.  The Last Best Kiss is based on Persuasion, which is one of my favorite books ever.  I. CAN'T. WAIT.  It will be released by HarperTeen on April 22, 2014.

Anna Eliot is tired of worrying about what other people think. After all, that was how she lost the only guy she ever really liked, Finn Westbrook.

Now, three years after she broke his heart, the one who got away is back in her life.

All Anna wants is a chance to relive their last kiss again (and again and again). But Finn obviously hasn’t forgotten how she treated him, and he’s made it clear he has no interest in having anything to do with her.

Anna keeps trying to persuade herself that she doesn’t care about Finn either, but even though they’ve both changed since they first met, deep down she knows he’s the guy for her. Now if only she can get him to believe that, too....

With her signature wit and expertly authentic teen voice, Claire LaZebnik (the author of fan favorites Epic Fail and The Trouble with Flirting) once again breathes new life into a perennially popular love story. Fans of Polly Shulman, Maureen Johnson, and, of course, Jane Austen will love this irresistibly funny and romantic tale of first loves and second chances.

What books are you waiting on?

waiting on wednesday (51)

Today I’m participating in "Waiting On" Wednesday, a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Its purpose is to spotlight upcoming book releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

I have read some really fantastic middle grade in the last year – stuff that has made my heart break not only for the characters, but for people in general (and for my younger self!).  I’ve also read uproariously funny books, and nightmare- and shiver-inducing ones, too.  Catherynne M. Valente and Claire Legrand wrote two of my favorite books of 2012: The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There and The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls.  Both authors have new middle grade books out this year, and I AM EXCITED.  In ALL CAPS.  It looks as though my middle grade obsession will continue unabated.  Catherynne M. Valente’s The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two will be released by Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan) on October 8th, and Claire Legrand’s The Year of Shadows will be released by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on August 27th.

September misses Fairyland and her friends Ell, the Wyverary, and the boy Saturday. She longs to leave the routines of home, and embark on a new adventure. Little does she know that this time, she will be spirited away to the moon, reunited with her friends, and find herself faced with saving Fairyland from a moon-Yeti with great and mysterious powers. 

Here is another rich, beautifully told, wisely humorous, and passionately layered book from New York Times-bestselling author, Catherynne M. Valente.

Olivia Stellatella is having a rough year.

Her mother left, her neglectful father -- the maestro of a failing orchestra -- has moved her and her grandmother into his dark, broken-down concert hall to save money, and her only friend is Igor, an ornery stray cat.

Just when she thinks life couldn’t get any weirder, she meets four ghosts who haunt the hall. They need Olivia’s help -- if the hall is torn down, they’ll be stuck as ghosts forever, never able to move on.

Olivia has to do the impossible for her shadowy new friends: Save the concert hall. But helping the dead has powerful consequences for the living . . . and soon it’s not just the concert hall that needs saving.

What books are you waiting on?

epic fail

If my Waiting on Wednesday post and participation in past ‘Everything Austen’ events didn’t warn you, I’m an Austen-ite. I am more likely to pick up an adaptation or re-telling of one of Jane Austen’s books than I am to eat milk chocolate. True fact. Dark chocolate, now, that I eat more often than I’d like to admit. When I read a summary of Claire LaZebnik's Epic Fail (after I got over the hilarious title, that is), I knew I had to check it out.

Will Elise’s love life be an epic win or an epic fail?

At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:

As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.

As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long.

Epic Fail is Elise’s story, but in terms of narrative, it’s Pride and Prejudice in a Hollywood high school. Other things it is: cute, sweet, predictable, and a good bit of quick fun. If you know the original, you know how this plays out. What saves it from sappy and overdone is Elise’s smart inner dialogue. She’s perceptive and at the same time her worries and concerns ring true for a real kid (albeit an intelligent one).

Outside of Elise, the other well-defined characters were her sister Juliana, and to a lesser extent, Derek. If you’re looking for true learning and honest change in your next read, this isn’t your novel. And if we’re going to talk weaknesses, a glaring one for me was the inclusion of characters from the original P&P who didn’t fit in the space of Epic Fail. Elise’s cousin (who takes the place of Charlotte) definitely had the feel of an add-on, and could have been left out with no problem at all. Despite a slight excess of shallowness, this read resonated as ‘fun’ rather than ‘contrived.’

Recommended for: fans of Austen retellings and spin-offs, those who are into young adult lit with a dash of celebrity and the Hollywood trappings, and anyone looking for some quick and light summer reading with a classic theme and a happy ending.

If you are interested in other YA takes on Jane Austen’s classics, check out this article!