19 Days Down and Trending

We're almost three weeks into the New Year and I've already broken all of my resolutions. Mind you, I didn't take a solid oath or anything, so I don't feel too bad (at least I'm still going to yoga). It's just…well, time flies by way too fast!

Just as time seems to flash before our eyes, so do trends and I've seen a lot of predictions for 2014! So I thought I'd list a few of them here.  Perhaps, we'll revisit them at year's end and see how many exploded and how many fizzled before the snow melted. 

Trilogies

There was a time when every query letter contained a promise of a trilogy. That time has long passed.  Publishers want stand alone books that pop!  They aren't willing to invest in a project that they may be hand tied to - especially if the first book isn't a star.  This year, we're seeing the end to many successful trilogies.  Jessica Lind compiled a list of the top eight including Veronica Rossi's Into the Still Blue, Tahereh Mafi's Ignite Me, and Michelle Hodkin's The Retribution of Mara Dyer. 

There are a few trilogies entering the stage in 2014 including the much lauded These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner but time will tell whether these projects live up to the hype or become part of the minority. 

Contemporary Realism

You can't tame the literary train that is John Green.  His books have touch readers in a way that many cannot.  It feels real and gritty and mature which is probably why so many teens can relate to them even if they aren't dealing with tough decisions like a terminal disease in their own lives.  Be prepared to see more of this in 2014, although if we're honest, it's not like contemporary realism just popped out of nowhere, it's been around since writers began writing (it's just been overshadowed in recent years by wizards, vampires and anything not of this world). 

Thrillers

I have to admit, I love a good thriller and it seems a lot of people feel the same way.  While some agents are not as hell bent on it, others are more positive.  Molly Jaffa of Folio Literary Management notes in Publisher's Weekly "Everyone is looking for a YA Gone Girl."  Thrillers can be combined with contemporary to kill two trends with one stone.  As Michael Bourret of Dystel and Goderich Literary Management notes thrillers "can be the kind of book people are looking for when they say they want contemporary fiction."  I think I can get on this bandwagon. 

YA or MG? 

Finally, we can talk about all the trends within YA but what if YA is dead? James Dawson of James Dawson Books notes "The 'word on the street' is that YA authors are taking aim at a younger market and that publishers are looking for 'New Narnias'….say what!?!  

So does that mean we should all throw out our YA projects, kick those fantasy ideas to the wayside?  At the end of the day, I think most of us need to take all trends with a grain of salt.  A good book is a good book no matter what the label.  So I say, write what you love and what you're passionate about.  If you feel excited about your projects, others will feel your excitement as well and that in turn will make them turn the page.  

YA Book Pick: FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell

Once a month, we choose an outstanding YA book to review. We want to spotlight books of interest to aspiring writers, as well as highlight some of our favorite books and authors!

This month's Book Pick is FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love. 

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .

But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

First Line: "There was a boy in her room."

This is a great first line, because it sets up the conflict immediately. Our viewpoint character is someone who isn't comfortable having boys in her room. The next few lines make it clear that Cath has just arrived at her new dorm and is sort of freaking out about the newness of everything.

Highlights: Gosh, where to start? First, let me say that I devoured this book. I literally couldn't put it down. My YA fiction taste tends to skew more speculative, but this contemporary novel completely won me over (much like ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS and LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR by Stephanie Perkins--also highly recommended).

I gushed about Rainbow Rowell nailing the teenage voice in my review of her last book, ELEANOR & PARK. This book is even better. Cath, her sister Wren, the boys in her life, her roommate Reagan--any one of them could have stepped right out of life and into her book. The central romance is sweet without being cloying or sappy. Cath's fears and doubts about her love life will ring true for anyone, not just eighteen-year-olds.

The author's take on the subject of fandom and fanfiction writing is gentle, but also realistic. As someone who spent her teenage years obsessed with the TV show The X-Files, I saw a lot of myself in Cath. I think a lot of readers will be able to relate to this, no matter what their age.

A Good Read For: YA contemporary/romance writers searching for great examples of teenage voice or a slow-build romantic relationship. Although the book was marketed as YA rather than New Adult, it is set in the first year of college and therefore might be of interest to NA writers as well.

YA Book Pick: ELEANOR & PARK

Once a month, we choose an outstanding YA book to review. We want to spotlight books of interest to aspiring writers, as well as highlight some of our favorite books and authors!

This month's Book Pick is ELEANOR & PARK by Rainbow Rowell.

Synopsis (from Goodreads): "Bono met his wife in high school," Park says."So did Jerry Lee Lewis," Eleanor answers.
"I’m not kidding," he says.
"You should be," she says, "we’re sixteen."
"What about Romeo and Juliet?"
"Shallow, confused, then dead."
''I love you," Park says.
"Wherefore art thou," Eleanor answers.
"I’m not kidding," he says.
"You should be."

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under.

First Line: "He'd stopped trying to bring her back."

The book starts near the end of the story and then goes back to the beginning. This can be tricky to pull off, since it's often just a gimmick to hook the reader with some action so they'll stick around for a slower start. Here, though, it works well. The author keeps the beginning very short and just intriguing enough to make you wonder how this narrator got so attached to the girl he's describing. It also helps that the beginning of the story is immediately compelling and well-written all by itself.

Highlights: The author absolutely nails the feeling of being a sixteen-year-old outsider thrown into a group of unsympathetic peers. Her depiction of the careless cruelty Eleanor experiences at school was realistic and evocative, to the point where I actually had trouble reading it in places because I was so forcibly reminded of some of my own high school experiences.

The romantic relationship is also grounded in reality. The characters don't fall in insta-love--quite the opposite, actually. They forge a bond through shared interests before they start to see each other in a romantic light. When they fall in love, they fall hard... but this makes sense too. They are sixteen, after all.

Although I won't spoil it, I also really liked the ending of the book. It wasn't what I expected, but it felt very narratively satisfying and true to the characters.

Notes for Writers: The story is set in 1986, which makes it historical fiction (believe it or not, that was twenty-seven years ago!). The whole story is peppered with bits of nostalgia, from mix tapes to punk music to comic books. Although there are story reasons for the historical setting, it's also an interesting way to add an extra layer of enjoyment for older readers.

A Good Read For: Writers of YA contemporary (or near-contemporary) fiction or "issues" books.