Claire Hennessy's Blog, page 41

Book-post!

David Nicholls – Starter For Ten

I adored One Day, and have a fondness for campus novels generally, so Starter for Ten – about a boy from a working-class background who goes to university in the mid-80s and gets on the University Challenge team – seemed like an obvious one to read. It's very funny – there are some great bits about all the things Brian expects university to bring him, including women and wisdom, and some utterly cringe-worthy bits where he does stupid things or tells jokes that fall flat or there's anything acne-related (oh, dear). Funny, fast-paced, moving, great dialogue – definitely one to check out.

John Boyne – Noah Barleywater Runs Away

A young boy runs away and meets a mysterious toy maker. Well worth reading, though would have loved to have seen a little bit more at the end. Nice blend of the fairytale and the real. As with The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas I'm curious to know what the age profile of readers is like – although it features a young hero, it seems like something that'll appeal more to the 12+ age group (except for the fact that many of them will shy away from reading a 'kiddie book'). Any thoughts, those of you who've read it/sold it?

Jennifer Donnelly – Revolution

As I noted here, YA novels set during the French Revolution rank pretty highly on my list of shiny things. So I was particularly excited to discover this book. It's an interesting blend of fact and fiction – e.g. the main character's father is a scientist working on the DNA test for Louis-Charles's heart, real-life musicians are alluded to along with fictional ones, etc – as well as being a rather nifty blend of contemporary and historical fiction. There are two intertwining narratives. Andi, modern-day New Yorker, is in Paris for the winter holidays with her father, working on her senior thesis at his insistence, while her mother – still recovering from the death of Andi's younger brother, Truman – is in hospital. Andi finds a diary of a girl her age in Paris, Alex, who recounts the events that led her to become a wanted figure in 1795. The parallels between the present-day and the past are a little awkward the more specific they get (there's a Maximilien R Peters in the present-day who keeps talking about revolution and uses the word 'incorruptible' a lot) but the broader comparisons and comments work quite well. Aside from blaming Robespierre a little too much, the historical side of things is beautifully done, with a gorgeous mix of general atmosphere and specific details. So much French Revolution fiction cuts off in 1794 (much like its protagonists' heads) so it's quite cool to have something that explores post-Terror Paris, with Victims' Balls going on in all their strangeness – although I have a sneaking suspicion that the Napoleon Bonaparte references may be a little too foreshadowy and not entirely accurate. The strength is in the blending of the two timelines, though (readers more fascinated by the historical stuff would do well to check out Deborah Cadbury's non-fiction work The Lost King of France) – Andi's voice is more authentic, raw, and – in places – funnier than I expected it to be. Even though Alex's tale resonates with the reader, it's Andi we're rooting for all the way through.

Codex – Lev Grossman

Computer games, medieval manuscripts, a quest for a centuries-old secret, and lots of descriptions of libraries – what's not to love? A fun and smart pageturner.

Christmas songs & quotes

'Tis the season to listen to cover versions, fa la la la la, la la la la.

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And some Christmassy wisdom….

"The one thing women don't want to find in their stockings on Christmas morning is their husband."

– Joan Rivers

"Nothing's as mean as giving a little child something useful for Christmas."

– Kin Hubbard

"Mail your packages early so the post office can lose them in time for Christmas."

– Johnny Carson

Glee & Christmas songs!

It's December! And Dublin is gorgeously Christmassy with the snow and the Christmas lights and all the rest – even if it's slightly nightmarish trying to travel anywhere. So…. yes, Christmas songs!

I continue to love and adore Glee, so these two Christmas songs are rather happiness-inducing. (Sidenote: Kurt and Blaine, oh so cute. And yet it would be kinda nice to keeping see that played as a friendship rather than anything else.)

Christmas FM is back, mostly playing good Christmas music, and then occasionally playing 'Christmas Shoes', which is the worst song in the history of the universe. Have some non-appalling Christmas songs instead:

"Christmas is the season when you buy this year's gifts with next year's money."

- Anonymous

Oh, telly

Probably one of my favourite non-fiction books read this year was Steven Johnson's Everything Bad Is Good For You, where he defends so-called trashy pop culture and traces its developing complexity. (He also links this to the Flynn effect, which I am not 100% convinced about, but it's an interesting argument.) It says, rather sensibly, that there is good TV (and there are good movies, good video games, etc) – that the form itself is not automatically the issue.

There are many writers who will proudly attest to not watching TV, who – when responding to 'how do you find the time to write?'-type questions – will say, give up television. Stop wasting your time watching the idiot box.

There are many ways people waste time. Compulsive cleanliness. Fretting about how much they have to do, often out loud. Reading bad books. TV-watching does not automatically equal time-wasting.

I had this sense that I'd use this post to talk about the TV I've been loving lately – the sheer gleefulness of Glee and the fact that even though the Rocky Horror songs were appalling bowdlerized, the way it was handled within the show was quite nifty; the zaniness of How I Met Your Mother Season 6 (and the fact it took me far too long to recognise Zoey as Cameron from House – also Kirk's mom in the rebooted Trek, and a one-time girlfriend of Pacey in Dawson's Creek); the sheer delight of the Big Bang Theory episode which had not only Wil Wheaton but a girly sleepover – but recently a few people have talked about TV as this thing that you switch off, that you don't engage with, that you don't use your imagination for. As though this was absolute fact. And. Sheesh.

Reading is not automatically an imaginative enlightening experience. It is quite possible to read a book and not enter into the imaginative world the author's presenting to you. (Most novels that are read for English degrees are read this way, I imagine.) It is quite possible to skim, to miss parts, to get to the end of the book having a sense of what words were on the page but not much more than that.

And TV is not automatically this deadening, turn-off-your-brain experience. Ever speculated about what's going to happen next? Noted patterns, motifs? Articulated why Season 2 isn't as good as Season 1, or vice-versa? Ever noticed the way a storyline was handled, or a new character introduced? Ever tried to figure out who was going to get kicked off the reality show of your choice? Oh, look, engaging with the material. Would you look at that.

The text has a lot to do with it. But even a Good Book doesn't automatically improve the reader. And TV – it's how you respond to it, as well as what's it's giving you.

So give up TV in order to write more? I'm not so sure. Maybe just treat it as you do books, or other things in your life – look at what you're getting out of the experience, whether you're using or losing time, and then figure out something that works for you. And good TV – the stuff that takes you away, that makes you smile or laugh or cry or ache along with the characters? I kinda feel like that's worth making time for.

Irish YA(ish) books I'm looking forward to in 2011…

Angel Kiss (Laura Jane Cassidy) is out in May. Heard a bit of this at the Literary Café and am very excited about it! Realistic fiction set in Ireland, with a supernatural-crime twist for good measure.

The Real Rebecca (Anna Carey) is out in February. Sounds terrific – girl with a mother who's a writer who's written a book for young people and everyone thinks the girl is her. (I was looking forward to this anyway, because Anna writes wise reviews about bookish things, but the story has definitely got me more intrigued.)

Flick (Geraldine Meade) will be out sometime next year, release date TBC. Very excited about this one. The description says 'not for the faint-hearted' which is always a good sign.

The final volume of the Demon's Lexicon trilogy, The Demon's Surrender (Sarah Rees Brennan), is published here and in the UK in July. (US edition is June I think.) From Sin's perspective this time.

Finally, the fourth Amy Green book (Sarah Webb) is out in May. Hopefully with plenty of Bailey Otis….

Bits 'n' bobs

(but no actual Bobs, unfortunately)

– In these gloomy times, Ellen has listed ten things she loves about Dublin.

– Big Smoke had its second Literary Café last Saturday, in the absolutely gorgeous Ormond Wine Bar. It was a lovely afternoon, though when I did my own reading (a short snippet from Big Picture) I was reminded of how terrifying it can be to get up in front of people and read. And yet how fun (hello, inner teen voice, speak!). Our guest readers and student readers were fabulous, and it was lovely to see former students who'd popped in as well.

– I saw the latest Harry Potter movie recently, and it delighted me immensely – makes me want to go and reread all the books once I have a spare few days. The joy in them is definitely seeing how bits of the book turn up on the screen – they're not designed for people who haven't read the books, or at least that appears to be one of the things that keeps coming up, particularly in relation to this film. But there's something quite nice about how, in a world where we so often hear "ah, the book's much better, the film's crap" and an implicit disdain for the simplifcation of a book on the screen, there are films which assume an audience familiar with the source text. (Also? Kind of want to be Hermione Granger when I grow up.)

– It's a month 'til Christmas! Which means…. Christmas songs!

"Aren't we forgetting the true meaning of Christmas? You know… the birth of Santa."

– Bart Simpson

Pratchetty wisdom

So currently Sir Terry Pratchett is an Adjunct Professor of the School of English, Trinity College Dublin, which as far as I can gather is one of those posts that looks good for all involved and doesn't mean having to do the tedious bits of professoring. Nevertheless. He gave a delightful seminar yesterday for postgrads in the field of popular literature, which ended up mostly focusing on his writing (no complaints here, obviously), and, here, have the best bits, which I suspect are familiar enough to anyone who's read interviews with him or whatnot:

He seems to have the ideal approach to writing stuff that sells. "You do not know where the magic comes from," is what he said of his writing, but he was also quite firm on the idea of turning up and just writing "the damn book". Quite candid about writing things that sell well, like his almost-exclusive turn to fantasy, but emphasising the love of it as well.
He says fantasy writers are given the same paintbox as other writers, but with extra colours. Silver and gold and glitter. And this: "Fantasy is not a genre. Fantasy is the original fiction. The Bible was written by people like me."
"The words are easy – most of them have already been invented."
"There is such a thing as a children's book for everyone."
With regard to reviews, he noted that he knows when something's a good book or not, and also talked about his early reviews attacking his perceived readers rather than him or the work, which is not really something that happens in other genres. [Well....hmm. Chick-lit? Any genre associated with female readers including the very novel form itself?] The knowing something's good intrigues me – it's another reminder that there's so much about this writing biz that people handle differently. [I loved Sarah Dessen's recent post on the books she's had published, which takes a completely different approach.]

(And that was my Friday afternoon.)

Book-post!

Gemma Malley – The Legacy

The final book in a terrific YA dystopian trilogy… no, not that one. Anna, Peter, Jude and Sheila live in a world where eternal life is possible and children have become Surplus to requirement. As members of the Underground as well as young themselves, they're trying to make small differences where they can – until the Underground is blamed for a batch of contaminated Longevity by the Authorities, and things heat up. This volume is tense and gripping, keeping the action moving while also managing to incorporate all of the characters introduced over the course of the trilogy. And the ending, oh the ending. I can't recommend these books enough – teenage rebellion has never been quite so vindicated.

Meg Cabot – Airhead: Runaway

Another third-in-a-trilogy novel! The Airhead trilogy involves evil corporations, feminism, modelling, romance, and brain transplants. Runaway ties everything together neatly, and it's fun and fast-paced without feeling rushed. The world needs more chick-lit/science-fiction YA.

Sarah Webb – Ask Amy Green: Bridesmaid Blitz

Another third book… in a series, though, so not quite the same. Amy's mum's best friend is whisking Mum, Amy and Clover away to the magical city of lights, because where else but Paris should one buy bridesmaid dresses? Another one nicely balancing a bit of extraordinary excitement with everyday concerns.

Ally Condie – Matched

Had heard a lot of great things about Matched (Janice posted about it here) and got a chance to read it over the bank holiday weekend. Enjoyed it tremendously. The basic premise is that Cassia lives in a world where people are Matched according to genetics et al, and where the Society and its Officials make sure that everyone is kept in line. Some of the details regarding the Farmlands and Outer Provinces could be a little more developed (though I suspect a sequel will be forthcoming), but there are some nifty things in here – there are a select Hundred Poems that have been saved, there are certain pills that everyone has to carry around, writing is an arcane skill – and the conflict Cassia feels between her longstanding friendship-turned-romance with Xander (her designated Match) and her attraction to Ky (classified as an Aberration) is skilfully handled. If dystopian romance is the new paranormal romance, and I really hope it is, bring it on.

Marie Corelli – The Sorrows of Satan

Probably the most fun Victorian novel I've ever read. Needs to be taken far less seriously than the author intended it, but basically: the devil and the fin-de-siecle publishing/literary world. Very fun indeed.

William Gibson – Neuromancer

One of these 'I've always meant to read…' books. I liked it but wasn't wildly impressed – I can see why it's been so influential, though, and it is a compelling read. This is the book that gave us the term 'cyberspace', and every so often there are observations/predictions about technology and people's attitudes to it that just really work. (A lot more that's out-of-date, mind you, but still worth reading.)

I am currently reading about a bajillion different things, including Paul Murray's Skippy Dies, Olga Broumas's collected poems, and David Nicholls's Starter for Ten. You'd think the exponentially-increasing to-be-read piles would keep me out of the bookshops, wouldn't you? Alas, not so much. (… at least it's good for the economy, right?)

Beyond red, black, and death…

Now. Don't get me wrong, there are things I adore about the current wave of the red/black/death/vampire stuff in the teen sections of bookshops nowadays (Hodges Figgis actually has a separate section within their teen books for this stuff) – it is fantastic to see new editions of Christopher Pike's The Last Vampire series, as well as some of his other books (Read them. Read them all.), and to see teen books doing well, but occasionally (as a writer and reader of realistic fiction) I get gloomy. So many vampires and werewolves and zombies and fallen angels…

I also know that for a lot of readers, the ones who've been reading all along (instead of suddenly discovering books exist, as so often happens when there are big bestsellers out there), it's off-putting to feel like something as huge in scope as young adult fiction is being reduced to a couple of its current trends. It feels like all there is is the red/black/death stuff.

One of the great appeals of having books categorised by age is that it evens out the playing field in other ways. It's basically having, in that one section of the bookshop, what would happen if all those General Fiction/Literary Fiction/Irish Interest/Fantasy/Horror/Crime/Science Fiction/Classics/Anthologies barriers dissolved. You do hear, more frequently than is really necessary, "oh, it's written for teens, but actually it's a really good book", but at the same time that snobbishness and mentality cuts down on what people say about 'adult' novels, the "it's just light reading but…" or "it's just a thriller/crime novel/romance/page-turner…" stuff that people throw out to justify reading something they actually enjoyed reading.

So there is more to the teen section in bookshops, in books generally, than the red/black/death. Lots more. This would be the part where I start making suggestions….

Meg Cabot turns up in the black/red/death for her The Mediator series (originally published under Jenny Carroll), but The Princess Diaries books, though occasionally irritating, are definitely worth reading. But the best ones are the standalones (and I'm immediately going to contradict myself here, because there are two All-American Girl books, both brilliant), including Teen Idol, Tommy Sullivan Is A Freak and How To Be Popular.

Sarah Dessen writes love stories that go way beyond love stories, the kind of entanglements that happen when you're not quite ready for them and yet need anyway, because of everything else that's going on. Family looms large in Dessen's books, as does summer – the long days of a different routine and pace, when you get that little bit closer to discovering who you are. Her latest is Along for the Ride.

Deb Caletti is another one writing what are ostensibly love stories and actually journeys of self-discovery. The supporting characters are always fleshed out, and there is always a sense of the narrators figuring out where they fit in the wider world, not just at school/home/in a relationship. Her latest is The Six Rules of Maybe, though you're more likely to find Honey, Baby, Sweetheart or Wild Roses on this side of the Atlantic.

Abby McDonald writes smart, funny, feminist books. Life Swap is the best take on the 'let's trade lives! Fish out of water!' plot I've seen.

Siobhan Vivian writes terrific, realistic, funny, compelling books about friendships and romances and creativity. Highly recommend her second novel, Same Difference; her third, Not That Kind of Girl, is out now.

E Lockhart writes funny, quirky, insightful books about teenagers. I can take or leave the Ruby Oliver books, but Dramarama and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks are two of my favourites.

Sara Ryan, despite being very fond of and knowledgeable about fantasy and sci-fi, has written two of my very favourite contemporary YA novels – Empress of the World and The Rules for Hearts.

Adele Geras writes a number of different things, but when she writes realistic fiction, it is thoughtful and quiet and moving and stunning. Pick up silent snow, secret snow or the Egerton Hall trilogy (The Tower Room, Watching the Roses and Pictures of the Night).

Laurie Halse Anderson will blow you away. Speak is an extraordinary book about being a teenager and being afraid. Catalyst (even though I think Kate is a lot more right about things than the book gives her credit for) is another stunner about what happens when the life plan goes off-course. Prom is a fun Cinderella retelling; Twisted dissects the male teen psyche; Wintergirls is a modern day Persephone story about ghosts and eating disorders.

David Levithan has written several extraordinary books for teens, including the very brilliant Boy Meets Boy, the heartbreaking/heartwarming Marly's Ghost, the thought-provoking Wide Awake and Love Is The Higher Law, and (with Rachel Cohn) Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist and Naomi & Ely's No-Kiss List. Sharp, fast-paced, and sympathetic.

John Green gets a lot of love on the internets generally, but is being mentioned in this list anyway for smart and quirky realistic fiction – with (gasp!) male narrators. Why, realistic teen books for boys do exist after all! I have a particular fondness for An Abundance of Katherines, which has anagrams and a mathematical formula to predict break-ups.

Garret Freymann-Weyr writes exquisitely. She has written five YA novels and I can't recommend just one, but if I had to it would be My Heartbeat. Or maybe Stay With Me. Or After the Moment. Or The Kings Are Already Here. Or When I Was Older. Hmm. The teen characters in these books are thoughtful and introspective, and the adult characters are consistently complex and compelling.

Jacqueline Wilson has written approximately ten bajillion books, for children and teenagers. Some of my favourites for older readers include Kiss, Dustbin Baby, My Sister Jodie, and the Girls quartet.

Sara Zarr writes about family and redemption of various kinds. Story of a Girl, about a girl who dreams of getting out of her small town and is still haunted by an early sexual encounter, is a moving read. Zarr's most recent book, Once Was Lost, is about a reverend's daughter and life falling to pieces around her one summer.

Donna Freitas's The Possibilities of Sainthood and This Gorgeous Game are two very different but equally compelling books about girls, love, obsessions, religion, and family.

Elizabeth Scott writes consistently readable fiction, mostly realistic, including The Unwritten Rule, Something, Maybe, Bloom, and my favourite Love You Hate You Miss You. Particularly worth noting is the way that parental relationships are always handled in an interesting way, rather than falling into either category of invisible/overbearing parents.

Julie Anne Peters writes teen fiction mostly LGBTQ-related, including the stunning Luna (dealing with transgender issues), Keeping You A secret (oh, Holland and Cece!) and Rage: A Love Story (intense/damaging relationships).

Melina Marchetta is a superb Australian author, whose Jellicoe Road and Saving Francesca are well worth checking out.

Gayle Forman's If I Stay has potentially fantastical elements, but it's how real it all feels that makes it so moving.

Sally Nicholls writes mostly about death. Ways to Live Forever and Season of Secrets are often shelved for older readers for partly this reason, I think. Well worth reading, but do have tissues handy.

Rachel Vail understands the details of teen friendships, obsessions and feelings. Her books ring true. Particularly recommended are Ever After and You, Maybe.

Ned Vizzini's It's Kind of a Funny Story is a terrific (and funny) book about depression and self-expression. This and Be More Chill are fantastic additions to the 'realistic fiction for boys, should they want such a thing' category.

Ellen Wittlinger's Hard Love and its sequel, Love & Lies: Marisol's Story, are two amazing books about love, writing, and self-discovery. There are no easy answers or neat solutions: sometimes people get hurt, and quite often they don't get what they want.

Kevin Brooks writes fiction that isn't afraid to go dark. Lucas is one of my favourites.

Melvin Burgess wrote Junk and really, that's all you need to know. 'Gritty' is a word thrown around a little too much, perhaps, but it definitely applies to Burgess's realistic fiction for teens.

(For the sake of my own sanity, I've left recent debut authors with only a first novel out off the list. I know we got an extra hour today, but nevertheless…)

Could there be two different girls who look the same at Sweet Valley, Sweet Valley Hiiiiigh….

Sweet Valley Confidential is out next year. A sequel's been talked about for years, so actually seeing it become a reality is slightly bizarre.

I'm kind of intrigued to see how it actually turns out. I was not overwhelmed by the Babysitters Club prequel, The Summer Before, but then again it's a prequel – we know how it all turns out. I liked seeing a new BSC book, ten years after the series ended, but at the same time there was a sense of "well, but what happened next?"

Elizabeth, who is wise on such matters, noted back then that in many ways a prequel was preferable, if there had to be another book – it means the 'what next' is still left up to the reader. Unlike, say, the Harry Potter epilogue.

Still. There is so much continuity to grapple with in the Sweet Valley universe. Olivia manages to be in the SVU (which will always be Sweet Valley University to me, I don't care how many crime series turn up on the TV) universe despite being killed off in the earthquake in SVH. The Senior Year stuff doesn't seem to quite fit with the University books, in the same way that The Unicorn Club series (my personal favourites) clashes with the Junior High series. I can't imagine there's anyone who's read all the books, or if such people exist, they must be few and far between. Has Francine Pascal read all the books? Is she actually writing the sequel herself? (An aside: Francine Pascal's Victoria Martin trilogy, actually written by rather than created by her, is terrific. Fabulous.) She seems to be, which has got to be a strange experience after having overseen rather than write the various serieses.

The way it's been marketed – 10 years on from Sweet Valley High, rather than any of the later spin-offs – has me thinking that mostly the spin-offs will be ignored. And then, how much of the original series to take on board? How many of the murders, the intrigues, the werewolves, the dead boyfriends, the beautiful-girls-gone-too-soon, the European princes, the love octogons, can you possibly take into account? How many impossibly-glamorous internships at fashion magazines or an inexplicable number of summer vacations and Christmases at age sixteen can you reference in a single book?

I hope the sequel references Margo. Oh, I so hope it does.